Innumerable pictures, plans, and descriptive articles have made the whole world acquainted with the general aspect of Port Arthur, its harbour, and its successive rings of defensive forts. Situated in the very centre of a sphere of sharply contending interests, magnificontly strong by nature and capable of fortification into seeming imprognability, its possession has inevitably been an object of desire with all the rival Powers grouped about its doors. In the days before China's essential weakness was mace manifest, the Late Viceroy Li Hung-chang appraised its value and made of it at that time the finest naval dockyard of the East. Its surprisingly ture by the Japanese in 1894 jedding event in their war with its dis honourable capture by the Russians in March of 1898 was the immediate cause of the greater and more ravaging war of which unhappily we have not yet seen the end.
The seven years during which the blue cross of Russia flew from the heights of Port Arthur were years of great and bustling activity devoted almost entirely to the work of defence, There were already the old Chinese forts on the hills immediately girdling the town, Itzeshan, Sungsbushan, Panlungshan, Erhlungshan, and the rest, and these were not to be dis-pised. But the Russians fortified and fortified till it seemed there, was not a measure left untaken, not another point on which gun could be placed, not another trench that gould be effectively interposed. They pushed the defences, too, well north of the fortress, so that right away to far Nanshan and the Kinchou isthmus were positions firmly held. The railway, completed in 1902, brought the fortress into direct communiestion not. only with the rich producing country behind, but with St. Petersburg itself. Stores, guns, ammunition were passed along the line in one ceaseless stream. Moreover, within the harbour whose rear was thus protected, and whose entrance was guarded by the great guns on Golden Hill, the fleet Tiger's Tail, and Lisotishan, the Russians had collected what wee at the beginning of last year the most powerfal fleet of war vessels in the Far Kast. Japan herself had not ® navy seemingly so formidable. The names of the ironclads, commanded by Admiral Stark, are familiar to everyone now, but it is appropriate to enumerate them once again. Of battleships there were seven, all of more than 10,000 tons' displacement, viz., the Retvisan (12,700), Peresviet (13,674) Pobieds (12,674), Sebastopol (10,960), Poltava (10,960), Czarevitch (12,916), and Petropavlovsk (11,354). The Bayan (7,800) was the only armoured cruiser at Port Arthur, but of fast protected cruisers there were throe, the Askold (6,500 tons, 23 knots), and the sister ships, Diana and Pallada (6,630 tons, 20 knots). The second-class cruiser Novik (3,000 tons, ik, Zabiaca, and Djigit were there, together with the coast defence ironclads Gremiastchy, and Otvajny, the gunboats Gilyak, Bobre, and Vssdnik, about sixteen destroyers and not quite so many torpedo-boats. Other vessels lay at Viadivostock, Chemulpo, Newchwang, and Shanghai, but those named were actually at Port Arthar on the 8th of February, 1904. Well might it seem to Viceroy Alexeieff, reviewing his troops on the parade-ground, surrounded by the frowning fortifications looking on his well-filled granaries and his accumulations of ammunition, or marshalling his great fleet, that Pere Arthur might defy not Japan only, but almost the world in arms.
The war had been in progress nearly three months before the Japanese landed, on the 5th of May, on the Lisotung peninsula, and the investment of the fortress began. The interval hed been well employed. Troops were hurried down, General Kuropatkin himself visited the fort and it was on his advice that the two forts named after him were hastily erected to protect the reservoirs, on the heights overlooking the gorge through which the railway winds its way in, Refugees crowded the trains northward, but mon with large business in-forests refused to budgs. Telegraphic communication was uninterrupted, and as late as the 15th of April a direct telephonic wire, with some six exchanges en route, was opened between the garrison city and the distant capital of the empire. We read that a military band still played daily on the parade, and while an unlucky shell from the intermittent bombardment by the Japanese fleet would cause a sad tragedy now and again, the alarm from the first shock undoubtedly passed away. The history of those three months hardly belongs to the siege, but it may be briefly run over here, to round off our story.
On the Sth of February, Mr. Kurino, the Japanese representative at St. Petersburg, informed Count Lamsdorf that the days, during which active war measures wore being pushed on, Japan could wait no longer. On the 6th, it was announced that Mr, Kurino would take the Berlin route homeward, and the same day the Russian Government issued a circular to its representatives abroad announcing the rupture of diplomatic relations and the recall of Baron Rosen from Tokio. Th: night the Japanese main squadron und snd Vice-Admiral 0 (as he then was) left Japan to strike blow at the centre of Rassia's eastern forces, at Port Arthur. All the world know that war had broken out, all the world—anless we except the and garrison at Port Arthur, which has never cessed to protest that it knew nothing about any coming fight, until it woke up on the morning of the'9th to find two of the largest vessels of the squadron—the Rotvisan and the Czaretorpedoed and beached on the western ide of the entrance. There had been an undoubtedly caught off their guard, was that a birthday party was being given that night by Admiral Stark in: honour of his wife,. andthe Japanese had incon-sider ately chosen this time of festivity to make a "cowardly and treacherous attack." During the morning the Japanese fleet in line of battle, sixteen vessels strong, steamed slowly across the harbour front, bombarding from about a seven-mile range, too for out for the land forts to reply with effect. The bombardment did not do much material damage, but it gave the Russians an attack of nerves, such as they have been seen to suffer from on several occasions since. Only on this ground can be explained: the firing by the guardship Foy oynik ae the passenger steamer Fuping, as she was Reaving' the harbour, after having complied with all required formalities; or the attack on the little steamer Oolombia, which made an adventurous escape Chefoo.
For a fortnight thereafter the chief interest in the war hire to other parts. Desultory bombardments were but the attacking fleet appeared to have been withdrawn for a wale, Then, on the 24th of February, came the first of the daring attempts to block the entrance to the harbour with old transports, laden with cement and stones, intended to be blown up in the fairway. The vessels were detected and sunk by the Russians. Another lull followed. Nothwithstanding their success in beating back the transports, and the discovery that their fleet was not so battered as at first they supposed, the Russians hesitated to emerge and assume the offensive. The reason was partly no doubt that they were without a fighting chief. Admiral Stark had been recalled after the disaster on the 9th, and Admiral Makaroff, the most famous seaman of his race, was hurrying eastward to replace him. Meantime Viceroy Alexeieff assumed temporary naval, as well as civil and military, command.
Admiral Makaroff reached Port Arthur onthe Ind of March, and his presence was immediately felt. The fleet began to regain confidence, vessels were seen outside looking for the Japanese, who had again disappeared. About the 25th of the month the principal fighting vessels of the fleet ventured out on a cruise as far across as the opposite coast of Shantung. They wore seen off Téngchou, and among the islands of the Pechili Strait they succeeded in catching and sinking the miserable little Sanuki Maru of 150 tons. globe. Two days earlier the Press-boat The exploit was telegraphed all over the
janyei Maru had been sunk. The fleet returned to their base without any more serious adventure, but on the 27th another squadron of Japanese transports advanced against Port Arthur in a second attempt to close the harbour mouth. The time a partial success was achieved, bat as it was still possible for largo vessels to pass in and out the full object was again frustrated. Russian spirits rose afresh. M. Plangon, who was-at that time favouring the world with some Pee ctr on the and of A yhly interesting news, li ported of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.