n was led by his second in command, Admiral Tsuboi, who had
hoisted his flag on the fast cruiser "Yoshino." After her in succession
came the cruisers "Takachico," "Akitsushima," and "Naniwa Kan." Then there
was a considerable interval between the van squadron and the leading ship
of the main squadron, the cruiser "Matsushima," flying Count Ito's flag.
Next to her came the armoured cruiser "Chiyoda"; then the "Matsushima's"
two sister ships, the cruisers "Ikitsushima" and "Hashidate." The four
ships of the van squadron and the four leading ships of the main squadron
represented the chief strength of Ito's fleet, his eight modern cruisers.
After them came the two old ironclads "Hiyei" and "Fuso," the gunboat
"Akagi," and the small armed merchant steamer "Saikio Maru." The long line
of warships steaming swiftly through the sunlight must have looked more
like a fleet arrayed for some festive occasion than squadrons prepared for
imminent battle, for every ship was painted a brilliant white, with the
gilded device of the chrysanthemum forming a broad golden shield on her
bows, and the red-and-white sun flag of Japan flew from every masthead.

At half-past eleven, half an hour after the Chinese had perceived the
approach of the Japanese fleet, the "Yoshino," which was leading the
advancing line of the van squadron, signalled that there was a dense mass
of black smoke on the horizon inshore. This was the smoke produced by
Ting's furnaces, as his ships hurriedly stoked their fires to get full
pressure on the boilers. Then the Chinese fleet was seen coming out and
forming in line of battle.

Admiral Ting formed his ships in line abreast, that is side by side with
every bow towards the enemy. In the centre were the two little battleships,
with the armoured cruisers, "Lai-yuen" and "King-yuen," to right and left
of them. On each flank of these four heavy ships there was a group of three
unarmoured cruisers--the "Ching-yuen," "Chao-yung," and "Yang-wei"--on the
right; and the "Chi-yuen," "Kwang-chia," and "Tsi-yuen," on the left. These
were the ten ships on which he relied to bear the brunt of the fighting.
Away to the left flank and rear of the line, and nearer the shore, was the
small, armour-clad "Ping-yuen," the corvette "Kwang-ping," and four torpedo
boats. The Chinese fleet was under easy steam. The ships were painted a
dull black, but had a large amount of gilding and colour on their bows,
upper works, and deck-houses, and the