At times the children thoroughly enjoyed life out on the veldt. It was often trying for them with all the hardships we were constantly encountering, but on the whole the children came off better than their elders. When there was danger they would begin to cry, but soon it would all be forgotten. They were always so ready to help me and to make everything easier for me as far as they could. It was very hard for them sometimes to look after themselves and keep their clothes in order. And as they always went on growing they kept growing out of their clothes and wore them out, so that they had to help to patch and make the most of them. Sometimes they would have no cups or mugs to drink out of--then they would set to work with “jambliks” and try to make mugs out of them. My brother, Jan Greef, who used sometimes to be near my waggon, would help to make mugs. He was very clever at it. Fortunately, I managed to keep always one or two cups and saucers. Cups which could break so easily during all that driving about had to be taken great care of. We were always trying to find new ways of doing things. If we wanted cotton for sewing we would take a piece of sailcloth, unravel it and use the threads, or else undo our shoe-strings and unravel them. The girls made a large number of socks, stockings, bands, etc. We would take some sheep’s wool and card it; then the Kaffir boys made little wooden “machines,” and with them wove the wool into strands. [Illustration: Three of Mrs De la Rey’s children.] Here are also three more of my children, the three youngest. The little boy in the middle, Gabriel Johannes, is now six. He often used to say to the English soldiers, “Hands up,” and then they would laugh at him. It was a pleasure to him to be flying away; whenever we had been long in one place, he would say, “I wish we had to run away again; not from the ‘khakis,’ but just so as to be driving.” When he heard that the burghers had to give up their arms, he said, “I am not going to give my gun to ‘khakis’; I would rather break it in pieces; the ‘khakis’ shall never have it.” There he has it in his hand. It was such a momentous time, even the youngest felt the weight of it. If I am still to go through many days of hardship in this life, let me then cast a glance upon those that are past. Because once we had so many good and happy hours, and now find ourselves so bitterly oppressed, I have often heard people say that they doubted whether there could be a God.