’On Monday, as we were still encamped here, I organized a football match and acted as referee, which in a tropical sun is no sinecure, I can tell you.  On Wednesday I rode into Kroonstadt and had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lowry, Mr. Lane, the Canadian chaplain, and Mr. Carey, the resident Wesleyan minister, and we had a pleasant time.’

Thus progressed the work; thus one Christian worker after another distinguished himself, while all the time Lord Roberts was rapidly drawing nearer his goal.  Now Brandfort was reached, now Kroonstadt, and at last the Diamond City, Johannesburg—­no, not last, Pretoria lies beyond, and by-and-by the victorious forces entered the capital of the Transvaal, and the British flag—­symbol of world-wide empire—­floated over the Government Buildings.

And here we pause.  The day is now not distant when the British flag will be respected throughout both those one-time Republics, and peace shall once more hold sway.  When that time comes we predict a magnificent extension of the kingdom of Christ in South Africa; for we trust that, with old feuds forgotten and the Spirit of Christ taking possession of both British and Boer, all forms of Christianity will join hands to make Christ King throughout the Dark Continent.

Chapter XIII

HERE AND THERE IN CAPE COLONY

‘Bother war!’ writes a guardsman to the Rev. J.H.  Hocken.  ’Let me get out of this lot, and never no more.’  It is not a very heroic sentiment certainly, but he wrote from the hospital at Orange River, and doubtless expressed not only his own sentiments, but the sentiments of a good many of his comrades.  And certainly there seems to have been reason as well as sentiment in his statement.  Listen to this, for instance:—­

’At the engagement of Graspans we had some food about 4 p.m.  All that night my battalion was on outpost duty.  Next morning we marched about 3 a.m., caught up the division, and took part in the engagement at Graspans, followed up the enemy, captured a building with forty Boers in it and a large tent filled with medical comforts, and when we thought of having some rest and some grub, we were ordered on top of some hills for outpost duty that night, and we did not have our dinner until the next day, Sunday morning, at 9 a.m.  That is quite true.  Forty-one hours without anything but dirty water, and yet Miss Morphew says Guards are only for show.  But I don’t think she meant it.  No wonder I am bad.’

=Work at the Orange River Hospital.=

Aye, no wonder, indeed!  And week by week, month by month, the Orange River Hospital has been full ever since the beginning of the war.  Here Army Scripture Reader Pearce, from North Camp, Aldershot, has been in charge.  For a long time he was single-handed in this great hospital camp.  He performed the duty of acting chaplain to all denominations.  General Wauchope before he died spoke of Mr. Pearce’s