I call her Ladysmith and she sleeps
beside my cot and in my lap when I am reading--I have also a
beautiful tent with tape window panes, ventilators, pockets
inside, doors that loop up and red knobs; also, it is green so
that the ants won't eat it. Also two tables, two chairs, a
bath tub, two lanterns, and a cape cart--and a folding bed--
In Cuba I had two saddle bags and was just as clean and just
as happy. One boy does nothing but polish my boots and
gaiters and harness, so that I look as well as the officers
who are not much good at anything but that. I must tell you
what I think is the saddest story of the siege-- They could
not feed the horses, so they kept part of them for scouting,
part to eat and drove 3,000 of them towards the Boers. Being,
well trained cavalry horses, they did not know how to eat
grass, so at bugle call the whole 3,000 came trotting back
again and sentries were placed at every street to stampede
them back into the veldt-- One horse from one battery met out
in the prairie another horse that had been its gun mate in an
artillery regiment five years before in India and the two poor
things came galloping back side by side and passed the
sentries and into the lines and drew up beside their battery.
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