It is very certain that had Ladysmith fallen, and twelve thousand British soldiers with a million pounds' worth of stores fallen into the hands of the invaders, we should have been faced with the alternative of abandoning the struggle, or of reconquering South Africa from Cape Town northwards.

South Africa is the keystone of the Empire, and for the instant Ladysmith was the keystone of South Africa.

But the courage of the troops who held the shell-torn townlet, and the confidence of the public who watched them, never faltered for an instant.
December 8th was marked by a gallant exploit on the part of the beleaguered garrison.

Not a whisper had transpired of the coming sortie, and a quarter of an hour before the start officers engaged had no idea of it.

O si sic omnia! At ten o'clock a band of men slipped out of the town.