Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1908-04-29
! REV. JOHN LAKE.

REV. JOHN LAKE.
On a Preaching Trip South
West From Canton, In a na.
tive Boat, Hired for the trip.
Dear Advertiser
"A minute ago,
lust to see if I could do Ii, | lay
fiat on my back with my feet
touching the door of my apart
ment, and though, as all my
friends know, Lam by no means
a tall man, reached back of my
head ard touched the other end
of my apartment with my hands,
so that my living room is the
length of me. from tip to tipl
Then I stretched my. arms out,
and laid my hands ct the same
tina on the opposite sides of the
boat, and lying there. ! lifted ore
of my feet to the ceiling at the
highest place for this Chinese
boat is covered with a thatch of
bamboo and palmetto. To this
boat 1 slept last night, ard will
travel all day. MY Chinese boy
cook and Chinese teacher also
slept with me in this apartment
and are traveliog with ma in it
too. We al slept on the hoor, for
there is no furniture IN the apart
ment.
Now tbis apartment, orr room,
has tie entire floor, covered With
my steamer iu-s ard ettar .be'i,
ding, and the separate bedding of
THE two Cbiarsa, end you cai't
t II where the ifa;nkefs Of ona
,mau>leave OF snd the Gtl,7r nQa
begin. This apariment is by faf
the larger half Of ;!e baat, tbe
ouly other apartment being a IT.
tie over half the siza Of oars. II
that apartment the boat,nao, biz
wife'and his motber'in-law slepl.
1t is Their living room. If1heY
had half o dozen children they
wou!d.llva in the apartment with
hem. This is often the cass IN
some of my trips. Ara there is no
sort of partition, not even q cur
tain between the Two apartments
none whatever, day or night.
at this particular moment, after
/ I have risen and eaten nice
breakfast. prepared ny the hoy
cook in ms aoartmel,t be and Ia
Chinese teacher are eating l,reas-
fast in the other apartment. l ate
sitting nn the f1nr. using knife
and fork and spcom; they are eaI-
Ing, sitting on the fonr, using
che pslicks Sometimes | eat viii,
chopsticks too, but my health is
better, ard l arl less exposed to
chol9ra, and eoodue.s 'knnws
what, when I bring nv own cook
and eat my own food I ale bread
made in Hongkorg, butter rhip-
ped from Australis, some kind of
break fast food from America, and
eggs from Cnina. I also had a cup
of cocoa. So / have nothing to
complain of 30 far as the food is
copcerned, if the living quarters
are small and crowded! The boy
cooked it we'll too. Mrs. Lake rs 9,
magnificent housekeeper as we'll
as magnificent missionary, and
she has trained the cook we'll. He,
by the way, is an earnest Chris
tian.
And by the way, my wife often
accompanies me on these trips,
and lives just as | am living, ex-
.ceptFthat we have curtains. which
.[,wesbring along, between the apart
=fmentss TO keep out the WING
and the gaze of the natives. |
don't mind it now, for a mar in
China is not supposed to want
any privacy, and I have learned
to get along without it. I might
aey that IN case like that the
boy cook would sleen with the
GRinose family or over the pig,
and the teacher woull stay at
bame. Or use anojher beat, or
aaIi1, - I u.7a lily do when alone.
would muca prefer to walk now,
bat I am car5giug baggage AID
books for three weeks' stay II
will be . lonely stay. | must coa-
Tess, for [ shall not see a Write
face, aud I can only gat letters
from the dear .cno It Canton oc-
casicnally. But l 60 it for Christ's
seke. He had less of this worlds
goods, than l have. / have nice,
COM Portable rented house, or rath-
er part OF the house IL Canton,
aud l am contented ard happy.
Anybody would be with her love,
and she is happy too. There never
was a happier home.
But | forgot to tell you about the
pig-a big hog rather! You see
the boat is so shaped, that there
are two sharp ends to 1t. On the
front end, separated from me by
the only door is the boat. The
boatman sits and rows when he
can't use the little sail. On the
back end of the boat is just q lit
tie space, triangular. aud about
the size Of a large rocking chair.
IN that live the pig and the chick
ems. ThP pig is grunting away as
| write IN PLAIN view of me, and
not ten feet away. Il other words
| could have reached out in the