The newspaper correspondents themselves were, often without intending it, the most frequent cause of my troubles. Only once did I call upon the Russian administrator; it was a small matter of routine business he had to adjust for me, and he volunteered the information incidentally that in a few days he thought it would be his duty--he did not qualify it with “unpleasant”--his duty, to order me out of Newchwang. As a matter of fact I stopped long enough to see him turned out--by the Japanese. I thought it advisable to keep quiet for a few days, for I was not ready just then to pass out of the Russian lines. At this critical juncture I had a disturbing message from Dr. Morrison: “Greener, Yingkow.--Japanese Legation disbelieves Carter’s story and proximity forces.” The Russian authorities inspected all our telegrams, and for it to be known to them that what I sent was submitted to the Japanese at Peking did not improve my position or make it easier for me to extract news from Russians in authority. The next disturbing incident was far more easily settled. One morning an officer from H.M.S. _Espiègle_ came to me post haste to know what I meant by a telegram in the _Times_ of February 17, then just received in Newchwang. I had my horse saddled and rode up the river bank to the gunboat’s dock, when the following was read to me:-- “YINGKAU, _February 16_.* “The Civil Administrator of Newchwang with his family is proceeding to Tientsin. He has been making every effort to arrest the Russian soldiers guilty of offences against foreigners, and has assured Mr. Miller, the United States Consul, and Commanders Barton and Sawyer of the British sloop _Espiègle_ and the American gunboat _Helena_ against whom menacing demonstrations have been made, that full reparation shall be made.” “What of it?” I asked. “There has been no menacing demonstration, therefore no reparation can be made--that is all.” “Not quite,” I answered. “If you will look you will see an asterisk after the date, and at the bottom of the column you are informed that it is a Reuter’s message. You have called the wrong man.” It was too much to expect me to be answerable for what was sent to the paper by the news agencies, but soon afterwards I was called to book over a paragraph in a message sent from Peking on March 4, and published in the _Times_ of March 7, as follows:--