musing
incident. It certainly gives one the idea that Sir Garnet
Wolseley, fearing that his reputation for infallibility
might be attacked by scoffers for not having foreseen the
Boer rebellion, and perhaps uneasily conscious of other
despatches very different in tenor and subsequent in date:
and, mindful of the withdrawal of the cavalry regiment by
his advice, had caused it to be tacked on to the Blue Book
as a documentary "I told you so," and a proof that, whoever
else was blinded, he foresaw. It contains, however, the
following remarkable passage:--"Even were it not impossible,
for many other reasons, to contemplate a withdrawal of our
authority from the Transvaal, the position of insecurity in
which we should leave this loyal and important section of
the community (the English inhabitants), by exposing them to
the certain retaliation of the Boers, would constitute, in
my opinion, an insuperable obstacle to retrocession.
Subjected to the same danger, moreover, would be those of
the Boers, whose superior intelligence and courageous
character has rendered them loyal to our Government."

As the Government took the trouble to publish the despatch,
it is a pity that they did not think fit to pay more
attention to its contents.

I cannot conclude this chapter better than by drawing attention to a
charming specimen of the correspondence between the Boer leaders and
their friend Mr. Courtney. The letter in question, which is dated 26th
June, purports to be written by Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, but it is
obvious that it owes its origin to some member or members of the Dutch
party at the Cape, from whence, indeed, it is written. This is rendered
evident both by its general style, and also by the use of such terms
as "Satrap," and by references to Napoleon III. and Cayenne, about whom
Messrs. Kruger and Joubert know no more than they do of Peru and the
Incas.

After alluding to former letters, the writers blow a blast of triumph
over the downfall of the Conservative Government, and then make a savage
attack on the reputation of Sir Bartle Frere. The "stubborn Satrap" is
throughout described as a liar, and every bad motive imputed to him.
Really, the fact that Mr. Courtney should encourage such epistles as
this is enough to give colour to the boast made by some of the leading
Boers, after the war, that they had bee