went aboard, they found that there was no cabin,—nothing, indeed, at their command but a little hold about breast-high, stowed full of Chinese baggage, some of it consisting of malodorous fish and onions. In order to make room for them, the onions were piled in stacks just above on the deck; but even this change left for human occupation merely about a cube of five feet. The boat was crowded with Chinese passengers, and it poured down rain, from which the Mateers could protect themselves only by hoisting an umbrella over the hatchway which was at the same time their only source of ventilation. It was not until the third day that they reached Port Arthur. It was characteristic of Dr. Mateer that under these conditions he spent every moment of daylight in putting final touches on the manuscripts of the “Technical Terms” and of the “Chemical Terms,” so that these might be mailed immediately to the printer. They came very near missing the train, and if this had happened they would have been compelled to wait a week for another opportunity. The railroad had but recently been completed at that end, and no regular schedule as to service had yet been established; but with many delays and with various inconveniences, after a week, they reached the point at which they overtook an express train bound for Irkutsk. This was luxury indeed, compared with the beginning of the journey. From Irkutsk onward the commendatory language of Dr. Mateer was justified by the accommodations. The Mateers visited Moscow and St. Petersburg; then came on to Berlin, and thence, successively, to Düsseldorf, Cologne, Paris, and London, the latter place brilliant with preparations for the belated coronation of King Edward, which took place while they were there. From Liverpool they crossed the Atlantic to Halifax, and then entered on their American vacation. A part of the furlough he spent in efforts to secure endowment for the Shantung College. In the prosecution of this work he visited various churches, and in Pittsburg he remained for six weeks. It was during this furlough that he sat as a commissioner from his presbytery in the General Assembly at Los Angeles. Among other celebrated spots which they included in their itinerary was the Yosemite Valley. But the part of the furlough that probably afforded them both the most unalloyed pleasure was spent in a visit to the region of the “old home.” His wife, in a letter, tells the story thus: