ins, and under the admiral who is going to command the northern
fleet, to which you will be attached. I may mention that I am to be in
command of the southern division, while Admiral Ting will be your chief.

"You remember, of course, Captain Frobisher, that when the rebellion in
Korea became so serious that the Government could not deal with it, the
Korean Minister asked our assistance, and we gave it, as you saw, at
Asan. I also informed you then that Japan had thereupon thought fit to
manifest a somewhat unfriendly attitude by sending an unnecessarily
strong guard to her Minister at Seoul, coupled with an intimation that
she would feel obliged to send a much larger force if the rebellion was
not immediately crushed. That, in itself, as we fully realised,
amounted very nearly to a threat of war against China, and showed us
that Japan was only awaiting her opportunity. We therefore sent a very
strongly worded protest against such action to Tokio; and the Japanese
thereupon agreed to defer action until it could be seen what turn events
in Korea were going to take.

"That was the situation when you were sent in the _Su-chen_ up the
Hoang-ho; and those of us who had eyes to see and ears to hear were
fully awake to the fact that this concession on the part of Japan was
merely a postponement of the evil day. Perhaps she found she was not as
fully prepared for war as she had imagined. I know we were not. My
colleagues and I, and those of us who had our country's interests at
heart, took warning, therefore, and hurried forward our preparations for
war as rapidly as we could.

"Then things remained fairly quiescent until a few days ago. We had
practically quelled the Korean rebellion, and matters were resuming
their normal status in Korea, the only thing that remained being to
institute the reforms which were undoubtedly necessary in that country.
The proposals for these were offered to, and accepted by, the Korean
Government; and the proposed modifications of policy began to take shape
at once. One would therefore have thought that our little campaign in
Korea might be said to have terminated satisfactorily, and that Korea
might be left to carry out the course of action to which she had pledged
herself. In fact, we actually commenced the withdrawal of our troops.

"Then, suddenly, Japan sprang her mine. Our Minister at Seoul was
informed by the Japanese representative that Japan did not consider
Korea competent