And now a word as to the press censorship in the Fortress. From August 9 right up to September 8 the _Novy Kry_ printed my notes, under the heading 'News of the _Novy Kry_.' These notes were based entirely on personal observations or on information received by me in the Fortress Staff Office. By the direction of the Commandant and with the knowledge of Stössel and Reuss, the following procedure was observed.[15] Every day, after going round the line of defences, I went to the Fortress Staff Office, where I was given all the telephone messages of the preceding twenty-four hours up to twelve noon that day. I busied myself with this budget in the office of the Chief of the Staff, in his presence, and under the supervision of Lieutenants Kniazeff or Hammer. When my account was ready I handed it to Colonel Khvostoff for him to see, and everything that I said relating to the operations of the fleet was given to Lieutenant Mackalinsky of the Navy, attached to the Fortress Staff, to look through. These two then deleted such parts of it as, in their opinion, ought not to be published, and at once returned it to me with permission to send to press. I then despatched it by my orderly to Colonel Artemieff in the Editor's Office, who in his turn cut out such parts as seemed to him suspicious--_i.e._, parts to which objection might be taken by the censors. After he had done this--it always had to be done by him personally--the manuscript was sent to be set up. Two corrected proofs were sent, one to General Stössel's Office and one to the Naval Office, to be censored. The proofs, when signed by the censors, were returned to the printing-offices, where they were checked by the assistant editor, and sent by him to the type-room to be amended. Thence a revised proof was sent to the editor for checking with the censors' original remarks. It was only after very careful checking of this revised proof with the original that Colonel Artemieff permitted it to be printed. See what an amount of correction and checking my 'News' was subjected to before it reached the reader. However, notwithstanding all this absurd severity--the almost impossible requirements of two censors, naval and military--General Stössel deemed it so dangerous that he stopped the publication of the _Novy Kry_ for one month! FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 15: General Stössel was always very well informed of everything that happened in the Fortress Staff Office.] CHAPTER XXIV THE SORTIE OF THE FLEET ON AUGUST 10