smart under the sense of
non-appreciation. Thus goaded, Rhodes acted often without premeditation.

In contrast to this impatience and the sense of unsatisfied vanity, the
coolness and greatness of character of Sir Alfred Milner appeared in
strong contrast, even though many friends of earlier days, such as W.T.
Stead, had turned their backs upon Sir Alfred, accusing him of being the
cause of all the misfortunes which fell upon South Africa. But those who
thus condemned Sir Alfred did not understand the peculiar features of the
situation. He was credited with inspiring all the harsh measures which
were employed on occasion by others, measures which he had stridently
disapproved. Rhodes, in his place, would have killed somebody or destroyed
something; Sir Alfred went slowly on with his work, disdained praise as
well as blame, and looked toward the future. I leave it to the reader to
decide which of the two showed himself the better patriot.

The refugees did not take kindly to the High Commissioner. They had been
full of illusions concerning the help they fondly imagined he would be
glad to offer them, and when they discovered that, far from taking them to
his bosom, he discouraged their intention of remaining in Cape Town until
the end of the war, they grumbled and lied with freedom. Sir Alfred gave
them very distinctly to understand that they had better not rely on the
British Government to feed and clothe them. He said that they would be
well advised to try to find some work which would allow them to keep
themselves and their families. But especially he recommended them to go
back to Europe, which, he gravely assured the refugees, was the best place
for them and their talents. This did not please those refugees who posed
as martyrs of their English patriotism and as victims of the hatred of
Kruger and of the Dutch. They expected to be petted and flattered as those
looked up to as the saviours of the Empire.

All the foregoing applies to the middle-class section of the refugees. The
poorer ones grumbled also, but in a different manner, and their irritation
was rather directed towards the military authorities. As for the
millionaires, with a few exceptions they also did not care for the High
Commissioner for reasons elaborated in earlier pages of this volume. They
even considered that it would be prejudicial to their interests to allow
Rhodes to be upon too intimate terms with Sir Alfred Milner, so they kept
a faithful