on that day women only were allowed to
enter: no men. How the women were dressed--in all the colours of
the rainbow, red trousers being especially prominent! How they
moved along on their little feet! Walk you along on your heels--as
I have seen you do--and that is just how they move.

'No end of gamblers came too. There were twenty-six, or so, large
tents put up to gamble in, and about as many straw-mat booths, and
they all had plenty of trade. Eh, man, it is sad to see the utter
worldliness of these Chinese. They soon found me out. I had my tent
put up in a quiet place away from the bustle.[8] In front is the
great flying sign, "The Jesus Religion Gospel Hall." At the one
end, "God the Heavenly Father;" at the other, "Jesus the Saviour."
They found me out, not because they wanted to hear me preach, but
to get medicine. Oh, the numbers of suffering people I saw and
attended to! I used to go out early in the morning, and be there
all day, most of the time so busy that there was no time to eat. To
get food I had to steal away because everyone would want me just to
attend to him or her before I went. When I had attended to that one
there was another, and so on. I was able to cure a number of them,
and got preaching a good deal too. I sold a number of books. It was
the first time that a missionary had ever been there, and it was
difficult to make them understand.'

[8] See the illustration on p. 245.

It is, as a rule, by direct dealing with individuals that the best
results of Christian work in China are obtained, and to this Mr. Gilmour
was always ready to make everything give way. In season and out of
season, at any hour of the day or night, he was at the service of
inquirers. The sight of a seeking face could banish his most exhausting
feeling of fatigue, and nothing so swiftly dispelled the depression,
from which he so often and so severely suffered, as the sight of a
heathen coming to be more perfectly instructed about 'the doctrine.'
Here are one or two such scenes:--

'In the eighth month we had great pleasure in finding Mr. Sun much
advanced in knowledge, and confessing his Christianity with great
boldness. Before we left he was baptized, and one or two others
were coming forward as inquirers--notably one man, who is a member
of a sect, was making earnest inquiries. These men seem to