When Thou wouldst slay the wolves, O Lord! Then I would be the keen-edged sword; Clean, free from rust, sharpened and sure, The handle grasped, my God, by Thee. To kill the cruel, ravening foe, And save the sheep for whom Christ died. Translated from Pastor Hsi by F. L. F. MRS. HSI'S GIFT "First love is the abandonment of all for the love which has abandoned all."--Dr. G. CAMPBELL MORGAN. ". . . such men Carry the fire, all things grow warm to them. Their drugget's worth my purple, they beat me." R. BROWNING. CHAPTER I MRS. HSI'S GIFT BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE OPENING OF THE STATION OF HWOCHOW MRS. HSI was in great mental distress. The blow she feared had fallen, and her husband was a prey to the bewitching power of the "foreign devils." How cleverly the trap had been laid. Firstly, the offer of a monetary prize for a classical essay--which he had won; secondly, the insistence of the foreigner on a personal interview with the writer, on the occasion of which, certain as her husband had been that he had tasted neither food nor drink under his roof, some means had certainly been found to introduce into his system some of that subtle foreign drug which, as every one knew, must eventually compel the victim to embrace Christianity and follow the "foreign devil" to the world's end. Thirdly, he had been invited to become the teacher of this dreaded man (Rev. David Hill), and she had foolishly yielded her consent. She had taken every precaution and had, on three occasions, sent for him on plea of her own illness during the time he was an inmate in the foreigner's household. His clothing had been carefully searched for traces of the magical compound, but in vain; nothing had come to light, and now here was her husband, one of the leading Confucianists of the district, declaring that, of his own free will and action, he had determined to follow--not the foreign devils--but this Jesus, around Whom all their preaching centred. He attributed this change of mind, evidently quite irrationally, to the reading of a book printed under the strange title of _Happy Sound_,--but perhaps even the sacred Chinese character might become a snare in their hands! Nothing but the influence of some powerful magic could have worked so complete a transformation. Even his intense craving for opium was gone, the Confucian writings which had been his constant companion were now neglected, and in spite of her entreaties and fears, the family gods were destroyed. During his stay at home he spoke constantly, both to her and in her hearing to many visitors, of the teachings of this Jesus Who, he explained to all comers, was the Son of the only True God. * * * * *