JUNE 225 



to see the late Colonel Weatherley riding off at the head of his 

 troop to the Zulu war upon this very horse. Afterwards he was 

 killed from its back at Inhlobane ; but the horse escaped, for my 

 friend Sir Melmoth Osborn l told me that many years later he 

 recognised it in the possession of a native chief in Zululand, of 

 which country he was then Governor. It has nothing to do with 

 farming, but 1 hope that I may be forgiven if I mention a sad 

 incident connected with that disastrous day. With Colonel 

 Weatherley was his young son, whose name, if I remember right, 

 was Rupert, a delicate lad of about fifteen. He was killed by 

 his father's side, who was assegaied, indeed, in attempting to 

 defend him. Ignorant of the dreadful slaughter that had taken 

 place upon the mountain, another volunteer corps, which had 

 been recruited in the Transvaal, approached the camp, and 

 among them an elder son of Colonel Weatherley's, who had been 

 my clerk when I was master of the Transvaal High Court. This 

 corps meeting a number of saddled and bridled runaway horses, 

 young Weatherley caught one of them, a good-looking pony, and 

 rode it into camp. It proved to be the animal on which his 

 brother had just been killed. 



Last year field No. 21, by Websdill Wood, was under root, 

 and, the summer being so dry and favourable, I certainly thought 

 that we had exterminated every weed in it. Now it is laid down 

 for permanent pasture sown with the barley crop, and, although 

 the men have been through it with their spuds, to my disgust I 

 perceive a number of thistles and some coltsfoot springing among 

 the corn. Truly, of weeds there is no end. You think that you 

 are rid of them, but deep down in the soil their roots or germs 

 survive, to appear again the next wet season. The kohl rabi are 

 coming up on the new-drained field, No. 18, though not with 

 quite so thick a plant as I should like to see. Moore has been 

 horse-hoeing them, but as they are sown on the flat the job is 



1 I grieve to state that I must now say ' my late friend,' as a few days ago 

 Sir Melmoth's death was reported at Durban, in Natal. 



June 15, 1899. H. R. H. 



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