'The losses of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of this famous regiment in the Boer war totalled 31 officers and 655 non-commissioned officers and men. The glorious and inspiring deeds performed by these two battalions during the terrible engagements which led to the relief of Ladysmith are still fresh in the memory of their proud countrymen. Throughout the whole of the arduous campaign, indeed, the regiment nobly upheld the finest tradition of the Irish soldier, and gained the admiration and respect of friend and foe alike. The 5th Battalion lost, in several minor engagements, two officers and ten men killed, and eight wounded.' EPILOGUE. With the opening of the Memorial the curtain drops on the last scene of the drama of the South African war, and the regiment's share in it. To the large majority of those present the ceremony was probably merely a spectacular entertainment, but its real significance was borne fully home to us, even without the sight of more than one poor woman, silently weeping from the re-opening of the never-healed wound in her heart. For there is nothing truer than that a victory is only less terrible than a defeat, and as the sad strains of the wailing music fell on our ears, our thoughts flew back through the many happy years of good-comradeship we had spent with the gallant friends whom we have never ceased to mourn, and whose names will be treasured memories as long as the regiment endures. But with the opening of the gates by our Colonel-in-Chief a fresh chapter in the history of the regiment commenced, and all that remains for us who share in the triumph of the present is to emulate in the future the noble deeds of those who gave their lives in willing, cheerful sacrifice for their sovereign, their country, and their regiment. THE END. [Illustration: The South African Memorial, Natal.] APPENDIX I. ROLL OF DEATH CASUALTIES. KILLED IN ACTION.