being taken; for though we passed through some great gates that looked
like those of the city wall, we were still evidently within the city. A
second pair of gates suggested the idea that it was a prison into which
we were being carried; but when we came in sight of a large tablet, with
the inscription "_Ming chi fu mu_" (the father and mother of the
people), we felt that we had been conveyed to the right place; this
being the title assumed by the mandarins.

Our cards were again sent in, and after a short delay we were taken into
the presence of Ch'en Ta Lao-ie (the Great Venerable Father Ch'en), who,
as it proved, had formerly been Tao-tai of Shanghai, and consequently
knew the importance of treating foreigners with courtesy. Coming before
him, some of the people fell on their knees and bowed down to the
ground, and my conductor motioned for me to do the same, but without
success. This mandarin, who seemed to be the highest authority of
T'ung-chau, and wore an opaque blue button on his cap, came out to meet
us, and treated us with every possible token of respect. He took us to
an inner apartment, a more private room, but was followed by a large
number of writers, runners, and other semi-officials. I related the
object of our visit, and begged permission to give him copies of our
books and tracts, for which he thanked me. As I handed him a copy of the
New Testament with part of the Old (from Genesis to Ruth) and some
tracts, I tried to explain a little about them, and also to give him a
brief summary of our teachings. . . . He listened very attentively, as of
course did all the others present. He then ordered some refreshments to
be brought in, which were very welcome, and himself partook of them with
us.

After a long stay, we asked permission to see something of the city, and
to distribute the books we had brought, before our return. To this he
kindly consented. We then mentioned that we had been most
disrespectfully treated as we came in, but that we did not attach much
importance to the fact, being aware that the soldiers knew no better.
Not desiring, however, to have such an experience repeated, we requested
him to give orders that we were not to be further molested. This also he
promised to do, and with every possible token of respect accompanied us
to the door of his official residence, sending several runners to see
that we were respectfully treated. We distributed our books well and
quickly, and left the cit