THE KING’S BUSINESS
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arated in years, were one in devotion to their Saviour and Lord and in purpose regarding China. Together they journeyed up the rivers distributing literature and evangelizing as they went. The younger man learnt much from the elder’s exper ience that was to be o f great assistance to him in his life. This has been beautifully set forth in Mrs. Howard Taylor’s (Hud son Taylor’s daughter-in-law) “Hudson Taylor in Early Years.” Swatow was Mr. Burns’ headquarters until nearly the end o f his work. Peking and Nieu-chwang were visited, and in the latter place he passed away on April 4, 1868. The tomb stone on his grave bears the following inscription: To the Memory o f the Rev. William C. Burns, A. M., Missionary to the Chinese, From the Presbyterian Church in England. Born at Dun, Scotland, April 1st, 1815. Arrived in China November, 1847. Died at Port o f Nieu-chwang, 4th April, 1868. II Cor. Chap. V. His closing days are thus described by his friend Mr. Edkins as follows: “ Nieu-chwang, 6th July,-1869.—My Dear Sir.—When in conversation with an inti mate friend o f your late brother the Rev. Wm. C. Burns, I related the particulars o f my last interview with him, which occurred a few days before his death, and as far as I know, the last hour when he was in full possession o f his faculties. I was .then informed that you were gradually collect ing material for a book which should illustrate his missionary labors in China, and was pressed- to repeat to you what I knew o f his closing life. This is difficult to do in a letter; it is difficult to express in writing what I might so easily relate to you by word o f mouth, without entering rather at length into his previous life, i. e., at this port. As you are aware, it was in August, 1867, that he arrived at Nieu- chwang; for the purpose, as he then said, o f seeing what could be done toward estab-
BACK TO THE HOMELAND. In 1854, after having been seven years on the field, Mr. Burns paid a brief visit to the homeland, seeking to interest the churches, and especially those churches in which God had used him in such a won derful way, in the work o f the evangeliza tion o f China. His friends noticed that though absent but six or seven years he looked at least twenty years older. While at home he received a remarkable letter from the native church at Pechuia, con veying to him the warmest assurances o f their love and devotion, and telling him of their earnest prayers that God would enable him to interest many others to come to their land and spread the Good News. This letter was written in prayer if ever a letter was, for before every sen tence was penned the little group of believers knelt down and besought God’s guidance in what they were about to write. Mr. Burns was on his way back to his beloved China in 1855. This was just at the time o f the Tai Ping Rebellion, and he felt constrained to make an attempt to reach the headquarters o f the rebels at Nanking. The attempt failed, but it did give him an opportunity for penetrating further into the interior than he had been and o f distributing large quantities o f Gos pel literature. It nearly involved him in serious difficulties at more than one place and did in fact work serious hardship on the part o f some natives who accompanied him. We can readily see how hard it was for the Chinese to understand why a man should go into the interior where he really had no privilege to go, and that he was trying to get in touch with the rebels was itself enough to arouse their suspicions. God delivered him, however, and doubtless the literature distributed bore fruit later on. In 1856 Mr. Burns met J. Hudson Tay lor, who was then the representative o f the China Evangelization Society at Shanghai, a meeting which was destined in the provi dence o f God to have a remarkable influence in the opening up o f China to the Gospel. The two men, though widely sep
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