p her mind to
serve the Lord. If you do not take it, she will be disappointed." And
when Mrs. Hsiao herself was asked, she said she wanted to give the
money so that others might hear the "Good News" Mrs. Lue had been
telling her.

Mrs. Lue went on teaching her about Christ, and helped her to learn some
hymns and to read a little. This latter work seemed a hopeless task,
as Mrs. Hsiao was not young; moreover, she was half blind. When the
writer saw her next time she had, however, mastered quite a few hymns.
Patiently she was plodding on, using every spare minute, determined to
learn as much as possible, but lamenting her own stupidity. Mrs. Lue
showed herself a patient teacher, and it was touching to see how
persevering they both were, never losing heart, even when the hymns
were specially difficult, and one sentence had to be repeated over and
over again before it had any meaning at all to the student. The
catechism did not prove easier, but little by little some real progress
was visible.

When Mrs. Hsiao had learned several hymns she longed to possess a
hymn-book of her own. She asked if she might buy one and pay for it in
instalments, as she could not afford to pay for it all at once. We
gladly assented, and gave her the book. She made Mrs. Lue her
treasurer, and whenever she had been able to save ten cash she brought
them to her. About a month or two later she had paid the whole amount,
and Mrs. Lue handed the money over to us. Gladly would we have given
the book freely, but felt that Mrs. Hsiao would prize it more if it
cost her a little, and at the same time it would afford us a better
chance of seeing how far she was in earnest.

When the theatre collectors arrived that year at Mrs. Hsiao's house,
they were met with a decided refusal. The time had been when she
believed in their false gods, and rejoiced with them in the play they
got up to honour their objects of worship, but it would never come
again. She had changed Masters, and her desire was to have His favour.
So she remained firm, even when the men threatened to take away the few
things she possessed, which were indeed few enough, and most necessary
for her daily use. That day the men left peacefully, but came again
after a day or two, determined to take some of her things if she
refused to give the money. When they arrived she was in the
guest-hall, and as soon as she saw them enter, she knelt where she was
standing and cried to the Lord