The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-12-16

| Australians. the Irish Fusiliers the sea-
is brief sketch of each leader which is
| as effective as a skillful pencil drawing,
for If there is any one branch of literary
art in which this writer excels, it is in
the suggestion Of a personality and a
physique by a few 'wcll-chosen words. His
pictures Of Ioubert, Wauehope, Sir George
| White. and other leaders. Boer and Briton,
are as fine as those of Captain Sharkey,
Sir Nigel, Amos Green, and Sherlock
i Holmes. in his works OF fiction. The nov
ellis; who can also be a historian is truly
a rare bird, but DR.. Doyle is the bird,
there is no question OF that.
Moreover. mis- pictures of landscape are
as mastery as his portraits of men. and
the reader will get a vivid idea of the
whole Roer country. and of every rugged
hill and boulder-coyered moor over which
the opposing forces tramped. This book
is book to study with map and pencil,
not to read carelessly.
The battle of Magersfontein must al
ways remain one Of the most tragic Incl
dents in the history Of warfare. The fame
Of the Black Watch. and of the Seaforth
Highlanders has gone round the world.
wherever sun shines or water runs. and
the panic which could stampede such sea-
soned troops as these must indeed have
been fearful. DR.. Doyle's description of
the terrible surprise which demoralized
these regiments is the best yet given. It
runs in part as follows:
Clouds drifted low in the heavens. and The fall.
ING rain made the darkness more impcnetrable
The Highland Brigade formed into a column
the Black Watch in front. then the Seaforths,
and the other two behind. To prevent the men
from Struggling in the night the four regiments
were packed Into a of quarter column as
denscly as was possible, and the left guides held
rope in order TO preserve the formation. With
wandered on uncertain where they were going
and what it was that they were meant to do.
Not only among the rank and file but among the
principal officers also there vas the same abso-
lutte ignorance. Brigadier Wauchope knew, no
doubt, but his voice was TO be stilled in
death. The others were aware, of course that
they were advancing either to turn the enemy s
trenches or to attacl; them, but they NAV we'll
have argued from their own formation that they
could not be near the rifernen yet. Why they
should be still advancing in that dense clump
We do not now know, nor surnlise what
| thoughts were passing in the mind Of the gallant
and experienced chieftain who walked beside
them. There are those who speak Of fierce dis
agreement between him and his general, and his
| proud spirit may have been raging within him.
There Others who claim the night before
to have seen upon his strangely ascctic face that
shadow of doom which is summed up in the one
word fey The hand Of coming death may Al
ready have lain cold upon his soul. Out there,
Close beside him. stretched the long trench, firing
ed with its line OF fierce staring. eager faces and
its bristle Of gun-barrels- They knew he was
| coming They ready. They were waiting
But still. with the dull murnur of many feet. the
dense column, nearly four thousand strong. wan
dered onward through the rain and the darkness
II matters not what gave the signal whether it
| was the flashing Of lantern by Boer scout
or the tripping of a soldier over wire. or the
firing OF a gun in the ranks. 1t may have been
any, or it may have been none of these things
As matter Of fact have been assured by a
Boer who was present that it the sound of
the tins which had been attached to the alarm
wires which disturbed them. However this may
be, in an instant there crashed out Of the dark
ness and into their faces ard OF
point blank FIRE, and the night slashed across
with the throbbing fame Of the rifles. At the
moment Of this outfiame some doubt as to their
whereabouts seems to have flashed across the
mind Of their leaders. The order to extend had
jus. been given, but the men had not had time
| to act upon it. The storm Of lead burst upon
| the head and right flank of the column, which
broke to pieces under the murderous vollcy.
Wauchope was shot, struggled up: and fell once
neoe hi. nns s ID, TS Of
l gentle and soldierly, forbds the superstition.
What pity!' was the only utterance which 4
brother Highlander ascribes to him. Men went
down in swaths and howl o! rage and agony,
heard aiar the veldt, swelled up from the
frantic and struggling crowd. BY the hundred
they dropped-some dead. come wounded some
knocked down by the rush and sway OF the broken
ranks. 1t horrible business. At such
| range and in such formation single Mauscr
| bullet may well pass through many men. few
dashed forward. and were found dead at the very
edges Of the trench. The head Of the brigade
broke and disentaeling themselves with diff
Guilty from the dead and the dying. fed back
out Of that accursed place. Some. the most un-
fortunate Of all, became caught in the darkness
in the wire defences, and were found in the
| morning hung up like crows,' as one spectator
describes It, and riddled with bullets.
Who shall blame the Highlsnders for retiring
when they didf Viewed, not by desperate and
terrified men, but in all cainness and sanity. it
! may well seem to have been the very best thing
that they could do. Dashed into chaos. separated
| was to be done, the first necessity was to gain
| shelter from this deadly fire, which had already
! stretched six hundred Of their number upon tho
| ground. But the danger was that men so shaken
| would be stricken with panic, scatter in the dark
| ness over the face 0. the country. and cease to
exist 9 military unit But the Hghlanders
were true to their character and their traditions
| There shouting in the darkness hoarse voices
| calling for the Seaforths. for the Argylls for
Company @. for Company H, and everywhere in
| the gloom there came the answer OF the clans-
ment. Within half an hour with the break Of day
| the Highland regiments had reformed IA company
| and half left OF the Black Watch and shatter-
| ed and weakened, but undaunted, prepared to re-
new the contest Some attempt at advance
| WAS made upon the right, ebbing and flowing,
one little band reaching the trenches and
coming back with prisoners and Redeemed bay
onets. For the most part the men lay upon
| their faces, and fired when they could at the
enemy but the cover which the latter Kept was
30 excellent that officer who expended
hundred and twenty rounds has left 1t upon record
that he never once had seen anything positive
at which TO aim
This shows the style adopted by the his
torian in his battle scenes. For the rest.
there is a careful and thorough analysis
of each campaign, no detail Of any i'm
portance being omitted, and while DR..
Doyle does not hesitate to give full credit
to the bravery of the common soldier. he
does say some sharp things about the
hide bound conservatism of some of the
officers, and the injudicious adherence to
routine which characterized the War Of
nce at the beginning of the South African
difficulty He has evidently used his eyes
well. and he has some positive views as
to certain reforms which Should be ef-
fected in the army before another war
appears on the horizon. One of these
he says, is the abolition of the lance. the
revolver, and the sword. The magazine
rifle he considers the only weapon worth
attention In modern warfare-outside the
artillery. OF course. He also strongly ad-
yocates the organization of bodies of
frst-class mounted infantry-picked men,
who shall be good riders, dead shots, and
competent for the work OF scouts and
harpshooters-sucha regiment, in short.
as was aimed at In the organization Of our
own Rough Riders. He would like TO see
"Boer tactics combined with British csur-
age" and the phrase 10 a good one.
Another thing Upon which the author
lays stress is the importance Of keeping
artillery concealed-that is piece Of
Boer tactics. The idea Of the English off,
Ger Of artillery is that one gun is Of little
or no use alone; there must be half q doz-
en- punched together. This Is all very