With the bombardment of the forts of the Dardanelles the war has taken on an altogether fresh interest for Britons in China, The land campaign in the western theatre, the verdict of which the future of Europe depends, remains, of course, its most important aspect; yet for months the news which we have received about it has been monotony: ously inconclusive. Not until May, moreover, is any striking development likely to take place. The bom: bardment of the Dardanelles, there. fore, and attempts to follow its relation to the Allies' larger schemes have provided a plot, subsidiary to that of the main drama, on which attention hae eagerly fastened.
For the moment, the point of most interest is the attack which Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Peirse, Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Squadron, is directing against Smyrna, the reduction of whose defences is stated to be a necessary 'ncident to the main operations the Dardanelles.
A first view of Smyrna from the sea is one that lingers long in the memory. From the bright blue waters of the Gulf, the eye wanders over a magnificent harbour crowded, in the piping times of peace, with the ships of all nati Behind the stately line of buildings that border the quay rice the towers and cupolas of Christian churches, tapering minarets, and from higher ground rows of slender cypress trees. In the distance circles a girdle of graceful hills; their outlines sharp-silhouetted against a cloudless
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.