It is a melancholy circumstance, typical of the sombre, but ofttimes splendid, tragedy of war, that of this third and most successful attempt to block the harbor the narrative is necessarily the most fragmentary and obscure, owing to the loss of life which it entailed. On the two previous occasions, reckless as was the gallantry of the Japanese and enormous as were the risks they ran, the casualties were surprisingly small, and the majority of the men engaged were able to return to their ships and tell the story of their enterprise. On this night, however, everything was against success; the Russians were more fully prepared to meet attack than they had ever been before; their shooting was more effective; and worse still, the weather turned out wholly unfavorable, the ships had to proceed singly upon their way; and when they were sunk the difficulties in the way of recovering their crews proved more than usually arduous, and most of them were either shot or drowned or taken prisoner. In spite of all these adverse circumstances a splendid success was achieved, but it was achieved under conditions which largely obliterated the record, and leaves but sparse material for the historian. [Sidenote: Lurid Flashing of Searchlights] The broad outlines of the story, however, are clear. When the steamers with their accompanying flotillas were well on their way, a strong southeasterly breeze sprang up, which rapidly freshened into a gale. It was impossible in the circumstances to keep the vessels together, and, fearing that the attack would in consequence be ineffective, Commander Hayashi signalled to his subordinates to abandon the expedition for the time being. But the weather and the heavy seas prevented his signals from being observed, and the gallant enterprise therefore proceeded unchecked. By one in the morning the 14th torpedo-boat flotilla reached the roadstead and pressed steadily towards the eastern side of the harbor mouth. The little vessels were soon exposed to the glare of the searchlights, and at once a furious bombardment broke out upon them from the Russian gunboats and the shore batteries. For the moment they retreated, drawing the enemy's fire upon them, while the leading steamer, which was close behind, made a dash for the channel. This vessel was the _Mikawa_, under the command of Lieut. Sosa. The Russians, as we have said, were much better prepared to resist attack than on previous occasions. Piles of combustibles, stationed at various points on the shore on each side of the harbor mouth, were set on fire, and cast a lurid light on the scene, throwing into strong relief the dark forms of the advancing ships, while the searchlights flashed backwards and forwards over the unquiet surface of the sea, and made every movement of the Japanese fatally visible to the defenders on the fortress. A storm of missiles burst over the devoted expedition, but undeterred, intent only on reaching the centre of the channel, Lieut.