he had entertained in 1891 my brother Randolph[9] and his friend Captain
G. Williams, Royal Horse Guards, on their way to Mashonaland. One of my
first visitors was another fellow-traveller of theirs, Mr. H.C. Perkins,
the celebrated American mining expert. This gentleman was a great friend
of Randolph's, and he spoke most touchingly of his great attachment to
the latter, and of his grief at his death. For five years Mr. and Mrs.
Perkins had lived in Johannesburg, where they both enjoyed universal
respect, and their approaching departure, to settle once more in
America, was deplored by all. Considered to be the highest mining expert
of the day, Mr. Perkins had seen the rise of the Rand since its infancy,
and he had been shrewd enough to keep out of the late agitation and its
disturbances. Under his guidance we saw the sights of the towns: the
far-famed Rand Club; the Market Square, crammed, almost for the first
time since the so-called "revolution," with trek-waggons and their Boer
drivers; the much-talked-of "Gold-fields" offices, barred and
barricaded, which had been the headquarters of the Reform Committee; the
Standard Bank, where the smuggled arms had been kept; and finally the
Exchange and the street enclosed by iron chains, where the stock markets
were principally carried on. We were also shown the interior of the
Stock Exchange itself, though we were warned that it was scarcely worth
a visit at that time of depression. We heard the "call of the shares,"
which operation only took twenty minutes, against nearly two hours
during the time of the recent boom. Instead of the listless,
bored-looking individuals below us, who only assumed a little excitement
when the revolving, clock-like machine denoted any popular share, we
were told that a few months ago every available space had been crowded
by excited buyers and sellers--some without hats, others in their
shirt-sleeves, almost knocking one another over in their desire to do
business. Those must indeed have been palmy days, when the money so
lightly made was correspondingly lightly spent; when champagne replaced