, of course, she
must be neighbourly. Moreover, the strangers were friends of her
husband, and her loyalty to him bade her do all in her power to be kind
to the new-comers. Thus it came about that she, together with her
husband, gave us a hearty welcome, and informed us that supper had
already been prepared. Our heart went out to Mrs. Lue, and very soon a
firm friendship was established. She was exceedingly kind, but there
she stopped. She was very pleased to see her husband and other members
of the family becoming Christians, and even exhorted them to be
steadfast and give their whole hearts to what they believed. But they
were not to ask her to accept their creed. She must go her own way,
and pursue the path she had marked out for herself for so many years.
The doctrine was very good, she said, and she did not mind attending
the meetings. That could not do her any harm, as she intended to go no
further. Thus everything went on smoothly, Satan left her in peace,
whilst others kept on praying for her and claiming this precious soul
for the Lord. It was impossible not to realize what a power this woman
would have for good, if only she were won for the Master, and very soon
some of us received the assurance that one day she would become a
trophy of His grace.

[Illustration: The out-station at Kucheng. The place where Everlasting
Pearl was converted.]

All during that summer Mrs. Lue continued to attend the meetings, and
she enjoyed them thoroughly. In spite of herself she got more and more
interested in what she saw and heard. In the autumn of that year the
writer stayed at Kucheng for a fortnight, and while there held Bible
Study for the men twice a week, and although visiting some of the
villages around, gave a good deal of time in teaching the women and
children to read. Mrs. Lue came as usual, and as she was more
intelligent than the average Chinese woman, she not only obtained a
good deal of knowledge concerning salvation in Christ Jesus, but
learned to read quite a little and enjoyed it with all her heart.

Something happened at that time which made a great impression on her
mind. Early one morning a dreadful quarrel broke out in Mr. Lue's
house. It seemed incredible, as they were a very affectionate family.
But there was no doubt about it; Mrs. Lue had completely lost her temper
with her brother, and was scolding and swearing like any other Chinese
woman. For a while the writer kept quiet, but