THE BOERWOER
The last event in Queen Victoria’s reign was the Borewore, or, more
correctly, Boerwoer (Dutch), which was fought against a very tiresome
Dutch tribe called the Bores, because they were left over from all
previous wars.
The War was not a very successful one at first, and was quite unfair
because the Boers could shoot much further than the English, and also
because they were rather despicable in wearing veldt hats and using
Pom-Pom bullets.
Numerous battles were fought against the Bore leaders (such as
Bother, Kopje, and Stellenbosch) at Nek’s Creek, Creek’s Nek, Knock’s
Knee, etc., and much assistance was given to the British cause by
Strathcoma’s memorable horse (patriotically lent by Lord Strathcoma
for the occasion) and by the C.I.D., who fought very bravely and were
awarded a tremendous welcome on their return to London after the war.
Finally, the people at home took upon themselves the direction of
the War and won it in a single night in London by a new and bracing
method of warfare known as _Mafeking_. Thus the English were once more
victorious.
MEMORABLE RESULTS
The Barwar was obviously a Good Thing in the end because it was the
cause of Boy Scouts and of their memorable Chief Scout, General Baden
Powell (known affectionately as “the B.O.P.”), and also because it gave
rise to a number of very manly books, such as _40 Years Beating About
The Bush_, _50 Years Before The Mast_, _60 Years Behind The Times_, etc.
DEATH OF QUEEN VICTORIA
Meanwhile Queen Victoria had celebrated another Jamboree, called
the Diamond Jamboree (on account of the discovery of Diamond mines
at Camberley during the Borewore) and after dying of a surfeit of
Jamborees, Jokes, Gladstone, etc., had been succeeded by her son,
Edward VII.