It May Be Credulous In Them Or Old-Fashioned; But It Is Certainly
Very Unselfish, And When You Take Their Point Of View It Is Certainly
Very Fine.
After the Queen every one else had his share of the cheering, and
General White could not complain of the heartiness with which they
greeted him, he tried to make a speech in reply, but it was a brief
one.
He spoke of how much they owed to General Buller and his
column, and he congratulated his own soldiers on the defence they had
made.
"I am very sorry, men," he said, "that I had to cut down your
rations. I - I promise you I won't do it again."
Then he stopped very suddenly and whirled his horse's head around and
rode away. Judging from the number of times they told me of this,
the fact that they had all but seen an English general give way to
his feelings seemed to have impressed the civilian mind of Ladysmith
more than the entrance of the relief force. The men having come in
and demonstrated that the way was open, rode forth again, and the
relief of Ladysmith had taken place. But it is not the people
cheering in the dark streets, nor General White breaking down in his
speech of welcome, which gives the note to the way the men of
Ladysmith received their freedom. It is rather the fact that as the
two hundred battle-stained and earth-stained troopers galloped
forward, racing to be the first, and rising in their stirrups to
cheer, the men in the hospital camps said, "Well, they're come at
last, have they?" and continued fussing over their fourth of a ration
of tea.
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