e way belonged to a Dutchman,
and stole all the stock on it, the property of an Englishman. They also
intercepted a train of waggons, destroyed the contents, and burnt them.
Numerous were the false alarms it was our evil fortune to experience.
For instance, one night I was sitting in the drawing-room reading, about
eleven o'clock, with a door leading on to the verandah slightly ajar,
for the night was warm, when suddenly I heard myself called by name in
a muffled voice, and asked if the place was in the possession of the
Boers. Looking towards the door I saw a full-cocked revolver coming
round the corner, and on opening it in some alarm, I could indistinctly
discern a line of armed figures in a crouching attitude stretching along
the verandah into the garden beyond. It turned out to be a patrol of
the mounted police, who had received information that a large number of
Boers had seized the place and had come to ascertain the truth of the
report. As we gathered from them that the Boers were certainly near, we
did not pass a very comfortable night.

Meanwhile, we were daily expecting to hear that the troops had been
attacked along the line of march, and knowing the nature of the country
and the many opportunities it affords for ambuscading and destroying one
of our straggling columns encumbered with innumerable waggons, we had
the worst fears for the result. At length a report reached us to the
effect that the reinforcements were expected on the morrow, and that
they were not going to cross the Ingagaan at the ordinary drift, which
was much commanded by hills, but at a lower drift on our own place,
about three miles from Newcastle, which was only slightly commanded. We
also heard that it was the intention of the Boers to attack them at this
point and to fall back on my house and the hills beyond. Accordingly, we
thought it about time to retreat, and securing a few valuables such as
plate, we made our way into the town, leaving the house and its contents
to take their chance. At Newcastle an attack was daily expected, if for
no other reason, to obtain possession of the stores collected there.

The defences of the place were, however, in a wretched condition,
no proper outlook was kept, and there was an utter want of effective
organisation. The military element at the camp had enough to do to look
after itself, and did not concern itself with the safety of the town;
and the mounted police--a Colonial force paid by the Colony