At this news General Stoessel looked grave and said with emphasis: “Now that Port Arthur has fallen it is useless for the Baltic fleet to come.” Invited to state what had caused the greatest loss and inconvenience to the defenders, General Stoessel immediately declared that it was undoubtedly the shells of the eleven inch howitzers. Since the arrival of these guns the defence works were practically useless. Speaking of men the General said that he had strongly opposed General Sakaroff’s plan of constructing a harbour and dockyard at Dalny before the fortification of Port Arthur was completed. When the Japanese fleet attacked in February last he was filled with alarm, as the forts were only half ready and the garrison was between two and three thousand men. If the Japanese had known they might have walked into Port Arthur at that time. General Kondrachenko was killed by a shell in North Fort. According to every naval and military officer with whom I have spoken, General Kondrachenko was the heart and soul of the defence. He was everywhere, and his influence was felt on all sides. In devising schemes of defence his ingenuity and energy were unfailing. He was to be found always in the thick of the fight, yet no detail escaped his vigilance and his resource, while his industry and his contempt of danger appeared boundless. With Kondrachenko’s death the story of the brave defence of the fortress ended. There was none to take his place. General Stoessel might well speak of him as a hero. Referring to the origin of the war, General Stoessel declared that from the first he was opposed to hostilities. “Some people,” he added, “believe that Admiral Alexieff was the real cause of the war. I deny it. Alexieff never wanted war. We were both in China during the Boxer trouble and knew the qualities of the Japanese troops. In that expedition the lion’s share of the work was done by the Japanese and by my Third Division.” The real cause of the war, in General Stoessel’s opinion, was the ignorance of the Russian people (_sic_), who knew nothing of the fighting capacity of the Japanese. As for himself, he remarked that he ought to be in the North with his division. He praised highly the pluck and patience of the Japanese soldiers. The artillery he did not consider good at first, though he had since recognised its excellence, especially in concentrated fire. The General went on to speak of his own experiences. “I have served in three wars--in the Turkish war as a captain and Staff officer, in the Boxer expedition, and at Port Arthur. I have been thrice wounded. This time a splinter of a shell wounded me slightly on the forehead. I have served my country well, and desire nothing more than to end my days in the country with the members of my family.” Chapter XLII THE TWO LEADERS.