utter stagnation
of the trade in the town during the siege. The nurses, the nuns and
their convent, were also worthy objects for charity. This latter
residence, but lately built, and including a nicely decorated chapel
with many sacred images, had been, as I have said, practically
destroyed; and the Sisters had borne their part most nobly, in nursing
the sick and wounded, while many were suffering in health from the
privations they had undergone. In response to my appeal, Lady Georgiana
inserted the following letter in the _Times_ just before the news of the
Relief reached England:

"20, CURZON STREET, W.,
"_May 11._

"SIR,

"I venture to address an appeal to the people of the United
Kingdom, through the columns of your paper, on behalf of the
inhabitants of Mafeking. Nothing but absolute knowledge of
their sufferings prompts me to thus inaugurate another fund,
and one which must come in addition to the numerous
subscriptions already started in connection with the South
African War. I admit the generous philanthropy of our country
has been evinced to a degree that is almost inconceivable, and
I hesitate even now in making this fresh appeal, but can only
plead as an excuse the heartrending accounts of the sufferings
of Mafeking that I have received from my sister, Lady Sarah
Wilson.

"The last mail from South Africa brought me a letter from her,
dated March 3. In it she implores me to take active measures to
bring before the generous British public the destitute
condition of the nuns, refugees, and civilians generally, in
Mafeking. She writes with authority, having witnessed their
sufferings herself, and, indeed, having shared equally with
them the anxieties and privations of this prolonged siege. Her
letter describes the absolute ruin of all the small
tradespeople, whose homes are in many cases demolished. The
compensation they will receive for damaged goods will be
totally inadequate to cover their loss. Years must pass ere
their trade can be restored to the proportions of a livelihood.
Meanwhile starvation in the immediate future lies before them.
The unfortunate Sisters in the convent have for weeks hardly
had a roof over their heads, the Boer shells having more or
less destroyed their home. In consequence, their belongings
left intact by shot or shell have been ruined by rain. Th