purely moral. The story of their wrongs will always receive
sympathy, but to move a nation to action something more than sympathy is
required. We delivered the Transvaal territory over to the charge of
its own citizens, and they only are responsible for what happens in
their territory. If their laws are oppressive or unjust to the
strangers residing amongst them, the strangers may withdraw, or endure
the evils of which they complain as well as they can. It is not for us
to advise them what they should do; the choice must lie with themselves.
They may fly the country or leave their properties in the charge of
trustworthy Boer agents, if any such can be found, or they may continue
to suffer all that the Boers may choose to inflict, or they may all
unite in ceasing work and pay neither dues, taxes or bribes until
justice be done to them, but we cannot interfere until we know what
Johannesburg has resolved upon doing. What we may do in any event is
not worth discussing--no, not until the Johannesburg people act like
Englishmen.

CHAPTER FIVE.

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC. NOVEMBER 23, 1897.

PAUL AND HIS OIL PAINTING.

I was fortunate enough to have an early morning (5:30 a.m.) interview
with President Kruger before he departed on what may probably be his
last electioneering tour. As he was fully dressed in the usual black
suit and little old-fashioned top hat, and smoking on the verandah of
his house, the old President must have risen from bed an hour earlier at
least, and though all the clocks in this region are fully thirty minutes
behind time, 5 a.m. is a remarkably early hour to begin business. Two
armed guards in the uniform of London police inspectors stood in the
street barring the way to the house; but a mere look from the President
sufficed to give us admission. His "Good-morning" in English slipped
from him unconsciously, and after a shake hands he led the way to a
spacious saloon, wherein the first thing that attracted my attention was
a large and coarse oil painting of him. It happened that the seat shown
to me placed Mr Kruger and his picture directly in a line, in front of
me, and I was thus forced to compare the original with the copy. The
history of the painting I do not know, but as it is permitted to be hung
so prominently in the reception room, it is to be presumed that the
President and his friends regard it as a faithful likeness, and are
consequently proud of it. This small f