her arrangements, on May 15th, Miss Leffingwell, with the two ladies, started for the interior of China. The party went up the Yangste river to Hankow on a steamer, traveling in the Chinese cabin. The three ladies were clothed in native dress and were expected to eat Chinese food. This, of course, was no hardship to Miss Leffingwell, but the other ladies had not yet been fully initiated into the mysteries of chop-sticks and Chinese food. Therefore, a few articles of foreign food were pro vided for them—a little sugar, butter, bread, canned milk and some other luxuries-to sharpen the edge of their appetite the first few days. This voyage of over six hundred miles was not only pleasant but intensely interesting, even to one accustomed to Chinese life.

The Yangste, "the girdle of China," is one of the great waterways of the world. It rises in Tibet, on the "Roof of the World," and crosses the entire Empire of China. It flows through the most densely populated valley in the world; and, with its tributaries, and interior canals, supports nearly onehalf of the entire population of China. Both its commerce and its agricultural products are immense. Some millions of people live in house-boats on the water of these rivers and canals, having no residence whatever on land.

This trip to Hankow was without special incident, except the struggle of landing from the steamer with all their baggage, as it must all be carried by coolies and carefully watched every step of the way. The party were given hospitable entertainment over Sunday by the China Inland Mis

sion at Hankow, and the next day they took the train north on the Pe-Han railroad for Cheng Chow, where Miss Leffingwell had decided to open the first station of the new mission. The party had the usual struggles again with their baggage on the train, as the railroad assumes absolutely no responsibility for any baggage. It had to be put on the train at Hankow by their own hired coolies, off again at the inn where they spend the night (for the trains do not run at night), on again the next morning, and off again at the end of the journeyalways by hired coolies. They arrived at Cheng Chow May 27th, 1905, at about noon of the second day after leaving Hankow.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

CHENG CHOW-DESCRIPTION OF A CHINESE CITY.

She met the hosts of sorrow with a look

That altered not beneath the frown they wore,
And soon the lowering brood were tamed, and took,
Meekly, her gentle rule, and frowned no more.
Her soft hand put aside the assaults of wrath,
And calmly broke in twain

The fiery shafts of pain,

And rent the nets of passion from her path.
By that victorious hand despair was slain.
With love she vanquished hate and overcame
Evil with good, in her Great Master's name.

-William Cullen Bryant.

Just such is the Christian; his course he begins
Like the sun in a mist, when he mourns for his sins
And melts into tears; then he breaks out and shines
And travels his heavenly way.

But when he comes nearer to finish his race,
Like a fine setting sun, he looks richer in grace
And gives a sure hope, at the end of his days,
Of rising in brighter array.

-Isaac Watts.

Chinese cities are neither picturesque nor beauti ful, but to the missionary or to a student of human nature they are certainly interesting; for nowhere will one find more humanity in the same space. The men, women, and children fill the streets, like long lines of busy ants, as they hurry to and fro

with their burdens; and they gather quickly in a crowd, like a swarm of bees, whenever there is an exciting cause. One can only wonder where they all came from; and at night it is an equal marvel where they all have gone. The city of Cheng Chow (pronounced Jun Jo, accent on the Jo) is about like hundreds of other cities in the interior, no better and no worse. It is situated well to the north in the province of Honan, and about midway in the province from east to west. It lies in a vast, sandy plain which skirts the valley of the Yellow river, and is only twelve miles south of that river. The Pe-Han railroad, running from Canton to Pekin, passes through Cheng Chow, where the railroad company have quite an extensive concession for their station houses, dwelling houses and yards; all, however, outside of the city wall and quite a distance removed from it. Since the advent of the railroad, a large native city has been built up in the vicinity of the station, which is constantly and rapidly growing.

Cheng Chow proper is a walled city of the second rank. (Fu designates a city of the first rank, while Chow is given to one of the second.) The wall which encloses the city is about three hundred years old; and is foursquare with four gates, one on each side. This wall is built of brick and is about forty feet high, very thick at the base and about three feet at the top. On the inside it is supplemented by an immense bank of earth nearly as high as the wall, forming a parapet, and originally was broad enough to drive a team upon. Now, however, this earth has washed away until in places