comfort to one of His faithful servants. I have
had a slight taste of being left alone, and I must confess Gilmour
has had something to endure during the last few years.

'We are living in hired rooms of an inn. Gilmour is not in this
courtyard. I have been alone here with my Chinese boy for the last
five weeks (Dr. Smith being in Ch'ao Yang until a few days ago). I
have been unable to get a proper teacher at present. Gilmour's
student has been teaching me. He speaks distinctly. With him I have
made very fair progress. I hope in a few days to secure a proper
teacher.

'Another thing which has taught me a good amount of the Chinese I
know is having to give orders to my Chinese boy in house-keeping
generally. I am thankful to God for past experiences in my life,
though they were rather rough; for here I find they come in very
usefully. I had to teach my boy how to cook and do things
generally. It was rather an amusing piece of work, seeing that I
knew nothing of the language. Each order I gave him was a comedy in
two or three acts, all played out in dumb show. In telling him what
I wished purchased I was obliged to imitate sounds which are
peculiar to certain beasts and birds, which when he understood, he
announced that fact by opening wide his eyes and emitting a loud
"Ah!" which was generally followed by the name of the thing
indicated bellowed forth at the top of his voice as if I were
deaf. Also he in turn, when he had anything to tell me, always
stood in the centre of the room and went through a whole
performance. On one occasion, when he wished to tell me that a
certain dog had stolen the day's meat, the performance was so
amusing that, when he had got through, I asked him what he was
trying to say, in order that I might once more see the fun.

'Forgive me for taking up your time with such frivolous things. But
I have picked up much of the language in that way, although at the
cost of being grimed with soot and burning my fingers. All that is
now past, and the boy is very useful, and, although now a heathen,
I am hoping that by my influence he may be led to know the love of
Jesus Christ. I am very glad that I came straight out here. I am
sure I shall learn the language (of the _people_, perhaps _not_ of
the _books_) better than in the fr