At eleven o'clock I went to lunch with the admiral, who conferred on me the Order of St. Anne. This came as a surprise to me. The order with the ribbon was sent to me. The admiral is promoted to vice-admiral and aide-de-camp to the Czar. 3 p.m.--I lay down hoping to rest, but it was not to be; I had to go to the _Sissoi_--her davits had broken. They could not lower a single cutter. Off I went. Here we are at our first anchorage, and already there are a heap of damages. The _Buistry_ is damaged; there are breakages in the _Sissoi_: in the _Jemchug_ the davits broke and a cutter sank. Three Danish steamers which coaled us are damaged. The owners assess the damages at 6,000 roubles (£600). I shall have to go and look at them. I do not take into account minor mishaps, such as the torpedo-boat _Prozorlivy_ (Clearsighted), which struck her bows somewhere, and of course bent them. She was, however, able to cope with the leak herself. _October 6th._--On the way to Cape Skaw. Another mishap to the _Orel_ (Eagle).[2] At a most critical moment, when we were going through a narrow strait, her rudder was injured. She anchored. The damage is not yet ascertained. There is probably some scoundrel on board who has been trying all along to injure the ship. It is supposed to be one of the crew. We got up anchor at 7 a.m. The weather is fair, but it appears to be freshening. The wind is beginning to get much stronger, although the sun is still shining, and there is not much sea. It is warm here, 12° to 13° R. The _Orel_ weighed anchor and followed the fleet. _October 7th._--We are not yet up to the Skaw. Shall be there soon. The weather is very fine again. I wonder what it will be like in the German Ocean. We have to put our watches back now. It is 8.30 on board at this moment. In Petersburg it is probably not yet 8 o'clock. I occasionally look at a book, _The English Self-teacher_, but I do not get on with it; sometimes I am lazy, and sometimes people interrupt me. At anchor off the Skaw. There is no communication with the shore except through the pilot. I gave my letter No. 4 to him to post. Sending a telegram is out of the question. At present we have stopped at sea, and are not off a port. We were anxious about the _Orel_ all night. As I have already told you, she left the fleet, no longer answered signals, and found herself in a dangerous place. Now she is anchored with the other ships. I write to you so often now, that when it will be difficult to send letters, and they will take a long time reaching you, you are bound to be anxious. In any case, I warn you of this. Of course, I shall write to you as often as possible. I must finish this letter. The post goes very soon in the _Ermak_.