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-,.---CONTENTS OF INNER PAGES.…

THE SPIRIT OF CRITICISM.

4 WELSHPOOL HORTICULTURAL…

— NOTES BY THE WAY.

♦ YEOMANRY AND VOLUNTEER NOTES.

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♦ YEOMANRY AND VOLUNTEER NOTES. After receiving a letter at this office yesterday afternoon all doubt as to the popularity of the Imperial Yeomanry, which might have existed in our mind, has vanished. Lastsveek we knew that the troopers had wen the respect and admiration of the male population, but now we learn of a vastly greater victory, a victory over the hearts of the fair sex at Newtown, which seems to h&ve caused the native male things -co contemplate, if not actually to break out into open revolt. The following is a copy of the letter we hate received from one of the troopers and we guarantee its genuineness Newtown, 19th January, 1900. Dear Sir, Upon perusing an article in your New- town contemporary 1 thought it would be only the duty of one or more of the Imperial Yeomanry to reply. Although altogether incapable and unac- customed tG this kind ef work, I nevertheless venture to offer a few remarks by way of protest. I think the gentleman whe wrote the article must be one of the disappointed youths who must have discovered a successful rival amongst the troopers, and being thus enraged has tried to throw discredit on the fair sex in the ceighbour- hood. But, I think, and I am sure that all my comrades will agree with me when I say that only a few (if any) of ue have fallen by Cupid's dart, and those of us wha have so fallen, I have not the slightest doubt will be as true to the girl that Tommy's left behind him as they will be to their Queen and country. If after our departure the ordinary town youth leaves the fair sex severely alone," then I beg to state any previous attachment he had for her was far from genuine, and she would be far better off without bis companionship.— Yours truly, A TROOPER." # # To talk of leaving the young ladies severeiv alone because of their admiration for bravery, pluck, patriotism and a true British spirit, will certainly not advance the cause of the would-be suitors, and they must be very careful that they be not hoist with their own petard. How if the ladies themselves conduct the boycott, and threats and supplications avail not! How if their hearts are closed from this time forward until the return of the troopers true, and the civilian youths be nst required Gulliver will have to resume his travels. The Newtown youths must of themselves conquer this indifference. If they seek favours at the shrine of Cupid they must ask worthily, e Ise they cannot hope to plead successfully. If the Newtown ladies demand the pluck, physique and chivalry of the trooper, they must have d. There- fore prepare, civilians. Study Don Quixote, read Baden-Powell on scouting, for this is a warfare for which ye must be fully armed. And if yon can't do anything further, join the Volunteers. Though it is not yet definitely settled when the Yeomanry will leave for the front the advance guard have been selected and will probably start next week. Though the advance section is only a small one, it looks like business. By the way one member of the advance section 4odds to his list of accomplishments that of water finder. This does not imply that it will be part of his duty to carry a backet for the purpose of collecting little drops of water from pools or wayside ditches, nor that he will be told off to ride a camel into the wilderness in search of lakes. A water finder is a person so constituted that he can ascertain exactly where water is to be found under the earth, either in the form of springs or subterranean streams. The process usually is for the finder, or diviner as he is more generally termed, to take hazel twigs in his hands, to walk over the surface of the land where it is desired that water should be found to keep an eye on the twigs. Should the twigs begin to shake and tremble after the manner of a man in a fit, it is said to be a sure token that water is at hand. Should there happen to be large quantities of water, the twigs will do more than tremble, they will twist and turn as though bent on seeing that the supply is not overlooked. Then it is customary to mark the spot, set workmen to dig, and it is said that if the digging is only carried deep enough an ample supply of water will be discovered. It is, of course, good to have a water diviner with a troop of Yeomanry, but a few diviners of another sort would be welcome. We should like to divine where Kruger gets his men from, how he finds his victuals, and where his money-bag is. To divine the exact nature of a lyddite shell might be useful, but to divine the personalities and aims of enemies in the camp would be the next thing to the salva- tion of this business. As we pointed out last week, we have some wonderful men in bile troop. m # There was a considerable weeding out last week, something like 50 men being sent home as unfit. The vacant places were filled up on Saturday when a batch of 62 men came from London. There are now about 130 men at Welshpool, and about a dozen less at Newtown, so that Sir Watkin's cherished wish to send out two squadrons will be accomplished. Among the early recruits was Sturgess, the champion walker of the world. Why should the world's champion walker need a horse ? He might just as well do it on foot and pass on the horse to some inferior pedestrian. Then again, another recruit, Hay by name, is one of the champion runners of the Southern counties and a prominent exponent of the football game. Some very good football players are already enjoying themselves on the racecourse at Pretoria. As we have already shown the list of remarkable persons is a very long one. *>jt' Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn states that a most wonderful improvement has taken place at the shooting ranges, the way in which the men handled the new Lee-Enfield rifle being a surprise to im. Sir Watkin feels very strongly on the high stand- ard fixed by the War Office authorities for the musketry test. The qualifying standard, hp i_vs is an exceed ingly severe one, and is higher tha;, ;at imposed on the line regiments. He had recced no complaints about the new -Lee-Enfield rifle not being accurately sighted, the only difficulty with which the men had bad to contend with being the ammunition supplied them by the War Office, which bad a reduced charge, and which had had a I deleterious effect on the shooting. The result had been that the regiment had had to purchase, at its own expense, 10,000 rounds of proper service ammunition in order to teach the recruits. With regard to the officers likely to accompany the Montgomeryshire contingent the list has not yet been made out, but they will be selected from the following :—Sir Watkin himself, Major and Hon Lieut-Col G Wentworth Forbes, Capt R W Williams- Wynn, Capt C T Dugdale, Capt E G Williams- Vausrhan. Capt A K Armstrong, of the Indian Staff Corp, Cflpt F H Fernie, of the 4:11 Ba'fa'i.m I,' S I irol,sbii-(- Light I iif a zitrn-, Lipnt G Pritch- ard Rayner, Lieut Godfrey Fitzl-ngh. Lieut W S R Cox, of the 4th Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry, Mr Frank Cotton, of Overton on-Dee, and Mr Trevor. Orders have been received inti- mating that the Montgomeryshire squadron are to be linked with the Denbighshire Hussars. At the Oddfellows entertainment at Newtown on Thursday evening, Mr Roberts, Three Tuns Hotel, Bishop's Castle, i; vited the members of the Imperial Yeomaury stationed at Newtown to his house, any day when they could come, when he would be would be pleased to entertain them. Mr Roberts wittly remarked that if they could not march to Bishop's Castle and back, a distance of 16 miles each way, they would not be much use in the Transvaal Was it a joke ? Who will venture ? # Though the reception accorded to the gallant volunteers when they arrived in Welshpool had just the least suspicion of a freezer about it, they are to leave the towc with far pleasanter memories. At the close of the Welshpool Town Council on Thursday the Mayor referred to their presence in the town and suggested that they should arrange something in the -way of a hearty send-off for the members of the Yeomanry. The idea of a dinner was a substantial one and probably much more acceptable to the men than, for instance, the presentation of medals reproducing the Town Hall and the clock, three faces of which give different versions of the Greenwich time. Mr Simpson Jones and Mr VI Humphreys have under- taken the duty of collecting for this worthy objeor, and, like the lady who sang at the concert, they have met with a hearty reception. It will take a considerable sum to pro- vide a suitable dinner for J,30 yeomen and pay the incidental, and we hope the response will be farther augmented. The collectors are doing their best to call upon all the townsmen, but should any people be overlooked their contributions will still be thankfully received. We hope the after pro- ceedings, which should include a rule for five- minute speeches, are being arranged.

ABERYSTWYTH.

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ABERYSTWYTH.