wn and grimy hand grasped a rifle; and as the figures sink low at the
ringing of the bell, a bristle of barrels stands above the bowed heads.
Distant horse hoofs drum the plain as an orderly gallops from one part
of the camp to another. Right facing us stands Magersfontein, its ugly
nose with the big gun at the end of it thrust out towards us. How many
of this little brotherhood under the mud wall, idly I wonder, will ever
see English meadows again?

The Boers still face us at Magersfontein. Their left is south of the
Modder. They have a strong laager at Jacobsdal on the Reit, and have
pushed west and south of that, where, from the kopjes about Zoutspan and
Ramdam, they threaten our lines of communication. The Reit river,
flowing almost south and north for some distance parallel to the
railway, though a good way east of it, is a strengthening feature for
them in that part of the field, and taking advantage of it, they have
brought their left well round. Their right, on the other hand, is
scarcely brought round at all, but stretches about east and west,
following the course of the Modder, and extending as far west as
Douglas, fifty miles from Modder camp. They make raids south. Pilcher
the other day cut some of them up at Sunnyside and took Douglas, but
evacuated it again, and it is now in their hands. Altogether you can
compare the Boer attitude to a huge man confronting you, Magersfontein
being his head, his left arm brought round in front of him almost at
right angles to his body and his right stretched wide out in line with
his shoulders. From time to time he makes little efforts to bring these
outstretched arms farther round, as if to clasp and enfold the British
position at Modder River, and it is with the special object of observing
and reporting on these movements that our scouting is carried on. This
is now attended to by fifteen of us only, under Chester Master, the
rest of the corps, with the Major, having gone down to join French at
Colesberg now that the advance here has ceased. On the east side of the
line we patrol the plain nearly to Jacobsdal, and often lie in the grass
or sit among the rocks and watch the little figures of Boers cantering
along the road that leads south by the river. Further scouting in that
direction is carried on by the garrison along the line.

A strong reconnaissance of ours the other day (January 9th) in the
direction of Jacobsdal was a very dignified and solemn exhibition. Our
gu