Sir John Bowring was a famous British diplomat. He was fluent in thirteen
languages. He was twice elected to Parliament. He was knighted by the Queen. He
was sent on diplomatic missions to China, Thailand and Italy. He was the
governor of Hong Kong.
When he was governor of Hong Kong he took a trip by ship along the China coast.
They passed the little Portuguese colony of Macao. An earthquake had struck the
region. From the ship Bowring could see the ruins of what once had been a
mission church. The cross that once had stood on the steeple now stuck out from
the ruins. Taking a piece of paper he wrote these words: “In the cross of
Christ I glory Towering o’er the wrecks of time.”
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