ce on the sea between
Russia and Japan, while the army of the Mikado was pushing through
Manchuria in the direction of Liao-Yang.

The loss of the great battleship _Petropavlovsk_ has already been
recorded in "Under the Mikado's Flag." This vessel was sunk by a mine in
Port Arthur harbor, April 13, 1904, and carried down with her Admiral
Makaroff and about five hundred officers and men. At the same time the
battleship _Pobieda_ was also injured by a mine.

The loss of the admiral's flag-ship was a great blow to Russia, and
while she was trying to recover, Port Arthur was vigorously shelled by
the Japanese fleet, and many buildings were more or less damaged. Some
warehouses were set on fire, but the local fire department, aided by the
Russian garrison, succeeded in putting out the conflagration.

While the Japanese fleet was hammering at the city and the ships from
beyond the harbor, the Japanese army encircled Port Arthur on land,
taking possession of every available hill beyond the Russian line of
defenses. As a consequence, by the middle of May the city was in a
complete state of siege, nearly all communication with the outside world
being cut off.

But now came a turn in affairs which, for a short while, made matters
look favorable for Russia. While the fleet of Admiral Togo was
patrolling the whole of the southeastern coast of Manchuria and
protecting the Japanese transports which were pouring troops into the
country, occurred a catastrophe as appalling as it was unexpected.

On the same day, May 15, the magnificent battleship _Hatsuse_, of the
Japanese navy, was blown up by mines and sunk, and the protected
cruiser, _Yoshino_, also of Admiral Togo's fleet, collided in the fog
with a sister ship, and was a total loss. It is estimated that by these
two disasters seven hundred men were lost. Among the officers who met
their fate were men of marked ability which Japan at this crisis could
ill afford to lose.

The loss of the _Hatsuse_ is worth relating in detail. She had been
along the coast during a heavy fog, but this had cleared off and the sun
was shining brightly. Not an enemy was in sight, and all was quiet on
the great battleship when, without warning, a terrific explosion was
felt near the stern and a portion of the steering gear was damaged.

"We have struck a mine!" cried some one on board, and without delay
signals were hoisted for the other vessels in sight to stand by. The
battleship was drifting a