serves of two
Australian firms. These two firms are head and shoulders above all other
makers bar none. "Advance, Australia" is right.

Well, here we are, and here we are going to remain, for how long the
Fates only know. Sometimes in my most optimistic moments I cheerfully
look forward to spending the golden autumn of my life in the land of my
birth. As I write this evening by candlelight, in our rude substitute
for a tent, I can hear the chorus of "The miner's (why not a yeoman's?)
dream of home," which comes wafted to us from the Fife lines. As you
will, I hope, receive this by Christmas, I take the opportunity to wish
you and all kind friends a right merrie Christmas and a prosperous new
year. For us no holly will prick nor mistletoe hang. If Santa Claus
comes it will probably be with a Mauser, and for some, alas! obituary
cards will take the place of the coloured productions of Bavarian firms.
But come weal, come woe, where'er we be on that day, I can guarantee you
our sentiments will be easily summed up by the following:

"Our heart's where they rocked our cradle,
Our love where we spent our toil;
And our faith and our hope and our honour,
We pledge to our native soil!"

LADY SNIPERS AT WORK.

KRUGERSDORP (again),
_Wednesday, November 28th, 1900._

We returned here on Monday, after having been out for about a week's
cruise on the troubled veldt, and, in spite of the rumour that we were
to be treking again this morning, we are still here. I will endeavour to
give you the usual veracious account of our doings. I say "veracious"
advisedly, as oftentimes, after having seen something extra strong in
the Ananias-Sapphira-Munchausen-Gulliver-de-Rougemont epistolary line
from some gentleman in khaki to the old folks at home, in a London or
provincial paper, I feel that I must give up letter writing altogether,
as by now those at home must have discovered that such effusions are
often seven-eighths lies, and the remaining one-eighth truth, simply
because the scribe's powers of invention have failed him, owing to the
great strain. Only yesterday I saw in a certain local paper such an
epistle from one of our fellows, who, owing to various circumstances,
only joined us in September last, and has now joined the estimable
waggon crowd. From it I gathered that we had fought incessantly for
several days, on one occasion being without food