while crossing the Vaal River on the night of
Dec. 29th, 1880."

There, too, I found one other slab which recorded in this strange
style the closing of a most ignoble chapter in our imperial history:--

"This Cemetery was planted, and the graves left in good repair by
the men of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, _prior to the evacuation_
of Pretoria, 1881."

Two brief decades rush away, and once again that same cemetery opens
wide its gates to welcome new battalions of British soldiers, each of
whom like his forerunner of 1877 "gave up his life in the service of
his country"; but these late-comers represent every province and
almost every hamlet of a far-reaching empire, as well as every branch
of the service; while over all and applicable to all alike is the
epitaph on the tomb of the Hampshire Volunteers, "We answered duty's
call!"

[Sidenote: _Death and Life in Pretoria._]

The Dutch section of that cemetery also witnessed some sensational
scenes during the period now referred to.

On July 20th Mrs Kruger, the ex-President's wife, died, and as one of
a prodigious crowd I attended her homely funeral. She was herself
well-nigh the homeliest woman in Pretoria, and one of the most
illiterate; but precisely because she was content to be her simple
God-fearing self, put on no airs, and intermeddled not in matters
beyond her ken, she was universally respected and regretted.

During this second period of the war the troops in Pretoria continued
to justify Lord Roberts' description of them as "the best-behaved army
in the world." The Sunday evening services in Wesley Church were
always crowded with them, and the nightly meetings held in the
S.A.G.M. marquees were not only wonderfully well attended but were
also marked by much spiritual power. Pretoria, after we took
possession of it, witnessed many a tear, and occasional tragedies; but
it was in Pretoria I heard a young Canadian soldier sing the following
song, which aptly illustrates the type of life to which many a trooper
has more or less fully attained during this South African campaign:--

I'm walking close to Jesus' side,
So close that I can hear
The softest whispers of His love
In fellowship so dear,
_And feel His great Almighty hand
Protects me in this hostile land_.
Oh wondrous bliss, oh joy sublime,
I've Jesus with me