nine days after my arrival at this perambulating seat of
Government did we have an opportunity of snatching a few hours' rest.
We were now at a spot called Immegratie, between Ermelo and
Wakkerstroom. Here a meeting was held by the Executive Council, and
attended by the Commandant-General, General Jan Smuts, General C.
Botha, and myself. General T. Smuts could not be present, as he was
busy keeping Colonel Bullock amused.

At this meeting we discussed the general situation, and decided to
send a letter to President Steyn, but our communication afterwards
fell into the enemy's hands. In accordance with this letter, President
Steyn and Generals De Wet and De la Rey joined our Government, and a
meeting was held later on.

The day after this meeting at Immegratie I took leave of my friends
and began the journey in a more leisurely fashion back to my commando
at Kroomdraai, via Ermelo and Bethel. The Acting-President had made me
a present of a cart and four mules, as they pitied us for having had
to burn all our vehicles in escaping from Roos Senekal. We were thus
once more seated in a cart, which added considerably to the dignity
of our staff. How long I should continue to be possessed of this means
of transport depended, of course, entirely on the enemy. My old
coloured groom "Mooiroos," who followed behind leading my horse,
evidently thought the same, for he remarked naively: "Baas, the
English will soon fix us in another corner; had we not better throw
the cart away?"

We drove into Ermelo that afternoon. The dread east wind was blowing
hard and raising great clouds of dust around us. The village had been
occupied about half a dozen times by the enemy and each time looted,
plundered, and evacuated, and was now again in our possession. At
least, the English had left it the day before, and a Landdrost had
placed himself in charge; a little Hollander with a pointed nose and
small, glittering eyes, who between each sentence that he spoke rolled
round those little eyes of his, carefully scanning the neighbouring
hills for any sign of the English. The only other person of importance
in the town was a worthy predicant, who evidently had not had his hair
cut since the commencement of the War, and who had great difficulty
in keeping his little black wide-awake on his head. He seemed very
proud of his abundant locks.

There were also a few families in the place belonging to the Red Cross
staff and in charge of the local hospi