The route we are following now is little frequented by ships. Never since the creation of the world have battleships, small cruisers, torpedo-boats, or a fleet at all similar to ours gone along this route. What sort of ship is there not with us? Battleships, cruisers, torpedo-boats, transports, a repair ship, hospital-ship, a water-carrier, and a tug. Again the fleet has stopped. The tow-rope of one of the torpedo-boats has broken. We are going slowly. To-day at noon we have done 675 miles, in all about 1,180 versts, and we have to do 7,000 versts in order to reach the East Indian archipelago. At 4 a.m. to-morrow all warships are to coal from the transports which are with us. _March 8th._--I have been unable to write since this morning. In the first place, I was going from ship to ship; then there was such an infernal heat in my cabin that it was useless to think of writing. It is a little fresher now, 27° R. In the night the tiller rope carried away in the _Suvaroff_; the confusion was considerable, but I escaped it. I was called early this morning, at seven o'clock. All the fleet had stopped and begun to take coal from the boats, which were loaded from the transports. At first the weather was calm, although there was a fairly large swell. The _Aurora's_ steamboat disturbed me. They had hoisted it in, but I had not seen how they secured it. I wanted to see it myself. The _Roland_ went about with various orders for ships that were far from the _Suvaroff_. I decided to go in her to the _Aurora_. I went in the admiral's whaler and began to curse myself. Getting out of the whaler was very dangerous and difficult. The _Roland_ had to deliver packets with orders to ten ships, and by eleven o'clock she had just been to six. The ships lay far off, and much time was spent in sending boats with the packets. At twelve o'clock I returned to the _Suvaroff_ from the _Roland_ in the whaler again. Could you have believed that I should ever be pulled across the ocean in a tiny cockleshell? The swell is an extraordinary thing. It looks quite calm from a ship, but in reality it is far from being so. I drank a cup of coffee in the _Roland_. At first she rolled lightly, but afterwards to such an extent that the plates fell from the table. When we came near the different ships they looked at us with curiosity, expected something, and asked the news, as if we were not in the same fleet. They were given the packets, and their disappointment was fearful. I was late for lunch and ate in my cabin. When I entered it from the fresh air, it seemed like a stove. The heat was intolerable. I drank water with ice in it. A piece was left. With the greatest delight I rubbed my head and neck with it. I often do this now. The ice melts instantly.