and before my return to London my dear mother knew the secret of
my life for some time past. I need scarcely say that when I went up
again to town I was not allowed to live--as, indeed, I was not fit to
live--on the same economical lines as before my illness. I needed more
now, and the LORD did provide.

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CHAPTER VII

MIGHTY TO SAVE

RETURNING to London when sufficiently recovered to resume my studies,
the busy life of hospital and lecture-hall was resumed; often relieved
by happy Sundays of fellowship with Christian friends, especially in
London or Tottenham. Opportunities for service are to be found in every
sphere, and mine was no exception. I shall only mention one case now
that gave me great encouragement in seeking conversion even when it
seemed apparently hopeless.

GOD had given me the joy of winning souls before, but not in
surroundings of such special difficulty. With GOD all things are
possible, and no conversion ever takes place save by the almighty power
of the HOLY GHOST. The great need, therefore, of every Christian worker
is to _know_ GOD. Indeed, this is the purpose for which He has given us
eternal life, as our SAVIOUR Himself says, in the oft misquoted verse,
John xvii. 3: "This is [the object of] life eternal, [not _to_ know but]
that they _might_ know Thee the only true GOD, and JESUS CHRIST, whom
Thou hast sent." I was now to prove the willingness of GOD to answer
prayer for spiritual blessing under most unpromising circumstances, and
thus to gain an increased acquaintance with the prayer-answering GOD as
One "mighty to save."

A short time before leaving for China, it became my duty daily to dress
the foot of a patient suffering from senile gangrene. The disease
commenced, as usual, insidiously, and the patient had little idea that
he was a doomed man, and probably had not long to live. I was not the
first to attend to him, but when the case was transferred to me, I
naturally became very anxious about his soul. The family with whom he
lived were Christians, and from them I learned that he was an avowed
atheist, and very antagonistic to anything religious. They had, without
asking his consent, invited a Scripture reader to visit him, but in
great passion he had ordered him from the room. The vicar of the
district had also called, hoping to help him; but he had spit in his
face, and refused to allow him to speak to him. His passionate temper
was desc