blunder, and partly in order to snub me, Cecil Rhodes, the Company is to
cease, or whether it is allowed to go on with its work, its achievements
and their results must and will speak for themselves." With reference to
the political prisoners, I recollect he repeated more than once:

"You see, I stand in so much stronger a position than they do, in that I
am not encumbered with wife and children; so I am resolved to strain
every nerve on their behalf." About six o'clock the last bell rang, and,
cutting short our conversation, I hurriedly wished him good-bye and good
luck, and from the deck of our little steamer we watched the big ship
pass out into the night.

We had now been a month in South Africa, and had seen very little of the
country, and it appeared that we had chosen a very unfavourable moment
for our visit. We were determined, however, not to return home without
seeing the Transvaal, peaceful or the reverse. The question was, how to
get there. By train one had to allow three days and four nights, and,
since the rebellion, to put up with insults into the bargain at the
frontier, where luggage and even wearing apparel were subjected to a
minute search, involving sometimes a delay of five hours. Our projected
departure by sea via Natal was postponed indefinitely, by the
non-arrival of the incoming mail-steamer from England, the old _Roslin
Castle_, which was living up to her reputation of breaking down, by
being days overdue, so that it was impossible to say when she would be
able to leave for Durban. Under these circumstances Sir Hercules
Robinson proved a friend in need; and, having admonished us to secrecy,
he told us that the P. and O. _Victoria_, the troopship we had noticed
in the harbour, was under orders to leave at once for Durban to pick up
Dr. Jameson and the other Raiders at that port; and convey them to
England; therefore, as we only wanted to go as far as Durban, he would