nsciously I recalled on this Christmas Day the words of General
Joubert addressed to us outside Ladysmith in 1899: "Happy the
Africander who shall not survive the termination of this War." Time
will show, if it have not already shown, the wisdom of General
Joubert's words.

Just about this time rumours of various kinds were spread abroad. From
several sources we heard daily that the War was about to end, that the
English had evacuated the country because their funds were exhausted,
that Russia and France had intervened, and that Lord Kitchener had
been captured by De Wet and liberated on condition that he and his
troops left South Africa immediately. It was even said that General
Botha had received an invitation from the British Government to come
and arrange a Peace on "independence" lines.

Nobody will doubt that we on the veldt were desperately anxious to
hear the glad tidings of Peace. We were weary of the fierce struggle,
and we impatiently awaited the time when the Commandant-General and
the Government should order us to sheathe the sword.

But the night of the Old Year left us engaged in the fierce conflict
of hostilities, and the dawn of the New Year found us still enveloped
in the clouds of war--clouds whose blackness was relieved by no silver
lining.

CHAPTER XLV.

MY LAST DAYS ON THE VELDT.

The first month of 1902 found the storm of death and destruction still
unabated, and the prospect appeared as dark as at the commencement of
the previous year. Our hand, however, was on the plough, and there was
no looking back. My instructions were, "Go forward and persevere."

To the south of Lydenburg, where a section of my commando under
General Muller was operating, the enemy kept us very busy, for they
had one or more columns engaged. We, to the north of Lydenburg, had a
much calmer time of it than our brethren to the south of that place,
for there the British were pursuing their policy of exhausting our
people with unsparing hand. I attribute the fact that we in the north
were left comparatively undisturbed to the mountainous nature of the
country. It would have been impossible for the British to have
captured us or to have invaded our mountain recesses successfully
without a tremendous force, and, obviously, the British had no such
force at their disposal. Probably also the British had some respect
for the prowess of my commando. An English officer afterwards told me
in all seriousness that the Br