n rode races on their horses, shot at marks for prizes of useful
articles, presented by Mr Humphreys, and at five o'clock sat down to a
Christmas dinner.

The holly, the mistletoe, and above all the roaring fire were absent,
but the great kitchen was decked with boughs. The roast beef,
plum-pudding, and mince-pies were equal to the best at home, and no
pains were spared to recall home customs on the occasion.

At one o'clock there had been an equally good dinner given to the
labourers and their families belonging to the farms of Mr Humphreys and
his guests, and in the evening all assembled in the great kitchen, and
to the tunes of a violin, played by one of the young colonists, a merry
dance was kept up for some hours. The next morning Harrison started
with the remaining waggon and several carts for Pieter-Maritzburg, and
the lads were supposed to resume regular work on the farms.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

THE GARRISONS IN THE TRANSVAAL.

The excitement of the time was, however, too great to permit the lads to
settle down quietly, and every day they rode over to Newcastle to gather
the latest news. The towns which held out in the Transvaal were
Pretoria, Potchefstroom, Standerton, Wackerstroom, Leydenberg,
Rustenberg, and Marabastadt. At Pretoria, the capital, Mr Edgerton and
Sergeant Bradley of the 94th Regiment, who escaped from the massacre,
brought in the news, and on the following day the authorities proclaimed
martial law. Colonel Bellairs, C.B., was commandant, and the military
authorities at once decided that the town must be abandoned, as, with
its gardens and scattered houses, the extent was too large to be
defended. A military camp was therefore formed outside the town, and to
this the whole of the loyal inhabitants moved out. The civilians
consisted of 975 men, 676 women, 718 children, 1331 servants and
natives,--total 3700. In addition to these were the British troops.
All horses were at once taken for the volunteers, among whom most of the
white residents were numbered. The effective fighting force was about
1000--made up of four companies of the 2nd battalion, 21st Fusiliers;
three companies of the 94th; 140 mounted volunteers, known as the
Pretoria Horse; 100 mounted volunteers, known as Norris's Horse, and the
Pretoria Rifles, an infantry volunteer corps, 500 strong. For the
reception of the women and children intrenchments were thrown up,
connecting the jail and loretto convent, and the de