and
Rev. E.P. Lowry appeared at the Rev. E. Nuttall's house almost at the
same time! With Mr. Lowry came Mr. A. Pearce, Army Scripture Reader,
from North Camp, Aldershot. He remained at Orange River while Mr. Lowry
moved on with the Guards, to which Brigade he was attached.

By this time the troops were ready for the advance, and the chaplains
were with their men. Rev. Mr. Faulkner was the senior Church of England
chaplain. The Rev. James Robertson and the Rev. W.S. Jaffrey represented
the Presbyterians, and the Rev. E.P. Lowry was the senior Wesleyan
chaplain.

=The Battle of Belmont.=

And then came the battle of Belmont! From Orange River the troops had
been compelled to march, and had their first taste of the African sun in
the greatness of his strength. The legs of the kilted men were blistered
as though boiling water had been poured over them, and all but the old
campaigners in every regiment suffered acutely. Belmont was reached
after dark; the troops were without over-coats or blankets, and the
night was bitingly cold. But they lay down anywhere, glad enough to
stretch themselves upon the ground or seek the friendly shelter of a
ditch. Here they lay unmurmuringly--members of the proudest aristocracy
in the world, noblemen of ancient lineage, quite ready to sleep in a
ditch or die, for that matter, for their country.

Before two o'clock in the morning, they were aroused, and marched out to
attack the stronghold of the Boers. And nobly they performed their task.
But let a Christian soldier--our old friend Sergeant Oates--describe the
battle.

=A Sergeant's Account of the Battle.=

'On the 23rd November (Martinmas Day), we marched out early in the
morning, and at daybreak found ourselves facing the Boers in a
formidable position. All was so still during our march to this place.
While marching along, a young goat had got parted from its mother and
commenced bleating mournfully in front of us, and although I am not
superstitious, it made me feel quite uncomfortable, as it did many more.
What became of it eventually I cannot say, but I think the poor little
thing got roughly handled, if not killed.

'We were not long before we came within rifle range, and then the
bullets began to fly about our ears as we advanced towards the Boer
position. We pressed on; first one and then another kept dropping out,
and shouts of "stretcher bearer" were heard very frequently. Nothing
except death would have stopped our