c ladies whose secluded lives were so barren
and empty, and to whom it was so difficult for a missionary to obtain
access. She threw herself with whole-hearted eagerness into the work of the
Church of England Zenana Society, whose mission is to these very women, and
many are the testimonies to the inestimable value of the work which she
did. As one of the missionaries wrote: "She is of immense usefulness in
getting the houses open, as she knows the high-class families, and is
intensely earnest herself that her fellow-countrywomen should receive the
glad news too. Her knowledge of the endless Chinese etiquette and customs,
too, is of great service." How difficult it would have been to carry on
work of this kind successfully without the help of a Chinese lady of the
"four hundred," can be judged from the accounts of the work which the
missionaries wrote home from time to time.

[Illustration: Reception Rooms in Chinese Homes of Wealth]

"We have paid our first visit to some of the rich families in the
city. Mrs. Ahok sent a coolie on the day before to ask if they
could see us, and they having signified their willingness, we
agreed to meet Mrs. Ahok and go with her. We had some dinner at 12
o'clock, as the city is so far away it takes a great deal of time
to go, and then started in our sedan chairs to meet Mrs. Ahok. We
found her ready, waiting for us, dressed in a most lovely coral
pink jacket, beautifully embroidered, and with very pretty
ornaments in her hair...."

"After an hour and a half's ride through the narrow, crowded
streets of the suburbs we reached the city gates; then through more
streets even more thronged, till we reached the house. We were
carried through the large outer door, then through a small
courtyard, and our chairs put down in a row facing the partition
which shut off the next portion of the house. There we had to sit
some little time, as I fancy the ladies had not quite finished
dressing, but at last out came one of the heads of the family and
invited us in. We got out of our chairs and in turn made a sort of
low bow to the newcomer, shaking our own hands (Chinese fashion)
all the time. This over, she escorted us into an inner room....
There was a rug on the floor, a round table, some very high chairs
with straight backs, and some mirrors. We sat in state some few
minutes and then more ladies came in one