It was open for any one to see the troops who left the fortress, to note the regiment, number of companies, and the physique of the men; it was as easy to go to the railway station and check the number of trains arriving and departing, to find the military trains and ascertain what they brought and what they took away. There was no secret made of anything. Then one could go to the drill ground and see the troops being exercised, and the recruits put through barrack-yard evolutions and parade-ground displays. The march past in review order, wheeling in line, forming into columns, and the simplest manœuvres seemed to be the usual order of the day. Woe to the man who failed to keep his dressing, who advanced too rapidly, or fell behind. A running kick from the drill sergeant was the first notification he had of his error. As in every drill yard of Russia in time of peace the troops rehearsed their cheers. At Port Arthur, and elsewhere in Manchuria, there as in Russia, the cheer was the performance of an order, done as mechanically and precisely as the movement of shouldering arms, or turning right about; and it was always given in the same tone of voice, jerked out in sharp, staccato fashion, a succession of disconnected syllables; not, “Long live the Tsar! Horray!” but: “Da--zdrav--stouett--nash--obo--jamie --goc--u--dap--im--per--at--or--ura!” During the whole of my stay at Port Arthur I heard but one genuine, spontaneous cheer in connexion with the war. It was on the first day when the little cruiser _Novik_ returned from being under fire from the enemy. The crowd of Government employees on the Admiralty quay to greet the vessel, cheered lustily and long. The _Askold_ also received an ovation, and so did some of the torpedo-boat destroyers. Captain Essen, of the _Novik_, was one of the most dashing officers of the Russian navy, and was repeatedly mentioned in dispatches. Another fighting commander was Zalyesski of the _Askold_, and Lieutenant Kouzmin-Korovaiev, of the _Serditi_, both of whom distinguished themselves on the occasion. The small cruisers and boats of the torpedo flotilla were soon repaired, but large ships like the _Pallada_ had long to wait, and the injuries to the battleships were very severe.