What a banquet that was! Never in my life, since or before, have I so enjoyed a repast. A nice white tablecloth and napkin once more under one’s nose, and European food, with American dainties, and dessert, where fresh strawberries, gathered in the Mission garden, made their appearance, and violets were placed in glasses by our side. I felt more inclined to feast my eyes and my sense of smell than to eat—everything was so tempting and so tasteful. Then the fragrance of a well-cooked dinner; and fresh vegetables, and plenty of them; and that pumpkin-pie, the first I had ever tasted,—it was a feast for the gods! A _gourmet_ who wishes to revel in the highest pitch of epicurean enjoyment, could not do better than take a trip into the jungle, and after recouping his jaded appetite, suffering from six weeks’ privation and frugal fare, taste the relish of such a feast. After dinner was over, we received a visit from the Rev. Jonathan Wilson, who had been with the Mission at Zimmé since 1868, the year after it had been established there by the Rev. Daniel M‘Gilvary. After giving me a hearty shake of the hand, he asked what he could do for me, and was delighted at the prospect of a railway being carried from Burmah through Siam and the Shan States. Railways were the grandest civilisers in the world, and would do wonders in ameliorating the wretched condition of the people and in spreading Christianity through the land. “Don’t be afraid of troubling me,” he said; “I shall be only too delighted to aid in your good work.” He then asked me to come and talk matters over with him at his diggings. He lived next door, all by himself. His wife was recruiting her health in America, and the two young ladies, who resided in one-half of the house and taught in the Mission schools, were away in the district. We accordingly strolled through the gardens to his house, where, after talking over matters, he promised to have my gold-leaf changed into silver; to collect all the information he could about trade and prices from the people; to inquire about the manners, customs, spirit-lore, and superstitions of the people; and give me a written memorandum about them. I was certainly most fortunate in securing the aid of missionaries who had been so long in the country as Mr Wilson and Dr M‘Gilvary, particularly when they manifested such interest in gathering information for me.