They certainly gave an example of
practical religion, pluck, charity, and devotion.
And so the moons waxed and waned, and Mafeking patiently waited, and,
luckily, had every confidence in the resource and ability of Colonel
Baden-Powell. An old cannon had been discovered, half buried in the
native stadt, which was polished up and named "The Lord Nelson," from
the fact of its antiquity. For this gun solid cannon-balls were
manufactured, and finally fired off at the nearest Boer trenches; and
the first of these to go bounding along the ground certainly surprised
and startled our foes, which was proved by their quickly moving a part
of their laager. In addition a rough gun, called "The Wolf," was
actually constructed in Mafeking, which fired an 18-pound shell 4,000
yards. To this feat our men were incited by hearing of the magnificent
weapon which had been cast by the talented workmen of Kimberley in the
De Beers workshops. In spite of there being nothing but the roughest
materials to work with, shells were also made, and some Boer projectiles
which arrived in the town without exploding were collected, melted down,
and hurled once more at our enemy. Truly, there is no such schoolmaster
as necessity.
On Sundays we continued to put away from us the cares and worries of the
week, and the Church services of the various denominations were
crowded, after an hour devoted to very necessary shopping.
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