We started, three of us, on our well-appointed house-box at 5 an Wea day, November 16th, from Kiukiang to make a journey up the Poyang lake. Our business wis to preach the gospel and tu distribute Scriptures nnd tracts, An account of the journey, a description of the features of the country, and the various incidents of the trip way prove not uninteresting to many of the readers of the North-China Daily News. We were two bent-loads of foreign preachers and native evangelists, and quite conspicuous wherever we went, The first night we made forty-five li down the river slong a rowe well known to travellers by the river steamers. Not far below Kiukinng in the darkness of the night, we enw just head of us a native bone with a dargo light hung out just as we approached and apparently full of men. They. hailed us to pull up; to this of course we paid no attention, whereupon they rowed
and cur heavy boat was forced aliend to pull up alongside, There was no wind, very slow rate by x couple of men forward xt the yuloh. "Hearing at altercation I went out and leaving that the boat was filled with pirates I warned them off. Find-g that they had to deal with foreigners and a foreign boat, and not a native beat as they had suspected, they made elf for the shore and let us alone, This is the first experience of this untrue I have met with 80 Wear an open port and the Eh officials ought to luck out for these enter prising subjects just under their very nose These water thieves generally give foreign boats a wide berth: they know that foreigners generally carry fire arms with them and-do not cure to test the value of the prize at such" probable cust, They are apparently content to tke a poorer and easier yama.
"Late in the evening we reached the mouth of a little streen where we xnchored for the night, This is quite an important naval yaod in." way. Here are made the scores and hundreds of swell guvjunks which travel up and down doing river police duty, and which are found in every large and many swell anchorages. At daylight the next morning, the 17th, we were off again and ina short time bad' covered the fifteen li that separated us from Hukow which is, as its name signifies, the mouth of the lake. The city is of sion rauk and is a poor affair'all round, Tt prettily situated and might be the centre an immense trade, All the tea, paper an other merchandise fromthe south of theProyince pose this place to Kiukisng and eleelabour and time if lent spot were made the entrepot. The mouth of ithe lake. is here about the exwe width as ithe Yangtz: river and is guarded on bath [sides by two forts mounted with foreig {guns. "The fort on the. Hukow side was destroyed by lightning last your. The light-it was sat, struck the magazine and blew it up. killing several persons. An vestigation was held in due time and rt of the Governor to the throne the official i he had not exercised proper vigilance.
It will be remembered that one of the native essayists recommended Hukow as {the site of a great national naval yard fama to Hongkong to connect there with! he advanced some strong arguments in support of his choice. Certainly there are facilities for just this kind of work. This place is the site of the summer residence of the late! buildings situated on a geant rock are visible to all who travel Jon the steamers.
This Pang was a great man in these regions, and was held in great dread, Tt was his custom in earlier days, when he: was a sworn enemy to all opium sellers and smokers, to yo around the cities he visited, in disguise, and when he bad obtained such aiterien ion as he wanted, he would commence a crusade aya me dealers, In his later parently degenerated xnd it is eid that his own guards at this very place indulged regularly in the pipe.
There is another common rumour in connection with the man and itis that he made a beast that he would cut off ten thousand heads. He was one of the privileged few w could take off ah pleasure and report it t" Pekin lost no time in getting to work and got, in due season, to the nine thousand, nine handred and seventy-eighth, when there came to his ears the common talk of the people that he would die as son as he had decapitated the ten-thousandth. 'This caus d him: to stay his han', and in recent years he despatched but few to the other world, and Gnally died without quite rexching the goal et before himself, 'After breakfast we went ashore and spent several hours preaching and selling Seriptures and tracts, disposing altogether of about three hundred copies. We had a better reception than I have ever before experienced a' this place. When I returned to the boat I found the magistrate had sent his card down, so I went up to him, At the yamen entrances crowds naturally collected around the foreigner and I waited while my card was being taker Soon the atticer returned sayin, the "old gentleman" was bury, which meant that Ecould not be seen. But. I did not intend to be thus publ'ely humiliated and snubbed. In a very few minutes would spread round the town and matters might have become unpleasant for us. I therefore told him to take the card back and state that insisted on seeing him and since I had received his card I must be admitted to his presence, A third time the officer came back and I then advanced and told him that I insisted on his immediately returning and admitting me, that this treatment and this kind of polite: ness I had not been accustomed to. Upon {this the large doors were throw open and I jad " very pleasant interview. The magistrate was Hunan man and I did my beat to enlighten him on many points, - Soon jatter I left and he returned my call on my boat. He remained over half an hour chatting with us on religious and lather subjects. I did my best with the cial so that in future when he meets foreigner he miny treat him with respect and courtesy. Ithinkhe will, These officials travel all over the empire, never remaining long in avy ome place, so in influencing them one really influences vastly more than a single individual.
(Zo be continued.)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.