nts, during the slow passage of which the hapless stormers
would be exposed to a withering rifle and shell fire. Thus the task
which the Japanese had to perform was, first to pass through the wire
entanglements at the foot of the hill; next, to achieve the passage of
the staked pits and the mined ground between them--exposed all the time,
be it remembered, to a terrific fire from the forts and trenches above;
next, to take line after line of trenches; and, finally, to storm the
forts on the crest of the heights--a task which, I frankly admit, seemed
to me impossible.

I must confess that my first impressions of a land battle were
disappointing. I had expected to see the Japanese march out and storm
the heights under cover of the fire of their own guns. And, as a matter
of fact, they did march out, but there was no storming of the heights; I
had momentarily forgotten that what I was witnessing was merely a
"demonstration." I presume it served its purpose, however, for the
General and his staff seemed to be perfectly satisfied with the result;
and in any case it had the effect intended of compelling the Russians to
man their trenches under the fire of the Japanese guns, which, feeble
though they were as compared with those of the enemy, must have
inflicted severe punishment upon the packed masses of infantry who
swarmed into the trenches to repel what they had every reason to suppose
was a genuine attack. But the Japanese--closely watched by a Russian
captive balloon, which was sent up directly our troops were seen to be
in motion--having compelled the Russians to turn out and expend a
considerable quantity of ammunition in comparatively innocuous
long-range shooting, calmly marched back again about three o'clock in
the afternoon, about which time the firing ceased. While it lasted,
however, it was hot enough to bring on heavy rain, and the day ended
with a tremendous downpour, which converted the hillsides into a network
of miniature cascades, and must have been exceedingly unpleasant for any
of the Russians whom expediency and watchfulness compelled to remain in
the trenches.

With nightfall the gale increased in fury; but the rain had produced at
least one good result; it had laid the dust most effectually while it
had made but little mud, for the thirsty earth seemed to absorb the
water almost as fast as it fell; also it cooled the air considerably,
which was all to the advantage of the Japanese, who would have