agnificent and inspiriting
sight as it ploughed steadily through the leaping, mist-flecked sea,
each ship keeping station with the most perfect accuracy, with her two--
and in some cases three--great battle-flags snapping defiantly in the
freshening breeze.

It was shortly after six bells in the forenoon watch when we at length
received a message which must have removed a load of anxiety from our
little Admiral's mind. It came from the _Izumi_--one of the ships which
had been dispatched on the previous night for the purpose of luring the
enemy into the eastern channel--and reported that at length her captain
had succeeded in ascertaining the full force of the enemy's fleet, and
that it consisted of eleven battleships of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
classes, nine cruisers, nine auxiliary cruisers, and nine destroyers.
These were heavy odds to face with our four battleships, eight armoured
cruisers, and eighteen protected cruisers; yet never for a moment did we
shrink from the encounter, for we were, one and all, _determined_ to
conquer. Moreover, the weather, gloomy as it was, was in our favour,
for our ships, having been painted the peculiar grey tint that had been
found so effective in the atmosphere of the Sea of Japan, were scarcely
visible at a distance of four miles, while the heavy sea would probably
give our own gunners a great advantage over those of the enemy.

It was about a quarter to two o'clock in the afternoon, and we were
steaming in line ahead, with the _Mikasa_ leading, our course being
about South-South-West, when, the fog thinning somewhat, we suddenly
saw, away on our port bow, a great cloud of black smoke, underneath
which we presently discerned several large ships approaching in two
lines, their black hulls and yellow funnels showing up with remarkable
distinctness against the light grey background of fog. Instantly every
telescope and pair of binoculars in the Japanese fleet was levelled at
them in an endeavour to identify the craft in sight--for we were
intimately acquainted with the characteristics of every ship in the
enemy's fleet--and presently we recognised the big, three-funnelled
craft at the head of the port line as the _Oslabia_, while the
two-funnelled battleship leading the starboard line was undoubtedly the
_Suvaroff_, Admiral Rojdestvensky's flagship. Astern of her followed
the _Alexander Third, Borodino_, and _Orel_; while in the wake of the
_Oslabia_ we were able to identify the _Sis