CAPTAIN KANT'S SUICIDE. 591 most magnificent attack by the Japanese infantry from the north straight up at a fort facing them, and under the fire of guns and rifles°from three othersas well. It was a scene to remember for ever. The Japanese artillery werein a goodposition nowfor enfilading these sorts, and did so with the nearest fort with the best effect. It was evacuated by tlae Chinese at 11.10 a.m., andblew up immediately afterwards.

The artillery then fired at the next fort, at which the main infantry attack was directed; but the range was long, and the shooting not quitegood enough to beeffective for some time.

Meanwhile the Japanese infantry were climbing the slope,taking advantage of whatever slight cover could be found. The ground round them mouth, but also looked towards the land over the roofs of the town.

Before following further thestory of thefight, an incident of the attack on the north ridge must be related here, as an illustration of the Japanese code of military honour. One of the officers of the 24th Regiment, Captain Kani, had been seriously ill for some days in hospital, and was reduced to a state of great weakness. Nevertheless, on the eve of the attack on Port Arthur he insistedonresuming command of his company. It was one of those assigned for the actual attack on the Two Dragons and Cock's Comb Forts. Kani struggled on through the night march,climbed the steephillside under fire with his men,but when the rush for the fort came he fell down utterly exhausted, within a hundred yards of the rampart, over which his men dashed without him. He was taken to hospital, but instead of taking the natural view that he had done his best to be with his men, and had indeed led them up to the point when the enemy's resistance collapsed, he thought only of his failure to be with them to the last, and saidhe was ashamed for ever,if he survived, after remainingbehind. A week after the battle he managed to escape from the hospital, went back to the ridge,and on the spot where he had fallen he killedhimself with his sword. A letter was found beside him. "It was here,"he had written," that sickness compelled me to stop and leave my men to assault the fort without me. Never canIwipe out the disgrace whileI live. To vindicate my honour Idie here, and leave this letter to speak for me." Such deeds are aninheritance from the days of feudal Japan.

One may well regret that a mistaken code of honour should thus deprive his country of the services of so brave a soldier as Captain Kani.

was ploughed up by the Chinese projectiles, but they never stopped, and seemed quite unhurt.

At last they rested for a few minutes about 300 yards below the fort in a fold of the ground, which gave time for the slower ones to come up to the front. Then once more on. But just as they moved forward a row of land mines explodedright in front of them. They seemed to stagger for a moment, and then rushed on. But by this time the Chinese were beginning to suffer from the Japanese artillery fire,and just before the Japanese infantry reached the fort the Chinese left it. This was at 11.25 a.m. That settledall the forts whichfaced north."

The fort blown up at 11.10 was Sung-shushan, the Chinese having fired the magazine as they, left it. The fort captured at 11.25 was one of the works on the Cock's Comb (Chi-huanshan). The Two Dragons forts and the rest of the works on the ridge were rapidly evacuated by the Chinese. By half-past twelve all the land defences had been abandoned except the great fort on Shang-chin-shan (Golden Hill), whose batteries not onlydefended the harboui