The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1894-10-31
LETTER FRoMLYDIAL ALoRD DAVIS
FEU CHOU FU, Aug, 1894.

Last Summer when l wrote we were at the |
river and was having the two little girls study
each day. One, you remember, was the beggar
girl; one the daughter of the woman who wash
ed for The daughter of the woman, Mrs.
Yeh (Esh Mi by name, which means second
daughter,) have written of before, and feel so |
anxious that she be not married into heather |
home. 1t was for this reason that kept her |
mother, for really she was a very incompetent
woman, and my patience was often sorely tried,
and sometimes cracked and broke.
The poor little beggar girl seemed wondrously
happy, and Doctor found her eye was improving.
From the village across the river the women, i
and men came to service, and held after
service with the women. Then in the afternoon
after the went down, we used to take the
baby-organ and go up to the village and hold
! service, singing songs, and having an earnest
talk by the native Christian. Mr. and Mrs. Will
liams, of Taihu, who with us last Summer,
were always an inspiration and help to us, and
and we missed them much when they went back
to their own station, in the Fall.
The first of September we moved back to the
city, and hoped to begin a Girls School" at
once. We had rooms our compound just
| back of our house, repainted during the Sum-
mer. Mr.. Williams kindly watched the work
men for us, before we moved into the city, but
! the mud partitions, which about eighteen
| inches thick, are very slow in drying, and we
| had to wait month, until the first of October,
before they were suitable for the girls to occupy
They came the End of October, and the next day
| Mr.. Davis was taken very sick. He ewas very ill
| indeed, and as soon as he was strong enough
| Doctor advised us to go to Taihu for visit
We left the school in charge of the Christian
| teacher and the matron, and started one beau
tiful morning in the last of October. Mr.. and
l sE11
time of year to travel; the wadas have had time
to settle from the Summer rains, and the op-
pressive heat of Summer is past, and the clear,
blue sky above, and the mountains either
side the plain, make picture which is beauti-
| full to see.
The children always take the attention of the
people from us, and as we rode through one of
the wealthy cities of the plain, through the long
street, the people who came close to the road
as they could, would scarcely give us a look (for
which we were glad) the baby winning all the
admiration. They would say She is the bride,"
referring to me, and of Mrs. Clapp, " That is the
mother-in-law." At last the carts logged and
| jolted into Taihu, and we felt at home among
the friends there, who welcomed us SO cordially
gave us their best and most convenient room,
and did all they could to help All we have
good friends here who never forsake We
were here two weeks, and Mr.. Davis steadily
improved; then we went to Tai Yiiau Flu, the
Capital of the province, where are quite a COM
pany of English missionaries.
The English friends were cordiality and kind
ness itself, and made our stay of three weeks
most enjoyable. Then we went to Jiu Ts'um,
the third station of our mission, and spent
week with Mr.. and Mrs. Thompson in their
pleasant home. 1 have written you of their
place, which was once the home of a wealthy
native. Then back to Taihu. From Taihu we
went twenty miles one day, to a place-Ching
| Yiiau-where there is native Christian who is
conducting school. He is the Mr.. Tu Idol who
used to go with Mrs. Thompson and me to the
village.
| I don't remember much about the ride now,
only that it was very quiet and pleasant most of
the way. One unusual thing was runaway, if
so it might be called. Mr. Atwater and Mr.. Da-
Wis were walking, and the driver was lettering
along (the driver always walks, you know, un-
less, perchance, he is lazy,) when the mule went
off on a run. The three men ran, also but did
not overtake me for about half mile. went
bobbing up and down, and felt much safer when
the mule quieted down and took his own slow
pace again. We arrived at Ching Yiiau just as
the sun was sinking behind the Western hills,
and the waters of the small lake looked quiet
and placid in the evening twilight in the old
rambling city under the shadow of the noun
tain. Quiet and calm the waters of the lake
strong and majestic the mountains beyond-but
the people pass on from day to day, never look
ing from nature up to natures God.
We went to the inn, and had just eaten our
supper, when Mr. Tu came in. He is truly a
Christian, we believe-a man full of faith, who
has given up home and parents for the sake of
Christ, and now is working for Him in that hea-
then city. He brought two of his scholars with
him, and they seemed to think so much of him.
The next day we visited his school, and some
women also came in.
Mr.. and Mrs. Liang also live here. 1 think I
have never written you of them. He was blind,
and she could not walk. They came to the hos
pital, and Doctor able to cure them both
thought, we took dinner with them that day,
and they sat down together with us at the table,
(the first Chinese man and woman ever saw sit
at the same table and eat together), how almost
like Bible times it seemed-this man, who was
blind, and now could see; this woman, who was
lame, and now could walk, and both seeming SO
happy.
1t was three o'clock when we started back to
Taihu and ten when we arrived. 1t seemed very
weird, indeed, riding along in the dark, for the
carter had no lantern. No light told us that we
were approaching the wealthy city of Taihu
we could see nothing of it until we came bump
up against the closed gate, and the carter shout
ed to the watchman to open the gate, and we
rode in through the dark. deserted streets to the
Mission compound. When we came home to
Fen Cheu Flu from Taihu, week later, we did
have hard trip. We had two opium sots fol
carriers We did not know this, of course, when
we started. When we got to the suburb of Taihu
what did they do but stop AN HOUR to feed theh
animals, which should have been fed before we
z&o &o1 TI,or, = f1okr1 oh
the wind, and cold. and dust! We were eight
} hours travelling eighteen miles to the place
where we were to stop for dinner. It was nearly
) dark, and the carter, when stopped at the
inn, said they would go no farther, and in place
= of feeding the mules, went to their rooms anc
, began to smoke opium. Mr.. Davis went to then
, and told them they MUST go on, but they still
kept on smoking. We had no boy with US, a:
+ | we had sent him a day ahead, to have warn
, | room at the place ten miles farther on, where
we always stop at night. So sent one CT thu
inn-keepers out to see if he could hire another
, team for US. He could, but they wanted al
: enormous price. Mr.. Davis again talked to oul
carriers, and they agreed to go on. 1t was the1
D. M, but was no colder in the cart than in thu
, room, so the things were loaded on the cart
4 again, and we started We rode and rode, anC
rode, and at in the morning we arrived at th
place where were to spend the night u Ou
i boy was there, and had had the room warm 70
i us, but the fire was nearly out However, it wa
. not very cold, and not long until morning. w
Q started from the inn early, about o'clock, to g
: twenty-three miles there and here, and usual
Y reach the city at p. M. but these wretche
carriers never got us there until 10 at night. We'll
: did feel indignant! The girls were still in tn
], school. Of course they had not gotten on a
: well as if under the eye of a foreigner, but the
= had held together; thatwa something; but tn
s eyesight of the poor little beggar girl was gon
: past recovery. Perhaps because they did nc
4 give her proper food-we do not surely know
!. Poor little thing
n At Christmas we had quiet time with th
E girls and some of the Christians, giving them
- dinner and afterward we held short servic
: in the chapel.
! The middle of January school closed for til
- Chinese New Year-their one yearly festiva
= when all put on gay attire and take holiday.
! When school opened again in March 1 also ha