thout a recourse to war, and when the ultimatum was delivered into
the hands of the British the old man wept.

[Illustration: PRESIDENT KRUGER ADDRESSING AMERICAN VOLUNTEERS]

When the multitudinous executive duties to which he attended in peaceful
times were suddenly ended by the declaration, the President busied himself
with matters pertaining to the conduct of the war. He worked as hard as
any man in the country, despite his age, and on many occasions he
displayed the energy of a man many years younger. The war caused his daily
routine of work and rest to be changed completely. He continued to rise at
four o'clock in the morning, a habit which he contracted in early youth
and followed ever after. After his morning devotions he listened to the
reading of the despatches from the generals at the front, and dictated
replies in the shape of suggestions, censure, or praise. He slept for an
hour after breakfast, and then went to the Government Buildings, arriving
there punctually every morning as the clock on the dome struck nine. He
remained in consultation with the other members of the Executive Council
and the few Government officials, who had remained in the city, for an
hour or more. After luncheon he again worked over despatches, received
burghers on leave of absence from the front and foreigners who sympathised
with his people's cause. He never allowed himself to be idle, and, in
fact, there was no opportunity for him to be unemployed, inasmuch as
almost all the leading Government officials were at the front, while many
of their duties remained behind to be attended to by some one. Kruger
himself supervised the work of all the departments whose heads were
absent, and the labour was great. His capacity for hard labour was never
better demonstrated than during the war, when he bore the weight of his
own duties and those of other Government officials, as well as the work of
guiding the Boer emissaries in foreign countries. Added to all these grave
responsibilities, when the reverses of the army grew more serious, was the
great worry and the constant dread of new disasters which beset a man who
occupies a position such as he occupied.

No man had greater influence over the Boers than Kruger, and his counsel
was always sought and his advice generally followed. When the first
commandos went to the front it was considered almost absolutely necessary
for them to stop at Pretoria and see "Oom Paul" before going to battle,
an