The general situation of the campaign may be summed up
as follows. The Boer raiders have been entirely cleared out of the south-east angle of the Free State, and it is still possible that some of them may be caught in the neighbourhood of Thaban'clon. At the same time, Lord Roberts has begun his main advance up the line of railway that leads to Pre- toria. Simultaneously a force is assembling at Kimberley under General Hunter, which will march, presumably by the Cape Colony railway, to relieve Mafeking. While these widely separated, but yet combined, movements are in progress, General Buller holds an army of some twenty-five thousand men at least in Natal, ready when the right moment comes, and at a word from Lord Roberts, to move on the Boers' flank. But though all this seems so promising, our readers must not imagine that there is going to be at once any very rapid or sensational success. They must have patience. Patience, indeed, is the great need. A campaign like the present is bound to be slow. It is quite possible that we shall only gain "painful inches" for many weeks to come ; but remember, when the final Boer collapse takes place it will astonish the world by its suddenness and completeness. People at home often wonder what they can do to help our soldiers in the field and to bring the war to a successful issue. There is no difficulty
about the answer. They can do a real service to the country by showing patience, by refusing to jog the arm of the driver, and by refraining from shouts for prompter and more vigorous action. It remains to be said that the news from Mafeking is good. In our belief there is no doubt that the town will hold out till relief comes, though it will suffer a great deal in the course of the next four weeks.
