d
acted on his own initiative, or whether he had actually been employed by
the authorities, he did not state; but he seemed to be full of
importance, and proud of the fact that he had spent two hours only a few
days before on a kopje in conference with Louis Botha, while the same
kopje was being energetically shelled by the English. He gave me,
indeed, to understand that the successful issue of the interview had
depended entirely on the amount the English Government was prepared to
pay, and that another L2,000,000 would have ended the war then and
there. He probably did not enjoy the full confidence of either side, and
I never verified the truth of his statements, which were as strange and
mysterious as the man himself, whom, as events turned out, I never saw
again.

It had been difficult to reach Pretoria, but the departure therefrom was
attended by many formalities, and I had to provide myself, amongst other
permits, with a railway pass, which ran as follows:

RAILWAY PASSES.

The bearer, Lady Sarah. Wilson (and maid) is permitted to
travel at her own expense from Pretoria to Cape Town via the
Vaal River.

O.S. NUGENT,
Major, Provost Marshal
(For Major-General, Military
Governor of Pretoria).

To R.S.O.
Pretoria
_June 25, 1900._

Everything being then pronounced in order, I said good-bye to Mrs.
Godley, who was returning by road to Zeerust and Mafeking, and,
accompanied by Captain Seymour Fortescue, who had a few days' leave, and
by Major Bobby White, I left on June 25 for Johannesburg. The train was
painfully slow, and rarely attained a speed of more than five or six
miles an hour. At Elandsfontein the engine gave out entirely, and a long
delay ensued while another was being procured. At all the stations were
small camps and pickets of bronzed and bearded soldiers, and on the
platforms could be seen many officers newly arrived from England,
distinguished by their brand-new uniforms, nearly all carrying the
inevitable Kodak. At length we arrived at Johannesburg as the daylight
was fading, and found excellent accommodation at Heath's Hotel. In the
"Golden City," as at Pretoria, the shops were open, and seemed
wonderfully well supplied, butter and cigarettes being the only items
that were lacking. I remember lunching the next day at a grill-room,
called Frascati's, underground, where the cuisine was first-rate, and
which was crowded with civilians of