THE CHINO-JAPANESE WAR, 1894—9? 564 trained on the enemy. Through the ventilators could beheard the beats of the steampumps,for all the lines of hose were joinedup and spouting water, so that, in case of fire, no time need be lost. '6,000 metres!'— '5,800!'— '600!'— ' 500!' ' !' The crisis wasrapidly approaching. Every man's nerves were in a state of tension, which was greatly relieved as a huge cloud of white smoke, belching from the Ting-Yuen's starboard barbette, opened the ball."

Fired at a range of about three and a half miles, the shell fell short, throwing up a huge Chen-Yuen, one could see beneath this gaiety much that was sinister. Dark-skinned men,with queuestightly coiled round their heads and with arms bared to the elbow, clustered along the decks ingroups at the guns, waitingimpatiently to kill or be killed. Sand was sprinkled along the decks, and more waskept handy against the time when they might becomeslippery.\ In the superstructures, and down out of sight in the bowels of the ship, were men at the shell whips and ammunitionhoists and in the torpedo room. Here and there a manlay flat on the deck, with THE BATTLE OF THE YALU.

fountain of water ahead of the Yoshino, the leading ship of the Japanese -line. The Chen-Yuen and the other Chinese ships opened fire, and the line of battle was wrapped in clouds of smoke. For five minutes more the Japanese fleet came on swiftly and silently. But when the range was just under two miles, the bow guns of the Yoshinoopened in reply. She was heading obliquely for the right wing of the Chinese, and as the other cruisers of the van squadron followedher on the same course, their bow guns and their forward starboartl batteries were able to come into action. The Japanese, thanks to their numerous quick-firers, were able to deliver a much heavier cannonade than the Chinese. Through the thick smoke, out ot a charge of powder— fifty pounds or more— in his arms, waiting to pass it on whenit shouldbe wanted. The nerves of the men below deck were in extreme tension. On deck one could see the approaching enemy,but below nothing wasknown, save that any moment might begin the actionandbring in a shell through the side. Once the battlehad begun they were all right, but at first the strain was intense. The fleets closed on each other rapidly. My crew was silent. The sub-lieutenant in the military foretop was taking sextant angles and announcing the range, and exhibiting an appropriate small signal-flag. As each range was called, the men at tlae guns would lower the sight-bars, each gun captain, lanyard in hand, keeping his gun