But when, about an hour before midnight, I reached the southern
positions, I heard a very different story. They told me there that
Commandant Weilbach had deserted his post early in the evening. What was
I to do? It was impossible to search for him during the night, and I was
compelled to take burghers away from other commandos, and to place them
in the abandoned positions. On their arrival there, they discovered that
no sooner had Weilbach failed us than the enemy had seized his post--the
key to Bloemfontein! We did all that we could, but our situation had
been rendered hopeless by the action of a Commandant who ought to have
been dismissed out of hand for his conduct at Poplar Grove.

That night I did not close an eye.

* * * * *

The morning of the 13th of March dawned.

Hardly had the sun risen, when the English in the entrenchments which
Commandant Weilbach had deserted, opened a flank fire on our nearest
positions.

First one position and then another was abandoned by our burghers, who
followed one another's example like sheep; few made any attempt to
defend their posts, and in spite of my efforts and those of the officers
under me, they retreated to the north.

Thus, without a single shot being fired, Bloemfontein fell into the
hands of the English.