That first summer was intensely hot, and when the thermometer stood at 103 indoors it seemed time to seek relief. The children were all suffering, and Mrs. Taylor was so ill that it was with difficulty she could be got out of the city. A boat trip of six miles brought them to the hills, where amid the ruins of a once famous temple accommodation had been found. A couple of sheds, or long narrow buildings, were still habitable, in addition to the hall that held idols, and in the former-the priests being willing to turn an honest penny-the Hang-chow party established themselves. The hills were lovely, though the glory of azaleas, wistarias and other spring flowers had passed away. Pines, oaks, and elms afforded welcome shade, while mountain streams made music, and as far as eye could see there was one unbroken sweep of higher or lower ranges, canals, and rivers, with the Hang-chow Bay and the open sea beyond. It would have been a paradise as compared with the city, but for the illness of their eldest child, Oracle, and others of the party, and the sorrowful sights and sounds of idol worship close at hand.

As they left their boats the first- day and were going up the steep stone path made for pilgrims, little Gracie noticed a man making an idol.

"Oh, papa," she said earnestly, "he doesn't know about Jesus, or he would never do it! Won't you tell him ? "

Her hand clasped in his, Mr. Taylor did so, child following with eager interest. Farther on they came to a shady place and sat down to rest. Gracie's thoughts were still full of what had happened, and she seemed relieved when her father suggested that they should pray for the man they had been trying to help.

We sang a hymn, wrote Mr. Taylor, and then I said, Will you pray first? She did so, and never had I heard such a prayer. She had seen the man making an idol:her heart was full, and she was talking to God on his behalf. The dear child went on and on, pleading that God would have mercy upon the poor Chinese and would strengthen her father to preach to them. I never was so moved by any prayer. My heart was ho wed before God.

And now, a week later, how dark the shadow that had fallen on that father's heart !

Beloved brother, he wrote to Mr. Berger in England, "I am trying to pen a few lines by the couch on which my darling little Gracie lies dying. Dear brother, our flesh and our heart fail, but God is the strength of our heart and our portion for ever. Knowing this land, its people and climate, I laid my wife and children, with myself, on the altar for this service ; and He whom with much weakness and failure, yet in simplicity and godly sincerity, we are and have been seeking to serve-not without some measure of success -He has not left us now.

" Who plucked this flower ? " asked the gardener. '' It was the Master," answered his fellow-workman. And the gardener held his peace.

It was not any questioning of the dealings of God with them or their precious child; but the loss was great, and overwhelming !
But the great waiting land of China, in all its need and darkness lay before them. At the bedside of their dying child in the dilapidated temple, Duncan, the steadfast Scotchman, Mr. Taylor's chief companion in pioneering journeys, had been keeping watch. Difficulties had been more, and trials heavier, than had been anticipated, but even as Mr. and Mrs. Taylor gave back to the Lord the little one they so tenderly loved, they consecrated themselves afresh to the task of reaching inland China with the gospel.

Nanking was upon Duncan's heart-the famous city, twice capital of China, .with its ancient wall twenty miles in circumference, 'and its large population still without any witness for Christ. He was not specially gifted or cultured, but he possessed grit and perseverance and a great love for souls. He had toiled at Chinese with the man at the wash-tub while waiting for a better teacher, sitting beside him for hours, repeating sentences as he said them, or verses that he read from the Gospels, and winning him to Christ at length by his very earnestness in seeking to make the Saviour known.* *It is a great blessing when God gives one a hunger for souls, Mr. Taylor -wrote many years later. A good many of our early workers had it. "We get better people now in some ways, better educated and so on, but it is not often you find that real hunger for souls-people willing to live anywhere and endure anything if only souls may be saved. They were very often humble people. If they were to offer to our Mission now, they might not be accepted. But nothing can take its place, or make up for lack of it-it is so much more important than any ability.* It was something of a risk, no doubt, to let Duncan go forward in such an undertaking. But he could be spared; he was a man who, his resolution once formed, never wavered; and the burden of those souls was on his heart. The early autumn, therefore, saw this solitary pioneer on his way northward, a. letter written the day before he reached his destination gives some impression of the spirit he brought to bear upon his task. He wrote,

On Sunday we had a great deal of rain, and I could not get into the city. I had a fine quiet day, did a good deal of reading, and had time for meditation on the Word and the matchless grace of the Lord Jesus. Oh, to be always in a humble, devout, and consecrated spirit, drawing richly from the fountain of infinite grace, being filled with the fulness of "Him that filleth all in all," continually realizing that Christ is made unto us " wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." . . . Nothing can ever substitute for the presence of Christ. I am sure a real Christian cannot but be miserable without it. Other helpers soon fail apart from Him, and comforts flee. All our springs are in Him. He must be all in all, the paramount object of our soul's affection, or we cannot be happy ourselves or make others happy around us. The ambitious man may take the honors of the world, so I may but have Christ. He shall be enough for my soul !

Needless to say, the young missionary received no welcome at Nanking. Up and down its long streets he and his Chinese helper searched in vain for any lodging that would take them in. Immediately on hearing of a foreigner's arrival, word had been sent from the Prefect to every hostelry that they were on no account to receive him, and as night fell the outlook was far from cheering. Apparently, however, the priest in charge of the Drum Tower had not been included among possible hosts, and when the weary strangers sought his aid he was not unwilling to render it. He had no proper room, he said, for visitors, but if they liked to sleep in the Drum Tower at night, and be out all day, so as not to frighten people who came to worship, he would share with them his accommodation.

It was a miserable place. Very few Europeans would have thought it possible to live there at all. But " we gladly accepted," wrote Duncan, "and managed very nicely, though we have rather more rats than I like. At night they want to devour everything !"

Between the depredations of these marauders and the solemn sound of the drum, beaten at intervals, it was not possible to get much sleep, and at day-dawn they had to roll up their bedding and turn out on the streets of the city. The tall figure of the missionary soon became familiar in the tea-shops and frequented thoroughfares, and the neighborhood of the Drum Tower must have known him well before he succeeded in finding another residence. A carpenter at last had courage to receive him, dividing off a strip of his single upstairs' room for the use of the foreigner. On the other side of the matting lived the Chinese family, while below was the shop and kitchen, so that the new arrivals had every opportunity for picking up colloquial conversation. After a time Duncan persuaded his landlord to share with him the lower room as well. A slight partition was put up, giving the missionary a long but very narrow street chapel, the first ever opened in Nanking; and there he sat, like Judson in his zayat, receiving and conversing with all who would turn in.

" I am not able to talk much," he wrote, "but God helping me, I will say what I can, and T'ienfuh (the Chinese evangelist) makes them understand. Oh, to make everything conduce to the gathering in of precious souls and the glory of our Master !"

Thus was commenced permanent missionary work in the great city that is now one of the strongest centers of the Christian Church in China. Duncan may not have been able to do much; but he held the fort with quiet courage, and one soul was saved in that first street chapel.

After his arrival in Nanking Duncan found that a bank through which money could be remitted to him had failed. He set about seeking other agencies, but without success for a time. The situation did not disquiet him. He was sure that the Master who had sent him there, and was giving him acceptance with the people, would not fail in some way or other to provide. Still, his last piece of silver had to be changed; the strings of cash were disappearing; and the cook who was really anxious came and said :

" What shall we do when the money is all gone? "

" Do? "was Duncan's quiet reply ; " We will trust in the Lord and do good; so shall we dwell in the land, and verily we shall be fed " (Ps. 37:3).

To go back to Hang-chow himself would have been possible; but Duncan knew that if once he left the city it would be ten times more difficult to get in again. His hardly won position was too precious to be endangered. So he wrote that he would trust in God and hold on.

Matters were in this position when, to Mr. Taylor's relief, Rudland arrived unexpectedly, ready for any service. He was more than willing to carry supplies to Nanking, and set off at once by boat for the ten or twelve days' journey. Wind and weather, and the temper of the boat people all seemed favorable, until he came to a place where the water was so low in the Canal that they could go no farther. Repairs too were needed. Meanwhile the Foreign Teacher must make up his mind to wait. But Rudland would not do this; though surprised at this hindrance, he was sure the Lord had some way of helping him on. He found that by abandoning the boat and striking off overland he could shorten the journey by four days. This meant sixty miles on foot, with only Chinese shoes, or on a springless wheelbarrow; but eagerly he pressed on.

And what of Duncan and his companions ?The cook had saved five dollars from his wages, and when his master's supplies came to an end he revealed this little store and begged him to accept it. " But you know I do not borrow," said Duncan. "No, sir," urged the man, "it is a gift-a gift to the Lord."

Duncan then took it thankfully, and they were of one mind in making it go as far as possible. But five dollars, however economically used, will not last indefinitely, and the morning came when there was not enough to provide another meal. It was Saturday too ; and the cook stopped his master, who was going out to preach as usual, with the question:"What shall we do now?" " Do?" was still the answer; "We will trust in the Lord and do good; so shall we dwell in the land, and verily we shall be fed."

Chu-meo watched his friend and teacher down the street with a sinking heart. " Verily thou shalt be fed" was a promise from God's Word, he knew, and they were "doing good," but would it prove true, now they had nothing else to depend upon ?

Twelve miles from the city, that very morning, Rudland, limping painfully along, fell in with a donkey-boy looking for a job. "Oh, yes, he had heard of the foreigner living in Nanking! For a few tens of cash he would take this friend to his door."

As the sun set that evening, returning from a long day's work, what was Duncan's surprise to see his faithful servant running with a joyous face to meet him. "It's all right, it's all right," he cried; "Mr. Rudland-the money-good supper ! "

"Did I not tell you this morning," he replied, laying a kindly hand on his shoulder, "that it is always all right to trust in the living God ?"

This experience and the tidings which Rudland carried back to Hang-chow were an encouragement both to the missionaries and native Christians. There too the Lord was working, and the sorrowful days of summer were giving place to the joy of harvest. Twice already baptisms had taken place at Hang-chow, and there was quite a group of believers. Of the October baptisms Mrs. Taylor wrote:

" When I went down to the afternoon service I saw such a sight as would have rejoiced the hearts of dear friends at home. Our courtyard in front of the house is a large one; it was filled with a quiet, attentive audience. One hundred and sixty persons were seated. Dear Lae-djun baptized three men and three women, and the service was held there as being more convenient than the chapel."

Such were the early days of what has developed in the large and fruitful " China's Inland Mission."