da had never yet sent
out a missionary to a foreign land, and some of the good old men bade
George Mackay stay at home and preach the gospel there. But as usual he
conquered. Every one saw he would be a great missionary if he were only
given a chance. At last the General Assembly gave its consent, and now,
in spite of all stones in the way, here he was, bound for China, and
ready to do anything the King commanded. Land was beginning to fade
away into a gray mist, the November wind was damp and chill, he turned
and went down to his stateroom. He sat down on his little steamer trunk,
and for the first time the utter loneliness and the uncertainty of this
voyage came over him. He took up his Bible and turned to the fly-leaf.
There he read the inscription:

Presented to REV. G. L. MACKAY

First missionary of the Canadian Presbyterian Church to China, by the
Foreign Mission Committee, as a parting token of their esteem, when
about to leave his native land for the sphere of his future labors among
the heathen. WILLIAM MACLAREN, Convener.

Ottawa, 9th October, 1871. Matthew xxviii: 18-20. Psalm cxxi

It was a moment of severe trial to the young soldier. But he turned to
the Psalm marked on the fly-leaf of his Bible, and he read it again and
again.

"My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth"

"The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand."

"The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night."

The beautiful words gave him comfort. Homesickness, loneliness, and
fears for the future all vanished. He was going out to an unknown land
where dangers and perhaps death awaited him, but the Lord would be his
keeper and nothing could harm him.

Twenty-six days on the Pacific! And a stormy voyage it was, for the
Pacific does not always live up to her beautiful name, and she tossed
the America about in a shocking manner. But the voyage did not seem long
to George Mackay. There were other missionaries on board with whom he
had become acquainted, and he had long delightful talks with them and
they taught him many things about his new work. He was the same busy G.
L. he had been when a boy; always working, working, and he did not waste
a moment on the voyage. There was a fine library on the ship and he
studied the books on China until he knew more about the religion of that
country than did many of the Chinese themselves.

One day, as he was poring over a Chinese history, some one calle