perhaps some subtler quality. He
spoke English with a piquant lack of grammar and misuse of words. When I
travelled with him next day, almost the first thing he said to me was,
"The heart of my soul is bloody with sorrow." His moderating influence
on the Kruger Government is well known, and he described to me how he
had done his utmost for peace. But he also described how bit by bit
England had pushed the Boers out of their inheritance, and taken
advantage of them in every conference and native war. He was
particularly hurt that the Queen had taken no notice of the long letter
or pamphlet he wrote to her on the situation. And, by the way, I often
observed what regard most Boers appear to feel for the Queen personally.
They constantly couple her name with Gladstone's when they wish to say
anything nice about English politics. As to the General's views on the
crisis, there would be little new to say. Till the present war his hope
had been for a South African Confederacy under English protection--the
Cape, Natal, Free State, and Transvaal all having equal rights and local
self-government. He knows well enough the inner causes of the present
evils. "But now," he said, "we can only leave it to God. If it is His
will that the Transvaal perish, we can only do our best."

At Zandspruit, the scene of the old Sand River Convention, the whole
Boer camp crowded to the station to greet the national hero, and he was
at once surrounded by a herd of farmers, shaking his hands and patting
him warmly on the back. It was a respectful but democratic greeting. The
Boer Army--if for a moment we may give that name to an unorganised
collection of volunteers--is entirely democratic. The men are nominally
under field cornets, commanders, and the General. But they openly boast
that on the field the authority and direction of officers do not count
for much, and they go pretty much as they please. The camp, though not
in the least disorderly, was confused and irregular--stores, firewood,
horses, cattle, and tents strewn about the enormous veldt, almost
haphazard, though the districts were kept fairly well separate.
Provisions were plenty, but the cooking was bad. It took three days to
get bread made, and some detachments had to eat their meat raw. I think
there were not more than 10,000 or less than 7,000 men in the camp at
that time, but the commandeered trains crawled up every two or three
hours with their new loads.

By a piece of good fortune