nded in his work. And
indeed there lies before us a long letter written at Ta Ss[)u] Kou on
March 15, 1888, asking for an official proclamation from the Chinese
authorities at Peking affirming 'that Christian worship is an allowed
thing, and that native Christians are not required to contribute, or are
exempted from contributing, to idol and heathen ceremonies, such as
theatricals, or the building and repair of temples.' The proper official
document was applied for at Peking, and in due time obtained.

On March 24, 1888, James Gilmour was rejoiced by the seeming fulfilment
of his heart's most eager desire--the arrival at Ta Ss[)u] Kou of a
fully qualified medical colleague, Dr. Roberts. We have seen how
repeated had been his entreaties, how earnest his yearnings after this
essential factor in the success of his mission. For a month he enjoyed
to the full the uplifting of congenial fellowship and of skilled help.
Then came a blow, harder almost to endure than the previous solitude.

'Two days ago,' he writes under date of April 21, 1888, 'a man
pushed himself in among the crowd round my table as I was
dispensing medicines in the market-place here, and announced
himself as a courier from Tientsin. When asked what his news was,
he was silent, so I led him away towards my inn. Oh the way I again
asked what his news was. He groaned. I began to get alarmed, and
noticed that he carried with him a sword, covered merely with a
cloth scabbard. This looked warlike, and I wondered if there could
have been another massacre at Tientsin. Coming to a quiet place in
the street I _demanded_ his news, when he replied, "_Dr. Mackenzie
is dead, after a week's illness._" At the inn we got out our
letters from the bundle, and found the news true. In a little Dr.
Roberts looked up from a letter he was reading and said he was
appointed to the vacancy. _Then_ the full extent of my loss flashed
upon me. Mackenzie dead--Roberts to go to Tientsin! One of my
closest friends dead--my colleague removed!

'Forty-eight hours have elapsed, and I am just coming right again.
I have been like a ship suddenly struck in mid-ocean by a mountain
sea breaking over it. You know in that case a ship staggers a bit,
and takes some time to shake clear and right herself.

'As to Mackenzie. His friendship I very keenly appreciated. The
week of prayer in Janu