Shanhaikwan thus became the natural boundary between the territory under the sway of the Russians and the country in the combined occupation of the Allies. The Czar’s servants had laid covetous eyes upon it; for its position and a number of strong and well‐armed forts which had been constructed by the Chinese rendered it an important _point d’appui_ whence to dominate North China. So a powerful Russian force was despatched by land to seize these fortifications; but it was forestalled by the smart action of the British Admiral, who sent a gunboat, the _Pigmy_, to Shanhaikwan. The captain of this little craft audaciously demanded and actually received the surrender of the forts; so that when the Russians arrived they found, to their intense surprise, the Union Jack flying from the ramparts. Eventually, to avoid dissensions, the various forts were divided among the Allies. Previous to my departure on a long‐projected trip to Japan—seeing a little of Manchuria and Corea _en route_—I joined a small party of officers who had arranged to pay a flying visit to Shanhaikwan. With light luggage and the roll of bedding without which the Anglo‐Indian seldom travels in the East, we entrained at Tientsin. A couple of hours sufficed to bring us to Tong‐ku, where the railway branches off to the north. The platform was thronged with a bustling crowd of the soldiers of many nations, the place being the disembarkation port for the Continental, the American, and the Japanese troops. In the station buildings the British officers in charge of that section of the railway and of the detachments guarding it had established a mess. As we had some time to wait before the departure of the train to Shanhaikwan, they warmly welcomed us within its hospitable, if narrow, walls. When the warning bell summoned us to take our places, we established ourselves in a comfortable first‐class carriage—partly saloon, partly coupé. I may mention that during the occupation of North China by the Allies the wearers of uniform travelled free everywhere on the railways. Among our fellow‐passengers were some Japanese naval officers, a German or two, a few Russians, and an old friend of mine, Lieutenant Hutchinson, of H.M.S. _Terrible_, who had served with the Naval Brigade in the defence of Tientsin. He had just returned from a trip to Japan, and was full of his adventures in the Land of the Geisha.