We were grateful for a smooth sea, even though the fog delayed our passage somewhat, and we only reached Dalny twenty-five hours after leaving Chemulpo. The rain was gone, and was followed by “clear shining” as we drew up beside the wharf. The agent of the pleasant Yamato hotel took charge of our things, and put us into a comfortable little carriage with india-rubber tyres in which we drove through the town. How delightful it is after roughing it to meet once again such simple home comforts (too simple even to be noticed at home), and to drive over well-made roads! Dalny, or Dairen as it is called by the Japanese, is pre-eminently a new town, full of handsome buildings, from the Sailors’ Rest to the Yokohama Specie Bank, situated in wide, well-made roads, and showing plain proof of the nascent prosperity of the place. The shops are not quite up to what might be expected, but that is only a matter of time, and well-known firms such as Butterfield and Swire, and Samuel Macgregor & Co. are already established there. Dalny is an interesting and remarkable place. Ten years ago it did not exist, but was merely a dream in some Russian brain; and how that brain conceived it, it is hard to imagine. Dalny lies at the base of the Liaotong Peninsula, a rocky, barren spot without any shelter from the tempests; but having the great advantage over its nearest neighbouring seaport, Newchwang, of being open all the year round, whereas Newchwang is ice-bound four months in the winter. _This_ is the reason why Russia was willing to pour out money like water to convert the wilderness into a great commercial port at the southern terminus of the railway line. The harbour alone has been an enormous expense, for the bank is very shelving, and there are now dry docks, moles, breakwaters, and warehouses, with a vast amount of space available for the requisites for that commerce which Russia expected to obtain. But it is not Russia, but Japan, who is now the owner of Dalny; it is Japanese ships that ply between China, Korea, and Japan, not to mention the trade with more distant countries, which is steadily growing. As it is the only port north of Hong Kong where large steamers can conveniently discharge their cargoes, it ought to have good prospects, and the increasing exports from Manchuria are certain to pass through it. Not only did Russia expend its money upon making Dalny a fine port, but also in making it a fine city and pleasant to live in. The residential quarter has been hewn out of the hill-side for about a couple of miles, and handsomely laid out, while a beautiful shady drive of seven or eight miles leads to the seashore facing the ocean.