7 men were hit about the same time. Our own shelling was
magnificent and deadly, all our fire being concentrated at one kopje
about 6,000 yards off; the musketry fire was also very heavy all along
the line. I never saw such a fine sight before. I returned from
Colenso to my guns about 3 p.m., in an ambulance train, with Major
Brazier Creagh. We are losing about 450 men a day and are advancing
very slowly, while the Boers appear to be bringing up more guns on our
left. No news from Ladysmith, but we were all glad to hear the
brilliant news of the capture of Cronje and all his force by Lord
Roberts, and the cheering in the fighting line on the news being
communicated was wild. A very heavy musketry fire raged all night, and
the Inniskillings in a night attack on Railway Hill lost a lot of men,
in fact were cut up.

_Sunday, 25th February._--Once more the Commander-in-Chief found his
position untenable, and half of the guns were withdrawn in the night
across to our side of the Tugela on to Hlangwane; all the wagons and
stores were also shifted out of Colenso and the majority of the troops
moved to the right to the Hlangwane and Monte Christo slopes. Colenso
was still held in force however by the 10th Brigade under General
Talbot Coke. Two of our 4.7 guns on platform mountings were now
ordered up to Hlangwane from our hill, and were got into position with
much labour at 2,500 yards by Lieutenant Anderton, Natal Naval
Volunteers; they did very good work at that decisive range. There was
to-day what we called a Boer Sunday, that is, a cessation of firing
on both sides after a hard ten days of it; the day was wet and we were
all washed out of our tents, some of which were blown clean down.

_Monday, 26th February._--The attack still hangs fire while our troops
are being massed on Hlangwane and Monte Christo. The shelling of
Colenso by the Boers is still going on pretty heavily, and one only
wonders how Naval 12-pounders like ours can be left here as they are,
no less than six of our guns doing nothing at all. Drummond left the
6" gun under me for a time; and, on spotting a Boer gun on Grobler's
Hill, I let drive at 15,000 yards, 28 deg. elevation. As the shot only
fell some 200 yards short, I recommended a move to closer range, but
the gun eventually never was moved closer. While on Gun Hill we had
several civilians from Pietermaritzburg and Durban looking on at the
fighting. A very wet night, which made our positions a swamp