The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-06-11

of young manhood-and he never be-
trayed such eraving-he sacrificed those
impulses to the sole task of imbibing
professional information.
When he returned to Japan he was a
competent naval constructor and skilled
tactician, and his sovereign promptly
put to immediate use the young mans
talents in the building up Of Japans in
FAINT navy for the Japan to which Togo
returned from Greenwich was a land
awake with new aspirations, vitalized by
the elixir of aroused ambition
| And so 1t has been truly said that Adj
miral Togos very spirit and personality
were built into the timber and steel and
| iron of the mighty craft with which he
was destined to crush the fleets of the
Car. Active service first came to him
| In 1894, during the war between China
and Japan In the first flying squadron
that went to Chinese waters he COM
manded the cruiser Naniwa. He scored
! the first naval victory of the war when
| he torpedoed and sank the transport
Kowshng, despite the fact that she car
Iied a British captain and crew. In this
successful exploit he displayed some
thing of the same expedition and dash
that marked his subsequent operations
| off Port Arthur. At the close of the
| Chinese war he had won the rank of
| a rear admiral. The admiralty put him
| then In charge of the dock yard at Mai
| zuru. -
| At the outbreak of the present war
with Russia 1t was by a process of nat
ural selection that Admiral Togo was
chosen for the highest command of the
sea- All his life he had been qualifying
| for this supreme test and the task which
he and all Japan had set themselves was
to humble the power that had humbled
them in the hour of their previous VIC
tory Since the eventfdl night of his
torpedo attack at Port Arthur history Is
too recent to call for recapitulation. A
brilliant II not a long naval career Is
his, but it Is as long as the naval history
of his country.
Unknown Personality.
OF the man himself, of his personality
and traits of character less is known
than of his world famous exploits. Short
Of stature, inclined to stoutness; unas-
Stunning, but a strict disciplinarian: never
loquacious and often tacturn, he Is every
inch sailor. A grizzled beard and mus
tache rapidly turning gray, screen the
lower part of his face, but they cannot
mask the firm lines of the resolute
mouth, jaw and chin. Above the eyes,
| which are penetrating but kindly, the
prominent frontal development denotes
the mans strong perceptive faculties.
while the compact, closely shorn head is
the poll of the born fighter
In public Admiral Togo's manner is ret
| icent and almost shrinking. Popular adj
ulation harnesses him. He would prefer
to shlrk the public gaze and adulation.
| The same was true of General Grant, to
whom in many Of his personal traits the
Japanese admiral has been often likened.
But once afoat and in the cabin of his
flagship every subaltern instinctively
| recognizes the master of his craft, the
man whose silence Is not the reticence
of weakness. but the pose of perfect
self-control the quiet that is suggestive
of unlimited resources and of cool, un-
erring Judgment.
DR. Jollchi Takamine gives this inter-
esting sketch Of the admirars character:
| mo man Is more unostentatious in his
ways of life and in his manners. He IS
| the quietest OF men. very modest and
| beloved by all who know him.
when commanding the naval harbor
of Maizuru, where he remained for three
years. he was called the silent man of
the place. yet children swarmed to meet
him whenever he appeared. so far as the
outside public could see, the only thing
he seemed to do while there was to sa-
i lutte the officers morning and evening
! as he entered and left his post of duty
| But really he was the busiest man in the
town. Every moment of his time In Of
flee was devoted to preparing for the
| present war
Simple Home Life.
Ellis home life has always been of the
| simplest character, and his house, its
furnishings and decorations of the plain
| est.
HE was so absorbed in his great work
| of planning for the future campaigns of
his country that he paid little attention
to outside affairs or to the demands of
| society.
when he was appointed admiral Of
the japanese fleet his friends gave him
a grand farewell banquet and party at
which he read poem of his own compo-
| sition His friends. who thought they
knew him well, discovered that they
knew little of his high literary qualities,
and the eloquence and wonderfully pol
ished lines Of his poem were the aston
ishment of all.
Admiral Togo, although severe dis
| ciplinarian and reticent almost to stern
ness, loves plants and flowers like
woman, and when not hunting or fishing
his leisure hours were spent In practical
gardening among his chrysanthemums
Besides his gifts for poetry, he dis