at things, the reader will perhaps say, "O come! it
hasn't been as bad as all that!"

Give me leave then, dear reader, to place before you
the whole of the circumstances. England's great
power pitted against two Republics, which, in com-
parison with European countries, were nearly unin-
habited! This mighty Empire employed against us,
besides their own English, Scotch and Irish soldiers,
volunteers from the Australian, New Zealand, Canadian
and South African Colonies; hired against us both
black and white nations, and, what is the worst of all,
the national scouts from our own nation sent out
against us. Think, further, that all harbours were
closed to us, and that there were therefore no imports.
Can you not see that the whole course of events was
a miracle from beginning to end? A miracle of God
in the eyes of every one who looks at it with an un-
biassed mind, but even more apparent to those who
had personal experience of it. Yet, however that may
be, I had to declare again that if there had been no na-
tional scouts and no Kaffirs, in all human probability
matters would have taken another turn. But as
things have turned out, all that can now be said is,
that we have done our best, and that to ask any one
to do more is unreasonable. May it be the cry of
every one, "God willed it so--His name be praised!"

-224-