e street with kicks and blows. These valiant
individuals then returned and were soon busy with a hiccuping chorus of
"Rule, Britannia". How forcibly the whole scene recalled Dr. Johnson's
words: "Patriotism, sir, is the last resort of a scoundrel".

The Uitlander refugees were numerous in Capetown, and the principal
hotels were full of them. Those whom I happened to meet did not seem at
all overwhelmed by their recent oppression, and some of them contrived
out of their shattered fortunes to drink champagne for dinner at a
guinea a bottle. I do not think that the average Johannesburg Uitlander
impresses the Englishman very favourably. Mining camps are not the best
nurseries for good breeding or nobility of character, and one could not
help feeling sorry that gallant Englishmen were dying by hundreds while
some of these German Jews wallowed in security and luxury. Quite
recently an officer overheard a "Jew-boy" loudly declaring in a shop
that "after all, British soldiers were paid to go out and get shot,"
etc., and in a fit of righteous indignation the Englishman seized the
Semite and threw him out of the door.

English visitors to the Cape who, like myself, wished to contribute our
humble share towards the work of the campaign had several directions in
which to utilise their energies. The Prince Alfred's Field Artillery was
raising recruits, and on the point of leaving for the front for the
defence of De Aar. The Duke of Edinburgh's Rifle Volunteers enlisted men
on Thursday, drilled them day and night, and sent them off on the
Tuesday. This fine corps has, much to its vexation, been almost
continuously employed in guarding lines of communication and protecting
bridges and culverts from any violence at the hands of colonial rebels.
The South African Light Horse has already been mentioned. For those of
us who found it impossible to pledge ourselves for the whole period of
the war, owing to duties at home which could not be left indefinitely,
and who possessed some knowledge of ambulance work, an excellent opening
was found in one of the ambulance corps originated by the Red Cross
Society under Colonel Young's able and energetic management.

Having volunteered for service on one of the ambulance trains and been
accepted, I set off with a corporal to Woodstock Hospital to secure my
uniform and kit. The quartermaster who supplied me was justly annoyed
because some mistake had been made about the hour for my appearance, and