care, being invited to
sleep on a hong-boat, now dry in the bed of the river. The night was
again very cold and the mosquitoes troublesome. Still, I got a little
rest, and at sunrise was up and continued my journey.

_August 7th._

I felt very ill at first, and had a sore throat, but reflected on the
wonderful goodness of GOD in enabling me to bear the heat by day and the
cold by night so long. I felt also that quite a load was now taken off
my mind. I had committed myself and my affairs to the LORD, and knew
that if it was for my good and for His glory my things would be
restored; if not, all would be for the best. I hoped that the most
trying part of my journey was now drawing to a close, and this helped
me, weary and footsore, on the way. When I got to Shih-mun-wan and had
breakfasted, I found I had still eight hundred and ten cash in hand; and
I knew that the hong-boat fare to Kia-hing Fu was one hundred and twenty
cash, and thence to Shanghai three hundred and sixty, leaving me just
three hundred and thirty cash--or twelve pence and a fraction--for three
or four days provisions. I went at once to the boat office, but to my
dismay found that from the dry state of the river goods had not come
down, so that no boat would leave to-day and perhaps none to-morrow. I
inquired if there were no letter-boats for Kia-hing Fu, and was told
that they had already left. The only remaining resource was to ascertain
if any private boats were going in which I could get a passage. My
search, however, was in vain; and I could get no boat to undertake to go
all the way to Shanghai, or my difficulty would have been at an end.

Just at this juncture I saw before me, at a turn in the canal, a
letter-boat going in the direction of Kia-hing Fu This, I concluded,
must be one of the Kia-hing boats that had been unexpectedly detained,
and I set off after it as fast as hope and the necessities of the case
would carry me. For the time being weariness and sore feet were alike
forgotten. After a chase of about a mile I overtook it.

"Are you going to Kia-hing Fu?" I called out.

"No," was the only answer.

"Are you going in that direction?"

"No."

"Will you give me a passage as far as you do go that way?"

Still "No," and nothing more.

Completely dispirited and exhausted, I sank down on the grass and
fainted away.

As consciousness returned some voices reached my ear, and I found