_October 14th._--I gave my letter to a soldier or police "alguazil," as they call them on board. I gave him money--one peseta! Our battleships lie waiting. It is positively insulting! Coal, bought by Russia, is in steamers close alongside and is not allowed to be put on board. "Who prevents it?" you ask. Miserable, beggarly, broken Spain. Undoubtedly the hand of England is visible in this. The Spaniards make no secret of it. At 1 p.m. permission came for each ship to take in 400 tons. Sailors and officers, dirty and black, hasten to begin coaling. White tunics and cap-covers are nowhere to be seen. Everything is black with coal-dust. Faces are black as soot, and only teeth gleam white. _October 18th._--They say we leave for Tangier to-morrow morning. I have been busy all day, and not able to write. FOOTNOTES: [1] Admiral Rojdestvensky's Christian name. "Boyarin" means "the lord." [2] On September 17th, 1904, the battleship _Orel_ went aground when being towed to sea. [3] A small wooden box in which sailors keep small articles of private property, such as watches, letters, photographs, etc. CHAPTER II OFF NORTH-WEST AFRICA _October 19th._--On the way from Vigo to Tangier. Permission came last evening for us to proceed. At 7 a.m. to-day the fleet weighed anchor and left Vigo Bay. I did not succeed in getting ashore. Yesterday an engineer of the _Anadir_ fell from the upper deck into the hold, but escaped uninjured. There is a report in the newspapers that, during the firing on the steamers in the German Ocean, the chaplain of the _Aurora_ was wounded, and now they have sent him into hospital at Tangier, where the remainder of the fleet are lying. There is no proper harbour at Tangier--merely the open sea. It is unlike Vigo. The latter is one of the best harbours in the world. It is deep and long and broad. The Spaniards do not know how to profit by such natural wealth. Vigo might carry on a universal trade. At present it is a small provincial town on the sea. The Spaniards are very poor, because they are uncommonly lazy. Vigo trades mostly in sardines. They have a sardine factory. The sardines are caught in the bay, which is divided into squares for each party of fishermen. Heaven help the fishermen who trespass in the square of the others. There is a fight at once. This occurs so often, that there are special ships who part the fighters and tow the guilty fishermen in their boats to the shore, for punishment. The weather is fine at present; but what darkness! Literally nothing can be seen, and there are no stars. Only lights that are absolutely necessary are left on deck. It is dark everywhere. One has to look out and not bump one's head or fall. Something has gone wrong again with the _Orel's_ steering engine. She continues to keep up with the others.