,
once so ubiquitous, were now as rare as radium. Our prophets had for
their reputations' sake altered their tactics. Experience had taught
them that the roseate view of things was the least likely to be sound,
and they now revelled in predictions of an otto--_not_ of roses. They
prepared us, with a vengeance, for the worst. "To-morrow" was ever to be
a day of tragic enormity for Kimberley. The local _Armageddon_ was to
begin (daily) at day-break; the enemy's guns were always being
augmented; the town was to be razed to the ground, and, unless surrender
was prompt, all its inhabitants with it. Thus did a spirit of
despondency continue to depress the people and the prospect of
emancipation grow dimmer and dimmer.

Besides the prophets of evil there was a set of cynics who sneered at
all things, the incapacity of the Town Guard, its Officers, etc. For a
long time the favourite boast of these gentlemen was that they had
refused commissions in the Town Guard. It was true; and it is worth
recalling why. At the beginning of the Siege little coteries were
formed, "rings" were established, private meetings held--at which
gatherings it was settled who was to be Captain of this Section, who
Lieutenant of that, and so forth. All these matters were amicably fixed
up, to the satisfaction of all concerned--including the vintner. It was
assumed that the scale of pay would, as in the Regular Army, be in
accordance with rank. The consideration was of course a minor one; but
still the disgust of the coteries was profound when it was announced
that the Imperial allowances to Town Guards were to be uniform; that a
Captain was to receive for his services no more and no less than a
Private. It was a disconcerting sequel to some skilful wire-pulling, and
the martial ardour of the wire-pullers dropped in a trice to _zero_.
Their dignity demanded their resignations, and their dignity's ruling
was bowed to. These injured people would not be led into action by a raw
volunteer; and they confided to every ear that would hear that the
citizen soldiers could be trusted in a crisis--to shoot each other! But
imagine the discomfiture of these veterans when at a later stage an army
order, retrospective in its operation, was issued which cancelled the
original monetary conditions of service for Officers and
non-commissioned Officers, and increased the rates of pay to which their
respective ranks entitled them. This order was only less effective than
a bo