Nor Greece, or Rome, or France, or Spain Had at their highest hour One-half thy Empire, half thy wealth Or world-embracing power, And not to any race that lives In History's wondrous story Has ever been vouchsafed on earth Such universal glory. And we thy sons as much as those Who stay at home with thee, All seedlings planted far away From the ancestral tree, Breed true and show in branch and sap The same old sturdy merit, And plant our British customs in The lands that we inherit. And now from all your distant lands With haste we come to show We do not wait for you to ask Our help against the foe, But gather round thee pleased to have The opportunity Of proving to the world in arms Our splendid unity. * * * * * RECENT ENGAGEMENTS. BY MR. LIONEL JAMES. I. Events have followed each other during the last week in such rapid succession that it is impossible to give more than a short epitome of the engagements at Karree Siding and Waterfall Drift. The cavalry reconnaissance to Brandfort showed that there was a considerable concentration of the enemy in that town, and as the Intelligence Department had information that a large force of Boers, re-equipped and remounted, had come down from Kroonstadt, it was deemed necessary to occupy the clump of kopjes in which Karee lies. The enemy forestalled this move, and on 27th March the hills round Karee were reported held. As both flanks of the Karee position presented ground over which it was possible for cavalry to work, a plan of operations was made by which it was hoped that our occupation would result in the capture of the enemy's advance guard. With this object a Cavalry division under General French, a brigade of Mounted Infantry and an Infantry division under Lieut.-Gen. Tucker concentrated at Glen on April 28th. On the following morning the Cavalry made a detour round the right of the enemy's position, the mounted Infantry under Lieut.-Col. Le Gallais making a similar movement round the left. The object of this operation was obvious. The mounted Corps were to be prepared to come into action at the rear of the Boer position as soon as General Tucker delivered his Infantry attack. At 10 a.m., having received heliographic communication from Gen. French, Gen. Tucker put his division in motion--he advanced it across the four miles of plain leading to the foot of the range of kopjes in echelon of battalions, Gen. Chermside's Brigade on the right, General Wavell's on the left. The position which he essayed to attack, in the vicinity of Karee, may be roughly termed three parallel ridges with a stretch of valley between each.