16th July.
(On 24th of March the writer received a tel-gram which had been forwarded 65 miles from the nearest ellice, saying that wife was ill, and to come! She was in Chefoo nearly Gi) miles away—a ten days tip under the most favourable conditions.
small wheelbarrow was immediately engaged to carry some bedding and a few things, the writer expecting to follow next day on x bievele, but by the time he burrow was loaded it was raining. s+ that the barrow could not go, and so it was decided 10 wait till next morning. By that time, it hud rained so much that it' was impositle for either the wheelbarrow of bicycle to travel; and in the terrible emergency something must done. 1 requested the Hsien official to secure me cart, which he agreed to d-. The city cart hongs are released from a certain tax, in consideration for which the hong is to secure carts on sh rt notice certain fixed price, when called on to do so by the official; but the head of the honz always means to get out of it, if he can The hong man soon came, saying he would Let ae-stand it would be to the inn wear ug something of their tricks T in to the otlicinl, and finally about Twas ip a cart ani most of this time. and poured down on us the first afternoon, s+ that we made only about ten mils, It was also over a hundred miles to where I can have any hope of other news from my ill wife. T happened to get hold of a good carter. lo was most agreeable. He drove one day from long before day till 9 jy m., except a short stop for foo, moising about On the fourth day T reached a a a telegraph office and where T had frie ds. Here I lo-red he infinitely sulder news of my wife death. but only that fuct—nothing as to what bad become of the tive children. My cart was only hired to here. I had heped by wheel and make Tout it as still raising fads artful: so 1 calle upon the official ain for assistance. Soon a cart hong jan came around ty declare most p ly that there was not a cut in the very large city but that T could have a couple of horses. [liked th's beter, and requested them sent round ight. next morning, wishing to push on rapidly. ited till after breakfast and sent to hasten the horse around, when behold word was returned that no horses were to be had, but that cart by next di in my awful " uff through the mud T went to the yamén.—They id the Ta was not up and T at hurry and will ud pressed on. This created excitem eral men_held but though T saw not the official it served the purpose. Many messages were sent out to speedily get my cart. The underlings urged me to return te my place of ald come "No, T do not go cut of Tride out ona cart." In fifteen minutes I was in the cart and off, These ways beg to be released at the but it is never easy to do it.
er told ime that a cart was settled for me the night before, but the hong man let some one else have it, snd that there were tw Jess than ten carts in the hong! Tu this cart Thurried on to the next city, where was a mission station. making the 73 miles ina day anda half, Here I dismissed the cart and decided to go on the balance of the distance—about $50 miles—on my, wheel. There were two roads, one which was nearer by GO miles, but the morning I was to leave there was a severe wind against me to go the near road, and so Tstarted the other to make 53 miles that day, to Chinanfu, the capital of this province, But before going far, T found the wind had changed against me and_ the roads were hadly cut up. I went, by fearfal effort, about 40 miles—ab ut the hi est day T have ever experienced in Chin Next morning, in going into Chinanfu, T broke my wheel, so thet T could not further use it. "There is steamer travel to Chefoo at Yangkiakou 150 miles from Chinanfu, so I decided to yo there to catch steamer. This 150 miles T made on native canal boat speedily, and arrived to find a steamer out side the bar which had been there a week, trying to get into the river, T also found Mere my sister, wh bad proceeded week ahead of me from Taianfu. She had been here just a week. Finding that the steamer coul'l not get over the bar, we took junk the next day and went out about 2) miles to the steamer and were soon under way for the longed-for port of Chefow, which we reached in a little les than two days afer we boarded the steamer—two full weeks after my wife's burial! At Yangkinkou I had letters giving the first details of her illness, death, and burial. arrived at Chefoo sixteen days after leaving Pochou, having travelled runch of the time in bad weather over bad roads. I am now detained from Pochon till after the rains. I hear of good crops in that section, as there are also in this (('ai-anta) region I shall expect to give you frequent letters after I reach Pochou.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.