A STRIKING INCIDENT

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7, 15 February 1900, Page 6

A STRIKING INCIDENT

The steamer Orient reached Southampton on December 21, with a number of men who had been wounded in the Boer War. A London Daily Chronu'le who boarded the vessel had interviews with a number of soldiers. He says :

One of the most striking figures on the deck of the Orient was Corporal Kelly, of the ~>th (Iri-*h) Lancers. Wrapped in a huge gre itcoat, h'> hobble I along with the aid of a stick, but if he suffered pain he showed no sign of it in his cheery smile. Kelly is the hero of one of the most striking incidents in the battle of Kl.uidslaagfe. He told me his story more modestly than it may appear in print in thp first person 1 1 struck two Boers." he said, ' right through with my lance. They were uioufited on om> horse, one having had his horse shot under him. After pinning them I could not disengage my lance, and, finding iny-elf surrounded by Boers, I had to u«e my sword to cut my way through them. Fortunately, I got away all right, but I was wounded in the «pine in a lktle affair two days afterwards.'

' You are disabled from active service now,' I ventured to sugg< st. 1 Oh, dear, no,' was the instant reply, ' I expect to be all right in a fortnight, and hope to get back to the front again.'