ng shells and bullets among our own
comrades and fellow-subjects.

Ladysmith's most representative men were dead against the acceptance of
conditions which seemed to them all in favour of one side. They
expressed freely, and without reserve, doubts as to General Joubert's
good faith, and saw in his proposals only fresh instances of Boer
cunning. Their sturdy manhood rebelled against arbitrary terms dictated
by an enemy whose superiority, except in mere numbers, they naturally
enough declined to admit. The weaker spirits might yield, if they would,
out of timid respect for "Long Tom" and other heavy artillery, the
shells from which, though they have done little harm so far, have a
distinctly demoralising effect when they come screeching through the air
and crashing into houses day after day.

In earlier stages of the bombardment people showed little alarm after
they had got over the first shock of hearing a shell burst. Children
were allowed to play about the streets, and women went shopping,
according to the custom of their sex all the world over. Kaffir girls
stood in groups at street corners, swaying their bodies as they beat
noiseless time with their bare feet to the monotonous drone of
mouth-organs or Jews'-harps, which most of them carry strung about their
necks, wherewith to banish dull care in the many moments of leisure
snatched from toil, and beaming broad smiles on every dusky swain who
passed. But the rumour got about that General Joubert had threatened to
bombard the town indiscriminately if our guns fired lyddite at his
batteries, and this threat had unknown terrors for the simple, who did
not realise that, whether discriminately or indiscriminately, Boer
shells would continue to fall in Ladysmith streets all the same.

So far as I can find out, General Joubert never sent such a foolish
message, but the rumour--possibly put about by Boer agents--served its
purpose by inducing a timorousness in some minds, and men who had no
fear for themselves began to get very anxious about the safety of wives
and children. That was the keynote of a speech made by Mr. Farquhar at
the public meeting yesterday, when he, as Mayor of Ladysmith, made
official announcement of General Joubert's proposals. Mr. Farquhar is a
cautious Scotsman, whose sense of responsibility in such a crisis would
compel him to put the gravest phase of the case first. The Boer
conditions, however, met with nothing but indignant protests, nobody
ve