THE STORMING OF SECOCOENTS. 121 



works of stone, and from the mouth of caves. As you 

 advance you have the unpleasant feeling that each step 

 may bring you under fire of some concealed cave, and 

 that the next moment you may collapse dead from a 

 shot fired by some reptile of whom you have not even 

 had a glimpse. You may take cover and think yourself 

 secure from the enemy in your front, but a shot fired 

 from a flank whizzes past your ear and shows that you 

 are in view of other foes. 



These reflections are very unpleasant, and towards a 

 Basuto I have always felt an unchristian sentiment of 

 hatred, which as a rule I do not entertain towards other 

 foes. In fact, I have experienced satisfaction in looking 

 at the corpses of dead Basutos, and have congratulated 

 myself that they at any rate were incapable of giving me 

 further annoyance. 



Basutos, of course, have a right to defend themselves 

 just like other folk, and are wise to do it in their own 

 way ; but really they are most provoking. 



An enemy who comes out to face you ; whom you see 

 before you ; who fights, it may be stubbornly, does not 

 excite in your breast one tithe of the animosity that a 

 concealed foe does. When you are ordered to advance 

 against a visible foe the first few bullets are disagreeable ; 

 but when the fire gets hot all unpleasant feeling vanishes, 

 and you experience no further inconvenience. 



I certainly did not enjoy the prospect of to-morrow's 

 storming. A witty friend observed casually that the 

 enemy's position looked a deuced deal prettier on the 

 map than it did through the field glasses, a sentiment in 

 which I fully concurred. 



We were roused long before daybreak, and paraded in 

 silence. The breaking of day is the most unpleasant 



