Somebody told me that the little donkeys had to swim a short distance where it was deep, and at one time disappeared beneath the water; but that the driver was so full of joy--or of fear--that he went on whipping the water! A fearful experience we had had! We asked each other in wonder, "Is it possible?
How could we have endured it ?" But as I have only been hinting at things, the reader will perhaps say, "O come! it hasn't been as bad as all that!" Give me leave then, dear reader, to place before you the whole of the circumstances.

England's great power pitted against two Republics, which, in comparison with European countries, were nearly uninhabited! This mighty Empire employed against us, besides their own English, Scotch and Irish soldiers, volunteers from the Australian, New Zealand, Canadian and South African Colonies; hired against us both black and white nations, and, what is the worst of all, the national scouts from our own nation sent out against us.

Think, further, that all harbours were closed to us, and that there were therefore no imports.

Can you not see that the whole course of events was a miracle from beginning to end?
A miracle of God in the eyes of every one who looks at it with an unbiassed mind, but even more apparent to those who had personal experience of it.

Yet, however that may be, I had to declare again that if there had been no national scouts and no Kaffirs, in all human probability matters would have taken another turn.