The incidents narrated above, exemplify God's preserving care in circumstances of external peril. There are other difficulties to which persons labouring in the interior of China may be exposed, which do not come under this class. Their funds may become exhausted when far in the interior; and communication with the free ports may be difficult or impossible. Or they may be robbed of all that they possess, and may find themselves destitute in the midst of strangers. But they cannot be robbed of His presence and aid, whose are the gold and the silver, and the cattle on a thousand hills. And His promise, that if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness all needful temporal blessings shall be added, will be as reliable under these circumstances as when every external blessing abounds. God's arm is never shortened that it cannot save; and it is still true, that man doth not live by bread alone,—although this may be the ordinary means which God employs to sustain life. The hearts of all men are under His control: He can soften the hardest heart, and give help to His servants, by means through which it was least expected. We give one more extract from our journal for 1856. The occasion was an attempted missionary journey from Shanghai to Ningpo, via Hang-chau, in which the writer was alone. After fourteen days spent in travelling, preaching, and distributing books, we reached a large town called Shih-mun-wan.
"August 4th.—My books were all distributed. During the journey I had given away upwards of 200 Testaments, 1200 tracts, and 1600 handbills. I now, therefore, determined to make all haste to Ningpo, via Hai-ning Chau.
"There was no water beyond Shih-mun-wan, so I paid off my boat, hired coolies to carry my things to Chang-gan, and ere sun-rise set off. I walked on first, leaving my servant to follow with the coolies, who made frequent stoppages to rest, and when I reached Shih-mun Hian, I waited for them in the first tea-shop outside the North Gate. The coolies came on very slowly; but after a while they arrived, and said they were very tired. I found they were opium-smokers: and though there were two of them, and they had only carried a load for eighteen li (about six miles) which one strong man is in the habit of carrying fifty li, they really seemed weary. When they had taken some rice and tea, and had had an hour's rest (and I doubt not, a smoke of the opium pipe) they seemed refreshed; and I proposed moving on that we might get to Chang-gan ere the sun was too powerful. My servant had a friend in Shih-mun Hian, and he desired to spend the day there, and goon next morning; but to this I objected, as I wished to reach Hai-ning Chau that night, where we could get sedan chairs for ourselves; and new coolies would be procurable at Chang-gan for the latter part of the journey. We therefore set off, entered the city together, and passed about a third of the way through it, when the coolies stopped to rest, and said they should be unable to carry the burden through to Chang-gan; so it was agreed that they should take it to the South Gate, and be paid in proportion to the distance they had carried it, and that the servant should call other coolies and come along with them.
"I walked on before as in the first instance, and the distance only being twelve li, got to Chang-gan, and waited their arrival, meanwhile engaging coolies for the journey to Hai-ning Chau. Having waited a long time, I began to wonder at their delay; and at last it became too late to finish the journey to Hai-ning that day. I felt somewhat annoyed; and had not
