World-wide Admiration
But even the greatest heroism cannot achieve the impossible; and in spite of Stoessel's persistent optimism, it became evident that his powers of resistance were daily diminishing. An attempt on the part of the Japanese General to induce the garrison to capitulate in spite of their leader, met with no response; but throughout the civilized world, whose sympathy and admiration had been deeply stirred by the heroic stand of Port Arthur's garrison, voices were lifted to urge that no more useless sacrifice of noble life should be permitted; and that the men who had done so much for the honor of the Czar should be spared at least the last mortal agony of the struggle with the inevitable.
Uncertain News
On the 15th, however, a Russian torpedo-boat bearing dispatches from Stoessel managed to elude the blockade and to reach Chifu, pursued by Japanese destroyers. The boat was warned that it must leave the neutral harbor within twenty-four hours or be disarmed, and rather than submit to either of these alternatives, the officer in command blew his vessel up. But his work had been done; and his dispatches containing the latest accounts of the position at Port Arthur reached St. Petersburg. Immediately afterwards the report arrived that General Kuropatkin had been empowered to treat for terms of capitulation for Port Arthur. But whether that was in fact the result of Stoessel's message, or whether the Czar's Government received from it encouragement in the belief that Port Arthur could hold out till the arrival of the Baltic Fleet, is a question which is still unanswered.
THE REMNANT OF A REGIMENT—AFTER THE BATTLE OF THE SHA-HO.
CHAPTER XII.
The North Sea Outrage—Seizures of Neutrals—The Case of the "Malacca"—The Baltic Fleet—Departure at Last—Russian Alarms—In the North Sea—Bringing Home the News—Russian Allegations—Naval Preparations—Supplementary Information—The Baltic Fleet Proceeds to Madagascar.
The North Sea Outrage
No sooner had the echoes of the terrific battle of the Sha-ho begun to subside than the attention of the civilized world, which had so long been concentrated on the vicissitudes of the Titanic struggle in the Far East, was suddenly focussed on a spot separated from the theatre of war by more than half the circumference of the globe, and on an incident fraught, as it seemed, with more direful and tremendous consequences even than the momentous rupture between Russia and Japan. On the 15th of October, Russia's Baltic Fleet—which for many months had been preparing as a reinforcement to the Pacific Squadron—at last left port on its voyage to the Far East; and within six days of its departure it had so effectually asserted itself as a factor in the naval situation that Europe, shocked and startled, woke up one morning to find itself hanging on the perilous brink of that Armageddon which has been the nightmare of statesmen for the last twenty years. In passing through the North Sea, the Russian fleet—for causes which have yet to be fully elicited—fired on a flotilla of British fishing-boats engaged in trawling on the Dogger Bank; killed and wounded several of the fishermen; sunk one of the trawlers, and more or less grievously injured others. When the news of this amazing outrage was published a storm of indignation and resentment swept over England such as has not been known for more than a generation; and feeling was embittered and intensified to a truly dangerous pitch, first by the callous indifference displayed by the perpetrators of the outrage, and next by the indisposition of the Russian Government to offer those immediate apologies and amends which alone could palliate so wanton a breach of the comity of nations. It seemed for the moment that Russia had deliberately designed to provoke England to hostilities, in the hope of redeeming her own desperate position by extending the area of the conflict and by dragging into it first the ally of Japan, and by consequence her own ally, France. The prospect, though almost too terrible to contemplate, did not for a moment quench the resolution of the people of England, where men of all parties were found standing shoulder to shoulder in the demand for ample reparation. What made the situation especially dangerous was that public patience had at last been well-nigh exhausted by the repeated provocations of Russia—provocations which the North Sea outrage was only the crown and culmination. To understand this fact, it is necessary to go back a little.