Late in October, 1914, the Japanese received the surrender of Tsing Tau, the important German city in Kiauchau, China. The place had been battered for weeks by land and sea by the Japanese forces, and the surrender was ordered, it was said, to save the German forces and civilians from certain annihilation if a defense by the garrison to the end were to be carried on. German warships were powerless to assist the beleaguered city, as Japanese and English war vessels had driven them far from the coast of China. The Japanese cruiser Takachiho was sunk by a mine in Kiauchau Bay on the night of October 17. One officer and nine members of the crew are known to have been saved. The cruiser carried a crew of 284 men. Her main battery consisted of eight 6-inch guns. MAIN FLEETS STILL INACTIVE Up to the last week in October the main fleets of the warring powers were still inactive, but rumors of intended German naval activity were frequent. The cat-and-mouse attitude of the British and German fleets in the North Sea was continued, the Germans lying snug in their ports, protected by their mines and submarines, while the British battleships lay in wait at all points of possible egress. The situation tried the patience of the people of both countries and there were frequent demands for action by the great and costly naval armaments. But the Germans apparently were not ready to risk a general engagement, and the British could not force them to come out and fight. The British admirals, therefore had, perforce, to pursue a policy of "watchful waiting," irksome as it was to all concerned, and "the tireless vigil in the North Sea," as it was termed by Mr. Asquith, was maintained day and night. No sea captain becalmed in the doldrums ever whistled for a wind more earnestly than the British Jack tars prayed for a chance at the enemy during those three months of playing the cat to Germany's mouse; and on the other hand, the German sailors were, no doubt, equally desirious of a chance to demonstrate the fighting abilities of their brand-new battleships. All were equally on the _qui vive_, for any hour might bring to the Germans the order to put to sea, and to the British the welcome cry of "Enemy in sight!" CARING FOR BELGIAN REFUGEES