ious) was strange. The old year would
be rung out in a few hours, in company with our Utopian expectations.
All our hopes of a rare New Year were, like our Christmas phantasies,
dashed to the ground. The morrow promised to be rare enough in a
melancholy sense, but it would not be New Year's Day. There was but one
ray of comfort to sustain us, namely, the approach of the hero of
Candahar; for although a certain period of waiting had yet to be
endured--ere _another_ famous march could be accomplished--the coming of
Roberts disposed us to think kindly of Job. At the same time we prayed
that the need for patience would not last too long. Any nonentity--be he
General or Private--who could bring relief to Kimberley would eclipse
the fame of a bigger man than "Bobs."

Passing by the Town Hall one could not fail to be struck by the contrast
between its desolate appearance on Sunday afternoon and the bustle of
its precincts on week days. The building had only recently been erected
and was situated in the centre of the Market Square. The Square itself
was an exceptionally spacious one, and the Hall added an ornament to
the city, which was the more imposing and conspicuous in that it
practically stood alone as such. It was a magnificent structure, quite
new, as I have stated; but it probably saw more wear and tear during the
Siege than it would otherwise have seen in the course of half a century.
A few days prior to our investment the building had been completed, and,
immediately after, a two days' holiday had been proclaimed by the
Municipal Authorities--dear old servants of the people! No Czar's writ
ran in Kimberley then. Amid the plaudits of the democracy the Hall had
been duly declared "open." The Mayor, in the blazing dignity of his
Magisterial robes, surrounded by the wealth and intelligence of the
city, had delivered an historical address. The Councillors had followed,
and the several ex-Mayors since the year of one had expatiated
felicitously on the architecture of the "Ornament," the merits of the
architect, and the enterprise of the contractors. "There was a sound of
revelry by night"--for two consecutive nights. Two awfully fancy dress
balls were given; and had the shade of the Duchess of Richmond waltzed
from the heavens to the waxed floor of the hall, it would have assumed
flesh and blood again on beholding the picturesque costumes of every age
and court presented to its spectral view. I will not prolong a
descriptio