divisions. At this juncture you will scarcely be able to form an idea of the sight presented to us. It was such as to require some nerve not to betray uneasiness in the countenance. Seeing that it was necessary to display the most desperate determination, I caused the gates of our enclosed camp (formed of the laagered wagons) to be simultaneously thrown open, from which some mounted men were to charge the enemy, at the same time keeping up a heavy fire upon them. The Zulus stood our assault firmly for some time, but at last finding their number rapidly decreasing they fled, scattering themselves in all directions. They were pursued on horseback by as many of our men as could be spared from the camp.'

'At

The Commandant started off himself, and shortly overtook a Zulu warrior, with whom, after a brief and bootless parley, he found himself engaged in a fierce hand to hand tussle. last he closed with me and attempted to stab me through the breast, I averted this by grasping at the weapon with my left hand, but in doing so received it through the hand. Before he could extricate it I seized him and threw him to the ground, but as the assegai remained pierced through my hand, which was under me as I lay upon him, I had but one hand to hold him and use my dagger whilst he attempted to strangle me. At this crisis one of my men came to my assistance, pulled the assegai out of my hand and stabbed the Zulu on the spot. My hand bleeding very much I was obliged to return to the camp, and it was apprehended some of our men had fallen. However, it pleased the Almighty to give us this victory without the loss of a single life, only three of us being wounded. The following day we resumed our march.' On December 22, the commando reached Dingaan's great kraal, which was set on fire as the Boers approached, and destroyed. There, however, were found the bones of Retief and his men, and the papers, among which was found the celebrated 'treaty,' of which a certified copy was piously taken and kept.

Though the victory thus achieved did not actually end the reign of Dingaan it destroyed his power. During the ensuing year the Boers entered into alliance with the despot's younger and more placable brother, Panda, and recognised him as the future sovereign of Zululand. Early in 1840 another commando, also led by Pretorius, advanced against the fugitive king who had established himself amongst the northern mountains. Panda,

with an army of 10,000 men, co-operated, and by that force another signal defeat was inflicted upon Dingaan, who disappeared into the forests and was finally assassinated by some of his own people. Meanwhile his brother was formally installed as head of the Zulus, and the boundary of the new Republic' was extended northward of the line assigned by Retief's treaty from the Tugela River to the Black Umvolosi, where it enters St. Lucia Bay. These incidents were attended by the seizure of large herds of cattle, and the capture of large numbers of 'apprentices,' whose services helped to supply the lack of labour which made life in the depopulated territory of Natal so difficult. In spite of the pious professions of the Boer leaders and the artless repudiations of the Boer annalists, Boer methods in dealing with subjugated native races then, as since, practically demonstrated the white man's claim to be his black brother's keeper.

Such were the incidents which made 'Dingaan's Day' so memorable an anniversary to the Boer. By him it is kept not only as a day of victory, but as the Day of Independence. It is associated not only with the deliverance of his people from the power of a cruel tyrant, but with the deeds and the events by which they purchased their claim to be a free nation. In later years it was again identified with the Boer struggle for freedom. On December 13, 1880, the malcontent farmers of the Transvaal anticipated the date by three days, when at Paardekraal, near Pretoria, they proclaimed their independence. More recently, and especially since 1895, the yearly celebration round the National Monument on that spot has been a great popular function. Let me now proceed to describe another even more interesting occasion identified with the fateful day. The immediate succession of more startling events diverted attention from an incident whose pathetic and romantic significance deserved far more notice than it received.

For many months, if not for years, prior to December 16, 1895, endeavours had been made to collect on the site of the Weenen massacres such vestiges as might remain of the victims. From the river-beds, the dongas, and the veld around, from time to time, bleached bones had been carefully gathered and reverently preserved by the neighbouring farmers, together with rusty bullets, implements, knives, and other relics or fragments, from the devastated camps. A movement, carefully fostered and directed

by the Dutch ministers of the districts-those Predikants whose influence over the minds and hearts of their flocks has contributed so greatly to present events-was set a-foot for the solemn burial of these remains and for the erection over them of a suitable commemorative monument. In both the republics, as well as in the two colonies, subscriptions were collected, and on the date named the solemn ceremony of interment took place. It lasted three days. Families and visitors from far and near responded to the call. They came in wagons, in carriages, on horses; a few by rail. As in ordinary times the Boers troop to their quarterly Nachtmaal, or Communion Service, so, though with more pious fervour, they gathered to this patriotic festival. Amongst them were members of the families whose relations had been slain on the spot fifty-seven years before. To them it was not only a celebration, it was literally a funeral. After all these years of exposure and decay, the bones of their kindred were at last to have Christian burial. Summer after summer the scorching sun of South Africa had blazed pitilessly down upon the remains of the pioneers; storms had raged furiously over them; floods had whirled them about; and now, amidst peace and contentment, they were to be laid reverently to rest. There were some-a few-amongst the throng, white-haired and aged, yet hale and keen-minded, who had escaped from the massacre. One old lady bore in her body the scars of the wounds she had suffered from as a child. Among other bearers of names familiar in the annals of the Trek, was Mr. Pretorius, son of the redoubtable Commandant, and at that time a loyal member of the Natal Parliament. Retief had his descendants there. A grandchild or Maritz, the other namesake of Natal's capital, was to have reinterment. General Joubert was present to represent the Government of the Transvaal. The Government of Natal was represented by the Prime Minister and two of his colleagues.

The spot chosen for the monument was about a mile from the railway station at Chieveley, from whence, on the 15th of last December, the forces of General Buller vainly, though valiantly, strove to force the passage of the Tugela, in the face of impregnable Boer entrenchments. Little recked we then-four years ago -of what history had in store. It was bright but sultry. The two previous days had been passed in religious exercises, participated in almost exclusively by the Dutch themselves. About 1,200 visitors-mostly family parties-had encamped close to the

Blaauwkrantz River. Their wagons and tents gleamed cosily amongst the spreading and fragrant mimosa trees. All had brought their own supplies, any place of entertainment being miles distant. The public services took place in a huge tent, and there, about ten in the morning, the official visitors from Maritzburg were received by General Joubert and others, and escorted to their places on a rough platform in front of which stood the great square casket' or box, draped in black, in which had been deposited all that could be found of the murdered Voertrekkers. The rest of the tent was filled with the Dutch visitors, a large proportion of whom were women and children. Of the service itself little need be said. The Dutch Reformed Church follows very closely the Presbyterian order of worship; simplicity and severity are its prevailing notes, combined, let me add, with the devout earnestness of a religious-minded people. If the hymns sung and the prayers offered were devoid of liturgical embroidery, there could not be a doubt as to their sincerity and fervour. The slow sad cadences of the ancient psalmody were joined in by old and young, and the words of the ancient Book seemed racy of the soil and reminiscent of the past. There were depths of suppressed passion in the extemporised prayers uttered over those crumbling bones, and the written sermon was listened to with profound and unbroken attention. It was a powerful appeal for the unity and brotherhood of the Africander race, and there may have been in its glowing words a deeper significance than was suspected then. The service over and the benediction given all trooped out of the stifling enclosure into the hot midsummer air. Preceded and flanked by representatives of the foremost Voertrekkers, the humble ox-cart which acted as hearse was followed by a cortège nearly a mile long, headed by the Commandant of the Transvaal and the Prime Minister of Natal as chief mourners. Two abreast the procession wound its way over the sun-baked veld, past mimosa, and by donga, the prospect bounded by hills that have lately belched forth shells on beleaguered garrisons, to where the foundations of the monument awaited the relics that were to rest below. There, the sombre casket was lowered into the pit prepared for it, amidst further hymns and prayers, while reports were read of the steps that had been taken to secure the commemoration. Then came the laying of the corner-stone by General Joubert, followed by speeches from himself and others; all breathing unity and goodwill. One

delivered by the British spokesman-expressed a hope that in the grave below would lie buried not only the sacred relics that had been deposited there, but the seeds of all the animosities and discords of the past, and that thenceforward peace, and concord, and common interests would bind together the two peoples and fuse them into one race.

Speeches over and function ended, the visitors returned to the encampment. There, in one of the marquees supplied by Government for the occasion, the veteran Pretorius, with his friendly household, entertained the chief guests of the day to a bountiful repast of roast beef and plum pudding, and much kindly talk ensued about things past, present, and to come in Johannesburg and elsewhere. Of what passed then this only may be said now, that there was not in General Joubert's mind the smallest apparent apprehension of any imminent explosion, but there was on his part a very strong persuasion that a policy of reasonable compliance with the demands of the Uitlanders would be the best means of meeting the difficulties of the situation.

Before luncheon was over the gathering clouds burst in a tempest over the camp. Wind raged, rain fell in sheets, lightning flashed and deafening thunder pealed. The river rose to flood level and trickling streams became almost impassable torrents. It was in such weather that we bade our hosts a hearty farewell, and that the latest celebration of Dingaan's Day came to an end.

Just a fortnight later Dr. Jameson, with his band of troopers, crossed the frontier of the Transvaal and marched on Johannesburg! Four years later the Bishop of Natal buried the dead on the battlefield of Chieveley, slain by Boer shells and bullets on the day preceding.