naturally repeated at once to Mr. Rhodes, much to the latter's
amusement. As ill-luck would have it, the cautious gentleman left his
umbrella behind, with his name in full on the handle; this remained a
prominent object on the hall table till, when evening fell, a trusted
emissary came to recover it.

I often used to visit the House of Assembly or Lower House during that
session, and it was instructive to note the faces of the Opposition when
Rhodesia and its undoubted progress were subjects of discussion, and
especially when Mr. Rhodes was on his feet, claiming the undivided
attention of the House. It was not his eloquence that kept people so
attentive, for no one could call him eloquent; it was the singularly
expressive voice, the (at times) persuasive manner, and, above all, the
interesting things his big ideas gave him to say, that preserved that
complete silence. But, as I said before, the faces of his then
antagonists--albeit quondam friends--hardly disguised their thoughts
sufficiently. They were forced to consider the country of the man they
feared--the country to which he had given his name--as a factor in their
colony; they had to admit it to their financial calculations, and all
the time they would fain have crushed the great pioneer under their
feet. They had, indeed, hoped to see him humbled and abashed after his
one fatal mistake, instead of which he had gone calmly on his way--a
Colossus indeed--with the set purpose, as a guiding star ever before his
eyes, to retrieve the error which they had fondly imagined would have
delivered him into their hands. Truly an impressive and curious study
was that House of Assembly in the session of 1899.

The number of people, more or less interesting, whom we met at Groot
Schuurr, seemed to pass as actors on a stage, sometimes almost too
rapidly to distinguish or individualize. But one or two stand out