As for the chest of the army where Sir Henry was with his staff
and Umslopogaas, it had suffered dreadfully, but it had held
its own with honour, and the same may be said of our left battle.
At last the attacks slackened, and Sorais' army drew back, having,
I began to think, had enough of it. On this point, however,
I was soon undeceived, for splitting up her cavalry into comparatively
small squadrons, she charged us furiously with them, all along
the line, and then once more sullenly rolled her tens of thousands
of sword and spearmen down upon our weakened squares and squadrons;
Sorais herself directing the movement, as fearless as a lioness
heading the main attack. On they came like an avalanche -- I saw
her golden helm gleaming in the van -- our counter charges of cavalry
entirely failing to check their forward sweep. Now they had
struck us, and our centre bent in like a bow beneath the weight
of their rush -- it parted, and had not the ten thousand men
in reserve charged down to its support it must have been utterly
destroyed. As for Good's three squares, they were swept backwards
like boats upon an incoming tide, and the foremost one was burst
into and lost half its remaining men. But the effort was too
fierce and terrible to last.
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