THE CHINO-JAPANESE WAR, 1894—95. 558 wall and the northern gate,the infantry pouring in a heavy rifle fire wherever the defenders attempted a reply.

The cavalry attempted another sortie, probably in the hope of clearing a way for a general retreat. There were about five hundred of them. They rode gallantly down onNodzu's infantry, but were swept away almost to a man by the Japanese rifles. On the north side of the city the fire had ceased from the wall, and the great gate seemed to be abandoned. But this might be only a trick of the wily Chinese,and after an attempt to open the gate from the outside, which drew fire from some of the neighbouring loopholes, a gallant soldier, a private named Hirada, volunteered to climb the wall and reconnoitre. His comrades watched him anxiously as he scrambled up the high wall beside thepagoda-crowned gateway, from which the dragon flag stillflew. He found the parapet deserted, got down and unbolted the gate,and the Japanese infantry rushed in. The Chinese had retired to some houses at a distanceinside the gate. They had fired at Hirada ashe was openingit, and they now exchangeda sharp fire with the advancing Japanese. Beyond this point the Japanese made no progress during the afternoon;and as the walls and towers on the right and left were held by the Chinese, and they were rallying in the streets, Tachimi decided to fall back on the Peony Mount,and hold on there till the main attack had made further progress. This retirement after the gate had been forced shows that the Japanese had stilla good deal of respect for their opponents. But the nextday was to bring a surprise.

It was not till neareight o'clock that General Nodzu hadenough troops in hand to begin the attack on the south-west end of Ping-yang.

After a brief bombardment of the outworks he deployedhis infantry for the attack. They were gallantly charged by the Manclau cavalry, who came rushing out from one of the gates, but these daringhorsemen were received with such a fire that few of them escaped. Of these the greater part gained tlae open country,and rode away northwardsto join the army on the Yalu.

One by one the outlying works wereabandoned, and the Chinese gradually concentrated their defence on the high wallof the city.

Tlae sky had become overclouded since early morning, and about noon a storm burst over Ping-yang. Then ensued a curious scene. " Shortly after midday," wrote the Standard correspondent, "the dense fog of smoke, which had been slowly drifting eastward, was broken up by an almost tropical downpour. The Chinese troops put up their oiled-paper umbrellas and resolved to keep their bodies dry as well as their powder. This seems almost too grotesque to be true,but it is a fact. Their spacious umbrellas, sticking above the walls of their trenches,formed excellent targets for the Japanese sharpshooters. Chinese soldiers are miserable, depressed creatures in the rain, and this unfortunate downpour had not a little to do with the success of the Japanese attack at this period." The forts on the high ground at the south of the city were captured, and then the Chinese hung out white flags, and the firing ceased for awhile, and a Chinese officer with a flag of truce came out in front of Nodzu's attack. To quote the Standard correspondent,Mr. Villiers,again: " When morning dawned," writes the correspondent we have already quoted, " Ping-yang was silent. No reveille from the Chinese lines heralded the day. Down by the western gate was a village smouldering. Here and there a hut was struggling to burst into flame, for the rain hadnowceased, and the pall of smoke still hung over the valley. The soddened turf, the fields of millet, beans,and corn,wore the imprint of a greathost having passed over the country. The roads, the trails through the fields, were strewn with bright and gaudy uniforms. Flags, quaint spears, curious old-time muskets,swords, pots and pans, and several curiously carved carriage chairs were sticking in tlae mud. Ihe Japanese army awoke to this strange sight, rubbed its eyes and wondered, then sounded the advance, and closed upon the city. The earthworks, the redoubts, and the city itself wereempty. The Chinese army haddisappeared. Some 12,000 menhad stolen away in the night. 'He who fights and runs away lives to tight " Some Japanese officers left their lines and met him half-way. They found the Chinese asked for a suspension of hostilities pending an arrangementto surrender. The Japanesepointed out that this could easily be done. The Chinese had simply to lay down their arms, and the Japanese would march in and take possession. The Chinese general sent wordto say that they could not very well surrender in such rainy weather. His men would get drenched, and things wouldbe generallyuncomfortable. Would they wait, say, for twelvehours ? The rainmight lift by then. But the Japanese wouldnot listen suither totheparley,andhostilitiesrecommenced."