m THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT OF Mrs. Edith Schrank From the Estate of Mrs. Ada Jane Earner ! , THE LIVES OF MBS. ANN H. JUDSON MRS. SARAH B. JUDSON, AND MES. EMILY C. JUDSOI, IN THREE PARTS. BY MRS. ARABELLA M. WILLSON. "A self-denying band, who connted not Life dear unto them, so they might fulfill, Their ministry, and save the heathen soul NEW YORK : C. M. SAXTON, BARKER & CO., No. 25 PARK ROW. 1860. Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, EY MILLEK, OUTON & MULLIGAN, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Northern District of New York. BV 3311 PREFACE. AMOKG the many benefits which modern missions have con fr.ired on the world, not the least, perhaps, is the field they have afforded for the development of the highest excellence of female character. The limited range of avocations allotted to woman, and her consequent inability to gain an elevated rank in the higher walks of life, has been a theme of complaint with many modern reformers, especially with the party who are loud in their advocacy of woman's rights. That few of the sex have risen to eminence in any path but that of literature, is too well known to admit of denial, and might be proved by the scantiness of female biography. How few of the memoirs and biographical sketches which load the shelves of our libraries, record the lives of women ! The missionary enterprise opens to woman a sphere of ac- tivity, usefulness and distinction, not, under the present constitu- tion of society, to be found elsewhere. Here she may exhibit whatever she possesses of skill in the mastery of unknown and difficult dialects; of tact in dealing with the varieties of hu- man character; of ardor and perseverance in the pursuit of a noble end under the most trying discouragements ; and of exalted Christian heroism and fortitude, that braves appalling dangers, ind even death in its most dreadful forms, in its aifectionate devo- tion to earthly friends, and the service of a Heavenly Master. Compared with the true independence, the noble energy, the al- most superhuman intrepidity of the Mrs. Judsons, how weak and despicable seem the struggles of many misguided women in our day, who seek to gain a reluctant acknowledgment of equality with the other sex, by a noisy assertion of their rights, and in some instances, by an imitation of their attire ! Who would not . turn from a female advocate at the bar, or judge upon the bench, surrounded by the usual scenes of a court-house, even if she filled these offices with ability and talent, to render honor rather to her, who laying on the altar of sacrifice whatever of genius, or acquire- ment, or loveliness she may possess, goes forth to cheer and to share the labors and cares of the husband of her youth, in hia errand of love to the heathen ? And it seems peculiarly appropriate that woman, who doubtless 775552 IV PBEFACE. owes to Christianity most of the domestic consideration and social advantages, which in enlightened countries she regards as her birthright, should be the bearer of these blessings to her less fa- vored sisters in heathen lands. If the Christian religion was a GOSPEL to the" poor, it was no less emphatically so to woman, whom it redeemed from social inferiority and degradation, the fruit for ages of that transgression which " brought death into the world, and all our wo." Never until on the morning of the res- urrection " she came early unto the sepulchre," was she made one hi Christ Jesus (in whom " there is neither male nor female") with him who had hitherto been her superior and her master. Nor does she seem then to have misunderstood her high mission, or to have been wanting to it. The " sisters" in the infant churches rivalled the brethren in attachment and fidelity to the cause ; and to their " ministry" the new religion was indebted in no small de- gree for its unparalleled success. Perhaps an apology may be deemed necessary for another mem- oir of the distinguished females whose names adorn^ our title-page. With regard to the^trs^ Mrs. Judson, it has been thought that a simple narrative of her life, unincumbered with details of the his- tory oi the mission, would be more attractive to youthful readers than the excellent biography by Mr. Knowles. Of the second, though we cannot hope or wish to rival the graceful and spirited sketch by Fanny Forrester, still it is believed that a plain, mi- embellished story of a life which was in itself so exceedingly in teresting, may also find favor with the public. As to the last of these three chistian heroines, who has so lateiy departed from among us as full a sketch as practicable is given, from a wish to embalm in one urn perhaps a fragile one the memories of all those whose virtues and affections have contrib- uted so largely to the happiness and usefulness of one of the no- blest and most successful of modern missionaries the Rev. Ado- niram Jirlson. The approval of several of the friends of the subjects of these memoirs, has encouraged us in our undertaking; and it is our sincere desire that the manner of its execution may be found ac- ceptable, not only to them, but to the friends of missions in gen- eral. And should the work gain favor with our youthful readers, especially with female members of Sunday-schools and ]?ijle- tlasses, and prompt them to a noble emulation of so illustrious examples, the author's fondest hopes will be more than realized. CONTENTS, PART I. THE LIFE OF THE FIRST MRS. JT7DSON CHAPTER I. Pag Mrs. Judson's Birth. Education and Conversion, . .13 CHAPTER H. Her Marriage and Voyage to India, 21 CHAPTER HI. Her Arrival at Calcutta. Difficulties with the Bengal Government Voyage to the Isle of France. Death of Mrs. Newell. Change o f Sentiments. Voyage to Rangoon, . . . .28 CHAPTER IV. Description of Bunnah, its boundaries, rivers, climate, soil, fruits and flowers Burman People, their dress, houses, food, gov- ernment and religion, 8 1 ? CHAPTER V. Rangoon. Letters from Mrs. Judeon, . . M VI COKTKNTS. CHAPTER VI. Page Learning the Language. Mrs. J. visits the Wife of the Viceroy. Her Sickness. Her Voyage to Madras. Her Return to Ran- goon. Birth of a Son, 60 CHAPTER VII. Difficulty of inculcating the Gospel. Death of her Son. Failure of Mrs. Judson's Health. Arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Hough at Rangoon, . .66 CHAPTER VIII. Missionary Labors. Female Intellect in Burmah. Description of a Pagoda. Burman Worship, and Offerings, .... 74 CHAPTER IX. Distressing Events. Mr. Judson's Absence from Rangoon. Perse- cution of Mr. Hough. His Departure for Bengal. Mrs. Judson's heroic Fortitude. Mr. Judson's Return, 82 CHAPTER X. Intolerance of the Burman Government. First Edifice for Chris- tian Worship erected. Instruction of Natives. Conversion of a Native. His Baptism. That of two timid Disciples. Messrs. Judson and Colman visit Ava, 31 CHAPTER XL Reception of Messrs. Colman and Judson at Ava. Their Return to Rangoon. Their Resolution to leave Rangoon. Opposition of Disciples to this Measure. Increase 'of Disciples. Their Stead- fastness. Fa?V..re of Mrs. Judson's Health, . . 96 CONTENTS. CHARTER XH. Pago Mr. and Mrs. Judson visit Bengal and return. Mrs. Judson's Health again fails. Her Resolution to visit America. Her Voyage to England and Visit there ..... '.."'" ,104 CHAPTER XIH. Mrs. Judson's Arrival in America. Influence of her Visit. Hostile Opinions. Her Person and Manners. Extracts from her Letters, 110 CHAPTER XTV. Further Extracts from her Letters. Her Illness. Her History of the Burman Mission. Her Departure from America with Mr. and Mrs. Wade .......... CHAPTER XV. Messrs. Judson and Price visit Ava. Their Reception at Court- Their Return to Rangoon. Mrs. Judson's Return. A Letter to her Parents describing their Removal to Ava. Description of Ava, .... ...... 121 CHAPTER XVI. if &r with the British. Narrative of the Sufferings of the Mission- aries during the War, ...... .186 CHAPTER XVH. Narrative continued and concluded Their deliverance frr\ Bur- man Tyranny, and Protection by British Government, 141 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVIII . Pr. Influence of these Disaster on the Missionary Enterprise. Testi- monials to Mrs. Judson's Heroic Conduct. Letter from Mr. Jud- son. His Acceptance of the Post of Interpreter to Crawford's Embassy. Mrs. Judson's Residence at Amherst. Her Illness and Death. Death of her Infant, * . .. , . . .166 PART n. THE LIFE OF THE SECOND MRS. JUDSON. CHAPTER I. Birth and Education. Poetical Talent 183 CHAPTER II. Conversion. Bias toward a Missionary Life. Acquaintance with Boardman, ... 193 CHAPTER ffl. Account of George Dana Boardman, 198 CHAPTER IV. Marriage of Miss Hall and Mr. Boardman. They sail for India Letter from Mr. B. Letters from Mrs. B. Another Letter from Mr. B., 204 CHAPTER V. Stationed at Maulmain. Attack of Banditti. Missionary Opera- tions. Danger from Fire, .... . 222 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER VI. Page Removal to Tavoy. Idolatry of the People. Letter from Mrs. B. Baptism of a Karen Disciple. Some Account of the Karens, 230 CHAPTER VH. Letter from Mrs. B. Mr. B's. Visit to the Karens in their Villages. Defection of Disciples. Its Effect on Mr. and Mrs. B., . . 289 CHAPTER VIH. Death of their First-born. Letters from Mrs. R, ... 246 CHAPTER IX. Revolt of Tavoy. Letter from Mr. B., . . 252 CHAPTER X. Missionary Labors of Mr. Boardman. His ill Health. Letter from Mrs. B. Death of a second Child. Letters from Mrs. B., . 262 CHAPTER XI. Letter from Mrs. Bbardman. Illness and Death of George Dana Boardman, 269 CHAPTER XH. Letters from Mrs. B. Her Decision to remain in Burmah. Her Missionary Labors. Her Trials. Schools, .... 286 CHAPTER XIH. Correspondence between Mrs. Boardman and the Superintendent. Her Tours among the Karens. Her Personal Appearance. Her Acquaintance with the Burman Language. Dr. Judson's Translation of the Bible . . . .296 A t CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIV. Paoa Mrs. Boardman's Second Marriage. Removal to Maulmain. Let- ter from Mrs. Judson. Her Son sent to America. Her Hus band's Illness, 804 CHAPTER XV. flluess of her Children. Death of one of them. Her Missionary Labors, and family Cares. Her Declining Health. Poem. Her last Illness and Death, ... 81 J PAKT III. THE LIFE OF THE THIRD MRS. JUDSON. CHAPTER I. Remarks on her Genius. Her Early Life. Conversion. Employ- ments. Tales and Poems. Acquaintance with Dr. Judson. Marriage. Voyage to India. Biography of Mrs. S. B. Judson. Poem written off St. Helena. Poem on the Birth of an Infant. Lines addressed to a Bereaved Friend. Letter to her Chil- dren. Prayer for dear Papa. Poem addressed to her Mother. Her Account of Dr. Judson's last Illness and Death, . . 321 CHAPTER IL Reflections on the Death of Emily C. Judson The Delicacy of her Constitution and her Final Malady Her Sufferings at Rangoon, and the Good Effect upon her Health of a Removal to Maulmain Precarious State of her Health Her Resignation Death of Dr. Judson Decides to Leave Burmah, aiid Returns to her Ma- ternal Home, in Hamilton, N. Y. Her death The Traits of her Character Domestic Attachments Her _ Missionary Life and Literary Labors. , 367 PART 1. LIFE OP MRS. ANN H. JUDSON, FIRST WIFE OF REV. ADONIRAM JUDSON, D.l> LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. CHAPTER I. MLS. JUDSON'S BIRTH, EDUCATION, AND OONVEEMO/. WHEN an individual attains a position of eminence which commands the admiration of the world, we nat- urally seek to learn his early history, to ascertain what indications were given in childhood of qualities des- tined to shine with such resplendent lustre, and to dis- cover the kind of discipline which has developed pow- ers so extraordinary. But in no researches are we more apt to be baffled than in these. Few children are so remarkable as to make it worth while, even to a parent, to chronicle their little sayings and doings ; and of infant prodigies though there is a supersti- tious belief that most of them die early, which is ex- pressed in the adage " Whom the Gods love, die yoong," chose that live commonly disappoint the hopes of par- 14 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. tial friends, who watched their infancy with wonder and expectation. There are certain qualities, however, which we shall rarely miss even in the childhood of those who attain eminence by a wise employment of their talents and acquirements. These are, firmness of purpose, indus try and application, and an ardent, and sometimes en- thusiastic temperament. These qualities were pos- sessed in no common degree by Ann Hasseltine, the sub- ject of this memoir. She was born in Bradford, Mas- sachusetts, on the 22d of December, 1789. In a sketch which she has given of her life, between twelve and seventeen years of age, we find evidence of an active, ardent, and social disposition, gay and buoyant spirits, persevering industry, and great decision of character. Whatever engaged her attention, whether study or amusement, was pursued with an ardor that excited the sympathy and love both of her teachers and school- fellows. Though little of her writing at this period is preserved, and the generation that knew her personally is mostly passed away, yet her whole subsequent career gives evidence of an intellect of a very high order, carefully cultivated by study and reflection. She seems scarcely to have been the subject of seri- ous impressions before her seventeenth year. Until that time she enjoyed the pleasures of the world with few misgivings and with a keenness of relish which LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 15 led her lo think herself, as she says, " the happiest crea- ture on earth." She adds, " I so far surpassed my friends in gayety and mirth, that some of them were appre- hensive I had but a short time to continue in my ca- reer of folly, fend should be suddenly cut off. Thus passed the last "winter of my gay life." During the spring of 1806, she began regularly to attend a series of conference meetings in Bradford, her native town. She soon felt that the Spirit of God was operating on her mind. Amusements lost their relish; she felt that she must have a new heart or perish for- ever; and she often sought solitude, that she might, unseen by others, weep over her deplorable state. Soon, however, her fears that her distress might be noticed by her companions, were merged in her greater terrors of conscience, and she " was willing the whole universe should know that she felt herself to be a lost and per- ishing sinner." Her distress increased as she became more and more sensible of the depravity of her heart, and the holiness and sovereignty of God. Her mind rose in rebellion against a Being, who after all her prayers and tears and self-denial, still withheld from her the blessing of pardon and peace. She says, " In this stale I longed for annihilation, and if I could have de- stroyed the existence of my sou. with as much ease as that of my body, I should quickly have done it. But that glorious Being who is kinder to his creatures thais 16 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. f ,hey are to themselves, did not leave me to remain in this distressing state." The plan of salvation through a crucified Redeemer, gradually unfolded itself before her; she began to take delight in those attributes of God which before had filled her with abhorrence ; and although she did not at first imagine that this was the new heart for which she had sought so earnestly, yet she was constrained to commit all her interests for time and eternity unreservedly to that Saviour, who now seemed infinitely worthy of the service of her whole existence.* The change in her from extreme worldliness to a life of piety and prayer was deep and permanent. Hers was no half-way character. While she was of the world, she pursued its follies with entire devotion of heart ; and when she once renounced it as unsatisfying, and unworthy of her immortal aspirations, she renoun- ced it solemnly and finally. Her ardor for learning iid not abate, but instead of being inspired, as formerly * She thus describes more particularly the exercises of her mind, in an entry in her Journal a year later. " July 6. It is just a year this day since I entertained a hope in Christ About this time in the evening, when reflecting on the words of the lepers, ' If we enter into the city, then the famine is in the city and we shall die there, and if we sit still here we die also,' I felt that il I returned to the world, I should surely perish ; if I stayed where I then was I should perish ; and I could but perish if I threw myself on the mercy of Christ Then came light, and relief, an,i comfort, such as 1 aever knew before." LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 17 by a thirst for human applause and distinction, it was now prompted by her sense of responsibility to God tor the cultivation of the talents he had given her, and her desire to make herself increasingly useful. In the sketch referred to she remarks, " I attended my studies in school with far different feelings and different mo- tives from what I had ever done before. I felt my obli- gation to improve all I had to the glory of God ; and since he in his providence had favored me with advan- tages for improving my mind, I felt that I should be like the slothful servant if I neglected them. I there- fore diligently employed all my hours in school in ac- quiring useful knowledge, and spent my evenings and part of the night in spiritual enjoyments." " Such was my thirst for religious knowledge, that I frequently spent a great part of the night in reading religious Dooks." A friend says of her : " She thirsted for the knowledge of gospel truth in all its relations and de- pendencies. Besides the daily study of the scripture with Guise, Orton, and Scott before her, she perused with deep interest the works of Edwards, Hopkins, Belamy, Doddridge, &c. With Edwards on Redemp- tion, she was instructed, quickened, strengthened. Well do I remember the elevated smile that beamed on her countenance when she first spoke to me of its precious contents. When reading scripture, sermons, or other works, if she met with anything dark or intricate, she 9 18 LIFE OF MRS. 4NN H. JUDSON. would mark the passage, and beg the first clergyman who called at her father's to elucidate and explain it." How evidently to us, though unconsciously to her- self, was her Heavenly Father thus fitting her for the work he was preparing for her. Had she known that she was to spend her days in instructing bigoted and captious idolaters in religious knowledge, she could not have trained herself for the task more wisely than she was thus led to do. While, under the guidance of the Spirit of truth, she was thus cultivating her intellect, that same Spirit was also sanctifying and purifying her heart. She loathed sin both in herself and others, and strove to avoid it, not from the fear of hell, but from fear of displeasing her Father in heaven. In one place she writes: " Were it left to myself whether to follow the vanities of the world, and go to heaven at last, or to live a religious life, have trials with sin and temptation, and sometimes enjoy the light of God's reconciled countenance, I should not hesitate a moment in choosing the latter, for there is no real sat- isfaction in the enjoyments of time and sense." On the fourteenth of August, 1806, she made a pub- lie profession of religion, and united with the Congre- gational church at Bradford, being in her seventeenth year. Very early in her religious life she became sensible LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 19 that if unusual advantages for acquiring km vvledge had fallen to her lot, she was the more bound to use her talents and acquirements for tlie benefit of others less favored than herself. Actuated by such motives, she opened a small school in her native place, and sub- sequently taught in several neighboring villages. Her example in this respect is surely worthy of imitation Perhaps no person is more admirable than a young lady fitted like Miss Hasseltine by a cultivated mind and engaging manners to shine in society, who having the choice between a life of ease and one of personal exertion, chooses voluntarily, or only in obedience to the dictates of conscience, the weary and self-denying path of the teacher. And probably such a course would oftener be chosen, were young persons aware of the unquestionable fact, that the school in which we make the most solid and rapid improvement, is that in which we teach others. An extract from her journal will sustain what we have said of her conscientiousness and purity of mo- tive in endeavoring to instruct the young : " May 12, 1809. Have taken charge of a few schol ars.^ Ever since I have had a comfortable hope ir Christ, I have desired to devote myself to him in sucl a way as to be useful to my fellow-creatures. Ay Providence has placed me in a situation in life where [ have an opportunity of getting as good an education 20 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. as I desire, I feel it would be highly criminal in rne not to improve it. I feel, also, that it would be equally criminal to desire to be well educated and accomplished, from selfish motives, with a view merely to gratify my taste and relish for improvement, or my pride in being qualified to shine. I therefore resolved last winter to attend the academy from no other motive than to im- prove the talents bestowed by God, so as to be more extensively devoted to his glory, and the benefit of my fellow-creatures. On being lately requested to take a small school for a few months, I felt very unqualified to have the charge of little immortals ; but the hope of doing them good by endeavoring to impress their young and tender minds with divine truth, and the obligation I feel to try to be useful, have induced me to comply. 1 was enabled to open the school with prayer. Though the cross was very great, I felt constrained by a sense of duty to take it up. O may I have grace to be faith- ful in instructing these children in such a way as shall be pleasing to my heavenly Father." Such being the principles by which she was actua- ted in commencing the work of instruction, we can- not doubt that her efforts to be useful were blessed not only by the temporal, but the spiritual advancement of ner pupils, some of whom may appear, with children from distant Burmah, as crowns of her rejoicing in tho last great day. CHAPTER U. HER MARRIAGE, AND VOYAGE TO INDIA. IN 1810, the calm current of Miss Hasseltine's life was disturbed by circumstances which were to change all her prospects, and color her whole future destiny. From the quiet and seclusion of her New England home, she was called to go to the ends of the earth, on a mission of mercy to the dark browed and darker minded heathen. It is perhaps impossible for us to realize now what was then the magnitude of such an enterprise. Our wonderful facilities for intercourse with the most dis- tant nations, and the consequent vast amount of travel, were entirely unknown forty years ago. A journey of two hundred miles then involved greater perplexity and required nearly as much preparation, and was cer- tainly attended with more fatigue, than a voyage to England at the present day. The subject of evangel- izing the heathen in foreign countries had scarcely received any attention in Europe, and in this country there was not even a Missionary Society. That a 22 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. female should renounce the refinements of her enlight- ened and Christian home, and go thousands of miles across unknown oceans " to thfl farthest verge Of the green earth, to distant barbarous climes," to spend her life in an unhealthy climate, among a race whose language was strange to her ear, whose customs were revolting to her delicacy, and who might more- over make her a speedy victim to her zeal in their be- half, a thing so common now as to excite no surprise and little interest was then hardly deemed possible, if, indeed, the idea of it entered the imagination. To decide the question of such an undertaking as this, as well as another question affecting her individual happi- ness through life, was Miss Hasseltine now summoned. Mr. Judson, a graduate of Brown University, " an ardent and aspiring scholar," was one of four or five young men in the then newly founded Theological Seminary at Andover, whose minds had become deeply impressed with the wants of the heathen, and a desire lo go and labor among them. By their earnestness and perseverance, they so far awakened an interest in their project, that a Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was appointed, and the young men were set apart as missionaries. During the two years in which J.U-K OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 23 Mr. Judson and hb associates were employed in effot ts to accomplish this "xsult, he had formed an acquain- tance with Miss Hasseltine, and made her an offer of his hand. That he had 1:0 wish to blind her to the extent of the sacrifices she would make in accepting him, his manly and eloquent Better to her father, asking his daughter in marriage, abundantly proves. He says : " I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world ; whether you can consent to her departure for a heathen land, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life ; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean ; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress ; to degra- dation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death ? Can you consent to all this for the sake of Him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you ; for the sake of perishing immortal souls ; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God ? Can you consent to all this in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with a crown of righteousness, brightened by the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair ?" The writer of this letter, who, after nearly forty years of missionary labor in which he endured all and more 24 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. than all he has thus almost prophetically described, has just gone to join " the noble army of martyrs" and " those who came out of great tribulation," in hi.? final home, as he looks back on the hour when he thus gave up his life and what was more precious than life to the service of those souls, dear as he believed to the Redeemer, though perishing for lack of vision, with what deep and serene joy must he contemplate the sacrifice ! And she " Not lost, but gone before," who was there to meet and welcome him to " happier bowers than Eden knew," where they rest from their labors, does she now regret that to his solemn appeal, she answered, " I will go ?" Mr. and Mrs. Judson were married at Bradford on the fifth of February, 1812, and on the nineteenth ol the same month embarked on the brig Caravan, bound for Calcutta. Mr. and Mrs. Newell, also missionaries, sailed in the same vessel. We will here give some extracts from letters written by Mrs. Judson to hei friends at home, dated " at sea." To her sister she writes, " I find Mr. Judson one of tne kindest, most faithful and affectionate of husbands. His conversation frequently dissipates the gloomy clouds of spiritual darkness which hang over my mind, LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUJDSON. 26 and brightens my hope of a happy eternity. I hope God will make us instrumental of preparing each other for usefulness in this world, and greater happiness in a future world." " June 16. Day before yesterday, we came in sight of land, aftt-r having been out only one hundred and twelve days. We could distinguish nothing but the towering mountains of Golconda. Yesterday we were nearer land . . . and the scene was truly de- lightful, reminding me of the descriptions I have read of the fertile shores of India the groves of orange and palm trees. Yesterday we saw two ves- sels. . . . You have no idea how interesting the sight a vessel at the side of us, so near we could hear the captain speak for he was the first person we have heard speak since we sailed, except what belong to our ship. " Tuesday. Last night was the most dangerous, and to me, by far the most unpleasant we have nad. . . . To-day the scene is truly delightful. "We are sailing up the river Hoogly, a branch of the Gan- ges, and so near the land that we can distinctly dis- cover objects. On one side of us are the Sunderbunds, (islands at the mouth of the Ganges.) The smell which proceeds from them is fragrant beyond description. " Wednesday. ... On each side of the Hoogly, are the Hindoo cottages, as thick together as the B 26 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. houses in our seaports. They are very small, and in the form of hay-stacks, without either chimneys or windows. They are situated in the midst of treef which hang over them and appear truly romantic. Thd grass and fields of rice are perfectly green, and herds of cattle are everywhere feeding on the banks of the river, and the natives are scattered about, . . . some fishing, some driving the team, and some sitting indolently on the bank of the river. The pagodas we have passed are much handsomer and larger than the houses. There are many English seats near the shore. . . . Oh, what reason we have to be thankful for so pleasant and prosperous a voyage. . . . " Well, sister, we are safe in Calcutta harbor, and almost stunned with the noise of the natives. Mr Judson has gone on shore to find a place for us to go. The city is by far the most elegant of any I have evei seen. Many ships are lying at anchor, and hundreds of natives all around. They are dressed very curi- ously their white garments hanging loosely over their shoulders. But I have not time to describe anything at present. " Thursday. Harriet and I are yet on board the vessel, and have not been on land. Mr. Judson has not yet gained permission for us to live in the country. He and Mr. Newell are gone again to day, and what will be their success I know not. LIFE OF MRS. AJTN II. JUDSON. 27 East India Company are violently opposed to missions, and have barely given permission to their own coun- trymen to settle here as preachers. We have nothing to expect from man, and everything from God. , . If God has anything for us to do here, he will doubt- less open a door for our entrance, if not he will send us to some other place " CHAPTER HKR ARRIVAL AT CALCUTTA. - DIFFICULTIES WITH THE BKNOAL GOVERN MENT. - VOYAGE TO THE ISLE OF FRANCE. - DEATH OF MR3. NEWELL. CHANGE OF SENTIMENTS. - VOYAGE TO RANGOON. MR. and Mrs. Judson landed at Calcutta on the 18ih of June, 1812, and were hospitably received by trir venerable Dr. Carey, who immediately conducted them to his home in Serampore. There they found a de lightful mission family, consisting of Messrs. Carey Marshman and Ward, with their wires and children, who welcomed them most cordially, and invited them to remain until the arrival of their brother missiona- ries. Of the arrangements in this truly Christian family the schools, the religious exercises, the cultivation of the gardens belonging to the establishment, and the instruction communicated to the natives, they express hemselves in the highest terms of eulogy. Hitherto the course of our missionaries in their en- terprise had indeed run smooth, and they had begun to flatter themselves that they had over-estimated the trials and dangers of the life they had chosen ; but sad reverses awaited them. They had been in Serampore LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 29 but ten days, when Messrs. Judson and Newell were summoned to Calcutta, where an order from govern- ment was read to them, commanding them immediately to leave the country, and return to America. The British East India Company were at that time un- friendly to missions, and especially intolerant to mis- sionaries from America. The idea of returning, with- out effecting the object for which they had left theii native land, was too painful to be endured by the mis sionaries, and they imtnediately attempted to gain per- mission to go to some country not under the company's jurisdiction. Burmah, the field to which they had been assigned by their brethren at home, seemed, for various reasons, utterly inaccessible ; but they finally got leave to take passage in a ship bound for the Isle of France. The vessel would, however, accommodate but two passengers, and the health of Mrs. Newell requiring that she should be in a place of quiet, it was agreed that she and her husband should embark in it. For three months the rest of their company remained in Calcutta, watched with jealousy by the British Gov- ernment, but unable to find a vessel to convey them away. At length they had peremptory orders to em- bark in a vessel bound to England. All hope of escape seemed now cut off, when Mr. Judson accidentally learned that a ship was about sailing for the Isle of France. They applied for a passport to go on board 80 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. of her, but were refused. They informed the captain of the vessel of their circumstances, and were allowed to go on board without a pass. They had got but a few miles down the river, however, when a govern- ment despatch overtook them, commanding the pilot to conduct the ship no further, as there were per- sons on board who had been ordered to England. By advice of the captain, the missionaries left the ship, and went on shore, while the pilot wrote a certi- ficate that no such persons were on board. The cap- tain being angry at the detention of his vessel, ordered them to take their baggage from it immediately, but at length consented to let it remain on board until he should reach a tavern sixteen miles further down the river. Mrs. Judson also remained in the ship until it came opposite the tavern, " where," she says, " the pilot kindly lent me his boat and a servant to go on shore. I immediately procured a large boat to send to the ship for our baggage. I entered the tavern a stranger, a female and unprotected. I called for a room and sat down to reflect on my disconsolate situation. I had nothing with me but a few rupees. I did not know that the boat which I had sent after the vessel would overtake : i, and if it did, whether it would ever return with our baggage ; neither did I know where Mr. Jud son was, or when he would come, or with what treat- ment I should meet at the tavern. I thought of home LI/E OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 51 and said to myself. These are some of the trials at- tendant upon a missionary life, and which I have an ticipated. In a few hours Mr. J. arrived, and toward night our baggage." After two or three days of great perplexity and dis- tress, and when they had given up all hope of being able to proceed to the Isle of France, they unexpect- edly received from an unknown friend a magistrate's pass to go on board the Creole, the vessel they had left. Their only difficulty now was that she had probably got out to sea, as it was three days since they had left her. However they hastened down the river seventy miles, to Saugur, where, among many ships at anchor, they had the inexpressible happiness to find the Creole, on which they embarked for the Isle of France, their first destination. Their dangers on the passage to the .jle of France were great, the vessel being old and leaky ; and when they reached there, they found little encouragement to remain. While on the island, Mrs. J. had a severe attack of illness, as well as much depression of spirits from the uncertainties of their situation. After much deliberation they determined to establish themselves on an island near Malacca, to reach which they must first go to Madras, and they accordingly sailed for that place War having broken out between England and America, the hostility of the East India Directors to 32 LIFE OF MRS. ANN II. JUDSON. American missionaries was of course much increased, so that it would be impossible for them to make any stop at all in Madras, without incurring the danger of being sent back to America. What, then, was their distress on their arrival there, to find no ship bound for the island they wished to visit! Their way seemed en- tirely hedged up, for the only vessel in Madras harbor ready for sea, was destined to Burmah, a country pro- nounced by all their friends in India, utterly inacces- sible. In her journal, at this time, Mrs. J. writes : " Oh, our heavenly Father, direct us ai ight ! Where wilt thou have us to go ? What wilt thou have us to do ? Our only hope is in thee, and to thee only do we look for protection. Oh, let this mission live before thee !" " To-morrow," she adds, at a somewhat later date, "we expect to embark for Rangoon, (in Burmah.) Adieu to polished, refined, Christian society. Our lot is not cast among you, but among pagans, among barbarians, whose tender mercies are cruel. Indeed, we volunta- rily forsake you, and for Jesus' sake choose the latter for our associates. O may we be prepared for the pure and polished society of heaven, composed of the followers of the Lamb, whose robes have been washed in his blood !" Everything combined to render the passage to Ran- goon unpleasant and perilous; sickness, threatened LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 33 shipwreck, and the want of all comforts ; but at length on the 14th of July, 1813, about eighteen months from the time they left Salem, in Massachusetts, they set their ' weary, wandering feet' on that shore which was to be their future home. Among the depressing circumstances that had oc- curred in this gloomy period, not the least painful was ihe death of Mrs. Judson's early friend, and compan- ion in her eastern voyage, Mrs. Harriet Newell. Of 'ess mental and physical vigor than Mrs. Judson, this imiable and ardent Christian had gladly relinquished all other objects in life, for that of sharing the priva- tions and soothing the cares of a husband to whom she was tenderly attached, in his labors among the neathen. But this privilege was denied her ; she was not even permitted to reach a scene of missionary labor. Her heart-broken husband was compelled to bury her in a far distant isle of the ocean, and finish his short earthly course alone. But he lived to see the grave of that young martyr missionary visited by many pilgrim feet, and her name embalmed in many admiring hearts. How keenly Mrs. Judson felt her loss, may be learn- ed from a letter written from the Isle of France, whither she and her husband went on being driven from Calcutta : " Have at last arrived in port ; but oh, what news, what distressing news! Harriet '19 8 B * 84 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. dead. Harriet, my dear friend, my earliest associate in the mission, is no more. Oh death, could not this wide world afford thee victims enough, but thou must enter the family of a solitary few whose comfort and happiness depended so much on the society of each other? Could not this infant mission be shielded from thy shafts !" " But be still, my heart, and know that God has done it. Just and true are thy ways, oh thou King of saints !" Another heavy trial, was the separation of herself and husband from the church in which they were both educated, from the missionary association on which they depended for support, and from the sympathies of those Christians in their native land who had hitherto given them the most cordial encouragement in their enterprise. This separation was in conse- quence of a change in their sentiments in regard to baptism. So liberal has the church become at this day, that all now look upon this 1 change as having de- cidedly advanced the cause of missions by enlisting a large and respectable body of Christians in this coun- try, not hitherto engaged in it. But in 1813, a step like this on the part of beneficiaries of the Board, could not but be regarded with much disfavor and prejudice, render those who had taken it highly un. popular, and even subject their motives to unworthy imputations. Whatever may be thought of the sound- LIFE OF MRS. ANN. H. JUDSON. 35 ness of their new views, therefore, there is not the shadow of a reason to doubt their conscientiousness in adopting them. That they did it in the face of every worldly motive, their letters and journals abundantly orove. Mrs. Judson writes: " It is extremely trying t) reflect on the consequences of our becoming Bap- fists. We must make some very painful sacrifices." " We must be separated from our dear missionary as- sociates, and labor alone in some isolated spot. We must expect to be treated with contempt, and to be cast off by many of our American friends forfeit the character we have in our native land, and probably have to labor for our own support wherever we are stationed." " These things are very trying to us, and cause our hearts to bleed for anguish we feel that we have no home in this world, and no friend but each other." " A renunciation of our former sentiments has caused us more pain than anything which ever happened to us through our lives." Thus " perplexed but not in despair, cast down but not destroyed," they reached Rangoon, then the capi- tal of the Burman Empire, and established themselves ii what they regarded as their future home. Here, ' remote, unfriended" and solitary " reft of every stay but Heaven" they were destined to pass nearly two years, before their hearts could be cheered by the intelligence from America, of the general interest 86 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. awakened for them there in the denomination wi*fl which they had connected themselves; and the for- mation of a Baptist Board of Missions, which had ap- pointed them its Missionaries. Of one thing, however, they must have felt sure, that they were conducted there by the special providence of God. The honor of commencing the Burman Mission, says Prof. Gam- mell, " is to be ascribed rather to the Divine Head of the Church, than to any leading movement or agency of the Baptist denomination. The way was prepared and the field was opened by God alone, and it only remained for true-hearted laborers to enter in and prosecute the noble work to which they had been sum moned." CHAPTER IV. DESCRIPTION OF BL'RMAH. ITS BOUNDARIES, RIVERS, CLIMATE, SOIL, FRUft* AND FLOWERS. BDRMAN PEOPLE. THEIR DRESS, HOUSES, FOOD, GOV- ERNMENT AND RELIGION. THE Burman Empire being thus the place to which the feet of the first " bringers of good tidings" from America were so signally directed, and having been now, for nearly forty years, missionary ground of the m >st interesting character, it is proper to pause here, and give something more than a passing glance at it& natural features, its government and religion, and the character of its population. For information on these points we are indebted chiefly to the researches of the Rev. Howard Malcom. Burmah, or the Burman Empire, lies between the Salwen river on the east, and the Burrampooter on the northwest and north, while its western and southern shores are washed by the great bay of Bengal, which separates it from the peninsula of Hindustan. Besides the noble rivers which form its eastern and north- western boundaries, its entire length from north to south is traversed by the Irrawaddy, which after a course 01 88 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 1200 miles, empties by many mouths into the Bay of Bengal. Its territory is generally so much elevated above the level of the sea, that it enjoys, though in the torrid zone, a comparatively salubrious and temperate climate. The heat is rarely excessive ; while winter ,n our sense of the word, is unknown. " The general features of a country so extensive, are, of course, widely diversified. It may be said of it as a whole, in the language of Dr. Hamilton, that in fertility, beauty and grandeur of scenery, and in the variety, value, and elegance of its natural productions, it is equalled by few on earth." In the parts of the country lying near the sea there are two seasons, the wet and the dry. About the 10th of May showers commence, and increase in frequency, until, in the latter part of June, it begins to rain almost daily, and this continues until the middle of September. Heavy rains then cease, but showers continue, dimin- ishing in frequency until the middle of October, when " the air is cool, the country verdant, fruits innumera ble, and everything in nature gives delight." Even in the rainy season, the sun shines out a part of the day, so that the rankest vegetation covers everything; even walls and buildings, unless smoothly coated with plaster, are not exempt from grass and weeds. Of the climate during the warmest portion of the year, Dr. Malcom thus writes : " I have now passed the ordeal LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 39 of the entire hot season, and of nothing am I more convinced, both from experience and observation, than that the climate is as salubrious and pleasant as any other in the world. I have suffered much more from heat in Italy, and even in Philadelphia, than I have ever done here ; and have never found a moment when I could not be perfectly comfortable by sitting still. To go abroad at mid-day, is, however, for any but natives, eminently hazardous." The soil, in the maritime provinces, is represented as unsurpassed in fertility, and under the imperfect cultivation of the natives, yields from eighty to a hun dred fold, and sometimes more. The heights are crowned with forests, while the low lands are jungle, that is, " a region of many trees, bul scattered ; with much undergrowth ;" and the haunt of tigers and other wild animals. The fruit-trees are numerous, and of names and kinds unknown in America. There is found the man- gosteen, with a fruit said by travellers to be the most delicious in the world ; the noble mango, growing to the height of one hundred feet, and of vast diameter, and bearing as great a variety of delicious fruit as the apple-tree does with us ; the cocoa-nut, whose fruit we are acquainted with, and whose husk is formed into excellent cordage ; the plantain, that invaluable blessing to the natives of the torrid zone, as it supplies iO LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. them bread without much labor ; a circumstance of importance in countries where hard labor is oppressive oy reason of heat ; the splendid tamarind, with wide- spreading limbs, and a dense foliage of vivid green, among which appear clusters of beautiful yellow flow- ers, delicately veined with red, and the long shining pods which contain the fruit ; the custard-apple, with *'ts pulpy fruit contained in a husk resembling the pine- apple in shape ; and the curious palmyra, whose leaves furnish the natives with paper, while its trunk yields a liquor much prized by them as drink, and capable of being boiled down into sugar, like the juice of our maple. Hundreds of other trees might be named, many val- uable for their fruit, others for their timber, and some for both. Most of the- trees are evergreen, that is, few of them shed their leaves annually and at once ; but a constant succession of leaves makes the forest always verdant. Besides the fruits which grow upon trees, there is a variety of others ; such as berries, tomatoes, pine- apples, &c. ; and among roots are found the ginger, licorice, arrow-root, sweet-potatoe, Irish potatoe, as- paragus, ground-nut, &c. The country abounds in flowers of most splendid colors, but generally deficient in fragrance ; though some have a fine perfume. The favorite food of the country being rice, this LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 4] is, of course, the grain most extensively cultivated. There are no farms as with us; cultivators of the soil always reside in villages, for mutual protection against wild beasts and robbers. Each family culti- vates a patch of the neighboring jungle, and brings the produce into the village, where the cattle are also brought for security. Besides rice, they cultivate wheat, Indian-corn, sugar-cane, millet and indigo ; but genera'ly in a slovenly and unskilful manner. In the dry season, the land is watered by artificial means, some of which are quite ingenious. Of animals there is, of course, a vast variety, one of the most useful of which is the buffalo, which is used to draw their carriages, as well as to perform the labor that the ox does with us. Elephants are the property of the king, but great men are allowed to keep them. The birds in Burmah, though of gay plumage, have little melody in their song ; splendid as they are, we would scarce exchange for them our cheerful robin and merry bobolink. Reptiles and insects, though numerous, are not so troublesome or so venomous as in many parts of the torrid zone. The white ant is perhaps as destructive as any other insect, and the greatest precaution hardly preserves one from its intrusion. *2 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. The Burmans are, as a race, superior to the Hin- doos, being more athletic and vigorous, and more lively and industrious. They are less tall than Amer- icans, their complexions dark, their noses flat, arid their lips thick and full. The hair is very abundant, black and glossy, but generally rather coarse. " Men tie it in a knot on the top of the head, and intertwine it with the turban. Women turn it all back, and without a comb, form it into a graceful knot behind, frequently adding chaplets of fragrant natural flowers strung on a thread. Both sexes take great pains with their hair, frequently washing it with a substance which has the properties of soap, and keeping it anointed with sweet oil." " The custom of blacking the teeth is almost univer- sal. When asked the reason of this custom, the an- swer is, " What ! should we have white teeth like a dog or a monkey ?" Smoking and chewing are also universal. Malcom says, " I have seen little creatures of two or three years, stark naked, tottering about with a lighted cigar in their mouth." Tobacco is not used alone for these purposes, but mixed with several other substances. The dress of the- men is a cotton cloth about fom and a half yards long, covering, when the man is not at work, nearly the whole body in a graceful manner. A jacket, with sleeves generally of white muslia hut LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 48 often of broadcloth or velvet, is sometimes added, espe cially among the higher classes. On the feet, when dressed, are worn sandals of wood or cowhide, cov- ered with cloth, and held on by straps, one of which passes over the instep, the other over the great toe. On entering a house, these are always left at the door v Women wear a temine, or petticoat, of cotton 01 silk, lined with muslin, extending from the arm-pits to the ankles. Over this is sometimes worn a jacket, open in front with close, long sleeves. Both sexes wear ornaments in the ears. Men wear mustachios, but pluck out the beard with tweezers. Women, in order to render their complexions more fair, rub over the face a delicate yellow powder ; and they occasion ally stain the nails of the fingers and toes with a scar- let pigment. All ranks are exceedingly fond of flow- ers, and display great taste in arranging them. The houses are made of timbers, or bamboos, set in the earth, with lighter pieces fastened transversely The sides are covered, some with mats, more or less substantial and costly, others with thatch, fastened with split ratans. The roof is very ingeniously made and fastened on, and is a perfect security against wind and rain. The floor is of split cane, elevated a few feet from the earth, which secures ventilation and cleanliness. The windows and doors are of mat, strengthened with a frame of bamboo, and strongly 44 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. fastened at the top. When open they are propped up with a bamboo, and form a shade. Of course, there are no chimneys. Cooking is done on a shallow box a yard square, filled with earth. \Ve must not judge of the architectural skill of the people by their private houses. A Burman conceals his wealth with as much care as we exhibit ours, for a display of it only subjects him to extortion from the officers of government. Malcom describes some of their zayats, pagodas and bridges, especially in and near Ava, as truly noble. Rice may be said to be the universal food. It is generally eaten with a nice curry, and sauces of vari- ous vegetables are added. Wheat is not made into bread by the natives, but boiled like rice. Its name in Burmah is " foreigner's rice," which shows it is not native to the country. The natural good traits of the Burman charactei are almost rendered nugatory by their religion, and the oppressive nature of their government. The latter is an absolute despotism. The king has a nominal council with whom he may advise, but whose advice he may, if he chooses, treat with utter contempt. It ia not, however, the direct oppression of the monarch that causes most suffering among his subjects. It is rather that of the inferior officers of government LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON, 45 whose rapacity and extortion renders property, liberty, and life itself insecure. Deceit, fraud and lying are the natural, if not necessary consequences of a system whi^h leaves the people entirely at the mercy of those who bear rule over them. The religion is Buddhism, one of the most ancien and wide-spread superstitions existing on the face of the earth. Its sacred Divinity, or Buddh, is Gaudama, who has passed into a state of eternal and uncon- scious repose, which they consider the summit of feli- city ; but which seems to us to differ little from anni- hilation. Images of this god are the chief objects of worship. These are found in every house, and are enshrined in pagodas and temples, and in sacred caves which appear to have been used from time immemo- rial for religious purposes. The wealth and labor be- stowed on the latter show how great the population must have been in former ages. Dr. Malcom de- scribes one cave on the Salwen, which is wholly filled with images of every size, while the whole face of the mountain for ninety feet above the cave is incrusted with them. " On every jutting crag stands some mar- ble image covered with gold, and spreading its uncouth r roportions to the setting sun. Every recess is con- verted into shrines for others. But imposing as is this spectacle, it shrinks into insignificance compared with the scene presented on entering the cavern itself. It 46 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. is of vast size, and needs no human art to render it sublime. The eye is confused and the heart appalled at the prodigious exhibition of infatuation and folly. Everywhere on the floor, over head and on every jutting point, are crowded together images of Gauda- ma the offerings of successive ages. A ship of five hundred tons could not carry away the half of them." Pagodas are innumerable. In the inhabited parts there is scarcely a peak, bank, or swelling hill, un- crowned by one of these structures. In general, they are almost solid, without door or window, and contain some supposed relic of Gaudama. The religious system of the Burmans contains many excellent moral precepts and maxims, which, however, being without sanction or example, are utterly power- less to mould the character of the people to wisdom or virtue. A curious feature of Buddhism is, that one of the highest motives it presents to its followers is the " ob- taining of merit." Merit is obtained by avoiding sins, such as theft, lying, intoxication, and the like ; and by practising virtues and doing good works. The most meritorious of all good works is to make an idol ; the next to build a pagoda. It confers high merit, also, to build a zayat, to transcribe the sacred books, to erect any useful public edifice, to dig public wells, or to plant shade or fruit-trees by the wayside. If they give LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 47 alms, or treat animals kindly, or repeat prayers, or do any other good deed, they do it entirely with this mer- cenary view of obtaining merit. This " merit" is nol so much to procure them happiness in another world, as to secure them from suffering in their future trans- migrations in this ; for they believe that the soul oi one who dies without having laid up any merit, will have to pass into the body of some mean reptile or insect, and from that to another, through hundreds of changes, perhaps, before it will be allowed again to take the form of man. This reliance on ' merit/ and certainty of obtaining it through prescribed methods, fosters their conceit, so that ignorant and debased as they are, " there is scarcely a nation more offensively proud." It also renders them entirely incapable of doing or appreciat- ing a disinterested action, or of feeling such a senti- ment as gratitude. If you do them a favor, they sup- pose you do it to obtain merit for yourself, and of course feel no obligation to you ; the simple phrase, " I thank you," is unknown in their language. Like the ancient Romans, the Burmans believe in dreams, omens, and unlucky days ; observe the flight and feeding of fowls, the howl of dogs, and the aspect of the stars ; they regard the lines in the hand, the knots in trees, and a thousand other fortuitous cir- 4& LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. cumstances, arid by these allow their actions t. be governed. The priesthood in Burmah is arranged into a regu- lar hierarchy. The highest functionary is a kind of archbishop, who presides over all the other priests in the empire, and appoints the presidents of the monas- teries. He resides at the imperial court, where he has a high rank, and is considered one of the greatest men in the kingdom. Below him are various ranks of priests, each having his appointed sphere and appro- priate duties, and all supported by the so-called volun- tary contributions of the people. The number of priests is exceedingly great, and their sway over the minds of the people almost unlimited. " But great and potent as the priests of Buddh are," says a writer in the Foreign Quarterly Review, " there is a kind of sacred personage still greater than the highest of them, and next in rank to the sovereign ; this is no other than that diseased animal, the White Elephant, far more highly venerated here than in Siam. The creature is supposed by the Burmans to lodge within its carcass a blessed soul of some human being, which has arrived at the last stage of the many millions of transmigrations it was doomed to undergo, and which, when it escapes, will be absorbed into the essence of the Deity." This most sacred personage has a regular cabinet composed of a prime minister, LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 49 secretary of state, transmitter of intelligence, She then gives an interesting account of a visit paia ihem by the wife of the Viceroy, who on hearing of the death of the 'little white child' as she called him, came to condole with his parents. She was attended by about two hundred of her officers of state and mem- bers of her household, expressed great sympathy in Mrs. Judson's affliction, and reproached her for not having sent her word that she might have come to the funeral. Mrs. Judson says, " I regaled her with tea, sweetmeats, and cakes, with which she seemed much pleased." She adds, " I sometimes have good oppor- tunities of communicating religious truths to the women in the government-house, and hope I shall have an opportunity of conversing with the wife of the Viceroy herself." ..." Oh that she might become a real dis- ciple of Jesus!" In the same melancholy letter she relates another affliction Mr. Judson, who had frequently been asked by the natives, ' Where are your religious books ?' had LIFE OF MKS. A*iN H. JUDSOlf. 73 tieen diligently employed in preparing a Tract in the Burman language called 'A Summary of Christian Truth ;' when his nervous system, and especially his head becanH so afflicted, that he was obliged to lay aside all study, and seriously think of a voyage to Cal- cutta as his only means of restoration. But he was prevented from executing his design by the joyful news that two additional missionaries were about to join them. Mr. and Mrs. Hough, from America, arrived in Rangoon in October, 1816; and brought with them as a present from the Mission at Serampore, a printing j-ress, with a fount of types in the Burman character, than which nothing could have been more acceptable. Can we wonder that after laboring in loneliness and sorrow three years, such an event as this should fill their hearts with joy and consolation ? The Burmans are very generally taught to read, though having little that is attractive in their own liter- ature, and books being scarce and dear, they could not at the time of which we write, be said to be a reading people. Still the fact that numbers were able to read, was a strong encouragement to print tracts and books f or them. On the occasion of printing the tract above- mentioned, and a catechism, Mr. Hough writes thus : " These two little tracts are the first printing ever done in Burmah ; and it is a fact grateful to every Chiistian feeling, that God has reserved the introduction of this art here, for his own use.** D * CHAPTER VIII. MSSIONART LABORS. FEMALE INTELLECT IN BUBMAH. DESCRIPTION "51 A PAGODA, OF BURMAN WORSHIP AND OFFERINGS. A CIRCUMSTANCE still more cheering to the hearts o" the missionaries than even the arrival of companions from their beloved native land, was a visit of a Burman who having read the " two little books" from the press of Mr. Hough, came to inquire further into the new religion. When Mr. Judson first heard from the lips of an idolater the confession that "God is a Being without beginning or end, not subject to old age or death, but who always is," his feelings were inde- scribable and overpowering. Here at length was a germination of that seed they had so long been sowing in tears! For if one heathen heart could be thus led by the Spirit to investigate the truth, why not more, why not many ? and why might not the same Spirit lead them to him who is not only the truth, but the way, the way to Heaven ? They soon received visits from other Burmans who had seen the tracts issued by them ; and who seemed desirous of learning the truth, but still very fearful o r LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 75 being known as inquirers. It became necessary there- fore to seek the patronage of the government, and Mr. Judson determined, so soon as he should have finished his dictionary of the language, to proceed to Ava, the residence of the emperor. Mrs. Judson met every Sabbath a society of fifteen or twenty females, to whom she read the Scriptures, and talked about God. They were attentive, and willing to ask and answer questions, but for a long time experienced no abiding convictions of sin or of duty. Some were willing to serve Christ if they could do it without renouncing dependence on their own merits. Others would serve God, if they might serve Gaudama also. As there is a tendency in enlightened minds to feel a contempt for the intellect of barbarians ; and as some have even felt that time spent as Mrs. Judson's was with those native females, was thrown away, we will here record her testimony to the intelligence of the Burmese women. " The females of this country are lively, inquisitive, strong and energetic, susceptible of friendship and the warmest attachment, and possess minds capable of rising to the highest state of cultiva- tion and refinement. . . . This is evident from their mode of conversing," and may be illustrated by some particulars in the experience of one of them, named May-Meulah. 76 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. Previous to the arrival of the missionaries in hei country, her active mind was led to inquire the origin of all things. Who created all that her eyes beheld ? She inquired of all she met, and visited priests and teachers in vain ; and such was her anxiety, that her friends feared for her reason. She resolved to learn to read, that she might consult the sacred books. Her husband, willing to gratify her curiosity, taught her to read himself. In their sacred literature she found nothing satisfactory. For ten years she prosecuted her inquiries, when God in his providence brought to her notice a tract written by Mr. Judson in the Bur- mese language, which so far solved her difficulties, that she was led to seek out its author. From him she learned the truths of the gospel, and by the Holy Spirit those truths were made the means of her conversion. " She became an ornament to her profession, and her daily walk and conversation would shame many pro- fessors in Christian countries." Christians in America, was Mrs. Judson's time thrown away, when she was leading Burmese females to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus? One of the most splendid buildings in the empire is a pagoda at Rangoon, in which is enshrined a relic of Gaudama. At this pagoda, a yearly feast is celebrated which lasts three days, and draws people together from all parts of the country. LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDS01N. 77 Mrs. Judson says "If Dr. Young could have seen the devotion of this people to their idolatry, he might well have exclaimed, 'O for a heathen zeal in Christian hearts !' Even while I am writing my ears are stunned with the noise and confusion of preparation for an approaching festival. Could you, my dear sir, but once witness this annual feast, could you behold the enthu- siasm of their devotions, you would readily admit that nothing short of an Almighty arm could break down these strong barriers, and cause the introduction of the gospel." The pagoda itself is thus described by Dr. Malcom. "Two miles from Rangoon stands the celebrated pagoda called Shooda-gon. It stands upon a small hill, surmounted by many smaller pagodas, and many noble trees. The hill has been graduated into suc- cessive terraces, sustained by brick walls ; and the summit, which is completely leveled, contains about two acres. " The two principal approaches from the city are lined on each side, for a mile, with fine pagodas, some almost vieing for size with Shoodagon itself. Passing these, on your way from the city, you come to a flight of time-worn steps, covered by a curious arcade of little houses of various forms and sizes, some in partial decay, others truly beautiful. After crossing some terraces, covered in the same manner, you reach the top, and 78 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. passing a great gate, enter at once this sad but im posing theatre of Gaudama's glory. One's first impres sions are, what terrible grandeur ; what sickening magnificence ; what absurd imagery ; what extrava- gant expenditure ; what long successions of devotees to procure this throng of buildings of such various dates ; what a poor religion which makes such labors its chief meritoriousness ! Before you, stands the huge Shoodagon, its top among the clouds, and its golden sides blazing in the glories of an eastern sun. Around are pompous zayats, noble pavements, Gothic mau- soleums, uncouth colossal lions, curious stone umbrellas, graceful cylindrical banners of gold-embroidered muslin hanging from lofty pillars, enormous stone jars in rows to receive offerings, tapers burning before the images, exquisite flowers displayed on every side filling the air with fragrance, and a multitude of carved figures of idols, griffins, guardians, &c. " Always in the morning, men and women are seen in every direction kneeling behind their gift, and with uplifted hands reciting their devotions, often with a string of beads counting over each repeti- tion ; aged persons sweep out every place, or pick out the grass from the crevices; dogs and crows struggle around the altars, and devour the recent offerings ; the great bells utter their frequent tones ; LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSOW. 79 and the mutter of praying voices makes a hum like the buzzing of an exchange. " Every worshipper brings a present, often a bunch of flowers or a few green twigs plucked on the way; but generally the nicest eatables ready cooked, beau- tiful bunches of (lowers, articles of raiment, &c. The amount of offerings here is very great. Stone vases, some of which will hold fifty or sixty gallons, stand round the pagoda, into which the devotees carefully lay their leafy plates of rice, plantain, cakes, &c. As these are successively filled, appointed persons empty them into their vessels, carefully assorting the various kinds. The beautiful flowers remain all night and are swept out in the morning. No one ever objected however to my gathering them at pleasure. A gift once deposited is no more regarded by the worship- per." " I could not but feel as I gazed upon the rich landscape and bright heavens, and marked the joy of the young men and maidens as they passed on, that he who has so long forborne with them, will in his abun- dant mercy, give them pastors after his own heart, who shall feed them with knowledge and understand ing." After reading this description, who can wonder at the difficulty of turning this semi-barbarous people, from a religion of such a gorgeous and imposing cere- monial, and of such perfect congenially with the un- 80 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. humbled heart, to the spiritual, self-denying, pride- abasing doctrines of the cross ? Mrs. Judson in a letter to a friend, mentions the splendor and costliness of some of the religious offer ings, one of which cost three thousand tickals, 01 twelve hundred dollars. After a description of the pagoda and its worshippers, she says : " The ground on which the pagoda is situated, commands a view of the surrounding country, which presents one of the most beautiful landscapes in nature. The polished spires of the pagodas, glistening among the trees at a distance, appear like the steeples of meeting-houses in our American seaports. The verdant appearance of the country, the hills and valleys, ponds and rivers, the banks- of which are covered with cattle and fields of rice ; each in turn attract the eye, and cause the beholder to exclaim, " Was this delightful country made to be the residence of idolaters ?" . . . " Oh my friend, scenes like these, productive of feelings so vari- ous and so opposite, do notwithstanding, fire the soul with an unconquerable desire to rescue this people from destruction, and lead them to the Rock that is higher than they." Under date of January 18, 1818, Mrs. Judson writes that they still live quietly, unmolested by government, and that they receive much respect and affection LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 81 * from the Viceroy and his family. She had some opportunities of private religious conversation with the Vicereine, to whom she presented a translation of Matthew's Gospel and a catechism. Still the heart of the lady appeared unaffected, though she ordered her daughters to be instructed in the new catechism. The inquirer who was mentioned as having afforded Mr. Judson such lively satisfaction, had been appoint- ed to a government in a distant province, so that they saw little of him, but were gratified to learn that his interest in religious books still continued. 6 D* CHAPTER IX. DISTRESSING EVENTS. MR. JUDSON's ABSENCE FROM RANGOON. PERSECO TION OF MR. HOUGH. HIS DEPARTURE FOR BENGAL. MRS. JUDSON 'a HE- ROIC FORTITUDE. MR. JUDSON's RETURN. WE have now to relate some distressing events con- nected with the mission, which for a time threatened its very existence. Mr. Judson having decided to commence a course of public preaching to the natives, thought best to se- cure the assistance of a native convert from the prov- ince of Arracan, who spoke the Burman language, to assist him in his first public efforts. He therefore em- barked for that province, leaving Mrs. Judson to con- tinue her efforts with the females under her instruc- tion ; while Mr. and Mrs. Hough were to prosecute the study of the language. He intended to be gone but three months, but at the end of that period, when his return was daily expected, a vessel from Chit- tagong, the port to which he had sailed, arrived at Rangoon, bringing the distressing tidings, that neither he, nor the vessel he sailed in had been heard of at LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 83 that port. Letters received by Mrs. Judson from Bengal, also brought similar intelligence. While the missionaries left in Rangoon were in this state of fearful alarm and suspense, Mr. Hough re- ceived an order to repair instantly to the Court House with a threat, that " if he did not tell all the truth in relation to the foreigners, they would write with his heart's blood." This message spread consternation among the native teachers, domestics and adherents, some of whom heard that a royal order had arrived for the banishment of all foreign teachers. Mr. Hough was detained at the court-house from day to day on the most flimsy pretences, ignorant of the language, and with no one to intercede with the government in his behalf, for it was contrary to etiquette for a woman to appear before the Viceroy, his family being absent. Mrs. Judson being at length convinced that the petty officers of government were acting in this matter with- out authority, and for the purpose of extorting money from Mr. Hough, with the intrepidity that always marked her character, " taking her life in her hand", went boldly to the palace with a petition for his re- lease. The Viceroy immediately granted it, and com- nanded that Mr. Hough should receive no further molestation. To add to the distresses of the missionaries, the ^olera now raged around them with fearful violence !54 LIFE OF MRS. ANW H. JUDSON. and there were rumors of war between England and Burmah. Six months had passed, and still the fate of Mr. Judson was a fearful mystery. The English ves- sels were hastening their departure from the harbor and soon they would have no means of leaving the country, whatever might occur. Mrs. Judson writes: " Mr. Hough has been for some time past desirous to have Mrs. Hough, his children and myself go to Ben- gal. But I have ever felt resolved not to make any movement till I hear from Mr. Judson. Within a few days, however, some circumstances have occurred which have induced me to make preparations for a voyage. There is but one remaining ship in the river; and if an embargo is laid on English ships it will be impossible for Mr. Judson (if he is yet alive) to return to this place. But the uncertainty of meeting him in Bengal, and the possibility of his arriving in my ab- sence, cause me to make preparations with a heavy heart. Sometimes I feel inclined to remain here, alone, and hazard the consequences. I should certainly con- clude on this step, if any probability existed of Mr. Judson's return. This mission has never appeared in so low a state as at the present time. It seems now entirely destroyed, as we all expect to embark for Bengal in a day or two. Alas! how changed are our prospects since Mr. Judson left us ! How dark, how intricate the providence that now surrounds us ! Yet LIFE 01 MRS. ANN. H. JDDSON. 85 it becomes us to be still, and know that he is God who has thus ordered our circumstances.'' A fortnight later, she writes : " Alone, my dear r riends, in this great house, .... I take my pen to ecord the strange vicissitudes through which I have passed within a few days. On the 5th of this month, I embarked with Mr. Hough : and family for Bengal, having previously dis- posed of what I could not take with me. . . . My disinclination to proceed had increased to such a de- gree that I was on the point of giving up the voyage ; but my passage was paid, my baggage on board, and I knew not how to separate myself from the rest of the mission family. The vessel however was several days in going down the river ; and " before putting out ;o sea was to be detained a day or two longer at its mouth." "I immediately resolved on gi"ing up the voyage ana returning to town. Accordingly the cap- tain sent up a boat with me, and agreed to forward my baggage the next day. I reached town in the evening, spent the night at the house of the only remaining Eng- lishman in the place, and to-day have come out to the mission-house, to the great joy of all the Burmans left on our premises. Mr. Hough and his family will proceed, and they 'kindly and affectionately urge my return. I know I am surrounded by dangers on every hand, and expect to see much anxiety and distress ; but at present 86 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JTJDSON. I am tranquil, and intend to make an effort to pursue my studies as formerly, and leave the event with God." Thus did this heroic woman, with that divine "in- stinct that seems to guide the noblest natures in great emergencies, decide to return alone to the mission- house, there to await the return of her husband, or the Confirmation of her worst fears concerning his fate." It was a wonderful exhibition of courage and con- stancy ; " and gave assurance of all the distinguished qualities, which at a later period, and amid dangers still more appalling, shone with such brightness around the character of this remarkable woman. The event justified her determination ; and within a week after her decision was taken, Mr. Judson arrived at Rangoon, having been driven from place to place by contrary winds, and having entirely failed of the object for which he undertook the voyage. "Mr. and Mrs. Hough, after long delays, reached Bengal, carrying with them the press and all the imple- ments of the printing-house. Their removal was sub sequently productive of many embarrassments to the Mission, and seems never to have been fully justified either by Mr. Judson or the Board of Managers in America."* * Gammel CHAPTER X. QITOLERANCE OF THE BURMAN GOVERNMENT. FIRST EDIFICE FOR CHRIl TIAN WORSHIP ERECTED. INSTRUCTION OF NATIVES. CONVERSION OF A NATIVE. HIS BAPTISM. THAT OF TWO TIMID DISCIPLES. MESSRS. JUD SON AND COLMAN VISIT AVA. A FEW weeks after the return of Mr. Judson, the prospects of the Mission were still further brightened by the arrival of Messrs. Colman and Wheelock, who, with their wives, had been appointed by the Board in America, Missionaries to Burmah. They were young men of .good talents, fervent piety, and extraordinary devotion to the object of evangelizing the heathen. Mr. Judson, considering himself sufficiently master of the language to preach publicly, decided to build a small zayat, on a much frequented road, where he could preach the gospel, and converse with any native who might desire it, and where Mrs. Judson could meet female inquirers, and hold a school for religious and other instruction. He knew that this might draw upon them the displeasure of the higher powers, which had hitherto favored them because of the privacy of their life, and their small influence with the natives ; 88 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. for this government, as they afterwards discoveicd, though remarkably tolerant to foreigners, is highly intolerant to its own subjects in religious matters. Dr. Malcom remarks : " Foreigners of every descrip- tion are allowed the fullest exercise of their religion. They may build places of worship in any place, and have their public festivals and processions without molestation. But no Burman may join any of these religions, under the severest penalties. In nothing does the government more thoroughly display its des- potism, than in its measures for suppressing all religious innovation, and supporting the established system. . . . The whole population is thus held in chains, as iron- like as caste itself; and to become a Christian openly, is to hazard everything, even life itself." But the Missionaries not being at this time at all aware of the rigor of this intolerance, resolved to make the attempt, and trust in the Lord for protection. In April, 1819, Mr. Judson preached in his new zayat to a congregation of fifteen or twenty persons, most of them entirely inattentive and disorderly. But feeble as was this beginning, it was regarded by the missionaries as an event of no ordinary importance. Here was the first altar ever erected for the worship of the true God in that country over which century after century had rolled, each sweeping its millions of idolaters into eternity ; and rude and lowly as were its LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 89 walls, compared with the magnificent temples that surrounded it, it was perhaps the fitter emblem of that spiritual religion which delights not in temples made with hands, but in the service of the heart, 'which is in the sight of God of great price.' The building, which they called a zayat from its similarity to the public buildings of that name in Bur- mah, had three apartments ; the first a mere verandah thatched with bamboo, open to the road, and the place where Mr. Judson received all occasional visitors and inquirers ; the second or middle one, a large airy room, occupied on Sundays for preaching and on week days as a school-room; and the last division, a mere entry opening into the garden leading to the mission-house. During the week Mrs. Judson occupied the middle room, giving instruction in reading, &c., to a class of males and females ; and also in conversing with female inquirers. Here she also studied the Siamese lan- guage, much spoken in Rangoon, and translated into that language a catechism, and the Gospel of Matthew. The 30th of April, 1819, was made memorable by the first visit of an inquirer who became a CONVERT to the Christian faith. On the 5th of May Mr. Judson says in his journal, "It seems almost too much to believe that God has begun to manifest his grace to Ihe Burmans, but this dav I could not resist the de 90 LIFE OF MKS. ANN H. JUDSON. lightful conviction that this is really the case. PRAI&I AND GLORY TO HIS NAME FOR EVERMORE. Amen." From this time we learn from Mr. Judson's journal, that the verandah of the zayat where he sat to receive visitors, was constantly thronged with natives, who, impelled, some by curiosity and idleness, and some by better motives, came to talk about the new religion. So much however was to be dreaded, in the opinion of most of these, from the "lord of life and death," as they called the emperor, that few dared follow out their convictions. Moung Nau, however, the convert above mentioned, adhered steadfastly to his new faith, and desirea baptism. Not having any doubt of the reality of his conversion, Mr. Judson administered the ordi- nance to him on Sunday, June 21. On the following Lord's day, the missionaries had the unspeakable satis- faction of sitting down at the Lord's table for the first time with a converted Burman ; and as Mr. Judson writes, he had the privilege to which he had been look- ing forward many years, of administering the com- munion in two languages. Many of the expressions of this young convert are very interesting. We find them in a letter from Mrs. Judson. " In our religion there is no way to escape the punishment due to sin; but according to the reli gion of Christ, he himself has died in order to deliver his disciples. How great are my thanks to Jesus LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 91 Cluist for sending teachers to this country! and how great are my thanks to the teachers for corning!" On hearing the fifth chapter of Matthew read, he said : " These words take hold on my very heart, they make me tremble. Here God commands us to do every- thing that is good in secret, and not to be seen of % men. How unlike our religion is this ! When Bur- mans make offerings to me pagodas they make a great noise with drums and musical instruments that others may see how good they are. But this religion makes the mind fear God ; it makes it of its own accord fear sin." In the same letter she mentions a very interesting meeting with the females before mentioned, fifteen in number, who had for some time received from her re- ligious instruction. Their love for, and confidence in their own religion seemed to be taken away ; the truth seemed to have forced itself upon their understandings; but the sinfulness of their hearts, which among neathen as well as Christian nations is the great obstacle to sal- vation, could only be removed by the Holy Spirit, and oh how earnest and fervent were the prayers of their teacher for the presence of that heavenly agent ! Mr. Wheelock, one of the recently arrived missicn- aiies, was obliged on account of his failing health to try a sea- voyage ; but during the passage to Bengal, in a paroxysm of fever and delirium, he threw himself overboard and was drowned. $2 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. Some of the inquirers at the zayat had no incon- siderable powers of reasoning and argument ; one in particular, named Moung-Shwa-gnong ; who would spend whole days at the zayat, and engage Mr. Judson in endless discussions. Not satisfied with the Budd- hist faith he had become a confirmed skeptic, and dis- puted every Gospel uv'h before he received it with much subtilty and ingenuity. But after a while he found that his visits at the zayat had attracted the notice of Government, that the viceroy on being told he had renounced the religion of his country, had said, ' Inquire further about him,' and the missionaries for a time saw him no more. The two candidates that next presented themselves for baptism, were urgent that the ordinance should be performed, not absolutely in private, but at sunset and away from public observation. The missionaries dis- cussed their case long with them and with each other. Mr. Judson's remarks on the subject, as well as his de- scription of the baptism, are so full of that tenderness and pathos which is eminently a 'fruit of the Spirit, that we must give them in his own words. " We felt satisfied that they were humble discip.es of Jesus, and were desirous of receiving this ordinance purely out of regard to his command, and their own spiritual welfare ; we felt that we were all equally ex- posed to danger, and needed a spirit of mutual candor, LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 93 and forbearance, and sympathy ; we were convinced, that they were influenced rather by desires of avoiding unnecessary exposure, than by that sinful fear which would plunge them into apostasy in the hour of trial ; and when they assured us that if actually brought be- fore government, they could not think of denying their Saviour, we could not conscientiously refuse their re- quest, and therefore agreed to have them baptized to-morrow at sunset." " 7. Lord's day. We had wor- ship as usual and the people dispersed. About half an hour before sunset the two candidates came to the zayat, accompanied by three or four of their friends ; and after a short prayer we proceeded to the spot where Moung-Nau was formerly baptized. The sun was not allowed to look on the humble, timid profes- sion. No wondering crowd crowned the overshadow- ing hill. No hymn of praise expressed the exulting feeling of joyous hearts. Stillness and solemnity pervaded the scene. We felt, on the banks of the water, as a little, feeble, solitary band. But perhaps some hovering angels took note of the event with more interest than they witnessed the late coronation ; perhaps Jesus looked down on us, pitied and forgave our weaknesses, and marked us for his own ; perhaps if we deny him not, he will acknowledge us another day, more publicly than we venture at present to acknowledge him." 04 LIFE OF MBS. ANN H. JUDSON. There was a great falling off in the attendance at the zayat after Moung-shwa-gnong's defection. None dared call to inquire from religious principle, and cun osity respecting the religion had been fully gratified. It became highly desirable to take some measures to secure the favor of the emperor. If he could be made propitious, the converts and the missionaries would have nothing to fear. Messrs. Judson and Colman, therefore, leaving their families at Rangoon, set out on their visit to Ava, to lay their case as a Burman would express it before ' the golden feet.' They car- ried with them, as presents to his majesty, the BIBLE, in six volumes, covered with gold leaf in the Burman style, each volume enclosed in a rich wrapper ; and many other articles as presents to the different mem- bers of the government CHAPTER XL 4W3EPTION OF MEftSRS. COLMAN AND JUD8ON AT AVA. THEIR RETURN TO RANGOON. THEIE RESOLUTION TO LEAVE RANGOON. OPPOSITION OF JUSCIPLES TO THIS MEASURE. INCREASE OF DISCIPLES. THEIR STEAD- FASTNESS. FAILURE OF MRS. JUDSON's HEALTH. THE passage up the Irrawaddy to Ava, or rather Amerapoora, which was then the capital, was made in safety in a little more than thirty days. They soon found the house of their old friend the former viceroy of Rangoon, who now enjoyed a high post under government. Here they were kindly received, and promised a speedy presentation to the " golden face," i. e. the emperor. The next day, Moung Yo, a favorite officer of the viceroy, came to take them to the imperial palace. He first introduced them to the private minister of state, who met them very pleasantly, received theii presents, and a petition they had prepared to the em- peror, which latter he was examining when some one announced that the 'golden foot' was about to ad- vance ; when the minister hastily rose up, put on his state-robes, and prepared to present them to the ern- 96 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. peror. They were conducted through various splendor and parade, up a flight of steps into a magnificent hall, Mr. Judson says " The scene to which we were now introduced, really surpassed our expectation. The spacious extent of the hall, the number and magnitude of the pillars, the height of the dome, the whole com- pletely covered with gold, presented a most grand and imposing spectacle. Very few were present, and those evidently great officers of state. Our situation pre- vented us from seeing the further avenue of the hall, but the end where we sat opened into the parade which the emperor was abput to inspect. " We remained about five minutes, when every one put himself into the most respectful attitude, and Moung Yo whispered that his majesty had entered. We looked through the hall as far as the pillars would allow, and presently caught sight of this modern Ahasuerus. He came forward, unattended in solitary grandeur exhibiting the proud gait and majesty of an eastern monarch. His dress was rich but not distinctive, and he carried in his hand the gold-sheathed sword, which seems to have taken the place of the sceptre of ancient times. But it was his high aspect and commanding eye, that chiefly rivetted our attention. He strided on. Every head excepting ours, was now in the dust. We remained kneeling, our hands folded, our eyes fixed on the Monarch. When he drew near, we caught his LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 97 attention. He stopped, partly turned towards us ' Who are these ?' ' The teachers, great King,' I re- plied. ' What, you speak Burman ? the priests that I heard of last night ? When did you arrive ? Are you teachers of religion? Are you married? Why do you dress so?' These and other similar questions we answered ; when he appeared to be pleased with us, and sat down on an elevated seat his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, and his eyes intently fixed on us." Moung Zah now read their petition, which set forth that they were teachers of the religion of their country, and begged the royal permission to teach the same in his dominions ; and also prayed that no Burman might be subjected to molestation from government for listen- ing to or embracing that religion ; and the emperor after hearing it, took it himself, read it through and handed it back without saying a word. In the mean- time Mr. Judson had given Moung Zah an abridged copy of the tract called a "Summary of Christian Doctrine," which had been got up in the richest style and dress possible. The emperor took the tract. ' Our hearts," says Mr. J., " now rose to God for a dis- play of his grace. Oh have mercy on Burmah ! Have mercy on her king!" But alas ! the time had not yet come. He held the tract long enough to read the two first sentences, which assert that there is one eternal 98 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. God, who is independent of the incidents of mortality, and that besides him, there is no God ; and then with an air of indifference, perhaps disdain, he dashed it down to the ground ! Moung Zah stooped forward, picked it up and handed it to us. -Moung Yo made a slight attempt to save us by unfolding one of the volumes which composed our present and displaying its beauty, but his majesty took no notice. Our fate was decided. After a few moments Moung Zah inter- preted his royal master's will in the following terms : " In regard to the objects of your petition, his majesty gives no order. In regard to your sacred books, his majesty has no use for them take them awjay." . . . " He then rose from his seat, strode on to the end of the hall, and there, after having dashed to the ground the first intelligence he had ever received of the eternal God, his Maker, Preserver, his Judge, he threw him- self down on a cushion, and lay listening to the music, and gazing at the parade spread out before him." They and their presents were then hurried away with little ceremony. The next day they " ascertained beyond a doubt, that the policy of the Burman govern- ment is precisely the same as the Chinese ; that it is quite out of the question whether any subjects of the emperor who embrace a religion different from his own, will be exempt from punishment ; and that we, in presenting a petition to that effect, had been guilty LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. J CJDSUN. 99 of a most egregious blunder, an unpardonable of fence." We cannot prevail on ourselves to give the sequel of this narrative in any other than the beautiful and picturesque language of Mr. Judson which we have so often quoted. " It was now evening. We had four miles to walk by moonlight. Two of our disciples only followed us. They had pressed as near as they ventured to the door of the hall of audience, and listened to words which sealed the extinction of their hopes and ours. Foi some time we spoke not. ' Some" natural tears we dropped, but wiped them soon. Tho world was all before us, where to choose Our place of rest, and Providence our guide.' And as our first parents took their solitary way through Eden, so we took our way through this great city. "Arrived at the boat, we threw ourselves down, ex- hausted in body and mind. For three days we had walked eight miles a day, the most of the way in the heat of the sun, which in the interior of these countries is exceedingly oppressive ; and the result of our toils and travels has been the wisest and best possible a result, which, if we could see the end from the begin- ning, would call forth our highest praise. O slow of heart to believe and trust in the over-ruling agency of our own Almighty Saviour!" 100 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. They returned to Rangoon by an easy and rapid passage down the river, and calling the few disciples together frankly disclosed to them the result of their mission. To their surprise and delight it only increased their zeal and attachment for the religion they had pro- fessed. They became in turn the comforters of the missionaries, vieing with each other in trying to con- vince them that the cause was not yet desperate. Above all were they solicitous that the missionaries nould not carry out a design they had formed to leave them, and try to find a field more favorable for their labors. One assured them he would follow them to tne end of the world. Another, who having an uncon- verted wife, could not follow them, declared that if left there alone, he would perform no other duties but those of Christ's religion. But what had most weight with Mr. and Mrs. Judson in inducing them to remain, was the fact that inquiry seemed to be spreading in the neighborhood, and that there seemed a further prospect of usefulness, in spite of the fear of persecution. They therefore concluded to remain for the present at Rangoon ; while Mr. and Mrs. Colman should proceed to Arracan and form a station there. Thus again were Mr. and Mrs. J. alone ; but not now exclusively among heathen idolaters. The affec- tionate zeal of the disciples rejoiced their hearts ; and LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. lOl others, and among them the old disputant, Moung- Shwa-gnong,- seemed sincere and hopeful inquirers. Three women, induced by him, also visited Mrs. Judson to learn the way of life. One of these (the one we have before alluded to) was characterized by superioi discernment and mental power, but exceedingly timid through fear of persecution. In one of her conversa- tions she expressed her surprise that the effect of the religion of Christ upon her mind was to make her love his disciples more than her dearest natural relations. This showed that she was a real disciple, though e timid one. But surely it is not for us who sit under our own vine with none to make us afraid, to be severe on these poor heathen, for not at once overcoming the dread of suffering, so natural to the human heart! Before we judge them, let us be very sure that our faith would endure the fires of persecution and even of martyrdom which threatened them. They knew of instances where their countrymen who had em- braced the Roman Catholic faith, had been subjected to the punishment of the iron-mall, an instrument of torture more dreadful than any employed against the Scottish Covenanters, in the times of their bitterest persecution. Sudden execution they might have braved, though that will appal almost any heart ; but lingering torture was what they might fear, to wh".h 102 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. death should succeed only when nature could bear no more. Females in Christian countries, who think much of your self-denials and sacrifices, when ' A moment's pain, a passing shower, Is all the grief ye share,' how could your hearts endure if called to such trials, as might at any moment befall your poor sisters in Burmah ! Mrs. Judson's health had for some time been failing, and at length after having gone through two courses of salivation for the liver-complaint, she was obliged to try a sea- voyage. Her situation was too critical for her to think of going alone, and Mr. Judson con- cluded to accompany her to Bengal. Two converts expressed the strongest desire to profess Christ, before the missionaries should leave them. They were ac- cordingly baptized. The ship being detained, the speculative, hesitating, but now sincere disciple, Moung Shwa-gnong, casting aside his fears and scruples, boldly avowed his faith, and desired baptism. Of course he was joyfully received. The scene at his baptism had such an effect upon Mah Meulah, the female who has been before mentioned, that she too could no longer delay a public profession of faith in Christ. On returning to the house after receiving th* LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 103 rite, she said, "Now I have taken the oath of alle- giance to Jesus Christ, and I have nothing to do but to commit myself, soul and body, into the hands of my Lord, assured that he will never suffer me to fall away!" Surely if no other proof existed of the power of gospel truth to renew the heart of men, a sufficient one would be furnished here. In the face of threatened persecution not only were old converts strengthened in their faith in, and attachment to Christ, but new ones eagerly pressed forward to unite themselves with the despised and humble flock. Nine males and one female had now been baptized at the hazard of their lives; a grammar and dictionary had been compiled and printed ; a portion of the Scrip- tures translated and printed ; tracts had been issued ; and so greatly had the missionaries gained in favor with the people, that as they went down to the ship which was to carry them to Bengal, more than a hun- dred natives followed them, testifying sincere grief at their departure. CHAPTER XII. ME. AND MBS. JUDSON VISIT BENGAL AND RETURN. MRS. JL'DSON's HEAL1B AGAIN FAILS. HER RESOLUTION TO VISIT AMERICA. HER VOYAGE TO ENGLAND AND VISIT THERE. THEY arrived in Calcutta on the 8th of August, 1820 The voyage was of no essential benefit to Mrs. J.'? health, neither was her visit to Calcutta ; but at Se- rampore she so far recovered as to make them desirous to return to Rangoon, where they arrived on the 5th of January, 1821. The converts received them with the utmost affection ; their old friend the vicereine again occupied her former palace and welcomed Mis. Judson with friendly familiarity, and new inquirers presented themselves at the zayat. In translating the Scriptures, the acute and fertile mind of Moung Shwa- gnong was an invaluable assistance, while another convert of cultivated intellect was equally useful in other missionary labors. Though through fear of being subjected to extortion, some of them had been obliged to flee to the woods, not one disciple had dis- graced or dishonored his profession. A violent effort nad been made by some of Moung Shwa-gnong's LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 105 mies, to ruin him in the opinion of the viceroy, by complaining of him that he was making every en- deavor " to turn the priests' rice-pot bottom upwards." " What consequence ?" said the viceroy, " let the nriesls turn it back again." All the disciples from tiat time felt sure of toleration under Mya-day-men, (the name of the viceroy.) The history of the next few months presents nothing novel in the life of this little Christian community, to which there were however some accessions. But Mrs. Judson was gradually sinking under the disease which had so long troubled her, until at length it was found es- sential to her life even, that she should seek some more propitious climate. After much anxious deliberation it was resolved that she should sail for Bengal, and thence to America. Her feelings on leaving the 'home of her heart,' and the husband of her youth, as well as the spiritual children that God had given them in that heathen land to try alone the perils of a long and tedious voyage, in a state of health which rendered it doubtful whether she would ever reach the land of her nativity, or return to that of her adoption Can scarcely be conceived, much less described. Her own words are: " Those only who have been through a variety of toil and privation to obtain a darling object, can real- ize how entirely every fibre of the heart adheres to E* 106 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. that object when secured. Had we encountered no difficulties, and suffered no privations in our attempts to form a Church of Christ, under the government of a heathen despot, we should have been warmly attach- ed to the individuals composing it, but should not have felt that tender solicitude and anxious affection, as in the present case. " Rangoon, from having been the theatre in which so much of the power, faithfulness and mercy of God have been exhibited ; from having been considered for ten years past as my home for life, and from a thou- sand interesting associations, had become the dearest spot on earth. Hence you will readily imagine, that no ordinary consideration would have induced my departure." She arrived in Calcutta Sept. 22d, 1821. Finding when she reached there that the American captains of vessels declined taking passengers, without an ex- orbitant price, she decided not to take passage to America. On mentioning her circumstances to a lady in Calcutta, the latter strongly recommended the ad- vantages of a voyage to England, on account of the superior accommodations, medical advice, and female passengers in English ships. A pious captain offered to take her for about one third of the price demanded for a voyage to America, provided she would share a cabin with three children, who were going to England, LIFE OF MKS. ANN H. JUDSON. 107 in ffer ""hich she immediately accepted. The father of le cLildren subsequently arrived in Calcutta, and generously paid the whole price of the cabin, which enabled her to go without any expense to the Board. She writes: "If the pain in my side is entirely re- moved while on my passage to Europe, I shall return to India in the same ship, and proceed immediately to Rangoon. But if not I shall go over to America, and spend one winter in my dear native country. "Ardently as I desire to see my beloved friends in America, I cannot prevail on myself to be any longer from Rangoon than is absolutely necessary for the pres- ervation of my life. I have had a severe struggle relative to my immediate return to Rangoon instead of going to England. . But I did not venture to go con- trary to the convictions of reason, to the opinion of an * eminent and skilful physician, and the repeated injunc- tions of Mr. Judson. " My last letter from Rangoon was dated Oct. 26. Moung Shwa-gnong had been accused before the vice- roy, and had disappeared. Mr. Judson had felt much anxiety and distress on his account, fearing he had done something in the way of retraction, which pre- vented his visiting him. But in a fortnight he was agreeably surprised at seeing him enter. He informed Mr. J. that having been accused, he had thought it the wisest way to keep out of sight ; that he had put all his 108 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. family on board a boat, and was going up the country among the sect of heretics with whom he once associ- ated, and had now come to take leave, obtain tracts, gospels, &c. Mr. Judson furnished him with what was necessary, and bid him God speed. He will no doubt do much good among that class of people, for it is impossible for him to be any time with his friends without conversing on the subject of religion. Moung- Ing had returned, as steadfast and as much devoted to the cause as ever. He and Moung Shwa-ba spend every evening in reading the Scriptures, and finding the places where the apostles preached, on a map which Mr. Judson has made for them. Another Burman has been baptized, who gives decided evidence of being a true Christian. Have we not, my dear sir, every reason to trust God in future, when we see what he has done in Rangoon. Could you see at once the difficulties in the way of the conversion of the Burmans, the grace of God would appear ten times as conspicuous as it now does. When we hardly ventured to hope that we should ever see one of them truly converted, how great is our joy to see a little church rise up in the midst of that wilderness, consisting of thirteen converted Bur- mans." On her passage to England, her old enemy, the liver- complaint, again attacked her; but bodily illness did not prevent her from endeavoring to benefit the souls LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 109 of her fellow-passengers ; and with regard to two of them, her efforts did not seem unsuccessful. On arriving in England, she was cordially invited by the Hon. Joseph Butterworth, M. P., to make his house her home. He afterward, at a public meeting, referred to her visit as " reminding him of the apostolic admonition, 'Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.' " At his house she met many persons, distinguished for literature and piety, among whom were Sumner, Babington and Wilberforce. After spending some time at Cheltenham, to which place she had been sent for the benefit of its waters, she accepted a pressing invitation to visit Scotland, where, as in England, she received valuable presents and innumerable acts of kindness. The piety of her English friends seemed to her of the most high-toned character, and their ardent friendship called forth her warmest affections. Though on her way to a still dearer country, the land of her birth, she could not part with ..hem without the tenderest regret. CHAPTER XIII. URS. JODSON'S ARRIVAL IN AMERICA. INFLUENCE OF HER V;SIT. HOSTILE OPINIONS. HER PERSON AND MANNERS. EXTRACTS FROM HER LET- TERS. IN the meanwhile events of some interest were transpiring in Burmah. In consequence of the perse- cution against Moung Shwa-gnong which had obliged him to flee for his life, and the new vigilance of priests and officers in respect to converts, the inquirers withdrew altogether from the mission-house, and Mr Judson was obliged to close the zayat, and suspend public preaching on the Sabbath, though still the con- verts visited him privately, for instruction and consola- tion. Mr. J.'s solitary condition was however soon relieved by the arrival of Dr. and Mrs. Price, who came to share his labors among the heathen ; and also by the return of Mr. and Mrs. Hough from Serampore, bring- ing with them the printing press, whose absence had occasioned no small delay and inconvenience to Mr. Judson in his labors. LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. Ill On the 25th of September, 1822, Mrs. J. arrived in America. Her feelings on revisiting her native land, are best learned from a letter to Mr. Judson's parents, dated Sept. 27. " With mingled sensations of joy and sorrow, I ad- dress a few lines to the parents of my beloved husband, joy, that I once more find myself in my own native country, and with the prospect of meeting with loved relatives and friends sorrow, that he who has been a participator in all my concerns for the last ten years, is not now at hand to partake with me in the joyful anticipations of meeting those he so much loves. "I left Liverpool on the 16th of August, and arrived at New York harbor day before yesterday. On ac- count of the prevalence of yellow fever, prudence forbade my landing. Accordingly I embarked on board the steamboat for this place, where I arrived a few hours ago. It was my intention to pass a- week in Philadelphia and then go to Providence, and thence to you in Woburn, as it would be on my way to Brad- ford, where I shall spend the winter. But Dr. Stough- ton wishes me to go to Washington, which will detain me in this part of the country a week longer. How- ever I hope to be with you in a fortnight from this time. My health is much improved since I left Eng land, and I begin to hope the disorder is entirely eradi cated " J L2 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. Of this visit of Mrs. Judson to America, Professor Gammel remarks in genei^l, as follows: " Her visit to the United States forms an epoch of no inconsiderable importance in the progress of interest in. missions among the churches of various denomina- tions in this country. She visited several of the lead- ing cities of the Union ; met a large number of associa- tions of ladies ; attended the session of the Triennial Convention at Washington; and in a multitude of social circles, alike in the South and in the North, recited the thrilling narrative of what she had seen and experienced during the eventful years in which she had dwelt in a heathen land. " But relaxation and travelling for health and inter- views with religious friends, were not her only occupa- tion. In her retirement, in addition to maintaining an extensive correspondence, she found time to prepare the history of the mission in Burmah which was pub- lished in her name, in a series of letters addressed to Mr. Butterworth, the gentleman beneath whose roof she had been a guest during her residence in England. These records, which were principally compiled from documents which had been published before, contained the first continuous account of the Burman mission ever given to the public. The work was widely read in England and America, and received the favorable notice of several of the leading organs of public criticism. LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 113 " The influence which she exerted in favor of the cause of missions during her brief residence of eight or nine months in the United States, it is hardly possible now to estimate. She enlisted more fully in the cause not a few leading minds who have since rendered it signal service both by eloquent vindications and ny judicious counsels ; and by the appeals which she addressed to Christians of her own sex, and her fervid conversations with persons of all classes and denomina- tions in America, as well as by the views which she submitted to the managers of the mission, a new zeal for its prosecution was everywhere created, and the missionary enterprise, instead of being regarded with doubt and misgiving, as it had been by many, even among Christians, began to be understood in its higher relations to all the hopes of man, and to be contem- plated in its true grandeur, and ennobling moral dignity." Such is the opinion of her visit expressed by an ele- gant and enlightened scholar, now that more than a quarter of a century has passed, bringing triumph to the missionary cause, and honor to its first founders and advocates ; but such we regret to say was not the universal sentiment of her contemporaries. Many persons well remember the unfounded stories put in circulation respecting her, by some whose motives we will not inquire into, as they would scarcely bear 114 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. investigation, in regard to her actions, her intentions, and even her apparel. As her biographer remarks in introducing some of her letters at this period : " It *,vas said that her health was not seriously impaired, and that she visited the South with a view to excite atten- tion and applause. To persons who would put forth or circulate such calumnies, a perusal of her letters, in which she utters her feelings to her friends without reserve, will, it is hoped, minister a rebuke sufficiently severe to awaken shame and penitence ; and to those who may unwarily have been led to form unfavorable opinions respecting Mrs. Judson, we cannot doubt that these letters will afford welcome evidence of her modest and amiable disposition, consistent and exemplary de- meanor, ardent piety, and steady, irrepressible devotion to the interests of the mission." The person and manners of Mrs. Judson at this time, were, according to the testimony of some who well recollect her, engaging and attractive in no com- mon degree. Her sweet and ready smile, her dark expressive eye, the animation and sprightliness of her conversation, and her refined taste and manners, made her a favorite in all circles. Her dress, for which she was indebted to the liberality of British friends, was more rich and showy than she would have chosen for herself, and as has been said, excited unkind remarks LIFE OF MRS. ANN. H. JUDSON. 115 from some who did not care to investigate her reasons for wearing it. Elegant as it was said to be, it was certainly far better she should wear it, even at the risk of seeming inconsistency, than to put her friends to tha expense of other and plainer clothing. As to the imputation that she preferred the eclat ol life in a southern city, to the retirement of her New England home, it is sufficient to answer, that a con- stitution relaxed and enfeebled by ten years' residence in a tropical climate, was ill-fitted to bear the rigors of a New England winter, and as her whole object in hex visit, was the restoration of her health, she conceived it her duty to choose such a place of sojourn as should seem most favorable to it. After a stay of six weeks with her parents in Brad- ford, Mrs. J. found it necessary to seek a milder climate, and was advised to try that of Baltimore. She had a pleasant journey to that city, stopping one day with friends in New York, and arrived there on the 5th of December. From her letters written about this time we proceed to give some extracts. "My journey to this place was pleasant, though fatiguing. I passed one night only in New York, and spent a most pleasant evening in the society of a large party of good people who were collected for the purpose of prayer. Many fervent petitions were presented in 116 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. behalf of the perishing Burmans, and the little church established in that country. It was an evening to me luil of interest ; but I found at the conclusion, that my strength was quite exhausted, and I began to fear whether I should be able to continue my journey." ..." How much of heaven might Christians enjoy even here on earth if they would keep in view what ought to be their great object "in life. If they would but make the enjoyment of God their main pursuit how much more consistent their profession would be with their conduct, how much more useful their lives and how much more rapidly they would ripen fof eternal glory." " Christians do not sufficiently assist one another in their spiritual walk. THey are not enough in the habit of conversing familiarly and affectionately on the state of each others' souls, and kindly encouraging each other to persevere and get near to heaven. One degree of grace attained in this world, is worth more than every earthly enjoyment." " I ought to have mentioned that I found much of the true missionary spirit existing in New York. " I began this letter some days ago, but a violent 3old has prevented my finishing it. I am very thank- ful that I am no farther north than Baltimore, for I feel confident the cold would soon destroy me. I have not heon out of the house since I arrived, and hardly out LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 117 of my chamber. My health is certainly better than when I left Boston, though I have a heavy cold and some cough. "What can be done to excite a missionary spirit in this country ? I dare not engage in the subject till I am better. It would take up my whole soul, and retard my recovery. A little while, and we are in eternity; before we find ourselves there, let us do much -fii Christ " CHAPTER XIV. HJRTHER EXTRACTS FROM HER LETTERS. HER ILLNES3. HER HISTORY OF THE BURMAN MISSION. HER DEPARTURE FROM AMERICA WITH MB. AND MRS. WADE. IN a letter to a friend at Waterville, Mrs. Judson gives a full account of the reasons that determined her to pass the winter at the south. She says: "I had never fully counted the cost of a visit to my native country and beloved relatives. I did not expect that a scene which I had anticipated as so joyous, was destined to give my health and constitution a shock which would require months to repair. " During my passage from England my health was most perfect, not the least symptom of my original disorder remained. But from the day of my arrival, the idea that I was once more on American ground banished all peace and quiet from my mind, and for the first four days and nights I never closed my eyes to sleep! This circumstance, together with dwelling on the anticipated meeting with my friends, occasioned the most alarming apprehensions. " I reached my father's about a fortnight after my ar- rival in the country and had not then been able to LIFE OF MKS. ANN H. JUDSON. procure a single night's sleep. The scene which en- sued brought my feelings to a crisis, nature was quite exhausted, and I began to fear would sink. To be concise, my health began to decline in a most alarming manner, and the pain in my side and cough returned. I was kept in a state of constant excitement by daily meeting my old friends and acquaintances ; and during the whole six weeks of my residence at my father's, I had not one night's quiet rest. I felt the cold most severely, and found, as that increased, my cough in- creased." She goes on to say that under these circumstances, she was strongly urged by Dr. Judson, a brother of her husband, who was then in Baltimore, to remove to the south, and take up her residence for the winter with him at his boarding-house. She says that painful as it was to leave her dear family, yet as she knew that freedom from company and excitement, as well as a milder climate, were absolutely essential to her re- covery, she was induced to go. She adds that her health is so far re-established that she is abte to give five hours a day to study and to the compilation of her History of the Burman Mission, a work she had very much at heart. The next passage in the letter is of touching interest, as showing the meekness of the Christian spirit in re- ceiving a rebuke, whether merited or not. 120 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSOA. " Your kind hin-t relative to my being injured by the lavish attention of our dear friends in this country, has much endeared you to my heart. I am well aware that human applause has a tendency to elate the soul, and render it less anxious about spiritual enjoyments, particularly if the individual is conscious of deserving it. But I must say, that since my return to this coun- try, I have often been affected to tears, in hearing the undeserved praises of my friends, feeling that I was far, very far from being what they imagined : and that there are thousands of poor obscure Christians, whose excellences will never be known in this world, who are a thousand times more deserving of the tender re- gard of their fellow-Christians than I am. " Yet I trust I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for inclining the hearts of his children to look on me with a friendly eye. The retired life I now lead is much more congenial to my feelings, and much more favor- able to religious enjoyment, than when I was kept in a continual bustle of company. Yes, it is in retirement that our affections are raised to God, and our souls re- freshed and quickened by the influences of the Holy Spirit. If we would live near the threshold of Heaven, and daily take a glance at our promised inheritance, we must avoid not only worldly, but religious dissi- pation. Strange as it may seem, I do believe there is something like religious dissipation, in a Christian's LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 121 being so entirely engrossed in religious company, as to prevent his spiritual enjoyments/' In Baltimore, through the influence of Dr. Judson, she had the best medical advice and attendance the city could give ; and was put upon a course of mer- cury in order to produce salivation. She denied her- self to company, and thus secured time for writing, in which employment she was assisted bv " a pious ex- cellent young lady," wh^m she engaged as a copyist. Her correspondence was extensive, and occupied much of her time. One interesting letter from England in- formed her that Mr. Butterworth had put at interest for her Burman schoal 100 sterling, and that a larger sum had been collected. Her English physicians in- sisted that she could not live in India, and urged her and her husband to come to England, but her determi- nation to leturn to Burmah was unalterable. On the 19th of February she writes to her friend in Waterville : " Your kind and affectionate letter found me in bed, so weak that I was obliged to read it at in- tervals ; but it afforded heartfelt consolation. Thanks to our Heavenly Father whose guardian care and love I have so largely experienced. I am now much better, and once more enjoy the prospect of gaining that de gree of health which will allow my return to Burmah. there to spend my remaining days, few or many, in to guide immortal souls to that dear Re- F !22 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. deemer, whose presence can make joyful a sick cham- ber, a dying bed. " For the last month I have been very ill. The dis- ease seemed to be removed from the liver to the lungs. I have raised blood twice, which the physicians thought proceeded from the lungs, though I am in- clined to think it was from the throat. I was how- ever bled so frequently and so largely that my strength was quite reduced. At present I am free from every unfavorable symptom, but am still weak. " I am rejoiced to hear that Mr. Boardman has offer- ed himself to supply dear Colman's place. If actuated by motives of love to God, arid concern for precious souls, tell him he will never regret the sacrifice, but will find those spiritual consolations which will more than compensate him for every privation. I shall re- joice to afford him every assistance in the acquisition of the language which my health will allow, though 1 fear he will not be ready to sail so early as I hope to embark. " This is the third day I have been writing this letter, on account of my weakness. But I am gaining a little every day. Yesterday I had a little female prayer- meeting in my chamber trust the blessed Saviour was near us. Oh it is good to get near to God, and feel whether in life or death, we are His. " Let us, my dear sister, so live, that our union to LIFE OF MKS. ANN H. JUDSON. 123 Christ may not only be satisfactory tc ourselves but to all around us. On earth we serve God in heaven enjoy him is a motto I have long wished to adopt. When in heaven we can do nothing towards saving immortal souls." In a subsequent letter she mentions receiving a jour- nal kept by her husband, with the joyful intelligence of the accession of five more converts to the little church there, three of whom were females, and members of her Wednesday meeting. " They have," she says, " set up of their own accord a female prayer-meeting. Is not this encouraging ?" Dr. Price had been order- ed to Ava on account of his medical skill, and Mr. Judson was about to accompany him to make a fur- ther effort for toleration. In March, Mrs. Judson went to Washington to super- intend the printing of her History of the Mission, and here she was detained contrary to her wishes until the last of April. However, this detention gave her an opportunity of meeting the Baptist General Convention which held its session there at that time. A commit- tee was appointed to confer with her respecting the Burman Mission, and at her suggestion several impo v - tant measures were adopted. When the printing of her work was completed, she presented the copy-right to the convention. The work was favorably noticed in several leading journals of 124 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. the day, and has circulated extensively both in Europe and this country. It was of great service not only to the cause of the particular field of which it was the history, but to the cause of missions generally, in awaking the public mind from that strange apathy in regard to our Saviour's parting command in which for seventeen centuries it had for the most part quietly slumbered. We say for the most part, for we do not forget the self-denying labors of the Roman Catholics in propagating their doctrines in various parts of the world ; indeed this has always been the bright redeem- ing feature of that system of semi-pagan Christianity. Well would it be if protestant Christians would imi- tate their zeal and self-devotion ! How strange that centuries passed, even after the Reformation, before Christians began to recognize as binding that solemn injunction, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature, with its encouraging promise, Lo I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS EVEN UNTO THE END OP THE WORLD!" This apathy in respect to the cause nearest her heart, was a great source of grief to Mrs. J. In a letter to Dr. Wayland, written in Washington, after stating that she had found that her strength was not sufficiently restored to undertake a journey to the North, she says, " This, together with the hope of ex- c v ting more attention to the subject of missions among LIFE OF MBS. ANN H. JUDSON. 125 the members of the General Convention which will soon meet here," has induced me to remain. ... "Oh my brother, my heart sickens at the apathy and uncon- cern relative to the subject of missions which are in many places exhibited. I sometimes say to myself, Will not the missionary flame become entirely extinct, and the mission already established in Burmah, die for want of support ? . . . Where are our young men, fired with the love of Christ and compassion for im- mortal souls, who are desirous to leave their comforts and their homes for a few years, to serve their Re- deemer in foreign lands? Who is willing to obey this last, this most benevolent command of our Lord, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature ? But I must stop. Loss of sleep for this night will be the consequence of indulging myself thus far." At the above-mentioned Convention, Mr. Jonathan Wade of New York, and Mr. George D. Board man of Maine, had offered themselves as Missionaries to the East. Mr. Wade was soon after regularly appointed by the Board, and with his wife, was directed to take massage for India with Mrs. Judson. The latter writes to her sister from Boston, upon her arrival there from the South, " We arrived in safety at six o'clock on Thursday. We were immediately informed that Mr. and Mrs. Wade would sail with me to India. This 126 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. was animating intelligence, and I felt that the hand or God was in it, for he had heard my prayers. " Yesterday we went on board the ship, chose my cabin, and agreed with the captain to take us all foi twelve hundred dollars. The accommodations are excellent, clean and airy. It is a most beautiful ship, and the captain seems disposed to do all in his power for our comfort. ... I am now making preparations for my passage. Monday we have a prayer-meeting, and on Tuesday we go to Plymouth. I am doubting whether I ought to go to Bradford again or not. My nerves are in such a state that I have to make every possible exertion to keep them quiet. It will only increase my agitation to take a formal leave of my friends and home." On the 22d of June, 1823, they sailed from Boston amidst every demonstration of personal attachment and Christian sympathy. They carried with them a valuable present and a letter from the Convention to the Burman emperor, sent in the hope of conciliating his favor toward the missionaries. CHAPTER XV. MESSES. Jl'DSON AND PRICE VISIT AVA. THEIR RECEPTION Al COURT. THEIR RETURN TO RANGOON. MRS. JUDSON's RETURN. A LETTER TO HER PARENTS DESCRIBING THEIR REMOVAL TO AVA. DESCRIPTION OF AVA. IT was mentioned that during Mrs. Judson's absence from Burmah, Dr. Price, the fame of whose medical skill had reached the ' golden ears/ had been ordered to Ava. and that Mr. Judson had determined to make another attempt to procure toleration for the Christians by a second visit to the capital. In a boat furnished by government, they left Rangoon, embarked for Ava, then the capital, and were immediately introduced to the king. Dr. Price was graciously received, but at the first interview Mr. Judson was scarcely noticed. Of the second interview, we will give the account in Mr. Judson's own words. " To-day the king noticed me for the first time. . After some time he said, 'And you, in black, what are you ? a medical man too ?' ' Not a medical man, but a teacher of religion, your Majesty.' He proceed- ed to make a few inquiries about my religion, and then put the alarming inquiry whether any had embraced 128 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. it. 1 evaded by saying ' Not here.' He persisted ' Are there any in Rangoon ?' ' There are a few 'Are they foreigners?' I trembled for the conse- quence of an answer which might involve the little church in ruin ; but the truth must be sacrificed 01 the consequences hazarded; and I therefore replied ' There are some foreigners and some Burmans.' He remained silent a few moments, but presently showed he was not displeased, by asking a great variety of questions on religion, and geography and astronomy, some of which were answered in such a satisfactory manner, as to occasion a general expression of satis- faction in all the court present. " After his Majesty retired, a royal secretary entered into conversation, and allowed me to expatiate on several topics of religion in my usual way. And all this took place in the presence of the very man, now an Atwenwoon, (one of the highest officers) who manv years ago, caused his uncle to be tortured under the iron mall, for renouncing Buddhism and embracing the Romish religion ! . . . " Thanks to God for the encouragement of this day ! The monarch of the empire has distinctly understood, that some of his subjects have embraced the Christian religion, and his wrath has been restrained." He afterwards had another interview, in which the king inquired much about America, and authorized LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 129 him to invite her ships to his dominions, assuring them of protection and facilities for trade. He mentions much flattering attention, paid him by a prince of the empire and his wife, who was the king's sister, both of whom urged him not to return to Ran gx>n, but to bring his wife and reside at Ava. In fact several dignitaries of the empire were so far attracted by the new theories in religion and science, as to enter into animated discussions with the missionaries re- specting them. The prince above mentioned was an interesting character. Mr. Judson went so far as boldly to urge upon him the duty of making personal religion his immediate care. For a moment he was moved, but soon replied, that he was young, only twenty-eight. That he was desirous of enlarging his mind by an acquaintance with all foreign science, and then he could judge whether Christianity was worthy of his adoption or not. But, said Mr. Judson, suppose you change worlds in the meantime ? His counte- nance fell, and he said sadly, " It is true, I do not know when I shall die." How true it is that "as in water face answereth to face, so doth the heart of man to man." Left without excuse, this poor impenitent Burman, like thousands in America, almost, but not altogether persuaded to be Christians, postponed what he could not but purpose. to a more convenient season. 9 F* 130 LIFE OF MRS. ANN" H. JUDSON. On anouier occasion, so many persons of high rank expressed themselves favorably to the Christian faith that one who had not hitherto ventured to defend the missionaries in the presence of the king was bold enough to say, " Nearly all the world, your Majesty, believe in an eternal God ; all but Burmah and Siam these little spots !" His Majesty remained silent, and soon abruptly rose and retired. Before returning to Rangoon Mr. Judson had an interesting interview with the king. " Why," asked the latter, " does the teacher return to Rangoon ? let him and Price stay together. If one goes, the other must remain alone, and will be unhappy." Some one pres- ent explained that he was going for his wife and goods, and would soon return. His Majesty said, " Will you then come again ?" and expressed a wish that he should do so and remain permanently. He and Dr. Price had previously erected a house near Ava on some land granted them by the king, which house was to be occupied by Dr. P. until Mr. Judson's return. The following letter from Mr. Judson dated Dec. 7, 1823, announces the arrival of his wife in Rangoon. " I had the inexpressible happiness of welcoming Mrs. Judson once more to the shores of Burmah, on the 5th nstant. We are now on the eve of departure for Ava. LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 13] " My last letter from brother Price mentions that the king has inquired many times about my delay, and the queen has expressed a strong desire to see Mrs. Jud- son in her foreign dress. We sincerely hope her majesty's curiosity will not be confined to dress " Mr. and Mrs. Wade appear to be in fine healtn ana spirits, and I am heartily rejoiced at their arrival just at the present time." Rumors of a war between the British s,nd Burmans were growing more and more prevalent, and alas, proved but too well founded. From the very last letter written by Mrs. Judson before this most un- happy and disastrous war, we shall now make some extracts. " Ava, February, 10, 1824. ' My DEAR PARENTS AND SISTERS, After nearly two years and a half wandering, you will be pleased to hear that I have at last arrived at home, so far as this life is concerned, and am once more quietly and happily settled with Mr. Judson. When I retrace the scenes through which I have pass- d, the immense space 1 have traversed, and the various dangers, seen and unseen, from which I have been pre- *erved, my heart is filled with gratitude and praise to that Being, who has at all times been my protector and marked out all my way before me. . . . We had a quick and pleasant passage from Calcutta 132 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. /UDSON. to Rangoon, and in seven days after our arrival there we were on our way to^this place. Our progress up the river was slow indeed. The season however is cool and delightful, jve were preserved from dangers by day and robbers by night, and arrived in safety in six weeks. The Irrawaddy is a noble river ; we often walked through the villages on its banks, and though we never received the least insult, we always attracted universal attention. A foreign female was a sight never before beheld, and all were anxious that their friends and relations should have a view. Crowds followed us through the villages, and some less civil- ized than the others, would run some way before us, in order to have a long look as we approached them." . . . After relating a conversation with the natives on the subject of religion, and a narrow escape from drowning ; she comes to their arrival at Ava, where they had difficulties such as she had never before ex- perienced. Dr. Price urged their going immediately to the house he had just erected ; but it was of brick, and the walls still so damp that they did not dare oc- cupy it. She says, " We had but one alternative, and that was to remain in the boat till they could build a small house on the piece of ground which the king gave to Mr. J. last year. And you will hardly be- lieve it possible, for I almost doubt my senses, that in just a fortnight frt . our arrival, we moved into a LIFE OP MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 133 house built in that time, which is large enough to make us comfortable. It is in a most delightful situa- tion, out of the dust of the town and on the bank of the river. . . . Our house is in a healthy situation, is raised four feet from the ground, and consists of three small rooms and a verandah. We hardly know how we shall bear the hot season which is just commencing, for our house is built of boards, and before night is heated like an oven Nothing but brick is a shelter from the heat at Ava, where the thermometer even in the shade frequently rises to 108 degrees. We have worship every evening in Burman, when a number of the natives assemble, and every Sabbath Mr. Judson preaches the other side of the river in Dr. Price's house. We feel it an ines- timable privilege that amid all our discouragements we have the language, and are able constantly to commu- nicate truths which can save the soul." She then mentions that she has commenced a female school with three little girls, two of them given her by their parents, fine children, who improve very rapidly, and that she has a prospect of more pupils. They did not immediately visit the palace, as the royal family were absent on a visit at Amarapoora, their old capital, where they were to remain until the new palace in Ava should be finished. She found her old friend the viceroy s wife now degraded by the death of her hus (34 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. band to a low rank, but a sensible woman, and more capable, Mrs. J. thought, of receiving religious truth than when in public life. She adds tnat in consequence of war with the Bengal government, foreigners are not in as much esteem at court as formerly even Ameri cans shared the same disfavor as Englishmen, for being similar in features, dress, language and religion, it is not surprising that the Burmans should have con- founded them as subjects of one government. From the circumstance of money being remitted to them through English residents in Ava, they were even suspected of being paid spies of the East India Com- pany but this was at a somewhat later period. The capital of Burmah is not fixed, but changes with the caprice of the monarch, for wherever he fixes his imperial residence, there, for the time, is the capital. Ava, the former capital, having been forsaken during the reign of the old king for Amarapoora, was again to be the royal residence, and for this purpose a mag- nificent palace had been there erected, of which the emperor was now to take possession. On these occa- sions, all the gorgeousness of oriental magnificence has its full display. Such a scene the missionaries witnessed soon after their arrival at Ava. Mrs. Jud- son gives an animated description of that splendid day, when majesty with all its attendant glory entered the LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 135 gates of the golden city, and amid the acclamations of millions, took possession of the palace. The numerous horses, the immense variety of vehicles, the vast num- ber and size of richly caparisoned elephants, the myriads of people in their gala dresses, the highest officers in the kingdom drawn from the most distant as well as the nearer provinces to grace the occasion, each in his robes of state, the magnificent white elephant, capari- soned with silk and velvet, and blazing with jewels, the king and queen, in simple majesty, alone unadorned amid the gaudy throng, surpassed any pageant ever exhibited in the western world. Alas! this pomp and pride were soon to receive a disastrous humiliation. CHAPTER XVI. WAR WITH THE BRITISH. NARRATIVE OF THE SUFFERINGS OF THE MIS- SIONARIES DURING THE WAR. IN 1824 news reached America of the breaking out of war between Burmah and British India. This of course excited the most anxious interest for the fate of the Americans in that country. At length anxiety was somewhat relieved by the intelligence that Messrs. Wade and Hough with their families, who had remain- ed at Rangoon, were, after dreadful sufferings, safe under British protection. But over the fate of Mr, and Mrs. Judson hung the silence of death, or of a suspense worse than death, for more than two years, until hope itself died in the hearts of their friends and kindred. But although in this long period of doubt and dark- ness, busy fancy had pictured many scenes of terror and many forms of violent death, as the possible lot of the missionaries ; yet in her wildest flights she never could have conceived of the terrible reality which they endured, not for days and weeks only, but fo? LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 137 eighteen weary months. The wildest tale of fiction has never depicted more cruel anguish, more appalling suffering borne with more heroic energy, and more sublime fortitude the wildest fiction would not dare to portray woman's love and faith and Christian hope, so long triumphant over insult and outrage, and torture and death itself. Who after reading the following narrative of an heroic female's unparalleled endurance, will ever say that woman's is a feeble nature, inca- pable of withstanding the rude shocks of adverse for- tune ? Nay, who will not rather say, that in woman, hope and faith, and fortitude and energy, make evcu the frail body immortal, till her labor of love is accom- plished, and its cherished object is rescued from peril ? " The war which now broke out between the Bur- man government and that of the English in Bengal, forms an important era in the history of the mission. " Its first effect was to put an end to the labors of the missionaries, and involve them in unspeakable suffer ings, yet in accordance with a mysterious though bene- ficent law of human affairs, its ultimate issues have proved favorable not only to the interests of that par- ticular mission, but also to the further extension oi Christian civilization among the thickly peopled coun- tries of Eastern India. The war had its origin in feuds which had long existed on the frontiers of Chit- 138 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. tagong." Some Burman criminals had escaped to that territory, where as it was alleged they were pro- tected by British power. The Burman monarch de- termined to chastise the English by making war on theiF government, and had raised thirty thousand troops under the command of his greatest warrior Bandula ; but the East India Company anticipated his movements, and landed their forces at Rangoon so suddenly and unexpectedly, that the city fell into their hands with scarcely a show of resistance. This was the first news that reached Ava of the commencement of hostilities. It surprised the court there, but by no means alarmed them. Never having come into colli- sion with the English, and having the most extravagant conceit of their own invincibility, they did not for a moment doubt their power to drive the invaders from their country ; and even sent by one of their generals a pair of golden fetters with which to chain the gov- ernor-general, and bring him captive to Ava. The first effect of the intelligence of the war upon the situation of the missionaries, was an order that no man wearing a hat should enter the palace. This was somewhat startling, still nothing of importance occur- red for several weeks, during which Mrs. J. continued her school, while her husband went on building a house. But at length suspicion having been excited that the Englishmen who residev.. in Ava were spies, they were LIFE OF MES. ANN H. JUDSON. 139 seined and put in confinement. Dr. Price and Mr. Judson were strictly examined also, but nothing being proved against them, they were left at liberty. They might probably have escaped" further molestation, had it not been found in examining the accounts of one of the Englishmen, that he had paid over considerable < money to the missionaries. Ignorant of money tran- sactions as carried on by foreigners, this was an evi- dence to the natives, that the teachers were in the pay of the British, and probably spies. This being repre- sented to the king, he gave an angry order for their arrest. On the 8th of June, Mr. Judson's house was rudely entered by an officer, followed by eight or ten men, one of whom, by the hideous tattooing on his face, they knew to be the executioner, or 'son of the prison.' On seeing Mr. Judson " You are called by the king," said the officer, the usual form of arrest. In an instant the spotted-faced man threw him on the floor, and drew forth that instrument of torture, the small cord. Mrs. Judson tried in vain to bribe him with money. " Take her too," said the officer, " she also is a foreigner." But this order Mr. Judson prevailed on them to disregard. All was now confusion and dis- may, the children crying, the neighbors collecting around and in the house, while the executioner bound Mr. Judson with the cords, and took a fiendish pleas- 140 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. ure in making them as tight as possible. Mrs. Judsor. gave Moung Ing money that he might follow and pro cure a mitigation of this torture, instead of which, Mr Judson was again thrown down, and the cords so tightened as almost to, prevent respiration. Then he was hurried on to the court-house, thence to " the death prison," into which he was hurled, and Moung Ing saw him no more. We may imagine the intolerable agony of Mrs. Jud- son when the faithful disciple returned with the sad news of his master's fate. Retiring to her room, she tried to find consolation in casting her dreadful burden 'of fear and suspense on her covenant God But soon her retirement was invaded by the ma gistrate of the place, who ordered her to come out and submit to an examination. Of course she was obliged to obey, but before doing so she destroyed every writing she possessed, letters, journals, every- thing, lest her correspondence with her British friends should confirm the suspicions of their persecutors. When the magistrate had satisfied himself with the ex- amination, he placed a guard of ten ruffians about the house, with orders that no one should enter or leave it on pain of death. Taking her four little Burman girls into an inner room she barred the door, and obstinately refused to come out, although the guard, bent on tormenting tar. LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 141 threatened to break the door down if she did not. She prevented this outrage by a threat to complain of their conduct in the morning to higher authorities, but in revenge they bound her two Bengalee servants fast in the stocks in a most painful posture. By bribes and promises she at length induced them to release the servants ; but their dreadful carousings, and horrid language, combined with her suspense in regard to her husband's fate, rendered that long night one of un- mitigated wretchedness. In the morning, Moung Ing, whom she had sent to the prison, returned with the intelligence that all the white foreigners were in the death-prison chained with three pairs of fetters each to a pole, to prevent their moving! " The point of anguish now was," she says, " that I was a prisoner myself, and could make no efforts for their relief." She earnestly but vainly beg- ged the magistrate to allow her to go and state the case to some government officer ; she even wrote a letter to the queen's sister, who was civil, but afraid to interfere in their behalf. " The day," she says, " wore heavily away, and another dreadful night was before me. I endeavored to soften the feelings of the guard, by giving them tea and segars for the night ; so that they allowed me to femain inside my room, without threatening as they did the night before." But, haunted by the idea of her dear husband's tortures, which she 142 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. was neither permitted to share nor alleviate, she of course passed another night of anguish. The next day she sent a message to the governor of the city, to allow her to visit him with a present. This was successful, and the guards had orders to permit her to go into town. She was pleasantly re- ceived, stated the situation of the teachers, and assured the governor that being not Englishmen but Ameri- cans, they had nothing to do with the war. She w r as referred to a head officer with whom she might con- sult as to the means of making the prisoners more comfortable ; but their release was out of the question. The first sight of this officer, whose face exhibited the working of every evil passion, inspired her with dread; but he was the only one who could assist her. " He took me aside, and endeavored to convince me that myself, as well as the prisoners, was entirely at his dis- posal that our future comfort must depend on my liberality in regard to presents and that these must be made in a private way, and unknown to any officer of government! What must I do, said I, to obtain a mitigation of the sufferings of the two teachers ? ' Pay to me,' said he, ' two hundred tickals, (about a hundred dollars,) two pieces of fine cloth, and two pieces ot handkerchiefs.' At length however he con- sented to take what money she had about her, which was a considerable sum, and promised to relieve the LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 143 teachers from their most painful situation. She goes on : " I then procured an order from the governor for my admittance into the prison, but the sensation pro- duced by meeting my husband in that wretched' horria situation, and the scene that ensued, I shall not at- tempt to describe. He crawled to the door of the prison for I was never allowed to enter gave me some directions relative to his release ; but before we could make any arrangement, 1 was ordered to depart by those iron-hearted jailers, who could not endure to see us enjoy the poor consolation of meeting in that miserable place. In vain I pleaded the order of the governor for my admittance ; they again harshly re- peated, ' Depart, or we will pull you out.' ' The same evening all the foreigners succeeded, by the payment of money, in being removed from the common prison to an open shed, where Mrs. Judson was allowed to send them food, and mats to sleep on, but for some days was not permitted to see them. Nothing but her own eloquent words can do justice to the transactions that followed. We copy as before from her letter, written two years subsequent to these events, to her brother-in-law, Dr. Judson. " My next object was to get a petition presented to the queen, but no person being admitted into the palace who was in disgrace with his majesty, I sought 144: LIFE OP MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. to present it Urough the medium of her brother's wife I had visited her in better days, and received par- ticular marks of her favor. But now, times were altered, Mr. Judson was in prison, and I in distress, which was a sufficient reason for giving me a cold reception. I took a present of considerable value. She was lolling on her carpet as I entered, with her attendants around her. I waited not for the usual question to a suppliant, ' What do you want ?' but in a bold, earnest yet respectful manner, stated our dis- tresses and our wrongs, and begged her assistance. She partly raised her head, opened the present I had brought, and coolly replied, ' Your case is not singular; all the foreigners are treated alike.' But it is singular, said I, the teachers are Americans ; they are minis- ters of religion, have nothing to do with war or politics, and came to Ava in obedience to the king's command. They have never done anything to deserve such treatment ; and is it right they should be treated thus ? ' The king does as he pleases,' said she, ' I am not the king, what can I do ?' You can state their case to the queen and obtain- their release, replied I. Place yourself in my situation were you in America, your husband, innocen' of crime, thrown into prison, in irons, and you a solitary, unprotected female what would you do ? With a slight degree of feeling, she said, ' I will present your petition ; come again to- LIFE OP MRS. ANN H. JDDSON. 145 i morrow ' I returned to the house, with considerable hope -at the speedy release of the missionaries was at hanu. But the next day, the property of Mr. Gouger, (one of the Englishmen,) amounting to 25,000 dollars, was seized and carried to the palace. The officers on their return, politely informed me, that they should visit our house on the morrow. I felt obliged for this information, and accordingly made preparations to receive them by secreting as many little articles as possible ; together with considerable silver ; as I knew if the war should be protracted, we should be in a state of starvation without it. But my mind was in a dreadful state of agitation, lest it should be discovered, and cause my being thrown into prison. And had it been possible to procure money from any other quarter, I should not have ventured on such a step. " The following morning, the royal treasurer, the governor of the north gate of the palace, who was in future our steady friend, and another nobleman, at- tended by forty or fifty followers, came to take posses- sion of all we had. I treated them civilly, gave them seats, and tea and sweetmeats for their refreshment; and justice obliges me to say, that they conducted the business of confiscation, with more regard to my feel- ings than I should have thought it possible for Bur- mese officers to exhibit. The three officers with one of the royal secretaries alone entered the house : their 10 G 146 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. attendants were ordered to remain outside. They saw I was deeply affected, and apologized for what they were about to do, by saying that it was painful for them to take possession of property not their own, but they were compelled thus to do by order of the king. " Where is your silver, gold, and jewels ?" said the royal treasurer. I have no gold or jewels, but here is the key of a trunk which contains the silver do with it as you please. The trunk was produced, and the silver weighed. This money, said I, was collected in America by the disciples of Christ, and sent here for the purpose of building a kyoung, (the name of a priest's dwelling ;) and for our support while teaching the religion of Christ. Is it suitable that you should take it ? (The Burmans are averse to taking religious offerings, which was the cause of my making the in- quiry.) " We will state this circumstance to the king," said one of them, " and perhaps he will restore it. But is this all the silver you have ?" I could not tell a falsehood. The house is in your possession, I replied, search for yourselves. " Have you not deposited silver with some person of your acquaintance ?" My acquaintances are all in prison, with whom should I deposit silver ? They next ordered my trunk and drawers to be examined. The secretary only was allowed to accompany me in this search. Everything nice or curious which met his view, was presented to LIFE OF MRS. ANN fL JUDSOM. 147 the officers for their decision whether it should be taken or retained. I begged they woul(^not take our wearing apparel, as it would be disgraceful to take clothes partly worn into the possession of his majesty, and to us they were of unspeakable value. They as- sented, and took a list only ; and did the same with the booKs, medicines, &c. My little work-table and rocking-chair, presents from my beloved brother, I rescued from their grasp, partly by artifice, and partly through their ignorance. They left also many articles which were of inestimable value during our long im prisonment." CHAPTER XVII. NARRATIVE CONTINUED, AND CONCLUDED. THEIR DELIVERANCE FROM BURMAN TYRANNT, AND PROTECTION BV THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. As soon as the search was completed, Mrs. Judson hastened to the wife of the queen's brother, in hopes of having a favorable answer to her petition ; but to her heavy disappointment she learned that the queen had refused to interfere. With a sad heart she turned her steps to the prison-gate, but here she was denied admittance, and for ten days she found the prison-door closed against her. " The officers who had taken possession of our property," continues Mrs. Judson, " presented it to his majesty, saying, ' Judson is a true teacher ; we found nothing in his house but what belongs to priests. In addition to this money, there are an immense number of books, medicines, trunks of wearing apparel, &c., of which we have only taken a list. Shall we take them or let them remain ?' ' Let them remain,' said the king, ' and put this property by itself, for it shall be restored to him again, if he be found innocent.' This was in allusion to the idea of his being a spy." LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 149 While the officers were at Mr. J.'s house, they had insisted on knowing the sum that had been paid to bribe the governor to allow the prisoners more liberty. This sum they afterwards demanded of the governor, xvhich so enraged him that he threatened to thrusi them back into the inner prison. When Mrs. J. waited on him the next morning, his first words were, " You are very bad; why did you tell the royal treasurer you had given me so much money ?" " The treasurer in- quired, what could I say ?" she replied. " Say that you had given me nothing," said he, " and I would have made the leacne^ comfortable in prison; but now I know not what will be their fate." " But I can- not tell a falsehood," she replied ; " my religion differs from yours ; it forbids prevarication, and had you stood by me with your knife raised, I could not have said what you suggest." This answer so pleased the wife of the governor, who sat by, that she ever afterwards was a firm friend to Mrs. Judson. The latter then by the pres- ent of a beautiful opera-glass, a gift from her Eng- lish friends, and by promises of future presents, in- duced the governor to let her husband remain where he was ; but poor Dr. Price was confined as at first, and was only relieved at the end of ten days, by his promising a piece of broadcloth, and presents from Mrs. Judson. 150 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. Sometimes she was summoned before the authori- ties to answer the most absurd charges, and daily she was subjected to the most harassing annoyance, from the desire of each petty officer to get money through their misfortunes. Notwithstanding her re- pulse in her application to the queen, hardly a da} passed for seven months that she did not visit some one of the members of government, or branches of the royal family, in order to gain their influence in behalf of the teachers, though the only benefit was. that their encouraging promises preserved her from despair. She did however. in this manner gain friends, who sometimes assisted her with food, and who tried to destroy the impression that they were concerned in the war. The extortions and oppressions to which the pri- oners were subject were also indescribable. Some- times Mrs. Judson was forbidden to have any inter- course with them during the day ; and therefore she would have two miles to walk after dark, in return- ing to her house. She says, " Oh how many, many times have I returned from that dreary prison at nine o'clock at night, solitary and worn out with fatigue and anxiety, and thrown myself down in that same rocking-chair you and Deacon S. provided for me in Boston, and endeavored to invent some new scheme for the release of the prisoners. Sometimes, LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 151 ior a moment or two, my thoughts would glance to- ward America and my beloved friends there, out for nearly a year and a half, so entirely engrossed was every thought with present scenes and sufferings, tha: I seldom reflected on a single occurrence of my former life, or recollected that I had a friend in ex- istence out of Ava. " You my dear brother, who know my strong at- tachment to my friends, and how much pleasure 1 have hitherto experienced from retrospect, can judge from the above circumstance, how intense were my sufferings. But the point, the acme of my distress, consisted in the awful uncertainty of our final fate. My prevailing opinion was, that my husband would suffer violent death ; and that I should of course be- come a slave, and languish out a miserable though short existence, in the tyrannic hands of some unfeel- ing monster. But the consolations of religion in these trying circumstances, were neither few nor small. It taught me to look beyond this world, to that rest, that peaceful, happy rest, where Jesus reigns, and oppres- sion never enters." In the meantime, the Burmese government was sending army after army down the river to fight the English ; and constantly receiving news of their de- feat and destruction. One of its officers, however, named Bandoola, having been more successful, the king 152 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. sent for him to Ava, and conferred on him the com mand of a very large army, destined against "Rangoon* As he was receiving every demonstration of court favor, Mrs. Judson resolved to wait on him with a petition for the release of the prisoners. She was re- ceived in an obliging manner, and directed to call again when he should have deliberated on the subject. With the joyful news of her flattering reception, she flew to the pi'ison, and both she and her husband thought deliverance was at hand: But on going again with a handsome present to hear his decision, she was informed by his lady her lord being absent that he was now very busy, making preparations for Rangoon, but that when he had retaken that city, and expelled the English, he would return and release all the pris- oners. This was her last application for their enlargement , though she constantly visited the various officials with presents in order to make the situation of the prisoners more tolerable. The governor of the palace used to be so much gratified with her accounts of the manners, customs and government of America, that he required her to spend many hours of every other day at his house. Mrs. Judson had been permitted to make for her husband a little bamboo room in the prison enclosure far more comfortable th-ar the shed he had occupied, LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. "J.58 and where she sometimes was allowed to spend a few hours in his society. But her visits both to the pris- on and .to the goveiuor were interrupted by the birth of a little daughter truly ' A child of misery, baptized in tears 1* About this time the Burmese court was thrown into consternation by news of the disastrous defeat of Ban doola, the vain-glorious chief who was to expel the English from the kingdom ; and the rapid advance of the British troops towards Ava. The first conse- quence of such intelligence would of course be in- creased rigor towards the white prisoners ; and ac- cordingly, before she had regained her strength after her confinement, Mrs. Judson learned that her husband had been put into the inner prison, in five pairs of fetters, that the room she had made for him had been torn down, and all his little comforts taken away by his jailers. All the prisoners had been similarly treated. Mrs. Judson, feeble as she ~vas, hastened to the gov- ernor's house. But in her long absence she had lost favor ; and she was told that she must not ask to have the fetters taken off, or the prisoners released, for it could not be done. She made a pathetic appeal to the governor, who was an old man, reminding him of all his former kindness to them, and begging to know why ms conduct was so changed to them i. aw. His hard G* 154 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. neart melted and he even " wept like a child." He then confessed to her that he had often been ordered to assassinate the prisoners privately, but that he would not do it ; and that, come what would, he would never put Mr. Judson to death. At the same time he was resolute in refusing to attempt any mitigation of his sufferings. The situation of the prisoners was now horrible in the extreme. There were more than one hundred of / them shut up in one room, with no air but what came through cracks in the boards, and this in the hot sea- son. Mrs. Judson was sometimes permitted to spend five minutes at the door, but the sight was almost too horrible to be borne. By incessant intreaties, she ob- tained permission for them to eat their food outside, but even this was soon forbidden. After a month passed in this way, Mr. Judson was seized with fever, and nothing but death was before him unless he could have more air. Mrs. Judson at length succeeded in putting up another bamboo hut in the prison enclosure, and by wearing out, the governor with her entreaties, she got her husband removed into it, and though too low for them to stand upright, it seemed to them a palace in comparison with the prison. Disastrous news of the war continued to arrive, and at length the death of Bandoola seemed to be the climax of misfortune. Who could be found to take LIFE OF MRS. A^TN H. JUDSON. 159 do everything he could for Mrs. J. Though a Ben- galee, he forgot his caste, and hesitated not at any office or service which was required of him. It was afterwards in their power amply to reward him for his labor of love, and they never forgot their debt of gratitude. At this time poor little Maria was the greatest suf- ferer, and her mother's anguish at seeing her distress while she was unable to relieve it, was indescribable. Deprived of her natural food by her mother's illness, while not a drop of milk could be procured in the vil- lage, her cries were heart-rending. Sometimes Mr. Judson would prevail on his keepers to let him carry the emaciated little creature around in his arms, to beg nourishment from those mothers in the village who had young children. Now indeed was the cup of misery full. While in health, the active, ardent mind of Mrs. Judson bore up under trials, every new one suggesting some ingenious expedient to lighten or avert it ; but now to see those cherished ones suffering, and be herself confined by sickness, was almost too much to bear. It was about this time they learned the death of their enemy, whose elevation to power was the cause of their removal from Ava, and whose purpose in sending them to Oung-pen-la, was indeed their destruc- tion. Suspected of high-treason, and of embezzling 160 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. public money, he was executed without a moment i delay. Another officer was appointed to command the army, but with far less sanguine expectations of success. After his death, the prisoners were released irom the prison, and conducted to Ava. The cause of this change was soon evident. Mr. Judson waa wanted to act as interpreter between the Burmese government and the advancing army of the British. For six weeks he was kept in Maloun, steadily at work in translating, and suffering as much as when in prison except that he was not in irons. Mrs. Judson, who had remained at Ava, was seized soon after he left her with spotted fever of the most malignant charac- ter. She lost her reason, and for a long time was in- sensible to everything around her. But she records with lively gratitude, that just before her senses left her, a Portuguese woman had unexpectedly come and offered herself as nurse to her little daughter; and about the same time, Dr. Price, being released from prison, visited her. He represents her situation to have been the most distressing he ever witnessed, and he had no idea she could survive many hours. At one time a Burmese neighbor, who had come in with others to see her die, said. " She is dead ; and if the King of angels were to come in, he could not recover her." Her head was shaved, blisters were applied to it and to her feet, and she gradually revived ; although LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 161 the fever having run seventeen days, she was of course a long time in recovering. While in this debilitated state, she learned through her servant that his master had arrived in town, under the charge of several Burmans, and that it was report- ed that he was to be sent back to the Oung- pen-la prison. Being too weak to bear ill tidings, the shock had well nigh destroyed her. When she had in some measure recovered her composure, she sent Moung Ing to her old friend, the governor of the north gate, begging him to make one more effort for Mr. Judson. Moung Ing then went in search of ' the teacher,' and at length found him in an obscure prison. Her feel- ings while he was gone, Mrs. Judson thus describes: Tf ever I felt the value and efficacy of prayer, I did at this time. I could not rise from my couch ; I could make no efforts to secure my husband ; I could only plead with that great and powerful Being who has said, 'Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will hear, and thou shall glorify me ;' and who made me at this time feel so powerfully this promise, that I be- came quite composed, feeling assured that my prayers would be answered." She afterwards learned that as soon as Mr. Judson was found of no farther use at Maloun as interpreter, he was transferred without ceremony to Ava, where happening to meet no one who knew him, he was or- 11 162 LIFE OF MES. ANN H. JUDSON. dered to be taken whence he came, when he went to Maloun, viz : Oung-peri-la. But at the instance of, Mrs. Judson's faithful messenger, Moung Ing, the gov- egrnor of the north gate presented a petition to the high court of the empire, became security for Mr. J., obtained his release, took him to his house, and re- moved Mrs. Judson thither also as soon as her health permitted. The English army, which had all along offered peace on condition of the payment of a certain sum of money, offers which the Burmans had constantly re- jected, had now advanced so far as to threaten the golden city itself. The Burmans were thus compelled to negotiate, and all their negotiations from beginning to end, " were conducted by Drs. Judson and Price, though they were often interrupted or entirely broken off by the caprice and jealousy of the Burman mon- arch and his officers." The king placing no confidence in the English, and having the most absurd ideas of his power to force them to his own terms, sent messengers at every stage of their advance to induce Sir Archi- bald Campbell to abate his demands and alter his con- ditions. No pains was spared to fortify the golden city, even while Dr. Price and other English prisoners were engaged in the business of negotiation. Mrs. tTudson had the pain of seeing their house with its ~JFE OP MRS. ANN. H. JUDSON. 165 beautiful enclosure of fruits and flowers, entirely de- stroyed, to make a place for the erection of cannon. A new message now arrived from Sir Archibald. No smaller sum than the one stipulated, (about five million dollars) would be received, but it might be paid at four different times ; the first payment to be. made within twelve days, or the army would continue its march. In addition, the prisoners were to be given up immediately. The king, who had learned the value of Mr. Judson's services, declared that those foreigners who were not English, were his people, and should not go. The missionaries were ordered to" go again to the English camp, to propose to them to take a third of the money and give up their demand for the missionaries ; and threatened that if unsuccessful in their embassy, they and their families should suffer. Their situation was now truly perilous, for the Bur- man arrogance was at this time heightened by the boast of one of their generals, that he would so fortify the ancient city of Pugan, which lay in the route of the British toward Ava, that they could never ad- vance beyond it ; and that in fact he would destroy or drive them from the country. The invincible English took the city, however, with perfect ease ; and the king being enraged that he had listened for a moment to the braggart, and thus provoked the British officers, had him executed without ceremony, and gave out i64 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. that it was to punish him for violating his command ' not to fight the English.' The same night, Dr. Price was sent with part of the money, and some of the prisoners, but returned with the alarming intelligence, that the general was angry, would not communicate with him, and was marching upon Ava. All was now confusion in the palace ; gold and silver vessels were melted up, and the money weighed out ; and Mr. Judson was hurried into a boat, and sent to the British camp. He was instructed by the English general that every foreigner who wished to leave the country, must be permitted to go, or peace would not be made. The members of government now had re- course to solicitation, and promised to make Mr. Jud- son a great man if he would remain. To avoid the oduim of expressing a wish to leave his majesty's ser- vice, he told them that Sir Archibald had ordered that all who desired it, should go ; that his wife had often expressed that desire, that she therefore must be given up, and that he must follow. The prisoners were then all released, and on a cool moonlight evening, with hearts overflowing with gratitude and joy, they took their passage down the Irrawady, bidding a final adieu to the scene of their sufferings, the golden city of Ava. With what delight did they the next morning hah the sight of the steamboat, that was to conduct them LIFE OF MES. ANN H. JUDSON. 165 to the British camp. "With what unspeakable satis- faction did they again find themselves surrounded by the comforts and refinements of civilized life." The kindness of General Campbell was more like that of a father to his own family, than that of a stranger to persons of another country. Indeed it was to him they owed their final release from Ava, and the re- covery of all their confiscated property. Mrs. Judson thinks no people on earth were ever happier than they were at that time ; the very idea that they were free from Burman treachery and tyranny, and under British protection, filling them with gratitude and joy too exquisite for expression. "What shall we render to the Lord for all his benefits to us," was the constant utterance of their hearts. Peace was soon settled ; they left the camp, and after an absence of two years and three months were again in Rangoon. CHAPTER XVIH. CWFLCBKOB OF THESE DISASTERS ON THE MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. TEBT. MONIAL9 TO MRS. JUDSON's HEROIC CONDUCT. LETTER FROM MR. JODSON HIS ACCEPTANCE OF THE POST OF INTERPRETER TO CRAWFORD'S EM BASSY. MRS. JUDSON'S RESIDENCE AT AMHERST. HER ILLNESS AMD DEATH. DEATH OE HER INFANT. MRS. JUDSON concludes her long, melancholy, but most interesting letter to her brother, as follows : " A review of our trip to and adventures in Ava, suggests the inquiry, Why were we permitted to go ? What good has been effected ? Why did I not listen to the advice of friends in Bengal and remain till the wai was concluded ? But all that we can say is It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. So far as my going round to Rangoon at the time I did, was instru- mental in bringing those heavy afflictions upon us, I can only state that if ever I acted from a sense of duty in my life, it was at that time; for my conscience would not allow me any peace, when I thought of sending for your brother to Calcutta, in prospect of the approaching war. Our society at home have lost no property on account of our difficulties; but two years of precious time have been lost to the mission LIFE OF MKS. ANN H. JUDSON. 167 unless some future advantage may be gained, in con- sequence of the severe discipline to which we our- selves have been subject. We are sometimes induced to think that the lesson we have found so very hard to learn will have a beneficial effect through our lives ; and that the mission may in the end, be advanced rather than retarded." In reference to this timid and hesitating hope of some benefit which might possibly accrue to the cause of missions, from her terrible experience, the remarks of Dr. Dowling in a recent work, are so appropriate, that we will introduce them here. " Previous to the commencement of these sufferings, though a few American Baptists were partially awake to the salva- tion of the heathen, . . . yet the contributions for the mission were meagre, and the interest it had excited was comparatively small. Something of a thrilling, exciting character was needed to arouse the churches from their indifference and lethargy ; something thai should touch their hearts, by showing them somewhat of the nature and extent of the sacrifices made by those devoted missionaries whom they were calletl upon to sustain by their benefactions and their pray- ers. " Such a stimulus was afforded, when after two years of painful suspense, during which it was not known whether the missionaries were dead or alive, the 168 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. touching recital of their unparalleled sufferings fo r Christ's sake, and of their wonderful deliverance, at length burst like an electric shock upon the American churches. And that shock has not yet spent its force, as we have recently seen in the effect produced by the simple, silent presence, in the assemblies of the saints, of the venerated man of God, who can say with an Apostle ' I bear in my body the scars of the Lord Tesus !' "* That worn veteran had but to arise in a Christian assembly, and a thrill of sympathy was sent through the audience, and thousands upon thousands of dollars were pledged on the spot to that cause which his silent presence so powerfully advocated. Another consequence of the war, was to secure British toleration and protection to a large territory, hitherto almost inaccessible to the missionaries. Of this we shall speak more fully hereafter. Mrs. Judson proceeds: "We should have had no hesitation about remaining at Ava, if no part of the Burman empire had been ceded to the British. But as it was, we felt that it would be unnecessary ex- posure, besides the missionary field being more limited in consequence of intoleration. We now consider our future missionary prospects as bright indeed, and our only anxiety is to be once more in that situation when * Alluding to Dr. Judson' a visit to America. LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 169 our time will be exclusively devoted to the instruction of the hee-then. ..." This letter, dreadful as are the scenes herein described, gives you but a faint idea of the awful real- ity. The anguish, the agony of mind, resulting from a thousand little circumstances impossible to delineate on paper, car. be known by those only who have been in similar situations. Pray for us, my dear brother and sister, that these heavy afflictions may not be in vain, but may be blessed to our spiritual good, and the advancement of Christ's Church among the heathen.' The following is extracted from a tribute to Mrs Judson which appeared in a Calcutta paper, after the war. It was written by a fellow-prisoner of Mr. J. " Mrs. Judson was the author of those eloquent and forcible appeals to the government, which prepared them by degrees for submission to terms of peace, never expected by any who knew the haughtiness and inflexible pride of the Burman court. " And while on this subject, the overflowings of grateful feelings on behalf of myself and fellow-prison- ers, compel me to add a tribute of public thanks to that amiable and humane female, who, though living at a distance of two miles from our prison, without any means of conveyance, and very feeble in health, forgot her own comfort and infirmity, and almost H 170 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. every day visited us, sought out and administered to our wants, and contributed in every way to alleviate our misery. " When we were all left by the government desti- tute of food, she, with unwearied perseverance by some means or other, obtained for us a constant supply. ..." When the unfeeling avarice of our keepers confined us inside, or made our feet fast in the stocks, she, like a ministering angel, never ceased her appli- cations to the government, until she was authorized to communicate to us the grateful news of our enlarge- ment, or of a respite from our galling oppressions. " Besides all this, it was unquestionably owing, in a chief degree, to the repeated eloquence and forcible appeals of Mrs. Judson, that the untutored Burman was finally made willing to secure the welfare of his country by a sincere peace." Well may Professor Gammel write of her : " History has not recorded, poetry itself has seldom portrayed a more affecting exhibition of Christian fortitude, of female heroism, and of all the noble and generous qualities which constitute the dignity and glory of woman. In the midst of sickness and danger, and every calamity which can crush the human heart, she presented a character equal to the sternest trial, and an address and a fertility of resources which gave LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 171 her an ascendency over the minds of her most cruel enemies, and alone saved the missionaries and their fellow-captives from the terrible doom which constantly awaited them." We will conclude this account of the terrible two years, by an extract from a letter of Mr. Judson dated Rangoon, March 25, 1826. " Through the kind inter- position of our Heavenly Father, we have been pre- served in the most imminent danger, from the hand of the executioner, and in repeated instances of most alarming illness, during my protracted imprisonment of one year and seven months, nine months in three pairs of fetters, two months in five, six months in one, and two months a prisoner at large. . . . The disci- ples and inquirers have been dispersed in all directions. Several are dead; Moung-Shwa-ba has been in the mission-house through the whole, and Moung Ing with Mrs. Judson at Ava. ... I long for the time when we shall enjoy once more the stated worship and ordinances of the Lord's house." " One result of the Burman war, was the acquisition by the British of several provinces previously under the government of the King of Burmah. Thus a safe asylum was provided for the missionaries, and for the Christian natives where they might worship God in peace, under the shelter of the English government.' 172 LIFE OP MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. One of these provinces was fixed upon as the seat of the mission, and the new town of Amherst was to be the residence of the missionaries. Native Christian families began to assemble there, and Mrs. Judson made vigorous preparations to open a school. Mr Crawford of the British Embassy after long solicita- tion, succeeded in persuading Mr. Judson, that by accompanying him in the capacity of interpreter to the court of Ava he might secure to the mission cer- tain advantages he had long had greatly at heart, and he reluctantly consented to go. Leaving Mrs. Judson and her infant daughter in the house of the civil superintendent at Amherst, he proceeded to the Bur- man capital. The journey was every way unfortu- nate ; attended with long delays, and in its result, as far as Mr. Judson was concerned, quite unsuccessful. But it was chiefly disastrous because it detained him from the sick and dying bed of that devoted wife to whom he was bound by every tie that can attach human hearts to each other ; and compelled her to end her troubled pilgrimage alone. That God who " moves in a mysterious way," had ordered it that she who had lived through appalling dangers and threaten- ing deaths until her mission of love toward those she had cherished so fondly was accomplished, was now that her trials seemed nearly ended, and the hopes of her heart seemingly in a train of accomplishment LIFE OF MKS. ANN H. JUDSON. 173 oddenly cajled from the scene of her labors to that of her " exceeding great reward." It was as if a noble ship after encountering storms and tempests, after being often nearly wrecked, and as often saved almost by miracle, should when already in port and in sight of anxious spectators, suddenly sink forever. In a letter to the corresponding secretary, dated Ava, Dec. 7, 1826, Mr. Judson writes : " The news of the death of my beloved wife, has not only thrown a gloom over all my future prospects, but has forever embittered the recollection of the present journey, in consequence of which I have been absent from her dying bed, and prevented from affording the spiritual comfort which her lonely circumstances peculiarly re- quired, and of contributing to avert the fatal catastro- phe, which has deprived me of one of the first of women, and best of wives. I commend myself and motherless child to your sympathy and prayers." From a letter from Mr. Judson to Mrs. Hasseltine we learn, that when he parted from his wife, she was in good health and comfortably situated, with happy prospects of a new field of missionary labor, and the expectation of seeing her husband again in three or four months at farthest. His last letter from her was dated the 14th of September. She says, " I have this day moved into the new house, and for Che first time since we were broken up at Ava, feel myself at home 174 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. The house is large and convenient, and if you were here I should feel quite happy. . . . Poor little Maria is still feeble. . . . When I ask her where Papa is, she always starts up and point? toward the sea. The ser- vants behave very well, and I have no trouble about anything except you and Maria. Pray take care of yourself. . . . May God preserve and bless you, and restore you again to your new and old home is the prayer of your affectionate Ann." Another letter from a friend confirmed the statement with regard to his wife's health, though it spoke unfavorably of that of the child. " But," continues Mr. Judson, " my next communication was a letter with a black seal, handed me by a person, saying he was sorry to inform me of the death of the child. I know not whether this was a mistake on his part, or kindly intended to prepare my mind for the real intelligence. I went to my room, and opened the letter with a feeling of grati- tude and joy, that at any rate the mother was spared. It began thus: ' My dear Sir, To one who has suf- fered so much and with such exemplary fortitude, there needs but little preface to tell a tale of distress. It were cruel indeed to torture you with doubt and sus- pense. To sum up the unhappy tidings in a few words Mrs. Judson is no more.' At intervals," con- tinues Mr. Judson, "I got through the dreadful letter, and proceed to give you the substance, as indelibly LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 175 engraven on my heart." After adding that her dis- ease was a violent fever, which baffled the skill of the physicians and after eighteen days carried her to the grave, he continues: " You perceive I have no ac- count whatever of the state of her mind in view of death and eternity, or of her wishes concerning her darling babe, whom she loved most intensely. I will not trouble you, my dear mother, with an account of my own private feelings the bitter, heart-rending anguish, which for some days would not admit of miti- gation , and the comfort which the Gospel subse- quently afforded, the Gospel of Jesus Christ which brings life and immortality to light." After his return to Amherst, Mr. Judson writes : "Amid the desolation that death has made, I take up my pen to address once more the mother of my be- loved Ann. I am sitting in the house she built in tht room where she breathed her last and at a window from which J see the tree that stands at the head of her grave. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Wade are living in the house, having arrived here about a month after Ann'? death, and Mrs. W. has taken charge of my pooi motherless Maria. . . . When I arrived Mr. Wade met me at the landing-place, and as I passed on to the house, one and another of the native Christians came out, and when they saw me they began to weep. At length we reached the house ; and I almost expected 176 LIFE OF MRS. AN1S H. JUPSON. to see my love coming out to meet me as usual, but no, I only saw in the arms of Mrs. Wade, a poor puny child, who could not recognize her father, and from whose infant mind had long been erased all recollec- tion of the mother who loved her so much. She turn- ed away from me in alarm, and I, obliged to seek com- fort elsewhere, found my way to the grave, but who ever obtained comfort there ? Thence I went to the house in which I left her ; and looked at the spot where last we knelt in prayer, and where we ex- changed the parting kiss. . . . " It seems that her head was much affected and she said but little. She sometimes complained thus : ' The teacher is long in coming, and the missionaries are long in coming, I must die alone and leave my little one, but as it is the will of God, I acquiesce in his will. I am not afraid of death, but I am alraid I shall not be able to bear these pains. Tell the teacher that the disease was most violent, and I could ^ot write; tell him how I suffered and died ; tell him all you see.' . . When she could not notice anything else, she would still call the child to her, and charge the nurse to be kind to it, and indulge it in everything till its father should return. The last day or two she lay almost senseless and motionless, on one side, her head reclin- ing on her arm, her eyes closed, and at eight in the LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 177 ever, ing, with one exclamation of distress in the Bur- rnan language, she ceased to breathe." From the physician who attended her he afterwards learned that the fatal termination of her disease, was chiefly owing to the weakness of her constitution oc- casioned by the severe privations, and long-protracted sufferings which she endured at Ava. " And oh !" adds her husband, " With what meekness, patience magnanimity and Christian fortitude, she bore those sufferings ; and can I wish they had been less ? Can I sacriligiously wish to rob her crown of a single gem ? Much she saw and suffered of the evils of this evil world ; and eminently was she qualified to relish and enjoy the pure and holy rest into which she has enter- ed. True she has been taken from a sphere in which she was singularly qualified, by her natural disposition, her winning manners, her devoted zeal, and her per- fect acquaintance with the language, to be extensively serviceable to the cause of Christ; true she has been torn from her husband's bleeding heart and from her darling babe ; but infinite wisdom and love have pre- sided, as ever, in this most afflicting dispensation. Faith decides that all is right." To show that Mrs. Judson was already appreciated as she deserved by the European society in Amherst, we will subjoin part of a letter from Captain F. of that place to a friend in Rangoon : " I shall not attempt to TT* 178 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. give you an account of the gloom which the death of this amiable woman has thrown over our little society, you who were so well acquainted with her, will feel her loss more deeply ; but we had just known her long enough to value her acquaintance as a blessing in this remote corner. I dread the effect it will have on pool Judson. I am sure you will take every care that this mournful intelligence may be opened to him as care- fully as possible." In the Calcutta Review of 1848, we find this noble tribute to her memory : " Of Mrs. Judson little is known in the noisy world. Few comparatively are acquainted with her name, few with her actions, but if any woman sine the first arrival of the white strangers on the shores of India, has on that great theatre of war, stretching between the mouth of the Irrawady and the borders of the Hindoo Rush, rightly earned for herself the title of a heroine, Mrs. Judson has, by her doings and sufferings, fairly earned^ the dis- tinction a distinction, be it said, which her true woman's nature would have very little appreciated. Still it is right that she should be honored by the world Her sufferings were far more unendurable, her heroism far more noble, than any which in more recent times have been so much pitied and so much applauded ; but she was a simple missionary's wife, an American by birth, and she told her tale with an art- LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 179 less modesty writing only what it became her to write, treating only of matters that became a woman. Her captivity, if so it can be called, was voluntarily endured. She of her own free will shared the suffer- ings of her husband, taking to herself no credit for anything she did ; putting her trust in God, and pray ing to him to strengthen her human weakness. She was spared to breathe once again the free air of liberty, but her troubles had done the work of death on her delicate frame, and she was soon translated to heaven. She was the real heroine^ The annals in the East present us with no parallel." On the 26th of April, Mr. Judson writes, "My sweet little Maria lies by the side of her fond mother. Her complaint proved incurable. The work of death went forward, and after the usual process, excruciating to a parent's feelings, she ceased to breathe on the 24th inst., at 3 o'clock P.M., aged 2 years and 3 months. We then closed her faded eyes, and bound up her discolored lips, and folded her little hands the exact pattern of her mother's on her cold breast. The next morning we made her last bed, under the hope tree, (Hopia,) in the small enclosure which sur- rounds her mother's lonely grave." Many months later, he wrote ; " You ask many questions about our sufferings at Ava, but how can J answer them now ? There would be some pleasure in 180 LIFE OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. reviewing those scenes if she were alive ; now I can- not. The only reflection that assuages the anguish of retrospection is, that she now rests far away, where no spotted-laced executioner can fill her heart with terror ; where no unfeeling magistrate can extort the scanty pittance which she had preserved through every risk to sustain her fettered husband and famish- ing babe ; no more exposed to lie on a bed of languish- ment, stung with the uncertainty what would become of her poor husband and child when she was gone. No, she has her little ones around her, I trust, and has taught them to praise the source whence their deliver- ance flowed. Her little son, his soul enlarged tc angel's size, was perhaps first to meet her at heaven's portals, and welcome his mother to his own abode and her daughter followed her in six short months." . . . " And when we all meet in Heaven when all have arrived, and we find all safe, forever safe, and our Saviour ever safe and glorious, and in him all his be- loved oh shall we not be happy, and ever praise him who has endured the cross to wear and confer such a crown !" PART II, THE LTFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. SECOND WIFE OF REV. ADONIEAM JUDSON, D.D. (Extract of a Letter from Mr. Jitd^on.) * I exceedingly regret that there is no portrait of the second as of the first Mrs. Jndson. Her soft blue eyes, her mild aspect, her lovely fact- and elegant form, have never been delineated on canvass. They must soon pass away from the memory even of her children, but they will remain forever enshrined in her husband's heart." LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. CHAPTER I. BIRTH AND EDUCATION. POETICAL TALENT. IN an aiticle in the North American Review of 1835, we find the following admirable sentiments : ' It is impossible to peruse the written life of any man or woman who has manifested great intellectual or moral power, whether in a holy cause or an unholy one, without a strong admiration and a deep sympathy, and a powerful impulse toward imitation. The soul is awakened, the active powers are roused, the contem- plation of high achievement kindles emulation ; and well would it be were the character of those leading minds, which thus draw after them the mass of man- kind, always virtuous and noble. But in the vast ma- jority of instances, the leaders of mankind, are in- dividuals whose principles and motives the Christian must condemn, as hostile to the spirit of the gospel. More precious therefore, is the example of that pious 184 LIFE OP SARAH B. JUDSON. few who have devoted themselves with pure hearts fervently, to the glory of God, and the good of man, and whose energy of purpose, and firmness of principle, and magnanimity in despising difficulty and danger, and suffering and death, in the accomplishment of a noble end, rouse into active admiration all who con- template their glorious career." Such a ' glorious career' was that of the honored missionary whose life has been sketched in the former part of this volume ; and such too was hers who forms the subject of the present memoir. Sarah B. Hall was the eldest of thirteen children. Her parents were Ralph and Abiah Hall, who removed during her in- fancy from Alstead, New Hampshire, the place of her birth, to Salem, in the State of Massachusetts. Her parents not being wealthy, she was early trained to those habits of industry, thoughtfulness and self-denial which distinguished her through life. Children so situated are sometimes pitied by those who consider childhood as the proper season for careless mirth and reckless glee ; but they often form characters of solid excellence rarely possessed by those to whom fortune has been more indulgent. Their struggle with ob- stacles in the way of improvement, and final triumph over them, is an invaluable preparation for the rude conflicts of life ; their ingenuity is quickened by the hourly necessity of expedients to meet emergencies , LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 186 and the many trials which are unavoidable in their circumstances, and which must be met with energy and resolution, give habits of patient endurance, and noble courage. From all the accounts which we have of her> Sarah must have been a most engaging child. Gentle and affectionate in disposition, and persuasive and winning in manners, there was yet an ardor and en- thusiasm in her character, combined with a quiet firmness and perseverance, that ensured success in whatever she attempted, and gave promise of the lofty excellence to which she afterwards attained. All who have sketched her character notice one peculiarity and it is one which commonly attends high merit her modest unobtrusiveness. She was very fond of little children, and easily won their affections ; but showed little disposition even in childhood, to mingle in the sports of those of her own age. This arose from no want of cheerful- ness in her bosom ; but from a certain thoughtfulness, and fondness for intellectual exercises which were early developed in her character. Her principle, as well as her fondness for her mother, led her never to shrink from what are termed domestic duties, but her heart was not in them as it was in study and meditation. An illustration of this trait was recently related by her brother. Sarah was 186 LIFTS OF SARAH B. JUDSON, repeating some lines on the death of Nancy Cornelius, which attracted the attention of her mother, who asked her where she had learned them. With some hesitation the child confessed that she had composed them the day before, while engaged in some domestic , avocation, during which her unusual abstracedness had been noticed. Her early poetical attempts evince uncQmmon facility in versification ; and talent, that if cultivated might have placed her high in the ranks of those who have trod the flowery paths of literature ; but hers was a higher vocation ; and poetry, which was the delightful recreation of her childhood, and never utterly neglected in her riper years, was never to her anything more than a recreation. Her effusions at the age of thirteen are truly re- markable, when we consider the circumstances under which they were written. One, which is given by her biographer as it was probably amended by the ' cultivated taste of later years,' now lies before me as it was first written ; and the improved copy, though greatly superior in beauty to the first, seems to me to lack the vigor and energy, which more than atone for the many blemishes of the other. Our readers shall judge. --We insert the childish composition ; the other is to be found in her graceful memoir by ' Fanny For- rester.' She calls it " a Versification of David's lament over Saul and Jonathan." LIFE OF SARAH B. : JDSON. 187 The ' beauty of Israel' forever is fled, And low lie the noble and strong; Ye daughters of music encircle the dead, And chant the funereal song. O never let Gath know their sorrowful doom, Nor Askelon hear of their fate ; Their daughters would scoff while we lay in the it. tub, The relics of Israel's great. As strong as young lions were they in the field ; Like eagles they never knew fear ; As dark autumn clouds were the studs of their shield, And swifter than wind flew their spear. My brother, my friend, must I bid thee adieu f Ah yes, I behold thy deep wound Thy bosom, once warm as my tears that fast flow, Is colder than yonder clay mound. Ye mountains of Gilboa, never may dew Descend on your verdure so green ; Loud thunder may roar, and fierce lightning may glJW But never let showers be seen. Your verdure may scorch in the bright blazing sun, The night-blast may level your wood ; For beneath it, unhallowed, were broken and thrown The arms of the chosen of God. Ye daughters of Israel, snatch from your brow Those garlands of eglantine fair ; Let cypress and nightshade, the emblems of woe, Be wreathed in your beautiful hair. Approach, and with sadness encircle tl e dead And chant the funereal song The ' beauty of Israel' forever is fled, And low lie the noble and strong. 188 LIFE OF SAKAH B. JUDSON. Some other effusions, probably of a later date, we will here insert, not only for their merit, but to show what those powers were which she sacrificed, when she turned from the cultivation of her fancy, to that of her higher and nobler faculties. ENCAMPMENT OF ISRAELITES AT ELIM. " Slowly and sadly, through the desert waste, The fainting tribes their dreary pathway traced ; Far as the eye could reach th' horizon round, Did one vast sea of sand the vision bound. No verdant shrub, nor murmuring brook was near, The weary eye and sinking soul to cheer ; No fanning zephyr lent its cooling breath, But all was silent as the sleep of death ; Their very footsteps fell all noiseless there As stifled by the moveless, burning air ; And hope expired in many a fainting breast, And many a tongue e'en Egypt's bondage blest Hark ! through the silent waste, what murmur breaks f What scene of beauty 'mid the desert wakes ? Oh I 'tis a fountain 1 shading trees are there, And their cool freshness steals out on the air 1 With eager haste the fainting pilgrims rush, Where Elira's cool and sacred waters gush ; Prone on the bank, where murmuring fountains flow, Their wearied, fainting, listless forms they throw ; Deep of the vivifying waters drink, Then rest in peace and coolness on the brink, While the soft zephyrs, and the fountain's flow, Breathe their sweet lullaby in cadence low. Oh ! to the way-worn pilgrim's closing eyes, How rare the beauty that about him lies 1 Each leaf that quivers on the waving trees, Each wave that swells and murmurs in the breeae, LIFE OF SAKAH B. JUDSON. 1S9 Brings to his grateful heart a thrill of bliss, And wakes each nerve to life and happiness. When day's last flush had faded from the sky, And night's calm glories rose upon the eye, Sweet hymns of rapture through the palm-trees broke, And the loud timbrels deep response awoke ; Rich, full of melody the concert ran, Of praise to God, of gratitude in man, While, as at intervals, the music fell, Was heard, monotonous, the fountain's swell, That in their rocky shrines, flowed murmuring th%re, And song and coolness shed along the air ; Night mantled deeper, voices died away, The deep-toned timbrel ceased its thrilling sway ; And there, beside, no other music gushing, Were heard the solitary fountains rushing, In melody their song around was shed, And lulled the sleepers on their verdant bed." " COME OVER AND HELP US. 1 Ye, on whom the glorious gospel, Shines with beams serenely bright, Pity the deluded nations, Wrapped in shades of dismal night ; Ye, whose bosoms glow with rapture, At the precious hopes they bear ; Ye, who know a Saviour's mercy, Listen to our earnest prayer 1 See that race, deluded, blinded, Bending at yon horrid shrine ; Madness pictured in their faces, Emblems of the frantic mind ; They have never heard of Jesus, Never to th' Eternal prayed ; Paths of death and woe they're treading, Christian ! Christian ! come and aid ? 190 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. By that rending shriek of horror Issuing from the flaming pile, By the bursts of mirth that follow, By that Brahmin's fiend-like smile By the infant's piercing cry, Drowned in Ganges' rolling wave ; By the mother's tearful eye, Friends of Jesus, come and save 1 By that pilgrim, weak and hoary, ** Wandering far from friends and home Vainly seeking endless glory At the false Mahomet's temb ; By that blind, derided nation, Murderers of the Son of God, Christians, grant us our petition, Ere we lie beneath the sod 1 By the Afric's hopes so wretched, Which at death's approach shall fly By the scalding tears that trickle From the slave's wild sunken eye By the terrors of that judgment, Which shall fix our final doom ; Listen to our cry so earnest; Friends of Jesus, come, oh, come By the martyrs' toils and sufferings, By their patience, zeal, and love ; By the promise of the Mighty, Bending from His throne above ; By the last command so precious, Issued by the risen God ; Christians ! Christians ! come and help as. Ere we lie beneath the sod 1" Sarah, from her earliest years took great delight in reading. At four years, says her brother, she could LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 191 read readily in any common book. Her rank in hei classes in school was always high, and her teachers felt a pleasure in instructing her. On one occasion, when about thirteen, she was compelled to signify to the principal of a female seminary, that her circum- tances would no longer permit her to enjoy its ad- vantages. The teacher, unwilling to lose a pupil who was an honor to the school, and who so highly appre- ciated its privileges, remonstrated with her upon her intention, and finally prevailed on her to remain. Soon after she commenced instructing a class of small chil- dren, and was thus enabled to keep her situation in the seminary, without sacrificing her feelings of inde- pendence. Her earliest journals, fragmentary as they are, dis- close a zeal and ardor in self-improvement exceedingly unusual. " My mother cannot spare me to attend school this winter, but I have begun to pursue my studies at home." Again : " My parents are not in a situation to send me to school this summer, so I must make every exertion in my power to improve at home." Again, in a note to a little friend, " I feel very anxious to adopt some plan for our mutual improve- ment." How touching are these simple expressions ! How severely do they rebuke the apathy of thousands of young persons, who allow golden opportunities of improvement to slip away from then forever oppor 192 LIFE OF SAKAH B. JUDSON. tunities which to Sarah Hall and such as she, were of priceless value ! Yet it is not. one of the least of the compensations with which the providence of God abounds, that the very lack of favorable circumstances is sometimes most favorable to the development of latent resources. Thus it was with Sarah. Hei whole career shows that her mind had been early trained and disciplined in that noblest of all schools, the school of adverse fortune. CHAPTER II. XWVEKSION. BIAS TOWARD A MISSIONARY LIFE. AOQUAnWANOK MR. BOARDilAX. AMIABLE as she was, and conscientious in a degree not usual, Sarah knew that " yet one thing she lacked;" and this knowledge often disquieted her. But her first deep and decided convictions of sin, seem to have been produced, about the year 1820, under the preach- ing of Mr. Cornelius. Her struggles of mind were fear- ful, and she sunk almost to the verge of despair ; but hope dawned at last, and she was enabled to conse- crate her whole being to the service of her Maker. She soon after united with the first Baptist church in Salem, under the care of Dr. Bolles. The missionary spirit was early developed in her heart. Even before her conversion, her mind was often exercised with sentiments of commiseration for the situation of ignorant heathen and idolaters ; and after that event it was the leading idea of her life. The cause of this early bias is unknown, but it was shown in her conversations, her letters and notes to friends, and in her early poetical effusions. She even 13 ' 194 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. tremblingly investigated her own fitness to become * vessel of mercy to the far off, perishing heathen ; a,.d then, shrinking from what seemed to her the presump- tuous thought, she gave herself with new zeal to the work of benefitting those immediately around her. ' Shortly after her conversion," says her brother, " she observed the destitute condition of the children in the neighborhood in which she resided. With the assist- ance of some young friends as teachers, she organized, and continued through the favorable portions of the year, a Sunday-school, of which she assumed the responsibility of superintendent ; and at the usual an- nual celebrations, she with her teachers and scholars joined in the exercises which accompany that festi- val." " It is my ardent desire," she writes to a friend : ' that the glorious work of reformation may extend till ?very knee shall bow to the living God. For this ex- pected, this promised era, let us pray earnestly, un- ceasingly, and with faith. How can I be so inactive, when 1 know that thousands are perishing in this land of grace ; and millions in other lands are at this very moment kneeling before senseless idols !" And in her journal " Sinners perishing all around me, and I almost panting to tell the far heathen of Christ! Surely this is wrong. I will no longer in- dulge the vain foolish wish, but endeavor to be usrml LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 195 in the position where Providence has placed me. ] can pray for deluded idolaters, and for those who labor among them, and this is a privilege indeed." This strong bias of her mind toward a missionary life, was well known to her mother, who still remem- bers with a tender interest an incident connected with .t. Sarah had been deeply affected by the death of Colman, who in the midst of his labors among the heathen, had suddenly been called to his reward. Some time afterward she returned from an evening meeting, and with a countenance radiant with joy, an- nounced what her pastor had mentioned in the meet- ing that a successor to Colman had been found ; a young man in Maine named Boardman had deter- mined to raise and bear to pagan Burmah the standard which had fallen from his dying hand. With that maternal instinct which sometimes forebodes a future calamity howeve^improbable, her mother turned away from her daughter's joyous face, for the thought flash ed involuntarily through her mind, that the young missionary would seek as a companion of his toils, a kindred spirit ; and where would he find one so con- genial as the lovely being before her ? Her fears were realized. Some lines written by " the enthusiastic Sarah" on the death of Colman, met the eye of the " young man in Maine," who was touched and interested by the spirit which breathes in 196 LIFE OF SAKAH B. JUDSON. them, and did not rest till he had formed an acquaint ance with their author. This acquaintance was fol- 'owed by an engagement ; and in about two years Sarah's ardent aspirations were gratified she was a missionary to the heathen. But we are anticipating events ; and will close this chapter with extracts from the " Lines on the dath of Colman," of which we have spoken. " "Pis the voice of deep sorrow from India a shore, '/he flower of our churches is withered, is deao, The gem that shone brightly will sparkle, no more, And the tears of the Christian profusely are shed Two youths of Columbia, with hearts glowing warm Embarked on the billows far distant to rove, To bear to the nations all wrapp'd in thick gloom, fhe lamp of the gospel the message of love. But Wheelock now slumbers beneath the cold wave, And Colman lies low in the dark cheerless grave. Mourn, daughters of India, mourn ! The rays of that star, dear and bright, That co PTmjt 1 / n\ Arracan shone Are shf.tu'ir' ir blick clouds of night, F it Colman is gone I Oh Colman ! thy father weeps not o'er thy grave ; Thy heart-riven mother ne'er sighs o'er thy dust; But the long Indian grass o'er thy far tomb shall wave, And the drops of the evening descend on the just. Cold, silent and dark is thy narrow abode But not long wilt thou sleep in that dwelling of gloom, For soon shall be heard the great trump of our God To summon all nations to hear their last doom ; LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 197 A garland of amaranth then shall be thine, And thy name on the martyrs' bright register shine. O what glory will burst on thy view When are placed by the Judge of the earth, The flowers that in India grew By thy care, in the never-pale wreath Encircling thy broir! CHAPTER HI. ACCOUNT OF GEORGE DANA BOAliDMAN. WE L'78 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. stand and see the storm beating upon him, till his mattress and pillows were drenched with rain. We hastened on, and soon came to a Tavoy house. The inhabitants at first refused us admittance, and we ran for shelter into the out-houses. The shed I hap- pened to enter, proved to be the ' house of their gods/ and thus I committed an almost unpardonable offence. After some persuasion they admitted us into the house, or rather verandah, for they would not allow us to sleep inside, though I begged the privilege for my sick husband with tears. t In ordinary cases, perhaps, they would have been hospitable ; but they knew that Mr. Boardman was a teacher of a foreign religion, and that the Karens in our company had embraced that religion. " At evening worship, Mr. Boardman requested Mr Mason to read the thirty-fourth Psalm. He seemed almost spent, and said, ' This poor perishing dust will soon be laid in the grave ; but God can employ other lumps of clay to perform his will, as easily as he has this poor unworthy one.' I told him, I should like to sit up and watch by him, but he objected, and said in a tender supplicating tone, 'Cannot we sleep together?' The rain still continued, and his cot was wet, so that he was obliged to lie on the bamboo floor. Having found a place where our little boy could sleep without drnger of falling through openings in the floor, I threw LIFE OF SAEAH B. JUDSON. 279 myself down, without undressing, beside my beloved husband. I spoke to him often during the night, and he said he felt well, excepting an uncomfortable feel- ing in his mouth and throat. This was somewhat relieved by frequent washings with cold water. Mis- erably wretched as his situation was, he did not com- plain ; on the contrary, his heart seemed overflowing with gratitude. ' O,' said he, ' how kind and good our Father in heaven is to me; how many are racked with pain, while I, though near the grave, am almost free from distress of body. I suffer nothing, nothing to what you, my dear Sarah, had to endure last year, when I thought I must lose you. And then I have you to move me so tenderly. I should have sunk into the grave ere this, but for your assiduous atten- tion. And brother Mason is as kind to me as if he were my own brother. And then how many, in ad- dition to pain of body, have anguish of soul, while my mind is sweetly stayed on God.' On my saying, ' I hope we shall be at home to-morrow night, where you can lie on your comfortable bed, and I can nurse you as I wish,' he said, ' I want nothing that the world can afford, but my wife and friends ; earthly conveni- ences and comforts are of little consequence to one so near heaven. I only want them for your sake. 5 In ihe morning we thought him a little better, though 1 perceived, when I gave him his sago, that his breath 280 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. was veiy short. He, however, took rather more nourishment than usual, and spoke about the manner of his conveyance home. We ascertained that by waiting until twelve o'clock, we could go the greater part of the way by water. " At about nine o'clock, his hands and feet grew cold, and the affectionate Karens rubbed them all the forenoon, excepting a few moments when he request- ed to be left alone. At ten o'clock, he was much dis- tressed for breath, and I thought the long dreaded mo- ment had arrived. I asked him, if he felt as if he was going home ' not just yet,' he replied. On giving him a little wine and water, he revived. Shortly after, he said, ' You were alarmed without cause jusl now, dear I know the reason of the distress I felt, but am too weak to explain it to you.' In a few mo- ments he said to me, ' Since you spoke to me auout George, I have prayed for him almost incessantly more than in all my life before.' " It drew near twelve, the time for us to go to the ooat. We were distressed at the thought of removing nim, when evidently so near the last struggle, though we did not think it so near as it really was. But there was no alternative. The chilling frown of the iron- faced Tavoyan was to us as if he was continually saying, ' be gone.' I wanted a little broth for my ex piring husband, but on asking them for a fowl they LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 281 said they had none, though at that instant, on glancing my eye through an opening in the floor, I saw three or four under the house. My heart was well nigh breaking. " We hastened to the boat, which was only a few steps from the house. The Karens carried Mr. Board- man first, and as the shore was muddy, 1 was obliged to wait till they could return for me. They took me immediately to him ; but O, the agony of my soul, when I saw the hand of death was on him! He was looking me full in the face, but his eyes were changed, not dimmed, but brightened, and the pupils so dilated, that I feared he could not see me. I spoke to hi in- kissed him but he made no return, though I fanciec that he tried to move his lips. I pressed his hand, knowing that if he could, he would return the pres- sure ; but, alas ! for the first time, he was insensible to my love, and forever. I had brought a glass of wine and water already mixed, and a smelling-bottle, but neither was of any avail to him now. Agreeably to a previous request, I called the faithful Karens, who loved him so much, and whom he had loved unto death, to come and watch his last gentle breathings, for there was no struggle. " Never, my dear parents, did one of our poor fallen race have less to contend with, in the last enemy. Little George was brought to see his dying father, but 282 LIFE OP SARAH B. JUDSON. he was t*>o young to know there was cause for grief. When Sarah died, her father said to George, ' Poor little boy, you will not know to-morrow what you have lost to-day.' A deep pang rent my bosom at the recollection of this, and a still deeper one succeeded when the thought struck me, that though my little boy may not know to-morrow what he has lost to-day, yet when years have rolled by, and he shall have felt the unkindness of a deceitful, selfish world, he will know. " Mr. Mason wept, and the sorrowing Karens knelt down in prayer to God that God, of whom their ex- piring teacher had taught them that God, into whose presence the emancipated spirit was just entering that God, with whom they hope and expect to be happy forever. My own feelings I will not attempt to describe. You may have some faint idea of them, when you re- collect what he was to me, how tenderly I loved him, and, at the same time, bear in mind the precious promises to the afflicted. " We came in silence down the river, and landed about three miles from our house. The Karens placed his precious remains on his little bed, and with feelings which you can better imagine than I describe, we pro- c s eeded homewards. The mournful intelligence had reached town before us, and we were soon met by ^Moung Ing, the Burman preacher. At the sight of LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 283 is, he burst into a flood of tears. Next, we met the two native Christian sisters, who lived with us. But the moment of most bitter anguish was yet to come on our arrival at the house. They took him into the sleeping-room, and when I uncovered his face, for a few moments, nothing was heard but reiterated sobs.. He had not altered the same sweet smile, with which he was wont to welcome me, sat on his countenance. His eyes had opened in bringing him, and all present seemed expecting to hear his voice ; when the thought, that it was silent forever, rushed upon us, and filled us with anguish sudden and unutterable. There were the Burman Christians, who had listened so long, with edification and delight, to his preaching there were the Karens, who looked to him as their guide, their earthly all there were the scholars whom he had taught the way to heaven, and the Christian sisters, whose privilege it had been to wash, as it were, his feet. " Early next morning, his funeral was attended, and all the Europeans in the place, with many natives, were present. It may be some consolation to you to know that everything was performed in as decent a manner, as if he had been buried in our own dear na- tive land. By his own request, he was interred on the south side of our darling first-born. It is a pleasant circumstance to me, that they sleep side by side. But, 284 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. it is infinitely moie consoling to think, that their glori- fied spirits' have met in that blissful world, where sin and death never enter, and sorrow is unknown. " Praying that we may be abundantly prepared to enter into our glorious rest, I remain, my dear parents, your deeply afflicted, but most affectionate child, " SARAH H. BOARDMAN." Well might Mr. Judson say, " One of the brightest luminaries of Burmah is extinguished, dear brother Boardman is gone to his eternal rest. He fell gloriously at tne head of his troops, in the arms of victory, thirty- seven wild Karens having been brought into the camp of our king since the beginning of the year, besides the thirty-two that were brought in during, the two preceding years. Disabled by wounds, he was obliged through the whole of his last expedition, to be carried on a litter ; but his presence was a host, and the Holy Spirit accompanied his dying whispers with almighty influence. Such a death, next to that of martyrdom, must be glorious in the eyes of Heaven. Well may we rest assured, that a triumphal crown awaits him on the great day, and ' Well done, good and faithful ser- vant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!' " This is in the spirit -of Montgomery's noble hymn, with an ex- tract from which we will close the account of George Dana Boardman. LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 285 Soldier of Christ, well done 1 Rest from thy loved employ: fhe battle fought, the victory won, Enter thy Master's joy. At midnight came the cry, To meet thy God prepare 1 He woke, and caught his Captain's eye : Then, strong in faith and prayer, His spirit, with a bound, Left its encumbering clay ; His tent, at sunrise, on the ground, A darkened ruin lay." CHAPTER XII. LETTERS FROM MRS. B. HER DECISION TO REMAIN IN ISUKMAli. HEf MISSIONARY LABORS. HER TRIALS. SCHOOLS. MRS. BOARDMAX found the society of Mr. and Mrs Mason a sweet solace to her sad heart. They joined her at Tavoy in the spring of 1831, and assisted her in her school, besides studying the language. Her letters to her sister show a spirit chastened and saddened, but not crushed by sorrow, and still tenderly solicitous for the spiritual welfare of her dear brothers and sisters in America. She urges them by every motive, to em- brace that Saviour she had found so precious. After telling them of the "glorious revival among the Karens," and of the baptism of seventy-three ot them, she asks how they feel when they hear of the conver- sion of these poor children of the wilderness ? " Some," she says, " indeed most of those who have been bap- tized, were impressed with the infinite importance of religion at the first time of hearing the gospei, and gave themselves no rest till they found it in the Saviour. O, I tremble and can scarcely hold my pen while I think of the awful account you must render to LIFE OF SAKAH B. JUDSON. 287 God, if after all your privileges, you fall short of Heaven at last. . . . How can you resist any longer: You cannot, you will not something tells me you wil) give yourself immediately, unreservedly to that com passionate Saviour whose love was stronger thar death." Her confidence was justified ; for some months later she says, " Dearly beloved brother and sister, a parcel of letters from America has reached us, which we eagerly opened, . . . and received the delightful, heart- cheering intelligence that you have both become fol- lowers of Jesus, and have openly professed his name, and that two others of the dear children are serious. . . . Oh I have wept hours at the thought of God's goodness in giving me such joyful news in the midst of my sorrows. And is it indeed true that my own dear Harriet and my dearly loved brother are adopted into the family of God's chosen ones ? Are your names really written in the Lamb's book of life ? . . . And do each of you when alone in your closet before your Heavenly Father, feel that he draws near to you, and that sweeter than all the pleasures of the world is com munion with him ? O I know that you do ; and now do I feel a union with you unknown before. How sweet to feel, that while wandering, a lonely desolate widow, some of those whom I most love, remember me every day before a throne of grace. Now when 288 LIFE OF SARAR B. JUDSON. I kneel in prayer the voice of praise is on my lips. At each thought of home, my heart leaps for joy, and I feel as if relieved of a heavy burden which continually weighed down my spirits while thinking of my absent brothers and sisters. . . . The accounts of the glorious revivals in different parts of our dear native land have greatly refreshed our hearts, and we are ready to ex- claim, surely the millennium has dawned for happy America. Perhaps you think such intelligence makes me wish to return. But no, my dear brothers ana sisters, it makes me feel just the reverse. I do most ardently long to labor in this dark land till the day dawns upon us, ... rather I should say till the Sun of Righteousness reaches the meridian of Burmah, for the day has already dawned, and the eastern Karen mountains, enveloped for ages past in midnight gloom, are rejoicing in his bright beams. " Our schools are very flourishing. . . . We have sixty scholars in town, and about fifty among the Ka- rens in the jungles. I feel desolate, lonely, and some- times deeply distressed at my great and irreparable loss, but I bless God I am not in despair. My darling George is in good health, and is a source of much comfort, though of deep anxiety to me. He is learning to read, but is not so forward as children at home. How it comforts my heart to be able to ask you to pray for him !" LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. . 289 In a hurried postscript she adds : " There are more than eighty Karens at our house, upwards of twenty of them applicants for baptism.'' In another letter : " Death now seems nearer to me, and Heaven dearer than before I was afflicted ; . . . my afflictions are precisely the kind my soul needed. . . I receive from my dear friends the Masons, every possible kindness. But alas ! the hours of loneliness and bitter weeping I endure, are known only to God. But still Jesus has sweetened the cup, and I would not that it should have passed my lip." Three courses of life were now open to Mrs. Board- man. Either to devote herself to her domestic duties, manage her household, educate her darling boy, and in quiet seclusion pass the weary days of her widow- hood ; or looking abroad on the spiritual wants of the people around her, knowing that if one devoted laborer was gone there was the more need of activity in those that remained, she might continue to employ her time and faculties in instructing and elevating those in whose service her husband had worn out his Jife ; or, thirdly, she might take her child, her " only one," and return to the land of her birth, where she still had dear parents, brothers and sisters, who would welcome her with open arms, and where she could give her son those advantages which he never could have in a heathen land. To adopt e ther the first or the 19 M 290 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSOJS. last of these courses, she was urged by her natural disposition, which was singularly modest and retiring, her feeble health, the enervating influence of the cli- mate, and above all by the strong tendency to self-in- dulgence which always accompanies a heart-rending sorrow. "But oh," she says in a letter to a friend, "these poor, inquiring and Christian Karens, and the school-boys, and the Burmese Christians" . . . and the thought of these made her more than willing to adopt the second course ; for she says, " My beloved husband wore out his life in this glorious cause ; and that remembrance makes me more than ever attached to the work and the people for whose salvation he labored till death." During her husband's life-time, Mrs. Boardman had of course little to perform of what could properly be called missionary labor; even her teaching in the schools was very often interrupted by sickness, and the schools themselves were often broken up by unto- ward events which the Missionaries could not control. Now, however, new circumstances called her to new and untried duties. Yet there was no sudden or violent change in her mode of life. The honored lips that had instructed, and guided, and comforted the ignorant natives, were sealed in death ; yet still those natives continued to turn their eyes and their steps to the loved residence of their teacher whenever they r LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 291 found themselves oppressed with difficulty or Jistress , and could the widow of that venerated teacher refuse to those poor disciples any guidance or consolation it was in her power to bestow? No; quietly and meekly she instructed the ignorant, consoled the afflicted, led inquirers to her Saviour, and warned the impenitent to flee to him ; and if insensibly she thus came to fill a place from which her nature would instinctively have shrunk, there was still about her such a modest and womanly grace, combined with such a serious and dignified purpose of soul, that the most fastidious could have found nothing to censure, while lovers of the cause she bad espoused, found everything to commend. "I rejoice," writes a friend in this country to her, on hearing of her self-sacrificing labors, " that your hus- band's mantle has fallen upon you . . . and that more than ever before, it is in your heart to benefit the heathen." That her duties were arduous, her letters fully prove In one of them she says, "Every moment of my time is occupied from sunrise till ten in the evening. It is late-bed time, and I am surrounded by five Karen women, three of whom arrived this afternoon from the jungle, after being separated from us nearly five months by the heavy rains. The Karens are begin- ning to come to us in companies; and with them, and our scholars in the town, and the care of my darling 292 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. .boy. you will scarce think I have much leisure fot Setter- writing." Thus she toiled on, cheered by the consciousness that she was in the path of duty : that her husband if permitted from his home in heaven to watch over the spot he most loved on earth, would smile approvingly on her 'labors ; and encouraged by the affection of many of the disciples, and the interest awakened among some new inquirers. But it cannot be doubted that her trials were at least equal to her encouragements. Long before, Mr. B'oardman had written, "the thoughts of this people," the Burmans, "run in channels entirely different from ours. Their whole system has a tendency to cramp their intellectual powers; professedly -divine in its origin, it demands credence without evidence; it spurns improvement, disdains the suggestions of expe- rience, and flatly denies the testimony of the external senses. What a man sees -with his own eyes he is not to believe, because his Scriptures teach otherwise. . . . There is no fellowship of thought between them and us on any subject. Everything appears to them in a different light, they attribute everything to a different cause, seek a remedy of evils from a different quarter, and entertain, in fine, a set of thoughts and imagina- .ions totally different from ours." The Karens, it is 'rue, had fewer prejudices to be eradicated, and more LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 296 easily sympathized with the missionaries than the haughty, self-sufficient Burmans; but then their very docility made them liable to another danger, that of holding their new faith lightly, and parting with it easily. All these difficulties sometimes so pressed upon Mrs. Boardman, that she was ready to say, " It requires the patience of a Job and the wisdom of a Solomon to get on with this people ; much as I love them, and good as I think they are." She then spoke of the converts; in whom was implanted that grace which, so far as it operates on the heart, makes all, in a sense, one in Christ Jesus ; how then must she have been tried with those who would not repent and em- brace the only principles that could give her the least fellowship or communion with them ? Jan. 19, 1832. Mrs. Boardman writes of herself and her fellow-missionaries, Mr. and Mrs. Mason, "We meet with much encouragement in our schools, and our number of day-scholars is now about eighty. These, with the boarding schools, two village schools, ind about fifty persons who learn during the rainy season in the Karen jungle, make upwards of one hundred and seventy under our instruction. The scholars in the jungle cannot of course visit us often but a great many have come to be examined in their lessons, and we are surprised and delighted at the pro- gress they have made." 294 LIFE OF SAEAH B. JUDSON. Of course they had to employ, as teachers of these schools, natives, who needed constant supervision and superintendence. Some of these teachers were ex- ceedingly interesting persons. Of the death of one of them she writes, "Thah-oung continued in his school till two days before his death, although for a long time he had been very ill. He felt, then, that he must die, and said to his scholars, 'I can do no more God is calling me away from you, I go into His presence be not dismayed.' He was then carried to the house of his father, a few miles distant, and there he continu- ed exhorting and praying to the very last moment. His widow, who is not yet fifteen, is one of the loveliest of our desert blossoms." And afterwards in alluding to the same event, she says, " One of our best Karen teachers came to see us, and through him we heard that the disciples were well ; that they were living ip love, in the enjoyment of religion, and had nothing to distress them, but the death of their beloved teacher. Poor Moung Quay was obliged to turn away his face to weep several times while answering my inquiries. Oh how they feel the stroke that has fallen upon them ; And well they may, for he was to them a father and a guide." " The superintendence of the food and clothing of both the .boarding schools," she afterwards writes, "to- gether with the care of f.ve day-schools under native LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 295 teachers, devolves wholly on me. Our day-schools are growing every week more and more interesting. We cannot, it is true, expect to see among them so much progress, especially in Christianity, as our board- ers make; but they are constantly gaining religious knowledge, and will grow up with comparatively cor- rect ideas. They with their teachers attend worship regularly on Lord's-day. The day-schools are entirely supported at present by the Honorable Company's al- lowance, and the civil commissioner, Mr. Maingj appears much interested in their success " CHAPTER XIII. CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MES. BOARDMAN AND THE SUPERINTENDKNT. HER TOURS AMONG THE KARENS. HER PERSONAL APPEARANCE. HER ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE BURMAN LANGUAGE. DR. JUDSON'g TRANSLATION OF TilE BIBLE. AN interesting letter from the gentleman mentioned at the close of the last chapter, with Mrs. Boardman's reply, we will give entire, as they exhibit at once her firmness of principle, and the high respect she com- manded from the European residents in the country. "Tavoy, Aug. 24, 1833. " MY DEAR SIR, " Mr. Mason has handed me for perusal, the extract from your letter to Government, which you kindly sent him. I apprehend I have hitherto had wrong im- pressions in reference to the ground on which the Honorable Company patronize schools in their terri- tories; and I hope you will allow me to say, that it would not accord with my feelings and sentiments, to banish religious instruction from the schools under my care. I think it desirable for the rising generation of this Province, to become acquainted with useful sci- LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 29? ence; and the male part of the population, with the English language. But it is infinitely more important that they receive into their hearts our holy religion, which is the source of so much happiness in this state, and imparts the hope of a glorious immortality in tho vorld to come. Parents and guardians must know, that there is more or less danger of their children deserting the faith of their ancestors, if placed under the care of a Foreign Missionary; and the example of some of the pupils is calculated to increase such appre- hensions. Mr. Boardman baptized into the Christian religion several of his scholars. One of the number is now a devoted preacher; and notwithstanding the decease of their beloved and revered teacher, they all, with one unhappy exception, remain firm in the Chris- tian faith. " The success of the Hindoo College, where religious instruction was interdicted, may perhaps be urged in favor of pursuing a similar course in schools here. But it strikes me, that the case is different here, even admitting their course to be right. The overthrow of a system so replete with cruel and impure rites, as the Hindoo, or so degrading as the Mahometan, might be matter of joy, though no better religion were intro- duced in its stead. But the Burman system of mo- rality is superior to that of the nations round them, and to the heathen of ancient times, and is surpassed M* 298 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. only by the divine precepts of our blessed Saviour. Like all other merely human institutions, it is destitute of saving power; but its influence on the people, so far as it is felt, is salutary, and their moral charactei will, I should think, bear a comparison with that of any heathen nation in the world. The person who should spend his days in teaching them mere human science, (though he might undermine their false tenets,) by neglecting to set before them brighter hopes and purer principles, would, I imagine, live to very little purpose. For myself, sure I am, I should at last suffer the overwhelming conviction of having labored in vain. "With this view of things, you will not, my dear sir, be surprised at my saying, it is impossible for me to pursue a course so utterly repugnant to rny feelings, and so contrary to my judgment, as to banish religious instruction from the schools in my charge. It is what I am confident you yourself would not wish ; but I infer from a remark in your letter that such are thf terms on which Government affords patronage. It would be wrong to deceive the patrons of the schools ; ar4 if my supposition is correct, I can do no otherwise thnn request, that the monthly allowance be with- drawn. It will assist in establishing schools at Maul- rnair/, on a plan more consonant with the wishes of Government than mine has ever been. Meanwhile LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 299 [ trust, I shall be able to represent the claims of my pupils in such a manner, as to obtain support and countenance from those, who would wish the children to be taught the principles of the Christian faith. " Allow me, my dear sir, to subscribe myself, " Yours, most respectfully, "SARAH H. BOARDMAN." "MY DEAR MADAM, "I cannot do otherwise than honor and respect the sentiments conveyed in your letter, now received. You will, I hope, give me credit for sincerity, when I assure you, that in alluding to the system of instruc- tion pursued by you, it has ever been a source of pride to me, to point out the quiet way, in which your scholars have been made acquainted with the Christian religion. My own Government in no way proscribes the teaching of Christianity. The observations in my official letter are intended to support what I have before brought to the notice of Government, that all are received, who present themselves for instruction at your schools, without any stipulation as to theii becoming members of the Christian faith. I cannot express to you how much your letter has distressed me. It has been a subject of considera- tion with me, for some months past, how I could best succeed in establishing a college here, the scholars of 300 LIFE OF SAKAH B. JUDSON. which were to have been instructed in the same system, which you have so successfully pursued. Believe me, "Yours very faithfully, "A. D. MAINGY "Saturday." Appropriations were afterward made by the British government for schools throughout the Provinces "to be conducted on the plan of Mrs. Boardman's schools at Tavoy;" and although the propagation of Chris- tianity in the other schools was subsequently prohibit- ed, yet in her own, she always taught as her conscience dictated. It had been one of Mr. Boardman's practices to make frequent tours among the Karen villages, to preach the gospel, and strengthen the disciples and the feeble churches. Even from this duty, as far as the visitation was concerned, his widow did not shrink, although she did shrink from writing or speaking much on the subject; doubtless always regarding it as a cross, which although she might bear with patience, she would willingly lay down as soon as duty should per- mit. Attended by her faithful Karens, and her little boy borne in their arms, leaving Mr. Mason to his indispensable task of acquiring the language, she would thread the wild passes of the mountains, and the obscure paths of the jungle, fording the smaller streams LIFE OF SAKAH B. JUDSON. 301 and carried over the larger in a chair borne on bamboo poles by her followers, carrying joy and gladness to the hearts of the simple-minded villagers, and cheering her own by witnessing their constancy and fidelity. In her own inimitable style "Fanny Forrester" gives an account of an adventure of Mrs. Boardman during one of these excursions; in which the impression she made upon an English officer who encountered her far from civilized habitations, so unexpectedly that he almost mistook her for an angel visitant from a bettei sphere, was sufficiently pleasant to form the basis of a lasting friendship between them. Indeed there are many testimonials to Mrs. Boardman's personal loveli- ness and grace of manner. In Calcutta, where she resided nearly two years, she was regarded as a "finished lady;" and in a well- written tribute to her memory, published in the Mother's Journal, she is de- scribed as "of about middle stature, agreeable in per- sonal appearance, and winning in manners. The first impression of an observer respecting her in her youth, would be of a gentle, confiding, persuasive being, who would sweeten the cup of life to those who drank it with her. But further acquaintance would develop strength as well as loveliness of character. It would be seen that she could do and endure, as well as love and please. Sweetness and strength, gentleness and firmness, were in her character most happily blended 802 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. Her mind was both poetical and practical. She had a refined taste, and a love for the beautiful as well as the excellent." But all these fine gifts and endow- ments were consecrated ; the offering she had made on her Saviour's altar was unreserved; nor do we find that she ever cast back to the world where she might have shone so brilliantly, "one longing, lingering look." She is said by her fellow Missionaries to have made wonderful proficiency in the Burman language, and indeed she translated into it Bunyan's Pilgrim's Pro- gress. She loved the language much; and used to read the Scriptures in it in preference to reading them in English. She once said to Mrs. Mason, "I should be willing to learn Burmese, for the sake of reading the Scriptures in that language." The translation of the Scriptures into Burmese is a work for which Burmah is indebted to Dr. Judson, For many years this devoted servant of Christ em- ployed on this great work every moment he could spare from pastoral labor; and there is something truly sublime in the record he has left of the completion of it, in his Journal under date of Jan. 31, 1834: " THANKS BE TO GOD, I CAN NOW SAY, I HAVE ATTAINED! I have knelt down before him, with the last leaf in my hand, and imploring his forgiveness for all the sins which have polluted my labors in this department, and his aid in future efforts to remove the errors and im- LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 303 perfections which necessarily cleave to the work, I have commended it to his mercy and grace; I have dedicated it to his glory. May he make his own in- spired word, now complete in the Burman tongue, the grand instrument of filling all Burmah with songs and praises to our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ' Amen." CHAPTER XIV. MRS. BOARDMAN'S SECOND MARRIAGE. REMOVAL TO MAULMAIN. LETTER FROM MRS. JUDSON. HER SON SENT TO AMERICA. HER HUSBAND'S ILLNESS. ON the tenth of April, 1834, Mrs. Boardman was married to one whose character she afterwards declar- ed to be "a complete assemblage of all that woman could wish to love and honor," the Rev. Dr. Judson With him she removed to her new home in Maulmain, which had undergone wonderful changes since she left it in 1828. Then, the only church there had three native members ; now she found there three churches numbering two hundred members! Her duties now were different from what they had been, but not less important; and in a letter written to a very intimate friend one year after her marriage, we find her thus expressing herself: "I can truly say that the mission cause, and missionary labor is increasingly dear to me, every month of my life. .,$1 am now united with one whose heavenly spirit and example is deeply calculated to make me more devoted to the cause than I evei have been before. O that I may profit by such pre- cious advantages." LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 305 Many Missionaries had arrived from America and established themselves in different places ; several re- sided at Maulmain; so that Mrs. Judson, as we must now call her, could enjoy much Christian society be- sides that of the natives. But neither she nor her fellow-laborers had much time to devote exclusively to social intercourse. Beside schools to superintend, ana Bible-classes to conduct, and prayer-meetings to at- tend, societies were to be formed among the half-edu- cated native females in which they could be instructed in maternal and social duties. In addition to these cares, Mrs. Judson took upon herself the task of ac- quiring a new language, in order to instruct the Pe- guans, a people who had put themselves under the protection of the British, after revolting against the Burmans. This people were so numerous in Mau!main ; that the missionaries felt constrained to furnish them with instruction. Under these labors, Mrs. Judson's health again failed but after some weeks of suffering, she began to recover, and for many subsequent years -her health was unin- terrupted. In a letter written some time after, she accounts for her enjoyment of health, in the following manner: " When I first came up from Tavoy, I was thin and pale; and though I called myself pretty well, I had no appetite for food, and was scarce able to walk half a v 20 306 LIFE OF SARAH B. JQDSON. mile. Soon after, I was called to endure a long ana severe attack of illness, which brought me to the brink of the grave. I was never so low in any former illness, and the doctor who attended me, has since told me, that he had no hope of my recovery ; and that when he came to prescribe medicine for me, it was more out of regard to the feelings of my husband, than from any prospect of, its affording me relief. T lay confined to my bed, week after week, unable to move, except as Mr. Judson sometimes carried me in his arms from the bed to the couch for a change ; and even this once brought on a return of the disease, which very nearly cost me my life. * * I never shall forget the precious seasons enjoyed on that sick bed. Little George will tell you about it, if you should ever see him. I think he will always remember some sweet conversations I had with him, on the state of his soul, at that time. Dear child ! his mind was very tender, and he would weep on account of his sins, and would kneel down and pray with all the fervor and simplicity of childhood. He used to read the Bible to me every day, and commit little hymns to memory by my bedside. * * It pleased my Heavenly Father to raise me up again, although I was for a long time very weak. As soon as I was able, I commenced riding on horseback, and used to take a long ride every morning before sunrise. After a patient trial, I found LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 307 thai riding i-nproved my health; though many times I should ha--e become discouraged and given it up, but for the perseverance of my husband. After riding almost every day, for four or five months, I found my health so much improved, and gained strength so fast, that I began to think walking rrr.ght be substituted. About this time, my nice little pony died, and we com- menced a regular system of exercise on foot, walking at a rapid pace, far over the hills beyond the town, before the sun was up, every morning. We have continued this perseveringly up to the present time ; and, during these years, my health has been better than at any time previous, since my arrival in India ; and my constitution seems to have undergone an en- tire renovation." In " Burmah proper," that is, that part of Burmah not under British government, the native Christians enjoyed no toleration from the Government, and often suffered bitterly ; but in Maulmain, and other places in British Burmah, religion flourished, and converts were multiplied. Mr. Vinton, (a new missionary,) preached with great power in the Karen churches, and that people, says Mrs. Judson, " flocked into the king- dom by scores." Mr. Judson was revising his trans- lation of the Bible a task of five years' duration, and preaching to the Burmese church ; while Mrs. J instructed in the schools and translated into Peguan 308 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. such tracts as were thought most calculated to ac- quaint that people with Christian doctrine. She after- wards translated into that language the IN iw Testa, ment and the Life of Christ ; but on the arrival of Mr. Haswell, she gave up to him all her books and papers in this language, and only attended to it in r uture so far as to assist him in his studies. Of the severest trial to which Mrs. Judson was called during the remainder of her life she gives an account in the following eloquent words : " After de- liberation, accompanied with tears, and agony and prayers, I came to the conviction that it was my duty to send away my only child, my darling George, and yesterday he bade me a long farewell. . . . Oh I shall never forget his looks, as he stood by the door, and gazed at me for the last time. His eyes were filling with tears, and his little face red with suppressed emotion. But he subdued his feelings, and it was not till he had turned away, and was going down the steps that he burst into a flood of tears. I hur- ried to my room ; and on my knees, with my whole heart gave him up to God ; and my bursting heart was comforted from above. . . . My reason and judg- ment tell me that the good of my child requires that he should be sent to America ; and this of itself would support me in some little degree ; but when I view it as a sacrifice, made for the sake of Jesus, it becomes a LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 309 delightful privilege. ... I cannot but hope he wil 1 one day return to Burmah, a missionary of the cross, as his dear father was. . . . This is in some respects the severest trial I ever met with." It would be delightful to accompany the dear boy n his perilous journey to the Father-land, and to .transcribe the yearning and affectionate letters of his mother, both to him, and to those to whose charge he was entrusted they could not but heighten our opinion of her excellence in the maternal relation, as well as of the great sensibility of her heart ; but we are warned that our pages are swelling to too great a number. Ours is but a sketch, an outline ; those who would see the full length portrait of our heroine, must consult the glowing canvass of her bio- grapher and successor, " Fanny Forrester." Her next trial was, to see her beloved husband suffering with a severe cough, which she feared would end in pulmonary consumption. To avert this dreaded result, he was obliged to leave her and try a long sea- voyage. The account of their parting, and her touch- ng letters during his absence would greatly enrich our little sketch, had we room to copy them. We must find a place for one short extract from the letters. " Your little daughter and I have been praying for you this evening. ... At times the sweet hope that 310 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. you will soon return, restored to perfect health, buo^ 4 up my spirit, but perhaps you will find it necessary to go farther, a necessity from which I cannot but shrink with doubt and dread ; or you may come back only to die with me. This last agonizing thought crushes me down in overwhelming sorrow. I hope I do not feel unwilling that our Heavenly Father should do as he hinks best with us ; but my heart shrinks from the prospect of living in this dark, sinful, friendless world, without you. . . . But the most satisfactory view is to look away to that blissful world, where separations are unknown. There, my beloved Judson, we shall surely meet each other ; and we shall also meet many loved ones who have gone before us to that haven of rest." Her fears were not realized ; in a few months Mr Judson was restored to her and the suffering mission cause in greatly improved health. CHAPTER XV. ILLNESS OF HEft CHILDREN.- -DEATH OF ONE OF THEM. HER MISSIONARY LABORS, AND FAMILY CARES. HER DECLINING HEALTH. POEM. HEB LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. THE seventh year of her marriage with Mr. Judson, was a year of peculiar trial to Mrs. J. All her- four children were attacked by whooping-cough followed by one of the diseases of the climate, with which she also was so violently afflicted that her life was for a time despaired of. She felt sure, as she afterwards said, that her hour of release was corne, that her master was calling her ; and she blessed God that she was entirely willing to leave all, and go to him. The only hope of recovery for any of them was a sea- voyage, and they embarked for Bengal, but their passage was stormy, and they derived little benefit from their stay at Serampore, where they had taken up their residence. A voyage to the Mauritius was recommended, and the alarming situation of three of the children, as well as Mrs. Judson's feeble state, de- termined them to try it. But before they embarked, it was her melancholy lot to lay one of her darlings in 312 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. the grave, and he, the very one about whose health she had felt the least uneasiness. He sleeps, ^ays his mother, in the mission burial-ground, where moulders the dust of Carey, Marshman and Ward. Her tears at his burial flowed not only for him that was dead, but for another who she expected would soon follow him To avert this calamity she hastened her voyage , which though fearfully tempestuous, proved beneficial to the sufferers, and after a short sojourn in the soft climate of the Isle of France, the family returned to their home in Maulmain, restored, with the exception of one son, to sound health. This son, who bore the name of his father, was called by the natives Pwen, which signifies " a flower," a name adopted by his parents. After a long illness he too was restored to health. Mrs. Judson's labors during the latter part of her life, are recorded by her husband ; and it may well ex- cite the wonder of those women who consider the care of their own families a sufficient task, that she could find time and strength for such an amount of labor. It has been said that her translation of Bun- yan's Pilgrim's Progress is a work worth living for. Her husband says, " It is one of the best pieces of composition we have published." She also translated a tract written by her husband ; edited a " Chapel ivmn book," and furnished for it twenty of its best LIFE OF SARAH B. JITDSON. 813 hymns ; and published four volumes of Scripture Ques- tions for use in the Sabbath Schools. When we con- sider that she was the mother of a rapidly increasing family ; and the head of an establishment, which like all in the East require constant and vigilant superin- tendence ; and that she was exemplary in the dis- charge of her maternal and domestic duties, we are led to fancy she must have possessed some secret charm by which she could stay the hurrying feet of time ; and " hold the fleet angel fast until he blessed her." Such a secret was her untiring zeal, which prompted an incessant industry. The sands of time are indeed numerous, and when each is valued as a sparkling treasure, they form a rich hoard, laid up where neither moth nor rust corrupt ; but if we let them escape unheeded, or sit and idly watch their flow, and even shake the glass to hasten it, they will gather into a millstone weight to sink us in endless, unavailing regret. Though she is dead, Mrs. Judson's works still live ; and generation after generation of Burmans will associate her name with that of her honored husband, as benefactors to their race. In December, 1844, the health of Mrs. Judson began to decline. Her anxious husband, determined to leave no means untried, to save a life so precious to the mission and so invaluable to himself and his family, decided to quit for a while his loved labors in Burmah H 314 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. and accompany his wife to America. They in May 1845 sailed, and on reaching the Isle of France, she found herself so far restored that she could no longei conscientiously detain her husband from his duties in India, and she resolved to let him go back to their home there, while she with her children, should com- plete the journey that still seemed necessary for her entire restoration. One of the sweetest of her poem? was occasioned by this resolution. " We part on this green islet, Lore, Thou for the Eastern main, I, for the setting sun, Love Oh, when to meet again ? My heart is sad for thee, Love, For lone thy way will be; And oft thy tears will fall, Love, For thy children and for me. The music of thy daughter's voice Thou'lt miss for many a year ; And the merry shout of thine elder boyB. Thou'lt list in vain to hear. When we knelt to see our Henry die. And heard his last faint moan, Each wiped the tear from other's eye Now, each must weep alone. My tears fall fast for thee, Love, How can I say farewell f But go ; thy God be with thee, Love, Thy heart's deep grief to quell I LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. Yet my spirit clings to thine, Love, Thy soul remains with me, And oft we'll hold communion sweet, O'er the dark and distant sea. And who can paint our mutual joy, When, all our wanderings o'er, We both shall clasp our infants three, At home, on Burmah's shore. But higher shall our raptures glow, On yon celestial plain, When the loved and parted here below Meet, ne'er to part again. Then gird thine armor on. Love, Nor faint thou by the way, Till Boodh shall fall, and Burmah's sons Shall own Messiah's sway." But her health still sinking, her husband could not .eave her, and she was borne back to the ship. Her life ebbed away so rapidly, that he feared he must consign her to an ocean grave. But a kind Provi- dence ordered it, that her death did not occur till the ship anchored at St. Helena. Her end was as peace- ful as her life had been consistent and exemplary. " No shade of doubt or fear, or anxiety crossed her mind." So writes her husband : " She had a prevail- ing preference to depart and be with Christ. I am longing to depart! she would say ; and then the thought of her dear native land, to which she was approaching after an absence of twenty years, and a longing desire SI 6 LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. to see her son George, her parents, and the friends of her youth, would draw down her ascending soul, and constrain her to say, 'lam in a strait betwixt two: the will of the Lord be done.' " In regard to her children she ever manifested the most surprising composure and resignation, so much so that I was once constrained to say, you seem to have forgotten the dear little ones we have left behind. ' Can a mother forget' she replied, and was unable to proceed. During her last days she spent much time in praying for the early conversion of her children. "On the evening of the 31st of August, ... I sat alone by the side of her bed, endeavoring to administer relief to the distressed body, and consolation to the departing soul. At two o'clock in the morning, wish- ing to obtain one more token of recognition, I roused her attention and said, 'Do you still love the Saviour?' 'O yes,' she replied, ! I ever love the Lord Jesus Christ." I said again, 'Do you still love me?' She replied in the affirmative, by a peculiar expression of her own. ' Then give me one more kiss ;' and we exchanged that token of love for the last time. Another hour passed, and she ceased to breathe." " So fades the summer cloud away ; So sinks the gale when storms are o'er ; So gently shuts the eye of day , So dies the wave along the shore." LIFE OF SARAH B. JUDSON. 31/ Arrangements were made to carry the body on shore. The Rev. Mr. Bertram from the Island came on board, and was led into the state-room where lay all that was mortal of Mrs. Judson. " Pleasant," he says, "she was even in death. A sweet smile of love beamed on her countenance, as if heavenly grace had stamped it there. The bereaved husband and three weeping children fastened their eyes upon the loved remains, as if they could have looked forever." The coffin was borne to the shore ; the boats form- ing a kind of procession, their oars beating the waves at measured intervals, as a sort of funeral knell. The earth received her dust, and her bereaved husband continued his sad voyage towards his native land, again a widowed mourner. PART III, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MRS. EMILY C. JUDSON, THIRD WIFE OF REV. ADONIRAM JUDSON, D.D. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MRS. EMILY C. JUDSON. kEMARKS ON HEa GENIUS. HER EARLY LIFE. CONVERSION. EMPI/Jf MEXTS. TALES AND POEMS. ACQUAINTANCE WITH DR. JUDSON. MAR- RIAGE. VOYAGE TO INDIA. BIOGRAPHY OF MRS. S. B. JUDSON. POEM WRITTEN OFF ST. HELENA. POEM ON THE BIRTH OF AN INFANT. LINES ADDRESSED TO A BEREAVED FRIEND. LETTER TO HER CHIL- DREN. " PRATER FOR DEAR PAPA." POEM ADDRESSED TO HER MO- THER. HER ACCOUNT OF DR. JUDSON's LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. Ouu labor of sketching the lives of the three dis- tinguished women who were permitted to share the happiness and lighten the cares of one of the most worthy and venerated of missionaries, now brings us on delicate ground. The last wife of Dr. Judson, happily for her numerous friends and for his and her children, survives him. Long may she be spared to train those children in the ways of lofty piet} r , to glad- den the wide circle of friends and relatives now anxiously expecting her return to her native land, and to gratify the admirers of her genius with the graceful and eloquent effusions of her pen. Graceful and elo- quent they have always been, but of late touched by wa 21 822 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF a coal from that altar on which she has laid her best sacrifice, herself they have gained a higher and purer flow, awakened by a holier inspiration. The world admired the brilliancy of " Fanny Forrester." Chris- tians love the exalted tenderness, the sanctified enthu- siasm of Emily C. Judson. Much as it would gratify us, and her friends to give an extended account of her life, delicacy forbids us to do more than merely to sketch those features in it, which are already the property of much of the reading public. Our outline will necessarily be meagre, but we will enrich it by several of her poems written in India, hitherto scarce published except in perishable newspapers and periodicals. We might indeed make it more interesting by incidents and anecdotes, drawn from those of her early associates who love to dwell on the rich promise of her childhood and youth ; but by doing so, we should incur the risk of intruding on the sacredness of the family circle ; and we forbear. She was born in Eaton, a town near the centre of the state of New York. In her childhood she ex- hibited an exuberance of imagination that enabled her to delight her young associates with tales, which, ac- cording to one of them, she would sit up in bed in the morning to write, and then read aloud to them. She would, even then, write verses also, but in this gift she was perhaps inferior to a sister, who died in e^rlx liff EMILY C. JUDSON. 323 and whose numerous poems were unfortunately, and to the grief of her family, accidentally lost. At an early period she embraced religion and was baptized by the Rev. Mr. Dean, a missionary to China, then in this country. Her interest was awakened in the hea- then, even at that time, and she indulged in many ar- dent longings to go as a missionary to them. The late Dr. Kendrick judiciously advised her to pursue the path of duty at home, and quietly wait the lead- ings and openings of Providence. This advice she followed, and as a means of improving the straitened circumstances of her family, she left home and en- gaged as a teacher in a seminary in Utica. Desirous to increase still farther her mother's limited resources, she determined to employ her pen ; and pub- lished some short religious tales, which, however, brought her little fame, and small pecuniary emolu- ment. But in 1844, by a skilful and happy letter to the conductor of the New York Mirror, she so attract ed the attention of the fastidious and brilliant editor of that magazine, that he engaged her as a constant contributor. This arrangement, though of great pecu- niary advantage, was, in a religious view, a snare to her. As a writer of light, graceful stories of a purely worldly character, she had in this country, few rivals, and her name, attached to a tale or a poem, became a passport to popular favor. In a letter to her aged 824 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF pastor, written a year after her marriage, she laments her extreme vvorldliness at that period, which she says, even led her tu be ashamed of her former desire to be % missionary. Yet her writings are marked by purity, and generally inculcated nothing unfriendly either to virtue or religion. But it was the religion of senti- ment, and the virtue of the natural heart ; of which it must be confessed we find far more in fictitious tales, than in real life. When we consider the noble- ness o-f the motive that led her to seek a popular path to favor and emolument to increase the comforts of her excellent and honored mother our censure, were we disposed to indulge any, is disarmed and almost changed to admiration. During Dr. Judson's visit to America, in 1845, while riding in a public conveyance with Mr. G., who was escorting him to his home in Philadel- phia, a story written by " Fanny Forrester," fell into the hands of Dr. J. He read it with satisfaction, remarking that he should like to know its author " You will soon have that pleasure," said Mr. G., " for she is now visiting at my house." An acquaintance then commenced between them, which, notwithstand- ing the disparity in their years, soon ripened into a warm attachment, and after a severe struggle, she broke, as she says, the innumerable ties that bound her to the fascinating worldly life she had adopted, and EMILY C. JUDSON. 25 consented to become, what in her early religious zeal she had so longed to be a missionary. And now the spell of worldliness was indeed broken. With mingled shame and penitence she reviewed her spiritual declensions, and with an humbled, self-dis- trusting spirit renewed her neglected covenant with the God and guide of her youth. In Dr. Judson, to whom she was married on the 3d of June, 1846, she found a wise and faithful friend and counsellor, as well as a devoted husband. In his tried and experienced piety, she gained the support and encouragement she needed in her Christian life. Conscious that she had given to the world's service too many of her noble gifts, she commenced a work of an exclusively reli- gious character and tendency, the biography of her pre- decessor, the second Mrs. Judson. In one year it was completed, and in speaking of it in a letter from India, whither she had accompanied Dr. J. immediately after their marriage, she playfully remarked that her hus- band was pleased with it, and she cared little whether any one else liked it or not. On her passage to India, Mrs. Judson passed in sight of that island which must ever attract the gaze of men of every clime and nation, the rocky prison and tomb of the conqueror of nations, Napoleon Bona- parte. But to her the island had more lender asso- ciations ; awakened more touching recollections It 326 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF was as the grave of Sarah Judson, that her successor gazed long and tearfully on the Isle of St. Helena; and she thus embodied her feelings in song. LINES !*" [TTEN OFF ST. HELENA. Blow softly, gules ! a tender sigh Is flung upon your wing ; Lose not the treasure as ye fly, Bear it where love and beauty lie, Silent and withering. Flow gently, waves 1 a tear is laid Upon your heaving breast ; Leave it within yon dark rock's shade Or weave it in an iris braid, To crown the Christian's rest. Bloom, ocean isle, lone ocean isle 1 Thou keep'st a jewel rare ; Let rugged rock, and dark defile, Above the slumbering stranger smile And deck her couch with care. "Weep, ye bereaved ! a dearer head, Ne'er left the pillowing breast : The good, the pure, the lovely fled, When mingling with the shadowy dead, She meekly went to rest. Mourn, Burmah, mourn 1 a bow which spanned Thy cloud has passed away ; A flower has withered on thy sand, A pitying spirit left thy strand, A saint has ceased to pray. Angels rejoice, another string Has caught the strains above : EMILY C. JUDSON. 327 Rejoice, rejoice ! a new-fledged wing Around the Throne is hovering, In sweet, glad, wondering love. Blow, blow, ye gales ! wild billows roll 1 Unfurl the canvas wide 1 O ! where she labored lies our goal : "Weak, timid, frail, yet would my soul Fain be to hers allied. Ship Faneuil Hall, Sept. 1846. On the birth of an infant, she expressed her first maternal feelings, in verses of such exquisite beauty, that they can never be omitted in any collection of the gems of poetry least of all in any collection of ier poems. The following are the verses alluded to : MY BIRD. Ere last year's moon had left the sky, A birdling sought my Indian nest And folded, oh so lovingly ! Her tiny wings upon my breast. From morn till evening's purple tinge, In winsome helplessness she lies ; Two rose leaves, with a silken fringe, Shut softly on her starry eyes. There's not in Ind a lovelier bird ; Broad earth owns not a happier nest God, thou hast a fountain stirred, Whose waters never more shall rest I 328 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP This beautiful, mysterious thing, This seeming visitant from heavei.. This bird with the immortal wing, To me to me, thy hand has given. The pulse first caught its tiny stroke, The blood its crimson hue, from mine 1 This life, which I have dared invoke, Henceforth is parallel with thine. A silent awe is in my room I tremble with delicious fear; The future with its light and gloom, Time and Eternity are here. Doubts hopes, in eager tumult rise ; Hear, my God ! one earnest prayer : Room for my bird in Paradise, And give her angel plumage there ! Maulmain, January, 1 848. The following touching lines show that she could skilfully employ her ready pen in consoling those on whom had fallen the stroke of bereavement : LINES Addressed to a missionary friend in Burmah on the death of her little boy, thirtetn months old, in which allusion is made to the previous death of his little brother. A mound is in the graveyard, A short and narrow bed; No grass is growing on it, And no marble at its head : Ye may ! and weep beside it, Ye may kneel and kiss the sod, But ye'll find no balm for sorrow, In the cold and silent clod. EMILY C. JUDSON. 329 There is anguish in the household, It is desolate and lone, For a fondly cherished nursling From the parent nest has flown; A little form is missing ; A heart has ceased to beat ; And the chain of love lies shattered At the desolator's feet. Remove the empty cradle, His clothing put away, And all his little playthings With your choicest treasures lay ; Strive not to check the tear drops, That fall like summer rain, For the sun of hope shines thro' them- Te shall see his face again. Oh ! think where rests your darling, Not in his cradle bed ; Not in the distant graveyard, With the still and mouldering dead But in a heavenly mansion, Upon the Saviour's breast, With his brother's arms about him, He takes his sainted rest. He has put on robes of glory For the little robes ye wrought ; A.nd he fingers golden harp-strings For the toys his sisters brought. Oh, weep 1 but with rejoicing; A heart gem have ye given, And behold its glorious setting In the diadem of Heaven. The following letter and beautiful poems rie d little explanation. The letter is addressed to some of Dr. 830 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP Judson's children, who resided in Worcester, Massa- chusetts, having been sent home from India to be educated in America. His health having failed, Dr. J. had sailed for the Isle of Bourbon for its restoration, and it was during his absence that these effusions were penned. Maulmain, April 11, 1850. MY VERY DEAR CHILDREN, I have painful news to tell you news that I am sure will make your hearts ache ; but I hope our heavenly Father will help you to bear it. Your dear oapa is very, very ill indeed ; so much so that the best judges fear that he will never be any better. He began to fail about five months ago, and has declined so gradually that we were not fully aware of his dan- ger until lately ; but within a few weeks those who love him have become very much alarmed. In January we went down to Mergui by the steamei, and when we returned, thought he was a little better, but he soon failed again. We spent a month at Am herst, but he received little if any benefit. Next, the doctors pronounced our house (the one you used to live in) unhealthy, and we moved to another. But all was of no use. Your dear papa continued to fail, till suddenly, one evening, his muscular strength gave way and he was prostrated on the bed, unable to help himself. This occurred about two weeks ago. The EMILY C. JUDSON. 331 doctor now became alarmed, and said the only hope for him was in a long voyage. It was very hard to think of such a thing in his reduced state, particularly as I could not go with him ; but after we had wept and prayed over it one day and night, we concluded that it was our duty to use the only means which God s had left us, however painful. We immediately engaged his passage on board a French barque, bound for the Isle of Bourbon; but before it sailed he had become so very low that no one thought it right for him to go alone. They therefore called a meeting of the mission and appointed Mr. Ranney. It was a great relief to me, for he is a very kind man, and loves your dear papa very much ; and he will do everything that can be done for his comfort. The officers of the vessel too, seemed greatly interest- ed for him, as did every one else. He was carried on board a week ago yesterday, in a litter, and placed on a nice easy cot made purposely for him. I stayed with him all day, and at dark came home to stay with the children. The next day I found that the vessel had only droppe'd down a little distance, and so I took a boat and followed. I expected this would certainly be the last day with him, but it was not. On Friday I went again, and though he did not appear as well as on the days, I was forced to take, as I then supposed, 332 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF a final leave of him. But when morning came, I felt as though I could not live through the day without knowing how he was. So I took a boat again, and reached the vessel about 2 o'clock P.M. He could only speak in whispers, but seemed very glad that I came. The natives I had sent to fan him till he should get out of the river, came to me and begged to have him taken on shore again : and so small was my hope of his recovery, that my heart pleaded on their side, though I still thought it a duty to do as the doctor had ordered. I came away at dark, and though his lips moved to say some word of farewell, they made no sound. I hope that you, my dear boys, will never have cause to know what a heavy heart I bore back to my desolate home that night. The vessel got out to sea about 4 o'clock on Monday, and last night the natives returned, bringing a letter from Mr. Ranney. Your precious papa has revived again spoke aloud took a little tea and toast said there was something ani- mating in the touch of the sea breeze, and directed Mr. Ranney to write to me that he had a strong belief it was the will of God to restore him again to health 1 feel somewhat encouraged, but dare not hope toe much. And now, my dear boys, it will be three, perhaps four long months before we can hear from our beloved one again, and we shall all be very anxious. All we EMILY C. JTJDSON. 333 can do is to commit him to the care of our heavenly Father, and, if we never see him again in this world, pray that we may be prepared to meet him m heaven ****** Your most affectionate mother, EMILY C. JUDSOX PEAYER FOB DEAR PAPA. Poor and needy little children, Saviour, God, we come to Thee, For our hearts are full of sorrow, And no other hope have we. Out, upon the restless ocean, There is one we dearly love, Fold him in thine arms of pity. Spread thy guardian wings above. When the winds are howling round him, When the angry waves are high, When black, heavy, midnight shadows, On his trackless pathway lie, Guide and guard him, blessed Saviour, Bid the hurrying tempests stay ; Plant thy foot upon the waters, Send thy smile to light his way. When he lies, all pale, and suffering, Stretched upon liis narrow bed, With no loving face bent o'er him, No soft hand about his head, 0, let kind and pitying angels, Their bright forms around him bo\r; Let them kiss his heavy eyelids, Let them fan his fevered brow. 334 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF * Poor and needy little children, Still we raise our cry to Thee- We have nestled in his bosom, We have sported on his knee ; Dearly, dearly do we love him, We, who on his breast have lain-- Pity now our desolation ! Bring him back to us again 1 If it please thee, Heavenly Father, We would see him come once more, With his olden step of vigor, With the love-lit smile he wore ; But if we must tread Life's valley, Orphaned, guideless, and alone, Let us lose not, 'mid the shadows, His dear footprints to thy Throne, Jfavlmain, April, 1850. SWEET MOTHER. The wild, south-west Monsoon has risen, With broad, gray wings of gloom, While here, from out my dreary prison, I look, as from a tomb Alas I My heart another tomb. Upon the low-thatched roof, the rain, With ceaseless patter, falls ; My choicest treasures bear its stain Mould gathers on the walls Would Heaven Twere only on the walls ! Sweet Mother ! I am here alone, In sorrow and in pain ; The sunshine from my heart has flown, It feels the driving rain Ah, me ! The chill, and mould, and rain. EMILY C. JUDSON. 336 Four laggard months have wheeled their round Since love upon it smiled ; And everything of earth has frowned On thy poor, stricken child sweet friend, Thy weary, suffering child. Fd watched my loved one, night and day. Scarce breathing when he slept ; And as my hopes were swept away, Fd on his bosom wept O God ! How had I prayed and wept ! They bore him from me to the ship, As bearers bear the dead ; I kissed his speechless,cHiivering lip, And left him on his oed Alas 1 It seemed a coffin-bed 1 When from my gentle sister's tomb, In all our grief, we came, Rememberest thou her vacant room ! Well, his was just the same, that day ; The very, very same. Then, mother, little Charley came Our beautiful fair boy, With my own father's cherished name But oh, he brought no joy ! My child Brought mourning, and no joy. i His little grave I cannot see, Though weary months have sped Since pitying lips bent over me, And whisperel, "He is dead !" Alas 'Tis dreadful to be dead I I do not mean for one like me, So weary, worn, and weak, Death's shadowy paleness seems to be Even now, upon my cheek his seal On form, and brow, and cheek. 836 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF But for a bright-winged bird like him, To hush his joyous song, And, prisoned in a coffin dim, Join Death's pale, phantom throng My 6oy To join that grisly throng ! Oh, Mother, I can scarcely bear To think of this to-day 1 It was so exquisitely fair, That little form of clay my heart Still lingers by his clay. And when for one loved far, far more. Come thickly gathering tears; My star of faith is clouded o'er, I sink beneath my fears sweet friend, My heavy weight of fears. Oh, should he not return to me, Drear, drear must be life's night 1 And, mother, I can almost see Even now the gathering blight my soul Faints, stricken by the blight. Oh, but to feel thy fond arms twine Around me, once again 1 It almost seems those lips of thine Might kiss away the pain might soothft This dull, cold, heavy pain. But, gentle Mother, through life's storms, I may not lean on thee, For helpless, cowering little forms Cling trustingly to me Poor babes ! To have no guide but me ! weary foot, and broken wing, With bleeding heart, and sore, Thy Dove looks backward, sorrowing, But seeks the ark no more thy breast Seeks never, never more. EMILY C. JUDSON. 837 Sweet Mother, for this wanderer pray, That loftier faith be given ; Her broken reeds all swept away, That she may lean on Heaven her soul Grow strong on Christ and Heaven. A.11 fearfully, all tearfully, Alone and sorrowing, My dim eye lifted to the sky, Fast to the cross I cling Christ 1 To thy dear cross I cling. jfauhnain, August 8th, 1850. From the sad voyage which drew forth this most Couching poem Dr. Judson never returned. He died on board the ship which was bearing him to more healthful climes ; and his body was committed to the >cean. One of the most excellent of Mrs. Judson's productions is her account of the closing scenes in her Husband's life, contained in a letter to his sister. Long as it is, we cannot bring ourselves to abridge it. It will convince our readers that if the THREE whose lives we have sketched, have been among the first of women, they were united to one who knew and appre- ciated their excellence, and who was worthy to share their affection. CLOSING SCENES IN THE LIFE OF DR. JUDSON. BY HIS WIDOW. Last month I could do no more than announce to you our painful bereavement, which though not alto- 22 O 338 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF gether unexpected, will, I very well know, fall upon your heart with overwhelming weight. You will find the account of your brother's last days on board the Aristide Marie, in a letter written by Mr. Ranney from Mauritius, to the Secretary of the Boaq^; and I can add nothing to it, with the exception of a few unim- portant particulars, gleaned in conversation with. Mr. R. and the Coringa servant. I grieve that it should be so that 1 was not permitted to watch beside him during those days of terrible suffering ; but the pain, which I at first felt, is gradually yielding to gratitude for the inestimable privileges which had previously been granted me. There was something exceedingly beautiful in the decline of your brother's life more beautiful than I can describe, though the impression will remain with me as a sacred legacy, until I go to meet him where suns shall never set, and life shall never end. He had been, from my first acquaintance with him, an uncom- monly spiritual Christian, exhibiting his richest graces in the unguarded intercourse of private life; but during his last year, it seemed as though the light of the world on which he was entering, had been sent to brighten his upward pathway. Every subject on which we conversed, every book we read, every inci- dent that occurred, whether trivial or important, had a ndency to suggest some peculiarly spiritual train of EMILY C. JUDSON. 389 thought, till it seemed to me that more than ever be- fore, "Christ was all his theme." Something of the same nature was also noted in his preaching, to which I then had not the privilege of listening. He was in the habit, however, of studying his subject for the Sab- bath, audibly, and in my presence, at which time he was frequently so much affected as to weep, and some times so overwhelmed with the vastness of his con ceptions, as to be obliged to abandon his theme and choose another. My own illness at the commence- ment of the year had brought eternity very near to us, and rendered death, the grave, and the bright heaven beyond it, familiar subjects of conversation. Gladly would 1 give you, my dear sister, some idea of the share borne by him in those memorable conversa- tions ; but it would be impossible to convey, even to those who knew him best, the most distant conception. I believe he has sometimes been thought eloquent, both in conversation and in the sacred desk ; but the fervid, burning eloquence, the deep pathos, the touch- ing tenderness, the elevation of thought, and intense beauty of expression, which characterized those pri vate teachings, were not only beyond what I had eve 4 heard before, but such as I felt sure arrested his own attention, and surprised even himself. About this time he began to find unusual satisfaction and enjoy- ment in his private devotions ; and seemed to have 840 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF new objects of interest continually rising in his mind each of which in turn became special subjects of prayer. Among these, one of the most prominent was the conversion of his posterity. He remarked, that he had always prayed for his children, but that of late he had felt impressed with the duty of praying for their children and their children's children down to the latest generation. He also prayed most fer- vently, that his impressions on this particular subject might be transferred to his sons and daughters, and thence to their offspring, so that he should ultimately meet a long unbroken line of descendants before the throne of God, where all might join together in ascrib ing everlasting praises to their Redeemer. Another subject, which occupied a large share of his attention, was that of brotherly love. You are, perhaps, aware, that like all persons of his ardent temperament, he was subject to strong attachments and aversions, which he sometimes had difficulty in bringing under the controlling influence of divine grace. He remarked that he had always felt more or less of an affectionate interest in his brethren, as brethren and some of them he had loved very dearly for their personal qualities ; but that he was now aware he had never placed his standard of love high enough. He spoke of them as children of God, re- deemed by the Saviour's blood, watched over and EMILY C. JUDSON. 341 guarded by his love, dear to his heart, honored by hirn in the election, and to be honored hereafter before the assembled universe ; and he said it was not sufficient to be kind and obliging to such, to abstain from evil speaking, and make a general mention of them in our prayers ; but our attachment to them should be of the most ardent and exalted character it would be so in heaven, and we* lost immeasurably by not beginning now. " As I have loved you, so ought ye also to love one another," was a precept continually in his mind, and he would often murmur, as though unconsciously, " ' As I have loved you' ' as I have loved you' " then burst out with the exclamation, " Oh, the love of Christ ! the love of Christ !" His prayers for the mission were marked by an earnest, grateful enthusiasm, and in speaking of mis- sionary operations in general, his tone was one of elevated triumph, almost of exultation for he not only felt an unshaken confidence in their final success. but would often exclaim, " What wonders oh, what wonders God has already wrought !" I remarked, that during this year his literary labor, which he had never liked, and upon which he had entered unwillingly and from a feeling of necessity, was growing daily more irksome to him ; and he always spoke of it as his " heavy work," his '* tedious work," " that wearisome dictionary," &c., though this 342 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP feeling led to no relaxation of effort. He longed, however, to find some more spiritual employment, to be engaged in what he considered more legitimate missionary labor, and drew delightful pictures of the future, when his whole business would be but to preach and to pray. During all this time I had not observed any failure in physical strength ; and though his mental exercises occupied a large share of my thoughts when alone, it never once occurred to me that this might be the brightening of the setting sun ; my only feeling was that of pleasure, that one so near to me was becoming BO pure and elevated in his sentiments, and so lovely and Christ-like in his character. In person he had grown somewhat stouter than when in America, his complexion had a healthful hue compared with that of his associates generally ; and though by no means a person of uniformly firm health, he seemed to possess such vigor and strength of constitution, that I thought his life as likely to be extended twenty years longer, as that of any member of the mission. He continued his system of morning exercise, commenced when a student at Andover, and was not satisfied with a com- mon walk on level ground, but always chose an up- hill path, and then frequently went bounding on his nray, with all the exuberant activity of boyhood. He was of a singularly happy temperament, al- EMILY C. JUDSON. though not of that even cast, which never rises above a certain level, and is never depressed. Possessing acute sensibilities, suffering with those who suffered and entering as readily into the joys of the prosperous and happy, he was variable in his moods ; but religion formed such an essential element in his character, and his trust in Providence was so implicit and habitual, that he was never gloomy, and seldom more than mo- mentarily disheartened. On the other hand, being ac- customed to regard all the events of this life, however minute or painful, as ordered in wisdon, and tending to one great and glorious end, he lived in almost con- stant obedience to the apostolic injunction, " Rejoice evermore!" He often told me that although he had endured much personal suffering, and passed through many fearful trials in the course of his eventful life, a kind Providence had also hedged him round with precious, peculiar blessings, so that his joys had far outnumbered his sorrows. Toward the close of September of last year, he said to me one evening, " What deep cause have we for gratitude to God ! do you believe there are any other two persons in the wide world so happy as we are ?' enumerating, in his own earnest manner, several sources of happiness, in which our work as mission- aries, and our eternal prospects, occupied a prominent position. When he had finished his glowing picture, I 344 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF remarked (I scarcely know why, but there was & heavy cloud upon my spirits that evening), " We are certainly very happy now, but it cannot be so always I am thinking of the tyne when one of us must stand beside the bed, and see the other die." " Yes," he said, " that will be a sad moment ; I felt it most deeply a little while ago, but now it would not be strange if your life were prolonged beyond mine though I should wish if it were possible to spare you that pain. It is the one left alone who suffers, not the one who goes to be with Christ. If it should only be the will of God that we might go together, like young James and his wife. But he will order all things well, and we can safely trust our future to his hands." That same night we were roused from sleep by the sudden illness of one of the children. There was an unpleasant, chilling dampness in the air, as it came to us through the openings in the sloats above the win- dows, which affected your brother very sensibly, and he soon began to shiver so violently, that he was obliged to return to his couch, where he remained .under a warm covering until morning. In the morn- ing he awoke with a severe cold, accompanied by some degree of fever; but as it did not seem very serious, and our three children were all suffering from a similar cause, we failed to give it any especial atten- tion. From that time he was never well, though in BMILY C. JUDSON 345 writing to you before, I think I dated the commence ment of his illness, from the month of November, when he laid aside his studies. I know that he re- garded this attack as trifling, and yet one evening he spent a long time in advising me with regard to my future course, if I should be deprived of his guidance ; saying that it is always wise to be prepared for exi- gences of this nature. After the month of November, he failed gradually, occasionally rallying in such a manner as to deceive us all, but at each relapse sink- ing lower than at the previous one, though still full of hope and courage, and yielding ground only, inch by inch, as compelled by the triumphant progress of disease. During some hours of every day he suffered intense pain ; but his naturally buoyant spirits anc uncomplaining disposition led him to speak so lightly of it, that I used sometimes to fear the doctor, though a very skilful man, would be fatally deceived. As his health declined, his mental exercises at first seemed deepened ; and he gave still larger portions of his time to prayer, conversing with the utmost free dom on his daily progress, and the extent of his self- conquest. Just before our trip to Mergui, which took place in January, he looked up from his piilow one day with sudden animation, and said to mo earnestly, "I have gained the victory at last. I love overy one of Christ's redeemed, as I believe he would have me BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF love them in the same manner, though not probably to the same degree as we shall love one another in heaven ; and gladly would I prefer the meanest of his creatures, who bears his name, before myself." This he said in allusion to the text, "In honor preferring one another," on which he had frequently dwelt with great emphasis. After farther similar conversation he concluded, " And now here I lie at peace with all the world, and what is better still, at peace with my own conscience. I know that I am a miserable sinner in the sight of God, with no hope but in the blessed Saviour's merits ; but I cannot think of any particular fault, any peculiarly besetting sin, which it is now my du.y to correct. Can you tell me of any ?" And truly, from this time no other word would so well' express his state of feeling, as that one of his own choosing peace. He had no particular exercises afterwards, but remained calm and serene, speaking of himself daily as a great sinner, who had been overwhelmed with benefits, and declaring, that he had never in all his life before, had such delightful views of the unfathomable love and infinite conde- scension of the Saviour, as were now daily opening before him. " Oh, the love of Christ ! the love of Christ!" he would suddenly exclaim, while his eye kindled, and the tears chased each other down his EMILY C. JUDSON. 347 cheeks, " we cannot understand it now but what a beautiful study for eternity !" After our return from Mergui, the doctor advised a still farther trial of the effects of sea air and sea- bathing, and we accordingly proceeded to Amherst, where we remained nearly a month. . This to me was the darkest period of his illness no medical adviser, no friend at hand, and he daily growing weaker and weaker. He began to totter in walking, clinging to the furniture and walls, when he thought he was un- observed (for he was not willing to acknowledge the extent of his debility), and his wan face was of a ghastly paleness. His sufferings too were sometimes fearfully intense, so that in spite of his habitual self- control, his groans would fill the house. At other times a kind of lethargy seemed to steal over him, and he would sleep almost incessantly for twenty-four hours, seeming annoyed if he were aroused or dis- turbed. Yet there were portions of the time, when he was comparatively comfortable, and conversed in- telligently ; but his mind seemed to revert to former scenes, and he tried to amuse me with stories of his boyhood his college days his imprisonment in France, and his earl} 7 missionary life. He had a great deal also to say on his favorite theme. " The love of Christ :" but his strength was too much im- paired for any continuous mental effort. Even a short 348 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF prayer made audibly, exhausted him to such a degree* that he was obliged to discontinue the practice. At length I wrote to Maulmain, giving some expres sion of rny anxieties and misgivings, and our kind missionary friends, who had from the first evinced all the tender intei'est and watchful sympathy of the nearest kindred immediately sent for us the doctor advising a sea-voyage. But as there was no vessel in the harbor bound for a port sufficiently distant, we thought it best, in the meantime, to remove from our old dwelling, which had long been condemned as un- nealthy, to another mission-house, fortunately empty This change was at first attended with the most bene- ficial results, and our hopes revived so much, that we looked forward to the approaching rainy season for entire restoration. But it lasted only a little while, and then both of us became convinced, that though a voyage at sea involved much that was exceedingly painful, it yet presented the only prospect of recovery, and could not, therefore, without a breach of duty, be neglected. " Oh, if it were only the will of God to take me now to let me die here!" he repeated over and over again, in a tone of anguish, while we where consider- ing the subject. "I cannot, cannot go! this is almost more than I can bear! was there ever suffering like our suffering !" and the like broken expressions, were EMILY C. JUDSON. 349 Continually falling from his lips. But he soon gathered more strength of purpose; and after the decision was fairly made, he never hesitated for a moment, rather regarding the prospect with pleasure. I think the struggle which this resolution cost, injured him very materially ; though probahly it had no share in bring, ing about the final result. God, who saw the end from the beginning, had counted out his days, and they were hastening to a close. Until this time he had been able to stand, and to walk slowly from room to room ; but as he one evening attempted to rise from his chair, he was suddenly deprived of his small rem- nant of muscular strength, and would have fallen to the floor, but for timely support. From that moment his decline was rapid. As he lay helplessly upon his couch, and watched the swell- ing of his feet, and other alarming symptoms, he be- came very anxious to commence his voyage, and I felt equally anxious to have his wishes gratified. 1 still hoped he might recover the doctor said the chances of life and death were in his opinion equally balanced and then he always loved the sea so dearly! There was something exhilarating to him in the motion of a vessel, and he spoke with animation of getting r ree from the almost suffocating atmosphere incident to the hot season, and drinking in the fresh sea breezes He talked but little more, however, than was necessary BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF to indicate his wants, his bodily sufferings being too great to allow of conversation ; but several times he looked up to me with a bright smile, and exclaimed, as heretofore, "Oh, the love of Christ! the love of Chiist!" I found it difficult to ascertain, from expressions casually dropped, from time to time, his real opinion with regard to his recovery ; but I thought there was some reason to doubt whether he was fully aware of his critical situation. I did not suppose he had any preparation to make at this late hour, and I felt sure that if he should be called ever so unexpectedly, he would not enter the presence of his Maker with a ruf- fled spirit ; but I could not bear to have him go away, without knowing how doubtful it was whether our next meeting would not be in eternity ; and perhaps too, in my own distress, I might still have looked for words of encouragement and sympathy, to a source which had never before failed. It was late in the night, and I had been performing some little sick-room offices, when suddenly he looked up to me, and exclaimed, "This will never do! You are killing yourself for me, and I will not permit it You must have some one to relieve you.- If I had not been made selfish by suffering, I should have insisted upon it long ago." He spoke so like himself with the earnestness of EMILY C. JUDSON. 351 health, and in a tone to which my ear had of late been a stranger, that for a moment 1 felt -almost bewildered with sudden hope. He received my reply to what he had said, with a hulf-pitying, half-gratified smile, but in the meantime his expression had changed the marks of excessive debility were again apparent, and I could not forbear adding, " It is only a little while, you know." " Only a little while," he repeated mournfully ; " this separation is a bitter thing, but it does not distress me now as it did I am too weak." "You have no reason to be distressed," I answered, "with such glorious prospects before you. You have often told me it is the one left alone who suffers, not the one who goes to be with Christ." He gave me a rapid, questioning glance, then assumed for several moments an attitude of deep thought. Finally, he slowly unclosed his eyes, and fixing them on me, said in a calm, earnest tone, " I do not believe I am going to die. I think I know why this illness has been sent upon me I needed it I feel that' it has done me good and it is my impression, that I shall now recover, and be a better and more useful man." " Then it is your wish to recover?" I inquired. "If it should be the will of God, yes. I should like to complete the dictionary, on which I have bestowed so much labor, now that it is so nearly done ; for though 352 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF it has not been a work that pleased my taste, 5r quite satisfied my feelings, I have never underrated its im- portance. Then after that come all the plans we have formed. Oh, I feel as though only just beginning to be prepared for usefulness." " It is the opinion of most of the mission," I re- marked, " that you will not recover." " I know it is," he replied ; " and I suppose they think me an old man, and imagine that it is nothing for one like me to resign a life so full of trials. But 1 am not old at least in that sense you know I am not. Oh ! no man ever left this world with more inviting prospects, with brighter hopes or warmer feelings warmer feelings" he repeated, and burst into tears. His face was perfectly placid, even while the tears broke away from the closed lids, and rolled, one after another, down to the pillow. There was no trace of agitation or pain in his manner of weeping, but it was evidently the result of acute sensibilities, combined with great phy- sical weakness. To some suggestions which I ventured to make, he replied, " It is not that I know all that, and feel it in my inmost heart. Lying here on my bed. when I could not talk, I have had such views of the loving condescension of Christ, and the glories of heaven, as I believe are seldom granted to mortal man. It is not because I shrink from death, that I wish to live ; neither is it because the ties that bind me here EMILY' C. JUDSON. 353 though some of them are very sweet, bear any com- parison with the drawings I at times feel towards heaven ; but a few years would not be missed from my eternity of bliss, and I can well afford to spare them, both for your sake and for the sake of the poor Bunnans. I am not tired of my work, neither am I tired of the world ; yet when Christ calls me home, 1 shall go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from his school. Perhaps I feel something like the young bride, when she contemplates resigning the pleasant associations of her childhood, for a yet dearer home though only a very little like her for there is no doubt resting on my future." " Then death would not take you by surprise," I remarked, " if it should come even before you could get on board ship." "Oh, no," he said, " death will never take me by surprise do not be afraid of that I feel so strong in Christ. He has not led me so tenderly thus far, to forsake me at the very gate of heaven. No, no; I am willing to live a few years longer, if it should be so ordered; and if otherwise, I am willing and glad to die now. I leave myself entirely in the hands of God, to be disposed of according to his holy will." The next day some one mentioned in his presence, that the native Christians were greatly opposed to the voyage, and that many other persons had a similar feeling with regard to it I thought he seemed trou- 23 354 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF bied ; and after the visitor had withdrawn, I inquired if he still felt as when he conversed with me the night previous. He replied, " Oh yes ; that was no evanes- cent feeling. It has been with me, to a greater or less extent, for years, and will be with me, I trust, to th$ end. I am ready to go to-day if it should be the wif of God, this very hour; but I am not anxious to die - at least when I am not beside myself with pain." " Then why are you so desirous to go to sea ? I should think it would be a matter of indifference to you." "No," he answered quietly, "my judgment tells me it would be wrong not to go the doctor says criminal. I shall certainly die here if I go away, I rnay possibly recover. There is no question with re- gard to duty in such a case ; and I do not jke to see any hesitation, even though it springs from affection." He several times spoke of a burial at sea, and always as though the prospect were agreeable. It brought, he said, a sense of freedom and expansion and seemed far pleasanter than the confined, dark, narrow grave, to which he had committed so many that he loved. \nd he added, that although his burial-place was a qiatter of no real importance, yet he believed it was .Mjfe$l^$* igraragragi