I peeped in, and extended on a rough
couch in the farther corner, I perceived the successful General, whose
name was in everybody's mouth. In spite of his unlucky accident, he was
full of life and spirits, and we had quite a long conversation. I have
since often told him how interesting was his appearance, and he, in
reply, has assured me how much he was impressed by a blue bird's-eye
cotton dress I was wearing, the like of which he had not seen since he
left England, many months before. His train soon rumbled on, and then we
had a snug little dinner in the ladies' waiting-room that the
Station-Commandant, a gallant and hospitable Major, had made gay with
trophies, photographs, and coloured pictures out of various journals.
From a deep recess under his bed he produced an excellent bottle of
claret, and the rest of the dinner was supplied from the restaurant.
The short African winter's day had faded into a blue and luminous night,
resplendent with stars, and still our belated train tarried. However,
the situation was improved, for later advices stated that the Boers had
cleared off from the vicinity of the railway-line, and that we should
surely leave before midnight. All these rumours certainly added to the
excitement of a railway-journey, and it occurred to me how tame in
comparison would be the ordinary departure of the "Flying Scotsman," or
any other of the same tribe that nightly leave the great London termini.
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