FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138  
139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   >>   >|  
e had a little fuller information about Buller; News about Sir Redvers Buller, and his famous Army Corps; Information of the General and his fighting Army Corps. Only this and nothing more! And the midnight shells uncertain, whistling through the night's black curtain, Thrill us, fill us with a touch of horror never felt before. So to still the beating of our hearts, we kept repeating "Some late visitor entreating entrance at the chamber door, This it is; and nothing more!" Oh how slow the shells come dropping, sometimes bursting, sometimes stopping, As though themselves were weary of this very languid war. How distinctly we'll remember all the weary dull November; And it seems as if December will have little else in store; And our Christmas dinner will be bully beef and plain stickfast. Only this and nothing more! Letham, Letham, tell us truly if there's any news come newly; Not the old fantastic rumours we have often heard before:-- Desolate yet all undaunted! Is the town by Boers still haunted? This is all the news that's wanted--tell us truly we implore-- Is there, _is there_ a relief force? Tell us, tell us, we implore! Only this and nothing more. For we're waiting rather weary! Is there such a man as Clery? Shall we ever see our wives and mothers, or our sisters and our brothers? Shall we ever see those others, who went southwards long before? Shall we ever taste fresh butter? Tell us, tell us, we implore! We are answered--nevermore! When twenty months later the Scots Guards again found themselves in Pretoria they too began dolorously to enquire, "Shall we ever see our wives and mothers, or our sisters and our brothers?" But meanwhile much occurred of which the following chapters are a brief record. CHAPTER XI FROM PRETORIA TO BELFAST On reaching Pretoria, almost unopposed, our Guardsmen jumped to the hasty and quite unjustifiable conclusion that the campaign was closing, and that in the course of about another fortnight some of us would be on our homeward way. They forgot that after a candle has burned down into its socket it may still flare and flicker wearisomely long before it finally goes out. War lights just such a candle, and no extinguisher has yet been patented for the instant quenching o
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138  
139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

implore

 

mothers

 

Letham

 

sisters

 

brothers

 

Pretoria

 

shells

 

candle

 
Buller
 

enquire


chapters

 

occurred

 
dolorously
 
months
 

butter

 

answered

 

southwards

 

nevermore

 

Guards

 

twenty


jumped
 

socket

 

flicker

 
wearisomely
 

forgot

 

burned

 

finally

 

patented

 

instant

 

quenching


extinguisher

 

lights

 

homeward

 
reaching
 

unopposed

 
Guardsmen
 

BELFAST

 
CHAPTER
 
record
 

PRETORIA


fortnight
 

closing

 
unjustifiable
 

conclusion

 

campaign

 

Desolate

 

repeating

 

visitor

 
hearts
 

beating