Dr. House enters in his journal the story of several conversions which illustrate the extraordinary fruitage from these tracts carried away by visitors to the capital. The first of these cases came under his own personal notice, and the other was related to him by Mr. Jones, of the Baptist mission:

“A copy of the Chinese gospel of Mark had been given months ago to a boy in one of the Chinese schools. He took the book home; it was given to the children to play with, till only a few leaves remained. A relative of the man who had married this boy’s sister came from China, and was visiting in the home of this boy when he chanced to pick up the tattered book. Reading, he became interested, and wished to know if he could get more. The next morning the brother of the boy fell in with the native assistant of the mission on his rounds distributing tracts, and invited him home with him to see the visitor. The inquirer was supplied with the book he wished and invited to come to the preaching at the station. He came, grew deeply interested, attended regularly and two weeks ago was judged a fit subject for Christian baptism, and received into the Church [Baptist]....

“At the Baptist mission there appeared one day a man of sixty years. He had come a six-day journey from the north. He had never seen a Christian missionary, but five years ago he came upon a Christian book. Becoming interested he gathered here and there several parts of the Old and New Testaments. From these alone he was led to forsake idols, and became well versed in scripture—better even than the servants in the mission compound. He came to Bangkok and sought the missionaries for further instruction. When asked, ‘Who has been your teacher?’ he replied: ‘Jesus; He has said, Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find.’ Within ten days after his appearance at the Baptist mission, he fell a victim of cholera.”

CANVASSING THE CITY

Dr. House devoted a part of each day to street work. He had previously in his walks about the city prepared an accurate map. He now laid this off in districts and entered upon a plan of systematic visitation to every house in the capital. This plan afforded unusual opportunity to see the people in their homes and to engage them in religious conversation.

“At 1 p. m. went out for a couple of hours distribution of books. Met at a watt gate two old men. To one gave books; the other said he was an old man (seventy-four); his ears were deaf—he could scarcely hear; his eyes had become dark—he could not see to read; and what should he do? He seemed to wish to be instructed in the way of happiness, and I stopped to tell him of the love of God. Then we walked on together.... I could not part from him with Christ yet unspoken of, and so in the road I stopped again, sheltered by my umbrella only, till I had given him the idea of the Son of God dying in the sinner’s place. I did not know or care what passers-by might think, I only thought of the poor old man’s need of the Saviour.

“My first visit was to a floating house where a Siamese lady was sitting in the shade of the veranda.... She was glad to get books—read fluently; said she already held to our way of worship, and gave a specimen of chanting some part of the Roman ritual.

“Next was sent for by a young prince to whose intelligent family I had given books last week. He gave me tea, etc. The woman at the next house said ‘Oh, yes, I would like books,’ and an interesting conversation ensued. She at once assented to there being a Creator, and though probably had never heard of one before, asked for His name. How happy I feel when coming to one such I tell of the God of creation, and unfold the wondrous story of redemption.

“At the next house found a clay modeler at work. He had a book, and brought it to me—proved to be an English speller. It had a hymn in praise of mother-love, also a church—, and a Watt’s catechism. The latter I translated to him, giving me an opportunity to give much religious instruction.”

This type of evangelistic work Dr. House very soon found to be much to his liking, and was surprised at his own versatility in religious conversation: