THE ISLAND OF TSUSHIMA.
[To THE EDITOR OF TRH "SPECTATOR:1
Sns,—Many of your readers probably know the delightful book in which Laurence Oliphant has described certain "Episodes in a Life of Adventure." Two of these episodes belong to the time when he was acting secretary under Sir R. Alcock in Japan. One was the furious attack on the British Legation in 1861; the other, less remembered, con- sisted in is visit to the island of Tsushima, near which the great battle has just been fought. The occasion was an important one. Russia, starting from Vladivostok, sought to occupy the island as a naval station, and had actually sent thither a frigate, which hid itself up in a secluded bay. Oliphant describes in his graphic style how he scoured the island, discovered the Russians' retreat, and reported to Admiral Hope, with the result that the attempt to occupy was dropped. It is remarkable that just here, at the scene of the earliest aggression on Japanese territory, Japanese deliverance has been effected thirty-four years later.—I am,
Previous page
