rests seemed to quiver, all curiosity was set at rest, and there was no longer any doubt as to the nature of the new ordnance which the Boers had with them. With a terrific impact the shell struck some structures near the railway, and the flying fragments of steel spread over the town, burying themselves in buildings, striking the veldt two miles distant, creating a dust, a horrible confusion, and, an instant, terror throughout the town. For the moment no one seemed to know what had happened, when the sudden silence which had come upon the town was broken by the loud explosion of the shell as it came in contact with some building. It was a scene of unique interest, the rush of air, the roar of its flight, the final impact, and the massive fragments of steel and iron which scattered in all directions, gave no time for those who had been exposed, to realise the cause of the disturbance. Much as people throng to the spot where some appalling catastrophe has occurred, so, a minute after the shell exploded, people appeared from all directions to run to the scene, and although the shell had caused no very great damage, the noise which it had made, its unusual size and explosive force, did not tend to pacify people. Many were convinced that Mafeking was doomed, and although no loss of life occurred, there were few who did not think that their days were numbered. In the course of the afternoon, after a rain of seven-and nine-pound shells, the Boers opened with this gun again, and although happily no loss of life occurred, the missile wrecked the rear of the Mafeking Hotel, falling within a few feet of Mr. E. G. Parslow, the war correspondent of the _Chronicle_. The force of the explosion hurled this gentleman upon a pile of wood, blew the walls out of three rooms, set fire to a gas engine, and effectually littered the yard of the hotel. With the curious inconsequence which has marked the Boer proceedings in their investment of Mafeking, the enemy threw no more of these heavier shells during the afternoon, contenting themselves with discharging at odd moments those of lesser calibre.