aking his way toward where I now stood alone, at no great
distance.

He halted within about six paces of me, saluted, and said:

"The Commander-in-Chief desires your immediate presence, most honourable
Captain. He stands yonder."

"Right!" I said. "I will join him at once. Have you any idea what he
wants me for?"

"I think I can guess," replied my companion, as he fell into step beside
me, "but I am sure that the General will prefer to make that known to
you himself."

I said no more, and a couple of minutes later we halted before the
general staff, and Oku took and returned my salute. Then he shook hands
with me with much cordiality, and requested me to take up a position
alongside him, on his right hand. This done, he proceeded to make a
little speech to the closely packed troops. Shorn of the rather
strange--to Western ears--flowery phraseology peculiar to the Japanese,
his speech ran somewhat as follows:

"Soldiers of the Second Japanese Army, I gladly seize the first
available opportunity that presents itself to tender you, on behalf of
our august Emperor and the people of Japan, my most heartfelt thanks for
the glorious victory which, by your indomitable courage and
self-sacrifice, you so nobly achieved yesterday. The difficulties which
you were called upon to surmount were so stupendous and the valour of
the enemy so great, that there was a moment when I almost became
persuaded that the position which you were attacking was impregnable,
and that all the courage and devotion which you had displayed had gone
for nothing. Yet I could not quite bring myself to believe that
soldiers of Japan would ever permit themselves to be beaten, under any
circumstances, however adverse; I therefore called upon you again for
one last, supreme effort, and the valour and devotion with which you
responded to my call is attested by the victorious presence of our
glorious flag upon the heights to-day."

Here the General was interrupted by a soul-stirring shout of "Banzai!"
from the exultant troops. The echoes of the shout had not died away
among the surrounding hills before the serried masses of infantry were
once more silent and motionless as statues, and Oku resumed:

"I am proud, your officers are proud, and I am sure that you yourselves
are proud, of your glorious achievement. Yet we soldiers must not
arrogate to ourselves the entire credit of so magnificent a victory.
Without the assistance of the navy, that v