and were much more heavily armed than the Russian cruisers, to which they now found themselves opposed. Of these the _Gromoboi_, a huge vessel of 12,336 tons displacement, was the latest and the most formidable. The _Rossia_ was her equal in every respect except gun protection; but the _Rurik_ was of another class altogether in a direction that proved fatal to her--namely, speed. Her engines were only capable of developing 18 knots, and that made her a terrible hindrance to the manoeuvring power of the whole squadron. It was not until the Japanese had crossed the course of the Russians that the latter became aware of the presence of the enemy, and then they immediately put about and steered north. According to the report of the Russian Admiral, the fight began at half-past four in the morning a little north of the line between Fusan and Tsushima. The Russians attempted to make for the open sea northwards, but were headed off, mainly owing to the inferior steaming power of the _Rurik_, which was in the rear of the line. The Russians were in single column line ahead, while the Japanese steering across their course adopted the famous T-shaped formation which is associated with the name of Admiral Togo. The battle began at a range of five miles, and very soon the superior gunnery and heavier armament of the Japanese told its tale. The Russians changed course to the east, and immediately the ill-fated _Rurik_ began to drop behind, enabling the Japanese cruisers to concentrate the fire on her at a range of little more than three miles. The steering gear broke down, and the vessel speedily became unmanageable, while the havoc wrought by the rain of shells poured into her quickly rendered her guns unworkable. With splendid gallantry the _Rurik's_ consorts, seeing her desperate plight, returned to her assistance, and circled round her in order to draw the enemy's fire and to give the crippled cruiser a chance of effecting repairs. They suffered heavily in the attempt, and their sacrifice was unavailing. The _Rurik_ burst into flames, which her devoted crew could not subdue. Her movements became erratic. She developed a heavy list to port, and then began to settle down by the stern. At last, after the fight had been going on for nearly four hours, it became evident that the _Rurik_ was doomed; and her consorts, who were in sorry case themselves, left her to make their own escape. Both the _Gromoboi_ and the _Rossia_ had been struck repeatedly below the water line, and had been fired in several places by the Japanese shells, though the fires were got under. What finally decided their flight was the arrival of reinforcements for the enemy in the shape of the _Noniwa_ and the _Takachiho_--two protected cruisers of the second class. These vessels were left to finish off the already sinking _Rurik_, while Admiral Kamimura set off at full speed in pursuit of the _Gromoboi_ and _Rossia_. For some