It will be a surprise if we are obliged to wait for the famous third fleet. It is very injurious for our ships, being kept in Nosi Be. Their underwater parts will be covered with barnacles and waterweeds (commonly known as beard). Owing to this ships steam considerably slower and require a greater expenditure of coal, etc. The barnacles and beard have to be cleaned off in dock, and there are none available in this part of the world. Cleaning the underwater parts with the help of divers is slow and unsatisfactory. How important it is may be seen from the fact that even merchant ships voyaging in southern and eastern waters go into dock to be cleaned at least once in six months. We shall arrive in the East with dirty ships, and the Japanese will meet us in clean ones. Our ships will have just made a long voyage, and theirs will come out of harbour. Another fine thing is that the Japanese will raise our ships sunk at Port Arthur, repair them, and oppose them to us under their old names. They will strengthen their fleet in this way, and what a disgrace it will be for Russia. Imagine the scene! Some _Poltava_ or _Retvizan_ will fire on the _Suvaroff_. It is too disgusting to think of! And who is it who has annihilated the fleet? The Japs--"Apes," as our gallant sailors call them! Such self-confidence, conceit, and contempt for the monkey Japs will cost Russia dearly. Here I go again, harping on the old tune. I had better stop, as it does not help. _February 7th._--I lunched in the battleship _Orel_. Had soup with rice--and caterpillars. A satisfying meal, was it not? The officers of the _Orel_ are convinced that for several evenings running they have seen a balloon on the horizon signalling with lights. One of the officers thought of ordering himself a pair of white trousers made out of a sheet, as material is not to be had. There is a consoling description of the _Cesarevitch's_ damages. Fifteen twelve-inch shells struck her (this is a tremendous number, and twelve-inch shells are the heaviest), and not one pierced her armour. Our battleships _Suvaroff_, _Borodino_, _Alexander_, and _Orel_ are better armoured than the _Cesarevitch_. If twelve-inch shells could not pierce her armour, smaller projectiles can do almost nothing--that is, if they hit protected parts. Some of the eye-witnesses in the _Rossia_ and _Gromoboi_ say that the first impressions of the battle were horrible. Everything was upside-down and broken to bits. You looked round and saw that nothing that was behind armour was touched, and no substantial damage done to the ship. All this is very nice, but an endless stay at Nosi Be deprives one of all energy. _February 8th._--I have been to the _Anadir_, _Kamchatka_, and to the shore. I went to the cemetery. The caretaker showed me the grave of a Japanese. I told him to put Popoff's grave in order, as it had fallen in.