On the 29th of December, 1850, Colonel Somerset attempted to form a junction with Sir Harry Smith, and for this purpose detached a party of one hundred and fifty of the 91st Regiment under Lieut.-Colonel Yarborough, seventy Cape Mounted Rifles under Major Somerset, and a small 3-pounder gun Royal Artillery, but the enemy burst upon the troops in such force that it was deemed necessary to retire; a desperate struggle ensuing between the enemy and the troops, the latter succeeded at length in regaining Fort Hare, but not without lamentable losses on our side. In this melancholy business the casualties were:--Lieut. Melvin and Adjutant Gordon, 91st Regiment, killed; Ensign Borthwick, 91st, wounded, and several soldiers of the 91st and Cape Mounted Riflemen. Major Somerset's charger was also wounded. Colonel Somerset in his despatch expresses great satisfaction at the conduct of the troops and their officers, especially naming Colonel Yarborough and Major Somerset. The loss to the enemy was considerable. The colonists, who at first deserted their property, have since readily come forward at the call of the Governor; the troops have enough to do to defend the line of posts; and the next intelligence is waited for with an interest and anxiety which none can fully understand but those who have already experienced the horrors of a Kaffir war. Meanwhile reinforcements are ordered from England, and the colonists have armed themselves to assist Sir Harry Smith. May God defend the right! I have elsewhere touched on our hurried move from the Frontier of South Africa, by which I have been prevented from satisfactorily transcribing my notes on past occurrences. A _trek_ in a bullock-waggon, at the rate of _two miles and a half an hour_, over rough roads, to which a tread-mill would be smooth, and an occasional ride "through the bush," under a vertical sun, are by no means incentives to employment of any kind. It was a frightful and toilsome journey, especially to one whose nerves had been shattered by the events of the last twenty-two months. The only agreeable chapter in the journey from the Frontier, was the voyage of forty-nine hours in H.M. steamer "Geyser," from Algoa Bay to Cape Town; the distance being 600 miles. What a contrast to the five days' previous _trek_ of 96 miles! Here was rest, indeed! Sailors certainly have a way of making things pleasant to their guests, and persuading the latter, at the same time, that it is _they_ who contribute to the _agremens_ of the passage, whereas it must decidedly inconvenience, in no trifling degree, the officers and crew of a man-of-war, to convert it into a travelling barrack. A deep debt of good-will and thanks do the 91st owe the officers of the "Geyser," and long, long will the right pleasant welcome they received upon her decks be remembered by them all, and returned some day--if it be possible! But, it will _not_ be possible!