but too late to save
the kindly gentleman, who had been shot through both legs, and whose
life-blood was ebbing fast, though he remained alive and conscious of
everything that passed for an hour afterwards. The hand of fate seemed
there, but whether it was more merciful to him or to those who, having
escaped shot and shell, are now stricken by disease in an unhealthy
camp, who shall say?

Incidents of this kind turn our thoughts to a serious complexion at
times, and if a stranger could come suddenly into our midst in the
moments of depression we should not perhaps strike him as a particularly
cheerful community. Yet war even under these conditions has its
amenities, and our mirthful moods, though chastened by events that
thrust themselves upon us with unpleasant insistence, are not
infrequent. For many welcome breaks in the monotony of daily life we are
indebted to the officers and men of regiments that will not allow
themselves or their neighbours to get into the doldrums for lack of such
sports and entertainments as ingenuity can improvise. In this respect
the Natal Carbineers, Imperial Light Horse, and Gordon Highlanders have
shown a praiseworthy zeal, being encamped near each other, and having so
far an advantage over regiments like the Devon, Liverpool, Gloucester,
Leicester, Rifle Brigade, Royal Irish Fusiliers, King's Royal Rifles,
and Manchester, which since the first day of investment have been
detached for the defence of important positions, where they can hardly
venture to expose themselves in groups without a certainty of drawing
the enemy's artillery fire upon them, and where the necessity for
ceaseless watchfulness at night puts a severe strain on all ranks. Not
that the Gordons and Irregular Horse lead a leisurely life, or have any
especial immunity from shells. On the contrary, they take a full share
of duties in many forms, and they have been rather singled out as marks
for the enemy's guns to aim at; but they have not to rough it as a whole
battalion on hillsides without tents day after day, as their outpost
lines or patrols can be relieved from standing camps in the hollows, and
in those camps the main bodies, at any rate, get a fair allowance of
undisturbed sleep, for it is only by day that they are bombarded. When
the fire is not too hot, Gordons, and Light Horse especially, have merry
times at regimental sports or friendly contests.

In a despatch sent out by a Kaffir runner, who has never come ba