The Rev. E. A. Aldridge 139 



years of hard work he received mandarin rank by an Imperial 

 edict in recognition of his services. I reproduce his photograph 

 in his mandarin robes. One rather trying obhgation imposed 

 on mandarinhood by ancient Chinese law, is that they are 

 required to accuse themselves of any shortcomings they may 

 detect in their own conduct, and demand pimishment. This 

 seems to me like taking bread out of the lawyers' mouths ! 



As his work generally took him away from the haunts of 

 other white men, he did not get much riding, except when he 

 happened to be near Shanghai, where there was a race-course, 

 even in those early days, as well as frequent paper-chases. The 

 only mount he took with him into the wilds was a little Chinese 

 pony, but the shooting was still unspoilt, and his dogs and gun 

 were his constant companions. He spent five years on the then 

 unexplored island of Hainan, and for another five years was 

 buried one thousand miles up the Yangtze river — an epic in 

 loneliness that would have been too much for most people. 

 Large fat volumes remain unwritten of his adventures and 

 hair-breadth escapes during this time, for thirty years or more 

 ago the " foreign devil " received as cold a welcome in the wilds 

 of China as anywhere in the world. 



One of his narrowest escapes was when his would-be slayers 

 so nearly caught him that he only escaped by slipping his arms 

 out of his coat, which had been seized by the foremost of his 

 enemies. He ultimately made his escape by hiding in a tangle 

 of undergrowth among deep creeks, after running the gauntlet 

 of showers of stones. He could hear the mob encouraging 

 themselves by such kindly remarks as, " Kill him, kill him ! " and 

 " Kill the foreign devil ! " On second thoughts I think I ought 

 not to have said foreigners received a " cold " welcome in China ; 

 I should have said a warm one. During another riot he lost 

 everything he possessed except three dogs, which followed him 

 in his flight while his house was being burnt to the ground ; and 

 he subsequently took part in the defence of the Government 

 buildings from the mob until relieved by British blue- jackets. 



It is probably to his up-country shooting-trips that he owes 

 the fact that he is now a parson, for it was while in the interior 

 that he saw much of the missionaries and was impressed by 

 their self-sacrificing devotion. I am glad to hear this, for 

 although I have travelled about the world a good deal and lived 



