--had been
withdrawn from the little forts round Newcastle, as the General wanted
them for other purposes, and a message sent that the town must defend
its own forts. There were, it is true, a large number of able-bodied men
in the place who were willing to fight, but they had no organisation.
The very laager was not finished until the danger was past.

Then there was a large party who were for surrendering the town to the
Boers, because if they fought it might afterwards injure their trade.
With this section of the population the feeling of patriotism was
strong, no doubt, but that of pocket was stronger. I am convinced that
the Boers would have found the capture of Newcastle an easy task, and I
confess that what I then saw did not inspire me with great hopes of the
safety of the Colony when it gets responsible government, and has to
depend for protection on burgher forces. Colonial volunteer forces are,
I think, as good troops as any in the world; but an unorganised colonial
mob, pulled this way and that by different sentiments and interests,
is as useless as any other mob, with the difference that it is more
impatient of control.

For some unknown reason the Boer leaders providentially changed their
minds about attacking the reinforcements, and their men were withdrawn
to the Nek as swiftly and silently as they had been advanced, and on
the 17th February the reinforcements marched into Newcastle to the very
great relief of the inhabitants, who had been equally anxious for their
own safety and that of the troops. Personally, I was never in my life
more pleased to see Her Majesty's uniform; and we were equally rejoiced
on returning home to find that nothing had been injured. After this we
had quiet for a while.

On the 21st February, we heard that two fresh regiments had been sent up
to the camp at Lang's Nek, and that General Wood had been ordered down
country by Sir George Colley to bring up more reinforcements. This item
of news caused much surprise, as nobody could understand, why, now that
the road was clear, and that there was little chance of its being again
blocked, a General should be sent down to do work, which could, to all
appearance, have been equally well done by the Officers in command
of the reinforcing regiments, with the assistance of their transport
riders. It was, however, understood that an agreement had been entered
into between the two Generals, that no offensive operations should be
undertake