had been admirably
carried into effect.

The second invasion of the Cape Colony began, as we have noticed, with
the incursion of the Boers after the Worcester Congress. On December
16th, 1900, Kruitzinger, with seven hundred, and Hertzog with twelve
hundred men, crossed the Orange River; and by February 11th, 1901, De
Wet, who had been "headed back" in December, had succeeded in eluding
the British columns and entered the Colony.[248] At this moment
success seemed to be within measurable distance both to the Bond and
to De Wet. The point of view of the astute Afrikander statesmen is
different from that of the guerilla leader; but each party is equally
hopeful of the ultimate victory of the nationalist cause. Of the
attitude of the Bond in this month of February, 1901, Mr. Kipling
writes from Capetown:

[Footnote 248: Cd. 522.]

"Some of the extremists of the Bond are for committing themselves
now, fully, to the Dutch cause, De Wet and all; but some of the
others are hunting for some sort of side-path that will give them
a chance of keeping on the ground-level of the gallows, within
hail of a seat in the next Parliament. If De Wet wins--he is
assumed to be in command of several thousands, all lusting for
real battle, and sure of a welcome among many more thousands
alight with the same desire--the Bond may, of course, come out
flat-footedly on his side. Just at present the apricots are not
quite ripe enough. But the Bond has unshaken faith in the
Opposition, whose every word and action are quoted here, and lead
to more deaths on the veld. _It is assumed that His Majesty's
Opposition will save the Bond, and South Africa for the Bond, if
only the commandos make the war expensive._"[249]

[Footnote 249: The italics are Mr. Kipling's. _The Science of
Rebellion: a Tract for the Times_, by Rudyard Kipling.]

[Sidenote: De Wet in the colony.]

If this account of the attitude of the Bond stood alone, its value
would be merely that of an _ex parte_ statement by a competent
observer on the spot. But it does not stand alone. The accident of the
capture of the Boer official papers at Roos Senekal, to which we have
referred before, has provided us with a record of the thoughts which
were in De Wet's mind at the time when Mr. Kipling's words were
written. In a report dated "On the Veld, February 14th, 1901,"
Commandant-General Both