The British officer was highly indignant at the incident, and wished me to make the most of what had happened, informing me that he was forwarding a strongly worded report of the proceeding to his chief for transmission to the Foreign Office. I was astonished subsequently that so little importance was attached to the affair at home, and I am of the opinion that if the incident had been handled diplomatically by our Government, the _Knight Commander_ and the _Hipsang_ would not have been sunk, our Indian mail would not have been tampered with between Brindisi and Port Said, the North Sea trawlers would not have been molested, and the British flag would be regarded by Russia with the same respect that it used to receive from people of other nationality. The guardship _Razboinik_--“razboinik = robber, highwayman, cut-throat, moss-trooper, scourer, ruffian, bandit, brigand.--_Alexandrov_”--was commanded at Port Arthur by Prince Lieven, an experienced officer, whose culpability for the affair must not be assumed, as I was not able to ascertain for certain whether or not he was on board his ship at the time of the attack upon the _Fuping_. Prince Lieven was a well-known figure in society, and typical of a small but worthy section of the Russian navy. A Baltic Russian by race, he had little of the impetuosity of the Slav and much of German staidness; his brain was contemplative rather than initiatory. He was a devout Lutheran, and scrupulously conscientious, able to give a reason for every act he committed, even though that reason would not suffice to convince any one but himself of its absolute righteousness. He was sober, frugal, and plodding The gallant captain had fascinating manners, and though a ladies’ man was essentially of the domestic type, but his life was far from being devoid of romance, as every one in Port Arthur knew. For some reason or other the Prince was chary always of being left alone, and was nervous when in the presence of strangers. It was rumoured that he was one of the “watched,” that he feared he was being followed by some one who had determined to take his life. This feeling is of course too common among a certain class of officials in Russia to be mistaken for hallucination, as there is often good grounds for the assumption that they have bitter enemies. In this case the haunting was due to an old romance. The Prince has been twice married--and one of his admirers, a sprightly, dashing, intelligent woman--whom I saw sometimes when I was wandering through the almost deserted town--follows him everywhere. Subsequently I saw her in different treaty ports, which she left for Japan, hoping from thence to reach Port Arthur at its fall. When Prince Lieven escaped on the _Diana_, she sailed for Saigon, where the crew is interned. Upon this man many important duties devolved--for some of which possibly he had no time.