to me, and I could not help expressing my astonishment at the amount of knowledge possessed by him, both geographical and astronomical, which was all the more remarkable, as he had left Tsinanfoo in Shantung before the arrival in that province of the American missionaries, who have spread much scientific knowledge there. And, hitherto, all such knowledge given to the Chinese has been by missionaries."

Talk upon these scientific subjects led on to talk upon the subject of religion, and Mr. Ross lent his visitor a book in Chinese on "The Evidences of Christianity." After a day or two Mr. Ross left, scarcely expecting to see Mr. Poo, the Chinese gentleman, again. A year later, however, as he was standing near a shop in one of the streets of Moukden, Mr. Ross was unexpectedly accosted by his former acquaintance with the same old pleasant smile. Mr. Poo spoke of having read the "Evidences" and lent the volume to a friend, and he called upon the missionary, but seemed to be no nearer Christianity than at the first interview. He, however, frequently attended the chapel services; but then some months elapsed before he was again seen by Mr. Ross. This is the account Mr. Ross gives of the interview :

"One day in the beginning of last summer, in that same mean old chapel, after that clamour had been put down by quiet and patient reasoning, I was quite shocked by this man staggering with unsteady step from the back benches pale as a sheet, thin as living being could be, his eye scarcely able to raise its watery glance to me on the platform where I stood, and against which he supported himself from falling, while, with a drunken hiatus between each word, he mumbled out, Jesus, my Saviour, died for my sins.' The sight quite unhinged and sickened me, for it was the last thing I could have expected to see, Mr. Poo drunk. I could not go on with my preaching while he was there, but waited quietly till he had finished his sentence, and then said, You go to the back room, and when I am finished I shall go there; whereupon, with difficulty turning his head, he staggered out.

"After preaching was over, I found him speaking with a Mohammedan, who was almost persuaded to be a Christian,' but uttering only a faint word at a time, gasping for breath before he could utter the next. It was some time before I got over the idea that he was drunk, and in reality suffering from the extremity of weakness. I shall never forget the thrill of pleasure experienced on getting rid of that nightmare of suspicion, on his lisping out feebly, slowly, and painfully, word by word, I am a man in the midst of sin (sin above, below, around me), but Jesus has died to save me out of my sins'--for at the same time the man's real condition became apparent from the momentary bright, healthy glance of the eye which accompanied the last words. He still, as if in a dream, continued to use his feeble tongue, and feebler breath, till I felt compelled to stop him, by speaking freely of the hope, sure and immovable, which Jesus, and the knowledge of Him, gives to the

believer; for I felt certain the man was on the brink of the grave."

The distressing fact was that the poor fellow was dying of starvation, and it turned out that his extreme poverty was due partly at least to a stern conscientiousness, which led him to refuse to earn money by a use of his pen for a purpose which he regarded as dishonourable. Happily the missionary was able to do something in the way of relieving this terrible condition of things, and afterwards secured for the poor man some employment as a Chinese writer. With a caution which we confess does seem to us to have been somewhat overstrained (although no doubt Mr. Ross was able to form a much better judgment than we at a distance can do), considerable delay took place before the earnest request of this remarkable convert was accepted for admission to the Church by baptism. At length, however, Mr. Ross could no longer resist his entreaties, and he thus states his impressions of this convert and of some of the results arising from his acceptance of the gospel :

had remarkable proofs, too long to recite, of his dili "I had already tested his knowledge of the gospel, gent search after the marrow of the Scriptures, and he had written several papers, which indicated not only readiness in writing, but a critical acumen which I had not expected to meet in a Chinaman. There might be a good deal of force in what the poor man had said, that he was under a cloud, and suffering mental conflicts while he was outside the visible Church; and as there was no good reason for refusing him admission, and fearing I might be unnecessarily injuring one of Christ's brothers, what I believed him to be, the usual questions were asked, to which he replied with the evident pain of a man who thought his sincerity questioned, and still weeping, though the paroxysm of his grief was over.

"He was baptized six weeks ago, and left in charge of catechist Wang, the most warm-hearted Christian I have seen in China. Mr. Wang was asked to report to me after I went down to Yingtsu, how Mr. Poo, who had permission to aid the former, could preach. I had a letter a few days after going down, saying that Mr. Poo had preached on the Sabbath in Since returning to Moukden,

an excellent manner.

I have learned and partly seen that he is an eloquent and intelligent preacher. His perfect familiarity with the Chinese classics gives him a great advantage over the warm-hearted Wang, who had to relearn them after he became a preacher, and is, not unfrequently, at a loss when taxed and baited by literary men. But Mr. Poo invariably gets the better of the latter in argument, and thus fills a place in the chapel which formerly had devolved upon myself. The number of apparently real inquirers morning and evening quietly I am thankful that such a man is added to the frequenting the chapel, is consequently increased, and

Church."

It will gladden many Christian hearts to read this story from a land from which we receive so much information that is unutterably dark and sad. May this earnest and gifted disciple be strengthened in the faith and made abundantly useful.

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