At midday General Bruce Hamilton's Brigade made a brilliant attack on the Diamond Hill plateau. The Derbyshires to the right, the City Imperial Volunteers in the middle, the Sussex on their left, grandly advanced amid an enfilading fire of considerable warmth, which only ceased its horrible activity when the 82nd Field Battery, under Major Conolly, by a feat of herculean energy, was dragged to the rocky heights, and vomited vengeance at a distance of 1700 yards from the stubborn enemy. But though it ultimately had the effect of silencing the Boers, it did not accomplish its arduous task without grievous loss. Gunners were hit on all sides, and horses dropped in the moment of unlimbering, but the gallant work never ceased, and, though a scene of carnage reigned around, the guns with unflinching and heroic persistence continued to pour on the hills their cleansing fires for two mortal hours. In the late afternoon the Guards came into action, and more guns, the Boers having rapidly taken up a position near the railway, and to the drumming of mighty pieces and the whistling tune of musketry the twilight set in. Face to face the belligerents grew lost in mist. Preparations were then made for the complete rout of the Boers on the morrow, but when morning arrived it was found that the Dutch hordes had made themselves scarce. Pursuit was attempted, but the horses were too exhausted for more heavy work. The Westtralians, however--150 of them belonging to Colonel de Lisle's Corps--were unappeased. They pushed on to a point whence the Boer army, a crowd of some 4000, with waggons, cattle, and guns, could be seen crossing Bronkher's Spruit. That place of grievous memories, where Colonel Anstruther[4] fell victim to Boer perfidy, awoke its own ghosts, for scarcely had the Dutchmen reached the fatal area than an avenging sleet from the magazines of the Westtralians brought them to a state of panic. In an instant Dutchmen, waggons, guns, were scattering in all directions, while the Colonials, expending 20,000 rounds of ammunition, coolly plied their rifles in their coign of vantage till the numbers of the enemy were sensibly thinned by death, wounds, or flight. Thus was given the finishing touch to a battle which had a double purpose. It served to clear the way for forty miles to the east and relieve Pretoria of the too close attentions of the massed enemy, and it engaged many of the Boers who had fallen back from Laing's Nek on the taking of Pretoria, thus assisting General Buller's operations at Volksrust, which have yet to be described. Sir Redvers, in his turn, aided the main scheme by causing the Boers to feel that their rear would shortly be threatened, and that even retreat to the east must now have its geographical limits. [Illustration: LIEUT.-COLONEL THE EARL OF AIRLIE (12th Lancers) Killed at Battle of Diamond Hill, June 11th Photo by Bassano, London]