To have refused a petition like this under the circumstances which had arisen, would have been tantamount to resigning the position of paramount power. Negotiations and conferences ensued, in the vain hope of adjusting racial differences, under Boer domination. They came to nothing, and only proved that the Pretoria Government were merely waiting their time to strike a blow which they hoped would for ever terminate British authority in South Africa. The opportunity, they thought, had at length come, and on Monday the 9th October an ultimatum of the most insolent nature was presented to the British Government, demanding not only the immediate withdrawal of our troops on the borders of the Republic, but that all reinforcements which had arrived since 1st June should be removed from South Africa. Not only so, but that any of Her Majesty's troops now on the high seas should not be landed in any part of our colonies! To these requirements an immediate answer in the affirmative was demanded 'not later than 5 o'clock on Wednesday'! No more ridiculous message has been received by the British Government for over one hundred years. Her Majesty's Government declined to discuss the conditions of the ultimatum, but expressed regret that the Transvaal Government should contemplate so extreme and so serious a step as war. The invasion of Natal by the Boers followed at once, and the Orange Free State, though in no way involved in the matter in dispute, gratuitously sided with the {178} Pretoria Government, and an invasion of Cape Colony was made later on chiefly by the Free Staters. With great boldness and, it must be said, with much military skill, the Boer forces seized the passes, attacked the small garrisons on the frontiers, and after several successes and defeats they finally settled down to besiege Ladysmith in Natal, and Kimberley and Mafeking in Cape Colony--sieges which will be long memorable in the history of British South Africa. The war had only proceeded for about a week when General Wauchope received a commission to command the Third or Highland Brigade, forming part of the western column under General Lord Methuen for the relief of Kimberley and Mafeking. This position was undoubtedly the highest honour he had achieved, and its acquisition afforded him the utmost satisfaction. He was residing at Niddrie at the time, and as soon as it became known that he was ordered to the front, there was a general desire among the miners and villagers that he should have a suitable 'send-off,' and some arrangements had actually been made for the occasion. But time was short, and besides, the General, always a modest man, shrank from publicity where he would be the central figure, and he would not consent to it. [Sidenote: Embarkation for the Cape]