23/33 It is thought to be a buckshot, or, rather, the steel ball of a bicycle bearing, fired from a sporting gun. It is in Dutch, and half-finished, scribbled by a Boer gunner to his sister in Pretoria. I give a literal translation:-- "MY DEAR SISTER,--It is a month and seven days since we besieged Ladysmith, and I don't know what will happen further. We see the English every day walking about the town, and we are bombarding the place with our cannon. They have built breastworks outside the town. |