"How does he know that?" I inquired.

"That is what I asked him," he answered, "and he told me that he
is one of the Emperor's private servants, and that His Majesty
has a part of the Gospel copied in large characters on a sheet of
paper each day, which he spreads out on the table before him, and
this eunuch, standing behind his chair, can read what he is
studying."

On further inquiry I discovered that there was no other way that
the eunuch could have learned about the Gospel, except in the way
indicated. This man was invited to dine with the eunuchs day
after day until he had told them all he knew about Christianity,
after which they requested him to bring in the pastor of the
church of which he was a member, and who was one of my former
pupils, to dine with them and tell them more about the Gospel.
The pastor hesitated to accept the invitation, but as it was
repeated day after day, he finally accompanied the
horticulturist.

When offered wine at dinner the pastor refused it, at which the
eunuch remarked: "Oh, yes, I have heard that you Christians do
not drink wine," and like a polite host, the wine was put aside
and none was drunk at the dinner. During the afternoon they took
their guests to visit some of the imperial buildings, advanced
the sum of three hundred dollars to the horticulturist to enlarge
his plant, and gave various presents to the pastor.

It must not be inferred from this that the Emperor was becoming a
Christian. Very far from it, though the interest he took in the