upon the scene, that was
positively awe-inspiring after the continuous, deafening roar all day of
the cannonade, and the crash of bursting shells. And then, as the ear
accustomed itself to that sudden silence, it became aware of a low but
terrible sound breaking it, the moaning of hundreds of mangled,
suffering, and dying men, the ghastly fruits of that ferocious struggle
for the possession of a few barren acres of rough, hilly country.

Suddenly the fast-gathering dusk of evening became illuminated; the
station buildings in the little village of To-fang-shan were ablaze,
doubtless purposely set on fire by the Russians to hinder possible
pursuit--and were soon a mass of flame, the flickering light from which
luridly illuminated the scored and gashed sides of the neighbouring
hills. Finally, with a terrific roar, a Russian magazine exploded,
sending up a great column of flame and smoke; and as the reverberations
of the explosion rumbled and echoed again and again until they finally
died away among the gorges and ravines of the surrounding elevations,
silence again sank upon the scene, the victorious Japanese being so
utterly exhausted by their Herculean labours that pursuit of the flying
Russians became impossible, the conquerors flinging themselves down on
the positions which they had gained, and instantly sinking into a kind
of lethargy, their fatigue being so great that they were unable to
remain awake long enough to partake of the food that was quickly
prepared for them.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

I AM THANKED IN PRESENCE OF THE ARMY.

The Japanese loss, incurred in the struggle for possession of the
Nanshan Heights, amounted to over four thousand, killed and wounded.
What the Russian loss in killed and wounded totalled up to I do not
think we ever knew, excepting that, by the evidence of the captured
trenches alone, it must have been tremendously heavy. Their material
losses, however, amounted to sixty-eight guns, many of which were of
8-inch or 6-inch calibre, ten machine-guns, three searchlights, a
dynamo, and a considerable quantity of ammunition and food; while the
victory gave to the Japanese the complete command of the isthmus, by
enabling General Nakamura to seize Linshiatun, and Fort Hoshangtao, in
its immediate neighbourhood, thus opening the way to the occupation of
Nan-kwang-ling and Dalny, and the advance of Oku's army upon Port
Arthur.

As soon as it became evident that fighting was over for the da