Thursday 15^th February

During the night & until 10 o'clock this morning everything was quiet.   Then the 100 pounder started sending in about 6 shells & at ½ past 11 she stopped not to go again.   Relief at last.   News came in that General French's Relief Column was at Werselton which proved to be correct & all the troops in town were ordered to get ready to go out & at ½ past 5 they all came down Transvaal Road (Regulars, Kbly Rifles, Light Horse, D F Artillery with 4 guns & 2 maxins, Mounted Police, Scouts [?], etc) to meet French's column which went round the other way from Wesselton to Dronfield.   When the Boers saw that a large body of troops were advancing towards Kamfersdam they began to take the big gun to pieces & they managed to move it away before the troops arrived, but it is practically in the hands of the troops as they know where it is.   We expected a big fight at Dronfield tonight.   I was out on the debris heap behind my store until nearly 10 o'clock but it did not come off.   General French & some of his staff dined at the Kbly Club, one of the shells struck Kershaw's house coming thro the rook into the children's bedroom knocking a hole thro the wall of the passage, the piece of shell lodging on top of the wardrobe.