umours were prevalent. Excited
crowds filled the streets, which blazed with great coloured paper
lanterns, of which nearly every individual carried one; indeed, the
person who is seen outside without a lantern after dark becomes an
object of suspicion to the police watch.

I determined to see, if possible, something of the fighting next day.
All the ground around Port Arthur is, as I have before remarked, very
hilly. Outside the town, and between it and the north-western forts,
is a lofty elevation named White Boulders, for an obvious reason--the
ground is full of chalk. This spot I determined upon as my point of
observation. Most of the front face had been covered with trenches,
but the rear was easy of attainment, and I was struggling up the steep
ascent at day-break. The summit is very uneven, covered with huge
crags and deep indentations, and there were any number of secure
enough nooks to pick and choose from.

The field of action seen from White Boulders is very simple and may be
described in a few words. Behind me was the West Port; on my left the
north-western fortifications, called the Table Mountain forts; on my
right the East Port and the sea, and in front the greater part of the
town, with the north-eastern forts beyond. Of these latter there are,
I think, eight, all connected by a wall. I had only a partial view of
them. Between the elevations on which stand the north-eastern and
north-western forts, the ground sinks deeply, and there is a wide
space comparatively level, part of it occupied by a village. This
tract is defended by redoubts and earthworks, and can be swept by the
fire of the higher fortifications, particularly by those of the
north-east, but still it is a weak point in the defence, though
capable, it seemed to me, of being greatly strengthened.

The day broke with a frosty clearness, and though I had no glass, it
was possible to see for miles on every hand. The dragon flag waved
everywhere on the Chinese forts, but I could see at first no sign of
the Japanese, and it was not until they began to fire that their
positions were indicated. It was about half-past seven when, far to
the north-west, their guns began to boom. All their preparations had
apparently been made over-night, and they were only waiting for
daylight to begin. The Chinese opened fire in reply on both sides;
battery after battery joined in, and soon there was a thundering roar
of artillery, and a dense volume of white smoke,