on either side of Port Arthur; and--ha! there is
the Pinnacle Rock light, straight ahead. By Jingo! as the honourable
English say, Captain Matsunaga has `hit it off splendidly.' And see
there,"--as a light began to wink at us from the bridge of the _Asashio_
ahead--"there is the signal for the 4th and 5th Divisions to part
company. Yes; there they go; and now, as again the honourable English
say, `we shan't be long.'"

I shivered involuntarily. A quarter of an hour more and that blackness
ahead would be pierced by the blinding rays of the inexorable
searchlights and stabbed by the fierce flashing of artillery, the glare
of bursting shells, and the radiance of star rockets. And we should be
in the midst of it. It would be my first experience of actual warfare,
and I wondered how I should pass through the ordeal. I had already
learned that the Japanese soldier or sailor is absolutely the most
fearless creature in existence. He fears death as little as he fears
sleep, provided that it comes to him in the service of his Emperor and
his country. To die for his Emperor, indeed, who is to him as a god, is
the very highest honour, the greatest glory, that the male Japanese can
look forward to. He faces such a death with the same pure joy, the same
exaltation, that the early Christian martyrs displayed when they were
led forth to die for their faith. It was this spirit, this eagerness,
this enthusiasm to die in battle, that caused the enormous losses
suffered by the Japanese during the war; but it made them invincible!
How was my conduct going to compare with that of men like these, I who
was animated by no more lofty sentiment than the desire to do my duty to
the best of my ability, to play my part as a man should, and, above all,
to uphold the honour and dignity of my race? I was happy in the
conviction that I should not disgrace myself by any exhibition of craven
fear, but what I dreaded was that in the excitement of the moment I
should get "nervy," lose my head (if only figuratively), and perhaps
forget to do something that I ought to do, to miss some opportunity that
I ought to see and seize. "Brace up, Paul!" I said to myself, "pull
yourself together for the honour of the dear homeland; forget all about
yourself, and think only of the work that lies before you." And I did.
My thoughts went back to my talk with the Admiral in the _Mikasa's_
cabin that afternoon; I suddenly remembered that the work in hand was