left fresh in every mind the incalculable value of mobility. Now Russia, in her hordes of Cossack horse, possessed a cavalry which had the reputation of being unique in the world. "Other countries have infantry, artillery and cavalry; but Russia is alone in possessing Cossacks," said one distinguished general shortly after the outbreak of hostilities. But as the campaign progressed, critics began to revise their judgments. The terrible Cossack horsemen, for some reason or other, failed to play any considerable part in events. They attempted a raid in Korea from the northeast, but without any result, and in the subsequent fighting they found no opportunity for asserting themselves. The campaign was an infantry and artillery campaign entirely; and the notorious weakness of the Japanese army in cavalry was no impediment to their victorious advance. The war in Manchuria proved in fact that the conditions of the war in South Africa had been peculiar and exceptional. But at last the Cossacks were to be given an opportunity of showing their mettle. On January 8th a force of 6,000 Cossacks under General Mistchenko crossed the Hun-ho and began to march rapidly southwards. This formidable force, composed of three brigades, was accompanied by six batteries of light artillery, and in its organization everything had been done to give to it the _maximum_ of mobility. The Hun-ho, which Mistchenko's division crossed immediately after setting out, is a tributary of the Liao River, into which it flows some forty or fifty miles above Niuchwang. While the course of the Liao is roughly due north, that of the Hun is northeast, or almost directly in the line from Mukden to Niuchwang. The severity of the weather had moderated and was most favorable for the movement of such a great body of mounted men, who swept down the vast Liao plain on a front extending for five miles. By the second night Mistchenko's three brigades had reached the confluence of the Liao and the Hun, and there they made the first contact with the enemy. A Japanese convoy was captured, but the escort succeeded in making its escape, and from that moment it was impossible to conceal knowledge of the movement from the enemy. With their characteristic thoroughness--which throughout this war has left nothing unforeseen and nothing unprovided for--the Japanese had organized a plan for giving instant warning of a raid on the line to the troops guarding all the depots and the lines of communication, in case of any surprise attack such as that devised by Mistchenko. Great beacon fires had been laid at intervals up and down the country, and the kindling of one of these--the signal of approaching danger--was sufficient to set the whole plain from Niuchwang to Liao-yang ablaze with warning flame. No sooner had the Cossacks made their first capture than a house in the village which they had entered suddenly began to emit heavy columns of black smoke,