15th June.
The most graphic account that has yot been written of the actual state of affairs in Port Arthur in the early days of May, following the blocking of the harbour-mouth, comes from the pon of Mr. Nemirovitch Danchenko, 'a Russian war correspondent who, at great personal danger, managed to escape from the fortress and got away to Liaoyang. When the siege began, the inhabitants did not soam greatly perturbed and enjoyed the fine weather and the band on the boulevard as if nothing unusual were proceeding. Even the news that communication with the north was cut off, that the railway lind been intercepted and bridges blown up, left the town "singularly undepressed." "The military officers and men talked of nothing except a second siege of Sebastopol, although as a matter of fact Sebastopol had never been cut off from its communication on the land side. 'We can die like our forefathers' was the universal sentiment expressed. The Chinese continued working as usual for the most part, very few of them attempting to escape. It seems that the sole defence of the Russian stronghold is General Kondratenko. He knows no rest, and is ceasoess in his activity. The utmost. vigilance Prevails throughout the fortifications, and energy displayed by every one, from highest to lowest, is marvellous. No' one is now admitted to Port Arthur. The women from Dalny, which was doomed to destruc-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.