The first gleams of daylight crept underneath1 the waggon2, and the sleepers3, closely packed for shelter from the rain showers, awoke. Those who live under the conditions of a civilised city, who lie abed till nine and ten of the clock in artificially darkened rooms, gain luxury at the expense of joy. But the soldier, who fares simply, sleeps soundly, and rises with the morning star, wakes in an elation4 of body and spirit without an effort and with scarcely a yawn. There is no more delicious moment in the day than this, when we light the fire and, while the kettle boils, watch the dark shadows of the hills take form, perspective, and finally colour, knowing that there is another whole day begun, bright with chance and interest, and free from all cares. All cares—for who can be worried about the little matters of humdrum5 life when he may be dead before the night? Such a one was with us yesterday—see, there is a spare mug for coffee in the mess—but now gone for ever. And so it may be with us to-morrow. What does it matter that this or that is misunderstood or perverted6; that So-and-so is envious7 and spiteful; that heavy difficulties obstruct8 the larger schemes of life, clogging9 nimble aspiration10 with the mud of matters of fact? Here life itself, life at its best and healthiest, awaits the caprice of the bullet. Let us see the development of the day. All else may stand over, perhaps for ever. Existence is never so sweet as when it is at hazard. The bright butterfly flutters in the sunshine, the expression of the philosophy of Omar Khayyám, without the potations.
But we awoke on the morning of the 25th in most gloomy spirits. I had seen the evacuation of Spion Kop during the night, and I did not doubt that it would be followed by the abandonment of all efforts to turn the Boer left from the passages of the Tugela at and near Trichardt's Drift. Nor were these forebodings wrong. Before the sun was fairly risen orders arrived, 'All baggage to move east of Venter's Spruit immediately. Troops to be ready to turn out at thirty minutes' notice.' General retreat, that was their meaning. Buller was withdrawing his train as a preliminary to disengaging, if he could, the fighting brigades, and retiring across the river. Buller! So it was no longer Warren! The Commander-in-Chief had arrived, in the hour of misfortune, to take all responsibility for what had befallen the army, to extricate11 it, if possible, from its position of peril12, to encourage the soldiers, now a second time defeated without being beaten, to bear the disappointment. Everyone knows how all this, that looked so difficult, was successfully accomplished13.
The army was irritated by the feeling that it had made sacrifices for nothing. It was puzzled and disappointed by failure which it did not admit nor understand. The enemy were flushed with success. The opposing lines in many places were scarcely a thousand yards apart. As the infantry14 retired15 the enemy would have commanding ground from which to assail16 them at every point. Behind flowed the Tugela, a deep, rapid, only occasionally fordable river, eighty-five yards broad, with precipitous banks. We all prepared ourselves for a bloody18 and even disastrous19 rearguard action. But now, I repeat, when things had come to this pass, Buller took personal command. He arrived on the field calm, cheerful, inscrutable as ever, rode hither and thither20 with a weary staff and a huge notebook, gripped the whole business in his strong hands, and so shook it into shape that we crossed the river in safety, comfort, and good order, with most remarkable21 mechanical precision, and without the loss of a single man or a pound of stores.
The fighting troops stood fast for two days, while the train of waggons22 streamed back over the bridges and parked in huge black squares on the southern bank. Then, on the night of the 26th, the retreat began. It was pitch dark, and a driving rain veiled all lights. The ground was broken. The enemy near. It is scarcely possible to imagine a more difficult operation. But it was performed with amazing ease. Buller himself—not Buller by proxy23 or Buller at the end of a heliograph—Buller himself managed it. He was the man who gave orders, the man whom the soldiers looked to. He had already transported his train. At dusk he passed the Royals over the ford17. By ten o'clock all his cavalry24 and guns were across the pontoon bridges. At ten he began disengaging his infantry, and by daylight the army stood in order on the southern bank. While the sappers began to take the pontoon bridges to pieces the Boers, who must have been astonished by the unusual rapidity of the movement, fired their first shell at the crossing. We were over the river none too soon.
A successful retreat is a poor thing for a relieving army to boast of when their gallant25 friends are hard pressed and worn out. But this withdrawal26 showed that this force possesses both a leader and machinery27 of organisation28, and it is this, and this alone, that has preserved our confidence. We believe that Buller gauged29 the capacity of one subordinate at Colenso, of another at Spion Kop, and that now he will do things himself, as he was meant to do. I know not why he has waited so long. Probably some pedantic30 principle of military etiquette31: 'Commander-in-Chief should occupy a central position; turning movements should be directed by subordinates.' But the army believes that this is all over now, and that for the future Buller will trust no one but himself in great matters; and it is because they believe this that the soldiers are looking forward with confidence and eagerness to the third and last attempt—for the sands at Ladysmith have run down very low—to shatter the Boer lines.
We have waited a week in the camp behind Spearman's Hill. The General has addressed the troops himself. He has promised that we shall be in Ladysmith soon. To replace the sixteen hundred killed and wounded in the late actions, drafts of twenty-four hundred men have arrived. A mountain battery, A Battery R.H.A., and two great fortress32 guns have strengthened the artillery33. Two squadrons of the 14th Hussars have been added to the cavalry, so that we are actually to-day numerically stronger by more than a thousand men than when we fought at Spion Kop, while the Boers are at least five hundred weaker—attrition versus34 recuperation. Everyone has been well fed, reinforced and inspirited, and all are prepared for a supreme35 effort, in which we shall either reach Ladysmith or be flung back truly beaten with a loss of six or seven thousand men.
I will not try to foreshadow the line of attack, though certain movements appear to indicate where it will be directed. But it is generally believed that we fight to-morrow at dawn, and as I write this letter seventy guns are drawing up in line on the hills to open the preparatory bombardment.
It is a solemn Sunday, and the camp, with its white tents looking snug36 and peaceful in the sunlight, holds its breath that the beating of its heart may not be heard. On such a day as this the services of religion would appeal with passionate37 force to thousands. I attended a church parade this morning. What a chance this was for a man of great soul who feared God! On every side were drawn38 up deep masses of soldiery, rank behind rank—perhaps, in all, five thousand. In the hollow square stood the General, the man on whom everything depended. All around were men who within the week had been face to face with Death, and were going to face him again in a few hours. Life seemed very precarious39, in spite of the sunlit landscape. What was it all for? What was the good of human effort? How should it befall a man who died in a quarrel he did not understand? All the anxious questionings of weak spirits. It was one of those occasions when a fine preacher might have given comfort and strength where both were sorely needed, and have printed on many minds a permanent impression. The bridegroom Opportunity had come. But the Church had her lamp untrimmed. A chaplain with a raucous40 voice discoursed41 on the details of 'The siege and surrender of Jericho.' The soldiers froze into apathy42, and after a while the formal perfunctory service reached its welcome conclusion.
As I marched home an officer said to me: 'Why is it, when the Church spends so much on missionary43 work among heathens, she does not take the trouble to send good men to preach in time of war? The medical profession is represented by some of its greatest exponents44. Why are men's wounded souls left to the care of a village practitioner45?' Nor could I answer; but I remembered the venerable figure and noble character of Father Brindle in the River War, and wondered whether Rome was again seizing the opportunity which Canterbury disdained—the opportunity of telling the glad tidings to soldiers about to die.
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1
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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waggon
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| n.运货马车，运货车；敞篷车箱 | |
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3
sleepers
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| n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环 | |
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4
elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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humdrum
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| adj.单调的，乏味的 | |
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6
perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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7
envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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obstruct
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| v.阻隔，阻塞(道路、通道等)；n.阻碍物，障碍物 | |
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clogging
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| 堵塞，闭合 | |
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aspiration
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| n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出 | |
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11
extricate
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| v.拯救，救出；解脱 | |
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12
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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13
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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14
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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15
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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assail
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| v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥 | |
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Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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18
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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waggons
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| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
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proxy
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| n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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gauged
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| adj.校准的；标准的；量规的；量计的v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；计量；划分 | |
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pedantic
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| adj.卖弄学问的；迂腐的 | |
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etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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32
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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33
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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versus
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| prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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36
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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38
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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39
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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40
raucous
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| adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的 | |
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41
discoursed
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| 演说（discourse的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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42
apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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43
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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44
exponents
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| n.倡导者( exponent的名词复数 )；说明者；指数；能手 | |
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45
practitioner
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| n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者 | |
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