But hark!  Wherefore that wild halloo.  Ah, there was news, charming news.  Lord Roberts had set sail for South Africa, to take over supreme command.  Hurrah for good old “Bobs!” We felt instinctively, or somehow, that the little General could be trusted to dig for diamonds.  The news of “Bobs” made a chink in the cloud and disclosed its silver lining.  Kitchener, who accompanied Lord Roberts as Chief of Staff, had shown in his generation some skill as a pioneer of deserts; the Karoo would be child’s play to him.  The Soudan was a region in which our interest was rather academic; but the killing of the Khalifa was announced and applauded with the rest.  Oom Paul’s political extinction would soon follow, and Kimberley would emerge with a whoop from captivity.

CHAPTER XII

Week ending 6th January, 1900

The last day of the year and the distant thunder of artillery burst upon us simultaneously.  That the peace of the Sabbath should be broken by music not exactly sacred (or melodious) was strange.  The old year would be rung out in a few hours, in company with our Utopian expectations.  All our hopes of a rare New Year were, like our Christmas phantasies, dashed to the ground.  The morrow promised to be rare enough in a melancholy sense, but it would not be New Year’s Day.  There was but one ray of comfort to sustain us, namely, the approach of the hero of Candahar; for although a certain period of waiting had yet to be endured—­ere another famous march could be accomplished—­the coming of Roberts disposed us to think kindly of Job.  At the same time we prayed that the need for patience would not last too long.  Any nonentity—­be he General or Private—­who could bring relief to Kimberley would eclipse the fame of a bigger man than “Bobs.”

Passing by the Town Hall one could not fail to be struck by the contrast between its desolate appearance on Sunday afternoon and the bustle of its precincts on week days.  The building had only recently been erected and was situated in the centre of the Market Square.  The Square itself was an exceptionally spacious one, and the Hall added an ornament to the city, which was the more imposing and conspicuous in that it practically stood alone as such.  It was a magnificent structure, quite new, as I have stated; but it probably saw more wear and tear during the Siege than it would otherwise have seen in the course of half a century.  A few days prior to our investment the building had been completed, and, immediately after, a two days’ holiday had been proclaimed by the Municipal Authorities—­dear old servants of the people!  No Czar’s writ ran in Kimberley then.  Amid the plaudits of the democracy the Hall had been duly declared “open.”  The Mayor, in the blazing dignity of his Magisterial robes, surrounded by the wealth and intelligence of the city, had delivered an historical address.  The Councillors had followed, and the several ex-Mayors since the