A few passages of comment and forecast have been added since the occurrence of the war, but in the main the narrative remains as it was originally written. Japan, Korea, Manchuria, and the Siberian Railway have been described over and over again, both during and since the war, but descriptions of them on the eve of the outbreak may come with some freshness and enable readers to compare what was yesterday with what is today. And what has been changed in the "Unchanging East" bears but a very small proportion to what remains the same in spite of wars and revolutions. I hope, therefore, that these first impressions of countries which, in name at any rate, are far more familiar to the British public than they were four or five years ago, may prove of great interest to many readers in England and America. The chapters on _The Tsar of all the Russias_, _The Reception at the Summer Palace_, _The Audience of the Emperor of Korea_, and _The Mikado and the Empress_, appeared in "Pearson's Magazine," and thanks are due to the Editor for kind permission to reprint them. The chapters on _Manchuria under Russian Rule_ first appeared in the "Revue des deux Mondes," and those on _Japan and China in the Twentieth Century_ in the "Deutsche Rundschau," but none of these have been translated into English before. The whole has been carefully revised, and considerable additions have been made. JOHN MURRAY. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION General situation--Eve of the war--Political outlook in Russia--Characteristics of the two capitals--Siberia and Siberians--Conquest of Manchuria--Position of China and the Powers--Korea's difficulties--Racial tendencies _Page_ xvii I THE TSAR AND TSARINA AT THEIR HOME OF PETERHOF The Baltic station of St. Petersburg--The Imperial "Special" --Through the suburbs of the capital--Peterhof--Sentries and passwords--The Imperial Family's favourite home-- Alexandrovsky--A homely interior--The Empress and her tastes --Mother and wife--H.M. Nicholas II--A conversation on different topics 1 II TO THE FAR EAST BY THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY