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"By the wouard whichcovers the whole frontier except that to seawardEach man has with himsix women, so that the whole line is unbrokenMoreover, sir, you mustbear in mind that in the Blue Mountains our women are trained to arood account of theainst any foe that should assail usOur history shoomencan do in defenceI tell you, the Turkish population would be biggerto-day but for the woht of old for defence oftheir homes!"

"No wonder this nation has kept her freedom for a thousand years!" Isaid

At a signal given by the President of the National Council one of theDivisions moved forwardsIt was not an ordinary our of hardy andhighly-trained menThey ca an attackHandjar in hand, they rushed forwardI can onlycoe or to an attack of massedcavalry battalionsIt was enta andthe latter at Sadowa, so that I knohat such illustration meansI anized rushthrough a town on its way to relieve Mafeking; and no one who had thedelight of seeing that inspiring progress of a flying army on their wayto relieve their comrades needs to be told what a rush of armed men canbeWith speed which was si to the left,When the ring was co roundand round till the whole tally was exhaustedIn theclose behind the end of thefirstThen came another and anotherAn unbroken line circled andcircled round the hill in see endless array, till the whole slopeswere littering points everywhereWhen the whole of the Divisions had thussurrounded the King, there was a moment's hush--a silence so still thatit almost seemed as if Nature stood still alsoWe who looked on werealmost afraid to breathe

Then suddenly, without, so far as I could see, any fuglehty array of men flashed upward asone, and like thunder pealed the National cry:

"The Blue Mountains and Duty!"

After the cry there was a strange subsidence which h the whole roundThen the splendid truth burst uponus--the whole nation was kneeling at the feet of their chosen King, whostood upright

Anotheroff his crown, held itup in his left hand, and, holding his great handjar high in his right,cried in a voice so strong that it ca over that serried masslike a trumpet:

"To Freedom of our Nation, and to Freedom within it, I dedicate these andmyselfI swear!"

So saying, he, too, sank on his knees, whilst we all instinctivelyuncovered

The silence which followed lasted several seconds; then, without a sign,as though one and all acted instinctively, the whole body stood upThereupon was executed a movement which, with all my experience ofsoldiers and war, I never saw equalled--not with the Russian Royal Guardsaluting the Czar at his Coronation, not with an i of a kraal

For a second or two the whole mass seemed to writhe or shudder, and then,lo! the whole District Divisions were , and the Divisions radiating outwards down thehill like wedges

This co broke up into unitsLater,I was told by 's last movement--the oathas he sank to his knees--was an innovation of his ownAll I can say is,if, in the future, and for all time, it is not taken for a precedent, andmade an important part of the Patriotic Coronation ceremony, the BlueMountaineers will prove themselves to be a much more stupid people thanthey seem at present to be

The conclusion of the Coronation festivities was a ti and Queen by the nation; the guestsof the nation were included in the royal partyIt was a uniqueceremonyFancy a picnic-party of a hundred thousand persons, nearly allmenThere must have beenthrough the whole nationEach section hadbrought provisions sufficient for their own consuuest-tables; but the contribution of eachsection was not consumed by its own members

It was evidently a part of the scheme that all should derive fro of brotherhood and common propertyshould be preserved in this monumental fashion

The guest-tables were the only tables to be seenThe bulk of thefeasters sat on the groundThe tables were brought forward by theas domestic service was known on this day--froma wood close at hand, where they and the chairs had been placed inreadinessThe linen and crockery used had been sent for the purposefroeThe floere pluckedin the old andsilver plate used for adornuest-tables was served by the men of each section in turn