plight. Neither
horse nor hospital to be seen, and a mile and a half of open country
between him and safety. The Boers' bullets were falling around him, and
there was nothing for it but to run, and amid a perfect hail of bullets
he fled in the direction of Ladysmith. That run seemed the longest in
his life, but unscathed he came through it, and found another hospital
wagon full of wounded, returning to the town. Into it he got, and other
horrors of war were at once before him. He had no time to think of his
own near escape from death, for there was a dying lad upon his knee.
Another was leaning his head on his shoulder, and his hands were busy
passing water or brandy to the wounded or dying.

Through such experiences our chaplains go, and go gladly, for Him who is
at once their Saviour and their King. Not much is heard of their work,
not often are they mentioned in despatches; only one of them has ever
received the Victoria Cross, but most of them are heroes, and deserve
well of the country that gave them birth. It is sufficient for them that
they receive the praise of God, and there can be no higher reward for
them than the Master's 'Well done.'

=Services in Ladysmith.=

Parade services in Ladysmith were difficult to hold. They were, however,
held as regularly as possible. The chaplain would mount his horse about
4.45 a.m., and ride off to some distant post. For a quarter of an
hour he would pray with and talk to the men, and then ride to another
service at some further post. And so in the early morning he would
conduct three or four different parades. 'Often,' says Mr. Hordern,
'they used to hold them in the trenches, so as to be out of reach of the
Boer guns. All the men had their rifles, ready to rush to their posts at
a moment's notice. Every Sunday there was a celebration of the Holy
Sacrament in the open air, and I shall never forget the sight--the
officers and men kneeling together, just leaving their rifles as they
came up to communicate, and going back to their posts immediately
afterwards. The Boers pretended never to fight on Sundays, but they
could never trust them. One day they dropped eight shells into one of
his cavalry parade services which was assembling. Although the Boers
pretended to keep Sunday and not fire, yet some Monday mornings a new
gun would open on them that was not in its position on the Saturday.
That was one way of keeping Sunday.[16]

[Illustration: ONE OF THE LADYSMITH HOSPITALS