Up to the time of the war but few Americans had lived in Pretoria, consequently the official duties of our consul to that place had not been onerous. When the war broke out, Mr. Macrum was the representative of our government; but, owing to what appeared to be an excess of desire to aid the burghers’ cause, he overstepped the diplomatic reserve and was recalled. Several South African officials told me that he had acted unwisely in endeavoring to do too much, and that had he been more discreet he might have been of material assistance to them. When Mr. Macrum was recalled, the Hon. Adelbert S. Hay, son of Secretary of State Hay, was appointed to fill the position that had now become a post of great importance. There was much speculation as to the new American consul’s ability to fill the place, and he was received with some misgivings by the statesmen of the Transvaal, for fear his sentiments were in favor of their enemy. But his years of training in affairs of state under his father, both at home and at the embassy in London, had made him equal to the task. In a very few days he proved himself to be a thorough diplomatist, and he came to be heartily liked by all the burghers who were brought in contact with him. Mr. Hay had the sole charge of all British interests, as well as the care of the thousands of English prisoners who were in Pretoria, and of the transmission of all letters and moneys. All these duties he performed without arousing the slightest animosity on the part of the Boers. No American of any class ever went to the consulate on business, for a social call, or from idle curiosity, without receiving a hearty welcome from the consul. And to please unanimously the crowd of resident Americans, soldiers of fortune, correspondents, doctors, and ne’er-do-wells, was in itself enough to show his worth as a diplomatist. Mr. Gardner F. Coolidge, of Boston, was the vice-consul, and in cordial service and discreetness he proved to be made of the same stuff as his chief. They attended not only to their own official affairs, as well as the British interests, but they were often called upon to assist men of other nationalities, which they did as willingly as though they had nothing else to do. [Illustration: Consul Hay and Vice-Consul Coolidge bidding good-by to Captain Slocum at Pretoria.] During the few weeks before the British occupation there was hardly a ripple of excitement among the people of Pretoria; in fact, there was more South African war talk in Washington and New York when I left the United States than I heard in the capital of the Republic most interested. President Krüger was the center of all interest, although when any of the hundreds of foreigners that swarmed the place wanted anything, they went to Secretary Reitz, who seemed to have more power than even the President himself.