HUDSON TAYLOR The man who believed God by Marshall Broomhall

XI
LOVE TRIUMPHANT
WHEN Hudson Taylor left Swatow all he had anticipated
was a brief absence from William Burns. He was to encounter,
however, a strange succession of disappointments,
and to find himself thwarted at every turn. Faith
and courage were to be tested to the uttermost. He did
not, could not see the wealthy place towards which all
was leading.
When the eager traveller reached Shanghai he learned
to his dismay that the whole of his medical outfit had
been destroyed by fire. This was calamity number one.
As the cost of a new equipment was prohibitive in Shanghai,
he set out for Ningpo, hoping Dr. Parker would have
some drugs to spare. But he was robbed and deserted on
the road by his own servant, and learned the deep significance
of the Apostle's words: "In perils of robbers,
in perils from the Gentiles, in perils of the city, in perils
of the wilderness". This was calamity number two.
Then when Ningpo was reached and the drugs obtained,
a month later than he expected, he was delayed
on the return journey by the sickness of others. Here
was calamity number three.
But what seemed worst of all was the news, just as
he was boarding the steamer for Swatow, that William
Burns had been seized by Chinese and sent under escort
to Canton, and, further, that the British authorities had
forbidden any attempt to reoccupy Swatow. What could
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