THE SIEGE OF MARABASTADT. 147 



one poor fellow, a sergeant of the 94th, lay extended on 

 the ground, while a slight quiver permeated his frame. 

 In a few moments it was all over with him. The shot 

 had dislodged a stone from the face of the work, which 

 had struck him on the breast, shattering his frame, and 

 thus giving him a rapid passport into the middle state. 



We rushed up to him and lifted his head for an 

 instant, but it was manifest that he had met his fate. 



We were too crowded in the work, so half of us went 

 into the ditch outside. 



Let not the reader imagine that we went there for 

 comfort. The instant that two square inches of the crown 

 of our heads appeared above the level of the ground we 

 got a reminder in the shape of. a rifle bullet from the 

 wall behind which the enemy's riflemen were en- 

 sconced. 



However, our fellows inside the work kept on pelting 

 away at the enemy's loopholes, and managed to keep 

 them fairly quiet. There was a tree growing on one 

 side of the wall, from behind which the riflemen were 

 annoying us. One of the enemy climbed this tree, with 

 a view of getting a more commanding position. He 

 kept his body on the farther side of the trunk so that 

 we could not kill him. He became very troublesome, 

 and his performances nearly converted me to the views 

 of the Society of Friends. I wished he were a Quaker 

 and not a Boer. 



After all, how much happier men would be if they 

 never fought excepting in canteens ! 



We were obliged to open a hot fire on the tree, with 

 the result that we made it too warm for him, and he 

 soon descended again. 



All day long the fire of the guns continued, but they 



