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REV. W. H. rRAZERj D.D._, ON 



bloomed. As you go on you see very few houses. The truth 

 is, every Dutchman and every Boer when he gets into a 

 farmstead is never so happy as when he can look round and see 

 no other human habitation. He wishes to be monarch of all 

 he surveys. It is a peculiar sentiment, but it is there. When 

 I got up to De Aar, I was ordered to extend my labours. There 

 were not many soldiers in De Aar, and it was so quiet that I 

 thought there would be there nothing of the war worth seeing ; 

 but it turned out afterwards to be one of the hottest spots of 

 the whole campaigning ground. 



My duties were extended from De Aar up to Orange River 

 and Modder Eiver, and afterwards to Jacobsdall in the Orange 

 River Colony. The two first stations are in Cape Colony, and 

 I was put on orders to visit those places every week if possible 

 and give to them as many Sundays as I could. Then I saw 

 before me a great opportunity of learning a good deal that I 

 wished to know. The first thing I learnt was to run along the 

 line of country which a little time before Lord Methuen had 

 followed, showing all the battle fields that were his — at which he 

 fought and conquered — Belmont, Graspan, Enslin, Modder River, 

 and Magersfontein. 1 made my way up as far as Mafeking. 

 The most interesting place I came to was Magersfontein, six 

 miles across the veldt from the Modder River Station. 



I was deeply interested, having read in the newspapers the 

 accounts of that rather unhappy battle. It was there that 

 General Wauchope fell. It was there that the Highland 

 Brigade met with so much loss ; and I was glad to see it, because 

 on reading the news that comes from the press, and all those 

 worthy gentlemen who supply us with information in the way 

 of news, you never get a true idea till you go, as I did, to the 

 spot. I found there at a glance how it was that such things 

 happened as they did in that battle, and how it failed. There 

 is a line of entrenched kopjes, and two miles off is tlie Modder 

 River, and coming out of the end of the kopjes there is an 

 unknown level trench on the level veldt running across to the 

 Modder River. It was a night attack, the troops arrived early 

 before the morning light, and unhappily, not having scouted, they 

 knew nothing whatever about that trench. They were working 

 to get round the kopjes to outflank the Boers, and I saw there 

 o08 dead Boer horses. Our troops were overcome, and had to 

 do what the Highlander ever bravely avoids — they had to retreat 

 in haste. They were fine young fellows leading as the 42nd 

 ever does ; but disaster awaited them ; all the officers of the 

 corps being shot down, save three, one of them, young Grant, 



