Railways are undoubtedly one of the most important factors in the wars of to-day, and after some campaigning my first idea of war is a railroad for a guide. Day after day the advancing columns follow the broken iron pathway with the twisted rails and wrecked bridges as signs on the trail they are following. At the same time the retreating force rolls comfortably along in well-working trains, blowing up everything behind them as soon as they are ready to evacuate a position. After returning from South Africa I spent much time reading in the London press of the various engagements that I had seen, or had learned about from those who had seen them. Nearly every despatch said that “the enemy was completely demoralized,” or “the enemy retreated in wild confusion.” As a matter of fact, there was at no time any confusion whatever on the part of the Boers, and the retreats were the most orderly and methodical affairs that can be imagined. If there was no railway for use, the men merely mounted their horses and rode away as though there were no really pressing reason for their going and that any time would do. Even when the British advance was within striking distance, the same calmness was displayed. When there was a railway communication, which was generally the case, trains were brought up, and the burghers entrained their mounts and their guns; and when everything was ready, they pulled out to the next place selected for a stand. The women occupied the first-class carriages, and if they did not fill the seats, the men shared them; but the men did not seem to feel much preference between a passenger carriage and an open truck. It was always an orderly, good-natured crowd, which apparently, except for the Mauser slung across every shoulder, might have been returning from a county fair. The retreat from Pretoria was possibly an exception, as there was then great excitement throughout the city; but even in this case the agitation was among the people of the city, and not among the fighting men. They continued in their usual quiet, indifferent manner, while many of the non-combatants were almost panic-stricken. The commandoes preferring to make the retreat towards Middleburg by rail gathered at the station and attended to the entraining of their mounts as though it were a matter of no importance whether they got away or not; and yet at that time it was thought that the British were but a few miles away. To be able to control the railway means everything to an army, especially when it is operating in a hostile territory. All things must be sacrificed to protect and maintain the line so as to allow the safe transit of trains; and to that problem the British were compelled to devote most of their attention; the burghers sought chiefly to destroy their plans, as they were not of sufficient force to control any great portion of the railways.