ficult to find. As we went on,
the ride in the mud and rain was anything but agreeable, and we could
not help feeling the danger of our position, although wavering not for a
moment. At intervals we encouraged one another with promises from the
Scripture and verses of hymns. That verse--

"The perils of the sea, the perils of the land,
Should not dishearten thee: thy LORD is nigh at hand.
But should thy courage fail, when tried and sore oppressed,
His promise shall avail, and set thy soul at rest."

seemed particularly appropriate to our circumstances, and was very
comforting to me.

On our way we passed through one small town of about a thousand
inhabitants; and here, in the Mandarin dialect, I preached JESUS to a
good number of people. Never was I so happy in speaking of the love of
GOD and the atonement of JESUS CHRIST. My own soul was richly blessed,
and filled with joy and peace; and I was able to speak with unusual
freedom and ease. And how rejoiced I was when, afterwards, I heard one
of our hearers repeating to the newcomers, in his own local dialect, the
truths upon which I had been dwelling! Oh, how thankful I felt to hear a
Chinaman, of his own accord, telling his fellow-countrymen that GOD
loved them; that they were sinners, but that JESUS died instead of
them, and paid the penalty of their guilt. That one moment repaid me for
all the trials we had passed through; and I felt that if the LORD should
grant HIS HOLY SPIRIT to change the heart of that man, we had not come
in vain.

We distributed a few Testaments and tracts, for the people were able to
read, and we could not leave them without the Gospel. It was well that
we did so, for when we reached T'ung-chau we found we had quite as many
left as we had strength to carry.

Nearing the end of our journey, as we approached the western suburb of
the city, the prayer of the early Christians, when persecution was
commencing, came to my mind: "And now, LORD, behold their threatenings,
and grant unto Thy servants that with all boldness they may speak Thy
Word." In this petition we most heartily united. Before entering the
suburb we laid our plans, so as to act in concert, and told our
wheel-barrow men where to await us, that they might not be involved in
any trouble on our account. Then looking up to our Heavenly FATHER, we
committed ourselves to His keeping, took our books, and set on for the
city.

For some distance w