We must now advert to the career of the most distinguished volunteer of the war, a prince who owned the most conspicuous dynastic name of the time--Napoleon Louis Bonaparte, Prince Imperial of France. Born in the purple and brought up amidst the greatest magnificence, the misfortunes of France became his own, and as an exile in England he studied at the Military College of Woolwich, where his success far surpassed even the sanguine expectations of his friends. The war in South Africa seemed to offer a sphere in which the heir of conquerors could learn to conquer. As a soldier, the prince earnestly desired to attain practical knowledge of his profession; as a Napoleon, he thirsted to distinguish himself by taking the sword each of his family had experienced to be the Key of Empire. Great Britain was the refuge of his family, and among the soldiers of Great Britain he felt at home. On the 27th of February, 1879, Prince Louis Napoleon received the sacrament of the Catholic Church before the Emperor's tomb at Chiselhurst, and then embarked in the steamer _Danube_ for the theatre of war. His determination to go to Zululand was absolutely his own act, and his brave mother had to yield to his judgment what her own heart opposed. The prince was singularly calculated to win the affection of all. Pure, wise, and Christian, he had declared, "If I am restored to the throne of my father, I will have none near me whose truth, honour, and morality are not above suspicion." As free from affectation as possible, he was gay, simple, affable, and so full of kindliness as to draw to him the hearts of all with whom he came in contact. On the voyage out he mixed with the passengers as one of them, joined in their games, and made himself beloved as much by the charm of his manner as the goodness of his nature.[39] Arrived at Cape Town, the prince became the guest of Lady Frere, the Governor being absent in Natal. He only remained there a few days, during the stay of the _Danube_, and went on in that steamer to Natal. The prince had received permission from the authorities to accompany the staff of the British army, and the Duke of Cambridge had written letters on this subject to Lord Chelmsford and to Sir Bartle Frere.