introduced to four foreigners — two Americans,
one Englishman, and a French noble. One of
the Americans said he was a doctor, the Englishman
was supposed to be a military officer, and
the Frenchman, as stated above, claimed to be
a nobleman. Doubtless they were all
adventurers. Each had his own ax to grind. One
of the Americans had a rifle and cartridges for
sale. He asked quite an exorbitant price for
them and they were summarily rejected. The
Frenchman said he had lost a fortune and had
come out to China to make it up. Our missionary
companions were much pleased after being
entertained by Liu in hearing him recite the
doxology, which he did glibly. Towards
evening, when we returned to our boat, he sent
us a number of chickens and a goat to boot. We
were thus amply provisioned to prosecute our
journey to Tan Yang. We left Suchau on the
morning of the 11th of November. On our
arrival at Woo Sik, our passports were examined
and we were very courteously treated by the
rebels. We were invited to dinner by the chief
in command. After that he sent us fruits and
nuts, and came on board himself to see us off.
We held quite a long conversation with him,
which ended in his repeating the doxology.
Page:My life in China and America.djvu/115
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MY VISIT TO THE TAIPINGS
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