o'clock (noon) to leave the harbor, and if by 4 o'clock in the afternoon they had not moved, his ships wonld come in and sink them at their anchorage. Neutral interests were accordingly warned to take notice. The Russian consul immediately communicated with the captain of the "Variag," and the British consul undertook to notify the other foreigners.
There were at that time in the harbor four other foreign warships: the "Talbot" (British), the "Elba" (Italian), the "Pascal" (French), and the "Vicksburg" (American). The commanders of these ships were invited to a conference on board the "Talbot" to decide what action should be taken. The commander of the "Vicksburg" attended the conference, but explained to the other commanders that he had received explicit instructions from his government to take no part in any international action should trouble occur. He then withdrew to his ship and moved her to another berth, where she would be less liable to damage if shells should reach the inner harbor. It will probably be many years before Russians, particularly the Russian navy, will forgive this action of the "Vicksburg," and many bitter references were made in the Russian press to the incident. It is true that the commander of the "Vicksburg" had no discretion in the matter, and had he acted differently it would not have made the slightest difference. But owing to the cordial relations between the Russian and American navies, extending over a century, the Russian officers felt the matter very keenly at the time.
