Sir Theophilus Shepstone related the following story. In 1835, Colonel—afterwards Sir Harry—Smith, when commanding the troops in Grahamstown, always read part of the service on Sunday morning, and was so particular that all should come that he imposed a fine of half-a-crown on every absentee. He read extremely well, and was very proud of it. One Sunday a dog came into the room where the service was going on and began to create a disturbance. Colonel Smith stood it for a little while; then, in the middle of a prayer, said suddenly: “Take that d——d dog away,” after which he continued his prayer in the same tone as before.
In the early fifties, when Lord Grey was Secretary of State for the Colonies, the unpopularity of his policy amongst all sections in South Africa gave rise to the following epigram:—
This point was long disputed at the Cape,
What was the devil’s colour and his shape.
The Hottentots, of course, declared him white;
The Englishman pronounced him black as night.
But now they split the difference, and say,
Beyond all question that Old Nick is Grey.