which the thundering cannon can never compel, or the keenest wit of statesmen ever compass, will be accomplished by the obedience and simple faith of the Christian men and women of all races, and the world will be welded into one solid piece, where men can work without wasting their efforts in making machines to torture and kill their fellow-men, and where at last the prophecy shall be fulfilled: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks." {329} APPENDIX WILL RUSSIA BE REPRESENTED ON THE MISSION FIELD? When it was settled that we should go to China to see what opportunities there were there for an educational mission emanating from our English Universities, we decided to go _viâ_ Siberia, and stop at St. Petersburg and also at Irkutsk on the way. I had previously found the journey of fifteen days without a break exhausting to myself and still more so to my wife who accompanied me. The plan had also the advantage that it gave me an opportunity of trying to find out why the great Russian Church had never attempted any serious mission work in China. From a mere inspection of the map one would naturally have expected that the Christian power which had a frontier with China of thousands and thousands of miles would have been the most forward in that country in fulfilling the command of the founder of Christianity to give His message of happiness to every living man. In our previous tour we had been surprised to find that the missionary efforts of Russia were insignificant in China, though, strange to say, they were fairly vigorous in Japan. When we arrived at St. Petersburg I was fortunate enough to obtain letters of introduction to the courteous gentleman who then represented the imperial power in the councils of the Russian Church, M. Iwolsky, Procurator of the Holy Synod. One thing became evident; for the time being Russia is so much absorbed in politics as to be oblivious of other duties. Living in England, we can little realise the excitement and anxiety that filled the minds of many who dwelt in the far off villages of Russia, while they waited to hear whether or not they were to be engulfed in a revolution as dangerous {330} and as far-reaching as that which more than a hundred years ago overwhelmed France. A lady described to me how she had sat in terror in her country house when all communication from St. Petersburg had ceased owing to the strikes, while the smoke of surrounding houses which had been set on fire by marauding bands told of the fate which might possibly await her. Now all that is over. The revolution--so they think in Russia--is a thing of the past; and Russia has entered on a course of conservative reform to which, if she adheres, will doubtless make her a prosperous and contented empire.