The disappointment was so great that one hundred and fifty Boers bade farewell to their general, and laid down their arms to their enemy.

The following day was merely the repetition of the routine of former days, with the exception that the condition of the men and the laager was hourly becoming more miserable.

The wounded clamouring for relief was in itself a misery to those who were compelled to hear it, but to allow such appeals to go unanswered was heartrending.

To have the dead unburied seemed cruel enough, but to have the corpses before one's eyes day after day was torture.

To know that the enemy was in ten times greater strength was disheartening, but to realise that there was no relief at hand was enough to dim the brightest courage.