[Illustration: TRENCHES AT MAGERSFONTEIN. [Sidenote: Protest against Lord Methuen's orders.] From which the Highland Brigade were shot down. From a photograph taken after their evacuation by the Boers.] [Illustration: A SHELTER-TRENCH AT MAGERSFONTEIN.] [Sidenote: DEC. 11, 1899.] _The Highlanders Give Way again._] Meantime, the Gordons and the Guards were gaining ground considerably; the Guards even got near enough to catch a sight of the enemy in their trenches now and then, and to observe that from time to time they refreshed themselves from the gin bottles, which were always found in great plenty in the captured Boer positions. Soon after one, Lord Methuen sent orders to the Highlanders to hold their position till nightfall, when the Guards and the Gordons were to assault the trenches at the point of the bayonet. The difficulty of sending instructions to the fighting line upon the modern battlefield is shown by the fact that Lieutenant Cuthbert, the bearer of Lord Methuen's message, received a volley from the Boers, which killed his horse and riddled his accoutrements, fortunately without touching him. The order had been given in the teeth of the vigorous protests of one of the Guards' Colonels, who pointed out to Lord Methuen the hopelessness of undertaking such an enterprise with weary, hungry men, and without any adequate support. It was not that he or his men were afraid, but that one brigade had already been shattered, so that the virtual destruction of another must mean the complete ruin of the column--perhaps even its envelopment at Modder River camp, with the most disastrous consequences. Were Magersfontein taken, the second Boer position remained to be dealt with. Thus there was nothing to be gained by adopting the desperate course of imperilling the safety of the whole division upon another night assault. [Illustration: [_Photo by Russell._ THE MARQUIS OF WINCHESTER. The premier Marquis of England, killed at Magersfontein.]