I stayed there for two interesting hours. You can guess with what
feelings I looked down on the plain from Long Tom's redoubt, poor old
Joey's rival, and traced the long line of the river, with its fringe of
willows, and marked, up and down, a score of places where we had
skirmished or hidden, distinguishing the positions of our guns and
pickets, and all the movements and manoeuvres of our army. For the
first time one realised what a bird's-eye view the Boers had of it all,
and how our whole position and camp lay unrolled like a map almost at
their very feet.

I must add a word to tell you that the boxes have arrived! I only wish
you could have been here to see the contents distributed. First (this
was about a week ago) came a huge box full of good things to eat,
raisins, figs, a great many tins of cocoa and milk, chocolate, and other
things. We spread them all out on sheets in the verandah of the farm in
little heaps, and very pretty and tempting they looked, the white sheets
down the shady verandah, and little piles of sweetmeats and things
dotted all over them. Each man drew a ticket and chose his eatable, some
putting it carefully away, others bolting it immediately. One can get
absolutely nothing in Bloemfontein, and the men were as keen as school
children. It was an excellent idea sending such a lot of figs and
raisins. They are soon gone, but they are so immensely appreciated while
they last; they give the men the badly wanted holiday feeling. I almost
think that, in the way of provisions, delicacies are more liked by men
on service, and really do them more good than the more practically
useful things.

Then, a day or two ago, came another great box full of clothing. Flannel
shirts, socks, under-clothing, &c. There was, especially, in this box, a
packet of little handkerchiefs with a card, and on it written: "Worked