After sunset the burghers again gathered in groups around
camp-fires, and made the countryside re-echo with the sound of their deep,
bass voices united in Dutch hymns and psalms of praise and thanksgiving.
Whether they ate a big meal from a well-equipped table, or whether they
leaped from their horses to make a hasty meal of biltong and bread, they
reverently bowed their heads and asked a blessing before and after eating.
Before they went into battle they gathered around their general and were
led in prayer by the man who afterwards led them against the enemy. When
the battle was concluded, and whether the field was won or lost, prayers
were offered to the God of battles. In the reports which generals and
commandants made to the war departments, victories and defeats were
invariably ascribed to the will of God, and such phrases as "All the glory
belongs to the Lord of Hosts who led us," and "God gave us the victory,"
and "Divine favour guided our footsteps," were frequent. When one is a
stranger of the Boers and unacquainted with the simple faith which they
place in Divine guidance, these religious manifestations may appear
inopportune in warfare, but it is necessary to observe the Boer burgher in
all his various actions and emotions to know that he is sincere in his
religious beliefs and that he endeavours to be a Christian in deed as well
as in word.
The Boer army, like Cromwell's troopers, could fight as well as pray, but
in reality it was not a fighting organisation in the sense that warfare
was agreeable to the burghers.
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