and in their deception being
for the most part eminently successful. There is a passage in the
Scriptures that mentions that "the king of Israel is come out to seek a
flea as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountain," and this
quotation on the approach of our weighty military machine, the Boers,
ever Biblical, must have been inclined to remember and to appreciate.

[Illustration: Rt. Hon. SIR REDVERS HENRY BULLER, K.C.B., V.C.

Photo by Knight, Aldershot.]

The opinion seemed prevalent, particularly in Colonial circles, that
English generals, in consequence of their European or Indian
experiences, were unequal to a struggle with the "slim" and shifty
Boers. Laing's Nek, Ingogo, and Majuba had all proved that some
extraordinary weakness, either tactically or mentally, seemed to possess
the bravest warriors in the face of this incomprehensible foe. Since the
date of Majuba the ways of the Boers had become still more of a
conundrum. They had kept up their habit of sharpshooting, and had
acquired an insight into German tactics. For all that, on occasion
certain of their old commanders resorted to the primitive tricks of the
Zulus, and advanced in horn fashion, keeping one horn in ambush as long
as possible, so as to create a surprise for an unprepared enemy. Even to
eminent tacticians like General Clery and others, the blend of modern
German and antique Zulu in the ordering of war must have been
confounding, and it is scarcely surprising that they took some little
time to master the subject.

The landing, on the 8th November, of the Naval Brigade with twenty guns
for the defence of Durban was a move in the right direction, and the
arrival and marching in of the brigade was an inspiriting sight. The
streets swarmed with an enthusiastic multitude that welcomed the jolly
Jack Tar with delight, and cheered itself hoarse, almost drowning the
vigorous strains of the band of the _Terrible_, which played outside the
Town-Hall. Captain Percy Scott of the _Terrible_, inventor of the now
celebrated gun-carriages, replaced Major Bethune as commandant of the
forces defending the port, while the latter officer returned to the
active command of the Uitlander corps.

The tide of reinforcement now began to flow evenly into Cape Colony and
Natal, and there was great excitement owing to the arrival of the
_Moor_, which left Southampton on October the 21st. Among those on board
were Lieutenant-General Lord Methuen, commanding the F