_July 8._--Rest at last. It is Sunday morning, and we are all lying or
sitting about, bathed in warm sunshine, waiting for orders, but it
seems we shan't move to-day. My blankets are all spread out, getting a
much-wanted drying, but what I chiefly want is a wash. I have had
three imperfect ones since leaving Bloemfontein and one shave, and my
boots off for about ten minutes now and then.

_(3 P.M.)._--Nothing on to-day. I have had a wash in a thimbleful of
water, and shaved, and feel another man. They gave us an hour of
stables, but the horses certainly needed it, as they never get groomed
now, and are a shaggy, scraggy-looking lot. I'm glad to say mine are
quite free from galls and sore backs. As one never sees their backs by
daylight, it is interesting to get a good look at them at last. They
are very liable to sore backs (partly owing to the weight of the
military saddle), if there is any carelessness in folding the blanket
beneath the saddle. It has been a real hot day, and yet there was
thick ice on the pool we watered at this morning.

As to yesterday, it appears that De Wet and his army effected a safe
retreat, but our General was pleased with the day's work, and
congratulated us and the 38th. We put one Boer gun at least completely
out of action, and it was captured by the infantry. The infantry lost
but few that day, but rather heavily the day before, especially the
Munsters. Paget is already very popular with us. We trust his
generalship and we like the man, for he seems to be one of us, a
frank, simple soldier, who thinks of every man in his brigade as a
comrade. I understand now what an enormous difference this makes to
men in the ranks. A chance word of praise dropped in our hearing, a
joking remark during a hot fight (repeated affectionately over every