ry people
taking away their children so that they should not be bought up by the
very missionaries whose ministrations they had listened to for years.

In course of time, things settled down again, but at the time my
manuscript leaves me for the publisher the danger zone has not been
greatly reduced.

In concluding my few remarks on this serious outbreak, the like of which
it is to be hoped will not be seen again in this province, it is only
fair to chronicle the excellent behavior of the Chinese officials and of
the Viceroy of Yuen-nan in dealing with the situation. Although he is
not, I believe, generally liked by the people as their ruler, Li Chin
Hsi did all he could to quell the riots speedily, and saw to it that all
the officials in whose districts the rebellion was raging, and who made
blunders during its progress, were degraded in rank. It is difficult for
Europeans thoroughly to grasp the situation. From Chao-t'ong to
Yuen-nan-fu, the viceregal seat, is twelve days' hard going, and all
communication was done by telegraph--seemingly easy enough; but one must
not discount the slow Chinese methods of doing things. Most of the
troops were twelve days away, and in China--in backward Yuen-nan
especially--to mobilize a thousand men and march them over mountains a
fortnight from your base is not a thing to be done at a moment's
notice. By the time they would arrive, it might have been possible for
all the foreigners to have been massacred and their premises demolished,
especially as the exits were blocked on all sides. But no time was lost
and no pains were saved; and although the Chao-t'ong foreign residents,
who suffered in suspense more than most missionaries are called upon to
suffer, may differ with me in this opinion, I believe that not one of
the officials who took part in endeavors to keep the riots from assuming
more actually dangerous proportions could have done more than was done.
If a man neglected his duty he lost his button, and he deserved nothing
else.

In Mr. P. O'Brien Butler, the able British Consul-General, the British
subjects had the greatest confidence. He might have erred in having
declined from harassing the Chinese Foreign Office to grant permission
and protection to Britishers who wished to travel after the leaders of
the rebellion had been captured, but he undoubtedly erred on the right
side.

An unfortunate incident for the United Methodist missionaries was the
fact that the Rev. Charl