Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 136 (Color Image)

0136	Among the Celestials : vol.1

io8 AMONG THE CELESTIALS. [CHAP. V.

hospitality shown me. Mr. Clarke had been

established here for two years now, and was, I

believe, the first permanent missionary to reside

in the place. I had not before met a member

of the China Inland Mission in his home, and

consequently was especially interested in hearing

Mr. Clarke's account of his work. The zeal

and energy which this mission shows is mar-

vellous. Its members dress as Chinamen, live

right away in the interior, in the very heart of

China, and make it their endeavour to get

really in touch with the people. They receive

no regular pay, but as money comes in to the

mission, enough is sent them to cover the bare

expenses of living. Often, through the lack of

funds, they are on the point of starving, and

Mrs. Clarke told me how, upon one occasion,

she had been for two or three weeks with

literally no money and no food, so that she had

to beg her way and sell her clothes to raise

money as best she could till money arrived

from head-quarters.

Preparations for crossing the Gobi Desert to

Hami, the first town in Chinese Turkestan, had

now to be made. Kwei-hwa-cheng was the last

town in this direction, and the starting-point

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