regiments, which was encamped on the racecourse just outside the town;
the other regiment had its headquarters at Mafeking. Colonel
Baden-Powell and his Staff used to dash up and down between the two
towns. Nearly all the business men in Bulawayo enlisted, and amongst the
officers were some experienced soldiers, who had seen all the
Matabeleland fighting, and some of whom had even participated in the
Raid. Others who used to drop in for a game of bridge were Lord Timmy
Paulet,[17] Mr. Geoffrey Glyn, and Dr. Jameson. To while away the time,
I took a course of ambulance lessons, learning how to bandage by
experiments on the lanky arms and legs of a little black boy. We also
made expeditions to the various mining districts. I was always struck
with the hospitality shown us in these out-of-the-way localities, and
with the cosiness of the houses belonging to the married mine-managers.
Only Kaffirs were available as servants, but, in spite of this, an
excellent repast was always produced, and the dwellings were full of
their home treasures. Prints of the present King and Queen abounded, and
among the portraits of beautiful Englishwomen, either photographs or
merely reproductions cut out of an illustrated newspaper, I found those
of Lady de Grey,[18] Georgiana, Lady Dudley, and Mrs. Langtry,[19] most
frequently adorning the walls of those lonely homes.

At last, at the end of September, a wire informed us that hostilities
were expected to begin in Natal the following week, and I left for
Mafeking, intending to proceed to Cape Town and home. On arrival at
Mafeking everyone told us an attack on the town was imminent, and we
found the inhabitants in a state of serious alarm. However,
Baden-Powell's advent reassured them, and preparations for war proceeded
apace; the townspeople flocked in to be enrolled in the town guard,
spending the days in being drilled; the soldiers were busy throwing up
such fortifications as were possible under the circumstances. On October