failed to accomplish through adverse circumstances--the Relief of
Kimberley. When Lord Roberts, with customary precision, had stated
exactly what he wanted, he was surprised to receive a dramatic pledge
from his General. "I promise faithfully," said French, "to relieve
Kimberley at 6 o'clock on the evening of the 15th, if I am alive."

It may be asked why the case of Kimberley was considered so urgent by
Lord Roberts. There are those who have suggested that the presence of
the millionaire, Cecil Rhodes, in the beleaguered city was
responsible for the authorities' energy in the matter. The mere
suggestion, however, refutes itself. For Rhodes was the one man who
did more than any other to have the defences of the city brought into
a state of some sort of efficiency. The fact is that there was
discontent among the civil population and a constant peril of
surrender. For this the great hundred pound shells which hurtled
destruction across the town's streets from the neighbouring heights
were chiefly responsible.

On the face of it, French's promise might then have been taken for a
piece of reckless bravado. The camp on the Modder River in which he
gathered his forces together was over a hundred miles from Kimberley.
The commander-in-chief had promised him a full cavalry division of
eight thousand five hundred men. But on February 11, French had barely
four thousand eight hundred men, with seven batteries of Horse
Artillery at his disposal. Between his camp and the mining city lay
Cronje with a mobile force as large as French's own. Add to this that
the ground to be covered consisted largely of arid and well-less
veldt, affording neither food nor drink for man or beast. The time too
was the African summer, with all the difficulties of handling partly
raw English troops to be faced. The task before French and his men