e la Rey for
his brave conduct. Through negligence on the part of our officers we
lost on that occasion one gun, several waggons, and some of our men.

Almost all night long we retreated with our guns to Pretoria. We had not
lost courage. We all spoke of the thorough way in which our Government
would have fortified Pretoria, and of the great battle that would take
place there. We had all made up our minds to a stubborn resistance at
our capital. What a bitter disappointment it was to find that our
Government had decided not to defend the town! The causes that led to
such a decision will be brought to light by historians. The consequences
were that many of the burghers were discouraged, and rode 'huis-toe,'
and nothing came of the great battle that was to have been fought.

Frits and I decided to give our horses a few days' rest in their stables
before going to meet the enemy.

On June 4, at about twelve o'clock, while we were at luncheon, a lyddite
bomb fell close to the fort, raising a cloud of dust. My mother went
outside, and came back quickly to tell us that it was not a shot _from_
the fort, but from the enemy. The bombs followed in quick succession.
They flew over Schanskop fort, and fell close to our house at Sunnyside.
As the ground was rocky they exploded well. My mother and sister fled
with our neighbours to the town, and my brother and I saddled our horses
and rode off to Quaggaspoort.

From over the mountains, to the south of the town, the bombs came flying
as a gentle warning from the khakies that it would be better to
surrender in order to avoid a great calamity.

It was sad to see how few horses there were at the foot of the mountain.
Here a group of four, there of ten--a sign that the number of burghers
in the positions was very small indeed. When the enemy appeared at
Quaggaspoort, we noticed that the burghers from the direction of
Krokodil River were retreating, and a moment later they were all in full
flight. One of my comrades, a brother of Lottering, was wounded in the
arm by a shell as he fled, and had to remain behind in Pretoria. That
night my brother and I spent in our own home, but we left the town the
following morning in the direction of Silverton, just before the enemy
entered.

It would be well to try and understand the condition of our country and
the temper of our burghers.

As the capital was in the hands of the enemy, it was easy enough to
convince our simple-minded men that our