ack any good thing. Even President Kruger,
though careful to carry all his wealth away, commended his wife to our
tender keeping. Some of us would rather he had taken the wife and left
the wealth; but concerning the scrupulous courtesy shown to her, no
voice of complaining has ever been heard. When we ourselves were
famished we fed freely the families of the very men who set fire to
our food supplies; and their children especially were as thoughtfully
cared for as though they were our own. War is always an accursed
thing, but even in this dread sphere the Christ-influence is not
unfelt.

[Sidenote: _A Sunday at last that was also a Sabbath._]

To my intense delight after so many Sabbathless Sundays, I found
myself privileged to conduct a well-attended parade service for the
Nonconformists in the Guards' Brigade at 9 A.M., and for the men of
General Stephenson's Brigade at a later hour. In the afternoon I paid
a visit to the native Wesleyan church which has connected with it
about twelve hundred members in and around Kroonstad. The building,
which is day school, Sunday school and chapel all in one, is already
of a goodly size, but it was about to be enlarged when the war began.
I found a capital congregation awaiting my appearing, the women
sitting on one side, the men on the other. There were three
interpreters who translated what I said into Kaffir, Basuto and Dutch;
an arrangement which gives a preacher ample time to think before he
speaks; though once or twice I fear I forgot when number two had
finished that number three had still to follow. I noticed when the
collection was taken, there seemed almost as many coins as
worshippers, and all the coins were silver, excepting only two. Yet
this was a congregation of Kaffirs!

At night, assisted by the Canadian chaplain, I took the service in the
Wesleyan English church, where the singing and the collection were
both golden. So also was the text; and delightsomely appropriate
withal. "The Most High ruleth the kingdom of men and giveth it to
whomsoever He will." Of the sermon based upon it however it is not for
me to speak. So ended my first Sunday in Kroonstad, where I was the
favoured guest of Mr and Mrs Thorn, late of Bristol, and still
Britishers "to the backbone the thick way through."

[Sidenote: _Military Police on the march._]

This memorable march from the Valsch to the Vaal was, in consequence
of the transport difficulties already described, one of the hung