nil li Ji I in litiilil 11 II!! I ■ III Hill p III !!!!i! ! !!!!! Ill Hf 1 1 1 IlliilliK!::':::! i! ; ! > i. i it II W 1 Wlii'i HI It HsI!Si!i!!i!iiii (HI HH TH Mm mmBM wm li: Hiill raarrii 1 ! II I III III i lilll: BWillTlTiliWBi III II -ifRTi it I ■1 > J ■ .. 'A, , : i Wljliiii ;%!! I B ■B %■ sA/mk BBB iliiliilliiiil ttlfti !j! illllllPi I lllllllj ! I" ■III Mf! I lllillllll li III! II I III! :!ii:;iilii!:ilili:illiili iii i'l'ii ■iflllilli W&B^HmBm LIBRARY OF THE University of California. Mrs. SARAH P.WALSWORTH. Received October, 18Q4. ^Accessions No.^Jl^/l^ . Class No. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/earnestmansketchOOconarich 1 / n$b- Mb. S^EPr Of THJr WITH ^C^ O^zrri^ j; H I A Xabo™ or A<} H 18ON HOUSE. PHILLIPS, SAMPSON A. COMPANY. 1856. THE EARNEST MAN. A SK] CHARACTER A N.D LABORS ADONIRAM JUDSON N *R1 TO BCltMAFT. MRS. II. C. CO II r U*l 'X: PHILLIPS, COMPANY. I VN k CO. 1850. 3 V$z.7f Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by Phillips, Sampson, and Compa>y, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. •TO THE ORPHAN CHILDREN OF ADONIRAM JUDSON, ADONIRAM, ABBT ANN, ELNATHAN, HENRY, EDWARD, EMILY FRANCES, TniS SKETCH OF THEIR FATHER'S CHARACTER AND LABORS IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR. Of XHl^^S PREFACE. "While Dr. Wayland's Memoir of Dr. Judson was yet in preparation, a "briefer history of his life and labors, to meet the wants of a large class of readers, was planned by Mrs. Judson. This work, which, from her graceful and vivacious pen, would have had a double value to the Christian public, her declining health did not allow her to execute, nor, so far as I know, even to commence. Near the close of her life, application was made to the writer, by her executors, to perform the task in her stead, with the assurance that it was with her entire concurrence and approbation. The present volume, prepared in accordance with this request, is the property of Dr. Judson's orphan children ; to whom the publishers generously relinquish, as in the case of the Memoir, the larger share of the profits. The materials for this sketch are drawn chiefly from the rich collection furnished by Dr. Wayland ; but every other work within reach, which could throw light on the subject, has been carefully examined. Among these are the Memoirs VI PREFACE. of the first and second Mrs. Judson, and of Boardman ; the Baptist Missionary Magazine ; GammelPs History of Baptist Missions ; Malcom's Travels ; Dr. Judson's Letter to his Father, 1820 ; Tracy's History of the A. B. C. F. M.; Me- moirs of Rev. Dr. Worcester, by his son. It was with hesitation that the task was assumed, of por- traying the character of one, who may justly be ranked among the most remarkable men of modern times. So far as the deepest sympathy with the theme, and the conscien- tious endeavor to exhibit it in the light of truth can avail, I may hope not to have been wholly unsuccessful. Imay add that the friendship and correspondence, subsisting for many years between the family of Dr. Judson and that of my father, had given me a more vivid impression of his peculiar characteristics, and at some points a clearer insight into his mental history, than could have been otherwise obtained. I cannot hope to have touched every aspect of his many-sided character ; but the substantial accuracy of the portraiture, so far as it goes, will be found, I trust, to stand the test of examination. The opinions of Dr. Judson, on topics of interest connected with the missionary work, have been gleaned with great pains from his letters, journals, and public addresses, and to the writer's best ability, presented in their proper relation to one another. No view, it is believed, will be found ascribed to him, which is not fully sustained by his own words. H. C. C. Rochester, Nov. 1855. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTER I. Childhood. CHAPTER II. College Life 20 CHAPTER III. The Returning Wanderer 27 CHAPTER IV. Conversion and Self-Consecration 37 CHAPTER V. How shall they Preach, except they be sent 48 CHAPTER VI. The Door Opened 62 CHAPTER VII. Choice of a Wife 77 CHAPTER VIII. Ordination. Voyage. Change of Views on Baptism. . . 85 CHAPTER IX. Persecutions by the East India Company. 104 CHAPTER X. The Adopted Country 120 CHAPTER XI. Buddhism 134 CHAPTER XII. The Language 149 Vlll TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. Missionary Spirit among American Baptists. Vicissi- tudes of the Mission 166 CHAPTER XIV. The Zayat 185 CHAPTER XV. Zayat Journal Continued 208 CHAPTER XVI. Visit to the Emperor 225 • CHAPTER XVII. The Native Church 244 CHAPTER XVIH. Sufferings at Ava 282 CHAPTER XIX. The Desolated Home 329 CHAPTER XX. Peculiar Phase of the Religious Life 345 CHAPTER XXI. Missionary Labors in Prome and Rangoon 362 CHAPTER XXH. Preaching Tours in the Jungles 393 CHAPTER XXHI. Labors of the Study 423 CHAPTER XXIV. Missionary Policy 440 CHAPTER XXV. Visit to America. Labors on his Return 465 CHAPTER XXVI. Closing Scenes of his Life 483 THE EAKNEST MAN. CHAPTER I. CHILDHOOD. Adoniram Jddson was born in the town of Maiden, Massachusetts, on the 9th of August, 1788. His father was a Congregational minister, of respectable talents and theological attainments, and of great moral worth. A still nobler distinction, at that time of general spirit- ual coldness and decay among the churches of "the standing order," was his deep and consistent piety. He had, indeed, all the unquestioning self-reliance, inflexi- bility of will, and somewhat magisterial disposition to enforce rather than persuade in matters of opinion, then so characteristic of his class ; but with this was associated a genuine excellence, and a certain Roman loftiness of nature, well fitted to command the reverence of the ardent and discerning boy. 10 THE EARNEST MAN. The mother, also, was a person of great domestic and Christian excellence, a matron of the true New Eng- land type. It was doubtless to her careful training that he owed those habits of order and personal neat- ness, carried even to the point of womanly nicety and exactness, by which he proved that attention to the minor virtues is not incompatible with greatness. From her, probably, he inherited that warmth and exquisite tenderness of heart, so beautifully tempering the native self-confidence and force of will, in which he strongly resembled his father. As their first-born, and a child of unusual promise, young Judson seems to have been not only an object of peculiar fondness to his parents, but of the proudest anticipation of what he was to become in future life. His father never concealed from the boy his expecta- tion of seeing him a distinguished man. The prophecy, no doubt, did its part toward its own fulfilment. For though it may well be questioned, whether the ambition and pride of talent thus implanted in his young mind were not essentially unchristian principles of action, and in the highest degree perilous to his moral devel- opment, yet it was a stimulus well adapted to rouse all the energies of the high-spirited youth. He was bound alike by his father's expectations and by his own self- esteem to attempt great things, and never to fail in CHILDHOOD. 11 what he undertook. The habit, thus early formed, of fixing his eye always upon a high mark, and of con- quering all obstacles by concentrated and protracted effort, which made him the leader among his boyish mates and crowned his young brows with their first academic honors, doubtless contributed its full share to the triumphs of the Christian hero. But in a nature so active and aspiring, the habit could have been grafted on nobler instincts than pride, and selfish, personal ambition. We do not find that it lost any of its force, when these gave place to the deepest self-abasement, and love to God became the ruling principle of his life. His natural constitution seems to have been the hap- piest combination of opposite qualities. The capacity for serious and earnest pursuit, and the intense desire for distinction, were balanced by buoyant gayety of spirits, and a disposition unusually genial and affection- ate. His extreme kindness to the inferior animals, and his tenderness towards his younger sister, whom he made his favorite companion and confidant, are traits which, in a high-spirited boy, always indicate a nature of the finer cast. In all his collegiate contests for liter- ary honors, we find in him no trace of the insolence or malignity so often developed under like circum- stances. His college rival was also his intimate and endeared friend. After having dashed off, in the first 12 THE EARNEST MAN. transport of receiving the highest honors of his class, his veni, vidi, vici — ("Dear Father, / have got it. Your affec. son.") — we find him taking a circuitous walk to the post-office with his laconic letter, lest he should betray his exultation to his defeated friend. It must be confessed, however, that, magnanimous as this appears, the mortification of a failure would have been, to such a spirit, a much truer test of moral power. Had the genius of his rival friend proved more than a match for his best exertions, it may be doubted whether his feelings towards him would have been altogether so amiable. Yet it is no small testimony to the sweetness of his disposition, that, with his evident superiority and unvarying success in college, he excited in his associates so warm a sentiment of personal affection. He had, indeed, the sensitive quickness and irascibility of feel- ing inseparable from a highly organized temperament, flashes of which appeared occasionally even in the ripest stages of his Christian life ; but it was, from child- hood, wholly unmixed with malevolence or sullenness. In Dr. Way land's Memoir, Mrs. Emily Judson has given some highly characteristic reminiscences of her husband's childhood and youth. In the tendencies here developed, we see the germs of the future man. There was the same intense delight in intellectual action, the same disposition to think for himself, and to conquer CHILDHOOD. 13 difficulties by his own unaided strength. Nothing suited him better than an intellectual knot which nobody else could untie. Hence the solution of hard riddles and enigmas was a favorite pastime of his childhood, by which he won great applause from his schoolfellows and playmates. Many a Christian parent would have frowned on such a waste of time. His wiser father made it the point of connection for more valuable and earnest studies. One incident, connected with this habit, fur- nishes a pleasing illustration of the character of both, and of the grave and patriarchal dignity of a New England father of that time. Adoniram found one day, in a newspaper, an enigma which challenged solution in somewhat boastful terms ; and having, by dint of hard guessing, puzzled it out to his own satisfaction, he wrote out his answer, is ■ fair hand, and deposited it in the post-office, addressed to the editor of the newspaper. The astute village postmaster, suspecting danger in the proceeding, returned the letter to his father, who solemnly produced it the same evening after tea, and inquired respecting its contents. " Please, father, read it!" replied the boy, with a trepidation in which mortified vanity was probably mingled with some anx- iety as to the possible results ; for, in those days, the enormity of a transgression was often made percep- tible to a child by another medium than his rea- 14 THE EARNEST MAN. son. But he need not have feared in this case. The admirable reply, — "I do not read other people's letters; break the seal and read it yourself," — by which he fixed for life, in his son's mind, a lesson of honor and delicacy, is worthy the attention of all who are concerned in the management of the young. Nor did he deem the exhibition of mental character, fur- nished by the solution of a riddle, unworthy his attention. After a careful comparison of the enigma and its answer, he fell into a long reverie, the termination of which was awaited, with great anxiety, on the part of his son. He made no further remark, however, and the letter was never again referred to. But the next morning the lad was surprised by the gift of " a book of riddles " from his father, with the promise of another more diffi- cult when this should have been mastered. The riddle- book proved, to his great disappointment, the arithmetic studied by the older boys at school ; but the words of praise and hope, which had accompanied the gift, touched and kindled the susceptible young heart. By his tenth year, he had established quite a little reputation as a proficient in arithmetic, extending even beyond the bounds of his native village. So much for the " wisdom of kindness " in the management of children. Had the study been forced on him as a task, his active mind would still, no doubt, have done it justice ; but that all- CHILDHOOD. 15 important element of high intellectual success, the de- light of voluntary labor, would, so far, have been en- tirely lost. His education seems to have been pushed with less regard to his health than to his mental capacity and thirst for knowledge. At the age of ten, he had made considerable progress in the science of navigation, under the instruction of one Capt. Moreton. But though he excelled in whatever he undertook, his peculiar aptitude was for the study of language, his future career thus foreshadowing itself in the predilections of boyhood. The nickname, * Old Virgil dug up," by which he was known among his comrades at the grammar school, indicates him as their acknowledged leader in this department. But even at tins early age, the routine of school ex- ercises could not satisfy his cravings for knowledge. Hi was an insatiable reader, and, as might be expected, hi.- lather's small theological library did not meet all the wants of such a mind. It seems, indeed, that he found attractive food even among those grave and solid books of divinity ; but it is not surprising that the honey likewise sought among the flowers. All the village stock of romance and poetry, among the rest the novels jf Fielding and Richardson, and Ben Jonson's plays, was exhausted in his leisure hours. One interesting incident, which happened before he was twelve years 16 THE EARNEST MAN. old, shows with what restless vitality his young mind was putting out its feelers in every direction of inquiry. The gorgeous imagery, and mysterious symbolism of the Apocalypse, had taken strong hold of his imagination-; no doubt its grand, shadowy revelations answered to yearnings in his nature which found little response in the Assembly's Catechism, or his father's books of doctrinal divinity ; and he longed to know what it meant. One day, when there were visitors at his father's house, the conversation turned on a new Exposition of the Apocalypse, which was thought to shed great light upon this dark portion of Scripture, and it was men- tioned that a copy of the work was in the possession of a gentleman in the neighborhood. The silent boy, sit- ting unnoticed among his grave seniors, listened as if to tidings of some newly discovered treasure. That book he must have, — but how obtain it? The owner" was a person of stern, reserved manners, such as a child would not willingly approach. It seems a little strange that he did not seek his father's intervention ; perhaps he shrunk, as sensitive children are apt to do, from betraying his deep interest to one who might deem the subject quite above his comprehension. After a long ■conflict with himself, he resolved to make the attempt on his own responsibility. But when his modest request, for a loan of the Commentary on the Apocalypse, was CHILDHOOD. 17 met by a cold and curt refusal, the disappointment and mortification drove him to confess the whole matter to his father. " Not lend it to you ! " replied the proud father ; " I wish he could understand it half as well ! " Again this thoughtful guardian caught the hint, thus accidentally furnished, of a new stage in the develop- ment of his son's mind. He saw that he needed a wider range of intellectual employment, and thought it worth while to be at the expense and trouble of a journey to Boston, for the express purpose of making a selection of instructive books for his use. *x Karly in his fifteenth year, he had a severe attack of illness, terminating in a languishing state of health, which laid him aside from study for a whole year. It was not, however, a year of mental inactivity. Con- demned to bodily repose, cut off from occupation and amusement in outward life and books, his restless spirit turned all its forces in upon himself. Now, for the first time, he awoke into a proud, all-absorbing self-conscious- ness. His own intellectual gifts, and the triumphs they were to achieve in future life, became the centre of his thoughts. Through long days and nights he lay upon his couch, feeding ambition with visions of greatness and glory, such as no mortal had yet won. Now he was a second Homer, thrilling a nation with his heroic lays ; now a statesman, guiding, with steady hand, the 2 18 THE EARNEST MAN. destinies of his country ; but whatever might be the dream of the moment, its nucleus was ever his own preeminent greatness. With his religious training, it could not be, but that these self-pleasing imaginations should be occasionally disturbed by reflections of an opposite character. How- ever brilliant his career, would not death put a speedy and a final end to it all ? Could he satisfy himself with being merely an immortal memory ? His thoughts then turned to the clerical profession. Was there not here a path, he asked, in which one might win an enviable fame on earth, and insure its perpetuity in the life beyond ? The moral sublimity of the calling, as connected with the highest interests of humanity, grew upon his thoughts. Yes ; here was honor worth possess- ing, — noble, in itself, and noble induration. But the beautiful fabric dissolved, as by a flash of lightning, when suddenly there idarted into his mind that grand ascription of the Psalmist, to which only the Christian heart can say Amen : " Not unto us, Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory ! " Ah ! he felt in his inmost heart, though he dared not confess it even to himself, that here was a principle from which he turned with loathing. He could not thus cast his own glory at the feet of his Creator. The unpleasant sub- ject was therefore dismissed with the determination CHILDHOOD. 19 that, whatever else happened, he must fulfil his father's prophecy, and become a great and distinguished man. Is there not something fearful in this exhibition of a human soul, even in the so-called innocent and irre- sponsible days of early youth ! What a battle-ground of opposing powers ! "What thoughts " that wander through eternity ! " Who shall say that the child is incapable of estimating moral distinctions, and of making for himself an intelligent decision between good and evil ? How many such a spiritual conflict, over whose issues angels smile or weep, is settled in the bosoms of our children, while we are delaying their religious culture till they shall come " to years of discretion." la the case of this highly gifted youth, the conflict, at hBftfJ lor this time, had taken a fatal turn. The claims of religion had been clearly seen to be incompatible with the worship of Self, — and self had won the day. How little the pious father guessed at what was going on in the mind of his son! How little, had he known it, would he have Mispeeted, that his own hand haoT helped to fan the spark of ambition into that consuming flame ! It was a sad moral preparation to take into the dangers and temptations of college life. Thte self- idolatry was the full-swollen germ, which needed but a congenial atmosphere to develop into conscious and avowed skepticism. CHAPTER H. COLLEGE LIFE. On recovering his health, towards the close of his fifteenth year, young Judson resumed his studies with fresh ardor. Having completed the requisite prepara- tion, previous to his illness, he immediately entered Brown University ; and, although under the disadvan- tage of being behind his class, his unflagging diligence soon placed him in the foremost rank. This position, once gained, he never lost. As a student, his example offers, in several respects, an instructive lesson to young men. Though speedily recognized as one of the most brilliant minds in college, and as we have seen, fully conscious of his own superi- ority, he was as punctilious in every college duty, as anxious never to fail in recitation, as if all his hopes of success had rested on mere correctness of deportment and plodding industry. Nor did he ever seem to imag- ine, that genius could strike out any more direct path to knowledge, than the old beaten road of hard study. COLLEGE LIFE. 21 Genius, with him, was the power of working out suc- cess, not of flying or leaping to it. He knew nothing of those inspirations and intuitions, by which some hope to arrive at knowledge ; but he could fasten his mind on a given theme, with a resolute tenacity, which never yielded till the task was mastered. He had indeed, in a high degree, that healthful love of work, which is an unfailing characteristic of minds of the first order. Slotlifulness was so abhorrent to his nature, that he would have despised a success not sweetened by previ- ous toil. The elevation df his aims, moreover, though purely worldly, raised him above those petty tempta- tions of vanity, by whieh so many young men of ready talent lose nearly all the benefit of a course of study. One who was bent on doing some great work in life, of playing no mean part in the coming age, could not neg- lect the necessary preparation, for the sake of being hailed as " a glorious fellow " in the club-room, or of astonishing undergraduates by displays of florid elo- quence. The spirit of study seems to have been somewhat high in the University at this period, at least among those who were contending for the much-coveted prize of college honors. As a general thing, it may be said that college life then represented the choicer minds of the rising generation, to a much greater extent than at 22 THE EARNEST MAN. present. There were more of those who could conquer destiny in their craving after a liberal education ; more whose lamps went not out by night, and who counted not their life dear in the pursuit of knowledge. The literary advantages then offered at Providence, were limited in comparison with those enjoyed by its students of the present day ; yet through that generous intel- lectual enthusiasm, and manly earnestness of purpose, which he possessed in common with many others, young Judson bore from his Alma Mater a thoroughly disci- plined and richly furnished mind. His classical at- tainments, especially, were of the very first order, and excited in his instructors high anticipations of what he might accomplish in the field of linguistic research. It appears also, that while in college, or during the year succeeding his graduation, he made such proficiency in the Hebrew language, as to fit him for entering the Seminary at Andover, a year in advance ; a fact which, considering his worldly character and aims at the time, furnishes a striking indication of the bent of his mind. So far as human culture was concerned, he had fully satisfied his father's wishes. An elegant scholar and writer, an acute thinker, a ready, graceful, and impres- sive speaker, his brilliant success in life seemed sure, in whatever path he might choose to seek it. But the moral and religious influence of his college life COLLEGE LIFE. 23 had been far less favorable. Infidelity was the fashion with young America of that day, and found its rankest growth in the seminaries of liberal learning. Nor i9 this so strange, when it is considered to what a degree Freeth inking in religion had then linked itself with the principles of political liberty. The political and relig- ious writings of Thomas Paine, and other deists of the eighteenth century were then at the height of their ascendency, and had taken the young at once on their noblest and on their weakest side. There was some- thing so grand, so captivating in this idea of a new age -on, in which universal freedom was to be ushered in by emancipation from all the old restraints of priest- craft and superstition ! It was so pleasant to feel that they themselves were no longer children, to be fright- ened by bugbears and old wives' fables ! The very boldness with which they were taught to lay their hands upon that ancient Book, whose warnings had so often crossed the track of youthful passion, and pointed the stings of conscience, brought an exulting sense of manly power and freedom. It was a dark hour in the national life. A pestilential atmosphere overhung our seats of learning. It seemed as if all the educated talent of the country were about being swept into the ranks of impiety and irreligion. When, in the year 1795, Dr. Dwight entered on the presidency of Yale 24 THE EARNEST MAN. College, he found almost the entire body of students the avowed adherents of infidelity. It is mentioned by his biographer, as an indication of the spirit of the time, that several members of the class, which first came under his instruction, had adopted the names of the principal French and English skeptics, and were more familiarly known by them in college than by their own. Great was the need, at such a period, in all our colleges, of that power of earnest, vital piety, by which Dwight so soon exorcised the unclean spirit, and drove it forth, in shame and derision, from halls founded by the benefactions and consecrated by the prayers of God's people. Unhappily, Brown University presented, in this respect, a wide contrast to its present condition. Its inmates received little aid, in regard to their most important interests, from their academic guardians. Under these circumstances, it is no matter of surprise that one so young and inexperienced as Judson, should have been dazzled by the sophisms of the new philosophy, and learned to smile at the narrow prejudices of his education. The state of mind which he had brought to college helped to betray him into the snare. The skepticism of the heart had already prepared the way for that of the head. The distinct perception, derived from his personal consciousness, that the claims of God, as set forth in the Bible, were at war with his dearest COLLEGE LIFE. 25 plafis and hopes in life, would easily merge into the conviction that the Bible was itself a cheat. The tempter came, moreover, in the guise best adapted to lull suspicion. In the class next above Judson, was a young man by the name of E , to whom he was drawn by the strongest affinity of tastes, and who admitted him, though of inferior college rank, to his closest intimacy. Genius, wit, literary culture, a genial temper, fascinating manners, all combined to make him an idol and an oracle to his younger friend. It was chiefly through his subtle arguments and graceful raillery, that Judson imbibed the poison of unbelief; for this brilliant youth was a confirmed and active deist. Perhaps no agency less insinuating could have so entirely overcome the influences of early life. It was by hiding among flowers, that the wily se^ent had secured his victim. The two friends were now in all ts, of one heart and one soul. They often discussed with each other their plans for future life, and each promised himself and his friend a long and brilliant career on earth. To all appearance, they were bound together likewise, in one fearful destiny, as respects the life beyond. The influences of his New England home had, indeed, not wholly forsaken the misguided youth. The purity of his manners remained uncontaminated. Though 26 THE EARNEST MAN. excessively gay, and disposed to partake freely of social pleasures, he seems to have held aloof from every thing gross and vicious, and to have been guilty of nothing which could cause a blush on his mother's cheek. But when the dikes are undermined, must not the over- whelming flood be near? When the little bark is afloat upon the downward tide, without rudder or pilot, are not the black whirlpools sure of their prey ? Angel voices still entreat the reckless voyager from the shore ; but he calls back, with a proud smile : " No danger ! " hoists his little sail to the breeze, and hurries on. A hand from above must pluck him from the fatal current, or he is lost forever I CHAPTER in. THE RETURNING WANDERER. On leaving college, Judson returned to his father's house in Plymouth, where he spent the following year as teacher of a private school. He seems not to have fixed on a profession as yet; and probably resorted to teaching, in order to secure means for travelling and seeing something more of the world, before deciding that important question. The preparation during the same year, in addition to the labors of the schoolroom, of two elementary books, on grammar and arithmetic, shows with what manly energy, and what habits of laborious application, he was entering on the career of active life. On the 9th of August, 1808, the day on which he com- pleted his twentieth year, he closed his school, in order to commence a tour on horseback through the Northern His departure from his father's house was marked by painful circumstances. He went not forth, as formerly, accompanied by the cheerful blessing of 28 THE EARNEST MAN. his parents ; for he had turned their fond hopes into bitter grief and humiliation. Urged by his natural ingenuousness, or by that pride of character which scorned to appear other than he was, he had taken an opportunity, before leaving home, of disclosing his infidel sentiments to his father. The blow seems to have fallen on the excellent man wholly without preparation ; and awoke all the emotions of disappointed pride, injured affection, and pious grief not unmixed with anger, which might be expected from his character. This renun- ciation of truths, inculcated on his son from infancy, and clear to his own mind as the sun in heaven, seemed to him mere wilful perversity, and a reckless disregard at once of filial and of religious obligation, which called for the sternest expressions of paternal displeasure. It is interesting to see the proof, afforded by this incident, that whatever of worldly pride had mingled in this Christian father's anticipations of greatness for his son, it was of a greatness whose essence was goodness. He had still every reason to expect that his son would attain some conspicuous station in the world's eye ; but the moment which told him, that the object of his am- bitious love was an apostate from his God, turned the garnered hopes of twenty years to bitterness and anguish. Probably, however, the tone of authoritative rebuke was not the one best adapted, to influence such a mind. The THE RETURNING WANDERER. 29 prayer, in which the father's heart poured itself out at the domestic altar, on the morning of his departure, the look of trouble on that father's countenance, and the silent tears of his mother, as they bade him farewell, were much more dangerous to his new philosophy. Its armory furnished no defence against weapons like these. Pride, indeed, forbade his yielding to their influence ; but they fastened themselves in his heart, and went with him in all his wanderings. Thus they parted in mutual pain ; the son to dissipate his uneasiness, if he could, in the excitement of new scenes and pleasures ; the parents to weep and pray for him in that home, which his error had so unexpectedly and so sadly darkened. After visiting several of the New England States, he left his horse with an uncle, a clergyman in Sheffield, Mass., and proceeded to Albany. Thence he took pas- sage for New York, in the Fulton steamer, then starting on her second trip down the Hudson. It was a trip rich with pleasure to his sensitive and cultivated mind. The new revelation of beauty furnished by the grand river scenery, comparatively little known at that time, stamped itself upon his fancy, with a force which all the changes of his subsequent life could not obliterate. Even in his last illness, he recalled its features with all the enthusiasm of recent enjoyment. But the main object of his visit to New York was to " see life." In further- 80 THE EABNEST MAN. ance of this plan, he went by the name of Johnson, — a sufficient indication how thoroughly he intended to use his present opportunity. Such a curiosity is not to be condemned in unqualified terms. No liberal and inquiring mind can be satisfied with knowing human life, only as it is presented on tfce fair, upper surface of society. Neither outward nature, nor books, open to the man of reflection a study so profoundly interesting, as this great problem of humanity, under its various circumstances and forms of development. Some minds turn to it by an instinct no less strong than that which marks out others, from earliest boyhood, as devotees of science. It is the natural direction of their genius. They read men as others read books ; and, if right in heart, draw from the study lessons of higher import than could ever be educed by the solitary labors of the student's cell. It was from his natural, restless inquisi- tiveness into every object of knowledge, and especially into human character, that Judson now resolved to see to the bottom of New York society ; nor have we any reason to suppose that his change of name had any object more criminal than protection against the mis- apprehensions and remonstrances of anxious friends. But well does he need to be guarded by maturity in virtue, and with pure Christian philanthropy for his leading motive, who ventures to search for knowledge THE RETURNING WANDERER. 31 in those dark and intricate paths of human life. It is a study fraught with peril to youth and inexperience. It is rare, indeed, that some dark stain, to which the penitent vainly cries, with after-tears of anguish and remorse : " Out, damned spot ! " some remembrance " that stings forevrrmpre," must not be numbered among the fruits of this " tree of knowledge of good and evil." Tlint pride of character, on which our young adventurer relied as his sole defence in these untried dangers, would no doubt have soon proved its weakness, had not the unseen, unacknowledged, contemned hand of Infinite Goodness, guarded his bosom with a surer panoply. In addition to the general objects of this visit to New York, Judson had a special errand, — that of acquaint- ing himself thoroughly with theatrical life, and the reg- ulations of the stage, in case he should conclude to adopt dramatic authorship as his profession. For this purpose he attached himself, for a time, to a theatrical company, — a connection which must have furnished sufficiently striking contrasts with his previous life. But it was with a far different design that this ad- venturous, inquiring, ardent spirit had been fashioned by its Creator. Not one of its natural tendencies or n but had been bestowed by Eternal Wisdom ; not one was to be cast aside as worthless, in the noble field of Christian labor. When the love of Christ dis- 32 THE EARNEST MAN. placed selfish ambition, as the ruling motive of his life, he did not turn with indifference from the study of human nature. He did not withdraw to the inner world of contemplation, or even devote himself to a life of pious labor with the pen. From the moment when he first tasted the joys of a full salvation, his soul opened wide its arms, all its native energies and affections glowing with new vitality, to embrace his Brother-Man. There was no question as to the path in which he was to serve his Redeemer, none of the usual conflicts of duty with in- clination. The whole strong current of his nature flowed in harmony with the Divine Call. He knew, from the first dawn of his spiritual morning, that he was to be, in the Saviour's sublimely simple phrase ; " a fisher of men." But to return to our narrative, which now approaches the crisis of his whole history. Resolutely as he had carried out his plan of indepen- dent action, and free, practical inquiry during this journey, he had not been able wholly to escape the admonitions of conscience. Though firmly maintaining the opinions, to which, as he imagined, he had been led by candor and love of truth, he could not forget that the disclosure of them had planted sharp thorns in the hearts of his revered parents. Their sorrowful and downcast looks, at parting, haunted him wherever he went. He seems THE RETURNING WANDERER. 83 to have been conscious, moreover, that his present mode of life was gaining an influence over him, which he had not anticipated. So much, at least, he confessed to him- self, that " not for worlds would he see a younger brother in the same situation." But he repelled such misgivings by the thought, that he was only satisfying a liberal curiosity, and that his self-respect was a sufficient pro- tection against all danger. From New York he returned to Sheffield for his horse, with the intention of extending his journey in a western direction. The story of the next two days is among the most striking in the history of religious con- version. At his uncle's he found a young clergyman, who was supplying the pulpit in the minister's tem- porary absence. Whether he was aware of the full extent of Judson's unbelief, is not mentioned ; but find- ing that he was not a Christian, he took the opportunity to urge upon him the importance of personal religion, with a tender, gentle earnestness, which greatly affected him. Under this softening influence, he left his uncle's house, and pursued his journey through one day. The solitary ride was favorable to the continuance of serious feeling ; and the impressions of the morning were not yet wholly dissipated, when he halted, for the night, at a country tavern. As the landlord showed him to his room, he apologized for placing him next door to a young man, 3 34 THE EARNEST MAN. who he feared was in a dying condition. With a stoi- cism which we must believe was more than half as- sumed, Judson assured him, with an expression of pity for the sufferer, that, so far as he was himself concerned, the proximity was a matter of entire indifference. But such philosophy demands admiring witnesses, and his vanished in the silence and darkness of his solitary chamber. He could not sleep. The sounds from the sick room fastened on his ear, and suggested the most agitating reflections. Was the dying man prepared for the change which awaited him ? He blushed, as he felt the prejudices of childhood again creeping over him. Prepared ! What preparation was needed for an eternal sleep ? But still the question would return ; into what scenes is his spirit about to pass ? The land- lord had spoken of him as a young man. Was he, like the faithful friend whose warnings of yesterday were yet fresh in his mind, a Christian : or, like himself, a skeptic, the source of unutterable sorrow and anxiety to pious parents ? What were the feelings of the dying youth, in this testing hour ? — What would be his own, in a like situation ? Suppose he were now stretched on the bed of death ; could he look with philosophic calmness towards the final moment, sure that the next instant his soul, with all its capacities for joy and sorrow, would have gone out like an extinguished taper ? Ah ! THE RETURNING WANDERER. 85 there was a shuddering in that soul, which prophesied of a future, a future of conscious bliss or woe, a future of righteous retribution ! He tried to rouse himself from these childish terrors, by recalling the arguments which once had seemed so con- vincing. He thought of his deistical friends, and a^ked what they would think of such weakness. Especially the witty and sagacious E , his dearest friend, his master in the philosophy of reason ; what would he say ? The poor youth cowered in his bed, as he imagined the pitying smile and the keen shafts of ridicule, with which that firm mind would meet such nursery superstitions. But all would not do ; and through the whole night his spirit was tossed upon a restless sea of disquietude and doubt. Daylight proved a much more effective ally of reason. The cheerful dawn banished these mid- night spectres, as by a spell ; and the young philosopher sprang up, relieved, reassured, and ready to smile at the tricks, which fancy can play the wisest in the dark. On leaving his room, he went immediately to the landlord, with kind inquiries after the sick man. " He is dead ! " was the reply. " Dead ! " " Yes, he is gone, poor fellow ; the doctor thought he could not survive the night." "Do you know his name?" "0 yes; he was from Providence College, — a fine fellow ; his name was E ." 36 THE EARNEST MAN. Where now was reason and philosophy ? Those few words had struck away their very foundations. Judson made his way back to his own room, where he spent several hours in a state of wretchedness, bordering on stupefaction. The words : " Dead ! Lost ! Lost ! " rung continually in his ears. He needed no arguments to convince him, that the doctrine in which he had trusted was a lie. Every instinct of his awakened soul bore witness that, after death, there is a dread beyond, into which his miserable friend had entered, and on whose slippery brink he himself stood, just ready to follow. When at length he again mounted his horse, it was not to pursue his journey westward. Humbled, broken-hearted, almost despairing, he had said in his heart : " I will arise, and go to my father ! " Filled with indescribable yearnings for the counsel, prayers, and tender sympathy, which might bring a healing balm to his wounded spirit, he turned his horse's head towards Plymouth, and, after a most sorrowful ride, presented himself, unexpectedly, to his parents. The overwhelm- ing surprise, gratitude, and joy, with which they learned the cause of his return, and the welcome with which they met the downcast wanderer, may easily be imag- ined. He returned not, indeed, as a Christian ; but surely there was joy in heaven, as well as on earth, over that contrite sinner, crushed under a sense of guilt, and humbly inquiring for the way of pardon and salvation. CHAPTER IV. CONVERSION, AND SELF-CONSECRATION. The mind of young Judson had still a long and painful process to undergo, before it could arrive at light and peace. He had proved the utter worthless- ness of his infidel philosophy ; and that feeling of per- sonal sinfulness and spiritual want had been awakened, which is the necessary precursor of all true inward life. But the net of sophistry, in which he had suffered himself to be taken a willing captive, could not be at once shaken off; its meshes still clung around him, and impeded all his efforts to find the truth. Instead of springing at once into the full liberty of the gospel, he must begin at the bottom, and unwind, one by one, with weary pains, the fallacies with which he had cheated his understanding and dimmed his moral sense. Such is the humiliating experience of many a daring, speculative mind, when roused to a sense of spiritual danger. The deathlike sleep of sin is broken ; but it is like waking at midnight, in such bewildering dark- 38 THE EARNEST MAN. ness, to such a dreary sense of loneliness and danger, that one could almost wish he had not waked. It is, however, an experience full of wholesome lessons to the proud heart. When it has found, by repeated trials, that the boasted light of reason, though it may attain to an intellectual conviction of the truth, leaves the soul still a stranger and an alien to the Source of truth ; still dark, comfortless, destitute of all the joyful sensations and active capacities of the spiritual life ; then it is prepared to welcome the light wherewith God himself shines into the heart. Then it is ready, with full assent, to cry : Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory ! It providentially occurred that Professors Griffin and Stuart, of the Andover Theological Seminary, at this time visited his father, and were made acquainted with the peculiar circumstances of his case. So deeply were their Christian sympathies moved in his behalf, that they proposed his coming to Andover, and prose- cuting his inquiries in connection with the institution. After some hesitation, dictated probably, by the shrink- ing of his proud spirit from such publicity, he wisely concluded to avail himself of the invitation so kindly tendered. On the 12th of October, 1808, he removed to Andover, and entered, as a special student, on the regular course of Theological study with the Middle CONVERSION, AND SELF-CONSECRATION. 39 Class. By so doing, he not only placed himself in the most favorable position for ascertaining the truth, but I public pledge of earnestness in regard to his personal salvation. It was, therefore, a momentous step ; probably, at the crisis he had now reached, the deciding step in his religious history. During Dr. Judson's visit to this country, it was the writer's good fortune to witness a highly interesting scene, which proves how well he remembered, through life, his debt of gratitude to Andover. In the sum- mer of 1846, when he was at Hamilton, N. Y., for the second time, it so happened that the venerable Dr. Woods was there also, on a visit to his relatives,* and preached on Sabbath morning, in the Baptist meeting- house. Dr. Judson sat by his side in the pulpit j a sight, in itself, full of interesting suggestions to those who knew their former relations. At the close of the excellent and characteristic sermon, Dr. Judson arose, and in a brief address, referred with touching humility and tenderness to the time, thirty-eight years before, when he seated himself "a poor blind skeptic" at the feet of the venerable man to whom we had just been listening, and sought from him instruction in the way of life. * An older brother, the Rev. Abel Woods, formerly a Baptist minister in Vermont, was then residing, at an advanced age, in Ham- ilton. 40 THE EARNEST MAN. Not in vain had he taken that position of humble inquiry. Light gradually but surely dawned upon his soul, through successive weeks of earnest, prayerful study ; till at length he was enabled, with the fullest consent of his understanding and affections, to accept of Christ as his Redeemer, and to make an unreserved dedication of himself to his service. The public pro- fession of his faith was made in the following May, when he united himself with the Third Congregational Church in Plymouth, of which his father was then pastor. The object for which he had come to Andover was now attained. Intelligent conviction of the truth of Christianity, based on a searching examination of its evidences, and a living, joyful experience of its power, had succeeded to the state of doubt and wretchedness which brought him thither. The night of his bondage had passed, the morning of an eternal day was beam- ing in his heart. He knew in himself, with the full assurance of consciousness, that he had been the sub- ject of a new creation ; that old things were done away and all things had become new ; that he had passed from death unto life. But with this conscious- ness, there came not only new joys, but new aims and purposes. Self had been dethroned. The enlarged circle of his affections, with God for its centre, em- CONVERSION, AND SELF-CONSECRATION. 41 braced the whole family of man. Whatever he had feared for himself, he now feared for them ; whatever he enjoyed of light and freedom and heavenly commu- nion ; whatever he hoped for of glory and bliss, yet to be revealed in a divine, immortal life beyond the grave, he yearned to share with them. These feelings, which belong in a greater or less degree to every renewed soul, assumed in his case a peculiar intensity from his character and the circumstances of his conversion. So signal a triumph of divine grace demanded a more than ordinary consecration. Having been forgiven much, he loved much. His purpose of becoming a preacher of the gospel, developed itself as naturally out of his inward experience, as a flower unfolds upon a living plant. Without a pang, he laid aside forever all his ambitious projects ; or rather, they vanished of themselves, lost and forgotten in that stronger, heaven- born passion, which liad now taken possession of his soul. A\ r ith his first spiritual consciousness, he recog- nized " the ministry of reconciliation " as his destined work. In June, 1809, he received the appointment of Tutor in Brown University ; an honorable testimonial to his talents and scholarship, and a fair opening, had he been disposed to accept it, to a career of literary distinction and usefulness. But his heart was set upon a higher calling, and he declined the application. 42 THE EARNEST MAN. Such were his feelings and purposes, when, in the following September, he met with Buchanan's " Star in the East ; " and, for the first time, the idea of Foreign Missions took a distinct form in his mind. The effect was electrical. So strongly did the subject seize upon his ardent soul, that, for several days, he was unable to attend to the studies of his class. In a sort of ecstasy of enthusiasm, he spent his time, as he has himself related, " in deploring his previous stupidity, in depict- ing the most romantic scenes in missionary life, and in roving about the college rooms, declaiming on the sub- ject of missions." If any one is disposed to smile at these ebullitions of excited feeling, let him remember that Judson was then but a youth of twenty-one. But there was nothing of youthful shallowness and insta- bility, in the enthusiasm thus suddenly enkindled. Like the first brilliant jet, which darts from a naphtha spring at the igniting touch, it only gave token of the generous* fountains of supply below. Extravagant as.it might seem to more phlegmatic tempers, it had its sources in a depth of conviction, a richness of affections, a breadth of vision, of which few are capable ; and hence it burnt on, undimmed, to the end of life. It was the strength, not the weakness of his character, his power of grasp- ing a sublime Idea, and of living or dying to actualize it, that gave to the subject of missions such a spell-like influence over his mind. CONVERSION, AND SELF-CONSECRATION. 43 It is a mistake, not unfrequently made, that a char- acter in which the emotional and imaginative element is so strongly developed, must necessarily be defective in sober practical judgment. But it is not so. It is the union of the two, that forms the world's earnest men ; the men who undertake and execute the great tasks of humanity.* The truth of this is remarkably exemplified in the case of Judson. Though at the first perception of a noble object, his soul was instantly on fire, yet he was not rash or hasty in action. Young and sanguine as he was when his attention was first fixed on foreign missions, it was not till after several months of earnest inquiry, reflection, and prayer, that he resolved to be- come himself a missionary. The account of his decision is best given in his own words, contained in a letter to his friend and former associate, Rev. Luther Rice. " That excitement," he remarks, " soon passed away ; but it left a strong desire to prosecute my inquiries, and ascertain the path of duty. It was during a solitary walk in the woods behind the college, while meditating and praying on the subject, and feeling half inclined to give it up, that the command of Christ, * Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,* was presented to my mind with such clear- ness and power, that I came to a full decision ; and though great difficulties appeared in my way, re- 44 THE EARNEST MAN. solved to obey the command at all events." This was in February, 1810. In the course of his inquiries, he met with Col. Symmes's " Embassy to Ava ; " and, from that time, his thoughts centred upon Burmah as the part of heath- endom to which, above all others, he would choose to carry the gospel. After having thus decided the question of duty in his own mind, the hard task remained of breaking the matter to his parents. Times have so greatly changed in respect to foreign missions since then, both in regard to public feeling and to the real practical difficulties of the undertaking, that we can hardly estimate the great- ness of this trial. A Christian missionary had then never left these shores for a heathen land. There was no organization to which he could look for direc- tion and support. Worse than all, the missionary spirit, which now seems one of the vital elements in our religious life, had then but just begun to awaken in the churches. Even in Andover itself, that seat of theologi- cal influence, he had found little response to his own ardent feelings on this subject. He was aware that, in the estimation of the Christian public generally, his enterprise would seem but the hairbrained rashness of youth. He knew, too, how strongly his parents had set their hearts upon far different things for him. How CONVERSION, AND SELF-CONSECRATION. 45 could he speak the cruel word, which was to destroy their most cherished expectations ? How could he tell them that the son, on whose reputation they had counted as the pride of their life, and whose affec- tionate care they relied on as the staff of their declining years, was about to abandon them forever ? Being at home, in the winter vacation, he watched for an opportunity of making the painful communica- tion. One day, when none but the family circle was present, his father began to hint at certain brilliant prospects which awaited his son, as soon as he should have finished his theological studies. Adoniram begged his father to explain what he meant, as perhaps his own views for the future might not coincide with those of his parents. How was he confounded when he heard, that Dr. Griffin himself, then, by universal consent, the first of New England evangelical preachers, and stand- ing at the most distinguished point of influence, had selected him as his colleague in " the largest church in Boston 1 * Here was a temptation, which might have dazzled a much older head. Who could wonder, if for a time his heart had turned from the life of toil and self-denial among the degraded heathen, to so flattering a prospect of distinction, and usefulness, and comfort, in his native land. But the subject seems not once to have presented itself in this form to his 46 THE EARNEST MAN. mind. His sole concern was the bitter disappointment to his parents. " You will be so near home ! " ex- claimed his fond mother. His heart seemed break- ing, and he was unable to utter a word of reply. It was not till his sister began to add her congratulations, that he could command his feelings. " No, sister," said he, " I shall never live in Boston. I have much further than that to go!" He then proceeded, in faltering tones, but gathering calmness, and soon kind- ling into enthusiasm as he went on, to unfold his plans of life. His mother and sister listened with many tears ; but his father, from whom he had expected the strongest opposition, said scarcely a word. Probably he saw the hand of God in the matter, and dared not open his lips against it. It seems from the foregoing incident, that his talents for the pulpit had already made a strong impression on his instructors. We know that he possessed, to a very uncommon degree, the qualities which form an effective popular preacher. His mind was at once logical and impassioned, his voice powerful, and his delivery full of life and fire. His sister-in-law, Miss Mary Has- seltine, describes "his eloquence and oratory" as "a transcript of Dr. Griffin V Should we not be very likely, even at this day, to consider such peculiar gifts for usefulness at home, as in a great measure thrown CONVERSION, AND SELF-CONSECRATION. 47 away on a missionary to the heathen? Would not many be ready to exclaim : " To what purpose is this waste ! " With such thoughts might vanity and ambi- tion, under the mask of duty, have deluded his own heart, had not a voice — the voice of One whom, he loved better than father and mother, yea than his own life or honor — whispered in the depths of his soul: " I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles ! " The event has proved how narrow and short-sighted is the policy, which would withhold such gifts, as too pre- cious, from the missionary cause; which would not rather offer to it the best talent, the richest culture, THE FLOWER OF THE CHURCHES. CHAPTER V. "how shall they preach, except they be SENT ?" While Judson had been anxiously considering his personal duty in regard to Foreign Missions, with but little sympathy from those around him, a similar pro- cess was going on in the minds of several young men in Williams College. Mills, Richards, Fiske, Hall, names dear to the Christian world, had already, a year before, united in an association, called by them " The Brethren," for the cultivation of a missionary spirit among them- selves. But as this society, either through the modesty or the timidity of its members, was strictly secret, he did not probably know of its existence till some time subsequent to his own decision. Several of these young men entered the Junior Class in Andover Seminary in the winter of 1809-10 ; but as Judson was now in his last theological year, it is not likely that they became at once intimate associates. While, however, these things had been going on at Andover and Williams, the "HOW SHALL THEY PREACH," ETC. 49 came touch of fire had kindled the heart of Samuel Nott, while pursuing his theological studies with his father in Connecticut. Early in 1810, he joined Judson's class at Andover, and the two congenial spirits were soon united in a warm friendship. It was not long before their classmate, Newell, was one with them in heart and purpose. Next came Gordon Hall. Just on the eve of accepting a pastorship, he received a short letter from Judson, then personally a stranger to liim, which reawakened all his missionary ardor, and rising son saw him on his way to Andover." Ere long, the whole devoted band became helpers of each tith and zeal. Most of them had, till now, been looking chiefly to-' of our own country; but in the free interchange of thought, and the Christian communion enjoyed at Andover, their hearts soon kindled with a more generous fire, and their views expanded to the idea of M >r the World. " I have ever thought," says Mr. Judson, in a letter to Dr. Chapin, in 1837, u that the providence of God was con- spicuously m in bringing us all together, from differ- ent and distant parts. Some of us had been considering the subject of missions for a long time, and some but recently. Some, and indeed the greater part, had thought chiefly of and efforts among the neighboring tribes of Indians, without contemplating abandonment of country, and 1 50 THE EARNEST MAN. devotement for life. The reading and reflection of others had led them in a different way ; and when we all met at the same Seminary, and came to a mutual understanding on the ground of foreign missions and missions for life, the subject assumed, in our minds, such an overwhelming importance and awful solemnity, as bound us to one another, and to our pur- pose, more firmly than ever. How evident it is that the Spirit of God had been operating in different places, and upon different individuals, preparing the way for those move- ments which have since pervaded the American churches, and will continue to increase until the kingdoms of tins world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Anointed ! " From this nucleus the missionary spirit diffused itself through the Seminary, and gradually extended into other institutions of learning, and into the Christian community generally. The public mind was, indeed, not wholly unprepared to respond to their appeals. The early movement of the English Baptists, which resulted in the establish- ment of the Serampore Mission, and was, undoubtedly, the headspring of missionary influence in England, had not been without marked effects upon the spirit of American churches. In this country, the Congregation- alists, stimulated by the example of their own brethren in England, took the lead in promoting an interest in missions. In 1799, an association, which had for its object the diffusion of the gospel among the Indian tribes, as well as among our own people in the remote " HOW SHALL THEY TRKACU," ETC. 51 settlement?, was formed in Boston, under the name of The Massachusetts Missionary Society. In 1804, its amended constitution embraced also the evangelization " of more distant regions of the earth, as circumstances shall invite, and the ability of the society shall admit." The previous year had witnessed the birth of that missionary periodical, which, under the successive names of The Massachusetts Missionary Magazine, The Panoplist, and The Missionary Herald, has exerted so beneficent an influence upon the destinies of the world. A similar spirit had, early in the century, manifested itself in the Baptist churches. In 1802, The Baptist Missionary Society of Massachusetts was formed in Boston. The next year, this society commenced the publication of The American Baptist Magazine, now known as The Missionary Magazine, under the care of the Rev. Thomas Baldwin, D.D., a man whose genial, large-hearted, truly missionary piety has rarely been equalled. II*' WM the friend and correspondent of . Fuller, and Ryland; and it was through him that the spirit of these noble English Baptists was, in some degree, communicated to their brethren in this country. In 1812, The Salem Bible Translation and Foreign Mission Society, designed chiefly as an aux- iliary to the Serampore mission, was formed in Salem, through the exertions of Rev. Lucius Bolles. 52 THE EARNEST MAN. Still, these organizations were very limited, both as to their objects and their pecuniary means. The pro- motion of religion among the Indians and in our frontier settlements, was regarded as the appropriate work of American Christians ; while foreign missions were looked on as something rather to be wondered at and admired from afar, than an object calling for zealous practical cooperation. None of these societies made any provision for sending out missionaries to foreign lands. Nor were Christian youth taught to regard the work as one having claims upon their personal service. Annual sermons were, indeed, preached in behalf of missions. Here and there benevolent individuals, whose Christian sympathies had been quickened on such an occasion, or by the brief visit of an English foreign missionary, gave liberal donations to English missions in the East. Dr. Carey acknowledged the receipt of six thousand dollars from America during the years 1806-7. At another time, more than three thousand dollars were sent from Philadelphia, in the same direc- tion. But an independent American movement, for the occupation of foreign fields by missionaries sent out and supported by ourselves, seems not then to have entered the minds of good men. So slight was the prospect of any immediate aid from this country, that the young brethren at Andover'felt themselves obliged " HOW SHALL THEY PREACH," ETC. 53 to seek it from the liberality of British Christians. Ac- cordingly, in April, 1810, the following application to the London Missionary Society, was addressed by Mr Judson, on behalf of himself and his associates, to the Rev. Dr. Bogue : — Divinity College, Andover, Mass., April, 1810. Rev. Sir': I have considered the subject of missions nearly a year, and have found my mind gradually tending to a deep conviction that it is my duty, personally, to engage in this Several of my brethren of this college may finally unite with me in my present resolution. On their, as well as my own behalf, I take the liberty of addressing you this letter. My object is to obtain information on certain points — whether there is at present such a call for missionaries in India, Tartary, or any part of the eastern continent, as will induce the directors of the London Missionary Society to engage new missionaries ; whether two or three young, unmarried men, having received a liberal education, and resided two years in this Divinity School, wishing to serve their Saviour in a heathen land, and indeed susceptible of a "passion for therrach young men. arriving in England prfag, with full recommendations from the first Christian in this eountry, may expect to be received an Urn by the directors, and placed at the seminary in Gosport, if that be judged expedient ; and Whether, provided \e satisfaction as to their fitness to undertake the work, all their necessary expenses after arriving in England shall be defrayed from the funds of the society ; which funds will, it is hoped, bo ultimately reimbursed by supplies from the American churches. We have consulted our professors on this subject, partic- ularly Dr. Griffin, professor of oratory. He intends writing 54 THE EAKNEST MAN. to several in England, and perhaps to Dr. Bogue. But his engagements being such as will prevent his writing at present, and wishing myself to receive a letter from you immediately, containing the desired information, I have written myself. I close with an earnest request that you will please to transmit me an answer as soon as possible, and a prayer that your answer may be favorable to my most ardent wishes. Signed, Adoniram Judson, Jr. Eev. Dr. Bogue, Gosport, England. P. S. I shall deem it a favor if you do not confine your remarks to the points which I have proposed, but are pleased to give such general information and advice as you may think will be useful to me and my brethren. But their earnest zeal had already awakened a warmer interest at home than they, probably, were aware of. Their instructors and the neighboring min- istry had begun to ask, whether the singular impres- sions on the minds of these young men, did not indicate an era of new Christian activity on the part of the churches. On the 26th of June, the General (Con- gregationalist) Association was to meet at Bradford. On the day previous, the Andover professors, together with several clergymen of the vicinity, met for deliber- ation and prayer on this subject at the house of Pro- fessor Stuart. The result was a recommendation to the young men to present their case to the association. As not only the several associations of Massachusetts, "HOW SHALL THEY PREACH," ETC. 55 but also the general associations of New Hampshire and Connecticut were represented in this body, the step must be regarded as a very important one in the pro- gress of this most interesting history. In accordance with this advice, the following modest and manly paper was drawn up by Mr. Judson, and signed by himself, Nott, Mills, and Newell. The names of Rice and Richards, which were also appended, in the first instance, were struck off at the suggestion of Dr. Spring,* lest the association should be alarmed at so large a number of applicants. The undersigned, members of the Divinity College, respect- fully request the attention of their reverend fathers, convened in the General Association, at Bradford, to the following state- ment and inquiries : — They beg leave to state that their minds have been long impressed with the duty and importance of personally at- tempting a mission to the heathen ; that the impressions on their minds have induced a serious, and, as they trust, a prayerful consideration of the subject in its various attitudes, particularly in relation to the probable success and the diffi- culties attending such an attempt; and that, after examining all the information which they can obtain, they consider them- selves as devoted to this work for life, whenever God, in his providence, shall open the way. They now offer the following inquiries, on which they solicit the opinion and advice of this association : Whether, with their present views and feelings, they ought to renounce ♦ Rev. Dr. Spring, Sen., of Newburyport 56 THE EARNEST MAN. the object of missions, as either visionary or impracticable ; if hot, whether they ought to direct their attention to the eastern or the western world; whether they may expect patronage and support from a missionary society in this country, or must commit themselves to the direction of a European society ; and what preparatory measures they ought to take, previous -to actual engagement. The undersigned, feeling their youth and inexperience, look up to their fathers in the church, and respectfully solicit their advice, direction, and prayers. . Signed, Adoniram Judson, Jr. Samuel Nott, Jr. Samuel J. Mills. Samuel Newell. On the morning of the 26th, Dr. Spring and Mr. Worcester rode together to Bradford. In the course of their conversation, on the way, the idea of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- sions was first suggested ; a circumstance to which Dr. Worcester, near the close of life, referred, with a fond- ness in which every Christian heart must sympathize. The subject having been laid before the association, the young brethren appeared, on the 28th, before their assembled fathers in the Bradford meeting-house, and, after presenting their memorial, severally made a state- ment of their feelings and purposes in regard to the missionary work. Their application was favorably received, and a committee was appointed to consider " HOW SHALL THEY PREACH," ETC. 57 « and report on the subject. On the following day, the committee submitted a report, embodying the sub- stance of that ever, memorable conversation on the morning of the 26th. Its unanimous adoption resulted in the immediate formation of that institution, which has since borne so signal t part in the conversion of the heathen world to Christ, The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Thus, for the first time, American Christianity publicly recognized its universal mission, and pledged itself to enter on the great work. Still, their hearts seem to have faltered in the very net of taking that decisive step. To the deep disap- pointment of the young men, no measures were taken for providing the pecuniary means necessary to cany their wi.-hes into effect. Indeed, so far was the thought of immediate action from the minds of the Board, that a fortnight elapsed before the anxious applicants could even ascertain how their petition had been disposed of. And when informed at length, that it had resulted in nothing more than the advice, — " in the way of earnest prayer and diligent attention to suitable studies and means of information, and putting themselves under the patronage and direction of The Board of Commis- Sbners for Foreign Missions, humbly to wait the open- ings and guidance of Providence in regard to their 58 THE EARNEST MAN. » great and excellent design," — they felt that all hope of aid from this quarter must be relinquished for the present. Their thoughts now turned to England, with renewed interest. " There are now four of us," writes Judson, under date of June 11th, " who are ready to start at three months' warning, for any part of the world — Hall, Newell, Nott, and myself. There are at least four others in the junior class, who are ready to support the mission, wherever it shall be established. We are in a state of suspense as to any immediate measures; our eyes are directed to an arrival from England." Early in the following September, the Board held its second meeting, and had still nothing to offer " the young gentlemen at Andover," but a repetition of their advice in June, u to pursue their studies till further information relative to the missionary field be obtained, and the finances of the institution will justify their ap- pointment." An address, and a form of subscription, to be printed and circulated among the churches, were the only indications of advance since the previous meeting. In this state of things, the expected letter from the secretary of The London Missionary Society, in reply to Mr. Judson's of April 10th, came to hand, contain- ing strong encouragement of an immediate appointment "HOW SHALL THEY PKEACH," ETC 59 by that body, should its managers be satisfied in regard to the qualifications of the candidates. It now became Mr. Judson's most earnest wish to proceed to England, in furtherance of this object. The Board, though at first unfavorable to the plan, and disposed rather to wait for the development of the missionary spirit in this country, at length yielded to his arguments, or his im- portunity, and consented that he should go as their accredited messenger. Being unwilling, however, to relinquish the control of the projected mission, they directed him to ascertain whether a concert of measures could not be effected between the American Board of Commissioners, and the London Missionary Society ; M particularly," — thus the letter of instructions proceeds, — " whether, if circumstances should render it desirable, you and your brethren cun be supported in missionary service for any time by the London funds, without committing your- selves wholly and. finally to the direction of the London society ; or whether it may be in any case consistent, for the mission to be supported partly by them and partly by us ; and if so, under whose direction it must be held." But in case such a connection could not be formed, .'uul the American Board were still unable to assume their entire support, it was the expectation of all con- bO THE EARNEST MAN. cerned that the young men would be resigned, uncon- ditionally, to the London society. This is evident, from Dr. Worcester's letter to the secretary of the London society, of which Mr. Judson was bearer. " Should it," he says, " in the event be thought best that our young brethren 'should be resigned to the patronage and direction of your Society, your venerable and highly respected Board of Directors will judge whether, after the course of studies through which they have passed, it will be expedient for them to spend any time at your school in Gosport; and whether, for any purpose, it will be necessary for the other three to go to England before they shall be actually engaged in your service." How faint was then the prospect that the American Board could sustain an independent mission, or even contribute any efficient aid towards the support of the joint mission which they proposed, appears from the same letter. It certainly presented no very flattering inducements to their English brethren to enter into " a concert of measures." After an elaborate apology for this effort of American Christians, to send the gospel to Asia, on the ground of a general feeling of discouragement in regard to mis- sions on our own continent, the letter proceeds : — As yet, however, we have no adequate funds established for the support of distant and expensive missions. What "HOW SHALL THEY PREACH," ETC. 61 may be done in the course of a short time we know not Ifc is the desire and the prayer of many, that American mis- sionaries may have American support ; and we are not with- out hope that He to whom the silver and the gold belong will open the hearts of the rich among us for this interesting purpose. Should this hope be realized, and missionary funds to any considerable amount be raised, they will probably be placed under such an arrangement as to be employed either in the East, or on our own continent, as divine Providence may direct Furnished with these letters by the Prudential Com- mittee, and having, by his personal exertions, collected the money necessary for his expenses,* Mr. Judson embarked, January, 1811, in the ship Packet, for Eng- land. * The extra expenses incurred by his detention on the way, were afterwards liquidated by the Board. CHAPTER VI. THE DOOR OPENED. The voyage was interrupted by a very unwelcome incident. England and France were then at war, and the two governments respectively had ordered the seiz- ure of all vessels engaged in trade with the rival power. The Packet was captured, on her way to England, by the French ship of war LTnvincible Na- poleon, and the young missionary, arrested on his peaceful embassy, was thrust into her crowded and loathsome hold as a prisoner of war. Being landed with the captive crew at Bayonne, he was lodged with them in a dismal underground dungeon of the prison in that city, under a strong military guard. The same night, however, he effected his escape, by the aid of an American friend ; and, after remaining a short time in concealment, he was released on parole. It was, how- ever, some three months before he could obtain per- mission to leave the country. He improved the inter- val for gaining a knowledge of French society, with THE DOOR OPENED. 63 special reference to the influence of infidel philosophy on the national character and condition. To this he referred, in after life, as among the most profitable of his missionary studies. Being at length allowed to prosecute his journey, he crossed the British Channel on the 3d of May, 1811 ; and on the 6th proceeded to London, and delivered the letters of which he was bearer, and his own letted of instructions, to the Board of Directors of the London Missionary Society. The following extract, from their minutes, is not with- out importance in this history. "Meeting, May 20, 1811. "Head a letter, dated January 3, 1811, from Rev. S. >ter, of Salem, secretary to the Board of Commis- sioners for Foreign Missions, requesting the cooperation of this society in sending out four young men as missionaries to the heathen. v\ also a lettcr'from Rev. Messrs. Griffin, Woods, and Stuart, professors of Andover College, recommending Messrs. A. Judson, S. Newell, S. Nott, and G. Hall, as hav- ing received a liberal education, and of good moral and re- ligious characters, suitable for this purpose. u Read a letter of instructions to Mr. Judson, also a rec- ommendatory letter from Rev. Mr. Codman, of Dorchester, dated December 19, 1810. " Resolved, That a committee be appointed, to consist of Messrs. Alers, Cowie, and Roberts, with the secretary, to consider what measures may be suitable to bo adopted re- 64 THE EARNEST MAN. specting the proposition made by the American brethren to this society, and report** In Mr. Burdens friendly reply to Mr. Worcester's letter, this proposition is passed over in silence ; but Mr. Judson was informed, orally, that the demands of their own extensive missionary operations were such, that they rather needed he,lp than were able to give it to other organizations ; and furthermore, that under any circumstances, such a joint conduct of missions would not, in their opinion, be practicable. Finding that an appointment under the projected coalition was now out of the question, Mr. Judson re- newed the inquiries, previously made by letter on be- half of himself and his associates, as to the possibility of their being employed as missionaries of the London society. This application was received with great cordiality ; the testimonials which the Board had received from this country, as well as their personal intercourse with one of the number, having given the most favorable impression of the talents, piety, and missionary zeal of the candidates. In them, they found an enthusiasm congenial with their own ; and, in order to secure the services of such men, they would gladly have assumed the expense of founding and supporting a new mission THE DOOR OPENED. 65 in the East. They were particularly desirous of re- taining Judson, who seems to have excited a warm personal interest in these noble-minded Christians. To his remark to one of the secretaries, just before leav- ing, that the American Board might ultimately be able to support them all, the reply was made : " No, you must not all leave us ; and whatever your brethren do, stay you by us, at all events." Appointments were voted to the whole number ; with the full understand- ing, however, that the young men preferred, and would avail themselves of American patronage if it could be obtained. After a visit to the missionary school at Gosport, and a conference on the subject of missions with its vener- able principal, Rev. Dr. Bogue, he turned his face towards home. On the 18th of June, six weeks from the time of his arrival, he embarked at Gravcsend, and landed in New York on the 17th of the following August. Just a month after his return, he met the American Board of Commissioners, at "Worcester, rfe soon found that he had done well in obtaining, while he had the opportunity, the appointment of the London society. The nine months which had elapsed since he was sent out by the committee, had not advanced the cause at home a single step. All this while they had been 5 66 THE EARNEST MAN. leaning on the hope of aid from a foreign institution, and had experienced the inevitable c6nsequence, a paralysis of their own powers. The result of his mis- sion brought about an entire change of policy. Cut off from all hope of help from abroad, and in danger of losing their missionary candidates in a body, their only alternative was immediate, energetic action. The crisis had come ; and nobly was it met by those who had before seemed so timid and hesitating. When first informed that the London society de- clined the proposed connection, and that no pecuniary aid for the support of the young men was to be ex- pected from that body, unless they were wholly re- signed to its control, the feeling of disappointment and perplexity was predominant over every other. There is reason to fear, that had Judson returned with this information alone, they would not have been able to resolve upon the manly course, which has made their names illustrious as the founders of American Foreign Missions.* The Committee's Report, on the first day of the session, did indeed recommend to the Board to assume the entire support of the four candidates, rather than resign them altogether ; but the day passed away without any decisive action. * See the quotation from Dr. Worcester's Report, p. 73 of this volume. THE DOOE OPENED. 67 It soon became known, however, that Judson and Nott, at least, were fixed in their purpose to submit to no further delay. Distressed, beyond measure, at this indecision and apparent apathy, and seeing no prospect, in the present state of things, but that they would be detained yet another year, these two young men, after mutual consultation, represented to the Board, in strong terms, their anxiety to be on heathen ground without delay. They reminded the Board that they had al- ready waited long since completing their studies. They urged, especially, the impending war with Eng- land, which, if they were not sent out immediately, might detain them years longer from their field of labor. But their plea was without effect. One of the members, who had filled the office of chief magistrate of a neighboring State, pledged them his word that there would be no war ! But the young men, being otherwise advised, were not willing thus to risk their missionary prospects. Finding every other argument ineffectual, they at length stated to the Board their own decision, to avail themselves of the aid of the London society, and to embark in the first ship sailing for India. The an- nouncement was received with evident feeling by all present, and, by two or three of the members, with marked displeasure. " This," says Judson, " we wero ov [TJKJ7Er, 68 THE EARNEST MAN. sorry to occasion ; but our dearest interests were at stake." He could not regret the step, however, when its happy influence was seen in the new energy im- parted to the action of the Board. He adds : " On breaking up for the night all felt, I believe, that some decisive measure must be taken with the dawn of another day." When they met the Board, the next morning, they were informed that they were not advised to connect themselves with the London society. The vote which had been passed, in regard to this point, was as fol- lows : — " Voted, that this Board do not advise Messrs. Adoniram Judson, Jun., and Samuel Nott, Jun., to place themselves at present under The London Missionary Society ; but to wait the further intimations of Provi- dence relative to our means of furnishing them with the requisite support in the proposed foreign mission." Before the close of the morning session, they were able to place beneath this vote the following ever- memorable record : — " Messrs. Adoniram Judson, Jun., Samuel Nott, Jun., Samuel Newell, and Gordon Hall, were appointed missionaries to labor under the direction of this Board in Asia, either in the Burman empire, or in Surat, or in Prince of Wales Island, or elsewhere, as, in the view THE DOOR OPENED. 69 of the Prudential Committee, Providence shall open the most favorable door." Another vote fixed the amount of salary, and the sum to be allowed for outfit ; and made an appropria- tion of three hundred dollars for the purchase of books for their use. Thus the long agitated question was at length settled, and the American mission bark fairly launched upon its destined way. The narrative, just given, does no discredit to the excellent men who composed the first American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. For learning, piety, and practical wisdom, they were among the noblest representatives of their age. But in those last words — their age — is found the secret of their slow and hesitating policy. They were yet standing in the shadow cast backward by the departing eighteenth century, in whose ideas and habits their entire char- acters had been formed. Conservatives in all things, their aim, in the sphere of religion, was rather to " strengthen the things that remained and were ready to die," than to attempt bold aggressions on the kingdom of darkness. Whatever was novel, and especially whatever was to be done in haste, was wholly foreign and repulsive to their settled modes of thought and action. It is not strange, then, that the 70 THE EARNEST MAN. sudden outburst of the spirit of the new age, seen in the bold plans and fiery energy of the ardent youths of Andover, should have been met, at first, with com- parative coldness by these considerate men. They were not, indeed, slow to appreciate the excellence of the object; but their very sense of its greatness made them timid. A quarter of a century would not, to them, have seemed too long for maturing a plan of opera- tions, and collecting materials, commensurate with so vast a work. And who shall say, that this caution was not an indispensable element in the glorious enterprise? It was the union of their deliberate wisdom with the all-hoping, all-daring zeal of youth, that secured to the common movement all the qualities which insure suc- cess, and made the change, from the policy of the past to that of the present, a safe and beautiful transition. The point of time in which the undertaking had its birth, was, moreover, one of special pecuniary difficulty. The energies of the industrial and commercial classes were benumbed by an embargo. A general spirit of gloom and foreboding overspread the country. Every- body felt poor, and inclined rather to retrench ordinary expenditures than to incur new ones. " It was, seem- ingly, the worst time that could have been chosen to ask for money to advance the spiritual welfare of our ^antipodes. What could be expected, but that the THE DOOR OPENED. 71 scheme would be at once condemned, as too visionary and impracticable to be entertained ? A fatal blow might thus be struck at the infant enterprise. To human forecast, delay seemed wise ; and we cannot wonder if, in the first embarrassment, the generous youthful zeal which insisted on immediate action, should to these cautious fathers have looked rather like rash and self- conceited presumption. But the event proved that, in this instance, the uncalculating enthusiasm of youth was a heaven-inspired, a prophetic impulse. Provi- dence had selected this hour of darkness and depres- sion, for doing signal honor to the divine principle of faith. u Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, eaith the Lord," was to be inscribed 5n the very corner- stone of this noblest work of American piety. It i> animating to remark the immediate effect of the new position of the society, on the whole tone of the missionary enterprise. It was the only one which could allow full development, to men like Samuel Worcester and Jeremiah Evarts. Released from the cramping influence of mere prudent calculation, they stood up in the dignity of a sublime faith, and their worjls went with an awakening, thrilling power into the heart of the American church. It was the cry in her ear, long dulled by spiritual sloth : " Arise, shine ; for thy light is come; and the glory of the Lord is risen 72 THE EARNEST MAN. upon thee. And the nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." Assuredly, none of their successors, in happier times, can show a brighter page, than that which records the achievements of these men, in the winter of the year 1812. An opportunity unexpectedly offered, for sending out the missionaries to India in the ship Harmony, which was about to sail from Philadelphia, by special permission of government. There was but a fortnight for preparation, and but five hundred dollars were in the treasury ; while eight or ten thousand must be raised in this brief interval. Yet it was decided that they should go ! It was not all, even of the most ar- dent friends of missions, whose faith was equal to an emergency like this. But there were some, — let it be ever held in grateful remembrance, who were thus honored of God. " Brother Worcester," said Dr. Spring,* but a few days before the intended embarka- tion, "I fear you are going too fast. I doubt if we shall have the means to pay the sum which we must borrow." " There is money enough in the churches," answered Mr. Worcester. " I know that very well ; but how can you get at it ? " " The Lord has the Key ! " was the noble reply, which contained in itself the earnest of success. For never yet, in the history * Memoir of Dr. Worcester, vol. ii. 122. THE DOOR OPENED. 73 of Christian benevolence, was such a trust dishonored by him who had inspired it. The appointments which Mr. Judson had obtained from the London society, were found, at this crisis, to be a most efficient instrument for securing the desired object at home. The statement to the public, that " in the last resort, the missionaries could place themselves under the care and direction of the London society," was a pledge to the faint-hearted, that the Board was proceeding with considerate foresight; and that their contributions would not be lost to the common cause, even should its present attempt prove abortive. To the leaders also, in the new movement, it was no small comfort to know that the mission bark had a double bottom; and that their responsibilities, if found to be too great, could be at once transferred to other shoulders. Accordingly, the whole Prudential Com- mittee at length concurred in the views of the cor- responding secretary; and a resolution was unani- mously adopted, to send out the missionaries by The Harmony.* Such importance did Dr. Worcester as- cribe to the above consideration, as to speak of it in his report, at the next annual meeting of the Board, in the following language : " Probably, indeed, the resolution could not have been taken at all, but for * Memoir of Dr. Worcester, vol. ii. 121 Mid 122. 74 THE EARNEST MAN. the commission which had been obtained from that society. For the committee cast themselves upon Divine Providence in the case, with the alternative distinctly in view, that, should they fail of seasonably obtaining the funds to enable them to send out the missionaries in the employment of this Board, they could, in the last resort, let them go under the London commission. Having this alternative, they ventured upon a measure, which otherwise (so doubtful was the prospect of obtaining the pecuniary means) they probably would have deemed presumptuous." * What then would have been the fate of the proposed mission, had Judson neglected this necessary precau- tion ! So beneficial to the missionary cause had proved that step, which his senior brethren were at first dis- posed to condemn/} - * Dr. Worcester's Memoir, v. ii. 138. t The ground of this displeasure, as stated in the Life of Dr. Worcester, by his son, (vol. ii. 115.) was as follows: "The agency to England, as is obvious from the Keport of the Committee, was a disappointment of their expectations. Some arrangements with the London society had been conditionally made, which were not in accordance with their wishes or their instructions. And as the result of their deliberations, at their meeting in September, 1811, the Board felt constrained to express, in a paternal but de- cided manner, their views of their official responsibilities and pre- rogatives; and to communicate their expectations and requirements in regard to every one who should be under their direction and Bupervision." — Mr. Judson himself says, of this conditional ar- rangement with the London society, "that the Board considered THE DOOR OPENED. ' 75 Signs of a happy issue soon justified the decision of the committee. Providence smiled on the work of faith and labor of love. Before the appointed time for sailing arrived, a new opening occurred, by which a part of the missionaries were permitted to take pas- sage in the ship Caravan, from the port of Salem. This circumstance, connected with the providential deten- tion of both vessels, in their respective ports, some two weeks longer than was expected, gave an extraordinary impulse to the missionary spirit at these two important points. In the words of the Secretary's Report : " The Lord made it to be remembered, that the silver and the gold are his. The hearts of the people were wonder- fully opened ; money flowed in from all quarters ; and by the time The Caravan sailed, the committee were the very proposal of such a measure disrespectful." But how could it be regarded as any violation of their " instructions," when • it was expressly recognized as a conditional alternative, in Dr. W.'s letter to the secretary of the London society, as quoted above, p. 73 ? Mr. Judson says, (Letter to his Father, p. 6,) " I received instructions from the London society, addressed to me and my associates, to be used at our option." The London society evidently supposed that, in giving these instructions, they were acting in accordance with the wishes of the American Board, as conveyed to them through its secretary. The assertion that the London Board, with the letters of Dr. \V. before them, formed any connection with Mr. Judson and his l in violation of the just claims and prerogatives of the American Board, is a graver charge against that venerable body, than against the young man who accepted their commission, conditionally, and subject to the action of the Ameri- can Board. 76 THE EARNEST MAN. able to meet all the expenses of fitting out the mis- sionaries, and to advance for them a whole year's salary. In addition to this, collections were made at Philadelphia during the same time, and delivered to the brethren who sailed from that port, to such an amount, as to make the whole which was paid to the mission- aries in advance, equal to their stipulated salary for a year and a quarter nearly. — Within about three weeks, reckoning from the commencement of the special arrangements, more than six thousand dollars were collected for the mission." . CHAPTER VH. CHOICE OF A WIFE. Mr. Jcdson's visit to Bradford, in June of 1810, was destined to exert, in more than one way, a leading influence both on his own life and on the history of missions. He there met, for the first time, with Ann Hasseltine, then at the age of twenty-one. To judge by her appearance after fourteen years' exposure to the severest hardship! and privations, under the debilitating climate of India, she must have been, at this earlier age, singularly brilliant and attractive. A clear olive skin, glowing with the rich hues of healthful youth, harmo- nized well with the jetty hair, which fell in natural ringlets around her face, and with the sparkling, intel- ligent black eye ; while the movements of her fine figure were full of native dignity and grace. The serious, thoughtful air, with which piety had tempered her excessive natural vivacity, and the grand themes on which her musical voice chiefly found utterance, were not likely to diminish her natural attractions in the eyes 78 THE EARNEST MAN. of a reflecting man. It does not appear that Mr. Jud- son was at this time in search of a wife, or, indeed, that he had ever contemplated marriage as .a necessary pre- liminary to missionary life. On the contrary, we should infer from his first application to the London society, written only two months before he saw Miss Hasseltine, that his expectation then was to enter on his work as a single man. And he would, without doubt, have done so, had he not met with a woman, whose personal qualities answered every demand of his mind and heart ; whose appearance and manners satisfied his refined taste, and whose intellectual, moral, and religious traits promised genial companionship for his home, and per- fect sympathy in his great work. To some it may seem trivial to attach the least im- portance, in forming such a connection, to any qualities but piety and missionary zeal. But a man does not lose his tastes, his culture, his affections, by becoming a missionary. Whatever attractive and endearing qual- ities in a wife would be essential to his happiness, among the refinements of a Christian land, cannot cer- tainly be more easily spared, amidst the rudeness and loathsomeness of heathenism. To forego these, for the sake of obtaining merely a useful co-laborer, would be to form a partnership rather than a marriage. But, on the other hand, the loftier qualities of forti- CHOICE OP A WIFE. 79 tude, self-reliance, and strength of purpose, the absence of which might scarcely be felt at home, are absolutely indispensable in the wife of a pioneer missionary Many a good and lovely woman, whose gentle virtues are the ornament of refined society, is yet by nature and by education utterly unfitted for such a life of hard- ship, vicissitude, and danger. Mr. Judson was fully aware of the nature of the work he had undertaken. His first romantic daydreams of missionary life had sobered into a clear, calm appreciation of its real char- acter. He saw before him poverty, sickness, toil, con- tact with the most repulsive forms of wretchedness and sin, persecution, and probably an early grave. He could not be guilty of the folly and the cruelty, of ask- ing a refined and sensitive woman to share a lot like this, unless she, too, had a soul capable of unlimited devotion and self-sacrifice to duty ; and of a living en- thusiasm, which could count all sacrifice and suffer- ing as nothing, in comparison with the glorious end to be attained. He, therefore, did not yield hastily to the I \ orable impression. Naturally susceptible, ardent, tnd Imaginative, even beyond most young men of twenty-three, he took counsel with reason and principle, before committing himself to this sacred and indis- soluble connection. A more intimate acquaintance convinced him that he had not mistaken her character ; 80 THE EARNEST MAN. and sometime in the autumn of 1810, he made her an offer of his hand. In doing this, he exhibited that manly and Christian sincerity, and sense of honor, which were marked features in his entire history. Instead of seeking to win a favorable answer, by a flattering picture of missionary life, he spread it before her just as he himself saw it ; and simply asked, whether, for the love of Christ, and of perishing humanity, she were willing to share it with him. Her answer was given with the same reference to the highest principles of truth and duty. After several weeks of anxious, prayerful self-inquiry, as to her own fitness for a relation so peculiarly responsible and sacred, this noble young woman resolved to forsake home, and friends, and country, and accompany him, as his true wife and helper, on his errand of mercy. Is there not something singularly touching, nay, sublime, in this spectacle of two young persons, in the fulness of life and hope, with every personal and in- tellectual gift to insure a brilliant position in society, thus pledging themselves to each other, under the eye of God, for a life of self-denial, in furtherance of the eternal interests of their race! Even now, in the changed circumstances of the world and of missionary life, it would be no light trial. What, then, must have been the independence and strength of mind, and how CHOICE OF A WIFE. 81 fervent the piety, which could resolve on such a step, when a mission to the heathen was a doubtful experiment even to the majority of good people, and when the idea of a female missionary almost shocked the public sense of propriety ! But he who had destined them to be leaders in one of the great enterprises of Christian philanthropy, had made them superior to every con- sideration but that of right and duty. Miss Hasseltine's character, while in some respects dissimilar to that of Mr. Judson, was in beautiful har- mony with it. Both had that sanguine, hopeful temper- ament, so necessary in their untried and difficult path, which inclined them to look always on the bright side, and to find, in the darkest hour, some promise of a happier future. Both had the same heroic courage to face danger, the same heroic fortitude to sustain that passive suffering which is the hardest trial to active spirits ; both were animated by " a passion for souls " stronger than life or than death. But while his many- sided nature continually presents new points of interest to the student of his life ; and we notice now here, now there, a tendency to extremes, the very exuberance of spiritual vitality ; in her we remark, as the prominent intellectual trait, a practical good sense, which guided her so promptly, so truly in every exigency, as to deserve a place far above what is commonly ranked as 6 82 THE EARNEST MAN. talent. It was the predominance of this trait, in con- nection with her earnest moral purpose, which stamped upon her life such an impression of beautiful, we might say majestic consistency, that we cannot point to an act in her career with the wish that it had been otherwise. Their anticipations, in prospect of a union for life, were not of the kind which young people are accustomed to indulge in. The pensive tone of the following letter from Mr. Judson, in which he wishes his Ann a happy New Year, is such as a man of sensibility would very naturally take, in addressing the woman who was about to share his uncertain and perilous lot. But it is evident, both that he will not and need not use the least disguise, in depicting to her its uncertainties and perils. January 1, 1811. Thursday Homing. It is with the utmost sincerity, and with my whole heart, that I wish you, my love, a happy new year. May it be a year in which your walk will be close with God ; your frame calm and serene ; and the road that leads you to the Lamb marked with purer light. May it be a year in which you will have more largely the spirit of Christ, be raised above sublunary things, and be willing to be disposed of in this world just as God shall please. As every moment of the year will bring you nearer the end of your pilgrimage, may it bring you nearer to God, and find you more prepared to hail the messenger of death as a deliverer and a friend. And now, since I have begun to wish, I will go on. May this be the year in which you will change your name ; in CHOICE OF A WIFE. 83 which you will take a final leave of your relatives and native land ; in which you will cross the wide ocean, and dwell on the other side of the world, among a heathen people. AY hat a great change will this year probably effect in our lives ! How very different will be our situation and em- ployment ! If our lives are preserved and our attempt prospered, we shall next new year's day be in India, and perhaps wish each other a happy new year in the uncouth dialect of Hindostan or Burmah. We shall no more see our kind friends around us, or enjoy the conveniences of civil- ized life, or go to the house of God with those that keep holy day ; but swarthy countenances will everywhere meet our eye, the jargon of an unknown tongue will assail our ears, and we shall witness the assembling of the heathen to celebrate the worship of idol gods. We shall be weary of the world, and wish for wings like a dove, that we may fly away and be at rest. We shall probably experience seasons when we shall be " exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." We shall see many dreary, disconsolate hours, and feel a sinking of spirits, anguish of mind, of which now we can form little conception. O, we shall wish to lie down and die. And that time may soon come. One of us may be unable to sustain the heat of the climate and the change of habits ; and the other may say, with literal truth, over the grave — 44 By foreign hands thy dying eves were closed ; By foreign hands thy decent limbs composed; By foreign hands thy humble grave adorned; " but whether we shall be honored and mourned by strangers, God only knows. At least, either of us will be certain of one mourner. In view of such scenes, shall we not pray with tness, u O lor an overcoming faith," &c. V JUDSON. 84 THE EARNEST MAN. Mr. Judson's union with this high-minded and lovely woman, can scarcely be reckoned as secondary in im- portance to any other event of his history. Its in- fluence upon his happiness, and upon the success of his great work, can never be fully estimated. It spreads like a vital element through the whole history of the Burman mission. In all his wanderings, sufferings, and labors, her strong yet serene spirit kept even flight with his ; while in those tragic scenes at Ava, when thrown wholly on her own resources, her constancy, courage, and wisdom rise to the point of true moral sublimity. One of the fairest pages in the annals of womanly greatness, is furnished by the life of Ann Hasseltine Judson. CHAPTER VIII. ordination; voyage; change op views on BAPTISM. On the sixth of February, 1812, the five missionary brethren, being assembled at Salem, were solemnly ordained, and set apart to the work of preaching the gospd to the heathen. In expectation of the imme- diate .-ailing of The Caravan, Mr. Judson had, on the third of that montn, taken a final leave of his parents, and the beloved Plymouth home, and, on the 5th, had been united in marriage with Miss Hasseltine. The ordination of these young men excited the live- liest interest, not in Salem alone, but in the whole vicinity. On the appointed day, throngs from all the neighboring places mingled, at an early hour, with the streams which poured from every quarter of the town towards the Tabernacle Church. Many, doubtless, were brought thither merely by curiosity, to witness so novel a spectacle ; and many, whose hearts thrilled and whose eyes overflowed with Christian sympathy at 86 THE EARNEST MAN. the affecting scene, as yet doubted the wisdom of the undertaking, and trembled for the issue. The services of the day were most happily adapted to strengthen the faith of such, as well as to convince the mere cu- rious spectator of the divine reality of a religion which could produce practical results like these. Even to worldly men, it must have been a scene of moral sublimity, when these five noble youths kneeled to receive, " by the laying on of hands," the solemn consecration to their work of self-denying love ; and not less so, when they stood, each with a hand clasped by that of a father in the ministry, and received, through the lips of Dr. Worcester, the eloquent ex- pression of fellowship as preachers and missionaries of the cross. " The irrepressible sighing and weeping," which rose at times over the silence of the house, at- tested how deeply the heart of that vast assemblage was moved. It was, indeed, a day long to be remem- bered ; — an epoch day in the history of American missions. Through its influence, a new impulse was given to the missionary spirit in the churches ; and the sentiment, so beautifully expressed by Dr. Spring, in his charge, became more and more the feeling of the Christian public : " No enterprise comparable to this has been embraced by the American Church. All others retire before it, like the stars before the rising sun." VOYAGE. 87 Both the vessels, in which the missionaries were to sail, were detained some two weeks beyond the ap- pointed time, as already mentioned. But, on the 18th of February, those who remained at Salem were hastily summoned on board The Caravan. It was an inclem- ent winter day, not unlike that wherein The Mayflower discharged its precious freight on the ice-bound coast of Plymouth, when this little band of youthful pilgrims left their native shores to carry the knowledge of their fa tlur's God to the pagans of distant Asia. Nor Ave re the two events wanting in other points of resemblance. Both were weak and contemptible in the eyes of the world ; both were destined, as the products of great moral principles, to unfold in vital changes upon nations nnion of important truth. "I cannot describe to you, dear brethren." be says, in the letter already referred to, "the light and satisfaction which I obtained in taking this view of the matter ; in considering the two churches as distinct, and in classing my ideas of each in their proper place. I became possessed of a key that unlocked many a difficulty which had long perplexed me ; and the more I read the Bible, the more clearly I saw that this was the true system there- in revealed." But the questions of practical duty, which immedi- 94 m&" THE EARNEST MAN. ately ingrafted themselves on these new convictions, were in the highest degree perplexing and distressing. If, as he now believed, the very nature of the Christian church precluded infant baptism, and the nature of the rite precluded any form but immersion, what was to be- come of his own baptism in infancy ? He saw that he was, in a double sense, unbaptized ; and that the com- mand of Christ to every believer was, in his case, yet to be obeyed. But how could he do it? All the conse- quences which Mrs. Judson had previously depicted, as a check to his inquiries, spread out before him. He foresaw the disappointment, and grief, and mortification, which it would occasion to his parents and Christian friends at home, his inevitable dismission from the service of the American Board, and, more grievous still, his separation from those beloved missionary brethren, with whom he had hoped to spend his days in labor for Christ. He asked himself whether, under circum- stances so peculiar, some dispensation from the strict- ness of the command might not be admissible. But the question instantly came back upon him: How, then, am I to treat the children and domestics of converted heathen? This, as he aptly expresses it, was the " Gordian knot," whose " gripe " he heartily wishes that his brethren at home, when passing judg- ment on his case, could feel as he did. CHANGE OF VIEWS ON BAPTISM. ( J5 Till within a few weeks of this decision, he had found no one to sympathize with his inquiries, though tlicv had heen a frequent subject of discussion between him and his missionary associates. At length, Mrs. Judson felt constrained to examine, once more, what the Bible said in regard to bunt ism ; and the prayerful search soon brought her to the same conclusion with her husband. Accordingly, on the 6th of September, Mr. and Mrs. Judson were immersed in the Baptist Chapel at Cal- cutta; an event which changed the whole complexion of their lives, and ultimately resulted in a signal en- largement of the Redeemer's kingdom in India. In taking this step, Mr. Judson had acted with per- fect simplicity and singleness of heart. lie knew that there was no organization among American Baptists, to which he could appeal for support; he was person- ally a stranger to the denomination, and his hopes of adequate aid, in that direction, must have been very faint. He had not prudently ascertained, beforehand, whether he could rely upon the patronage of the Ser- ampore Mission ; and indeed, in the event, this was found to be out of the question. He and his devoted wife then anticipated as not improbable, the necessity of taking up their residence alone in some isolated spot, and of supporting themselves by their own labor, 96 THE EARNEST MAN. while prosecuting their missionary work. He 'had cast himself implicitly on Divine Providence ; and now stood waiting to see what God would do for him. Immediately, on coming to his decision, he had made a communication on the subject to the Secretary of the American Board ; and, by the advice of the Serampore missionaries, also addressed letters to Dr. Baldwin and Mr. Bolles, offering his services to the Baptist Christians of America, should they be disposed to form a society for supporting missions in the East. His letter to Mr. Bolles, of Salem, with whom he had a slight personal acquaintance, will be read with interest as giving a picture of his situation and feelings at this time. To the Rev. Dr. Bolles, Salem, Mass. Calcutta, September 1, 1812. Rev. Sir: I recollect that, during a short interview I had with you in Salem, I suggested the formation of a society among the Baptists in America for the support of foreign missions, in imitation of the exertions of your Eng- lish brethren. Little did I then expect to be personally con- cerned in such an attempt. Within a few months, I have experienced an entire change of sentiments on the subject of baptism. My doubts concerning the correctness of my former system of belief commenced during my passage from America to this coun- try ; and after many painful trials, which none can know but those who are taught to relinquish a system in which CHANGE OF VIEWS ON BAPTISM. 97 they had been educated, I settled down in the full persuasion that the immersion of a professing believer in Christ is the only Christian baptism. Mrs. Judson is united with me in this persuasion. We have signified our views and wishes to the Baptist mission- aries at Serampore, and expect to be baptized in this city next Lord's day. A separation from my missionary brethren, and a dissolu- tion of my connection with the Board of Commissioners seem to be necessary consequences. The missionaries at Serampore are exerting themselves to the utmost of their ability in managing and supporting their extensive and com- plii -ati'd mission. Under these circumstances, I look to you. Alone, in this foreign heathen land, I mal&e ray appeal to those whom, with their permission, I will call mij Baptist brethren in the United With the advice of the brethren at Serampore, I am con- templating a mission on one of the eastern islands. They hare lately sent their brother Cliater to Ceylon, and their brother Robinson to Java. At present, Amboyna seems to present the most favorable opening. Fifty thousand souls are there perishing without the means of life ; and the situa- tion of the island is such that a mission there established might, with the blessing of God, be extended to the neigh- boring islands in those seas. Btri should I go thither, it is a most painful reflection that I must go alone, and also uncertain of the means of support. But I will trust in (Jod. He has frequently enabled me to praise his divine goodness, and will never forsake those who put their trust in him. I am, dear sir, Yours, in the Lord Jesus, Adoniram Judson, Jr. 7 98 THE EARNEST MAN. The following extract from a letter, written on be- half of the Serampore missionaries, by Dr. Marshman, which accompanied those of Mr. Judson, is too beauti- ful in its spirit, and too interesting a testimonial of the impression which he had made on these excellent and discerning men, to be withheld from the reader. Extract from a Letter of Dr. Marshman, of Serampore, to the Rev. Dr. Baldwin, of Boston, dated September 1, 1812. A note which brother Judson sent to brother Carey last Saturday has occasioned much reflection among us. In it he declares his belief that believers' baptism alone is the doctrine of the Scriptures, and requests to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. This unexpected circumstance seems to suggest many ideas. The change in the young man's mind, respecting this ordinance of Christ, seems quite the effect of divine truth operating on the mind. It began when no Baptist was near, (on board ship,) and when he, in the conscientious discharge of his duty, was examining the subject in order to maintain what he then deemed truth on his arrival in Bengal. And so carefully did he conceal the workings of his mind from us, on his arrival, that he scarcely gave us a hint respecting them before he sent this note to brother Carey. This was not indeed very difficult for him to do, as we make it a point to guard against obtruding on missionary brethren of dif- ferent sentiments any conversation relative to baptism. This change then, which I believe few who knew brother Judson will impute to whim, or to any thing besides sincere conviction, seems to point out something relative to the duty of our Baptist brethren with you, as it relates to the cause of missions. It can scarcely be expected that the Board of CHANGE OF VIEWS ON BAPTISM. 99 Commissioners will support a Baptist missionary, who can- not, of course comply with their instructions, and baptize tchole households on the parents' faith ; and it is certain that the young man ought not to be left to perish for want, merely because he loved the truth more than father or mother ; nor be compelled to give up missionary work for want of support therein. Now, though we should certainly interfere to prevent a circumstance like this happening, par- ticularly as we have given our Pedobaptist brother Newell, gone to the Isle of France, an order to draw there upon us should he bo in distress, yet, to say nothing of the mis- sionary concerns already lying on us, and constantly enlarg- ing, it seems as though Providence itself were raising up this young man, that you might at least partake of the zeal of our Congregational missionary brethren around you. I would wish, then, that you should share in the glorious work, by supporting him. Let us do whatsoever things are 6c- coinintj, and whatsoever things are lovely, and leave the reverse of these for others. After God has thus given you a missionary of your own nation, faith, and order, without the help or knowledge of man, let me entreat you, and Dr. Messcr, and brethren Bolles and Moriarty, humbly to accept the gift. To you I am sure I need add no more than to beg you to give my cordial love to all your brethren around you. I may probably write you again soon, and in the mean time remain yours, in the Lord, Joshua Marshman. The long period of suspense, which followed this application, must have been extremely trying to the young missionaries ; but it was, without doubt, the means of maturing their Christian graces, and fitting 100 THE EARNEST MAN. them for richer usefulness. They had the satisfaction, a few weeks after their baptism, to be joined by Mr. Rice, who had also been led to an examination and abandonment of his previous denominational views. Still, the feeling of isolation, the uncertainty of their future prospects, and the consciousness of having lost the affection and confidence of their best beloved brethren at home, were often exquisitely painful. It is a cheering indication of the progress in brotherly love and mutual respect, among American Christians, that we can now hardly understand the apprehensions, expressed by Mrs. Judson, on the latter of these points. What was there, thousands will at this day be ready to ask, in such a conscientious change of views, which should alienate the heart of one disciple from another, who was one with him still in the faith, the patience, the work, and the immortal hopes of the gospel. From Mrs. Judson to a Friend. September, 7, 1812 Can you, my dear Nancy, still love me, still desire to hear from me, when I tell you I have become a Baptist ? If I judge from my own feelings, I answer, you will, and that my differing from you in those things which do not affect our salvation will not diminish your affection for me, or make you unconcerned for my welfare. You may, perhaps, think this change very sudden, as I have said nothing of it before ; but, my dear girl, this alteration hath not been the work of CHANGE OF VIEWS ON BAPTISM. 101 an hour, a day, or a month. The subject has been maturely, candidly, and, I hope, prayerfully examined for months. An examination of the subject of baptism commenced on board Tin- Caravan. As Mr. Judson was continuing the translation of the New Testament, which he began in America, he had many doubts respecting the meanfng of the word baptize. This, with the idea of meeting the Baptists at Serampore, when he would wish to defend his own senti- ments, induced a more thorough examination of the founda- tion of the Pedobaptist system. The more he examined, the more his doubts increased ; and, unwilling as he was to admit it, he was afraid the Baptists were right and he wrong. After we arrived at Calcutta, his attention was turned from this subject to the concerns of the mission, and the difficulties with government. But as- his mind was still uneasy, he again renewed the subject. I felt afraid he would become a Baptist, and frequently urged the unhappy « it' he should. But he said his duty compelled him to satisfy his own mind, and embrace those sentiments which appeared most concordant with Scripture. I always took the Pedobaptist tide in reasoning with him, even after I was as doubtful of the truth of their system as he. We left Serampore to reside in Calcutta a week or two, before the arrival of our brethren; and as we had nothing in par- ticular to occupy our attention, we confined it exclusively to this subject. We procured the best authors on both sides, compared them with the Scriptures, examined and reex- amined the sentiments of Baptists and Pedobaptists, and were finally compelled, from a conviction of truth, to em- brace those of the former. Thus, my dear Nancy, we are confirmed Baptists, not because we wished to be, but because truth compelled us to be. We have endeavored to count the cost, and be prepared for the many severe trials result- ing from this change of sentiment We anticipate the loss 102 THE EARNEST MAN. of reputation, and of the affection and esteem of many of our American friends. But the most trying circumstance attending this change, and that which has caused most pain, is the separation which must take place between us and our dear missionary associates. Although we are attached to each 'other, and should doubtless live very -happily together, yet the brethren do not think it best we should unite in one mission. These things, my dear Nancy, have caused us to weep and pour out our hearts in prayer to Him whose direc- tion we so much wish and need. We feel that we are alone in the world, with no real friend but each other, no one on whom we can depend but God. Extract from a Letter to her Parents. " It was extremely trying to reflect on the consequences of our becoming Baptists. We knew it would wound and grieve our dear Christian friends in America — that we should lose their approbation and esteem. We thought it probable the commissioners would refuse to support us ; and, what was more distressing than any thing, we knew we must be separated from our missionary associates, and go alone to some heathen land. These things were very trying to us, and caused our hearts to bleed for anguish. We felt we had no home in this world, and no friend but each other." Their perplexity and distress were greatly increased by the treatment which they received from the officers of the English East India Company ; who refused to allow them to conduct a mission, or even to reside tem- porarily within their territories. They lived in the perpetual apprehension of being forcibly carried to England, and thus compelled to abandon, forever, the CHANGE OF VIEWS ON BAPTISM. 103 field of missionary labor. Under these circumstances, it was their most anxious wish to escape from the tyranny of this great power, into " some isolated spot, where they might support themselves by the labor of their own hands," while communicating to the degraded ii the tidings of a Saviour. How different is the state of things in our day, when the shadow of the British flag is the refuge, not the terror, of the Christian philanthropist ; when in every spot where England sets her mighty foot, there the peaceful banner of the gospel may unfold, as freely as on the green hills of her native island ! The story of their trials and wanderings, during this period, will be briefly given in the following chapter. CHAPTER IX. PERSECUTION BY THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. The East India Company had, as a body, never been favorable to the spread of the gospel in India. Even the Society's own chaplains, clergymen of the Church of England, were not allowed to preach to the natives, or ,to do any thing directly for their conversion. This caution was based, professedly, on a conscientious regard to the religious rights guaranteed to the various idola- trous nations under British sway ; which, it was argued, would be infringed by all attempts to undermine their ancient faith. But the fact that the Company derived a large annual revenue from a direct tax on idolatry, and that it also opened, in various ways, a market to English merchandise, affords a much more reliable clue to their true motives. Of the myriads of pilgrims, who collected from all parts of India, to the yearly festival of Juggernaut, — the aged, the sick, the poor, the women and children, who had dragged their weary limbs hun- dreds and thousands of miles, under the burning sun of PERSECUTION BY THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 105 India, to worship the god in whom they trusted, — not one was allowed to enter the sacred precincts, till he had paid for the privilege a sum of money to his English masters. The collectorship of the pilgrim's tax, and the superintendence of the temple, was a regular office under government. To this must be added, the general dissoluteness of manners then prevailing among the British residents of India, to which the horrible licen- tiousness, sanctioned by Hindoo idolatry, was far more congenial than the austere virtue enjoined by Christian- ity. Persons who viewed, with indifference, the hellish orgies of the worship of Juggernaut, the self-immola- tion of devotees, and the burning of widows, were yet fired with righteous indignation at the scheme of trans- lating the Holy Scriptures into the native tongues. The idea seems, moreover, to have been generally enter- tained, that a knowledge of Christianity would render the natives less passive and manageable, and would thereby endanger the interests and safety of the Com- pany. That noble-hearted philanthropist, Claudius Buchanan, had to contend, both in his efforts for his own countrymen and for the heathen, against the whole Ctfrrent of British life and opinion in India. It could not be expected that sectaries, as all dissenters from the English Church were considered, would meet with more favor. The Baptist missionaries at Serampore often 106 THE EARNEST MAN. felt the heavy hand of government. Americans could not plead even the claim of their English brethren to toleration, and were especially liable at this time, when the relations of the two governments at home were so unfriendly, to suspicion and hard treatment. Hatred to the gospel found a ready cloak in national hostility. Scarcely ten days after the arrival of Messrs. Judson and Newell, in India, they were recalled by a govern- mental summons, from the hospitable Mission Home in Serampore, to Calcutta. Here, an order was read to them, requiring their immediate return to America in the ship which brought them out. They begged to be allowed to settle in some other part of India ; but re- ceived in answer an absolute prohibition of residence in the Company's territories, or any of its dependencies. They then requested leave to go to the Isle of France, which was permitted. It was not till near the 1st of August that a vessel was found sailing thither, and this could afford passage only for two persons. The pre- cedence being very properly given to Mr. and Mrs. Newell, on account of the health of the latter, which required the comfort and quiet of a home, Mr. and Mrs. Judson were obliged to wait for another opportu- nity. A few days after, The Harmony arrived, with the rest of the missionaries, and as every other opening then seemed closed, it was agreed that they should pro- PERSECUTION BY THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 107 ceed, in a body, to the Isle of France. Circumstances, however, induced Messrs. Hall and Nott to alter their determination, and attempt a mission in Bombay; so that Mr. Bice alone remained with Mr. and Mrs. Jud- son. But before either party were able to leave Ben- gal, the change already described in the views of the three latter, in regard to baptism, had made a still more painful separation between the members of this devoted little band, which, in the judgment of all, rendered a further missionary connection inexpedient. While waiting for a vessel bound to the Isle of France, Mr. Judson's mind was anxiously engaged in considering other fields of labor. Burmah, the original it ion of the mission, had early been given up. xrampore brethren, after having expended some ten thousand dollars in attempting an establishment in that empire, were about relinquishing it as totally im- practicable. The London Missionary Society had been equally unsuccessful. Mr. Nott wrote from Bengal to a friend : " The Burman Empire seems at present out of the question." Mrs. Newell remarks, in her journal: " We cannot feel that we are called in Providence to go to lmnnah. Every account we have from that , barbarous nation, confirms us in our opinion that the way is not prepared for the spread of the gos- pel there." But so inviting was this field, could a 108 THE EARNEST MAN. foothold once be obtained, that when all the others had relinquished the thought of going to Burmah, Mr. Judson still clung to it. The glowing pictures of Col. Symmes, which had excited his youthful fancy, had indeed given place to far different views of Burman life and character ; and, so far as personal comfort and happiness were concerned, even he had come to look upon a residence there " with feelings of horror." But there was a peculiar attraction to him in the fact, that there existed no translation of the Scriptures in the Burmese language. His distinguished attainments as a linguist had already marked him out, in America, as a translator of the Bible for some Pagan nation ; and he was conscious of an adaptation of mind to this object. But the time was not yet ripe for him to enter Burmah. Under date of Sept. 19, 1812, Mrs. Judson writes to a friend : " We had almost concluded to go to the Burman Empire, when we heard that there were fresh difficulties existing between the English and the Burman government. If these difficulties are settled, I think it probable we shall go there." Meanwhile, he turned his attention to other fields. Japan, Ceylon, Java, Amboyna,* and finally South America, were suc- cessively thought of. The Isle of France had a pecu- liar interest, from the hope of extending the mission to * One of the Moluccas. PERSECUTION BY THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 109 the great and populous island of Madagascar. But while still deliberating, and looking for an opening, the government brought him to a sudden decision. Towards the close of November, another order was received by Messrs. Judson and Rice, requiring them to leave the country, immediately, for England. They were also forbidden to quit their place of residence without per- mission, and their names were published in the list of passengers about to leave for England in one of the Company's ships. Their request for a renewal of the permission to go to the Isle of France, in The Creole, a vessel now ready to sail for Port Louis, was perempto- rily refused. No alternative now seemed left them ; and it could hardly have furnished ground for an impeachment of their missionary zeal, had they concluded that Provi- dence was, by these events, indicating a return to their native land. But they did not so interpret them. In unimpaired health, with impressions of the greatness and necessity of the work strengthened by what they had witnessed, they could not take " the wrath of man " as an index of the will of God. One hope of escape, a forlorn one indeed, yet remained, — to persuade the captain of The Creole to receive them without a pass- port. On making this application to him, he replied, to their great joy, that he could take no responsibility in 110 THE EARNEST MAN. the matter ; but there was his ship, and they could do what they pleased. It was at the dead of night, when this little com- pany of Christian missionaries, two talented, virtuous, educated young men, and a beautiful and refined woman, stole, like criminals, through the silent streets of Calcutta, followed by the wary steps of the coolies carrying their baggage, and directed their course towards the city dockyards. By some means the gates were opened for the wayfarers, though this was entirely contrary to the rules of the Company, and they soon found themselves safe on board their ark of promise, La Belle Creole. Next morning the vessel sailed, and for two days they flattered themselves that they were virtually beyond the reach of their enemies. But characters, so danger- ous to the British supremacy in India, could not be suffered thus to go at large on the continent or islands of Asia. At the close of the second day, a government dispatch arrived, forbidding the pilot to proceed any further down the river with the vessel, as passengers were on board who had been.ordered to England. The following letter from Mrs. Judson to her parents, gives a vivid picture of the embarrassments of their situation, and of the firmness and spirit with which these were met : — PERSECUTION BY THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. Ill "At Sea, N. Lat. 12, Dec. 7, 1812. tt My dear Parents 4k We immediately concluded that it was not safe to con- tinue on board the remainder of the night. Mr. Rice and Mr. Judson took a boat and went on shore to a tavern, little more than a mile from the ship. The captain said that I, and our baggage, could stay on board with perfect safety, even should an officer be sent to search the vessel. The next day we lay at anchor, expecting every hour to hear some intelligence from Calcutta. In the evening, the captain received a note from the owner of the vessel, saying he had been at the Police to inquire the cause of the detention of his ship ; and the cause assigned was, l it was suspected there were persons on board which the captain had been forbidden give,' and that the ship could not proceed, until it was ascertained that no xuch persons were on board. The pilot immediately wrote a certificate that no such persons were on board, at the same time giving a list of all the passengers. I got into a small boat and went on shore, where the brethren had been anxiously waiting through the day. We knew not what course to take, as it was then impossible that we could 1 in that ship, without a pass from the magistrate. Brother Uice set out directly for Calcutta, to see if it was possible to get a pass, or do any thing else. We spent the night and the next day at the tavern, without hearing any- thing from the ship, fearing that every European we saw was in search of us. Brother Rice returned from Calcutta, but had effected nothing. The owner of the vessel was highly offended at his ship's being detained so long on our account, and would do nothing more to assist us. We felt our situation was peculiarly trying, and could see no end to our difficulties. " Early the next morning we received a note from the 112 THE EARNEST MAN. captain, saying he had liberty to proceed, but we must take our baggage from the vessel. We thought it not safe to con- tinue at the tavern where we were, neither could we think of returning to Calcutta. But one way was left — to go down the river about sixteen miles, where there was another tavern. I went on board to see about our baggage, as the brethren did not think it safe for them to go. As we could get no boat at the place where we were, I requested the captain to let our things remain until the vessel reached the other tavern, where I would try to get a boat. He consented, and told me I had better go in the vessel, as it would be un- pleasant going so far in a small boat. I was obliged to go on shore again, to inform the brethren of this, and know what they would do. Brother Rice set out again for Calcutta, to try to get a passage to Ceylon, in a ship which was anchored near the place we were going to. Mr. J. took a small boat in which was a small part of our baggage, to go down the river, while I got into the pilot's boat, which he had sent on shore with me, to go to the ship. As I had been sometime on shore, and the wind strong, the vessel had gone down some distance. Imagine how uncomfortable my situation. In a little boat rowed by six natives, entirely alone, the river very rough, in consequence of the wind ; without an umbrella or anything to screen me from the sun, which was very hot. The natives hoisted a large sail, which every now and then would almost tip the boat on one side. I manifested some fear to them, and to comfort me, they would constantly repeat ' Cutcha pho annah sahib, cutcha pho annah.' The meaning, Never fear, madam, never fear. After sometime we came up with the ship, where I put our things in order, to be taken out in an hour or two. When we came opposite the tavern, the pilot kindly lent me his boat and servant to go on shore. I immediately procured a large boat to send to the ship, for PERSECUTION BT THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 113 % 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. 1 did not know that the boat which I sent after the would overtake it, and if it did, whether it would ever return with our baggage ; neither did I know where Mr. J. was, or when he would come, or with what treatment I should meet at the tavern. I thought of home, and said to. . These are some of the many trials attendant on a missionary life, and which I have anticipated. 4% In a few hours Mr. Judson arrived, and toward night, our baggage. We had now given up all hope of going to the Isle of France, and concluded either to return to Calcutta, or to communicate our real situation to the tavern-keeper, and request him to assist us. As we thought the latter pref- erable, Mr. J. told our landlord our circumstances, and asked him if he could assist in getting us a passage to Ceylon. He said a friend of his was expected down the river the next day, who was captain of a vessel bound to Madras, and who, he did not doubt, would take us. This raised our sinking hopes. We waited two days; and on the third, which was Sabbath, the ship ranie in sight, and anchored directly before the house. We now expected the time of our deliverance had come. The tavern-keeper went on board to see the captain for us ; but our hopes were again dashed, when he returned and said the captain could not take us. We de- termined, however, to see the captain ourselves, and endeav- or to persuadf him to let us have a passage at any rate. We had just sat down to supper, when a letter was handed us. We hastily opened it, and, to our great surprise and joy, in it was a pass from the magistrate, for us to go on board The Creole, the vessel we had left. Who procured this pass for us, or in what way, we are still ignorant ; we 8 114 THE EARNEST MAN. could only view the hand of God, and wonder. But we had every reason to expect The Creole had got out to sea, as it was three days since we left her. There was a possibility, however, of her having anchored at Saugur, seventy miles from where we then were. We had let our baggage continue in the boat into which it was first taken, therefore it was all in readiness ; and after dark, we all three got into the same boat, .and set out against the tide, for Saugur. It was a most dreary night to me ; but Mr. J. slept the greater part of the night. The next day we had a favorable wind, and before night reached Saugur, where were many ships at anchor, and among the rest we had the happiness to find The Creole. She had been anchored there two days, waiting for some of the ship's crew. I never enjoyed a sweeter moment in my life, than that when I was sure we were in sight of The Creole. After spending a fortnight in such anxiety, it was a very great relief to find ourselves safe on board the vessel in which we first embarked. All of us are now attending to the French language, as that is spoken altogether at the Isle of France. Though it has pleased our Heavenly Father lightly to afflict us, yet he has supported and delivered us from our trials ; which still encourages us to trust in him." On the 17th of January, 1813, they arrived, after a long and stormy passage, at Port Louis. Here they were met with the afflictive intelligence that Mrs. Newell was no more. Just at the date of their escape from Bengal, she was finishing her short earthly course ; so short, if reckoned " by days and months and years," but longer than many a life of threescore and ten, if counted by holy affections and purposes, or by its results to the PERSECUTION BY THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 115 cause of missions. The story of her brief career and early death, threw a tender, melancholy interest around that cause, as something consecrated by a martyr's sacrifice, and awoke a kindred spirit of self-devotion in many a youthful heart ; so that her lonely grave may be said to have blossomed with the richest blessings for the world. Mr. Newell soon took his departure for Ceylon ; and, about the middle of March, Mr. Rice sailed for Amer- ica, with the double object of recruiting his own health, which was suffering from the effects of the climate, and of awakening a deeper interest in missions among the Baptists of this country. Thus Mr. and Mrs. Judson were left utterly alone, with prospects but little adapted in any respect to cheer their spirits. The governor was indeed, at present, friendly ; but it was uncertain how long this state of things would last, since the per- secuting jealousy of the Company had followed them to mote spot, with the warning to the authorities to " keep an eye to those American missionaries ! " This, however, would have weighed little with them, had the field of usefulness been such as to justify their stay. Madagascar was closed against them by the despotic character of its government. The remainder of the story, and the wonderful guidance of Providence by which tlieir wanderings at length terminated in the 116 THE EAKNEST MAN. land they had so dreaded, so longed-for, will be best given in Mr. Judson's own words. " A slight sketch of our movements, particularly at the time of our coming to Rangoon, I now submit. After a mournful separation from brother Rice, at the Isle of France, in March, 1813, we remained there about two months, waiting for a passage to some of the eastern islands, not venturing at that time to think a mission to Burmah practicable. But there being no prospect of accomplishing our wishes directly, we concluded to take passage to Madras, and proceed thence as circumstances should direct. We arrived there in June, and were immediately informed of the renewed hostilities of the Company's government towards missionaries, exhibited in their treatment of the brethren both at Serampore and Bombay. We were, of course, reported to the police, and an account of our arrival forwarded to the supreme government in Bengal. It became, therefore, a moral certainty that, as soon as an order could be received at Madras, we should be again arrested, and ordered to England. Our only safety appeared to consist in escaping from Madras before such order should arrive. It may easily be conceived with what feelings I in- quired the destination of vessels in the Madras roads. I found none that would sail in season, but one bound to Rangoon. A mission to Rangoon we had been accustomed to regard with feelings of horror. But it was now brought to a point. We must either venture there or be sent to Europe. All other paths were shut up ; and thus situated, though dis- suaded by all our friends at Madras, we commended ourselves to the care of God, and embarked the 22d of June. It was a crazy old vessel. The captain was the only person on board that could speak our language, and we had no other apartment than what was made by canvas. Our passage PERSECUTION BY THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 117 was very tedious. Mrs. Judson was taken dangerously ill, and continued so until, at one period, I came to experience the awful sensation which necessarily resulted from the ex- pectation of an immediate separation from my beloved wife, the only remaining coinpauion of my wanderings. About the same time, the captain being unable to make the Nicobar Inland, where it was intended to take in a cargo of cocoa-nuts, ra driven into a dangerous strait, between the Little and Great Andamans, two savage coasts, where the captain had never ben before, and where, if we had been cast ashore, we should, according to all accounts, have been killed and eaten by the natives. But as one evil is sometimes an anti- dote to another, so it happened with us. Our being driven into this dangerous but quiet channel brought immediate relief to the agitated and exhausted frame of Mrs. Judson, and conduced essentially to her recovery. And in the event, we were safely conducted over the black rocks which we sometimes saw in the gulf below, and on the eastern side of mils found favorable winds, which gently wailed us forward to Rangoon. But on arriving here, other trials awaited us. '* We had never before seen a place where European influ- ence had not contributed to smooth and soften the rough features of uncultivated nature. The prospect of Rangoon, as we approached, was quite disheartening. I went on shore, just at night, to take a view of the place, and the Mission House ; but so dark, and cheerless, and unpromising did all appear, that the evening of that day, after my return to the ship, we have marked as the most gloomy and dis- tressing that we ever passed. Instead of rejoicing, as we OOght to have done, in having found a heathen land from which we were not immediately driven away, such were our weaknesses that we felt we had no portion left here below, and found consolation only in looking beyond our pilgrimage, 118 THE EAKNEST MAN. •which we tried to flatter ourselves would be short, to that peaceful region where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. But if ever we commended ourselves sincerely, and without reserve, to the disposal of our Heavenly Father, it was on this evening. And after some recollection and prayer, we experienced something of the presence of Him who cleave th closer than a brother ; something of that peace which our Saviour bequeathed to his followers — a legacy which, we know from this experience, endures when the fleeting pleasures and unsubstantial riches of the world are passed away. The next day Mrs. Judson was carried into the town, being unable to walk ; and we found a home at the Mission House, though Mr. Carey was absent at Ava." Those who have since visited Rangoon, under far more favorable circumstances, cannot wonder that the hearts of the lonely young missionaries sunk, for a moment, at the aspect of their future home. A more uninviting spot, at first approach, can perhaps hardly be found. A vast swamp-like level covered with wretched bamboo huts raised on poles, neglected, filthy, unenlivened by a trace of European civilization, — such was Rangoon when Mr. and Mrs. Judson first looked upon it, in June of the year 1813. To the in- fluence of these repulsive outward features, were added the most gloomy anticipations of the treatment they were likely to receive from its despotic and cruel govern- ment. But not for an instant did they think of aban- doning the field. God had evidently led them to Bur- PERSECUTION BY THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 119 mah, and in Burraah they resolved to labor to the end of life. Their repinings went no further, than to hope that the end might come speedily. But that humble beginning, when in weakness and sorrow they cast themselves, like dependent children, on the Saviour's bosom, was a better omen for their work, than tho most heroic firmness based on their own strength. It linked them to that strength, against which human and satanic powers rage in vain. The returning song of hope and thanksgiving soon proved the blessed promise true : " As thy day, so shall thy strength be ! " On the following morning Mrs. Judson, being too ill to walk, or ride on horseback, (the only means of con- veyance to be obtained,) was carried in an arm-chair to the Mission House, which had been erected by a former missionary, about half a mile from the town. Being outside the walls, it was exposed to the attacks of wild beasts and of robbers, as well as to the stench #f the city offal, and of the burning bodies of the dead, the places of deposit for both being near the mission premises. Yet, as it was large and convenient for the place, and stood in a garden filled with fruit and shade trees, it formed a delightful contrast to the miserable filthy streets of Rangoon. Here Mrs. Judson soon recovered her health, and both applied themselves diligently to the study of the Burman language. CHAPTER X. THE ADOPTED COUNTRY. With a map of Southern Asia before him, the reader will obtain, from the following brief statements, a sufficiently clear idea of the geographical position of Burmah, and its extent at the time Mr. Judson en- tered it. Its sea-coast then extended along the Bay of Bengal, from the English province of Chittagong on the north to Junk Ceylon on the south, a distance of more than a thousand miles. Its northern limit was Thibet, its eastern the River Salwen. The ancient kingdom of*Ava was the heart of this great empire ; the king- doms of Arracan, of Pegu, and the Tenasserim prov- inces of Siam, having been added to it by successive conquests. These had been its limits since the year 1793. Its two noble rivers, the Irrawaddy and Salwen, intersect the entire empire from north to south, and, by their numerous interlocking branches, cover the whole face of the peninsula, Arracan excepted, with a system THE ADOPTED COUNTRY. 121 of natural canals. The Irrawaddy, navigable for large vessels as far up as Ava, four hundred and fifty miles from the sea, and for boats much further, poors into the Bay of Bengal by fourteen mouths. On one of these, lies Rangoon, with its secure and capacious har- bor, seemingly fitted, by its position, to be the New- York or New Orleans of Burmah. The face of the country, and consequently its cli- mate and vegetable productions, exhibit great diversity. The delta of the Irrawaddy, extending as far north as Prome, is a rich marshy level, furnishing the rice grounds of the empire. Above Prome, the country becomes gradually more irregular and picturesque up to Ava, where it rises into bold mountain scenery. North of this is a rugged tract, little known to Euro- peans. This middle section, though less fertile than the southern,- produces excellent wheat and the different corn and leguminous crops cultivated in Hindostan. Sugar-cane, indigo, cotton, both white and yellow, tobacco, and the various fruits of the tropics, are in- digenous in Burmah. Noble forests clothe the moun- tainous districts. The teak, said to surpass even the English oak for ship-timber, abounds in all parts of the country. Its mineral wealth is supposed to be very great, but is as yet but imperfectly developed. Gold, silver, iron, 122 THE EARNEST MAN. tin ;. various kinds of precious stones, amber, the most beautiful marble ; coal, both bituminous and anthracite ; sulphur, antimony, and petroleum, are among its known products. The forests and jungles swarm with wild animals, among which the principal are the elephant and tiger. Buffaloes, braminy cattle, horses, and other domestic animals common to India are, likewise, found here. The climate, in the more northerly, hilly districts, is delightful and salubrious, and, even in the level regions, is more healthy for Europeans than in most parts of India. The natives attest its salubrity by their health, longevity, and capacity for great muscular exertion. Such was Burmah, when Judson entered it, in 1813. Many a sad change has it experienced since that day. There is always something melancholy in witness- ing the humiliation of a proud and independent people, by a foreign power ; to see them retiring from their ancient landmarks, forced to yield one after another all the advantages which gave them a distinguished place among the nations, and gradually sinking away to weakness and insignificance. We cannot avoid something of this feeling, when contrasting the present with the former state of Burmah. By the treaty of Yandabo, 1826, Arracan and the Tenasserim provinces were ceded to the British, and the last war swept from THE ADOPTED COUNTRY. 123 her the whole of Pegu, with its magnificent delta, the granary of the empire, and her only remaining sea- ports, Bassein and Rangoon. Of her thousand miles of sea-coast, not an inch is left. The circle is closing round her ; and though, like a hunted tigress, she stands for a while at bay in that ancient home, from which she went forth to prey on weaker nations, her final doom is as certain as if already consummated. But a recollection of the history of Burmah, and of the character of its government, leaves little re- maining of this poetic sentiment. Its subjects were not one great people, united by a common blood, or even bound together by just and equal laws. The conquered provinces hated the government as their pitiless oppressor, and were ready at any moment for revolt. Even the Burmans themselves, though proud of their country and their nationality, were ground to the dust by the monstrous exactions, and despotic ad- ministration of their rulers. No man's life or property was secure for a moment. The evidence of industry and thrift, furnished by a little show of wealth, was but the scent of prey to the government harpies. The very title of a provincial governor indicates the odious character of his office. He was called^'the eater," or ** consumer," of the district. Notwithstanding all the natural advantages of the country, and their own 124 THE EARNEST MAN. capacity, being active, acute, and ingenious far beyond most Asiatics, — - the Burmans could not rise above this depressing influence. And they never could have advanced beyond semi-civilization, and become a nation of men, while such an iron weight lay upon their energies. So far as temporal comfort, and security of life and property are concerned, the Burman fares much better in the British provinces, than under the native monarchs. What they have lost nationally, they have far more than gained individually. In regard to the progress of Christianity in the empire, the change is still more beneficial. No one now is in danger of fines, imprisonment, scourging, and death, for abandoning the national religion. The missionary may proclaim the gospel, and the Burman and Karen and Peguan may listen to its joyful sound, with none to molest or make them afraid. It is not worth while, then, to sigh over the decay of the Bur- man Empire. The Anglo-Saxon instinct of annexa- tion, . has seldom been more fortunately developed for the best interests of humanity. A brief sketch of the interior organization of the government, will place this in a still clearer light. At its head stands the monarch, sole proprietor of the soil, and absolute master of the lives and property of his subjects. His will i3 the law of the empire. No THE ADOPTED COUNTRY. 125 rank or office is hereditary, but his own. Every noble or dignitary is such by immediate royatfcreation, and is liable at any moment to the forfeiture of rank, of prop- erty, and of life itself, at the royal will. A council of four members, called at-wen-woons, or " inside " ministers of state, forms the private advisory cabinet of the emperor. All state questions, having been first debated in this council, are then transmitted to the great council of state, lut-cChau, consisting also of four members, called woon-gy-ees, which has in charge the administration of the government, and is invested with legislative, judicial, and executive powers. In both these bodies, the decision is by a majority of voices. To each is attached a large num- ber of secretaries, of high official rank and influence, but not entitled to vote. It might at first seem as if these two councils would form some check to royal despotism. But being ap- pointed by the king alone, and removable at his pleas- ure, they are in fact his obsequious creatures, the mere organs and instruments of his will. No freedom of action, or even of opinion, can be looked for in such circumstances. So precarious is the tenure of their dignity, that they are afraid to communicate to the monarch political information of the highest impor- tance, if it chances to be of a disagreeable character. 126 THE EARNEST MAN. The bearer of such unwelcome news would probably expiate the offence with his office, and perhaps with his head. The empire is divided into provinces, townships, districts, and villages ; not for the more perfect admin- istration of justice, but for the more speedy, systematic, and thorough fleecing of the people by the royal gov- ernment. No servant of the government receives a fixed salary. From the head man of a village up to the governor of a province, all derive their revenues from direct taxation upon the inhabitants of their assigned jurisdictions ; and provided each pays over a satisfactory sum to the official next above him, and an ample golden stream at length flows into the royal treasury, all further account of his stewardship is dispensed with. In addi- tion to this, the government claims the right of levying a special tax, whenever the exigencies of the state require .it. Industry and enterprise must necessarily flag, under a system which renders every improvement in a man's condition the signal for new extortions, and ex- poses him, upon the mere suspicion of concealed wealth, to be torn from his family, and subjected to imprison- ment and cruel torture till he confess the fact. These are the causes of the slow progress of the Burmese in the arts of civilized life ; the reasons why, in a country teeming with the richest products of nature, and with THE ADOPTED COUNTRY. 127 every capacity fitting them to become a great agricul- tural, manufacturing, and commercial people, they are still unskilful farmers and artisans, and dependent on foreign vessels to carry on their scanty trade with other countries ; the reason why the larger part of their fine country is still covered with jungles swarming with ferocious beasts, and that the inhabited portions wear a general aspect of poverty and wretchedness. The effect on moral character is still more lament- able. Merciless injustice and oppression in the rulers, has produced its inevitable counterpart, dissimulation and falsehood in the people. Lying is a vice so uni- versal, so bred in the Burman blood, that detection scarcely awakens a feeling of- shame. The very pre- cariousness of property lessens the sense of its sacred- ness, so that most of them are very ready to repair their losses from the hand of government, at the expense of their neighbors. Cunning, adroitness in deceiving and overreaching others, are held to be the mark of a superior mind. — The impurity of the Burman character cannot be charged upon the government as its direct cause, for heathenism and moral purity cannot coexist ; yet there can be no doubt that despotism, by repressing the natural activity of the people in proper directions, is a great nurse of vice and immorality. Yet, with all these drawbacks, there are points in the 128 THE EARNEST MAN. Burman character and social condition which strike one with admiration, when contrasted with other nations of India, especially the Hindoos. Infanticide, the immola- tion of widows, abandonment of the sick and aged, is unknown in Burmah. Parental affection is strong in both father and mother ; and such is the value attached to children, that a widow with a family finds her chances greatly increased for an eligible marriage. The aged are treated with almost as great reverence as in China ; their counsels are listened to with respect, and the best seats are assigned them in the public assembly. The condition of woman is, I believe, superior to that allowed them by any other Asiatic people, and is equal, in most respects, to that of the sex, generally, in Europe. The labors of the household devolve on them ; they weave, draw the water, clean rice, cook, &c, and sometimes assist in the lighter outdoor employments ; but all heavy labors and severe exposure belong to the men. Polyg- amy, though allowed, is seldom practised, except by the grandees. None of that jealous seclusion of females, general in the East, is witnessed here. They go abroad as freely as in Christian countries, make all the purchases for their households, and conduct much of the traffic both in the shop and bazaar. Development of character, and an important social influence, are the necessary consequences. THE ADOPTED COUNTRY. 129 The means of elementary education are amply pro- vided for boys, so that a very large majority of the males are acquainted with reading, writing, and accounts. Female education in Burmah bears about the same relation to that of the men as it does the world over ; it being, seemingly, a silent understanding in all lands, Christian, Mohammedan, and Pagan, that the one is to be kept at a safe distance below the other. The extra- ordinary talent for computation, however, which is a trait of the Burman mind, renders instruction in ac- counts almost superfluous, even to those engaged in trade. Private female schools are found occasionally, and many females of the higher classes acquire a respectable degree of culture, according to the standard of the country. Excessive pride and hauteur is a national character- istic of the Burmans, a trait which offers great obstacles to improvement. It is not strange that they should have become thus inflated, considering their previous history; but it has cost them dear in their relations with the English. The series of humiliations, which has so curtailed their power and dominion, is almost wholly attributable to their overweening self-conceit. It will readily be seen how inaccessible such a people would be to the claims of a new religion. The very presentation of it, by a despised foreigner, would be an 130 THE EARNEST MAN. affront to their self-esteem. Still, there is something refreshing, in contrast with the obsequious servility of the Hindoo, with his everlasting bows and prostrations, in the aspect of this sturdy Oriental, who meets, with erect head and unquailing eye, the powerful European, — seeming to say : " I also am a man ! " * We can- not help believing, too, that this proud exterior has for its basis a character of firmer grain, fitting it for nobler uses and a finer polish than can be expected from the osier-like pliancy of their Bengalee neighbors. That outward softness evinces, as we well know, no greater moral susceptibility. "Lascivious and bloody" are, as Buchanan, tells us, the two epithets which best describe the effeminate and seemingly passive Hindoo. An influence still more powerful than that of gov- ernment, in moulding their character and condition, is found in the national religion. The aspect of poverty, wretchedness, and degradation, which had produced so painful and depressed a feeling in the young missionaries, on their first arrival at Ran- goon, was soon found to have a brilliant contrast in the religious structures which adorned the suburbs. From the narrow, straggling, dirty streets of the town, opened * The same feeling renders it, I am told, almost impossible for English families in Kangoon, and other conquered towns, to procure Burmans as domestics; so that they are obliged to import their servants from Bengal. THE ADOPTED COUNTRY. 131 two avenues, each two miles long, conducting to the great Shoo-da-gon, one of the most magnificent temples of the empire, and thrice sacred as enshrining several of the real hairs of Gaudama. It looked down from its eminence, upon the surrounding landscape, like the monarch of the scene. A mile of pagodas, on either side of the avenue, marked the approach to the temple. Ascending by several flights of broad stairs the ter- races of the sacred hill, and passing through, the grand gate, upon the summit a bewildering scene of picturesque beauty and barbaric splendor burst upon the gazer's view. " One's first impressions," says Dr. Malcom, " are — what terrible grandeur ! what sickening magnificence ! what absurd imagery ! what extravagant expenditure ! what long successions of devotees to pro- cure this throng of buildings of such various dates ! what a poor religion that makes such labors its chief meritoriousness ! Before you stands the huge Shoo- da-gon, its top among the clouds, and its golden sides blazing in the glories f an Eastern sun. Around are pompous zayats, noble pavements, Gothic mausoleums, uncouth colossal lions, curious stone umbrellas, graceful cylindrical banners of gold, embroidered muslins hang- ing 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 132 THE EARNEST MAN. with fragrance, and a multitude of carved figures of idols, worshippers, guardians, griffins, &c." Under light open sheds, scattered over the large area, and half em- bowered in the foliage of the banian, the toddy, and the cocoa, the eye rested on huge uncouth figures, repre- senting a young man sitting, with crossed legs, in an attitude of profound contemplation and repose. This was Gaudama, the presiding deity, the great expounder, if not the father, of that vast overshadowing system of idolatry, which holds " in chains of darkness " one half the human race, — Buddhism. Before each image a little altar bloomed with its floral offerings, and around it were clustered carved groups of priests and votaries. Nor was the scene wanting in the more affecting specta- cle of living worshippers, bowing with uplifted hands behind their gifts, counting their muttered prayers by the aid of rosaries, or perchance offering on the end of a stick a written prayer purchased, for a trifle, from the priest. Turning from this humiliating scene to the view of the surrounding country, opened from the parapet, the eye wandered over a fair and lovely landscape ; rice meadows smiling with the promise of plenty; gentle hills spotted with numerous herds ; valleys rich with ver- dure ; ponds and streamlets glittering in the sun. But what was all this scene of beauty and abundance, to THE ADOPTED COUNTRY. 133 the majority of its inhabitants ? The tall spires of Rangoon's fivejiundred pagodas, and the gilded roofs of the kyoungs, the sacred houses of the priests, gleamed from their gardens and embowering groves in every direction. Every thing gave token that the national faith was strong in wealth and influence. But what had it done for the people ? The wretched town, " the city of bamboo huts," with its swarming, poverty strick- en population, lying like a black spot in that ring of gorgeous structures, showed that it had accomplished nothing for their outward welfare. What, then, had been its influence on their moral and spiritual state? How much had it done to elevate them above the de- pressing and demoralizing influences of their political condition ? With what hopes of the future did it soothe their present miseries — what words of consolation had it for the dying hour? Such must have been the thoughts which pressed on the missionary's heart, when he first stood under the shadow of the towering Shoo- da-gon, pondering on his future labors. The answer to these questions requires a brief view of the leading ideas and doctrines of Buddhism, which will form the subject of the next chapter. CHAPTER XL BUDDHISM. Guadama, the founder of Buddhism, flourished in Hindostan about 626 b. c. His teachings, perpetu- ated by tradition through five centuries, and at length, 450 years after his death, reduced to writing by one of his disciples in the island of Ceylon, form the Bet-a-gat, or Buddhist Scriptures, "the only rule of faith and practice." In the tenth century after Gau- dama, " they were transcribed by Buddh-ha-gantha, with an iron pen of celestial workmanship," and brought by sea to Pugan ; and in the tenth century of the Chris- tian era, Buddhism, after some unessential modifica- tions, became the established religion of Burmah. The leading ideas of Buddhism, as gathered from Dr. Judson's view of the subject, may be stated as follows : 1. The eternal existence of matter and of finite spirits. 2. Fate, the supreme ruler of the universe. 3. The eternal transmigration of souls ; BUDDHISM. 135 4. The development of Buddhs. 5. Annihilation, the supreme good^ The cosmofony of Buddhism is very peculiar. Per- petual dissolution and reproduction is the great law of matter. The infinite number of systems, or Sak-yas, which compose the material universe, have, from all eternity, been coming into existence, perishing, and again reorganizing ; a process which, as it was without beginning, will be also without end. " Each system consists of one central mountain, the surrounding seas and islands, the celestial regions including the revolv- ing luminaries and the infernal regions. The earth on which we live is the southernmost of the four grand islands, each of which is surrounded by four hundred of smaller size. The celestial regions consist of six inferior and twenty superior heavens. Of the six in- ferior heavens, the first occupies the middle, and the second the summit of the central mount, the remain- der rising above each other in regular gradation. The same remark applies to the superior heavens, which are again distinguishable into the sixteen visible and four invisible." Immediately beneath the central mountain, in the space inclosed by the three immense rocks on which it rests, (< is a race of beings resem- bling the Titans of old, who have been banished from the celestial" regions. Below this, are ranged eight 136 THE EARNEST MAN. hells, one beneath the other, and extending through a layer of earth one hundred* and twenty thousand miles in depth. The earth rests on a rocky stratum of the same depth, beneath which is a continually restless flood of water; and still below this, a similar body of air, by the mighty force of whose continued ac- tion and reaction, the whole structure is supported." — These several systems are arranged compactly in a vast plane, each inclosed by a circular wall of incalcu- lable height and thickness. One complete revolution of nature, or the age of a world, is termed a Ma-ha-kat, and each Ma-ha-kat wit- nesses the destruction and reproduction of ten thou- sand systems like those just described. This Grand Period, or cycle, consists of four cardinal periods, and each of these of sixty-four intermediate periods, or a-then-ky-ays, w T hich latter embrace only the brief term of " one hundred quadrillions of quadrigintillions of years." Pain and change are the inseparable conditions of living existence. The universe swarms with an infi- nite number of souls, which, from all eternity, have been transmigrating through different worlds and va- rious forms of life, rising or falling in the scale of ex- istence according to the degree of merit brought to each new birth. " All beings are continually revolving BUDDHISM. 157 on the great wheel of transmigration, from man to monster or the vilest reptile, from the celestial inhab- itant of an upper heaven to the blackest demon in hell, with no hope of rest or reprieve, save in utter extinc- tion." " However highly exalted in the celestial re- gions, and whatever number of ages of happiness may roll on," — say the Burmans, — "the fatal symptom of a moisture under the armpits will at length display itself. The mortal being, when this presents itself, must be prepared to exchange the blandishments and dalliance of celestial beauties for the gridirons, pitch- forks, mallets, and other instruments of torture of the infernal regions." Such is the predominance of moral 1 evil in the universe, that this process is one of infinite suffering to every individual spirit. " The Betagat," says Malcom, " declares that the tears shed by any one soul, in its various changes from eternity, are so numerous that the ocean is but a drop in comparison." No Supreme intelligence presides over this teeming universe of material and spiritual forces. Inexorable Fate, or the eternal, inward necessity of things, regu- lates all events. Certain of the Grand Periods are distinguished by the development of one or more superior beings called Buddhs, the feature of this religion from which it derives its name. These beings are not to be con- 138 THE EARNEST MAN. founded with the incarnations of deity found in Brah- miriism. The Buddh is simply a finite spirit, of the same nature as the others which people the universe, who, having passed through an infinite series of exist- ences, at length, by a happy accident, has become an inhabitant of the earth, the only part of the Sak-yah in which a Buddh can be developed. Here, after an- other incalculable series of transmigrations through in- ferior animals, he is born of human parents, and, by a life of austerity and contemplation, attains to a state of abstraction in which he is insensible to pain or pleas- ure, and receives the attribute of omniscience. . He is then a Buddh, the supreme object of adoration to the universe. This dignity imparts, however, no con- trol over its affairs ; and he is himself still as liable to pain, sickness, and death, as the meanest reptile. Ac- cordingly, the grand ultimatum, the supreme good, to- wards which the Buddh directs all his efforts, is Nig- ban, that is, annihilation. The present cycle is favored with five Buddhs, four of whom have already attained to Nigban, and one is yet to be developed. Gaudama, the fourth, is the only one whose communications have been preserved. His annihilation occurred in the sixth century before Christ. As his successor is not to appear till the ebb of the next Grand Period, the universe is now and will re- BUDDHISM. 139 main for an incalculable series of ages, destitute of a living God. In the mean time, the images, temples, books, and priests of the last Buddh are to stand in place of himself, as objects of worship ; and the great aim of human beings is, so to conduct that they may remain within the sphere of men and gods till the manifestation of the fifth deity, the yet slumbering Lord Arimiteya, " whom they may hope to accompany to the golden world of nigban." Thus it appears that the idea of an eternal Creator, Upholder, and Moral Ruler of the universe, nay, even of an ever-living in- finite Intelligence, is unknown in Buddhism ; that it is, in fact, Atheism.* The following record of a conversation, between Mr. Judson and his Burman teacher, will show that the system, as understood by its most intelligent adherents, is in harmony with the foregoing statements. September 30, 1815. Had the following conversation with my teacher, as nearly as I can recollect it. This man * Learned men may find evidence in the sacred books that the primitive idea of Nigban was rather that of celestial repose, a state exalted above pain, decay, or change, than one of absolute non-existence, — a subject certainly of much interest to the philo- sophic inquirer. But, as universally understood, — the point of practical importance to the missionary, it was in the view even of the most intelligent and best-educated Burmans, nothing short of annihilation. 140 THE EARNEST MAN. has been with me about three months, and is the most sen- sible, learned, and candid man that I have ever found amoii" the Burmans. He is forty-seven years of age, and his name is Oo Oungmen. I began by saying, Mr. J is dead. Oo. I have heard so. J. His soul is lost, I think. Oo. Why so? J. He was not a disciple of Christ. Oo. How do you know that ? You could not see his soul. /. How do you know whether the root of that mango-tree is good ? You cannot see it; but you can judge by the fruit on its branches. Thus I know that Mr. J. was not a disci- ple of Christ, because his words and actions were not such as indicate a disciple. Oo. And so, all who are not disci- ples of Christ are lost ? J. Yes, all, whether Burmans or foreigners. Oo. This is hard. J. Yes, it is hard indeed j otherwise I should not have come all this way, and left par- ents and all, to tell you of Christ. He seemed to feel the force of this, and after stopping a little he said, How is it that the disciples of Qhrist are so fortunate above all men ? J. Are not all men sinners, and deserving of punishment in a future state ? Oo. Yes, all must suffer in some future state for the sins they commit. The punishment follows the crime as surely as the wheel of the cart follows the footsteps of the ox. J. Xow, according to the Burman system, there is no escape. According to the Christian svstem, there is. Jesus Christ has died in the place of sinners, has borne their sins; and now those who believe on him, and become his disciples, are released from the punishment they deserve. At death, they are received into heaven, and are (happy forever. Oo. That I will never believe. My mind is very stiff on this one point, namely, that all existence involves in itself principles of misery and destruction. The whole universe is only destruction and reproduction. It therefore becomes a wise man to raise his desires above all things that exist, and aspire to nigban, the state where there BUDDHISM. 141 is no existence. J. Teacher, there are two evil futurities, and one good. A miserable future existence is evil, and an- nihilation, or nigban, is an evil, a fearful evil. A happy fu- ture existence is alone good. Oo. I admit that is best if it could be perpetual, but it cannot be. Whatever is, is liable to change, and misery, and destruction. Nigban is the only permanent good, and that good has been attained by Gau- dama, the last deity. /. If thero be no eternal being, you cannot account for any thing. Whence this world, and all that we see ? Oo. Fate. J. Fate ! The cause must al- ways be equal to the effect. See, I raise this table. See also that ant under it. Suppose I were invisible, would a wise man say the ant raised it ? Now, fate is not even an ant. Fate is a word ; that is all. It is not an agent ; not a thing. What is fate? Oo.' The fate of creatures is the influence which their good or bad deeds have on their future existence. J. If influence be exerted, there must be an exerter. If there be a determination 'there must be a de- terminer. Oo. No, there is no determiner. There cannot be an eternal being. J. Consider this point. It is a main point of true wisdom. Whenever there is an execution of a purpose, there must be an agent. Oo. (After a little thought.) I must say that my mind is very decided and hard, and unless you tell me something more to the pur- pose, I shall never believe. 4 Buddhism is not, in itself, an immoral system. The communications of Gaudama, forming an exceedingly- voluminous body of sacred literature, have proved, so far as examined, remarkably pure in their moral tone. The stories of Gaudama's transmigrations, extending through many hundred volumes, though a tissue of 142 THE EARNEST MAN. extravagant and absurd fancies, are entirely free from that obscene spirit which taints the sacred legends of the Hindoos. Its moral code, though aiming chiefly at the regulation of the outward conduct, is based on the foundation principles of morality. " Thou shalt not lie ; thou shalt not kill ; thou shalt not steal ; thou shalt not commit adultery ; thou shalt not drink intoxicating liquors," are its five cardinal precepts. It also incul- cates government of the temper, kindness to the needy, and purity in thought as well as in action. But were its morality a hundred-fold more excellent, Buddhism would still be entirely wanting in vital power. Its incentives to a life of virtue are purely selfish and sensual, and hence cannot touch the moral nature. What tendency, on the one hand, has the fear of be- coming a wild beast or loathsome reptile, or of being broiled for ages on a gridiron ; or, on the other, the hope of the physical enjoyments of their material Paradise, or of the unconscious repose of nigban, to change a sinjul being into one who is pure, truthful, benevolent, and holy ? The means are not, in the slightest degree, adapted to the end. Even were the penalty annexed to sin suited to influence a moral being, its force is nullified by the idea that guilt may be balanced by merit, and that the merit of prostrations and offerings to priests, of the recitation of prayers, BUDDHISM. 143 of the erection of pagodas and kyoungs, stands on the same level with the highest moral excellence. The act highest in the scale of virtue, is the making of an idol. Almsgiving has its regular gradations of merit, founded not upon the necessities, but the rank of the recipient. Thus, while charity to a common laborer insures " long life, beauty, strength, knowledge, and prosperity," only through a hundred transmigrations, the influence ex- tends through two thousand, if bestowed on one of the upper classes, still more if on a priest. Pure benev- olence, founded on heartfelt love to our neighbor as a man and brother, is unknown to this system. Merit or virtue being, moreover, merely so much capital to be invested in the next state of existence, it knows nothing of the virtue of gratitude. So thoroughly has the selfish principle of their religion moulded the popular life, that no expression equivalent to " I thank you," is found in the Burmese language. The donor bestows, and the needy receives, with the perfect understanding on both sides that it is all a matter of pure selfishness. That divine spirit of love, by which Christianity seeks to draw all mankind into one great brotherhood, is wholly wanting to this cold and dreary system. Buddhism has been not inaptly compared to an alabaster image, perfect and beautiful to the eye, but utterly destitute of life. No living Creator, watching 144 THE EARNEST MAN. with infinite father-love over the universe which he has made, caring even for the sparrow, and numbering the very hairs of our heads ; no Redeemer, to whom the weary, guilty soul may flee for pardon and comfort ; no source of spiritual life, through whose divine in- fluence the soul can be created anew in the image of its Father ; no heaven of eternal bliss, above the fear of pain or change, as the joyful close of the earthly pilgrimage ! Imagine, for a moment, these glorious truths blotted from our faith. What would it be to us, though its moral precepts were left in all their purity ? What motives to virtue, what strength in temptation, what consolation to the fainting soul under the trials of the present state, could it offer? The change would be like that of passing from the regions of life and light, into those of eternal despair and the shadow of death. But it is especially at the final hour, that Christianity reveals its superiority over every false system of religion. Buddhism has no comfort for the dying sinner. All his external observances, and selfish acts of virtue, cannot silence the voice of that law, written on the soul of every human being, which de- mands " truth in the inward parts." They cannot extinguish the sense of guilt, and of coming misery due to the transgressor. We can hardly wonder, then, that the poor Buddhist, casting his thoughts forward from BUDDHISM. 145 the verge of life into that dark, restless, shoreless sea of transmigration, should sigh for the eternal sleep of nigban, as the one boon of his religion worthy of the aspirations of the truly wise. Such, at this moment, is the only religion of four hundred millions of the human family ! The intimate connection between the theological tenets of Buddhism, and its theory of the material universe, has led some to suppose that the true antidote to its power was to be found in science. A correct knowledge of geography and astronomy, it has been said, would be the overthrow of Buddhism. Did the system exist merely as an abstract theory, this would be a just view. But a religion, which has for ages been identifying itself with the life of a nation, cannot be killed by destroying its scientific basis. It has a thousand points of attachment, through which it draws sustenance, quite irrespective of the root from which it sprung. The pretty apologue,* used by a Karen convert, to illustrate the insidious influence of sin, applies equally well to this case. " The Klur f said to the Teak-tree : * Let me come and sleep to-night in your branches.' * For this pleasing specimen >of Karen literature, I am indebted to Miss Vinton, who lias spent thirteen years as a missionary in Burmah, chiefly among the Karens. f A gigantic parasitical plant, common in Burmab. 10 146 THE EARNEST MAN. The Teak said, * You may come.' So the Klur crept up the trunk, and spread itself out among the boughs of the noble tree. The next morning, the Teak wished his guest to depart ; but the Klur said, ' Let me stay- one night longer.' The second day the. same thing was repeated, and the Klur was again permitted to remain. But on the third morning, when the Teak said, * Now leave me,' the Klur answered : ' Nay, force me to do it, if you can ! ' For the wily plant had by this time so fastened itself upon its hospitable neigh- bor, that it was no longer in the power of the Teak to rid himself of it. And so, rootless as it was, the Klur grew and flourished, feeding itself upon the sap and juices of the tree ; nor could they ever again be separated, till it had drained out the life of its sup- porter, and both fell and perished together." Like that monstrous serpent- plant, Buddhism had, for centuries, been growing with the life-growth of society. Generation after generation had come up under its influence. The lisping child had been taught to bow down to the image of Gaudama, behind its little offering of rice and flowers. The glitter of the tall pagoda on the neighboring hill, and the tinkling sym- phonies of its gilded bells, were among the sweetest recollections of early years. A national literature of no mean pretensions, which had been, for centuries, the BUDDHISM. 147 chief source of mental culture to the race, was the mere efflorescence of the ancient faith. The priesthood, though not exercising the mysterious spell over the popular mind, as immediate organs and representatives of deity, which gives to many false systems their chief power, nor even ministering at the altar, yet formed a strong link between the people and their religion. The Buddhist priesthood is not, like the Brahminic, a he- reditary caste. Any man of respectable standing in society may enter its ranks, and, if he chooses, for a limited term ; returning at its expiration to secular business without reproach, and retaining, through life, an important accession of personal dignity and influence. It is a matter of family pride and distinction to count at least one representative among the wearers of the yellow robe ; and hence, according to Dr. Judson's tes- timony, " the priesthood has its roots in almost every family of respectability in Burmah." Then they are the national schoolmasters ; and, as such, rank de- servedly as great public benefactors. The five millions of readers, whom Mr. Judson found in Burmah, owed the ability solely to the gratuitous schools taught by the priests, every rainy season, in their beautiful kyoungs. Religion and education were thus insepar- ably united in the mind of the community. Add to these things, that Buddhism is the established religion of the 148 THE EARNEST MAN. empire, sustained by the monarch to whom belong the property, persons, lives, and consciences of his subjects ; that in its outward forms it is a gorgeous system, well adapted to dazzle the senses and imagination ; and finally, take into the account the tenacity with which the human heart ever clings to a religion of works, in preference to that which offers salvation freely as the gift of God, — and we see that, in undertaking to un- dermine this hoary structure, the young missionary put his hand to no light task. But he knew that it had one vulnerable point, — its inadequacy to meet the deepest necessities of the human soul. It was not by lectures on cosmogony and geography that he proposed making his assault, but by speaking directly to the conscience ; proclaiming an eternal, holy God, the Creator, Upholder, and Judge of men, and an atoning Saviour, able and ready to save, unto the uttermost, all who come unto God by him. CHAPTER XIL THE LANGUAGE. The laborer had at length reached his chosen field. It stretched out, a wretched, sterile, neglected scene before his earnest gaze, and his heart burned with desire to be at work. But the implements of labor were yet wanting. The acquisition of one of the most dif- ficult languages ever used by men, lay between him and the first stroke of missionary service. Among the various families of Indian tongues, the Burmese stood alone, having no marked affinities with any which had become known to Europeans. He had neither gram- mar nor dictionary to aid his first steps ; nor was a teacher to be found who understood both Burman and English. Nor would such a familiarity with the language, as might suffice for the transaction of ordinary business, or for mere literary research, answer his purpose. The task he set for himself was such a command of it, as would render it an instrument no less pliant to 150 THE EARNEST MAN. his will, in every variety of mental process, than his mother- tongue. To perform the whole work of a pioneer missionary, in this peculiar sphere of labor, he must become an author in the language^ a popular preacher, a metaphysical reasoner, a translator of the Scriptures. All this he accomplished, and, in every particular, with preeminent success. — Which of our best German scholars, in this country, would under- take such exploits 'in that kindred tongue; for instance, to conduct philosophic debates with the disciples of Hegel or Schelling, or to compose religious treatises, or to prepare a new version of the Scriptures, for the use of our transatlantic cousins? In the Burman, the difficulty was incomparably greater. A writer in the Calcutta Review thus speak of its characteristics : " Some languages, however, — and the Burman is one, — seem to mould themselves with great difficulty to the elimination of thought, in the intermediate stages of a continued chain of close argument. In such languages an argument, or train of reasoning, appears to advance with abrupt steps, the mind being left to trace and fill up their connection. The resulting formula has to be reached, dropping out, as it were, some of the intermediate equations. Let our readers dwell for a moment upon the difficulty, in their own powerful Saxon tongue, of discoursing upon freewill, THE LANGUAGE. 151 I predestination, and many other such subjects, and then endeavor to realize to themselves how infinitely more difficult the attempt must be in a language of monosyllabic formation and structure ; its very polysyl- lables being the roughest possible mosaic of monosyl- lables, and the genius and construction of the language such that even the simple language of the gospels — the sentences of which are, in general, so remarkably plain and free from complication — is beyond its flexi- bility, the simplest sentences in the gospels of Mark or John having to be chopped up and decomposed, in order to adapt them to this peculiar language." Nor does even this present the whole difficulty. As the off- spring of heathen mind, this strange tongue furnished, naturally, no terms for Christian ideas. To this he must himself mould it, after having first transferred its whole capacity of expression to his own tiind, To this gigantic task Judson addressed himself with the same force of resolution by which he had pushed his way, against all obstacles, into the missionary field. It was, indeed, a kind of labor to which he was singu- larly adapted by his intellectual gifts and habits. Not that he was one of those linguistic prodigies, who sometimes astonish the world by their monstrous facility, in catching the mere words and phrases of a foreign tongue. His ability, in this respect, did not 152 THE EARNEST MAN. « exceed that of most well-balanced and well-trained minds. We find that Mrs. Judson learned to speak the Burman with fluency sooner than he did. But for feeling his way into the heart of a language, and fol- lowing out its innate principles of development, till the whole structure stood in characteristic form before his eye, — in this he has had few equals, and probably no superiors. It was not so much quickness as method ; the action of a mind naturally clear and vigorous, but indebted, for its unerring precision and force of move- ment, to his long course of severe intellectual training. Had he allowed himself, while at school and college, to contract habits of superficial study, or had he cut short the term of preparation that he might hasten two or three years sooner to the field of labor, how different would have been the result ! That familiarity with the general laws of language, and with the genius of various languages which he had derived from a critical study of the classical and Hebrew tongues, were, in his case, what Belzoni's researches among the labyrinths of Thebes were to him, when he sat down before the blank wall of the pyramid of Cephrenes, and reasoned out the passage to its interior treasures. No time, after arriving on missionary ground, was wasted in blundering guesswork ; every step he ad- vanced was taken once for all. Within three years THE LANGUAGE. 153 after entering Burmah, the man who ha$ acquired his first little stock of words by pointing to the common objects about him, and catching their names from the lips of the natives, prepared a grammar of the lan- guage, which must be reckoned among the most re- markable productions in the field of philology,, It was printed, twenty -six years after, at the mission press, in Maulmain ; and is thus spoken of in a notice of Dr. Judson's literary labors, in the Calcutta Review : " He published another work, a grammar, of no pretensions, and of very small dimensions, yet a manual which indicated the genius of the man, perhaps, more strik- ingly than any thing else, except his Bible. He has managed, from a thorough knowledge of the language, to condense into a few short pages [only seventy-six] a most complete grammar of this difficult tongue ; and as the student grows in knowledge, pari passu, this little volume rises in his estimation ; for its lucid, com- prehensive conciseness becomes more and more mani- fest. In our limited acquaintance with languages, whether of the East or West, we have seen no work in any tongue which we should compare with this in brevity and completeness ; yet we have, in our day, had to study and wade through some long, and some would- be short grammars." But the mere philosophical analysis of the language 154 THE EARNEST MAN. had little interest for him, except as the means to a practical end. For his purposes, he must not Only learn to know the language, but to live it ; it must be not the mere tree-skeleton, as it stands in the winter of our frigid clime, stiffly pencilled against the sky ; but the tree of summer, waving and rustling with its crown of innumerable leaves, and full of the mysterious mur- murs and many- voiced music of human life. He had received from nature that poetic warmth of tempera- ment, that delicacy of taste and sensibility, necessary to apprehend the living forms of speech in their infinite variety of shape and hue ; and these fine natural instincts had been richly cultivated by the study of classic and English literature. He now made it his great business to strip from his mind the specific forms of his previous culture, and wholly remould and reclothe it in those of a new and strange speech ; to become literally a Bur- man to the Burmans, that he might at least save some of them. His perfect success in this attempt will ap- pear through the whole course of the subsequent nar- rative. Deliberately abjuring the use of English, he talked and read Burman, till his inward life became identified with it ; till his intellectual processes, and his very emotions, poured themselves in this new channel with even a freer and fuller current, than ever they had done, or perhaps could have done in his native tongue ; •the language. 155 for there was something of oriental fervor in his nature, to which the coldnej>s and reserve of English expres- sion would always have been a restraint. To the study of the living language he soon added that of the Pali, the language of the sacred books, through which the religion of Gaudama was first intro- duced into the empire. Its structure he found entirely dissimilar to the Burman ; it being a dialect of the Sanscrit, with which the latter has no affinity. But so many of it3 words had been introduced into the vernac- ular, especially as theological terms, that some knowl- edge of it was necessary to accuracy in the communica- tion of religious ideas, and indispensable to a translator of the Scriptures. He found the number of its words in use to be about four thousand. These he first arranged into a dictionary, with Burman definitions ; then the cor- responding Burman words into a second part, with Eng- lish definitions. He afterwards prepared a larger Burman and English dictionary, which was probably completed in 1817, and was printed in 1826. In thus putting into permanent form the results of his labors, he aimed to lay a solid basis for the future operations of the mission. The following letters, which all belong to the third year of the mission, present an interesting view of the 156 THE EARNEST MAN. progress of his studies, as well as of the living missionary spirit which he carried into his literary labors. To the Rev. Dr. Bolles. Eangoon, January 16, 1816. Dear Brother: Yours of March, 1815, 1 lately received, and read with real satisfaction. Neither Brother Bice nor any of the others that you mention have yet been heard of in these parts. May they not be far distant. Whenever they shall arrive, I hope to be of some real service to them in their preparatory studies, and to be able to give them, in a short time, information on many points which it has cost me months to acquire. I just now begin to see my way for- ward in this language, and hope that two or three years more will make it somewhat familiar ; but I have met with difficul- ties that I had no idea of before I entered upon the work. For a European or American to acquire a living oriental language, root and branch, and make it his own, is quite a different thing from his acquiring a cognate language of the West, or any of the dead languages, as they are studied in the schools. One circumstance may serve to illustrate this. I once had occasion to devote about two months to the study of the French. I have now been above two years engaged on the Burman ; but if I were to choose between a Burman and a French book to be examined in, without previous study, I should, without the least hesitation, choose the French. When we take up a western language, the similarity in the characters, in very many terms, in many modes of expression, and in the general structure of sentences, its being in fair print, (a circumstance we hardly think of,) and the assistance of grammars, dictionaries, and instructors, ren- der the work comparatively easy. But when we take up a THE LANGUAGE. 157 language spoken by a people on the other side of the earth, whose very thoughts run in channels diverse from ours, and whose modes of expression are consequently all new and uncouth ; when we find the letters and words all totally des- titute of the least resemblance to any language we had ever met with, and tfyese words not fairly divided and distinguished, as in western writing, by breaks and points, and capitals, but run together in one continuous line, a sentence or paragraph seeming to the eye but one long word ; when, instead of clear characters on paper, we find only obscure scratches on dried palm leaves strung together and called a book ; when we have no dictionary, and no interpreter to explain a single word, and must get something of the language before we can avail ourselves of the assistance of a native teacher, — "Hoc opus, hie labor est." I had hoped, before I came here, that it would not be my lot to have to go on alone, without any guide in an unex- plored path, especially as missionaries had been here before. But Mr. Chater had left the country, and Mr. Carey was with me but very little, before he left the mission and the mission- ary work altogether. I long to write something more-interesting and encouraging to the friends of the mission ; but it must not yet be expected. It unavoidably takes several years to acquire such a lan- guage, in order to converse and write intelligibly on the great truths of the gospel. Dr. Carey once told me, that after he had been some years in Bengal, and thought he was doing very well in conversing and preaching to the natives, they (as he was afterwards convinced) knew not what he was about A young missionary who expects to pick up the language in a year or two will probably find that he has not counted the cost. If he should be so fortunate as to find a 158 THE EARNEST MAN. good interpreter, he may be useful by that means. But he will find, especially if he is in a new place, where the way is not prepared, and no previous ideas communicated, that to qualify himself to communicate divine truth intelligibly by his own voice or pen, is not the work of a year. However, notwithstanding my present incompetency, I am beginning to translate the New Testament, being extremely anxious to get some parts of Scripture, at least, into an intelligible shape, if for no other purpose than to read, as occasion offers, to the Burmans I meet with. My paper allows me to add nothing more but to beg your prayers, that while I am much occupied in words and phrases, and destitute of those gospel privileges you so richly enjoy, in the midst of your dear church and people, I may not lose the life of religion in my soul. I remain, dear brother, Yours very affectionately, A. Judson, Jr. To the Rev. Dr. Staughton. I am sometimes a little dispirited, when I reflect that, for two or three years past, I have been drilling at A, B, C, and grammar. But I consider again that the gift of tongues is not granted in these times ; that some one must acquire this language by dint of application ; must translate the Scrip- tures, and must preach the gospel to the people in their own tongue, or how can they be saved ? My views of the mis- sionary object are, indeed, different from what they were, when I was first set on fire by Buchanan's " Star in the East," six years ago. But it does not always happen that a closer acquaintance with an object diminishes our attachment and preference. We sometimes discover beauties, as well as deformities, which were overlooked on a superficial view ; THE LANGUAGE. 159 when some attractions lose their force, others more perma- nent and exerted ; and when the glitter in which novelty- invested the object has passed away, more substantial excel- lences have room to disclose their influence ; and so it has been with me, I hope, in regard to the work of missions. I remain, reverend and dear Sir, Yours affectionately in the Lord, A. Judson, Jr. To the Rev. Luther Rice. Rangoon, August 8, 1816. My dear Brother Rice: I have completed a gram- mar of the Burman language, which I hope will be useful to you ; also a tract, which I hope to get printed as soon as Mr. Hough arrives. If any ask what success I meet with among the natives, tell them to look at Otaheite, where the missionaries labored nearly twenty years, and, not meeting with the slightest suc- cess, began to be neglected by all the Christian world, and the very name of Otaheite began to be a shame to the cause of missions ; and now the blessing begins to come. Tell them to look at Bengal, also, where Dr. Thomas had been laboring seventeen years (that is, from 1783 to 1800) before the first convert, Krishma, was baptized. When a few con- verts are once made, things move on ; but it requires a much longer time than I have been here to make a first impression on a heathen people. If they ask again, What prospect of ultimate success is there ? tell them, As much as that there is an almighty and faithful God, who will perform his promises, and no more. If this does not satisfy them, beg them to let me stay and try it, and to let you come, and to give us our bread; or, if they are unwilling to risk their bread on such a forlorn hope as has nothing but the Word of God to sustain 160 THE EARNEST MAN. it, beg of them, at least, not to prevent others from giving us bread ; and, if we live some twenty or thirty years, they may hear from us again. This climate is good — better than in any other part of the East But it is a most filthy, wretched place. Missionaries must not calculate on the least comfort, but what they find in one another and their work. However, if a ship was lying in the river, ready to convey me to any part of the world I should choose, and that, too, with the entire approbation of all my Christian friends, I would prefer dying to embarking. This is an immense field, and, since the Serampore mission- aries have left it, it is wholly thrown on the hands of the American Baptists. If we desert it, the blood of the Bur- mans will be required of us. _ Yours ever, A. Judson, Jr. To the Rev. Dr. Baldwin. Rangoon, August 5, 1816. Rev. and dear Sir : It is about seven months since I wrote to America. The first three months of this time I was employed on the Burman language in a more interesting manner than I had ever been. I began to enter into my studies with such pleasure and spirit, and to make such rapid progress, as encouraged me to hope that the time was not far distant when I should be able to commence missionary opera- tions. I was going forward in a course of most valuable Burman reading, and, at the same time, had begun to trans- late one of the Gospels, and to write a View of the Christian Religion, in Burman, which, in imagination, were already fin- ished, and circulating among the natives, when, all of a sud- den, in the midst of the hot season, which, in this country, is most severe during the months of March and April, I was % THE LANGUAGE. 161 seized with a distressing weakness and pain in my eyes and head, which put a stop to all my delightful pursuits, and re- duced me to a pitiable state indeed. Since that time, except- ing at some intervals, I have been unable to read, or write, or make any exertion whatever. Sometimes I have almost given up the hope that I should ever be of any more service ; sometimes I have been on the point of trying a short voyage at sea. This last was my intention, when I heard of brother Hough's arrival in Bengal, and concluded to wait until he should be settled here, when I could leave more conven- iently. But, thanks be to God, it is now ten days since I have experienced a turn of severe pain, though I still feel great weakness in my head, and, indeed, throughout my whole nervous system. I begin now to hope that I shall gradually recover, though I fear I never shall be as I for- merly was. During my illness, when able to do any thing, I have em- ployed myself in collecting what knowledge I have hitherto acquired of the language, and putting it together in the shape of a grammar, that it might not be wholly lost to others. My tract, also, is at length ready for the press, and I send a copy by this conveyance to Philadelphia, which may be some gratification to the Board. I would send a copy of the grammar also, if I was able, but it is too bulky to be transcribed, in my present state. I expect it will not be long before I shall be ordered up to Ava. The press, also, which has just arrived from Bengal, will not probably be allowed to stop long in Rangoon. This will open a wide fit-Id, and make it necessary to support two stations. I beg, therefore, that the Board will endeavor to send out one or two men with brother Rice, or as soon after as possible. The sooner they are on the grouud, learning the language, the sooner they will be fit for service. I have never before thought it prudent to write for more men in ad- 11 162 THE EARNEST MAN.* dition to those I knew were already destined to the place. But some favorable prospects lately begin to open, and the more I become acquainted with the state of things, the less reason I have to fear that the government of the country will, at present, oppose the work. We know not the designs of God in regard to this coun- try ; but I cannot but have raised expectations. It is true we may have to labor and wait many years before the bless- ing comes. But we see what God is doing in other heathen lands, after trying the faith and sincerity of his servants, some fifteen or twenty years. Look at Otaheite, Bengal, Africa. And is Burmah to remain a solitary instance of the inefficacy of prayer, of the forgetfulness of a merciful and faithful God V Is it nothing that an attempt is begun to be made ; that, in one instance, the language is considerably ac- quired ; that a tract is ready for publication, which is intelli- gible and perspicuous, and will give the Burmans their Jirst ideas of a Saviour and the way of salvation ; that a press and types have now arrived, and a printer is on the way ; that a grammar is finished, to facilitate the studies of others, and a dictionary of the language is in a very forward state ; and that the way is now prepared, as soon as health permits, to proceed slowly in the translation of the New Testament ? Is it nothing that, just at this time, the monarch of the country has taken a violent hate to the priests of his own religion, and is endeavoring, with all his power, to extirpate the whole order, at the same time professing to be an inquirer after the true religion ? Is all this to be set down a mere cipher ? It is true that we may desire much more. But let us use what we have, and God will give us more. However, men and -money must be forthcoming. Work cannot be done without men, and men cannot work without bread ; nor can we ex- pect the ravens to feed them in ordinary cases. I do not say several hundred missionaries are needed here. This, THE LANGUAGE. 163 though true, would be idle talk. My request I think modest. Five men, allowing two or three to each of the stations, is the smallest number that will possibly answer. I have received one letter only from Dr. Baldwin ; Mrs Judson has also received one. I hope that brother Hough is the bearer of others. We expect him by the first opportu- nity. With the greatest respect, yours, &c. A. Judson, Jr. Let no young candidate for ministerial or missionary work plead, after reading these letters, that progress in piety is incompatible with devotion to study. Here is a man, not yet twenty-eight years of age, cut off for nearly three years from the advantages of Christian society, of public worship, and of active exertion in the cause of religion, and during this whole time immersed in the study of a pagan language and literature. Yet the early glow of faith, of zeal, of noble resolution, has experienced no chill. Is it said that the studies, on which he was engaged, were destitute of those seduc- tive charms which beguile the young votary of classic literature? Judson had not found them so. Few, probably, have estimated what was involved in this long course of preparatory labor. In the Burman literature, with which he was in such constant and immediate con- tact year after year, a wide and curious field of research was opened, presenting peculiar fascinations to such a 164 THE EARNEST MAN. mind. This singular phase of the human intellect, — the language itself, with its novel modes of express- ing thought ; these strange conceptions of material and spiritual being ; these extravagant, grotesque, yet often beautiful creations of oriental fancy ; how could all this fail to lay a strong grasp on the scholar and the man of taste ? That it did so, we have ample proof. The flowers of Burmese literature would never have so rooted themselves in a mind that did not delight in their beauty. His memory teemed with its treasures of sacred song and legend ; and their very spirit was so transfused into his own writings, that the most crit- ical Burman scholar could not distinguish them from native compositions. Now what was the spell by which this was rendered harmless, so that his Christian growth suffered no check in the process ? Simply this, — a ruling moral purpose, to which all else was merely subsidiary ; which, select- ing every occupation with reference to its own great ends, drew it within the sphere of the spiritual life and sanctified it to the service of religion. These treasures of oriental lore might, if judiciously displayed, have made a European fame for the humble missionary. But so free from all motives of personal vanity and ambition were these literary acquisitions, that we find no allusion to them even in his letters, except for the brief expla- THE LANGUAGE. 165 nation of some point of direct missionary interest. Once, it is said, he for a time entertained the idea of awaken- ing a livelier missionary spirit at home, by making known these interesting productions of Burmaji mind. But perceiving, on reflection, thafr this would involve a serious diversion of his time and thoughts from proper missionary work, he deliberately relinquished the plan, and never again resumed it. We see, then, that the absence of intellectual en- thusiasm in a Christian minister, and the neglect of all studies but those which are strictly religious, are not necessary conditions of exalted piety. The life of an earnest Christian is a sublime unity ; not because he rejects all that belongs to the world, but because he assimilates all to the central object of his life, — the glory of God, and the good of man. CHAPTER XIII. MISSIONARY SPIRIT AMONG AMERICAN BAPTISTS. VICISSITUDES OP THE MISSION. Early in the month of September, 1815, our lonely missionaries were cheered by the first parcel of letters from America. For more than two years, they had labored in Burmah, uncertain as to the result of their appeal to American Baptists. Thus far, their neces- sities had been supplied by the noble-spirited brethren at Serampore ; but pressed as they were to the utmost for the support of their own mission, this could only be a temporary dependence. Firmly believing, however, that God had sent them to Burmah, Mr. x and Mrs. Judson had given themselves to the field with a devo- tion as entire, and had worked on the same breadth of plan, as if sure it was to be their home for life. With the same constancy of heart they would, no doubt, have maintained the post, even if obliged, as they had once anticipated, to labor with their own hands for food and clothing. Yet it must have been with anxious MISSIONARY SPIRIT AMONG AMERICAN BAPTISTS. 167 eye?, that they sought in the various letters of the precious parcel for the wished-for news ; and we can- not wonder at their joyful burst of feeling, on finding themselves, and the cause dearer to them than life, welcomed to the heart of the Baptist denomination. The intelligence of their change of views had reached this country in January, 1813. It was soon evident that self-distrust, rather than lack of interest, had hitherto prevented the active participation of Baptists in the missionary enterprise. No sooner was heard the voice of one fitted for the work, saying " Here am I, send me ! " than a response, full of Chris- tian warmth, came up from all parts of the la«d. Situated as we then were, the detached churches scat- tered over a vast extent of territory, with no organiza- tions which could form a medium of communication and of united action, the movements which followed must be regarded as a true index to the spirit of our churches. Its source was, not the intelligence which comes from education, but that experimental Bible piety, which was then the one glory of the Baptist name. Immediately on receiving the letters of Mr. Judson, and the Serampore brethren, of September, 1812, the leading brethren of Boston and its vicinity, after hav- ing first ascertained that the American Board of Com- 168 THE EARNEST MAN. missioners no longer regarded Mr. Judson as their missionary, organized a " Society for Propagating the Gospel in India and other Foreign Parts," whjch as- sumed at once the responsibility of his support. They did not, indeed, decide to undertake at present an independent mission ; but with a very proper deference to the superior knowledge of those who had been so long familiar with the ground, waived that question till they should hear from England and Serampore. They committed their missionary, meanwhile, to the Christian sympathies and the direction of the Seram- pore brethren, pledging themselves for his expenses, and expressing the hope of being able to raise, over and above this, a contribution to the general mission fund. " We shall e§teem it," says Dr. Sharp, in his letter on the subject to. Andrew Fuller, "an honor and a pleasure to render him that pecuniary aid, which from time to time he may need. Indeed, we expect that our exertions will not be limited to the support of our American brother; but that we shall be able to forward to Serampore a willing tribute for the promo- tion of the general cause." The proposal of a coali- tion, made in these letters, has often been compared with that made by the American Board to the London Missionary Society. It will be seen, however, that there were some important points of difference* MISSIONARY SPIRIT AMONG AMERICAN BAPTISTS. 169 The information, received a few weeks later, that Mr. Rice also had become a Baptist, gave a fresh stimulus to the missionary spirit, and societies were rapidly- formed in all the principal cities of the Union.- It was soon felt that the concert of measures necessary to harmonious and efficient action, demanded some gen- eral organization, in which the societies of different sections could be represented. Steps had already been taken to secure this objne but one who has had the experience, can tell what feelings comfort the heart of a solitary mis- sionary, when, though all the scenes around him pre- sent no friend, he remembers, and has proof, that there 172 THE EARNEST MAN. are spots on this wide earth, where Christian brethren feel that his cause is their 'own, and pray to the same God and Saviour for his welfare and success. Thanks be to God, not only for ? rivers of endless joy above,' but for ' rills of comfort here below.' " The year 1816 was marked by two events, of great importance in the progress of the mission ; viz : the arrival of a printing press (a gift from Serampore), and the appointment, by the Board of Managers, of a Missionary Printer. That mighty engine, which, in the days of the Reformation, was the chief instrument in " shaking the powers of darkness," and humbling " the fiery rage of the old red dragon," was now to be brought to bear upon the venerable superstitions of Buddhism. It was a bright day in the annals of Burmah, a day rich with the promise of permanence to the gospel institutions which should be planted in her soil ; a day which whispered of a Bible for her people. Mr. Judson deeply felt its importance. The following letters indicate the widening plans and hopes, the fresh courage and activity, inspired by this event. From Messrs. Judson and Hough to the Corresponding Secretary, Rev. Dr. Staughton. Rangoon, November 7, 1816. Rev. and dear Sir : It is with peculiar satisfaction that we are, at length, able to address a letter to the Board, in our MISSIONARY SPIRIT AMONG AMERICAN BAPTISTS. 173 joint capacity. We had a joyful meeting in this place the 15th ult. Mr. Hough has settled in one part of the mission house ; and we are now united, both as a church of Christ and as a mission society. Our regulations on the latter point we here submit to the Board. It will be evident, at first right, that these regulations have a prospective view, and are framed somewhat differently from what they would have been, had we not expected that our society would soon be enlarged. But we hope that the time is not far distant when they will receive the signature of brother Rice also. Indeed, we hope for more than this ; we hope that one or two others "mil be found to accompany Mr. Rice. li fa true that one of us remained about three years in this plaec without uttering any Macedonian cries. But we ap- prehend that the time is now come, when it is consistent with the strictest prudence to lift up our voice and say, Come over the ocean and help us. By a residence of three years in this country, many doubts, which at first occurred, are re- moved ; and many points concerning the practicability of a mission, and the prospect of success, are ascertained. We cannot now enter much into detail ; but we desire to say, that we consider the mission established in this land. We unite in opinion, that a wide door is set open for the intro- duction of the religion of Jesus into this great empire. We have at present no governmental interdict to encounter, and no greater obstacles than such as oppose the progress of mis- sionaries in every heathen land. It appears to us (and may it so appear to our fathers and brethren) that God, in remov- ing the English mission from this place, and substituting in their stead an American mission, is emphatically calling on the American churches to compassionate the poor Burmans, and to send their silver, and their gold, and their young men, to this eastern part of the world, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. 174 THE EARNEST MAN. It is with great pleasure that we announce the valuable present of a press and Burman types, made to us by the Ser- ampore brethren. We are now closing in a room for a tem- porary printing-office, and hope very soon to issue a gospel tract, which has been in readiness some time, and which is in- tended to give the heathen around us some idea of the way of salvation through the Lord Jesus. But we cannot move one step in the way of printing, without money. Though favored with the press, in the first instance, gratis, we have already expended, in paper, freight, and sundries, about four hundred rupees. We therefore beg an immediate appropri- ation, not only to liquidate the expenses already incurred, but to enable us to proceed in this all-important part of our work. The accounts of the mission press we propose to keep distinct ; and they shall be submitted, together with the ac- counts of the mission. We know not how long the press will be permitted to re- main in Bangoon ; we do not, however, deprecate its removal to Ava. Such a measure would doubtless tend to the fur- therance of the cause, and to the introduction of religion into the very heart of the empire, where Satan's seat is. But in this case, more men and more money would be imperatively demanded ; and we trust that the patronage of the Board will not fail us in these necessary points. We desire humbly to repeat to the Board what the first missionaries from the Baptist society in England said to their friends, when on the point of embarkation in the great work which seems destined to illumine Western India with the light of the gospel. " We are," said they, " like men going down into a well ; you stand at the top and hold the ropes. Do not let us fall." Hold us up, brethren and fathers ; and if health and life be spared to us, we hope, through the grace of God, to see East- ern India also beginning to participate in the same glorious light. Many years may intervene, in the latter as well as in MISSIONARY SPIRIT AMONG AMERICAN BAPTISTS. 175 the former case ; many difficulties and disappointments may try your taith and ours. But let patience have her perfect work ; let us not be weary of well-doing ; for in due time we shall reap, if we faint not. Your servants in the Lord Jesus, A. Judson, Jr. George H. Hough. Articles of Agreement. In order more effectually, under the blessing of our Lord ami Master, to accomplish the important work for which we have come into this heathen land, we, the undersigned, form a union on the following principles, namely : — 1. We give ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to one another by the will of God. 2. We agree to be kindly affectioned one towards another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another ; feeling that we have one Master, even Christ, and that all we are brethren. 3. We agree in the opinion that our sole object on earth is to introduce the religion of Jesus Christ into the empire of Bunnah; and that the means by which we hope to effect this are, translating, printing, and distributing the Holy Scriptures, preaehing the gospel, circulating religious traets, and promoting the instruction of native children. 4. We therefore agree to engage in no secular business for the purpose of individual emolument ; and not at all, unless, in the opinion of the brethren, the great object of the mission tan be best promoted thereby. 5. We agree to relinquish all private right to remittances from America, avails of labor, and compensation for service ; in a word, to place all money and property, from whatever quarter accruing, in the mission fund ; provided, that nothing 176 THE EARNEST MAN. in this article be construed to affect our private right to in- heritances, or personal favors, not made in compensation of service. 6. We agree that all the members of the mission family have claims on the mission fund for equal support, in similar circumstances ; the claims of widows and orphans not to be in the least affected by the death of the head of their family. But it is to be understood, that no one shall have a right to adopt a child into the mission family, so as to entitle it to the claims secured in this article, but by consent of the brethren. 7. We agree to educate our children with a particular ref- erence to the object Of the mission ; and if any expense be necessary or expedient for this purpose, it shall be defrayed from the mission fund. 8. All appropriations from the mission fund shall be made by a majority of the missionary brethren united in this com- pact ; subject, however, to the inspection of our patrons, the Board. — A. Judson, Jr. George H. Hough. To the Rev. Dr. Baldwin. Rangoon, February 10, 1817. Rev. and dear Sir: Have just heard that a person whom we have some time calculated on as a letter-carrier to Bengal, is unexpectedly going off in the course of an hour. Have, therefore, time only to accompany the inclosed tracts with a line or two. We have just begun to circulate these publications, and are praying that they may produce some inquiry among the natives. And here comes a man, this moment, to talk about religion. What shall I do ? I will give him a tract, to keep him occupied a few moments while I finish this. " Here, my friend, sit down, and read something that will carry you to MISSIONARY SPIRIT AMONG AMERICAN BAPTISTS. 177 heaven, if you believe and receive the glorious Saviour therein exhibited." We are just entering on a small edition of Matthew, the translation of which I lately commenced. But we are in great want of men and money. Our hands are full from morning till night. I cannot, for my life, translate as fast as brother Hough will print. lie has to do all the hard work in the printing-office, without a single assistant, and cannot, therefore, apply himself to the study of the language, as is desirable. As for me, I have not an hour to converse with the natives, or go out and make proclamation of the glorious gospel. Tn regard to money, we have drawn more from Ben- gal than lias been remitted from America; so that now, if not for their truly brotherly kindness in honoring our bills on credit, we should actually starve. Moreover, an edition of nvc thousand of the New Testament will eos.t us nearly five thousand dollars. And what are five thousand among a population of seventeen millions, five millions of whom can read ? O that all the members of the Baptist convention could live in Rangoon one month ! Will the Christian world ever awake ? Will means ever be used adequate to the ne- cessities of the heathen world ? O Lord, send help. Our waiting eyes are unto thee ! Your brother in the Lord, A. Judson, Jr. Under date of August, 1817, Mrs. Judson mentions, in a letter to a friend, that the edition of Matthew- spoken of in the preceding letters was now printed, and together with the tract and catechism, was in circulation. She adds : u They are well understood by those who read them. Many have called at the mis- J2 178 THE EARNEST MAN. sion house to inquire more particularly about the new religion ." The foundation being thus laid, it was now deemed proper to commence the proclamation of the gospel in a more public manner. But there were as -yet no con- verts to form a connecting link between the foreign teachers and the people, and to aid them in their first attempts to convey divine truth to the native mind. In Chittagong, however, a dependency of Bengal, but inhabited chiefly by Arracanese speaking the Burman language, it was supposed a few persons were still to be found, who had been converted and baptized by an English missionary some years before. Mr. Judson, accordingly, determined to proceed thither in quest of these native Christians, some of whom he hoped would be induced to return with him. On the 25th of December, 1817, he embarked at Rangoon in a vessel bound for Chittagong, which was to return with very little delay, the whole voyage not being expected to occupy more than three months. But he was destined to a sad disappointment. After working for a whole month along the coast, without getting near the destined port, the captain and super- cargo concluded to change the ship's course and sail for Madras. " It was with the most bitter feelings," writes Mr. Judson, "that I witnessed the entire failure of 'my VICISSITUDES OF THE MISSION.' 179 undertaking, and saw the summits of the mountains of Arracan, the last indexes of ray country, sinking in the horizon, and the ship stretching away to a distant part of India, which I had no wish to visit, and where I had no object to obtain." They had a quick passage across the Bay of Bengal ; but the contrary winds and cur- rents, encountered on the Coromandel coast, detained them two months longer at sea, during which time they were reduced to the greatest extremity for want of provisions and water. A little mouldy, broken rice, picked up from native vessels, was their only nourish- ment. Exposure and privation brought on a return of the nervous disorder in the head and eyes, by which Mr. Judson had been so nearly prostrated two years before ; and this was followed by a slow fever, which had nearly put a final termination to his sufferings. When, at length, they made the port of Mausulipatam, his only wish was for a place on shore where he might lie down and die. In this miserable condition he was found by some kind-hearted English officers, residing at the place, one of whom took him to his own house, supplied his wardrobe, procured a nurse to attend him, and in every way fulfilled, worthily, the part of the good Samaritan to the friendless stranger. In a few days his health was sufficiently restored to allow him to travel; and after ascertaining that the ship would 180 THE EARNEST MAN. not leave her present port under several months, and that there was no hope of a conveyance to Madras by sea that season, he hired a palanquin and bearers, and performed the journey of three hundred miles by land. Arrived at Madras, he found no vessel bound for Ran- goon, nor any prospect of one for an indefinite time to come. Here he was detained from the 8th of April to the 20th of July, in a state of extreme anxiety, hearing nothing from home, and unable to convey thither any intelligence respecting himself. On the day last men- tioned, he embarked in an English vessel for Rangoon, and, on the 2d of August, arrived at the mouth of Rangoon River, after an absence of more than seven months. While he had thus been detained on a distant shore, the infant mission was passing through fearful trials ; and about a fortnight before he left Madras, it had seemed on the very brink of destruction. A growing manifestation of ill-will in the under officers of govern- ment, the fearful ravages of cholera in the city, the protracted absence of Mr. Judson, which left scarcely a doubt of his having perished at sea, and finally, the prospect of war with England, had led Mr. Hough to determine on leaving Burmah. Mrs. Judson could not admit the thought of such a step, before hearing from her husband. But in the early part of July, Mr. VICISSITUDES OF THE MISSION. 181 Hough having concluded to take passage in the last remaining English ship, now about to take its departure for Bengal, she was prevailed on to make preparations for the voyage. The prospect of being left alone in this heathen land, and in the event of a war, of being cut off from all possibility of reunion with her husband, were he yet alive, seemed to leave her no alternative. Yet it was with a heavy, misgiving heart, that she yielded to the necessity. After all, he might return ; and what would be his feelings on finding his home desolate, and the light of the mission utterly extin- guished ! " Sometimes," thus she writes at this dark moment, "I feel inclined to remain here alone, and hazard the consequences ; I should certainly conclude on this step, if any probability existed of Mr. Judson's return. The 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! alas! how changed our prospects since Mr. Jodson left us. M On the ~>th of July, they all went on board. The vessel was several days getting down the river, and at the moment of putting out to lea, was discovered to be in so dangerous a condition, from being improperly loaded, as to make a still further detention necessary. Mrs. Judson, whose reluctance to the measure had increased 182 THE EARNEST MAN. with every hour, could now no longer resist the prompt- ings of her heart. She resolved at once to relinquish the voyage, and return to Rangoon. The captain, at her request, sent up a boat with her immediately, promising to forward her baggage the next day. Once more in the lonely mission house, with only Burmans around her, and no companion but a little Portuguese orphan girl whom she had adopted, she now regained her tranquillity of mind. It was the calmness of a great soul, which could only be at peace with itself when acting in obedience to the highest principles of its nature. It was reasonable, it was prudent to care for her own safety by leaving Burmah. But to her heroic and disinterested spirit, — heroic because disinterested, — it seemed like a weak and selfish desertion of the post of duty. Here, then, she resolved to abide, till the dark cloud should pass away, or it should be- come certain that the light of her own life and of the mission had sunk to rise no more. On the 1 6th of July, she learned by the arrival from Mausulipatam of the vessel in which Mr. Judson had sailed from Rangoon, that, in the latter part of March, he was still living. On the 2d of August, she records the joyful tidings, which had that moment readied her, that he had arrived at the mouth of the river. About six weeks after Mr. Judson's return, the mis- VICISSITUDES OF THE MISSION. 183 sion was reinforced by the arrival of Messrs. Colman and Wheelock,* with their wives, from America. This accession to their number was welcomed, with the most lively joy, by Mr. and Mrs. Judson ; the more so, as occurring at a time when their outward circumstances far from promising, and when the mission had been enfeebled by the withdrawal of Mr. Hough, who had taken most of the printing apparatus with him to Calcutta. Mr. Judson thus speaks of their situation in a letter of October 9, 1818, to the corresponding secretary. " The examination which brother Hough sustained during my absence, and the persecution of the Roman Catholic padres, have made us feel more deeply than ever the pre- carious situation of this mission, and the necessity of proceed- ing with the utmost caution. It was only through the favor of the viceroy that the padres were allowed to remain here, when they arrived from Ava, under sentence of banishment. * The writer may be permitted to record her own recollection of these interesting youths, too early snatched from the scene of their labors. They received their theological education in a private theological school under the care of the writer's father, the Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin, then of Danvers, Mass. This, it is believed, was the first Baptist theological school in this country, and without doubt gave an important impulso to the cause of ministerial educa- tion in our denomination. — Colman and Wheelock, I remember as inmates of our family, endeared to all who knew them by their piety and amiable dispositions. From their strong attachment to each other, seldom being seen apart, they were familiarly known as " David and Jonathan." 184 TIIE EARNEST MAN. And it is only through his mediation, and the influence of large presents jnade to the king, that the order of banishment is reversed, if indeed it be reversed — a report not yet con- firmed. One malicious intimation to the king would occasion our banishment ; and banishment, as the Burmans tell us, is no small thing, being attended with confiscation of all prop- erty, and such various abuses as would make us deem our- selves happy to escape with our lives. " Such a situation may appear somewhat alarming to a per- son accustomed to the liberty and safety of a free government. But let us remember that it has been the lot of the greater part of mankind to live under a despotic government, devoid of all security for life or property a single moment. Let us remember that the Son of God chose to become incarnate under the most unprincipled and cruel despot that ever reigned. And shall any disciple of Christ refuse to do a little service for his Saviour, under a government where his Saviour would not have refused to live and die for his soul ? God forbid. Yet faith is sometimes weak — flesh and blood sometimes repine. O for grace to strengthen faith, to animate hope, to elevate affection, to embolden the soul, to enable us to look danger and death in the face ; still more, to behold, without repining, those most dear to us suffering fears and pains, which we would gladly have redoubled on ourselves, if it would exonerate them. " We feel encouraged by the thought that many of the dear children of God remember us at the mercy-seat. To your prayers I desire once more to commend myself — the weakest, the most unqualified, the most unworthy, and the most un- successful of all missionaries." CHAPTER XIV. THE ZAYAT. In every Burman village through which he passes, the traveller notices a building, distinguished from the ordinary dwellings of the inhabitants, by its superior size and style of building. At any time past the middle of the forenoon, he observes in its broad veran- dahs, under the shadow of the projecting roof, groups of men lounging upon mats, engaged in social chat, or listlessly reposing as they chew their favourite betel- leaf and lime. This is the Zayat, or place of public resort, either for pleasure, or for the transaction of business.* The Burman rises with the first dawn, and labors at his daily occupation till about ten o'clock. Unlike the Hindoo, whose entire morning is given to the sacred ablutions, anointings, and prayers of his re- ligion,f this Anglo-Saxon oriental, if we may so call him, * It is alsoa sort of inn, where travellers may lodge without charge, providing, however, their own food and bedding. There is an in- closed room for this purpose. t I am informed, by a friend who has lately visited India, Rev. Dr. 186 THE EARNEST MAN. contents himself, on ordinary days, with such brief devotions as are consistent with the hurry of business, — a hasty prayer before the household Gaudama, or a moment's pause, with bowed head and folded hands at the pagoda, as he passes by it to his labor. . By ten or eleven o'clock, work is over for the day ; and the men come flocking to the zayat, where they remain till the cool of evening, when they disperse to their respective homes. It will be seen that the zayat is not properly a place for religious worship ; though the Buddhist preacher often appoints a religious meeting in these convenient places of resort, where he can be sure of an audience to admire his eloquent recitation of the acts and sufferings of Gaudama.* In large towns, there are many zayats, so distributed as to accommodate the entire population. Some of them are elegant speci- mens of Burman architecture, — the graduated roofs and lofty interior being profusely carved and gilded, Granger, of Providence, R. I., that he seldom found the bazaars in Calcutta open before noon ; while the banks of the sacred Ganges were all the morning thronged by devotees, diligently performing their religious rites. * These preachers are not generally priests, who seldom deign to leave their luxurious retirement for such a purpose, but laymen, whose call to preach consists in a talent for popular oratory, which finds, in these exercises, a favorable chance for display. Some of them, as I am told by the friend just referred to, exhibit no little his- trionic power ; and a whole assembly has been seen bathed in tears, under the recital of some affecting passage in the life of Gaudama. THE ZAYAT. 187 and the flooring formed of the finest stucco. A num- ber of zayats is commonly found around each pagoda, for the accommodation of worshippers, — the temple itself being a solid structure, affording no shelter from the sun and weather. In these, some of *he more pious occasionally remain through an entire day or night, repeating many times the routine of religious ceremonies. Mr. Maloon says he has often seen them here, reclining on mats, and reading from their palm- leaf books ; or returning in the morning, after a night's sojourn, their light bedding suspended from a pole across the shoulder. An evening at one of these zayats, described by Mr. Jud>on, furni.-hes an interesting and pleasing picture of a Burman religious assembly, listening to one of the amateur lay-prrachers mentioned above. "April 6. This evening I went, for the second time, to hear a popular Barman preacher. On our arrival, we found a zayat, in the precincts of one of the most celebrated pagodas, lighted up, and the floor Bpread with mats. In the centre was a frame, raised about eighteen inches from the ground, where the preacher, on his arrival, seated himself. He ap- peared to be about forty-five years old, of very pleasant co un tenance and harmonious speech. He was once a priest, but is now a layman. The people, as they came in, seated Ives on the mats, the men on one side of the house, and the women on the other. It was an undistinguished day, and the congregation was very small, not more than one bun- 188 THE EARNEST MAN. dred. When we entered, some said : ' There come some wild foreigners.' But when we sat down properly, and took off our shoes, they began to say : ' No, they are not wild ; they are civilized.' Some recognized me, and said to one another: ; It is the English teacher' — a name by which I am commonly known. The preacher soon took notice of us, entered into some conversation, invited us to visit him, and so on ; but, on learning that I was a missionary, or, in their idiom, a religion-making teacher, his countenance fell, and he said no more. The people being now convened, one ap- pointed for the purpose, called three times for silence and attention. Each one then took the flowers and leaves which had been previously distributed, and, placing them between his fingers, raised them to his head, and in that respectful posture remained motionless until the service was closed. This ceremony we of course declined. When all things were properly adjusted, the preacher closed his eyes, and commenced the exercise, which consisted in repeating a por- tion from their sacred writings. His subject was the conver- sion of the two prime disciples of Gaudama, and their subse- quent promotion and glory. His oratory I found to be en- tirely different from all that we call oratory. At first, he seems dull and monotonous ; but presently his soft, melliflu- ent tones, win their way into the heart, and lull the soul into that state of calmness and serenity which to a Burman mind somewhat resembles the boasted perfection of their saints of old. His discourse continued about half an hour ; and, at the close, the whole assembly burst out into a short prayer, after which all rose and retired. This man exhibits twice every evening, in different places. Indeed, he is the only popular lay preacher in the place. As for the priests, they preach on special occasions only, when they are drawn from their seclusion and inactivity by the solicitations of their ad- herents." THE ZATAT. 189 Of this characteristic feature of Burman life, Mr. Judson availed himself, for the open proclamation of the gospel, which he now felt called to attempt. He resolved to build, on some frequented road, a zayat, where the w ayfa rer, pausing for rest, or for a moment's curious chat with the white foreigner," might be in- duced to listen to the words of life ; and where, on the Sabbath, the sacred songs and prayers of Christian worship should come in direct contrast with the me- chanical, soulless forms of Buddhism.* By thus adapt- ing himself, externally, to the ideas and customs of the people, he might hope both to win their attention more readily, and to escape the special notice of the govern- ment ; at least till the good seed should have time to strike root a little in the soil. It was not one of those elegant buildings described above, which he proposed to erect. There was nothing in the thatched roof, plain rafters, and floor of split bamboo, of this missionary zayat, to impress the be- holder with the wealth and dignity of its occupants. Mr. Judson writes respecting it : — " The building is now going up, with such 9canty materials and means as we can afford, or rather, as we think you can * Boodhism has its sacred days, four in each month, or ono at each change of the moon ; thus answering, in time, very nearly to the Christian Sabbath. 190 THE EARNEST MAN. afford. The whole concern will cost about two hundred dol- lars. And should this zayat prove to be a Christian meeting- house, the first erected in this land of atheists, for the wor- ship of God — a house where Burmans who now deny the very existence of Deity, shall assemble to adore the majesty of heaven, and to sing with hearts of devotion the praises of the incarnate Saviour But, the thought seems too great to be realized. Can this darkness be removed? Can these dry bones live ? On thee, Jesus, all our hopes depend. In thee all power is vested, even power to make sinful crea- tures instrumental of enlightening the heathen. " You want to hear of some poor benighted Burman brought to taste that the Lord is gracious ; but O, not more than I want to speak of it. I hope, I do hope, my dear Sir, that we shall both one day be gratified." A few months later, Mrs. Judson thus describes the daily scene at the zayat : — " The zayat is situated thirty or forty rods from the mis- sion house, and in dimensions is twenty-seven by eighteen feet. It is raised four feet from the ground, and is divided into three parts. The first division is laid entirely open to the road, without doors, windows, or a partition in the front side, and takes up a third part of the whole building. It is made of bamboo and thatch, and is the place where Mr. Jud- son sits all the day long, and says to the passers by ' Ho ! every one that thirsteth,' &c. The next, and middle division, is a large airy room, with four doors and four windows, open- ing in opposite directions; made entirely of boards, and is whitewashed, to distinguish it from the other zayats around Us. " In this room we have public worship in Burman on the THE ZAYAT. 191 my writing-table, while six of the male scholars are at one end, each with his torch and blackboard, over which he is industriously bending, and emitting the curious sounds of Bgoage. The third, and last division, is only an entry way, which opens into the garden, leading to the mission house. k - In this apartment all the women are seated, with their and blackboards, much in the same position and em- ployment as the men. The blackboard, on which all the Burmans learn to read and write, answers the same purpose as our slates. They are about a yard in length, made black with charcoal and the juice of a leaf; and letters are clearly imprinted with a species of white stone, a little similar to our slate pencils." On the 4th of April, 1819, he records "a new and important era in the mission, — the opening of the zayat. So it proved. From that point of time, the power of the living preacher, God's chosen instrumen- tality for saving souls, was felt in Burinah. Five years had been spent in patient, preparatory labor ; and much religious instruction had been communicated in private. But during all this time, not a single instance of conversion had taken place. Within one month after the opening of the zayat, the first fruits of Christ's church in Burmah were gathered in, by the conversion of Moung Nau ; and from that day, the leaven of Christianity worked its way, with little, indeed, of out- 192 THE EARNEST MAN. ward show, but with ever-increasing power, into the interior life of the nation. A few pages from Mr. Judson's journal, extending from the opening of the zayat to the baptism of the first convert, gives us a vivid picture of the man, and of his labors in this new sphere of activity. • " To-day, the building of the zayat being sufficiently ad- vanced for the purpose, I called together a few people that live around us, and commenced public worship in the Bur- man language. I say commenced, for, though I have fre- quently read and discoursed to the natives, I have never before conducted a course of exercises which deserved the name of public worship, according to the usual acceptation of that phrase among Christians ; and though I began to preach the gospel as soon as I could speak intelligibly, I have thought it hardly becoming to apply the term preaching, since it has acquired an appropriate meaning in modern use, to my imperfect, desultory exhortations and conversations. But I hope, though with fear and trembling, that I have now commenced a course of public worship and regular preaching. This would have taken place just a year ago, had I returned to Rangoon, as I expected ; and still earlier, had I not been under a government where I thought it prudent to gain a considerable acquaintance with the language before com- mencing public operations, lest I should be unable prop- erly to vindicate my conduct when called to a judicial ac- count. " The congregation, to-day, consisted of fifteen persons only, besides children. Much disorder and inattention pre- vailed, most of them not having been accustomed to attend Burman worship. May the Lord grant his blessing on at- THE ZATAT. 193 tempts made in great weakness, and under great disadvan- tages ; and all the glory will be his ■ April 28. Nothing interesting through the day. At night, encountered a bitter opposer ; he had visited Bengal, and some foe to missions had poisoned his mind ; he mani- fested a most virulent spirit. I felt that he would most glad- ly be foremost in destroying us. But, through divine grace, I was enabled to treat him with meekness and gentleness, and he finally left me politely. He appeared to be rich, and had several followers. In the evening, there were some hopeful appearances in Mrs. Judson's female meeting — a Bleating which she has recommenced since public worship has been set up in the zayat. " April 29. A precious case has just occurred. A young man of twenty-four, by name Moung Koo, happened to stroll in last Sunday, and was present at worship. He appeared to be rather wild and noisy, though his manners were respect- ful. He took a tract and went away. This morning he made his appearance again, and has been with me about two hours. I have been enabled, through divine assistance, to give him a great deal of truth, and especially to expatiate with some feeling on the love and sufferings of the Saviour- The truth seems to have taken hold of his mind. And though he is quick and sensible, and has some savage fire in his eye, he is very docile, and ready to drink in the truth, without the numberless cavils and objections which are so common among the Bonnans. He engaged to come next Sunday, promised to pray constantly, and gave me his name that 1 might pray for him, that he might be a disciple of Christ, and be delivered from hell. I feel considerable at- tachment to this young man, and my heart goes forth to the ny seat in behalf of his precious soul. il il 30. I was agreeably surprised in the morning to see the young man of yesterday come again so soon. He stayed 13 i'J-4 THE EARNEST MAN. all the forenoon, and seemed desirous of hearing as much as possible about religion. Several others came and went. A very busy day ; hardly time to prepare these minutes to be forwarded by a vessel which leaves this port for Bengal early to-morrow morning. "May 1, 1819. Burman day of worship; of course many visitors ; among the rest, Moung Nau, a man who was with me several hours yesterday; but, from his silence and re- serve, excited little attention or hope. To-day, however, I begin to think better of him. Moung Koo came again at night, and appeared pretty well. These two men, with the two persons from Kambet, of the 27th, I call the fruits of the week. But let us see who of them will remember the day of worship. " May 2, Lord's day. About three o'clock, the quiet and modest Moung Nau came in and took his usual place. For the others we looked in vain. About thirty present at wor- ship. Very few paid much attention, or probably received any benefit. " May 3. Among the visitors of to-day was a respectable man, formerly an officer, now a merchant, resident at Little Bridge, a village contiguous to Kambet. After long and various conversation, in which he paid close and respectful attention, he said that he was a person not a little versed in Burman literature, but that he now saw he had erred in all ; he regretted that he had lived two years in the neighborhood without knowing me; to-day was an auspicious day; he wished to become my disciple, would read my writings with attention, and come as often as possible. " May 5. Moung Nau has been with me several hours. I begin to think that the grace of God has reached his heart. He expresses sentiments of repentance for his sins, and faith in the Saviour. The substance of his profession is, that from the darknesses, and uncleannesses, and sins of his whole life, THE ZAYAT. 195 he has found no other Saviour but Jesus Christ; nowhere else can he look for salvation ; and therefore he proposes to adhere to Christ, and .worship him all his lite long. -eems almost too much to believe that God has begun to manifest his grace to the Burraans ; but this day I could not resist the delightful conviction that this is really the case. PltAISE AND GLORY BE TO HIS NAME EOREVEKMOKE. Amen. v G. Moung Nau was again with me a great part of the day. He appears to be slowly growing in religious knowledge, and manifests a teachable, humble spirit, ready to believe all that Christ has said, and obey all that he has commanded. He is thirty-five years old ; no family, mid- dling abilities, quite poor, obliged to work for his living ; and therefore his coming, day after day, to hear the truth, affords stronger evidence that it has taken hold of his mind. May • rd graciously lead his dark mind into all the truth, mse him to cleave inviolably to the b lfl BS Od Saviour. u May 8. Burinan day of worship. Thronged with visitors through the day. Had more or less company, without inter- i, for about eight hours. Several heard much of the . and engaged to come again. Moung Nau was with me a great part of the day, and assisted me much in explain- ing things to new comers. Towards night a man came in, by name Moung Shwaa Go, whom I think it time to mention particularly, as he has visited me several times; and though, i'>ung Nau, apparently backward at first, he appears to be really thoughtful. lie is a young man of twenty-seven, of very pleasant exterior, and evidently in good circum- J V)or Moung Koo, who appeared so forward at first, alas! too forward! has quit discontinued his visits. No news yet from the villagers of Kambet and Little Bridge. "May 9. Lord's day. Mi mug Shwaa Oo came in the morning, and stayed through the whole day. Only two or 196 THE EARNEST MAN. three of all I conversed with yesterday, came again. Had, however, an assembly of thirty. After worship, some warm disputation. I begin to feel that the JBurmans cannot stand before the truth. In the course of the conversation, Moung Nau declared himself a disciple of Christ, in presence of a considerable number ; and even Moung Shwaa Oo appeared to incline the same way. " May 10. Early in the morning, Moung Nau came to take leave, being obliged to go to a distance after timber, his usual occupation. I took him alone and prayed with him, and gave him a written prayer to help him in his private devotion. He received my parting instructions with great attention and solemnity ; said he felt that he was a disciple of Christ ; hoped that he should be kept from falling ; de- sired the prayers of us all ; expressed a wish that, if he held out some time after his return, we would allow him to pro- fess Christ in baptism ; and so he departed. The Lord Jesus go with him and bless him. He is poor. I felt a great desire to give him something, but thought it safer to put no temptation in his way. If, on his return, he still cleaves to Christ, his profession will be more satisfactory than it would be if he had any expectations from us. "May 11. Had more or less company, from morning till night ; among the rest, Moung Shwaa Oo, and two or three others, who appear to be pretty well satisfied that the Budd- hist religion has no foundation. Conversation was very ani- mated, and somewhat encouraging ; but I wanted to see more seriousness, and more anxiety to be saved from sin. " Heard much, to-day, of the danger of introducing a new religion. All agreed in opinion that the king would cut off all who embraced it, being a king who could not bear that his subjects should differ in sentiment from himself; and who has, lor a long time, persecuted the friends of the established religion of the empire, because they would not sanction all THE ZAYAT. 197 his innovations. Those who seemed most favorably disposed, ■whispered me that I had better not stay in Rangoon, and talk to common people, but go directly to the " lord of life and rfsstfaV If he approved of the religion, it would spread rap- idly ; but, in the present state of things, nobody would dare to prosecute their inquiries, with the fear of the king before their eyes. They brought forward the case of the Kolans, a sect of Burmans who have been proscribed and put to death under several reigns. J tried to set them right in some points, and encourage them to trust in the care of an al- mighty Saviour; but they speak low and look around fear- fully when they mention the name of the " owner of the sword." '•May 13. Had company all day, without intermission. About noon, Moung Nau came in, having given up his jour- D account of the unfaithfulness of his employer. His beha\iour and conversation were \vi\ satisfactory He re- grets the want of a believing associate, but deelares his deter- mination of adhering to Christ, though no Burman should join him. " Moung Shwaa Doan, a man who has attended two Sun- days, and mailf some occasional visits, was with me several hours. He professes to have felt the truth of this religion ever since he first heard about it, and now desires to be a disciple of Christ. He has obtained, I find, considerable knowledge of the Christian system, but does not appear to inch sense of his own sins. May the Spirit teach him what man cannot. •• .May 15. Moung Nau has been with me all day, as well as yesterday. He is anxious to be revived into our com- pany, and thinks it a great privilege to be the first among the Burmans in professing the reli«r'.on of Jesus Christ. He has been told plainly that he ha* nothing to expect in this world but persecution, and pc.uaps death; but he thinks it 198 THE EARNEST MAN. better to die for Christ, and be happy hereafter, than to live a few days and be forever wretched. All the members of the mission have, at different times, conversed with him, and are satisfied that a work of grace is begun in his heart. "May 16, Lord's day. In the forenoon, a man came in from Kyaikasan, a neighboring village, and listened with more apparent sincerity than is commonly manifested the first visit. He had received a tract about a year ago, and had thought considerably on the subject. " About the usual number was present at worship, but a larger proportion than common were strangers. A lawyer, belonging to the viceroy, and some other respectable per- sons, were present, and gave me much trouble, without, I fear, receiving any benefit. Moung Shwaa Doan was present, and appeared pretty well after worship. Moung Shwaa Oo has, I suppose, returned to Henthadah, the next city above Rangoon. He took no leave of me ; yet I cannot give up all hope of him. The last visit, he said he should constantly read my writings, and pray to the eternal God. " May 1 7. Moung Nau has received an advantageous offer to go to Ava, in the employ of a boat owner. We were afraid to dissuade him from accepting, as he has no way of getting a living, and equally unwilling to have him absent several months. At length we advised him not to go, and he at once acquiesced. "May 21. Had several attentive hearers ; among the rest Moung A, who says that the good news has taken hold of his mind. I have been so frequently disappointed in visitors who appeared promising the first time, but never came again, that I have lost all credit in early professions ; yet I cannot but hope well of this man, especially as Moung Nau ap- peared to like him better than any other inquirer. " May 22. We have taken Moung Nau to live with us, intending to employ him in copying some small things for THE ZATAT. 19J> distribution, which we cannot get printed at present, and allow him ten ticals a month. Our principal object, how- ever, is to keep him in the way of instruction, hoping that he will ultimately be useful to his countrymen. " At night, Moung A came the second time, and appeared anxious to know the way of salvation. But I am grieved to find that he is going away on business to-morrow morning, and will be absent a long time. " May 23, Lord's day. The Kyaikasan villager Moung X\ «>. mentioned last Sunday, came again with three compan- ions, lie stayed the whole day, and appears to be in the same state of mind as Moung A. Both say they are convinced that there is an eternal God ; that having denied him all their lives, and of course lived contrary to his commands, their sins are great; and that the news of salvation, through the death of the Son of God, is good news. Thus far they venture. But whether the Spirit has given, or will give, then true love to the Saviour, and thus enable them to trust in him, we must leave for time to ascertain. " June 6, Lord's day. Had two interesting visitors. They were present at worship, and stayed till dark — certain they should come again — but will they ? " After partaking of the Lord's supper in the evening, we read and considered the following letter of Moung Nau, which he wrote, of his own accord : — " 4 1, Moung Nau, the constant recipient of your excellent favor, approach your feet. Whereas my Lord's three have come to the country of Burmah, — not for the purposes of trade, but to preach the religion of Jesus Christ, the Son of rnal God, — I, having heard and understood, am, with a joyful mind, filled with love. "'I believe that the divine Son, Jesus Christ, suffered death, in the place of men, to atone- for their sins. Like a heavy-laden man, I feel my sins are very many. The pun- 200 THE EARNEST MAN. ishment of my sins I deserve to suffer. Since it is so, do you, sirs, consider that I, taking refuge in the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, and receiving baptism, in order to become his disciple, shall dwell one with yourselves, a band of broth- ers, in the happiness of heaven, and therefore grant me the ordinance of baptism ? * It is through the grace of Jesus Christ that you, sirs, have come by ship from one country and continent to another, and that we have met together. I pray my Lord's three that a suitable day may be appointed, and that I may receive the ordinance of baptism. " ' Moreover, as it is only since I have met with you, sirs, that I have known about the eternal God, I venture to pray that you will still unfold to me the religion of God, that my old disposition may be destroyed, and my new disposition improved.' " " We have all, for some time, been satisfied concerning the reality of his religion, and therefore voted to receive him into church fellowship, on his being baptized, and proposed next Sunday, for administering the ordinance. " June 20, Lord's day. For the last fortnight, have had but little company at the zayat, owing probably to the rains, which have now fully set in. The town has also been in great confusion, in prospect of the viceroy's departure for Ava. We have been called on to pay another tax of fifteen ticals — got off with paying half. Have had several other molestations from petty officers of government. Concluded to postpone Moung Nau's baptism till the viceroy be fairly off. He left Rangoon yesterday, and has arrived at the next village, which is a kind of rendezvous to the vast multitude of boats that accompany him. * At the time of writing this, not having heard much of baptism, he seems to have ascribed an undue efficacy to the ordinance. He has since corrected his error; but the translator thinks it the most fair and impartial to give the letter just as it was written at first. THE ZAYAT. 201 " To-day, Moung Shwaa Doan appeared again, after an absence of several weeks, and a little revived our hopes con- cerning him. Several, whom I have particularly mentioned, have discontinued their visits, though I am satisfied that they are convinced of the falsity of the Burman religion, and of the truth of the Christian. I cannot possibly penetrate their motives. Whether, after several visits, they meet with some threatening suggestion, that awakens their fears of persecu- tion, or whether, at a certain stage in their inquiries, they get such an insight into the gospel as rouses the enmity -of the carnal heart, I am not able, from my experience hitherto, to ascertain. " June 21. The town is in the utmost anxiety and alarm. Order after order has reached our viceroy, to hasten his re- turn to Ava, with all the troops under arms. Great news are whispered. Some say there is a rebellion ; some say the sick, some that he is dead. But none dare to say this plainly. It would be a crime of the first magnitude ; for the l lord of land and water' is called immortal. The eldest son of his eldest son (his father being dead) has long been 1 tin- heir of the crown ; but he has two very power- ful uncles, who, it is supposed, will contest his right ; and in all pr< liability the whole country will soon be a scene of anarchy and civil war. " June 22. Out all the morning, listening for. news, un- certain whether a day or an hour will not plunge us into the greatest distress. The whole place is sitting in sullen silence, expecting an explosion. About 10 o'clock, a royal dispatch boat pulls up to tho shore. An imperial mandate is pro- duced. The crowd makes way for the sacred messengers, and follow them to the high court, where the authorities of th» i place are assembled. Listen ye: The immortal king, wearied, it would seem, with the fatigues of royalty, has gone up to amuse himself in the celestial regions. His grandson, 202 THE EARNEST MAN. the heir-apparent, is seated on the throne. The young mon- arch enjoins on all to remain quiet, and wait his imperial orders. " It appears that the Prince of Toung Oo, one of his uncles, has been executed, with his family and adherents, and the Prince of Pyee placed in confinement. There has probably been bloody work ; but it seems, from what has transpired, that the business has been settled so expeditiously that the distant provinces will not feel the shock. " June 23. Had some encouraging conversation with Moung Thahlah, a young man who has been living in our yard several months. He has lately made me several visits at the zayat, and appeared very thoughtful and teachable. To-day, on being asked the state of his mind, he replied, with some feeling, that he, and all men were sinners, and exposed to future punishment ; that according to the Buddhist system, there was no way of pardon ; but that according to the relig- ion which I taught, there was not only a way of pardon, but a way of enjoying endless happiness in heaven ; and that, therefore, he wanted to believe in Christ. I stated to him, as usual, that he must think much on the love of Christ, and pray to God for an enlightened and loving heart, and then gave him a form of prayer suited to his case. " In the female evening meeting, his sister, Ma Baik, whose husband also lives in our yard, manifested considerable feel- ing, especially when Mrs. Judson prayed with her alone, and expressed strong desire to obtain an interest in the Saviour. "June 27, Lord's day. There were several strangers present at worship. After the usual course, I called Moung Nau before me, read and commented on an appropriate por- tion of Scripture, asked him several questions concerning his faith, hope, and love, and made the baptismal prayer, hav- ing concluded to have all the preparatory exercises done in THE ZATAT. 203 the zayat. We then proceeded to a large pond in the vicin- ity, the bank of which is graced with an enormous image of Gaudama, and there administered baptism to the first Bur- man convert. O, may it prove the beginning of a series of baptisms in the Burman empire, which shall continue in un- interrupted succession to the end of time ! "July 4, Lord's day. We have had the pleasure of sitting down, for the first time, to the Lord's table with a converted Burman; and it was my privilege — a privilege to which I have been looking forward with desire for many years — to administer the Lord's supper in two languages." Henceforth the zayat was Mr. Judson's chosen, best- beloved sphere of labor. He could indeed leave it, at the call of duty ; and he believed that duty required him to spend a large portion of his best years in scholastic labor. This sacrifice is perhaps the greatest which he ever made. For though one of his leading objects, in selecting Burmah as his mission-field, was the hope of giving it the Bible, yet no sooner had he tasted of the work of preaching to the heathen, than all other kinds of Christian labor faded, comparatively, out of his affections. This direct contact with human beings, this laboring, watching, praying for the immediate sal- vation of his brother, this djvinc joy of welcoming the new-born soul into the fellowship of the saints, satisfied the deepest yearnings of his heart. The long years spent in translation seemed not even to diminish this 204 THE EARNEST MAN. feeling ; and we see him in the brief intervals of study, bounding away with almost childish joy to the work he loved. He did, indeed, perform the task so clearly assigned him by his Master, not only with the con- scientious diligence of a faithful servant, but with the enthusiasm which so noble a work should inspire. He gave to it his best energies, as entirely as if he had no wish beyond. It is one of the characteristics of the truly Earnest Man, thus to be able to turn the whole force of his will into any channel marked out by Prov- idence. His stronger affinity for some other form of labor is not allowed to make him feeble and half-hearted in his work. But he was always hoping for the time, when he might be permitted to give himself wholly to direct missionary labor ; and when death overtook him, he was still looking forward, with all his youthful en- thusiasm, to a few last happy years, to be spent exclu- sively in winning souls. His adaptation to the work of the gospel minister, was not less remarkable than the strength of his pas- sion for it. His discernment in character, his penetra- tion into motives, had almost the quickness and pre- cision of instinct, and his heart ran over with instant sympathy at every form of human need. One of the native assistants remarked to Mrs. Judson, "that it was impossible to conceal a sin from him ; and while THE ZAYAT. 205 the culprit was exulting in fancied security, he would suddenly find an eye fixed upon him, which was per- fectly irresistible, and would be obliged, in spite of himself, to go to the teacher and confess." " He knew us," said the same person, " through and through, much better than we knew ourselves. If we had done any thing amiss, he called us pleasantly, talked so" (taking up, by way of illustration, a toy that lay beside him on the floor, and passing his finger gently round the rim,) " and talked, and talked, and talked, till suddenly, be- fore we knew it, he pounced upon us there" — striking iger violently on the centre of the toy, — "and In Id 08 lm-athless, till we had told him every thing. Ah, no one will ever know us poor Burmans so again !" added the old man, mournfully.* Another interesting illustration of these traits is furnished by the same source. "A native Christian woman told me that she was at one time about to engage in something which Dr. Judson con- sidered not conducive to her spiritual good. He sent for her, and remonstrated ; but she would not give up her dar- oject. "Look here!" said he, eagerly snatching a ruler from the tnble, and tracing not a very straight line on the floor ; " here is where you have been walking. You have made a crooked track, to be sure — out of the path *Mrs. Judson'a Anecdotal and Sketches, in Dr. Wayland's Memoirs. !T5 206 THE EARNEST MAN. half of the time ; but then you have kept near it, and not taken to new roads, and you have — not so much as you might have done, mind, but still to a certain extent — grown in grace ; and now, with all this growth upon your heart and head, in the maturity of your years, with ripened under- standing and an every day deepening sense of the goodness of God, here," bringing down the ruler with emphasis to indicate a certain position, " here you stand. You know where this path leads. You know what is before you — some struggles, some sorrows, and finally eternal life and a crown of glory. But to the left* branches off another very pleasant road, and along the air floats, rather temptingly, a pretty bubble. You do not mean to leave the path you have walked in fifteen years — fifteen long years — alto- gether ; you only want to step aside and catch the bubble, and think you will come back again ; but you never will. Woman, think ! Dare you deliberately leave this straight and narrow path, drawn by the Saviour's finger, and go away for one moment into that of your enemy ? Will you ? will you ? will YOU ? " " I was sobbing so," said the woman, " that I could not speak a word; but he knew, as he always did, what I meant; for he"~"knelt down, and prayed that God would preserve me in my determination. I have made a great many crooked tracks since," she added, tearfully ; " but, whenever I am unusually tempted, I see the teacher as he looked that day, bending over in his chair, the ruler placed on the floor to represent me, his finger pointing along the path of eternal life, his eye looking so strangely over his shoulder, and that terrible ' Will you ? ' coming from his lips, as though it was the voice of God ; and I pray just as Peter did, for I am frightened." THE ZAYAT. 207 Such a man must love to preach, and cannot but preach effectively. He had given rich promise of power in the pulpit before he left his native land. But the process of assimilation to his adopted country, which made him so signally successful as a missionary, involved the total neglect of practice in English preach- ing. Those simple talks from the pulpit, which he gave us when visiting his native country after thirty years' absence, beautiful as they were, gave no idea of his power as a Burman preacher. For this, we must look to the testimony of those who heard him when giving unrestrained utterance to his thoughts and emo- tions in the familiar assembly of the zayat. CHAPTER XV. ZAYAT JOURNAL CONTINUED. The character of Mr. Judson's labors, and the pro- gress of the mission, during the remainder of the year 1819, will be best presented through the following ex- tracts from his own journal. This period is particularly interesting, as introducing us to an inquirer from the most cultivated class of Burmans, the metaphysical philosopher, Moung Shwa-gnong. Some explanation of this case seems necessary, and will serve for the illustration of similar ones which Mr. Judson was obliged to meet. Though Buddhism was the established religion of the empire, the abjuration of which rendered the offender liable to the severest penalties, yet the Burmans were not all Buddhists. By a natural reaction, similar to that witnessed in Catholic France, many of the most acute minds had been driven, by the extravagant super- stitions of the established faith, into the opposite ex- treme of infidelity. Schools of metaphysical philosophy THE ZAYAT. 209 had arisen from time to time, which, in the subtlety and force of their reasonings, would not compare unfavor- ably with those of their kindred in enlightened modern Europe. " The doctrines of idealism and nihilism," 6ays Dr. Judson, " were fully and ably discussed by the Brahmins and Buddhists, centuries before the time of Berkely and Hume." During several reigns previous to the establishment of the mission in Rangoon, the occupant of the throne had been strongly incliued to free-thinking, and the national religion and its ministers had, in consequence, been at a discount in public estima- tion. Under such auspices, rationalism grew and flour- ished, though its disciples still found it prudent to con- form externally to the established faith. For, what- ever might be the private sympathies of the monarch, the throne and the temple were too intimately con- nected, to allow of any direct countenance, on his part, of innovations in matters of religion. It would have been no child's play, under any cir- cumstances, to meet intellects like those of Moung Shua- gnong, Oo Yan, and Moung Long, naturally keen and powerful, and trained by long practice to the adroitest use of dialectics. But for a foreigner to meet them in their mother tongue, on questions so difficult and elu- sive in their nature, in such a manner as to silence and convince them, argues a combination of talents and ac- 14 210 THE EARNEST MAN. quirements of which the world has furnished few ex- amples. "What!" said Moung Shwa-gnong, on one occasion, "do you think I would pay you the least attention, if I found you could not answer all my ques- tions, and solve all my difficulties ? " And these were not merely skeptical cavils, but, in great part, the hon- est difficulties of a deeply reflective- mind respecting the nature and government of God. Would it not have been sad, had that fine intellect gone down to death, in the thick darkness of heathenism, for lack of some one to resolve its doubts, and to guide it to the true source of light and wisdom ? Who will say that genius and learning are wasted on one who is to be only a mission- ary to the heathen ? " August 26. Was visited by Moung Shwa-gnong, a teacher of considerable distinction. He appears to be half deist and half skeptic, the first of the sort I have met with among the Burmans. He however worships at the pagodas, and conforms to all the prevailing customs. We had a very interesting debate, in which we cleared up some prelimina- ries, preparatory, I hope, to future discussions. " Just at night, the viceroy, returning from an excursion of pleasure, passed by our road, for the first time since the zayat was built. He was seated on a huge elephant at- tended by his guards and numerous suite, and, as he passed, eyed us very narrowly. Several Burmans were sitting round me and Mrs. Judson. "After he had passed some time, two of his private secreta- ries came in with a viceregal order, signifying his highness's THE ZAYAT. 211 detiie to see the manner in which printing is executed. I replied, that the teacher who understood printing had gone to Bengal, taking the types with him, and that it was impos- sible to comply with the order. They departed with evident dissatisfaction. "August 27. In order to obviate the bad effects of the report of the officers of yesterday, I went to the government house, intending to have a personal interview with the vice- roy. After waiting two hours in the levee hall, he made his nice, and, on recognizing me, immediately inquired about the press and types. I told him my story, and when he understood that I was ignorant of the art of printing, lie appeared satisfied to let the matter rest. In the course of the low words which passed between us, he said that he wished to get several Burman books printed. He seemed to be more kindly disposed towards me than formerly; but it seems impossible to introduce the subjeet of religion in his pres- ence, surrounded, as he always is, with a crowd of courtiers and • . petitioner! and lawyers. " Had but just r etn raed home, when the teacher Moung Shwa-gnong came again, and stayed from noon till quite dark, -ed incessantly the whole time ; but I fear that no real impression is made on his proud, skeptical heart. lie, i\ pffO mia ed to pray to the eternal God, through Jesus Christ, and appealed, at time-, to be in deep thought. He is a man of very superior argumentative powers. His con- versation would probably shake the faith of many. "August 28. A great deal of company all day long. Quite worn out with incessant toil. At night, the viceroy again passed, as the day before yesterday ; and the same in, saying, that it was the viceroy's desire lioiiM translate and get printed* if possible, some his- torical writing of mv country. I told them I would take the ;>})ortunity of calling on his highness. 212 TIIE EARNEST MAN. "August 31. A man, by name Moung Ing, has visited the zayat five or six days in succession. At first, a variety of other company prevented my attending much to him, and he conversed chiefly with Moung Nau, and employed him- self in reading Matthew. He once told Moung Nau that he had long been looking after the true religion, and was ready to wish that he had been born a brute, rather than die in delusion, and go to hell. Sunday I conversed with him largely, and his attention, during worship, was very close and solemn. To-day he has made me half inclined to believe that a work of grace is begun in his soul. He says that he formerly had some idea of an eternal God from his mother, who was christened a Roman Catholic, in consequence of her connection with a foreigner; but that the idea was never rooted in his mind until he fell in with the zayat, Within a few days, he has begun to pray to this God. He is quite sensible of his sins, and of the utter inefficacy of the Buddhist religion, but is yet in the dark concerning the way of salva- tion, and says that he wants to know more of Christ, that he may love him more. Lord Jesus, give him the saving knowl- edge of thine adorable self! " September 1. Moung Thahlah continues to express simi- lar sentiments to those already noted ; is still afraid of per- secution and death, but professes to be laboring to obtain that love to Christ, and faith in him, which will raise him above the fear of man ; and particularly requests us to pray that he may obtain these graces. " September 3. A great crowd of company through the whole day, the teacher Moung Shwa-gnong, from ten o'clock till quite dark, with several of his adherents. He is a com- plete Proteus in religion, and I never knew where to find him. We went over a vast deal of ground, and ended where we began, in apparent incredulity. After his adherents, however, were all gone, he conversed with some feeling; THE ZAYAT. 213 owned that he knew nothing, and wished me to instruct him ; and when lie departed, he prostrated himself, and performed the sheeko — an act of homage which a Burman never per- forms but to an acknowledged superior. •♦After he was gone, Moung lag, who 1ms been listening all day, followed me hone to the house, being invited to stay with Moung Nau through the night. We conversed all the evening, and his expressions have satisfied us all that he is one of Cod's chOMB people. His exercises have been of a niiirh stronger diameter than those of the others, and he -•■ s himself in the most derided manner. He desires to become a disciple in profession, as well as to be in Christ, and declare! his inadinCllW to suffer persecution and death for the love of Christ. When T stated the danger to which he was exposing himself and asked him whether he loved Christ better than his own life, be replied, very deliberately k mill \ : ' When I meditate on this religion, I know not what it is to love mv own life.' Thus the poor fisherman, Moung Ing, is taken, while the learned teacher, Moung Shwa- gnnng. is left. "September 8, Lord's day. A very dull day — not one r present at worship. In the evening, Moung Thahlah was a spectator of our partaking of the Lord's supper. Moung Ing could not be present. He lives at some distance, and is getting ready to go to sea, pursuant to his purpose be- fore he became acquainted with us. We have endeavored to dissuade him from going, and to keep him near us ; but we are afraid that his circumstances will not allow him to comply with our advice and his own inclinations. •♦September < ration of divine grace. Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove! " Ills conversion seems peculiarly desirable, on account of - rior talents and extensive acquaintance with Bur- md Pali literature. He is the most powerful reasoner 1 hav yrt met with in this country, excepting my old teach- er, Oo Ooung-men, (now dead,) and is not at all inferior to lum. "September 15. Moung Thahlah spent the evening with me in asking several questions on difficult passages in Mat- At the eloae, I Baked him whether he yet loved Christ more than his own life ; he understood my meaning, and replied that he purposed to profess the Christian religion, an«l begM to think seriously of being baptized. I Lis sister, .Mi l'>aik. appears to have lost her religious impressions. -t ember 16. Alter having lately made two unsuccessful attempt^ to get an interview with the viceroy, I this day suc- Ile inquired about the historical writings. I told him 1 was not so well acquainted with that style of writing in Burman as with the religious style, and then presented him with a tract, as a specimen of what I could do. He de- 216 THE EARNEST MAX. livered it to a secretary, and on hearing the first sentence, remarked that it was the same with a writing he had already- heard, and that he did not want that kind of writing. I sup- pose that one of the secretaries,- to whom I had formerly given a tract, presented it without my knowledge. " September 18. Moung Shwa-gnong has been with me a few hours ; had spent the greater part of the day with Oo Yah, the merchant that I mentioned some time ago, convers- ing on religion. Our interview chiefly passed in discussing his metaphysical cavils. " September 19, Lord's day. The teacher and Oo Yah came to worship, according to their agreement of yesterday, ac- companied with part of the family of the latter, and several respectable men of their acquaintance, so that the assembly consisted of about fifty. Some paid profound attention, and some none at all. After the exercises, Oo Yah seemed afraid to have it appear that he had any acquaintance with me, and kept at a distance. They finally all dropped away but the teacher, who stayed, as usual, till quite dark. He is, in many respects, a perfect enigma ; but just before he left, a slight hope began to spring up in their minds that liis proud heart was yielding to the cross. He confessed that he was constrained to give up all dependence on his own merits and his literary attainments ; that he had sinned against God all his life long, and that, therefore, he deserved to suffer hell. And then he asked, with some feeling, how he could obtain an interest in the merits and salvation of Jesus Christ. He appears to have a considerable share of that serious solem- nity which 1 have observed to characterize the few who per- severe in their religious inquiries, and which has been want- ing in every instance of mere temporary promise. O that he may be brought in, if it is not too great a favor for this infant mission to receive. " September 20. One of the three visitors of the 19th of THE ZAYAI. 217 August came again, and, though a long interval has elapsed, his appearance is quite encouraging. He says, feelingly, that he knows nothing, is distressed at tin- thought of dying in his present ignorance and uncertainty, and wants to find some kind of salvation. " September 26, Lord's day. Moting Shwa-gnong came, with several adherents. Some warm conversation before worship, but nothing personal. During worship, discoursed from, ' Fear not them that kill the body,' &c. My discourse was chiefly Intended for Moung Tliahlah and Moung Byaa; but the latter was absent, on account of sickness. After worship, the teacher immediately departed with his people, without even saying a word. Fear he has taken some offence. " October 5. Received a visit from the teacher. 'My hopes of his conversion are very low. He is settling down in deism, and evidently avoids all conversation of a personal nature. " October 6. Conversation with Moung Thahlah and Moung Byaa, which revives my hopes of their coming for- ward before long. They are both growing in religious knowledge, and give evidence of being in the exercise of gracious feelings. u October 7. Was rejoiced, in the morning, to sec the teacher Moung Shwa-gnong come again so soon. We spent the day together, uninterrupted by other company. In the forenoon he was as crabbed as possible ; sometimes a Berke- leian, sometimes a Ilumeite or complete skeptic. But in the afternoon he got to be more reasonable, and before he left he obtained a more complete idea of the atonement than I have commonly been able to communicate to a Barman. He exclaimed: 'Tbat is suitable; that is as it should be,' &c. But whether this conviction resulted from a mere phil- osophic view of the propriety and adaptedness of the way of 218 THE EARNEST MAN. salvation through Jesus Christ, or from the gracious opera- tions of the Holy Spirit, time must discover. I hardly ven- ture to hope the latter. O Lord, the work is thine ! O come, Holy Spirit! " October 23. Have for some days been wondering at the long absence of the teacher. To-day heard a report that he has been summoned by the viceroy to give an account of his heretical sentiments. " At night, Moung Thahlah and Moung Byaa presented a paper, professing their faith in Jesus Christ, and Requesting to be baptized, but in private. We spent some time with them. They appear to have experienced divine grace ; but we advised them, as they had so little love to Christ as not to dare to die for his cause, to wait and reconsider the matter. me acquainted with the religion, know that there is an eternal God in heaven, and that there is a divine Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, deserving of the highest love ; and we know that the Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son, endured, on account of all his disciples, sufferings and death, even severe sullerings on a cross, in their stead. On account of 220 THE EARNEST MAN. our sins, we were like persons laden with a very heavy bur- den. On account of our many sins, we found no deliverance, no place of refuge, and our minds were distressed. In this state remaining, the two teachers produced the sacred sys- tem from the Scriptures, and we became informed of the existence of the one God, and of the facts that the divine Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, redeemed with his sacred life all who love and trust in him, and, in order to save his disciples from hell, suffered death in their stead. Now we know that we have sinned against the sacred One, and we know, as- suredly, that if we become disciples of the divine Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved from the hell which we deserve. We desire to become disciples, and with the two teachers, like children born of the same mother, to worship the true God, and observe the triie religion. " ' On seaching in the Scriptures for ancient rules and cus- toms, it does not appear that John and other baptizers ad- ministered baptism on any particular time, or day, or hour. We, therefore, venture to beg of the two teachers, that they will grant that on the 6th day of the wane of the Tanzoung- mong moon, (November 7,) at six o'clock at night, we may this once receive baptism at their hands.' " November 7, Lord's day. We had worship 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 upon the humble, timid profes- sion. No wondering crowd crowned the overshadowing hill. No hymn of praise expressed the exultant .feelings 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 coro- THE ZATAT. 221 nation ; 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, moro publicly than we venture at present to acknowledge him. "In the evening, we all united in commemorating (he dy- ing love of our Redeemer ; and I trust we enjoyed a little of his gracious presence in the midst of us. " November 10. This evening is to be marked as the date of the first Burman prayer meeting that was ever held. None present but myself and the three converts. Two of them made a little beginning — such as must be expected from the first essay of converted heathens. We agreed to meet for this purpose every Tuesday and Friday evening, immediately after family worship, which in the evening has for some time been conducted in Burman and English, and which these people, and occasionally some others, have attended. •- November 14, Lord's day. Have been much gratified to find that this evening the three converts repaired to Till. ZAYAT, AND HELD A PRAYER MEETING OF TIIEIR OWN ACCORD. " November 26. On taking our usual ride this morning, to bathe in the mineral tank, we were accosted, on one of the pagoda roads, by the Mangen teacher, and peremptorily for- bidden to ride there in future on pain of being beaten. On our return we inquired into the affair, and find that the vice- roy has really issued an order, at the instigation of this teacher, that henceforth no person wearing a hat, shoes, or umbrella, or mounted on a horse, shall approach within the sacred ground belonging to the great pagoda, which ground extends on some sides half a mile, and comprises all the prin- cipal roads ; so that in future we must take a circuitous route in the woods, if we wish to visit our usual place of resort. This consideration, however, is very trifling, compared with 222 THE EARNEST MAN. another. The viceroy's orcier is quite unprecedented in Rangoon, and indicates a state of feeling on the subject of religion very unfavorable to our missionary designs. Since the death of the old king, who was known to be in heart hos- tile to religion, people have been more engaged than ever in building pagodas, making sacred offerings, and performing the public duties of their religion. They are just now en- gaged in new gilding the great pagoda, called Shwa Dagon, which is considered the most sacred in the country, on ac- count of its containing six or eight hairs of Gaudama. " Ever since the affair of Moung Shwa-gnong, there has been an entire falling off at the zayat. I sometimes sit there whole days without a single visitor, though it is the finest part of the year, and many are constantly passing. We and our object are now well known throughout Rangoon. None wish to call, as formerly, out of curiosity, and none dare to call from a principle of religious inquiry. And were not the leaders in ecclesiastical affairs confident that we shall never succeed in making converts, I have no doubt we should meet with direct persecution and banishment. " Our business must be fairly laid before the emperor. If he frown upon us, all missionary attempts within his domin- ions will be out of the question. If he favor us, none of our enemies, during the continuance of his favor, can touch a hair of our heads. But there is a greater than the emperor, be- fore whose throne we desire daily and constantly to lay this business. O Lord Jesus, look upon us in our low estate, and guide us in our dangerous course ! " November 21. Moung Shwa-gnong has been with us the greater part of the day, and a little revived our hopes con- cerning him. "November 27. This day brother Colman and myself came to a final decision to proceed to Ava without delay, and lay our business before the emperor. THE ZAYAT. 223 " November 29. Letters from Bengal and America, the first for six months. Learned the particulars of the melan- choly end of our lamented brother Wheelock. The news of his death reached us some time ago. Learned also that brother Hough intends staying in Bengal. The tract which we forwarded is not yet printed — a circumstance which occasions us much regret, as we hoped to have obtained some copies to carry up to Ava. 44 December 4. Another visit from Moung Shwa-gnong. After several hours spent in metaphysical cavils, he owned that he did not believe any thing he had said, and had only beeH trying me and the religion, being determined to em- brace nothing but what he found unobjectionable and impreg- nable. ' What,' said he, * do you think that I would pay you the least attention if I found you could not answer all my questions, and solve all my difficulties ? ■ He then proceeded to say, that he really believed in God, his Son Jesus Christ, the atonement, &c. Said I, knowing his deistical weakness, 4 Do you believe all that is contained in the book of Matthew, that I have given you ? In particular, do you believe that the Son of God died on a cross?' 4 Ah,' replied he, 4 you have caught me now. I believe that he suffered death, but I cannot admit that he suffered the shameful death of the cross.' * Therefore,' said I, 4 you are not a disciple of Christ. A true disciple inquires not whether a fact is agreeable to his own reason, but whether it is in the book. His pride has yielded to the divine testimony. Teacher, your pride is still unbroken. Break down your pride, and yield to the word of He stopped and thought. 4 As you utter those words,' said he, 4 1 see my error. I have been trusting in my own reason, not in the word of God.' Some interruption now rx-rurred. When we were again alone, he said, 4 This day is deferent from all the days on which I have visited you. I see my error in trusting in my own reason ; and I now be- 224 THE EARNEST MAN. lieve the crucifixion of Christ, because it is contained in the Scripture.' Some time after, speaking of the uncertainty of life, he said he thought he should not be lost, though he died suddenly. Why ? ' Because I love Jesus Christ.' • Do you really love him ? ' 'No one that really knows him can help loving him/ And so he departed." CHAPTER XVI. VISIT TO THE EMPEROR. From several allusions in the extracts contained in Chapter xiv., it will have been seen that, towards the close of 1819, a sad change had come over the pros- pects of the mission. The leading cause of this re- verse, was the accession of a monarch to the throne, who was a zealous Buddhist. The influence of such an event, in an absolute despotism like Burmah, would necessarily be felt in every part of the empire. The exemption from open persecution, hitherto enjoyed* by the mission, had doubtless been owing, primarily, to the known indifference of the former king towards the established religion ; though, even then, an open renun- ciation of it was deemed extremely hazardous. But now, when it was ostentatiously patronized by " the lord of life and death," and " the owner of the sword," it became the interest of every one to exhibit great zeal for the ancient faith. The timidity of inquirers kept pace with the insolence of the priesthood and govern- 15 226 THE EARNEST MAN. ment officials. The zayat, which in previous years had often been thronged with visitors, was now shun- ned as an infected spot. Mr. Judson often sat here •whole days, uncheered by a single call, though people were passing by from morning till night. Meantime, the new pagodas starting up in all directions, the re- gilding of the great temple of Shwa-da-gon, the in- creased number of worshippers, and of rich offerings at the sacred places, all proclaimed the reviving glory of Buddhism. Mr. Judson was convinced, that nothing but the assurance of his inability to accomplish any thing, prevented his immediate banishment from the country ; and that, unless something should speedily occur to change the current of public feeling, the last days of the mission were at hand. It now appeared to him that the moment had ar- rived, when a bold step, long revolved in his mind, could no longer be deferred. He determined to go up at once to Ava, the imperial residence, and endeavor to obtain toleration for the Christian religion, from his majesty in person. Two years before, he had anticipated the probable necessity of such a step ; but was unwilling to hazard the consequences, until compelled by the pressure of providential events. The issue was, indeed, much more doubtful now, than before ; yet it was not alto- VISIT TO THE EMPEROR. 227 gether a hopeless case. With a liberality, which, as compared with the policy of some Christian nations, reflects great credit on its intelligence, the Burman government had always allowed to foreigners perfect toleration in religious matters, restricted only by the prohibition of proselyting the subjects of the realm. The Mohammedan practised the rites of his faith as freely and openly as if in the land of the Prophet ; and the Romish priests, who had established themselves in the empire many years before, suffered no molestation till they were found making Burman converts. Could Mr. Judson have contented himself to labor among the English residents of the country, he could have done so without danger, under the very eye of the imperial government. Was it not to be hoped that, by proper representations, it might be induced to advance one step further in this liberal policy, by allowing to its own subjects the same freedom of choice which it granted to foreigners ? The mission, as things were, was virtually at an end ; and an unfavorable act of the government could not make its condition essen- tially worse; while a favorable answer from "the golden lips," or a mere friendly reception, without any ion of the royal will, would at once re- move its embarrassments, and place it beyond the tyr- anny of the provincial authorities. Every other door 228 THE EARNEST MAN. of hope being closed, he felt himself obliged to make the attempt. " Under these circumstances," thus he writes to the Board, " it appears to us that there remains but one course of pro- ceeding — to go directly into the imperial presence, lay our missionary designs before the throne, and solicit toleration for the Christian religion. By this proceeding, we hope to discover the real feelings and sentiments of the emperor. We hope to ascertain, as distinctly as possible, whether he is devoted to Buddhism, or has imbibed in any degree the opin- ions of his grandfather, and disguises them at present, from motives of policy merely. If the former be the case, he will prohibit our missionary work, and we shall be under the ne- cessity of leaving his dominions. If the latter be the case, and he be, in any measure, pleased with the Christian sys- tem, he will, we hope, give us at least such private encour- agement as will enable us to prosecute our work without in- curring the charge of rashness and enthusiasm. " In approaching the throne, we desire to have a simple dependence on the presence and power of our Saviour, and a single eye to his glory. We have indeed no other ground of hope ; we ought to have no other view. We trust that, if the set time to favor Burmah is come, He who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working, will open a wide and effectual door for the promulgation of divine truth. But if the Lord has other purposes, it becomes us meekly to acqui- esce, and willingly to sacrifice our dearest hopes to the divine will. We rest assured, that, in either case, the perfections of God will be displayed, and desire to be thankful that we are allowed to be in any way instrumental in contributing to that display." Objections have been made to this measure, as savor- VISIT TO THE EMPEROR. 229 ing too much of worldly policy. But, can it be wrong to ask any human government, even that of a pagan despot, to protect its subjects in the exercise of the rights of conscience ? In such a case this cannot, to be sure, be done exactly in the form suitable when ad- dressing a professedly Christian government ; such, for instance, as was used by Baptists, when claiming those rights from the Massachusetts Assembly. In terms conformed to oriental ideas of propriety, but with no expression of fulsome adulation or abject servility, the Christian missionary petitions that his Royal Majesty will be pleased to open his dominions to the preaching of the true religion ; and that, should any of his sub- jects be disposed to embrace it, his official servants may be restrained from molesting them. The appli- cation is based on the Emperor's power, as the political head of the nation ; not on his right to dictate in mat- ters of conscience. Similar applications are constantly made to the sovereigns of Europe, by their subjects, of various evangelical sects not recognized by law, as well as by English and American Christians in their behalf. And, where perfect religious equality cannot be ob- tained in such cases, it is not thought wrong to receive gratefully the most limited form of toleration. Mr. Judson's view of the case is thus presented, in a letter on the subject to the Rev. Dr. Baldwin, written in 1817. 230 THE EARNEST MAN. " No local government would dare to persecute the espous- ers of a new religion, if it was known that they had friends at court. I do not mean to imply, that all persecution is to be dreaded, but that persecution which would effectually prevent the use of the means of grace, certainly is. It is true that God will call those whom he has chosen ; but since he has made means necessary to the end, since it is by the gospel of his Son that he calls his people, it is certainly as much the duty of his servants to endeavor to avert such per- secution as would effectually prevent the use of means, as it is to use any means at all ; and we may reasonably conclude that, when God has a people whom he is about to call, he will direct his servants in such a course." Dr. Baldwin, a man of great practical wisdom, fully- concurred in this view. Mr. Judson thus writes to him, on the eve of his departure for Ava, in 1819: " Brother Colman and myself have therefore concluded to follow your advice, by going up to Ava, and laying our business before the monarch." * Through life, Mr. Judson continued to regard the object which he now sought, as of the highest importance to the spread of Christianity in Burmah. In 1824, he repeated the attempt, in connection with Mr. Crawford's embassy ; and in 1849, but for the failure of pecuniary means, he would again have proceeded to the capital, and spent his last days in furtherance of the object. But whatever may be thought of the wisdom or pro- * American Baptist Magazine, New Series, vol. ii. p. 380. VISIT TO THE EMPEROR. 231 priety of the step, every one must admire the Christian courage and self-devotion with which he took his life in his hand, and ventured, on such an errand, into the presence of this haughty eastern autocrat. The details of the visit are given, with singular beauty and pathos, in Mr. Judson's journal. Journal. " December 21. After having made arrangements for our wives' residence in town during our absence, brother Colman and myself embarked. Our boat is six feet wide in the mid- dle, and forty feet long. A temporary deck of bamboos is laid throughout, and on the hinder part of the boat the sides arc raited with thin lx>ards, and a covering of thatch, and mats tied on, so as to form two low rooms, in which we can just sit and lie down. Our company consists of sixteen be- sides ourselves : ten rowmen, a steersman, a headman — whose name is inserted in our passport, and who, therefore, derives a little authority from government, — a steward or cook for the company, which place is filled by our trusty Moung Nau, — our own cook, a Hindoo washerman, and an Englishman, who, having been unfortunate all his life, wishes to try the service of his Burman majesty; and this last personage may be called our gunner, he having charge of several guns and blunderbusses, which are indispensable on account of the robbers that infest the river. "We have been much perplexed in fixing on a present for the emperor, without which no person unauthorized can ap- pear in big pretence. Our funds were evidently inadequate to tin; purchase of articles which would be valuable to him in a pcruniary point of view. When we considered, also, that there ought to be a congruity between the present and our 232 THE EARNEST MAN. character, we selected that book which we hope to be allowed to translate under his patronage, the Bible, in six volumes, covered with gold leaf, in Burman style, and each volume inclosed in a rich wrapper. For presents to other members of government, we have taken several pieces of fine cloth and other articles. " Thus manned and furnished, we pushed off from the shores of Rangoon. The teacher Moung Shwa-gnong, had not been to see us for several days, ashamed, probably, of having declined accompanying us ; but just as we were push- ing oflf, we saw his tall form standing on the wharf. He raised his hand to his head, and bade us adieu, and continued looking after the boat until a projecting point shut Rangoon and all its scenes from our view. When shall we redouble this little point ? Through what shall we pass ere the scene now snatched away be re-presented ? The expedition on which we have entered, however it may terminate, is una- voidably fraught with consequences momentous and solemn beyond all conception. We are penetrating into the heart of one of the great kingdoms of the world, to make a formal offer of the gospel to a despotic monarch, and through him to the millions of his subjects. May the Lord accompany us, and crown our attempt with the desired success, if it be consistent with his wise and holy will. "At night, we moored by the banks of Kyee-myen-daing. It was near this place that, a few days ago, one of the boats belonging to Mr. G., late collector of Rangoon, was attacked by robbers, and the steersman and another man killed at a single shot. We felt unwilling to remain at this village, but found it necessary. " On the 30th reached Kah-noung, a considerable town, about ninety miles from Rangoon. Here we met a special officer from Bassein, with a detachment of men, sent in pur- suit of a band of robbers who lately made a daring attack on VISIT TO THE EMPEKOK. 233 a large boat, wounded and beat off the people, and took plunder to the amount of fifteen hundred deals. The com- mander offered us an escort for the journey of to-morrow, which lies through a dangerous tract of country ; but we de- clined accepting, as we should have been obliged to give the people presents, without deriving any substantial assistance in the hour of danger. Strict watch all night. "January 17, 1820. Reached Pugan, a city celebrated in Burman history, being, like Pyee, the seat of a fonner dy- nasty. It is about two hundred and sixty miles from Ran- goon. "January 18. Took a survey of the splendid pagodas and extensive ruins in the environs of this once famous city. Ascended as far as possible some of the highest edifices, and, at the height of one hundred feet, perhaps, beheld all tho country round, covered with temples and monuments of every sort and size ; some in utter ruin, some fast decaying, and some exhibiting marks of recent attention and repair. The remains of the ancient wall of the city stretched beneath us. The pillars of the gates, and many a grotesque, decapi- tated relic of antiquity, checkered the motley scene. All conspired to suggest those elevated and mournful ideas which are attendant on a view of the decaying remains of ancient grandeur ; and, though not comparable to such ruins as those of Palmyra and Balbec, (as they are represented,) still deep- ly interesting to the antiquary, and more deeply interesting to the Christian missionary. Here, about eight hundred years ago, the religion of Buddh was first publicly recognized and established as the religion of the empire. Here, then, Ah-rah-han, the first Buddhist apostle of Burmah, under the patronage of King Anan-ra-tha-men-zan, disseminated tho doctrines of atheism, and taught his disciples to pant after annihilation, as the supreme good. Some of the ruins before our eyes were probably the remains of pagodas designed by 234 THE EARNEST MAN. himself. We looked back on the centuries of darkness that are past. We looked forward, and Christian hope would fain brighten the prospect. Perhaps we stand on the divid- ing line of the empires of darkness and light O, shade of Ah-rah-han, weep over thy falling fanes; retire from the scenes of thy past greatness. But thou smilest at my feeble voice. Linger, then, thy little remaining day. A voice mightier than mine, a still small voice, will ere long sweep away every vestige of thy dominion. The churches of Jesus will soon supplant these idolatrous monuments, and the chanting of the devotees of Buddh will die away before the Christian hymn of praise. " January 25. Passed Old Ava, the seat of the dynasty immediately preceding the present, and Tsah-gaing, a place of some note, distinguished for its innumerable pagodas, and the residence of one or two late emperors, and about noon drew up to O-ding-man, the lower landing-place of New Ava, or Amarapoora, about three hundred and fifty miles from Rangoon. At our present distance of nearly four miles from the city, (and we cannot get nearer this season,) it appears to the worst advantage. We can hardly distin- guish the golden steeple of the palace amid the glittering pagodas, whose summits just suffice to mark the spot of our ultimate destination. "January 26. We set out early in the morning, called on Mr. G., late collector of Rangoon, and on Mr. R., who was formerly collector, but is now out of favor. Thence we en- tered the city, passed the palace, and repaired to the house of Mya-day-men, former viceroy of Rangoon, now one of the public ministers of state, (woon-gyee.) We gave him a valuable present, and another of less value to his wife, the lady who formerly treated Mr. G. with so much politeness. They both received us very kindly, and appeared to interest themselves in our success. We, however, did not disclose VISIT TO THE EMPEROR. 235 our precise object, but only petitioned leave to behold the golden face. Upon this, his highness committed our business to Moung Yo, one of his favorite officers, and directed him to introduce us to Moung Zah, one of the private ministers of rtate, (a-twen-woon,) with the necessary orders. This particular favor of Mya-day-men prevents the necessity of our petitioning and feeing all the public ministers of state, and procuring formal permission from the high court of the empire. " In the evening, Moung Yo, who lives near our boat, called on us to say that he would conduct us to-morrow. We lie down in sleepless anxiety. To-morrow's dawn will usher in the most eventful day of our lives. To-morrow's eve will elose on the bloom or the blight of our fondest hopes. Yet it is consoling to commit this business into the hands of our heavenly Father — to feel that the work is his, not ours ; that the heart of the monarch before whom we are to ap- pear, is under the control of Omnipotence ; and that the event will be ordered in the manner most conducive to the divine glory and the greatest good. God may, for the wisest purposes, suffer our hopes to be disappointed ; and if so, why should short-sighted, mortal man repine ? Thy will, O God, r done; for thy will is inevitably the wisest and the best. ** January 27. We left the boat, and put ourselves under the conduct of Moung Yo. lie carried us first to Mya-day- men, as a matter of form ; and there we learned that the enij)«ror had been privately apprised of our arrival, and said, * Let them be introduced.' We therefore proceeded to the palace. At the outer gate, we were detained a long time, until the various officers were satisfied that we had a right to enter, after which we deposited a present for the private minister of state, Moung Zah, and were ushered into his apartments in the palace yard. He received us very pleas- 236 THE EARNEST MAX. antly, and ordered us to sit before several governors and petty kings, who were waiting at his levee. We here, for the first time, disclosed our character and object — told him that we were missionaries, or ' propagators of religion ; ! that we wished to appear before the emperor, and present our sacred books, accompanied with a petition. He took the petition into his hand, looked over about half of it, and then familiarly asked several questions about our God, and our religion, to which we replied. Just at this crisis, some one announced that the golden foot was about to advance; on which the minister hastily rose up, and put on his robes of state, saying that he must seize the moment to present us to the emperor. We now found that we had unwittingly fallen on an unpro- pitious time, it being the day of the celebration of the late victory over the Kathays, and the very hour when his majesty was coming forth to witness the display made on the occasion. When the minister was dressed, he just said, ' How can you propagate religion in this empire ? But come along.' Our hearts sank at these inauspicious words. He conducted us through various splendor and parade, until we ascended a flight of stairs, and entered a most magnificent hall. He directed us where to sit, and took his place on one side ; the present was placed on the other; and Moung Yo and another officer of Mya-day-men sat a little behind. The scene to which we were now introduced really surpassed our expec- tation. The spacious extent of the hall, the number and magnitude of the pillars, the height of the dome, the whole completely covered with gold, presented a most grand and imposing spectacle. Very few were present, and those evi- dently great officers of state. Our situation prevented us from seeing the further avenue of the hall ; but the end where we sat opened into the parade which the emperor was about to inspect. We remained about five minutes, when every one put himself into the most respectful attitude, and VISIT TO THE EMPEROR. 237 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 ptre of ancient times. But it was his high aspect and commanding eye that chiefly riveted 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 attention. He stopped, partly turned toward us : ' AVho are these ? ' ' The teachers, great king,' I replied. ' What, you speak Bunnan — the priests that I heard of last night?' ' When did you arrive ? ' 'Are you teachers of religion ? ' 'Are you like the Portuguese priest?' 'Are you married?' ' Why do»you dress so ? ' These and some other similar questions we answered, when he appeared to be pleased witli 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 DOW began to read the petition ; and it ran thus : — -"'The American teachers present themselves, to receive the favor of the excellent king, the sovereign of land and sea. Hearing that, on account of the greatness of the royal power, the royal country was in a quiet and prosperous state, we arrived at the town of Rangoon, within the royal domin- ions, and having obtained leave of the governor of that town to conic up and behold the golden face, we have ascended and reached the bottom of the golden feet. In the great country of America, we sustain the character of teachers and explain- ers of the contents of the sacred Scriptures of our religion. And since it is contained in those Scriptures, that, if we pass to other countries, and preach and propagate religion, great 238 THE EARNEST MAN. good will result, and both those who teach and those who receive the religion will be freed from future punishment, and enjoy, without decay or death, the eternal felicity of heaven, — that royal permission be given, that we, taking refuge in the royal power, may preach our religion in these dominions, and that those who are pleased with our preaching, and wish to listen to and be guided by it, whether foreigners or Burmans, may be exempt from government molestation, they present themselves to receive the favor of the excellent king, the sovereign of land and sea/ " The emperor heard this petition, and stretched out his hand. Moung Zah crawled forward and presented it. His majesty began at the top, and deliberately read it through. In the mean time, I gave Moung Zah an abridged copy of the tract, in which every offensive sentence was corrected, and the whole put into the handsomest style and dress possible. After the emperor had perused the petition, he handed it back without saying a word, and took the tract. Our hearts now rose to God for a display of his grace. ' O, have mercy on Burmah ! Have mercy on her king ! ' But, alas ! the time was not yet come. He held the tract long enough to read the first two sentences, which assert that there is one eternal God, who is independent of the incidents of mortal- ity, and that beside 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 interpreted his royal master's will, In the follow- ing terms : ' Why do you ask for such permission ? Have not the Portuguese, the English, the Mussulmans, and people of all other religions, full liberty to practise and worship ac- VISIT TO THE EMPEROR. 239 cording to their own customs ? 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 " Something was now said about brother Colman's skill in medicine ; upon which the emperor once more opened his mouth, and said: ' Let them proceed to the residence of my phy.sieian, the Portuguese priest ; let him examine whether they can be useful to me in that line, and report accordingly/ He then rose from his seat, strided on to the end of the hall, and there, after having dashed to the ground the first intelli- gent- that he had ever received of the eternal God, his Maker, his Preserver, his Judge, he threw himself down on a cushion, and lay listening to the music, and gazing at the parade spread out before him. "As for us and our present, we were huddled up and hur- ried away, without much ceremony. We passed out of the palace gates with much more facility than we entered, and ••ndueted first to the house of Mya-day-men. There his officer reported our reception, but in as favorable terms as possible ; and as his highness was not apprised of our pre- cise object, our repulse appeared probably to him not so de- cisive as we knew it to be. We were next conducted two miles through the heat of the sun and dust of the streets of lence of the Portuguese priest. He very speedily ascertained that we were in possession of no wonder- . • t. which would secure the emperor from all disease, and make him live forever; and we were accordingly allowed Lave of the reverend inquisitor, and retreat to our boat * At this stage of the business, notwithstanding the decided repuUe we had received, we still cherished some hope of ulti- mately gaining our point. We regretted that a sudden inter- ruption had prevented our explaining our objects to Moung 240 THE EARNEST MAN. Zah in that familiar and confidential manner which we had intended; and we determined, therefore, to make another attempt upon him in private. " January 28. Early in the morning we had the pleasure of seeing our friend Mr. G. coming to our boat. It may not be amiss to mention that he is the collector who was chiefly instrumental in relieving us from the exorbitant demand which, a few months ago, was made upon us in Rangoon. He now told us that he had heard of our repulse, but would not have us give up all hope ; that he was particularly ac- quainted with Moung Zah, and would accompany us to his house, a little before sunset, at an hour when he was accessi- ble. This precisely accorded with our intentions. " In the afternoon, therefore, we called on Mr. G., and he went with us into the city. On the way, we paid a visit to the wife of the present viceroy of Rangoon, whose eldest son is married to the only daughter of the present emperor. We carried a present, and were, of course, kindly received. " Thence we went to the house of Moung Zah, some way beyond the palace. He received us with great coldness and reserve. The conversation, which we carried on chiefly through Mr. G., it is unnecessary to detail. Suffice it to say, that we ascertained beyond a doubt, that the policy of the Burman government, in regard to the toleration of any for- eign religion, is precisely the same with the Chinese ; that it is quite out of the question, whether any of the 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 of a most egregious blunder, an unpardonable offence. Mr. G. urged every ar- gument that we suggested, and some others He finally stated, if we obtained the royal favor, other foreigners would come and settle in the empire, and trade would be greatly benefited. This argument alone seemed to have any effect VISIT TO THE EMPEROR. 241 on the mind of the minister, and looking out from the cloud which covered his face, he vouchsafed to say, that if we would wait some time, he would endeavor to speak to his Majesty about us. From this remark it was impossible to derive any encouragement ; and having nothing further to urge, we left Mr. G., and bowing down to the ground, took leave of this great minister of state, who, under the emperor, guides the movements of the whole empire. m It was now evening. We had four miles to walk by moonlight Two of our disciples only followed us. They had ventured as near as they durst to the door of the hall of audience, and listened to words which sealed the extinction of their hope and ours. For some time we spoke not. * Some natural tears we dropped, but wiped them soon; The 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, hand in hand, so we took our way through this great city, which, to our late imagination, seemed another Eden, but now, through the magic touch of disappointment, seemed blasted and withered, as if smitten by the fatal influence of the cherubic sword. "Arrived at the boat, we threw ourselves down, completely exhausted in body and mind. For three days we had walked eight miles ■ day, the most of the way in the heat of the sun, which, even at this season, in the interior of these countries, is exceedingly oppressive, and the result of our travels and toils has been — the wisest and best possible ; a result which if we could see the end from the beginning, would call forth our highest praise. O, slow of heart to believe and trust in the constant presence and overruling agency of our own almighty Saviour." 242 THE EARNEST MAN. The next morning they resolved, on the strength of the slight encouragement contained in the minister's words, to make one more effort. Through their kind English friend, Mr. G., they inquired the opinion of this great dignitary, whether a longer stay in Ava would be likely to promote their object. He answered explicitly, that there was no chance for them, should they wait ever so long. "Therefore," concluded the great man, " let them go about their business." But Mr. Judson could not yet give up all hope. Taking out the tract which the emperor had cast aside so con- temptuously, he handed it to Mr. G., with the words : " This is a brief view of the Christian religion. Do you present it to Moung Zah, in our name, or persuade him to read it or hear it read. We have, indeed, no hope of its efficacy ; but it is our last resort, and God may help us in the extremity." The tract was received kindly, and listened to even with approbation ; but nothing further ensued from the attempt. Mr. G. was then summoned to the royal presence, and questioned respecting these foreign " religion-makers." His ma- jesty was evidently much prejudiced against them, but disposed rather to be amused than angry at their pro- ject. " What ! " said he, laughing, " they have come, presuming to convert us to their religion ? Let them leave our capital. We have no desire to receive their VISIT TO TIIE EMPEROR. 243 instructions. Perhaps they may find some of their countrymen, in Rangoon, who may be willing to listen to them." It soon appeared that this imperial order was one more easily given than obeyed. From the 1st to the 5th of February, Mr. Judson was laboring incessantly to obtain a passport for Rangoon, but without success. After being referred from one dignitary to another, and made to believe, at one time, that it would be necessary in their case to procure a special permit from the high court of the empire, the difficulty was at length solved, by a present, about thirty dollars in value, to the min- ister of state, Moung Zah. On the 5th of the month, " late in the evening," he writes, " I had the pleasure of taking in my hand the pointed palm-leaf." Their departure, the day following, is recorded in character- istic words : " Pushed off from the beach of O-ding- man. I could moralize half an hour on the apt resem- blance, the beautiful congruity, between the desolate state of our feelings, and the sandy, barren surface of this miserable beach. But, ''tis idle all.' Let the beach and our sorrow go together. Something better will turn up to-morFOw." CHAPTER XVII. THE NATIVE CHURCH. " Ye are our epistles — known and read of all men." ^The last expedient had now been tried, for retriev- ing the gloomy circumstances of the mission, and it seemed to the missionaries that nothing was left for them but to obey the Saviour's direction : " When they persecute you in one city, flee ye to another." Could they have hoped for hearers, they would have fearlessly resolved to continue the proclamation of the gospel, notwithstanding the frowns of the emperor. But that universal dread of the displeasure of the royal slaveholder, which had previously cast such a deathlike chill on the spirit of inquiry, allowed no ground for any such expectation. They dared not count on the con- stancy even of those hopeful converts, who, under less imminent hazards, had made profession of their faith in Christ. " We thought," says Mr. Judson, " that if but THE NATIVE CHURCH. 245 one out of the three * remained firm, it was as much as we could reasonably hope for." They concluded, there- fore, to withdraw for the present from the immediate notice of government, and wait and watch for happier times. They selected, as their place of refuge, that dis- trict of Arracan which Mr. Judson had attempted to visit in 1818. Its proximity to Burmah, while yet, as a dependency of Bengal, it took them out of the reach of Burman power ; the similarity of language ; and finally, the little nucleus of native Christians already gathered there, naturally pointed this out as the most favorable spot These circumstances, it was hoped, moreover, might induce all, or a part of the converts, to accompany them thither, thus preserving the germ of a Burman church, V) be by and by re- transplanted to its native soil. It was with this plan in mind, as their only resource, that the missionaries now turned their faces towards Rangoon. But this "sifting time" of the little church was des- tined to a happier issue. Even before they reached Rangoon, their hearts were cheered by tokens that God had not forsaken the mission ; and they began faintly to hope, that something better than flight might be in store for them. At Pyee, two hundred and thirty miles from Ava, they met most unexpectedly with the teacher, • Moung Nnu, the first disciple, bad gone with them to Ava. 246 THE EARNEST MAN. Moung Shwa-gnong, who had come thither to visit a sick friend. The interview is thus described in the Journal. " We stated to him all our adventures at court, the dis- tressing result of the expedition, and the present danger of propagating or professing the religion of Christ, and wound off with the story of the iron mall.* He appeared to he less affected and intimidated by the relation than we could have expected. Indeed, his language was rather too high for the * Related to Mr. Judson, by an English gentleman at Ava, as fol- lows : " About fifteen years ago, the Roman Catholic priests con- verted to their faith a Burman teacher of talents and distinction. They took great pains to indoctrinate him thoroughly in their relig- ion, and entertained great hope of his usefulness in their cause. After his return from Rome, whither they had sent him to complete his Christian education, he was accused by his nephew, a clerk in the high court of the empire, of having renounced the established religion. The emperor, who, it must be remembered, was far from approving the religion of Buddh, ordered that he should be compelled to recant. The nephew seized his uncle, cast him into prison and fetters, caused him to be beaten and tortured continually, and at length had recourse to the torture of the iron mall. With this in- strument he was gradually beaten, from the ends of his feet up to his breast, until his body was little else but one livid wound. Mr. R. was one of those that stood by and gave money to the execution- ers, to induce them to strike gently. At every blow, the sufferer pro- nounced the name of Christ, and declared afterwards that he felt little or no pain. When he was at the point of death, under the hands of his tormentors, some persons who pitied his case went to the emperor with the statement that he was a madman, and knew not what he was about; on which the emperor gave orders for his re- lease. The Portuguese took him away, concealed him until he was able to move, then sent him privately in a boat to Rangoon, and thence by ship to Bengal, where he finished his days." This very man, who accused his uncle, was now one of the highest ministers of state. THE NATIVE CHUECH. 247 occasion. I therefore told him that it was not for him that we were concerned, but for those who had become disciples of Christ. When they were accused and persecuted, they could not worship at the pagodas, or recant before the Man- gen teacher. He felt the force of the reflection, and tried to explain his past conduct • Say nothing,' said I ; ■ one thing you know to be true — that, when formerly accused, if you had not, in some way or other, satisfied the mind of the Man- gen teacher, your life would not now be remaining in your body.' ' Then,' said he, ■ if I must die, I shall die in a good cause. I know it is the cause of truth.' He then repeated, with considerable emphasis, the most prominent points of his present faith, as follows : ' / believe in the eternal God, in his Son Jesus Christ, in the atonement which Christ has made, and in the writings of the apostles, as the true and only word of God. Perhaps,' continued he, 4 you may not remember that, during one of my last visits, you told me that I was trusting in my own understanding rather than the divine word. From that time I have seen my error, and endeavored to re- nounce it. You explained to me also the evil of worshipping at pagodas, though I told you that my heart did not partake in tlu- worship. Since you left Rangoon, I have not lifted up my folded hands before a pagoda. It is true, I sometimes follow the crowd, on days of worship, in order to avoid per- secution ; but I walk up one side of the pagoda, and walk down the other. Now, you say that I am not a disciple. What lack I yet ? ' I was now satisfied that he had made a little advance, since our last interview, which required a corresponding advance on my side. I replied, therefore, 4 Teacher, you may be a disciple of Christ in heart, but you are not a full disciple. You have not faith and resolution enough to keep all the commands of Christ, particularly that which requires you to be baptized, though in the face of per- secution and death. Consider the words of Jesus, just be- THE EARNEST MAN. fore he returned to heaven, " He that believeth and is bap- tized shall be saved."' He received this communication in profound silence, and with that air which I have observed to come upon him when he takes a thing into serious considera- tion. Soon after, I hinted our intention of leaving Rangoon, since the emperor had virtually prohibited the propagation of the Christian religion, and no Burman, under such cir- cumstances, would dare to investigate, much less to embrace it. This intelligence evidently roused him, and showed us that we had more interest in his heart than we thought. 1 Say not so,' said he ; 'there are some who will investigate, notwithstanding ; and rather than have you quit Rangoon, I will go myself to the Mangen teacher, and have a public dis- pute. I know T can silence him. I know the truth is on my side.' 'Ah,' said I, ' you may have a tongue to silence him, but he has a pair of fetters and an iron mall to tame you?" Remember that.' This was the substance of our conversa- tion, though much more prolix ; and he left us about nine o'clock at night. " This interview furnished matter for conversation till past midnight, and kept us awake much of the remainder of i he night. Perhaps, on arriving in Rangoon, we shall find the disciples firm, and some others seriously inquiring. Perhaps we shall discover some appearances of a movement of the divine Spirit. Perhaps the Lord Jesus has a few chosen ones, whom he intends to call in, under the most unpropitious and forbidding circumstances. Perhaps he intends to show that it is not by might, nor by power, but by his Spirit. In a word, perhaps, in the last extremity, God will help us. Ought we, then, hastily to forsake the place ? Ought we to desert those of the disciples that we cannot take with us, and some others, for whom perhaps Christ died, in such an inter- esting crisis of their fate ? Would it be rashness to endeavor to trust in God, and maintain the post, though disallowed by THE NATIVE CHURCH. 249 government, and exposed to persecution ? But again : can we bear to see our dear disciples in prison, in fetters, under torture ? Can we stand by them, and encourage them to bear patiently the rage of their persecutors ? Are we will- ing to participate with them ? Though the spirit may be sometimes almost willing, is not the flesh too weak ? " Pondering on such topics as these, a little ray of hope seemed to shine out of the darkness of our despair. But it was not like the soft beam of the moon, which kindly shines on the path of the benighted pilgrim, and guides him to a place of shelter. It was rather like the angry gleam of light- ning, which, while for a moment it illumines the landscape around, discloses the black magazines of heaven's artillery, and threatens death to the unwary gazer." On arriving at Rangoon, they called together the same evening the three disciples, and laid before them a full account of the occurrences at the capital, in order that they might fully understand both their own dan- ger, and the reasons which had induced their teachers to think of quitting Rangoon. And now, a beautiful scene was witnessed. Instead of being struck with terror at the prospect of impending persecution, these infant converts, just rescued from heathenism, gathered round their experienced teachers, and sustained their hearts by their own Christian constancy and faith. " All, to a man," writes Mr. Judson, " appeared im- movably the same ; yea, rather advanced in zeal and energy. They vied with each other in trying to ex- 250 THE EARNEST MAN. plain away difficulties, and to convince us that the case was not yet quite desperate." Still, however, the mis- sionaries deemed it prudent to retire to Chittagong till their repulse at court should be a little forgotten, and, for several days, continued their inquiries for vessels sailing thither. On the evening of the 24th, an affect- ing scene occurred, which is thus related in the Jour- nal : — " This evening, Moung Bya came up with his brother-in- law, Moung Myat-yah, who has lived in our yard several months, "and formerly attended worship at the zayat. 'I have come,' said Moung Bya, ' to petition that you will not leave Rangoon at present' • I think/ replied I, ' that it is useless to remain under present circumstances. We cannot open the zayat ; we cannot have public worship ; no Burman will dare to examine this religion : and if none examine, none can be expected to embrace it.' i Teacher,' said he, • my mind is distressed ; I can neither eat nor sleep, since I find you are going away. I have been around among those avIio live near us, and I find some who are even now examining the new religion. Brother Myat-yah is one of them, and he unites with me in my petitions.' Here Myat-yah assented that it was so. ' Do stay with us a few months. Do stay till there are eight or ten disciples ; then appoint one to be the teacher of the rest ; I shall not be concerned about the event ; though you should leave the country, the religion will spread of itself; the emperor himself cannot stop it. But if you go now, and take the two disciples that can follow, I shall be left alone. I cannot baptize those who may wish to embrace this religion. What can I do ? ' Moung Nau came in, and ex- pressed himself in a similar way. He thought that several THE NATIVE CHURCH. 251 would yet become disciples, in spite of all opposition, and that it was best for us to stay awhile. We could not restrain our tears at hearing all this ; and we told them that as we lived only for the promotion of the cause of Christ among the Burmans, if there was any prospect of success in Rangoon, we had no desire to go to another place, and would, therefore, reconsider the matter." The usual hour of worship, next evening, brought not only the disciples together, but two inquirers. The for- mer manifested a spirit worthy of the noblest times of the Christian church. " Teacher," said Moung Thalah, at the close of worship, " your intention of going away has filled us all with trouble. Is it good to forsake us thus ? Notwithstanding present difficulties, it is to be remem- bered that this work is not yours or ours, but the work of God. If he gives light, the religion will spread. Nothing can impede it." Just then a third inquirer was found listening without, and was invited in to take his seat with the others. "Moung Bya," says Mr. Jud^on, " now began to be in earnest ; his arm was elevated, and his eyes brightened. 'Let us all,' said he, ' make an effort. As for me, I will pray. Only leave a little church of ten, with a teacher set over them, and I shall be satisfied.' " Under these circumstances, the missionaries felt it to be impossible for them all to leave Rangoon. Yet as it seemed very important to secure a place of retreat, 252 THE EARNEST MAN. should the expected storm burst upon them, it was con- cluded that Mr. Colman should proceed to Chittagong, and collect the native converts into a new station ; while Mr. Judson was to remain at Rangoon, till such a time as the violence of persecution " should suppress all inquiry, and make it useless and rash to remain." But this emergency, in the good providence of God, was not permitted to arise. Some unseen agency silently drew off the dark thundercloud, so that not a hair of their heads was injured. The return, at this crisis, of Mr. Judson's personal friend, Mya-day-men, to the viceroyship of the province of Rangoon, seemed a most providential occurrence. Without any countenance, or indeed recognition of the mission, on his part, which could compromise himself, it soon came to be understood that complaints against the disciples were not likely to receive much attention from his highness ; and this was, of itself, no small check to the spirit of persecution. Still, the necessity was felt of extreme caution, to avoid every thing which might unnecessarily provoke the sub- ordinate officers of government, and through them reach the imperial court. Public worship was held in the interior of the zayat with closed doors, and great care was used not to betray inquirers. By this means, Mr. Judson, now the only missionary on the ground, was enabled to continue his labors without interruption, THE NATIVE CHURCH. 253 and the blessing of Heaven descended on them like the gentle dew of heaven on the field. " February 27, Lord's day. Had private worship in the zayat — the front doors closed — none present but the dis- ciples and inquirers. " February 28. A visit from Moung Shwa-gnong. He had considered, he said, my last words — that one must be- lieve and be baptized in order to be a full disciple. It was his desire to be such, and he wanted to know what outward rules in particular he must observe in case he should become a professor. I told him that the disciples of Christ, after baptism, were associated together ; that they assembled every Lord's day for worship, and that from time to time they received the sacrament of bread and wine. I then warned him of the danger of self-deception, and of the persecution to which disciples were exposed in this country, and advised him to reconsider the matter most thoroughly, before he made a definite request for baptism. "After he had gone, Oo Yan (mentioned December 19) came in ; was disappointed in not finding Moung Shwa- gnong, having agreed to meet him at the mission house. We h;v\ a long conversation on doctrinal points, in which he dis- covered a very acute, discriminating mind. " March 2. Another visit from Oo Yan. Venture to in- dulge a little hope that truth is beginning to> operate on his mind. " Man-h 5, Lord's day. Private worship, as last Lord's day. In the evening received the sacrament of bread and wine. Moung Nau was not present, having gone on a visit to Bau-lay, his native place. Had a refreshing and happy season with the two other disciples. Two of the inquirer? were spectators. 254 THE EARNEST MAN. " March 8. In the evening, had a very pleasant and in- structive conference with the disciples and inquirers. Moung Thahlah appeared to great advantage. Took the lead in explaining truth to the new ones, and quoted Scripture with singular facility and aptness. He has most evidently very correct views of the doctrines of grace. Moung Myat-yah appears to begin to discern the excellence of the Christian system, and to have some right feelings towards the Saviour. " March 10. Moung Shwa-gnong and Oo Yan have been with me several hours, but the interview has afforded very little encouragement. The former said but little on his own account, appearing chiefly desirous of convincing and per- suading his friend, that he might gain, as I secretly suspected, some companion of his own rank in life, before he embraced the new religion. The latter acted on the defensive, and spent all his time in raising objections. He was ready to admit that the atheistic system of the Buddhists was not tenable, but endeavored to fortify himself on a middle system between that and the Christian — the very system in which Moung Shwa-gnong formerly rested, and which, for distinc- tion's sake, may be fitly termed the semi-atheistic. Its funda- mental doctrine is, that divine wisdom, not concentrated in any existing spirit, or embodied in any form, but diffused throughout the universe, and partaken in different degrees by various intelligences, and in a very high degree by the Buddhs, is the true and only God. This poor system, which is evidently guilty of suicide, Oo Yan made every possible effort to keep alive ; but I really think that in his own mind he felt the case to be hopeless. His mode of reasoning is, however, soft, insinuating, and acute ; and so adroitly did he act his part, that Moung Shwa-gnong, with his strong arm, and I with the strength of truth, were scarcely able to keep him down. "March 13. THE NATIVE CHURCH. 255 friends, came and spent several hours. The former stayed later than the others, and attended evening worship. I asked him whether there was any point in the Christian system on which lie had not obtained satisfaction. He replied that he was not yet satisfied as to the propriety of God's appointing one particular day in the week for assembling together, in distinction from all other days. I saw at once why he has always baton so remiss in attending worship on the Lord's day ; and I therefore proceeded to state the nature of posi- tive commands, and their peculiar excellence, as the best test of obedience ; that it was evidently beneficial for the disci- ples of Christ to assemble sometimes ; that God, in appoint- ing that such an assembly should be held at least one day in seven, must be supposed to be guided by wisdom infinitely transcending that of man ; that, if the disciples of Christ are to meet once at least in seven days, it is evidently best to have the day of neftti&g designated, in order to secure their :1 union and concert ; and that the first day of the weak had at least this claim to preference, that it is the day on which our Saviour rose from the dead. I descanted on these points to his entire satisfaction ; but let us see whether hv will doom next Lord's day. " Later in the evening, had an instructive conference with Moung Myat-yah and Moung Shwa Boo. They both appear to have obtained some of that light, which, like the dawn of morning, shineth more and more unto perfect day. "March 15. Another visit from the teacher, accompanied with his wife and child. Again discussed the necessity of a-' mbling on the Lord's day. Found that the sacraments of baptism and the supper are, in his mind, liable to similar objections. Forsook, therefore, all human reasoning, and rested the merits of the case on the bare authority of Christ. 4 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.' Notwithstanding the remains of his deistical spirit, however, 256 THE EARNEST MAN. I obtained, during this visit, more satisfactory evidence of his real conversion, than ever before. He said that he knew nothing of an eternally existing God, before he met with me ; that, on hearing that doctrine, he instantly believed it, but that it was a long time before he closed with Christ. ' Can you recollect the time ? ' said I. ' Not precisely,' he replied, 4 but it was during a visit, when you discoursed concerning the Trinity, the divine worship of Jesus, and the great suf- ferings which he, though truly God, endured for his disci- ples.' He afterwards spoke, with much Christian feeling, on the preciousness of the last part of the sixth chapter of Mat- thew, which he heard me read day before yesterday, at even- ing ^worship. "March 19, Lord's day. Looked in vain for the teacher and his acquaintances. "March 21. Moung Thahlah introduced one of his rela- tions, by name Moung Shwa-ba, as desirous of considering the Christian religion. Spent an hour or two in conversing with him. He was afterwards present at evening worship, and stayed to converse after the rest had retired. " March 22. Another conversation with Moung Shwa-ba. He appears to be under deep religious impressions. His lan- guage and his looks evince an uncommon solemnity of spirit, an earnest desire to be saved from the wrath to come. After praying with him, I left him in company with Moung Thah- lah. " March 23. In the morning, Moung Thahlah informed me that he and his friend had sat up the greater part of the night in the zayat, reading, and conversing, and praying. In the afternoon, Moung Shwa-ba came in himself. His ex- pressions are very strong ; but I have no reason to doubt his sincerity. It only seems strange to us that a work of grace should be carried on so rapidly in the soul of an ignorant heathen. He presented a writing, containing a statement of THE NATIVE CHURCH. 257 his faith, and an urgent request to be baptized next Lord's day. " March 24. Spent all the evening with Moung Shwa-ba. Feel satisfied that he has experienced a work of divine grace, but think it advisable to defer his baptism till Sunday after next, in order to allow him full time to reexamine the religion, and the foundation of his hopes. • March 26, Lord's day. Three women present at wor- ship, acquaintances of Moung Shwa-gnong. They have vis- its! Mrs. Judson once or twice before. The principal of thtin renounced Gaudama some years ago, and adopted the semi-atheistic system, but without obtaining any real satis- la< lion. Two years ago, she met with a copy of the tract, which gave her an idea of an eternally-existing God ; but the knew not whence the paper came. At length, Moung Shwa-gnong told her that he had found the true wisdom, and directed her to us. Her case appears very hopeful. "In the evening, after worship, had a protracted conver- sation with the diaoiplei and Inquirers, on account of brother Colman'a intended departure to-morrow. Moung Shwa-ba appeared very well indeed. Mount: Myat-yah said: 'Set me down for a disciple. I have fully made up my mind in regard to this religion, I love Jesus Christ; but I am not yet quite ready for baptism.' After we dismissed them, they wnit over to the zayat of their own accord, and held a prayer meeting. M And here I must close my journal. We have spent the ning with our very dear brother and sister Colman. ! to embark to-morrow morning. Our parting is mournful ; for happy, uncommonly happy, has been our past intercourse. Nothing but a sense of duty could force the present separation. We hope that it will be of short du- ration, and that we shall soon reunite our labors in Chitta- gong or Rangoon. 258 THE EARNEST MAX. " On their departure, Mrs. Judson and myself will again be left to our former ' loneliness of lot.' In this situation, we renewedly commend ourselves to the remembrance and prayers of the Board. "March 27. Brother and sister Colman took leave of us, and embarked for Bengal. " April 1. In the evening, we had a final conversation with Moung Shwa-ba, and became fully satisfied with the evidences of his conversion. We therefore expressed our willingness to receive him into church fellowship, and I an- nounced to him my intention of baptizing him to-morrow, on which he expressed his gratitude and joy. " .April 2, Lord's day. At night, after dark, we went pri- vately to the accustomed pond, and baptized the new disci- ple. Afterwards sat down at the table of the Lord — two foreign and four native communicants. Three inquirers were admitted to be spectators. " April 11. A visit from Oo Yan, accompanied by two of his friends who have been here before. Long conversa- tion on topics of the Christian religion. " April 14. The women mentioned March 26, spent most of the day with Mrs. Judson. They regularly visit her about once a week. I mention the visit of to-day, because it has afforded pretty satisfactory evidence that the principal one of the company, by name Mah Men-la, has experienced divine grace. Her husband is one of the visitors, who came with Oo Yan, on the 11th. " April 15. Moung Shwa-ba has for some days been talk- ing of a visit to Shwa-doung, his native place, to communi- cate the treasure which he has found to his numerous rela- tions and friends. This evening, after expressing his desires, he said it had occurred to him that it might be proper to ask permission or license so to do. Not that he aspired to set up as a teacher ; far from that ; but he wanted to feel that, in THE NATIVE CHURCH. 259 communicating the gospel, he was proceeding in a regular authorized manner. He thought that, if two or three disci- ples could be raised up in each of the large towns, it would much facilitate our operations. He was sure that at least one in tenx>f his relations and friends, on hearing his story, could not help embracing the new religion. I secretly ex- ulted at hearing his proposal, so evidently the result of Christian principle, and exhorted him to constant self-exami- nation and prayer, as the means of discovering his own duty and the divine will. 44 April 16, Lord's day. Early in the morning the teacher, Moung Shwa-gnong, came in, after an absence of just a month. H.e was soon followed by Oo Yan and his two friends. They spent the whole day with me. All appear hopeful. The teacher remained, as usual, after the others had left, and thereby afforded me an opportunity for private conversation. He admitted that all his objections to positive commands were removed, and that it was his desire to be a full ', who sat by his side, and who always, from this time, continued my firm friend, instantly said, ' Very true ; what else could she have done ? I like such straightforward con- duct; you must not,' turning to the governor, ' be angry with her.' I then presented the governor with a beautiful opera- glass I had just received from England, and begged his anger at me would not influence him to treat the prisoners with unkindness, and I would endeavor from time to time to make him such presents as would compensate for his loss. 4 You may intercede for your husband only ; for your sake he shall remain where he is; but let the other prisoners take care of themselves.' I pleaded hard for Dr. Price ; but he would not listen, and, the same day, had him returned to the inner prison, where lie remained ten days. He was then taken out, in consequence of the doctor's promising a piece of broadcloth, and my Bending two pieces of handkerchiefs. "About this period, I was one day summoned to the Lut- d'hau, in an official way. What new evil was before me I knew not, but was obliged to go. When arrived, I was al- 300 THE EARNEST MAN. lowed to stand at the bottom of the stairs, as no female is permitted to ascend the steps, or even to stand, but sit on the ground. Hundreds were collected around. The officer who presided, in an authoritative voice, began : ' Speak the truth in answer to the questions I shall ask. If you speak true, no evil will follow ; but if not, your life will not be spared. It is reported that you have committed to the care of a Burmese officer a string of pearls, a pair of diamond ear- rings, and a silver teapot. Is it true ? ' ' It is not/ I replied ; ' and if you or any other person can produce these articles, I refuse not to die.' The officer again urged the necessity of ' speaking true.' I told him I had nothing more to say on the subject, but begged he would use his influence to obtain the release of Mr. Judson from prison. " I returned to the house with a heart much lighter than I went, though conscious of my perpetual exposure to such harassments. Notwithstanding the repulse I had met in my application to the queen, I could not remain without making continual effort for your brother's release, while there was the least probability of success. Time after time, my visits to the queen's sister-in-law were repeated, till she refused to answer a question, and told me by her looks I had better keep out of her presence. For the seven following months, hardly a day passed that I did not visit some one of the mem- bers of government, or branches of the royal family, in order to gain their influence in our behalf; but the only benefit resulting was, their encouraging promises preserved us from despair, and induced a hope of the speedy termination of our difficulties, which enabled us to bear our distresses better than we otherwise should have done. I ought, however, to men- tion that, by my repeated visits to the diiferent members of government, I gained several friends, who were ready to assist me with articles of food, though in a private manner, and who used their influence in the palace to destroy the SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 301 impression of our being in any way engaged in the present war. Bnt no one dared to speak a word to the king or queen in favor of a foreigner, while there were such continual re- ports of the success of the English arms. " During these seven months, the continual extortions and oppressions to which your brother and the other white pris- oners were subject are indescribable. Sometimes sums of money were demanded, sometimes pieces of cloth, and hand- kerchiefs ; at other times an order would be issued that the white foreigners should not speak to each other, or have any communication with their friends without. Then, again, the servants were forbidden to carry in their food without an extra fee. Sometimes, for days and days together, I could not go into the prison till after dark, when I had two miles to walk in returning to the house. O, 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 which you and Dea- con L. provided for me in Boston, and endeavored to invent some new scheme for the release of the prisoners. Some- times, for a moment or two, my thoughts would glance to- wards America, and my beloved friends there ; but for nearly a year and a half, so entirely engrossed was every thought with present scenes and sufferings, that I seldom reflected on a -ingle occurrence of my former life, or recollected that I had a friend in existence out of Ava. " You, my dear brother, who know my strong attachment to my friends, and how much pleasure I have liitherto expe- rienced from retrospect, can judge from the above cir- cumstances how intense were my sufferings. But the point, me <»(* 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 ex- 302 THE EARNEST MAN. istence, in the tyrannic hands of some unfeeling 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 oppression never enters. But how have I digressed from my relation ! I will again return. " The war was now prosecuted with all the energy the Burmese government possessed. New troops were continu- ally raised and sent down the river, and as frequent reports returned of their being all cut off. But that part of the Bur- mese army stationed in Arracan, under the command of Ban- doola, had been more successful. Three hundred prisoners, at one time, were sent to the capital, as an evidence of the victory that had been gained. The king began to think that none but Bandoola understood the art of fighting with for- eigners ; consequently, his majesty recalled him, with the design of his taking command of the army that had been sent to Rangoon. On his arrival at Ava, he was received at court in the most ilattering manner, and was the recipient of every favor in the power of the king and queen to bestow. He was, in fact, while at Ava, the acting king. I was resolved to apply to him for the release of the missionaries, though some members of government advised me not, lest he, being re- minded of their existence, should issue an immediate order for their execution. But it was my last hope, and, as it proved, my last application. " Your brother wrote a petition privately, stating every cir- cumstance that would have a tendency to interest him in our behalf. With fear and trembling I approached him, while surrounded by a crowd of flatterers ; and one of his secreta- ries took the petition, and read it aloud. After hearing it, he spoke to me in an obliging manner, asked several ques- tions relative to the teachers, v said he would think of the sub- ject, and bade me come again. I ran to the prison to com- SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 303 municate the favorable reception to Mr. Judson ; and we both had sanguine hopes that his release was at hand. But the governor of the city expressed his amazement at my temerity, and said he doubted not it would be the means of destroying all the prisoners. In a day or two, however, I went again, and took a present of considerable value. Ban- doola was not at home ; but his lady, after ordering the pres- ent to be taken into another room, modestly -informed me that she was ordered by her husband to make the following communication: that he was now very busily employed in making preparations for Rangoon ; but that when he had re- taken that place, and expelled the English, he would return and release all the prisoners. 4 * Thus, again, were all our hopes dashed ; and we felt that we could do nothing more, but sit down and submit to our lot. From this time we gave up all idea of being released from prison till the termination of the war; but I was still obliged to visit constantly some of the members of govern- ment, with little presents, particularly the governor of the city, for the purpose of making the situation of the prisoners tolerable. I generally spent the greater part of every other day at the governor's house, giving him minute information relative to American manners, customs, government, &c. He used to be so much gratified with my communications, as to feel greatly disappointed if any occurrence prevented my spending the usual hours at his house. " Some months after your brother's imprisonment, I was permitted to make a little bamboo room in the prison inclos- ure, where he could be much by himself, and where I was sometimes allowed to spend two or three hours. It so hap- pened, that the two months he occupied this place, were the coldest of the year, when he would have suffered much in the open shed he had previously occupied. After the birth of your little niece, I was unable to visit the prison and the 304 THE EARNEST MAN. governor as before, and found I had lost considerable influ- ence, previously gained ; for he was not so forward to hear my petitions, when any difficulty occurred, as he formerly had been. When Maria was nearly two months old, her father one morning sent me word that he and all the white prisoners were put into the inner prison, in five pairs of fet- ters each ; that his little room had been torn down, and his mat, pillow, &c, been taken by the jailers. This was to me a dreadful shock, as I thought at once it was only a prelude to greater evils. " I should have mentioned before this the defeat of Ban- doola, his escape to Dan-a-byoo, the complete destruction of his army, and loss of ammunition, and the consternation this intelligence produced at court. The English army had left Rangoon, and were advancing towards Prome, when these severe measures were taken with the prisoners. " I went immediately to the governor's house. He was not at home, but had ordered his wife to tell me, when I came, not to ask to have the additional fetters taken off, or the prisoners released, for it could not be done. I went to the prison gate, but was forbidden to enter. All was as still as death — not a white face to be seen, or a vestige of Mr. Jud- son's little room remaining. I was determined to see the governor, and know the cause of this additional oppression ; and for this purpose returned into town the same evening, at an hour I knew he would be at home. He was in his audience-room, and, as I entered, looked up without speak- ing, but exhibited a mixture of shame and affected anger in his countenance. I began by saying : ' Your lordship has hitherto treated us with the kindness of a father. Our obli- gations to you are very great. We have looked to you for protection from oppression and cruelty. You have in many instances mitigated the sufferings of those unfortunate though innocent beings committed to your charge. You have prom- SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 305 ised me particularly that you would stand by me to the last ; and though you should receive an order from the king, you would not put Mr. Judson to death. What crime has he committed to deserve such additional punishment?' The old man's hard heart was melted, for he wept like a child. ' I pity you, Tsa-yah-ga-dau ' — a name by which he always called me ; 4 1 knew you would make me feel : I therefore forbade your application. But you must believe me when I say I do not wish to increase the sufferings of the prisoners. When I am ordered to execute them, the least that I can do is, to put them out of sight. I will now tell you,' continued he, ■ what I have never told you before, — that three times I have received intimations from the queen's brother to assas- sinate all the white prisoners privately; but I would not do it. And I now repeat it, though I execute all the others, I will never execute your husband. But I cannot release him from his present confinement, and you must not ask it.' I had never seen him manifest so much feeling, or so resolute in denying me a favor, which circumstance was an additional reason for thinking dreadful scenes were before us. u The situation of the prisoners was now distressing be- yond description. It was at the commencement of the hot season. There Were above a hundred prisoners shut up in one room, without a breath of air excepting from the cracks in the boards. I sometimes obtained permission to go to the door for five minutes, when my heart sickened at the wretch- edness exhibited. The white prisoners, from incessant per- spiration and loss of appetite, looked more like the dead than the living. I made daily applications to the governor, offer- ing him money, which he refused ; but all that I gained was permission for the foreigners to eat their food outside, and this continued but a short time. " It was at this period that the death of Bandoola was an- nounced in the palace. The king heard it with silent amaze- 20 306 THE EARNEST MAN. ment, and the queen, in eastern style, smote upon her breast, and cried : 'Ama ! ama ! < (alas ! alas !) Who could be found to fill his place ? Who would venture, since the invincible Bandoola had been cut off? Such were the exclamations constantly heard in the streets of Ava. The common people were speaking low of a rebellion, in case more troops should be levied. For, as yet, the common people had borne the weight of the war ; not a tical had been taken from the roy- al treasury. At length the pakan woon, who a few months before had been so far disgraced by the king, as to be thrown into prison and irons, now offered himself to head a new army that should be raised on a different plan from those which had hitherto been raised, and assured the king, in the most confident manner, that he would conquer the English, and restore those places that had been taken, in a very short time. He proposed that every soldier should re- ceive a hundred ticals in advance, and he would obtain security for each man, as the money was to pass through his hands. It was afterwards found that he had taken, for his own use, ten ticals from every hundred. He was a man of enterprise and talents, though a violent enemy to all foreign- ers. His offers were accepted by the king and government, and all power immediately committed to him. One of the first exercises of his power was, to arrest Lanciego and the Portuguese priest, who had hitherto remained unmolested, and cast them into prison, and to subject the native Portu- guese and Bengalees to the most menial occupations. The whole town was in alarm, lest they should feel the effects of his power ; and it was owing to the malignant representations of this man, that the white prisoners suffered such a change in their circumstances as I shall soon relate. "After continuing in the inner prison for more than a month, your brother was taken with a fever. I felt assured he would not live long, unless removed from that noisome SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 307 place. To effect this, and in order to be near the prison, I removed from our house, and put up a small bamboo room in the governor's inelosure, which was nearly opposite the prison gate. Bere I incessantly begged the governor to give m<- an order to take Mr. Judson out of the large prison, and place him in a more comfortable situation; and the old man, being worn out with my entreaties, at length gave me the order in an Official form, and also gave orders to the head jailer to allow me to go in and out, all times of the day, to administer medicines, &<■. I now felt happy indeed, and had Mr. Jud-on instantly removed into a little, bamboo hovel, so low that neither of us could stand upright — but a palace in companion with the place he had left. M Notwithstanding the order the governor had given for my admittance into prison, it was with the greatest diflieulty that I could persuade the under jailer to open the gate. I earn Mr; Judson's food myself, for the sake of getting in, and wonld then remain an hour or two, unless driven out. We had been in this comfortable situation but two or three days, until, one morning, having carried in Mr. Judson's breakfast, which, in consequence of fever, he was unable to take, I remained lunger than usual, when the governor, in great haste, sent tor me. I promised to return as soon as I had ascertained the governor's will, he being much alarmed at this annsaal message. I was very agreeably disappointed when the governor informed me that he only wished to con- sult me about his watch, and seemed unusually pleasant and conversable. I found afterwards that his only object was to detain me until the dreadful scene about to take place in the prison was over. For when I left him to go to my room, one of the servants came running, and, with a ghastly coun- tenance, informed me. that all the white prisoners were car- ried away. I would not believe the report, and instantly went back to the governor, who said he had just heard of it, 308 THE EARNEST MAN. but did not wish to tell me. I hastily ran into the street, hoping to get a glimpse of them before they were out of sight, but in this was disappointed. I ran first into one street, then another, inquiring of all I met; but no one would answer me. At length an old woman told me the white prisoners had gone towards the little river; for they were to be carried to Amarapoora. I then ran to the banks of the # little river, about half a mile, but saw them not, and con- cluded the old woman had deceived me. Some of the friends of the foreigners went to the place of execution, but found them not. I then returned to the governor, to try to discover the cause of their removal, and the probability of their fu- ture fate. The old man assured me that he was ignorant of the intention of government to remove the foreigners till that morning; that, since I went out, he had learned that the prisoners were to be sent to Amarapoora, but for what pur- pose-he knew not. 'I will send off" a man immediately,' said " he, ' to see what is to be done with them. You can do noth- ing more for your husband,' continued he ; ' take care of yourself' With a heavy heart I went to my room, and hav- ing no hope to excite me to exertion, I sank down almost in despair. For several days previous, I had been actively en- gaged in building my own little room, and making our hovel comfortable. My thoughts had been almost entirely occu- pied in contriving means to get into prison. But now, I looked towards the gate with a kind of melancholy feeling, but no wish to enter. All was the stillness of death ; no preparation of your brother's food ; no expectation of meet- ing him at the usual dinner hour ; all my employment, all my occupations, seemed to have ceased, and I had nothing left but the dreadful recollection that Mr. Judson was carried off, I knew not whither. It was one of the most insupport- able days I ever passed. Towards night, however, I came to the determination to set off the next morning for Amara- SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 309 poora, and for this purpose was obliged to go to our house out of town. \ er before had I suffered so much from fear in trav- ersing the streets of Ava. The last words of the governor, care of yourself,' made me suspect there was some design with which I was unacquainted. I saw, also, he was afraid to have me go into the streets, and advised me to wait till dark, when he would send me in a cart, and a man to open t . I took two or three trunks of the most val- uable article.-, together with the medicine chest, to deposit in the house of the governor ; and after committing the house and prnnises to our laithful Moung Ing and a Bengalee ser- vant, who continued with us, though we were unable to pay I took leave, as 1 then thought probable, of our house in Ava ibrewr. 44 On mv return to the governor's, I found a servant of Mr. « , who happened to be near the prison when the ibr- were led out, and followed on to see the end, who informed me that the prisoners had been carried before the laniiiic-woon, at Aniarapoora, and were to be sent the next day to a village he knew not how tar distant. My distress was a little relieved by the intelligence that our friend was yet aUve ; but still I kuew not what was to become of him. The next morning I obtained a pass from government, and, with mv little Maria, who was then only three months old, Mary and Abby Ilasseltine, two of the Burnian children, and our Bengalee cook, who was the only one of the party that could afford me any assistance, I set off for Aniarapoora. The day was dreadfully hot; but we obtained a covered boat, in which we were tolerably comfortable, till within two miles of the government house. I then procured a cart; but the violent motion, together with the dreadful heat and dust, made me almost distracted. But what was my disappoint- ment, on my arriving at the court house, to find that the pris- 310 THE EARNEST MAN. soners had been sent on two hours before, and that I must go in that uncomfortable mode, four miles further, -with little Maria in my arms, whom I held all the way from Ava. The cartman refused to go any further ; and, after waiting an hour in the burning sun, I procured another, and set off for that never-to-be-forgotten place, Oung-pen-la. I obtained a guide from the governor, and was conducted directly to the prison yard. But what a scene of wretchedness was pre- sented to my view ! The prison was an old, shattered build- ing, without a roof; the fence was entirely destroyed ; eight or ten Burmese were on the top of the building, trying to make something like a shelter with leaves; while under a little low projection outside of the prison, sat the foreigners, chained together two and two, almost dead with suffering and fatigue. The first words of your brother were : ' Why have you come ? I hoped you would not follow, for you cannot live here.' It was now dark. I had no refreshment for the suffering prisoners, or for myself, as I had expected to pro- cure all that was necessary at the market of Amarapoora ; and I had no shelter for the night. I asked one of the jail- ers if I might put up a little bamboo house near the prison. He said no, it was not customary. I then begged he would procure me a shelter for the night, when, on the morrow, I could find some place to live in. He took me to his house, in which there were only two small rooms ; one in which he and his family lived ; the other, which was then half full of grain, he offered to me ; and in that little filthy place, I spent the next six months of wretchedness. I procured some half- boiled water, instead of my tea, and, worn out with fatigue, laid myself down on a mat spread over the paddy, and en- deavored to obtain a little refreshment from sleep. The next morning your brother gave me the following account of the brutal treatment he had received on being taken out of prison. SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 311 "As soon as I had pone out at the call of the governor, one of the jailors rushed into Mr. Judson's little room, rough* ly seized him by the arm, pulled him out, stripped him of all his clothes excepting shirt and pantaloons, took his shoes, hat, and all his bedding, tore off his chains, tied a rope round his waist, and dragged him to the court house, where the other prisoners had previously been taken. They were then tied two and two, and delivered into the hands of the lamine- woon, who went on before them on horseback, while his 1 1 rove the prisoners, one of the slaves holding the rope which connected two of them together. It was in May, one of the hottest months in the year, and eleven o'clock in the day, so that the sun was intolerable indeed. They had pro- ceeded only half a mile, when your brother's feet became blistered ; and so great was his agony, even at this early period, that M they were crossing the little river, he ardently lofegfed to throw himself into the water, to be free from mis- ery. But the sin attached to such an act alone prevented. They had then eight miles to walk. The sand and gravel were like burning coals to the feet of the prisoners, which soon became perfectly destitute of skin ; and in this wretch- ed state they were goaded on by their unfeeling drivers. Mr. Judson's debilitated state, in consequence of fever, and having taken no food that morning, rendered him less capa- ble of bearing such hardships than the other prisoners. When about half way on their journey, as they stopped for water, your brother begged the laminc-woon to allow him to ride his horse a mile or two, as he could proceed no further in that dreadful state. But a scornful, malignant look was all the reply that was made, lie then requested Captain Laird, who was tied with him, and who was a strong, healthy man, to allow him to take hold of his shoulder, as he was fast sinking. This the kind-hearted man granted for a mile or two, but then found the additional burden insupportable. 312 THE EARNEST MAN. Just at that period, Mr. Gouger's Bengalee servant came up to them, and, seeing the distresses of your brother, took off his head-dress, which was made of cloth, tore it in two, gave half to his master, and half to Mr. Judson, which he instant- ly wrapped round his wounded feet, as they were not al- lowed to rest even for a moment. The servant then offered his shoulder to Mr. Judson, who was almost carried by him the remainder of the way. Had it not been for the support and assistance of this man, your brother thinks he should have shared the fate of the poor Greek, who was one of their number, and, when taken out of prison that morning, was in perfect health. But he was a corpulent man, and the sun affected him so much, that he fell down on the way. His in- human drivers beat and dragged him until they themselves were wearied, when they procured a cart, in which he was carried the remaining two miles. But the poor creature ex- pired in an hour or two after their arrival at the court house. The lamine-woon, seeing the distressing state of the prison- ers, and that one of their number was dead, concluded they should go no further that night; otherwise they would have been driven on until they reached Oung-pen-la the same day. An old shed was appointed for their abode during the night, but without even a mat or pillow, or any thing to cover them. The curiosity of the lamine-woon's wife induced her to make a visit to the prisoners, whose wretchedness consid- erably excited her compassion, and she ordered some fruit, sugar, and tamarinds for their refreshment ; and the next morning rice was prepared for them, and, poor as it was, it was refreshing to the prisoners, who had been almost desti- tute of food the day before. Carts were also provided for their conveyance, as none of them were able to walk. All this time, the foreigners were entirely ignorant of what was to become of them ; and when they arrived at Oung-pen-la, and saw the dilapidated state of the prison, they immediately, SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 313 all as one, concluded that they were there to be burned, \JtAj to the report which had previously been in circu- lation at Ava. They all endeavored to prepare themselves tor the awful soeme anticipated rand it was not until they saw preparations making for repairing the prison, that they had the least doubt that a cruel, lingering death awaited them. My arrival was in an hour or two after this. " Tin- next moming, I arose, and endeavored to find some- thing like food. But there was no market, and nothing to be procured. One of Dr. Price's friends, however, brought old rke and v eg e tab le curry from Amarapoora, which, •r with a cup of tea from Mr. Lanciego, answered for the breakfast of the prisoners; and lor dinner we made a curry of dried salt fish, which a servant of Mr. (iougcr had brought All the money I could command in the world I night with me, secreted alniut my person ; so you may what our prospects were, in case the war should con- tinue long. But our heavenly Father was better to us than our fears; for, notwithstanding the constant extortions of the jailers during the whole six months we were at Oung-pen-la, and the frequent straits to which we were brought, we never really ^ullered lor the want of money, though frequently for of provisions, which were not procurable. Here at this place my personal bodily sufferings commenced. While your brother was confined in the city prison, I had been allowed to remain in our house, in which I had my cdnven- left, and my health had continued good beyond all expectations. But now I had not a single article of conven- ience — not even a chair or a seat of any kind, excepting a bamboo floor. The very morning after my arrival, Mary sine was taken wi;h the smallpox, the natural way. She, though \cry young, was the only assistant T had in tak- ;e of little Maria. But she now required all the time I could spare from Mr. Judson, whose fever still continued, 314 THE EARNEST MAN. in prison, and whose feet were so dreadfully mangled that for several days he was unable to move. I knew not what to do, for I could procure no assistance from the neighbor- hood, or medicine for the sufferers, but was all day long going backwards and forwards from the house to the prison with little Maria in my arms. Sometimes I was greatly re- lieved by leaving her for an hour, when asleep, by the side of her father, while I returned to the house to look after Mary, whose fever ran so high as to produce delirium. She was so completely covered with the smallpox, that there was no distinction in the pustules. As she was in the same little room with myself, I knew Maria would take it ; I there- fore inoculated her from another child, before Mary's had arrived at such a state as to be infectious. At the same time, I inoculated Abby and the jailer's children, who all had it so lightly as hardly to interrupt their play. But the inoculation in the arm of my poor little Maria did not take ; she caught it of Mary, and had it the natural way. She was then only three months and a half old, and had been a most healthy child ; but it was above three months before she perfectly recovered from the effects of this dreadful dis- order. t " You will recollect I never had the smallpox, but was vaccinated previously to leaving America. In consequence of being for so long a time constantly exposed, I had nearly a hundred pustules formed, though no previous symptoms of fever, &c. The jailer's children having had the smallpox so lightly, in consequence of inoculation, my fame was spread all over the village, and every child, young and old, who had not previously had it, was brought for inoculation. And although I knew nothing about the disorder, or the mode of treating it, I inoculated them all with a needle, and told them to take care of their diet — all the instructions I could give them. Mr. Judson's health Avas gradually restored, and he 6UFFERINGS AT AVA. 315 found himself much more comfortably situated than when in the city prison. 44 The prisoners were at first chained two and two ; but as soon as the jailers could obtain chains sufficient, they were separated, and each prisoner had but one pair. The prison was repaired, a new fence made, and a large, airy shed i in front of the prison, where the prisoners were al- lowed to remain during the day, though locked up in the little close prison at night. All the children recovered from the smallpox ; but my watching! and fatigue, together with my miserable food, and more miserable lodgings, brought on one of the diseases of the country, which is almost always fatal to foreigners. My constitution seemed destroyed, and in a few days I became so weak as t6 be hardly able to walk to Mr. Judson's prison. In this debilitated state I set off in a cart lor Ava, to procure medicines and some suitable food, leaving the cook to supply my place. I reached the house ;y, and for two or three days the disorder seemed at a staud ; after which it attacked me so violently that I had no hopes of recovery left ; and my only anxiety now was, to return to Oung-pen-la, to die near the prison. It was with the greatest difficulty that I obtained the medicine chest from the governor, and then had no one to administer medicine. I, however, got at the laudanum, and by taking two drops at a for several hours, it so liir checked the disorder as to enable me to get on board a boat, though so weak that I could not stand, and again set off for Oung-pen-la. The last four miles was in that painful conveyance, the cart, and in the midst of the rainy season, when the mud almost buries the oxen. You may form some idea of a Burmese cart, when I tell you their wheels are not constructed like ours, but are simply round thick planks with a hole in the middle, through which a pole that supports the body, is thrust. "I just reached Oung-pen-la when my strength seemed 316 THE EARNEST MAN. entirely exhausted. The good native cook came out to help me into the house ; but so altered and emaciated was my appearance, that the poor fellow burst into tears at the first sight. I crawled on to the mat in the little room, to which I was confined for more than two months, and never perfectly recovered until I came to the English camp. At this period, when I was unable to take care of myself, or look after Mr. Judson, we must both have died, had it not been for the faithful and affectionate care of our Bengalee cook. A com- mon Bengalee cook will do nothing but the simple business of cooking ; but he seemed to forget his caste, and almost his own wants, in his efforts to serve us. He would provide, cook, and carry your brother's food, and then return and take care of me. I have frequently known him not to taste of food till near night, in consequence of having to go so far for wood and water, and in order to have Mr. Judson'-s dinner ready at the usual hour. He never complained, never asked for his wages, and never for a moment hesitated to go anywhere, or to perform any act we required. I take great pleasure in speaking of the faithful conduct of this servant who is still with us, and I trust has been well rewarded for his services. " Our dear little Maria was the greatest sufferer at this time, my illness depriving her of her usual nourishment, and neither a nurse nor a drop of milk could be procured in the village. By making presents to the jailers, I obtained leave for Mr. Judson to come out of prison, and take the emaciated creature around the village, to beg a little nourishment from those mothers who had young children. Her cries in the night were heart-rending, when it was impossible to supply her wants.. I now began to think the very afflictions of Job had come upon me. When in health, I could bear the va- rious trials and vicissitudes through which I was called to pass. But to be confined with sickness, and unable to assist those who were so dear to me, when in distress, was almost ^ SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 317 too much for me to bear ; and had it not been for the conso- lations of religion, and an assured conviction that every ad- ditional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I must have sunk under my accumulated su tie rings. Sometimes our jailers seemed a little softened at our distress, and for sev- eral days together, allowed Mr. Judson to come to the house, which was to me an unspeakable consolation. Then, again, they would be as iron-hearted in their demands as though •we were free from sufferings, and in affluent circumstances. The annoyance, the extortions, and oppressions, to which we were subject during our six months' residence in Oung-pen- la, are beyond enumeration or description. "It was some time after our arrival at Oung-pen-la that we heard of the execution of the pakan-woon, In consequence of whieh our lives were still preserved. For we afterwards ascertained tint the white foreigners had been sent to Oung- pen-la for the express purpose of sacrificing them ; and that he himself intended witnessing the horrid scene. We had frequently heard of his intended arrival at Oung-pen-la, but we 1ml no idea of his diabolical purposes. lie had raised an army of fifty thousand men, (a tenth part of whose advance pav was found in his house,) and expected to inarch against the English army in a short time, when he was suspected of high treason, and instantly executed without the least exam- ination. Perhaps no death in Ava ever produced such uni- versal rejoicings as that of the pakan-woon. We never, to this day, hear his name mentioned but with an epithet of reproach or hatred. Another brother of the king was ap- pointed to the command of the army now in readiness, but with no very sanguine expectations of success. Some weeks after the departure of these troops, two of the woon-gyecs were sent down for the purpose of negotiating. But not be- ing successful, the queen's brother, the acting king of the coun- try was prevailed on to go. Great expectations were raised 318 THE EARNEST MAN. in consequence ; but his cowardice induced him to encamp his detachment of the army at a great distance from the Eng- lish, and even at a distance from the main body of the Bur- mese army, whose head-quarters were then at Maloun. Thus he effected nothing, though reports were continually reach- ing us that peace was nearly concluded. " The time at length arrived for our release from the dreary scenes of Oung-pen-la. A messenger from our friend, the governor of the north gate of the palace, informed us that an order had been given, the evening before, in the palace, for Mr. Judson's release. On the same evening an official order arrived ; and, with a joyful heart, I set about preparing for our departure early the following morning. But an unex- pected obstacle occurred, which made us fear that I should still be retained as a prisoner. The avaricious jailers, un- willing to lose their prey, insisted that, as my name was not included in the order, I should not go. In vain I urged that I was not sent there as a prisoner, and that they had no authority over me ; they still determined I should not go, and forbade the villagers from letting me a cart. Mr. Jud- son was then taken out of prison, and brought to the jailers' house, where, by promises and threatenings, he finally gained their consent, on condition that we would leave the remain- ing part of our provisions we had recently received from Ava. It was noon before we were allowed to depart. When we reached Amarapoora, Mr. Judson was obliged to follow the guidance of the jailer, who conducted him to the gover- nor of the city. Having made all necessary inquiries, the governor appointed another guard, which conveyed Mr. Judson to the court house in Ava, at which place he arrived some time in the night. I took my own course, procured a boat, and reached our house before dark. " My first object, the next morning, was to go in search of your brother ; and I had the mortification to meet him again SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 319 in prison, though not the death prison. I went immedi- ately to my old friend, the governor of the city, who now was raised to the rank of a woon-gyee. He informed me that Mr. Judson was to be sent to the Burmese camp, to act as translator and interpreter; and that he was put in confine- ment for a short time only, till his affairs were settled. Early the following morning I went to this officer again, who told me that Mr. Judson had that moment received twenty ticals from government, with orders to go immediately on board a boat for Maloun, and that he had given him permis- sion to stop a few moments at the house, it being on his way. I hastened back to the house, where Mr. Judson soon arrived, but was allowed to remain only a short time, while I could prepare food and clothing for future use. He was crowded into a little boat, where he had not room sufficient to lie down, and where his exposure to the cold, damp nights threw him iuto a violent fever, which had nearly ended all his sufferings. He arrived at Maloun on the third day, where, ill as he was, > obliged to enter immediately on the work of translat- ing. He remained at Maloun six weeks, suifering as much as he had at any time in prison, excepting he was not in nor exposed to the insults of those cruel jailers. " For the first fortnight after his departure my anxiety was less than it had been at any time previously since the com- mencement of our difficulties. I knew the Burmese officers at the ramp would feel the value of Mr. Judson's services too much to allow their using any measures threatening his life. ] thought his situation, also, would be much more comfortable than it really was; hence my anxiety was less. But my health, which had never been restored since that violent at- tack at Oung-pen-la, now daily declined, till I was seized with the spotted fever, with all its attendant horrors. I knew the nature of the fever from its commencement; and, from the shattered state of my constitution, together with the 320 THE EARNEST MAN\ want of medical attendants, I concluded it must be fatal. The day I was taken with the fever, a Burmese nurse came and offered her services for Maria. This circumstance filled me with gratitude and confidence in God ; for, though I had so long and so constantly made efforts to obtain a person of this description, I had never been able ; when at the very time I most needed one, and without any exertion, a volun- tary offer was made. My fever raged violently, and with- out any intermission. I began to think of settling my worldly affairs, and of committing my dear little Maria to the care of a Portuguese woman, when I lost my reason, and was insen- sible to all around me. At this dreadful period, Dr. Price was released from prison, and hearing of my illness, obtained permission to come and see me. He has since told me that my situation was the most distressing he had ever witnessed, and that he did not then think I should survive many hours. My hair was shaved, my head and feet covered with blisters, and Dr. Price ordered the Bengalee servant who took care of me to endeavor to persuade me to take a little nourish- ment, which I had obstinately refused for several days. One of the first things I recollect was seeing this faithful servant standing by me, trying to induce me to take a little wine and water. I was, in fact, so far gone that the Burmese neigh- bors, who had come in^to see me expire, said, * She is dead; and if the King of angels should come in, he could not recover her.' " The fever, I afterwards understood, had run seventeen days when the blisters were applied. I now began to recover slowly, but it was more than a month after this before T had strength to stand. While in this weak, debilitated state, the servant who had followed your brother to the Burmese camp came in, and informed me that his master had arrived, and was conducted to the court house in town. I sent off a Bur- man to watch the movements of government, and to ascertain, SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 321 if possible, in what way Mr. Judson was to be disposed of. He soon returned with the sad intelligence that he saw Mr. Judson go out of the palace yard, accompanied by two or three Burmans, who conducted him to one of the prisons, and that it was reported in town that he was to be sent back to the Oung-pen-la prison. I was too weak to bear ill tidings ofanv'kind; but a shock so dreadful as this almost annihi- lated me. For some time I could hardly breathe, but at last gained sufficient composure to dispatch Moung Ing to our friend, the governor of the north gate, and begged him to make one more ejfort for the release of Mr. Judson, and pre- vent his being sent back to the country prison, where I knew hi must suffer much, as I could not follow. Moung Ing then went in search of Mr. Judson; anjl it was nearly dark when he found him, in the interior of an obscure prison. I had sent food early in the afternoon ; but being unable to find him, the bearer had returned with it, which added another pang to my distresses, as I feared he was already sent to Oung-pen-la. " If I ever felt the value and eflieacy 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 gftfll and powerful Being who has said, ' Call upon me in j Ik- day of trouble, and / /rill hear, and thou shalt glorify me/ and who made mo at this time feel so powerfully this promise became quite composed, feeling assured that my pray- ers would be answered. " When Mr. Judson was sent from Maloun to Ava, it was within five minutes' notice, and without his knowledge of the On his way up the river, he accidentally saw the communication made to government respecting him, which was simply this : ' We have no further use for Yudathan ; we therefore return him to the golden city.' On arriving at the court house, there happened to be no one present who 21 322 THE EARNEST MAN. was acquainted with Mr Judson. The presiding officer in- quired from what place he had been sent to Maloun. He was answered, from Oung-pen-la. ' Let him, then,' said the officer, l be returned thither ; ' when he was delivered to a guard and conducted to the place above mentioned, there to remain until he could be conveyed to Oung-pen-la. In the mean time, the governor of the north gate presented a peti- tion to the high court of the empire, offered himself as Mr. Judson's security, obtained his release, and took him to his house, where he treated him with considerable kindness, and to which I was removed as soon as returning health would allow. " The advance of the English army towards the capital at this time, threw the whole town into the greatest state of alarm, and convinced the government that some- speedy measures must be taken to save the golden city. They* had hitherto rejected all the overtures of Sir Archibald Camp- bell, imagining, until this late period, that they could in some way or other drive the English from the country. Mr. Jud- son and Dr. Price were daily called to the palace and con- sulted ; in fact, nothing was done without their approbation. Two English officers, also, who had lately been brought to Ava as prisoners, were continually consulted, and their good offices requested in .endeavoring to persuade the British gen- eral to make peace on easier terms. It was finally concluded that Mr. Judson and one of the officers above mentioned should be sent immediately to the English camp, in order to negotiate. The danger attached to a situation so responsible, under a government so fickle as the Burmese, induced your brother to use every means possible to prevent his being sent. Dr. Price was not only willing, but desirous of going. This circumstance Mr. Judson represented to the members of government, and begged he might not be compelled to go, as Dr. Price could transact the business equally as well as SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 323 himself. After some hesitation and deliberation. Dr. Price was appointed to accompany Dr. Sandford, one of the Eng- lish officers, on condition that Mr. Judson would stand secur- ity for his return ; while the other English officer, then in irons, should be security for Dr. Sandford. The king gave them a hundred deals each to bear their expenses, (twenty- five of which Dr. Sandford generously sent to Mr. Gouger, still a prisoner at Oung-pen-la,) boats, men, and a Burmese officer to accompany them, though he ventured no further than the Burman camp. With the most anxious solicitude the court waited the arrival of the messengers, but did not in the least relax in their exertions to fortify the city. Men and beasts were at work night and day, making new stockades and strengthening old ones; and whatever buildings were in their way, were immediately torn down. Our house, with all that surrounded it, was levelled to the ground, and our beautiful little compound turned into a road and a place for the erection of cannon. All articles of value were conveyed out of town, and safely deposited in some other place. " At length the boat in which the ambassadors had been vas seen approaching, a day earlier than was expected. As it advanced towards the city, the banks were lined by thousands, anxiously inquiring their success. But no answer was given , the government must first hear the news. The palace gates were crowded ; the officers at the lut-d'hau were seated, when Dr. Price made the following communication : 'The general and commissioners will make no alteration in their terms, except the hundred lacks [a lack is a hundred thousand] of rupees may be paid at four different times ; the first twenty-five lacks to be paid within twelve days, or the army will continue their march.' In addition to this, the prisoners were to be given up immediately. The general had commissioned Dr. Price to demand Mr. Judson, and myself, and little Maria. This was communicated to the 324 THE EARNEST MAN. king, who replied : ' They are not English ; they are my people, and shall not go.' At this time I had no idea that we should ever be released from Ava. The government had learned the value of your brother's services, having employed him the last three months ; and we both concluded that they would never consent to our departure. The foreigners were again called to a consultation, to see what could be done. Dr. Price and Mr. Judson told them plainly that the English would never make peace on any other terms than those of- fered ; and that it was in vain to go down again without the money. It was then proposed that a third part of the first sum demanded, should be sent down immediately. Mr. Jud- son objected, and still said it would be useless. Some of the members of government then intimated that it was probable the teachers were on the side of the English, and did not try to make them take a smaller sum ; and also threatened, if they did not make the English comply, they and their fami- lies should suffer. " In this interval, the fears of the government were con- siderably allayed by the offers of a general, by name Layar- thoo-yah, who desired to make one more attempt to conquer the English, and disperse them. He assured the king and government, that he could so fortify the ancient city of Pu- gan, as to make it impregnable, and that he would there de- feat and destroy the English. His offers were heard; he marched to Pugan with a very considerable force, and made strong the fortifications. But the English took the city with perfect ease, and dispersed the Burmese army ; while the general fled to Ava, and had the presumption to appear in the presence of the king, and demand new < troops. The king, being enraged that he had ever listened to him for a moment, in consequence of which the negotiation had been delayed, the English general provoked, and the troops daily advancing, ordered the general to be immediately executed. SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 325 The poor fellow was soon hurled from the palace, and beat all the way to the court house, when he was stripped of his rich apparel, bound with cords, and made to kneel and bow towards the palace. He was then delivered into the hands of the executioners, who, by their cruel treatment, put an end to his existence before they reached the place of exe- cution. " The king caused it to be reported that this general was executed in consequence of disobeying his commands, * not tojight the English.' " Dr. Price was sent off the same night, with part of the prisoners, and with instructions to persuade the general to take six lacks, instead of twenty-five. He returned in two or three days, with the appalling intelligence that the Eng- lish general was very angry, refused to have any communi- cation with him, and was now within a few days' march of the capital. The queen was greatly alarmed, and said the money should be raised immediately, if the English would only stop their march. The whole palace was in motion ; gold and silver vessels were melted up ; the king and queen superintended the weighing of a part of it, and were deter- mined, if possible, to save their city. The silver was ready ill the boats by the next evening; but they had so little con- fidence in the English, that, after all their alarm, they con- eluded to send down six lacks only, with the assurance that, if th.' English would stop where they then were, the remain- der should be forthcoming immediately. " The government now did not even ask Mr. Judson the <[iu -st ion whether he would go or not; but some of the officers "took him by the arm, as he was walking in the street, and told him he must go immediately on board the boat, to ac- company two Burmese officers, a woon-gyee and woon-douk, who were going down to make peace. Most of the English prisoners were sent at the same time. The general and 326 THE EARNEST MAN. commissioners would not receive the six lacks, neither would they stop their march ; but promised, if the sum complete reached them before they should arrive at Ava, they would make peace. The general also commissioned Mr. Judson to collect the remaining foreigners, of whatever country, and ask the question, before the Burmese government, whether they wished to go or stay. Those who expressed a wish to go, should be delivered up immediately, or peace would not be made. " Mr. Judson reached Ava at midnight, had all the foreign- ers called the next morning, and the question asked. Some of the members of government said to him : ' You will not leave us ; you shall become a great man if you will remain.' He then secured himself from the odium of saying that he wished to leave the service of his majesty, by recurring to the order of Sir Archibald, that whoever wished to leave Ava, should be given up, and that I had expressed a wish to go, so that he of course must follow. The remaining part of the twenty-five lacks was soon collected ; the prisoners at Oung-pen-la were all released, and either sent to their houses, or down the river to the English ; and in two days from the time of Mr. Judson's return, we took an affection- ate leave of the good-natured officer who had so long enter- tained us at his house, and who now accompanied us to the water side, and we then left forever the banks of Ava. " It was on a cool, moonlight evening, in the month of March, that, with hearts filled with gratitude to God, and overflowing with joy at our prospects, we passed down the Irrawady, surrounded by six or eight golden boats, and ac- companied by all we had on earth. The thought that we* had still to pass the Burman camp, would sometimes occur to damp our joy, for we feared that some obstacle might there arise to retard our progress. Nor were we mistaken in our conjectures. We reached the camp about midnight, where SUFFERINGS AT AVA. 827 we were detained two hours ; the woon-gyee and high of- ficers insisting that tee should wait at the camp, while Dr. Price, who did not return to Ava with your brother, but re- BMUBed at the camp, should go on with the money, and first ascertain whether peace would be made. The Burmese government still entertained the idea that, as soon as the English had received the money and prisoners, they would continue their march, and yet destroy the capital. We knew not but that some circumstance might occur to break otr the negotiations. Mr. Judson therefore strenuously in- sisted that he would not remain, but go on immediately. The olficers were finally prevailed on to consent, hoping nnuli from Mr. Judson's assistance in making peace. *• We now, for the first time for more than a year and a half, felt that we were free, and no longer subject to the op- e yoke of the Burmese. And with what sensations of delight, on the next morning, did I behold the masts of unboat, the sure presage of being within the bounds of civilized life 1 As soon as our boat reached the shore, Brigadier A. and another officer came on board, congratu- lated us on our arrival, and invited us on board the steam- boat, where I passed the remainder of the day ; while your brother went on to meet the general, who, with a detachment of the army, had encamped at Yandabo, a few miles further down the river. Mr. Judson returned in the evening, with an invitation from Sir Archibald to come immediately to his quarters, where I was the next morning introduced, and re- ceived with the greatest kindness by the general, who had a tent pitched for us near his own, took us to his own table, and treated us with the kindness of a father, rather than as strangers of another country. 44 We feel that our obligations to General Campbell can never be cancelled. Our final release from Ava, and our recovering all the property that had there been taken, was 328 THE EARNEST MAN. owing entirely to his efforts. His subsequent hospitality, and kind attention to the accommodations for our passage to Ran- goon, have left an impression on our minds, which can never be effaced. We daily received the congratulation of the British officers, whose conduct towards us formed a striking contrast to that of the Burmese. I presume to say that no persons on earth were ever happier than we were during the fortnight we passed at the English camp. For several days, this single idea wholly occupied my mind, — that we were out of the power of the Burmese government, and once more under the protection of the English. Our feel- ings continually dictated expressions like these : What shall we render to the Lord for all his benefits towards us? " The treaty of peace was soon concluded, signed by both parties, and a termination of hostilities publicly declared. We left Yandabo, after a fortnight's residence, and safely reached the mission house in Rangoon, after an absence of two years and three months." At the close of this tragic narrative, Mrs. Judson remarks : " This letter, dreadful as are the scenes herein described, gives you but a faint idea of the dreadful reality. The anguish, the agony of mind, re- sulting from a thousand little circumstances, impossible to be delineated on paper, can be known by those only who have been in similar circumstances." Twenty- years after, Dr. Judson spoke of the horrors of this period as too terrible to be related in full ; and said that when ill or sad, the fearful images haunted him, even then. CHAPTER XIX. THE DESOLATED HOME. The close of the Burmese war marks the commence- ment of the second period of the mission. On the return of Mr. and Mrs. Judson to Rangoon, after their release from Ava, they found the mission house in ruins, the little church dispersed, and such a state of alarm and confusion from the rising among the native Peguans, who had seized the favorable moment for as- serting their independence, that it was evident the mis- sion could not at present be reconstructed in Rangoon. Had other circumstances been favorable, the decided refusal of the emperor to grant religious toleration, would have allowed little hope of success to such an attempt. On the other hand, the Tenasserim provinces, which had been ceded to the British, presented an opportu- nity for a new establishment under the most favorable auspices. Here were the same races, the same lan- guage, as in Burmah proper. Under the protecting 330 THE EARNEST MAN. arm of British rule, they could prosecute openly, and on the largest scale their means would admit, all the departments of missionary labor, and it would be im- possible for the utmost vigilance of the emperor to prevent the influence from spreading into his domin- ions. The continual intercourse on the frontier would inevitably extend the spirit of inquiry. Tracts, those silent little messengers, so peculiarly adapted to the character of the Burman mind, would find their way by thousands across the dividing line, and steal along the watercourses, and over the hills and , valleys, into the very heart of the country. The native missionary, too, might occasionally venture into the wild jungles and remote villages, to proclaim the words of salvation. All these advantages were heightened by the personal relations of Mr. Judson to the Bengal government, and to its officers in Burmah. Far different, truly, were these relations from those in which he stood only thir- teen years before, when he stole, a midnight fugitive, through the streets of Calcutta. The capital of the lately acquired provinces would naturally be the seat of the new mission ; and accord- ingly Mr. Judson gladly accepted the invitation of Mr. Crawford, commissioner of the governor-general, to ac- company him, early in April, on an exploring tour for selecting a site. The tone of his journal, while absent, THE DESOLATED HOME. 331 shows a spirit unsubdued by suffering, ready to enter, with youthful alacrity, on new scenes of responsibility and toil. There is a springing buoyancy in his brief descriptions of the events of the short voyage, and of the natural scenery and various objects of interest on the way — like that of one to whom the sense of free- dom, and the glad sights of nature, were still a delight- ful novelty. The result of the expedition was the selection of Kyaikamee, a port at the mouth of the Salwen, pro- tected on the south by a bold promontory, and furnish- ing good anchorage about one hundred and fifty yards from the shore. On the 6th of April, the civil and military authorities took possession of this place, in the name of the king, and of the Honorable East India Company, by appropriate ceremonies, and gave to it, in honor of the governor-general, the name of Am- In conclusion, the sixtieth chapter of Isaiah was read, and prayer was offered by Dr. Judson. It must have been to him an hour rich with strange mem- ories, with profound gratitude and exulting hope. Be- hind him towered the lofty headland, on whose seaward verge rose, in decaying grandeur, a temple of Gau- dama ; above his head floated the royal flag of Eng- land, and around him stood, with heads uncovered, and in reverent silence, the representatives of British sov- 332 THE EARNEST MAN. ereignty in India, while he solemnly consecrated this new centre of its power to the worship and glory of the King of kings. His friend, Mr. Crawford,' has recorded his admiring recollection of the beauty and appropriateness of this prayer ; but probably no one of the listeners fully appreciated the far-reaching sig- nificance of the occasion to his own mind. On his return to J&angoon, Mr. and Mrs. Judson concluded to become the first settlers in the new town. The old zayat, endeared by so many recollections, was taken down, that the boards might be forwarded to Amherst for the erection of a temporary shelter during the approaching rains. But before this could be ef- fected, there came a new interruption of their mission- ary plans. The treaty of Yandabo contained the stipulation for an additional commercial treaty, the terms of which were left to be subsequently settled. These the Ben- gal government wished to make mutually advantageous to the two countries. Mr. Crawford, having been ap- pointed envoy to the Burman court for the adjustment of this business, importuned Dr. Judson to accompany him. After repeatedly declining the proposal,* he was at length induced to comply by a pledge, on the * He had already declined the situation of government interpreter, •with a salary of three thousand dollars. THE DESOLATED HOME. 333 part of Mr. Crawford, to do his utmost for securing in the treaty an article in favor of religious toleration. Mra. Judson earnestly advised the step, as one of great importance to the mission. This being decided, he removed his family near the close of June to Amherst, where several of the native converts had already gone in anticipation of his com- ing, and had, in Mr. Judson's words, "built the first native houses that encroached on the native jungle, and disturbed the deer and wild fowl, who had been the undisputed occupants of the peninsula." A village of some fifty houses, mostly native, and the military cantonments and officers' houses, about a mile distant, had somewhat subdued the inhospitable aspect of Am- herst, and insured to Mrs. Judson a comfortable and secure residence during his absence. Captain Fen- wick, civil superintendent of the place, immediately vacated, for her accommodation, a house which he had put up for his own temporary use, and exerted himself in every way to make her situation pleasant. Just before her husband's departure, a present of three hundred rupees, from a benevolent friend, fur- nished Mrs. Judson with the means of putting up a small mission house, and gathering a school. Every tiling, to her view, wore a bright and promising aspect, and she bade her husband farewell with cheerfulness, 334 THE EARNEST MAN. in the confident hope of a speedy reunion within three or four months. He left Amherst on the 5th of July ; but being de- tained at Rangoon for the final orders from Bengal, did not leave that place till September 1, for Ava, where they arrived on the 30th. Three weeks then elapsed before an interview could be obtained with the em- peror; and when, at length, that haughty personage condescended to be seen by a British envoy, it was in an exceedingly sulky humor. Nothing of any value could be secured, even for commercial objects ; and all talk about religious toleration was found to be out of the question. A whole month was thus spent in tedi- ous and useless negotiations, in conducting which, Mr. Judson was obliged constantly to act the wearisome part of interpreter, feeling all the time that the inter- ests dearest to himself were suffering deplorably by his absence. On the 23d of November the long-protracted nego- tiation was brought to an end, by the signing of the treaty, and Mr. Judson began to exult in the prospect of a speedy return to his beloved home, and his long suspended missionary labors. On the 24th, a letter from the assistant superintendent of Amherst brought the tidings that Mrs. Judson was no more ! His feelings, under this most unexpected and over- THE DESOLATED HOME. 335 whelming affliction, can only be fitly given in his own language : — To his Sister. Ava, December 7, 1826. "Weep with me, my dear sister and parents, for my beloved wife is no more. She died at Amherst, the 24th of October last, of remittent fever, and is buried near the spot where she first landed ; and " they have put up a small, rude fence around the grave, to protect it from incautious intrusion." There lies, inclosed in a coffin, the form of her I so much loved — the wife of my youth, the source and centre of my domestic happiness. She had just built a small house, and moved into it three weeks before she was taken ill ; and she writes : " May God preserve and bless you, and restore you in safety to your old and new home, is the prayer of your affectionate Ann." Alas ! the new home only remains for me ; my old home is broken up forever. Even little Maria is too young to recog- nize her papa ; and, before I see her, will have forgotten her mamma, who loved her so much, and took such care of her. Ah, little, ungrateful babe, who will ever love you like your own mamma, whom you have so soon forgotten ? Let us go, my child, to her grave, and plant some flowers there, and water them with our tears, and wait for her resurrection at the last day ; for her spirit has been conveyed by angels to Abraham's bosom, and is now existing in paradise with the spirits of the just made perfect. And she will come again, and resume the form which now moulders in the grave. Then she will be bright as the sun, beautiful as an angel, immortal as the Saviour. And all of us who are entitled to immortality by a union to the same immortal Head, will live together with her in the enjoyment of everlasting life. We will not, then, mourn as those who have no hope ; 336 THE EARNEST MAN. " for, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." Yet, notwithstanding the consolations of the gospel, grief claims its right, and tears their course ; and I must subscribe myself, Your brother, in the deepest sorrow, A. Judson, Jr. Amherst, February 4, 1827. Amid the desolation that death has made, I take up my pen once more, to address the mother of my beloved Ann. I am sitting in the house she built, in the room where she breathed her last, and at a window from which I see the tree, that stands at the head of her grave, and the top of the " small, rude fence" which they have put up " to protect it from incautious intrusion." Mr. and Mrs. Wade are living in the house, having arrived here about a month after Ann's death ; and Mrs. Wade has taken charge of my poor motherless Maria. I was unable to get any accounts of the child at Rangoon ; and it was only on my arriving here, the 24th ultimo, that I learned she was still alive. Mr. Wade met me at the landing-place ; and as I passed on to the house, one and another of the native Chris- tians came out ; and when they saw me, they began to weep. At length we reached the house ; and I almost expected to see my love coming out to meet me, as usual. But, no ; I saw only in the arms of Mrs. Wade a poor little puny child, who could not recognize her weeping father, and from whose infant mind had long been erased all recollection of the mother who loved her so much. She turned away from me in alarm ; and I, obliged to seek comfort 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 we THE DESOLATED HOME. 337 last knelt in prayer, and where we exchanged the parting kiss. The doctor who attended her has removed to another sta- tion ; and the only information I can obtain, is such as the native Christians are able to communicate. It seems that her head was much affected during her last days, and she said but little. She sometimes complained thus : " The teacher is long in coming ; and the new mis- sionaries 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 afraid I shall not be able to bear these pains. Tell the teacher that the disease was most violent, and I could not write ; tell him how I suffered and died ; tell him all that you see ; and take care of the house and things until he returns." When she was unable Jo notice any thing else, she would still call the child to her, and charge the nurse to be kind to it, and indulge it in every thing, until its father shall return. The last day or two, she lay almost senseless and motionless, on one side, her head reclining on her arm, her eyes closed; and at eight in the evening, with one exclamation of distress in the Burman language, she ceased to breathe. February 7. I have been on a visit to the physician who attended her in her illness. He has the character of a kind, attentive, and skilful practitioner; and his communications to me have been rather consoling. I am now convinced that every thing possible was done, and that, had I been present myself, I could not have essentially contributed to avert the fatal termination of the disease. The doctor was with her twice a day, and frequently spent the greater part of the night by her side. He says that, from the first attack of the fever, she was persuaded she should not recover ; but that her mind was uniformly tranquil and happy in the prospect of death. She only expressed occasional regret at leaving her child, 22 838 THE EARNEST MAN. and the native Christian schools, before her husband, or another missionary family, could arrive. The last two days she was free from pain. On her attention being roused by reiterated questions, she replied, " I feel quite well, only very weak." These were her last words. The doctor is decidedly of opinion that the fatal termina- tion of the fever is not to be ascribed to the localities of the new settlement, but chiefly to the weakness of her constitu- tion, occasioned by the severe privations and long-protracted sufferings she endured at Ava. O, with what meekness, and patience, and magnanimity, and Christian fortitude, she bore those sufferings ! And can I wish they had been less ? Can I sacrilegiously wish to rob her crown of a single gem ? Much she saw and suffered of the evil of this evil world, and eminently was she qualified to relish and enjoy the pure and holy rest into which she has entered. 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 perfect 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 presided, as ever, in this most afflicting dispensation. Faith decides that it is all right, and the decision of faith eternity will soon confirm. I have only time to add — for I am writing in great haste, with very short notice of the present opportunity of sending to Bengal — that poor little Maria, though very feeble, is, I hope, recovering from her long illness. She began indeed to recover, while under the care of the lady who kindly took charge of her, at her mother's death; but when, after Mr. Wade's arrival, she was brought back to this house, she seemed to think that she had returned to her former home, and had found in Mrs. Wade her own mother. And certainly the THE DESOLATED HOME. 339 most tender, affectionate care is not wanting to confirm her in this idea. I remain, my dear mother, Yours, in the deepest sorrow, A. Judsox, Jr. On the 24th of April, just six months after the death of Mrs. Judson, little Maria was laid at rest beside her mother. To Mrs. Hasseltine. Amherst, February 26, 1827. Dear Mother Hasseltine : My little Maria lies by the "side of her fond mother. The complaint to which she was subject several months proved incurable. She had the best medical advice ; and the kind care of Mrs. Wade could not have been, in any respect, exceeded by that of her own mother. But all our efforts, and prayers, and tears could not propitiate the cruel disease ; the work of death went for- ward, and after the usual process, excruciating to a parent's heart, she ceased to breathe on the 24th instant, at 3 o'clock, P. M., aged two years and three months. We then closed her faded eyes, and bound up her discolored lips, where the dark touch of death first appeared, and folded her little hands on her cold breast. The next morning we made her last bed in the small inclosure that surrounds her mother's lonely grave. Together they rest in hope, under the hope tree, (hopia,) which stands at the head of the graves ; and together, I trust their spirits are rejoicing after a sjiort separation of precisely six months. And I am left alone in the wide world. My own dear family I have buried ; one in Rangoon, and two in Amherst 340 THE EARNEST MAN. What remains for me but to hold myself, in readiness to fol- low the dear departed to that blessed world, " Where my best friends, my kindred, dwell, Where God, my Saviour, reigns?" I remain, my dear mother, yours, A. Judson, Jr. They were all gone ! His " meek, blue-eyed Rog- er," * his loving little Maria, his angelie Ann, had all departed. He had before this endured sufferings, both bodily and mental, such as seldom fall to the lot of one man, and his strong, elastic spirit had rebounded from the pressure, with even increased vigor. But as the tree, which has borne unharmed the fury of many a storm, yields to the lightning's subtle touch at its core, so was it now with this great, stricken heart. Instead of depicting this period of Judson's life, we would fain sit down at a reverent distance, to weep with him in silence, " for we see that his grief is very great." What his wife had been to him, from the day when she left " her country and her father's house," to share with him the hardships and vicissitudes of a pioneer missionary, has been in some measure shown by the foregoing narrative. But to estimate the strength of the tie which bjpund them together, we must enter deeply into the inward characters of both. She was * Born in Eangoon, September 11, 1815; died May 4, 1816. THE DESOLATED HOME. 341 not merely a heroine, competent to meet, unassisted, the most sudden and formidable emergencies, to over- come difficulty and danger by her own unerring judg- ment and steadfast spirit, to awe or win the most fero- cious of human beings to her bidding, to influence by her commanding intellect the decisions of a haughty oriental court ; * but she was one of the purest, bright- est, sweetest spirits that ever gladdened home, and breathed into a husband's heart the sustaining, inspir- ing life of domestic love. Her character in this respect has been imperfectly understood, owing, in part, to her possessing, in so remarkable a degree, qualities not generally supposed to exist in connection with it; and, in part, to her singularly reserved simplicity of expres- sion in words. She is Shakspeare's Cordelia, with all the unconscious loftiness, scantiness of outward profes- sions, and serene but profound depths of feeling and affection, of that matchless picture of the imagination. Her words told but little of her heart, but her heart wrote itself on her life. Her heroism at Ava was but the expression, on an enlarged scale, of that wifely de- votion, which had linked fond and tender memories with * " Mrs. Judson was the author of those eloquent and forcible appeals to the government, which prepared them by degrees for sub- mission to terms of peace, never expected by any who knew tho hauteur and inflexible pride of the Burman court." Dr. Wayland's Memoir, p. 373. 842 THE EARNEST MAN. every period of their union. The lonely mission-house in Rangoon, where, shut out for years from civilized society, her heart had found in him all it asked of earthly happiness, tells of the same nature, which after- wards defied danger and death in their most frightful forms for his sake. Traits so noble and engaging, associated with every feminine charm of person and manner, could not have failed, under any circumstances, to secure the devoted regard of a man of Judson's exquisite sensibility. In his many-sided character, the capacity to do and to en- dure, in which he so far surpassed ordinary men, was blended with an equally rare delicacy of sentiment, an impassioned tenderness of nature, which rendered him peculiarly susceptible both to the joys and sufferings of the affections. Sternly resolute as he was in duty, calm in danger, patient in toil, privation, and sickness, the fearless champion of principle though all the world opposed, yet a touch at his heart made all its fine chords quiver, and his tears gushed forth as freely as a child's. What must have been the affection inspired in such a man, by the loveliness and devotion of tnat an- gelic wife ! She had been too, his most congenial as- sociate in the great work of his life. The same divine affections and aspirations burned in the hearts of both, and gave a oneness to their being, seldom found even THE DESOLATED HOME. 343 in the happiest conjugal relations. Not only had she been the sweet companion of his home, and his minis- tering angel in time of peril, but she was his friend of friends, his bosom counsellor, in respect to those labors in which he stood in most immediate connection with God and with the souls of men. And all had been taken from him as by a sudden blight. How painful, too, were the aggravations of the blow. She who had hung so many months round his loathsome prison, wearing out her frail life in sicken- ing fears and toils and hazards for his sake, had died, as it were, forsaken of him she loved. Among stran- gers, without a kindred bosom to which she might com- mit her darling child, without a Christian friend to strengthen her departing spirit with the gospel prom- ises, she had met the last dread hour. Her plaintive lament to the native women around her bed: "The teacher is long in coming ; and the new missionaries are long in coming ; I must die alone and leave my little one," must have brought the very bitterness of death to his heart. True, he had left her only in obe- dience to a clear conviction of duty, and in accordance with her own advice. But these considerations, though they justified his absence, could not touch the source of anguish. He found the circumstances of the mission, on his 344 ^ THE EARNEST MAN. return, in sorrowful harmony with his own. Every thing with which he was connected seemed to have withered, with her who lay beneath the hopia tree. Amherst, the selected capital, founded with such high anticipations of its future greatness, and which he had exultingly dedicated as a new hill of Zion, from which the glory of God was to shine forth on the surrounding regions, now greeted the mourner with a sympathetic aspect of desertion and decay. The decision of Sir Archibald Campbell to make his great military station at Maulmain, a little town twenty-seven miles further up the Salwen, had sealed the doom of Amherst. Mr. Crawford, from whose enlightened views and warm personal friendship for Mr. Judson, much had been hoped for the mission, thereupon resigned the civil gov- ernment of the provinces. The removal' of the troops turned the whole current of native emigration towards the new city. Only four of the converts were found in Amherst, the rest being dispersed in different parts of the country. Moung Shwa-gnong, and several other members of the Rangoon church, had previously died in Burmah. Thus every circumstance tended to foster his dejection, and to present life as a succession of de- luding hopes, to end only in bitter disappointment. CHAPTER 2££. PECULIAR PHASE OP THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. Weeks and months passed away, bringing little of the alleviation commonly ascribed to time and useful occupation. The latter he had tried most faithfully, for with him, personal affliction was no plea for release from his Master's service. Two days after his return to Amherst, he resumed public worship in Burmese ; and never were his labors in translation, tract writing, and preaching, more abundant than at this period. But life was still rayless ; nor could all his strivings bring back that joy in his work, which had gilded, as with sunshine from heaven, the toil of previous years. To one who bears in mind his terrible bodily suffer- ings, and the unnatural tension of his mind during those two years of strange vicissitude in Ava, followed, before he had time to recruit his energies, by these overwhelming bereavements, it cannot seem strange that, the strong bow at length gave signs of yielding. I envy not those who can speculate over scenes of spir- itual anguish and conflict, like those which must now 346 THE EARNEST MAN. be briefly depicted, as manifestations of eccentricity of character. They are scenes on which the heart, that has learned any thing of its own mysteries, will gaze with trembling sympathy and awe, and with the invol- untary prayer : " Sa»e me from this hour ! " It is the humbling yet ennobling spectacle of an earnest soul, struggling upward, under a crushing load of human sorrow and infirmity, to " its source of being and its Father," the infinitely holy God. If he made mistakes upon his solitary way, where he saw few before, and fewer still beside him, and sometimes trod on the verge of dangers, upon which in after years lie trembled to look back, these are our waymarks to guide us in safety along on the same path ; not, surely, beacons to warn us from entering it. Gradually there grew on his mind the conviction, that grief for an earthly loss, so firmly fixed, so strong and overshadowing, could have sprung only from a gigantic root of selfishness, which drew its nutriment from an inordinate and sinful worship of created good. Looking back on his past religious life from this stand- point, it spread out before him as one fearful develop- ment of this grand error. Earthly pleasure, honor, and affection, seemed to have been his inspiration — had stood to him in the place of God. Not that he doubted of having been redeemed by the Saviour's PECULIAR PHASE OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 347 blood, of an immortal seed planted by the Spirit in his soul. But its growth was, in his view, that of a feeble and stifled germ; while the rank plants of selfishness, under the name of innocent natural feelings and affec- tions, had wound themselves round every fibre of his being. * He had loved God in his earthly gifts, not them in Him ; and hence it was, that when they were taken from him, the divine joy had vanished also. Such were the bitter things which he wrote against himself, in this hour of humiliation ; nor have we any right to question that they had a foundation in truth. Who is so holy, so in harmony with God, his being so centered in the Highest Good, that the stroke which rends from him life's most cherished object, does not reveal in his heart unexpected depths of self-love and idolatry of the creature! Much may already have been nobly done and suffered for God ; many precious gifts may have been yielded without a murmur ; and yet, when that last tie is severed by the faithful hand, the soul has to own in tears of blood, that too much of its treas- ure has been garnered below the skies. But let it be remembered, that it is precisely those who have made highest attainments in holiness, and stand nearest to God, who see most in themselves to condemn. The purged sight beholds glories in Him, and by compari- son, loathsomeness in itself, which wholly escape the worldly and indolent Christian. 348 THE EARNEST MAN. But beyond all doubt, lie erred in ascribing his in- tense mental sufferings so entirely to self-love. It was, in a great measure, a purely natural effect, the inevi- table reaction of his overtasked powers, for which he was no more responsible, than for his original constitu- tion. His inferences, too, respecting human life and duty, and the spiritual regimen which he devised for the attainment of higher sanctification, betray his pecu- liar mental condition at this crisis. Conceiving that self-love, the great rival to the divine supremacy in the .soul, is fed chiefly through its numerous points of con- nection with the outward world, it seemed to him that the most direct way to starve the monster, was to stop these avenues of supply. Could this connection with the business and pleasures of life, its honors, and earthly objects of affection, be reduced to such narrow limits, as would barely suffice for the maintenance of existence, and the performance of religious duty to our fellow-men, the' enemy, it might be hoped, would be so weakened, that the soul could escape its grasp, and rise into the pure regions of perfect holiness and per- fect love. True to his nature, these convictions were carried out in unhesitating, uncompromising action. The right hand was cut off, and the right eye plucked out, without parley with flesh and blood; the pain it PECULIAR PHASE OP THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 349 caused, only proved its necessity. To regulate the tend- encies of his ardent nature, and cause them to move as living forces in harmony with the Supreme will, — an object which he had sought with earnestness and singleness of purpose through his whole Christian life, — now seemed to his excited mind altogether too self- indulgent a process. To suspect was to condemn, and condemnation was followed by instant execution. Some of these judicial proceedings, while they show the admirable honesty of the man, cannot but provoke a smile. Becoming suspicious that his natural love of human approbation was still lurking in his heart, he burnt whatever testimonials he had received to his character and public services ; among others, a letter of thanks from the Governor-General of India, for his important aid in the negotiations by which the peace with Burmah had been effected. So far as possible, he procured the destruction of his own letters through the previous period of the mission ; obtaining his point in regard to his family correspondence, by refusing his sister a quitclaim on a certain portion of property, till she could assure him that his wishes were complied with. The materials for a biography being so far dis- posed of, he could now mortify self-love with the pros- pect of going down to posterity as a commonplace sort of a man, about whom there was not much to be said. 350 THE EARNEST MAN. By way of crucifying his excessive love of neatness, which was, no doubt, too great for his comfort as a missionary, — though there is no evidence that it ever interfered with the performance of the most disagree- able duty, — he became a frequent inmate of the filthy huts of the Karens, ministering to them with his own hands in the most loathsome forms of disease. He se- cured a life of poverty and dependence, by a donation of his entire patrimony, some six thousand dollars, to the Missionary Board.* But these cheap acts of self-mortification could not satisfy him. On his return to Amherst, finding Mr. and Mrs. Wade in occupancy of the mission-house, he became an inmate of their family, and so continued till after the removal of' the mission to Maulmain. But detecting at length some little tendrils putting forth from his poor bereaved heart, and clinging round these congenial Christian friends, he saw in this an alarming symptom of the returning power of self and the world. Severing at once the healthful ties of domestic life, he retired to a little bamboo hut in the edge of the jungle, * This was a different case from his relinquishment to the Board of all the avails of his services to the English government, amounts ing to more than five thousand rupees, which he justly regarded as the rightful property of the mission. So scrupulous was he in this respect, that even the presents made to him in his public capacity, not less than two thousand rupees more, were included under the same rule. PECULIAR PHASE OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 851 where, with the exception of his missionary labors, he spent many succeeding months in almost absolute soli- tude, alternating the severest study with vigils, fastings, and prayers. Sometimes he remained shut up for weeks together in this hovel, which he had named u The Hermitage," sustaining life on a scanty allow- ance of rice, and seeing only such as came to him for religious instruction. The malady of course increased by indulgence ; for the penalty of doing violence to the nature which divine wisdom and goodness has bestowed on us, is not repealed in favor even of the purest and holiest inten- tion. Being, at a certain time, so exhausted by study as to be compelled to suspend the labor of translation, he improved his constrained leisure, by imitating the Saviour's forty days' fast in the wilderness. He chose for this purpose a spot in the heart of the wild jungle, far from the abodes of men, where only the tramp and cry of wild beasts, as they sought their prey, interrupt- ed the fearful stillness. A moss-grown temple of Gaudama overlooked the scene ; but even the most fanatical devotee dared not venture thither with his offering. So dangerous was the place, we are told, that the native Christians regarded his preservation as a direct miracle. Here, for six weeks, he spent his days in fasting, prayer, and the study of the Bible, re- 352 THE EARNEST MAN. turning at night to his scarcely less lonely hermitage. This stern picture is relieved by a touch of beauty, which shows how strong and tender was the affection which he had inspired in the native disciples. When he reached his wild solitude, early on the second morn- ing, he found in it a rude bamboo seat, and the boughs overhead woven into a sort of bower to protect him from the sun. A love stronger than the love of life had moved some faithful heart to track his wanderings, and make this simple provision for his comfort ; but with such cautious delicacy as" to create no suspicion by whom it had been done. Long after, it was discovered to be Ko Dwah, a deacon of the native church in Maulmain.* One of the most melancholy evidences of his pecu- liar mental state, is seen in his treatment of a nervous * The following note, from Dr. Wayland's Memoir, cannot be omitted : " This man was devotedly attached to Dr. Judson. Both were taken sick at nearly the same time, so that during their illness they met but once, and the old deacon could not, with the other disciples, accompany the dying pastor to the wharf. As soon as Dr. Judson removed, the house which he occupied, and which had long been condemned by Dr. Morton for its unhealthiness, was removed. Ko Dwah was not aware of the circumstance, though living in the vicinity, until the spot was left bare. He then insisted on leaving his bed to look upon the ruin. He hobbled on his staff across the road, ascended the chapel steps with great difficulty, and, then sit- ting down, rested his chin on his palms, and burst into a loud, wild sort of lamentation, like the wailing at a funeral. Neither mind nor body ever recovered from the shock, though he lingered on for some time longer." PECULIAR PHASE OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 853 infirmity, such as sensitive, poetic temperaments so often contract from some accidental shock, or misjudg- ing lesson of childhood, — a haunting dread of the physical decay and corruption of the grave. This now transformed itself, to his view, into one of the hydra- heads of depraved self-love, to be crushed out of ex- istence by a process of justice without mercy. For this purpose, he had a grave dug, beside which he forced himself to sit, hours together, following in imagination the successive changes in his own body, through every loathsome stage of decomposition, " weeks and days and months after death," till the once pampered instrument of self should be resolved into its native dust and ashes. Who can help weeping over this spectacle of "the strong man brought low ; " of that noble intellect and heart reduced to feed on such poor Romish garbage ! Through this whole history, indeed, the influence of Romish pietism cannot be mistaken. The idea of en- tire self-abnegation, of absolute repose in God, to be gained only by the crucifixion of every human passion and affection, had dawned upon his storm-tossed spirit, like a ray from heaven, revealing a far-off but attain- able haven of rest. The works of Madame Guion, and others of the Quietistic school, became, for a time, his text-books for the religious life. It seemed to him, 23 354 THE EARNEST MAN. that a superstitious horror of Popery had not only blinded the eyes of Protestant Christians to the purest models and guides in the way of holiness, but to the path itself by which alone sanctification was to be at- tained. His inward life, at this period, mirrored itself in The Threefold Cord, a tract somewhat widely dis- tributed, though never published, in this country, — by which he sought to bring the subject more generally before his Christian brethren. This exquisitely writ- ten little production, in which the prescriptions of the sternest ascetic piety blend with the purest breathings of evangelic love towards God and man, might have come from the soul of Pascal. It is a noticeable fact, as characteristic of his state of mind, that the study of God's own word forms no part of the " cord " which is offered to the Christian as the sure and sufficient means of sanctification ; while " the inward voice " is repre- sented as the highest, the immediate, revelation of the divine will. This could not have happened in the ear- lier or the later periods of Judson's religious life. The question will naturally be asked, whether he at- tained, by these methods, to that which he sought, — the consciousness of perfect sanctification, that celestial repose in will, affections, and passions ; those supernal joys of heavenly communion, expected as their neces- PECULIAR PHASE OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 355 sary result. The two following notes, written on the second and third anniversaries of his wife's death, will be the most appropriate answer. They seem to me among the most pathetic expressions of " a rooted sor- row," ever uttered by the suffering heart. Maulmaix, October 24, 1828. " My dear Sisters M. and A. : You see from the date, that it is the second anniversary of the triumph of death over all my hopes of earthly bliss. I have this day moved into a small cdttage, which I have built in the woods, away from the haunts of men. It proves a stormy evening ; and the deso- lation around me accords with the desolate state of my own mind, where grief for the dear departed combines with sor- row for present sin ; and my tears flow at the same time over the forsaken grave of my love, and over the loathsome sep- ulchre of my own heart October 24, 1829. " And now the third anniversary returns, and finds me in the same cottage, except it has been removed nearer the mis- sion house, to make way for a government building. I live alone. When I wish to be quite so, Mrs. W. sends me my food ; at other times I am within the sound of a bell that calls me to meals. 4 Blest who, far from all mankind, This world's shadows left behind, Hears from heaven a gentle strain, Whispering love, and loves again.' But O, that strain I have hitherto listened in vain to hear, or rather have not listened aright, and therefore cannot hear. " Have either of you learned the art of real communion with God, and can you teach me the first principles ? God is to .me the Great Unknown. I believe in him, but I find him not" 356 THE EARNEST MAN. It would be a study of much interest and instruction, could we trace with certainty the steps by which such a mind found its way back to spiritual health and peace. It was probably a gradual process of mental and phys- ical reinvigoration, in a great degree unconscious to himself. Through the whole course of the disease, if we may so call it, the great organs of moral vitality had remained unimpaired. He had never fancied, for a moment, that his austerities had in themselves any merit, or formed, in the slightest degree, the ground of acceptance, with God. The hand of faith never re- laxed its hold upon the great sacrifice offered, once for all, for the taking away of sin. Nor did he, in the selfish spirit of some Romish ascetics, concentrate his thoughts on his own inward state, making his individ- ual salvation the sole end and aim of existence. The following beautiful passage, from "The Threefold Cord," is a true picture of his own life, even during this season of spiritual conflict and darkness. " The third is the cord of doing good. This imparts beauty and utility to the rest. It is written of the Lord Jesus, he he went about doing good. Art thou his disciple ? Imitate his example, and go about doing good. Do good. Let this be thy motto. Do good — all the good in thy power — of every sort — and to every person. Regard every human being as thine own brother ; look with eyes of love on every one thou meetest, and hope that he will be thy loving and beloved companion in the bright world above. Rejoice in PECULIAR PHASE OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 357 every .opportunity of doing him any good, either of a tempo- ral or spiritual kind. Comfort him in trouble; relieve his wants ; instruct his ignorance ; enlighten his darkness ; warn him of his danger ; show him the way of salvation ; persuade and constrain him to become thy fellow-traveller in that blessed way. Follow him with all oflices of kindness and love, even as thou wouldst be pleased to have another do to thee. Bear with all his infirmities. Be not weary in well- doing. Remember that thy Saviour bore long with thee, and is still bearing with thee, beyond all conception, and covering thy pollution with the robe stained with his own blood, that the wrath of God may not strike thee. And when he thus forgives thine immense debt, canst thou not bear with thy fellow-debtor ? " Do good to the Lord thy Saviour. Is he far beyond thy reach ? True, he reigns on high ; but still he lives in all his members. ' Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me/ As thou hast, therefore, opportunity, do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. As a true follower of Christ, seek not thine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. Since Christ has suffered, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life, extend thy good wishes to earth's re- motest bounds ; and wherever a human being exists, let thy prayers and thine efforts combine to bring down eternal gfl on his beloved soul. But let the members of the household of faith, whatever be their language, country, or religious denomination, share, in thy warmest love. Regard each one as a part of thine own dear Saviour; and be as happy to wash his feet as if they wen; the feet of thy Lord hini.M'lt'. Remember that, notwithstanding present imperfec- ta are hastening to be united to one another, and to God, in a manuer most ineffable, even as God is in Christ, and 358 THE EARNEST MAN. Christ in God : that the bosom of infinite love is even now opening to receive you all, and that ye will all bathe together, for endless ages, in ' that sea of life and love unknown, with- out a bottom or a shore." In the soul thus vitally united to the source of good- ness, and thus exercising itself in perpetual deeds of goodness, there was a recuperative energy, which could hardly fail to restore healthy action through the whole spiritual constitution. Whatever was morbid and sick- ly in the peculiar phase of piety which he had adopted, gradually lost itself in the growth of a Christian char- acter, which, in just proportions, in the perfect balance of its rich and various elements, presents an unsur- passed example of Christian manhood. Dr. Judson was accustomed to refer to this period, as one from which, notwithstanding its hazards and mistakes, he had derived great spiritual benefit.* The evidence of this is seen in his whole subsequent his- tory. How, indeed, could it have been otherwise ? * He could smile, too, at its extravagances, — the best of all proofs that they were the mere incidentals of a temporary state of mental disease, and no exponents of his real character. When, in 1846, he visited Hamilton Theol. Seminary, the professors collected for an interview with him, in the study of the venerable Dr. Ken- drick. In the course of a free, familiar talk, some allnsion having been made by himself to this period of his history, he added, in a playful, deprecating tone, which seemed to ask if the circumstances of the case did not sufficiently account for it: " You know, we got into a rather strange state, for a while, some of us, away out there I " The quiet smile, and the manner, said much more than the words. PECULIAR l'HASE OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 359 Errors, in the choice of some of the methods, could not hinder the substantial realization of what he sought with such intensity of desire, — the more perfect con- formity of his nature to the will of God. The bless- ing came, indeed, in a form very different from the one expected ; instead of blissful absorption of self in the glory of God, an increased sense of the distance be- tween the infinite and holy, and the sinful and finite ; instead of the conscious triumph over human frailty, the perception in himself of new depths of innate de** pravity and loathsomeness. From this humbling ex- perience, he rose into a new stage of spiritual life. Then, truly, he began to lose sight of himself, and to find his all in God ; and, with a depth of meaning never felt before, to " count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord." The life which developed itself out of this new inward state, bears no trace of the spirit of asceticism. A more beautiful example has seldom been witnessed, of that true mastery over the world, which, while it ren- ders the higher nature independent of the earthly and perishable, permits the acceptance of every gift of God with confiding thankfulness. His heart opened, with childlike freshness, to all the solaces with which a Fath- er's goodness had smoothed the path of his. pilgrim- age. His social affections, once so sternly repressed, 360 THE EARNEST MAN. as rivals to the supreme love, now gushed forth in the little circle of congenial hearts, especially towards such as were in affliction, with a warmth of sympathy, a depth and delicacy of sentiment, which imparts a peculiar grace to his life of severe and self-denying labors. As early as 1830, the date of his missionary visits to Prome and Rangoon, we perceive a new tone of vigor, cheerfulness, and freedom, in his letters and journals. After his marriage, four years later, with the amiable and accomplished widow of Mr. Board- man, the change is still more marked. The exceeding loveliness of character which distinguished the second Mrs. Judson, joined with her excellent sense and fer- vent piety, most happily adapted her to be the com- panion of this period of his life. And, as years passed on, and children were once more playing in his home, those little ties of earthly affection, which he had thought severed forever, bound themselves fast around his heart, and claimed from him once more a full par- ticipation in the wholesome, common duties and pleas- ures of life. The letters belonging to the period of his second marriage, are in themselves sufficient evidence that, while the social affections are heightened by piety, piety itself takes its most symmetrical and healthful form amidst the sweet influences of human love. His PECULIAR PHASE OP THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 361 public labors show, that they are no necessary hin- drance to the most faithful and successful prosecution of a great life-work. In some respects, Dr. Judson never changed the views, and the strict habits of life, adopted during the period just reviewed. His standard of Christian self- denial, illustrated in his own severe frugality, and bis {KiH-ttnt withdrawal from English society, was, by many, deemed unnecessarily rigid and exacting, and sometimes subjected him to the charge of singularity. He maintained, too, a very exalted idea of the spirit of unconditional submission, without restlessness, im- patience, or effort to escape the trial, with which a Christian should receive the dispensations of Provi- dence ; betraying, it might be thought, a continued bias of mind towards the peculiar notions of Quietism. But his life, as now laid open in his private correspond- ence, and his domestic history, reveals a character re- markably free both from eccentricity and austerity ; a character singular only in its wonderful gifts, and in the all-pervading predominance of the spirit of New Testament piety, — supreme love to God, and unlim- ited devotion to the welfare of his fellow-men. CHAPTER XXI. MISSIONARY LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. To do full justice to Dr. Judson's character, the record of his abundant labors during the period em- braced in the two preceding chapters, should be placed in immediate connection with them. Within the two years following his removal to Maulmain, he had gathered, in conjunction with Mr. Wade, a church of fifty native members ; most of whom adorned their profession by a consistent Christian life. Not a few of them had endured, with steadfast meekness, opposition, revilings, and bitter persecution, for the name of Christ. " The husband had risen up against his wife, and the wife against her husband ; parents against their chil- dren, and children against their parents." Only a few of the many interesting cases can be briefly noted here. One man, on the return of his wife after her baptism, tore their infant child from her breast, and pursued her through the streets with a knife. The brother of the first native chief of the place, was among the converts ; a man of most respectable standing, of ready eloquence, LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 363 and great activity of mind, who, after carefully examin- ing the systems of Boodh, of Brahma, and of Mahomet, had at length found rest for his soul in the religion of Christ. The persecution he encountered, in professing his faith, was appalling. All his relatives rose up against him. His wife sued for a divorce ; and his brother declared that, if he had the power, he would wash out the family disgrace in his blood. A vener- able matron, past fourscore, though bitterly opposed by her family, on whom she was entirely dependent, was seen " hazarding the loss of a respectable, comfortable situation, the loss of character, the loss of a shelter for her gray head," and " with tottering steps, bending under the infirmities of age, doing homage to the King of kings in the baptismal stream." Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings also was perfected praise. A little girl, eight years old, is mentioned as among the clearest cases of conversion. She also received bap- tism, though under a threat from an elder brother that he would beat her to death. Several others, not much older, resisted, in the strength of the love of Christ, the most urgent persuasions and threats of their hea- then parents ; and, after baptism, endured in silent submission, the most outrageous and abusive treatment. There was witnessed, too, in several cases, the miracle of the lion changed into the lamb ; the most violent 364 THE EARNEST MAN. persecutors, who had breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples, won, by their Christian meekness and love, to listen, to repent, and to rejoice with them in a common Saviour. Such was the second Christian church which, with the aid of his faithful co-laborers, Mr. Judson had planted in Burmah. Jt was one of his greatest trials, as has been before noticed, to be obliged, by his duties as a translator, to forego his ardent desire of devoting himself exclusively to direct missionary labor. " Hap- py," he exclaims, " is the missionary, who finds the Bible ready translated to his hands ! " The longing to preach the gospel was like a fire in his bones. It is surprising to see how much this strong impulse accom- plished in the way of evangelical labor, without neglect of the work of the study. His chosen recreation from this toil, was a missionary excursion into some unex- plored field, where he could proclaim the glad tidings to ears that never before had heard the joyful sound. Sometimes, when he could not quit his pen, he would gather up his literary apparatus, and, taking with him a few native assistants, fepair to some lonely outpost, where he could at least send out his messengers into the highways and hedges, and be ready, if inquirers should present themselves, to direct them in the way of salvation. LABORS IN PROJIE AND RANGOON. 365 His visit to Prome, a populous ancient city, lying on the Irrawaddy, half-way between Rangoon aud Ava, a place where the foot of a missionary had never trod before, is among the most apostolic passages in his his- tory. The account is given in the following letters to his friends in Maulmain : — " I proceed, accordingly, to give you some account of my adventures since leaving Rangoon on the 29th of last month. The afternoon of that day, we reached Tix-theet, twelve or miles distant, and, the tide being against us, we re- mained there several hours. I went on shore, entered into conversation with several, and gave away a dozen of the old tracts ; and it was amusing and gratifying to see the groups of boatmen, about sunset, employed in reading and listening to the truth ; and some would be constantly coming to our boat for a tract. I could have given away a hundred to advantage ; for, though the village contains but very few houses, it is a place of rendezvous for a multitude of small trailing boats. At mfcin ig b t, we readied the cluster of villages about Pau-ling, containing, I should suppose, a population as large as that of Rangoon. In the morning, I went on shore at Kat-tet'-vah, and spent a couple of hours in preaching to little assemblies, and distributed about thirty of the old cate- chism. I could have given away two hundred with perfect ease, and to the greatest advantage ; for they would have spread from this central place into every part of the country. It is my way to produce a few tracts or catechisms, and after reading and talking a little, and getting the company to feel kindly, I offer one to the most attentive auditor present; and on showing some reluctance to give to every person, and on making them promise to read attentively, and consider, and pray, they get furious to obtain a tract; many hands are 366 THE EARNEST MAN. eagerly stretched out, and ' Give me one, give me one,' re- sounds from all sides. On the 31st, we reached Gnettong, near the great river. Just became engaged with a few peo- ple, when the master of our boat concluded to proceed fur- ther. Gave away two tracts. One of them fell into the hands of a respectable elderly man, who, having read part of it, followed us, in a small boat, to ask for something more ; and I gave him a copy of Matthew. Just at dark, reached Yan-gen-tsan-yah, at the entrance of the great river, the Ir- rawady, fifty or sixty miles from Rangoon. " For several days after entering the Irrawady, I did noth- ing scarcely, on account of the rainy weather and other un- favorable circumstances. At Hen-tha-dah, ninety miles from Rangoon, I walked through the place, though it was very wet, and gave away a few tracts. Moung En found some relations on shore, at whose house he and another of the dis- ciples slept ; and they did something in the evening. "The night of the 6th of June we spent at Yay-gen, a pretty large village, just below Ka-noung, on the opposite side of the river. Here the native country of the tamarind- tree commences, the banks of the river become high and pleasant, nature assumes a more interesting and commanding aspect, and, at this distance, even the character of the people always seems to me to be a little more elevated. Immedi- ately on landing I went through the place, but without any success, and was just coming off, when I descried Moung Ing, with half a dozen about him. I drew near, and very soon had a large and respectable assembly, to whom I held forth, and distributed about thirty tracts and catechisms. Several pursued us to the boat, and begged very hard ; and we con- tinued to give away to small parties who came in succession, and occupied an empty boat which lay between us and the shore, till late in the evening, when our captain pushed off into the river, to get rid of the annoyance. However, it LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 367 would not answer ; for they came to the shore, and called out : 4 Teacher, are you asleep ? We want a writing to get by heart' And, on being promised one, if they would come and get it, they contrived to push off a long canoe which lay between us and the said empty boat, and got so near that they could reach a paper stuck in the end of a long pole. This continued till nine o'clock at night. Once\ during the evening, our captain went on shore; and he said that in al- very house there was some one at a lamp, reading aloud one of our papers. I felt some desire to pray that it might not be all in vain. It cost us not less than sixty tracts and catechisms. Write to Maulmain for several hundred, and ask brother Bennett to get ready to pi'int another edition. I have already given away one quarter of my whole stock • and I shall have to send to you fl*r a supply before long. " We passed the large towns of Ka-noung, Myan-oung, and K \ an-u.ii, without being able to do any thing. But at Kyee- thai, a pretty large place, I went on shore, and got the start of the boat by about an hour, which time I improved under a died, in the midst of an attentive crowd. I gave away sev- ,cts. Some of the people followed me to the boat, beg- ging the captain to .stay all night. And after we had pushed off, a little boat pursued us, with a small offering of rice and begging another tract. It was quite dark when we arrived at Shway-doung, one of the most populous places in the country. Above Shway-doung, we came to the ilourish- ing villages of Pyouk-tsik and Mendai, divided by a small The latter is our captain's home, and he wished to stay a day or two, before going to Prome, which is only a few miles distant. The people at Mendai seemed disposed to cavil, ami some of them treated me rather uncivilly. I gave away not many tracts. Moung Ing went out to Men-yoo-ah, hiil) is the residence of the celebrated Toung-dwen , the head of a sect of heretics in this part of the 368 THE EARNEST MAN. country ; and in that neighborhood he found our old friend Mah Zoo, baptized formerly in Rangoon. The next morning she came to the boat, accompanied by Mah Wenyo, widow of Moung Long, the one-eyed metaphysician formerly men- tioned in the annals of the Rangoon mission, who now declares herself a Christian, and one Mah Ping, a very hopeful in- quirer. These women all begged me to stop one day, while they could return and consult their male relations, whether it would not be better to invite me to come to their village at once, without proceeding to Prome. So I consented, and they went off. In the afternoon of that day, I had a crowd- ed zayat on shore. One man appeared to be impressed. But there were many cavillers, and some discouraging signs. At night the women came back, and with many tears said, that the chief men of the village were afraid to entertain a foreigner, lest, in case of war with the English, they should be involved. The next morning the wife of the governor in these parts, having heard of me, sent to the boat for a tract; several other people also came on the same errand, until we left the place, which we did about noon ; and at night, the wind being contrary, we reached this place, about one hun- dred and seventy miles from Rangoon. I landed, and found Mr. M., the only European residing here ; and he invited me to stay with him a few days, until I could get settled. The next morning I left the boat, and repaired to his house. He immediately took me to the governess of the town, whose husband has lately been summoned to Ava. In her presence I found the deputy governor and a number of people. I read and preached to them. They applauded my style of reading, &c, but seemed to be more taken with the sound than the sense. The governess, however, was evidently im- pressed. She begged for the tract, that she might get it copied. I presented it to her, and she received it thankfully. Thence I proceeded to various places, in search of a house LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 369 to be let, but was unsuccessful. The people are afraid to have any connection with a foreigner. Ever since Major Burney passed up to Ava, the country has been full of all manner of rumors and fears. The very face of a white man spreads general alarm. Mr. M. has been accused of being a spy, though nothing can be more false ; and it was even pro- posed to put him in confinement. I find that the same sus- picion is generally felt towards me. I foresee that people will be afraid to come near me, and that my usefulness here will, on that account, be greatly impeded. Add to this that the town has been so dreadfully oppressed to pay their con- tingent of the government debt, that poverty, distress, and terror are the order of the day. However, the walls of Jerusalem have sometimes been built in troublous " Failing in my attempt to hire a house, I went in search of a vacant spot to build on. Fell in with two of. the first officers of the place, and had a little friendly conversation. Found, in the heart of the town, an old, dismantled zayat, in front of a pagoda, with a little vacant ground around it. Went to the (h-pu/y governor, presented him with a tract, and warned him not' to be intoxicated with worldly splendor, for life was short, &c. He read part of the tract, and said that my words were very proper. One of my people re- spectfully requested leave to repair the old zayat for the resi- dence of the kalah pong-gyee, until he should proceed to Ava. The governor was disposed to be kind ; but fearing, I suppose, for the reasons above mentioned, to do any thing on his own responsibility, said that he would bring forward my business in the court house, the next day, before the assem- bled authorities of the place. " Notwithstanding this promise, however, nothing was done the next day ; and, it being Lord's day, I stayed at home, had usual worship with my people, and tried to study patience 2-i 370 THE EARNEST MAN. and Thomas a Kempis in the shattered house that Mr. M. occupies, with the rain beating in on every side. " On Monday, that is, yesterday, I went myself to the court house, and found the magistrates assembled, each sit- ting at his post, in Burman style, and the deputy governor in the centre. He pretended not to see or know me. I waited some time, and in an interval of business addressed some of the inferior magistrates. An inquiry rose who I was, and what I wanted. The deputy governor began slyly to assist me ; and, after considerable conversation, it was unanimously agreed that I should be permitted to take pos- session of the old zayat, and repair it for my present resi- dence. From the court house I went to survey my new estate. I find it to be forty-five feet long, and twenty wide. The posts and the main parts of the roof and floor, being of teakj are still extant ; but it is all overgrown with wild creepers, and makes, on the whole, a pretty venerable ruin. It stands on holy ground, occupying one corner of the inclosure of a pagoda ; which corner I am to surround with a fence, and thus have an inclosure about four times larger than the ruin itself. This morning I am sending out people to beg mate- rials and engage workmen to make the place habitable as soon as possible." " Prome, June 26, 1830. " Dear Brethren and Sisters : To-day I have taken possession of the old zayat allowed me by government, as stated in my last. Part of it we have inclosed in rooms, and the other part we have left open for the reception of com- pany. Several people accosted us, as they passed : ' So you have moved, have you ? We shall come and see you before long.' There are at present no hopeful inquirers ; but some visitors from Men-dai and Men-yoo-ah approximate towards that character. " June 27, Lord's day. After usual worship with the dis- LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 371 ciples, I went to spend the day, it being Burman day of wor- ship, at the great Shway San-dau pagoda, which is the same to Prome that Shway Da-gong is to Rangoon, and Kyaik Thanlan to Maulmain. The zayat which we occupied had many visitors, and some heard with attention. " July 2. A great change has taken place in the minds of government people towards me. Satan has industriously circulated a report that I am a spy in pay of the British. Last night the deputy governor sent to inquire my name and title. This morning I waited on him, and on the lady gov- erness, but met with a very cold reception at both places. The deputy governor is probably reporting me to Ava ; and what the consequences will be, I know not. Several visitors, who began to listen with some favorable disposition, have suddenly fallen off. To-day I have had no company at all. " July 3. Pastor Ing returned from a visit to Men-yoo-ah. He says that the same suspicion is spreading all over the country. Even the women mentioned in my last, were afraid to have any communication with him. By forcing his way, he managed to sleep two nights at the house of the Toung- dwen teacher, and had some conversation with him and his people on the subject of religion. But the teacher, though not a regular Boodhist, feels his consequence, as the head of a sect, and is perhaps as far from candid consideration as the most bigoted priest. Pastor Ing says that the country is full of villages, and there is some disposition to listen to religion, put that in the present state of the public mind, if I should make the tour of these parts, as I had some intention of doing, there is not a house where the owner would dare to ask me to sit down at the entrance of the door. . " Feel extremely dejected this evening. Never so heartily willing to enter into my rest, yet willing to oiFer, and I do, with some peculiar feelings, oiler my poor life to the Lord Jesus Christ, to do and to suffer whatever he shall appoint, 372 THE EARNEST MAN. during my few remaining days. My followers feel some courage yet ; for they have, I hope, a little faith, and they know, also, that whatever storm comes, it will beat upon their teacher first. " July 4, Lord's day. Another Burman day of worship, and a great day, being the first day of lent, a season which continues three months. After usual worship, took a stroll through the place. All smiles and looks of welcome are passed away ; people view me with an evil eye, and suffer their dogs to bark at me unchecked. Near Shvvay San-dau, the zayats were crowded with devout-faced worshippers. I found a vacant place under a shed built over a large brick idol, and, sitting down on the ground, I held converse with small parties, who came around in succession. Some com- pany, also, morning and evening, at home. I cannot but hope that two persons have this day obtained some discovery of the way of salvation through a crucified Saviour. But it is really affecting to see a. poor native when he first feels the pinch of truth. On one side he sees hell ; on the other side, ridicule, reproach, confiscation of goods, imprisonment, and death. " July 7. Moung A, one of the persons last mentioned, comes every day. He seems to be quite taken with the Christian religion, but says he cannot think of embracing it, until the learned and the great lead the way. " July 8. Many visitors through the day, in consequence of a festival held in the vicinity. Moung A begins to speak decidedly for Christ. " July 9. Having agreed that two or three of our number shall go out every day, in different directions, and preach the gospel, whether the people will hear or forbear, my lot fell in a public zayat, about a mile from home, near Shway San-dau, where I had an uninterrupted succession of hearers from morning till night. Pastor Ing and Moung Dway were sue- LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 373 cessfully engaged in another quarter, and Moung En had some company at home. I presume that a hundred and fifty people have this day heard the gospel intelligibly, -who never heard it before. "July 10. The same as yesterday, except that, being ill, I left the zayat about noon. Moung A was with me in the afternoon. His case is becoming extremely interesting. He is a bright young man, with a small family, formerly belonged to Cicsar's household, and bore a considerable title, which was forfeited through false accusation. He began last night. to pray to the eternal God. " July 1 1 , Lord's day. Several came in during worship, and behaved decently, though they would not put themselves into a devotional posture, or join in the responses. One man, in particular, professed to be excessively delighted with the new and wonderful things which he had heard. Moung A present at evening worship, but he remains in a very crit- ical state. No wine to be procured in this place, on which 'int we are unable to unite with the other churches, this day. in partaking of the Lord's supper. 44 July 12. A Burma day of worship. In the morning, received private information that the deputy governor, as I conjectured, did actually report me to Ava. If any order be given immediately, whether favorable or unfavorable, it may be expected in the course of a fortnight. Felt rather deject- ed, but endeavored to put my trust in God, and resolve to work while the day lasts. The zayats being all full of wor- shippers, I took my seat on a brick under the shed over the great idol, and, from morning till night, crowd succeeded crowd. Some became outrageously angry, and some listened with delight. • Some said, lie is a good man ; but others said, Nay, he deceiveth the people.' About noon, beard Moung Dway's voice on the other side of the idol. Pastor Ing was busy in another quarter. At home, Moung En re- 374 THE EARNEST MAN. ceived a visit from Myat-pyoo, one of the two persons men- tioned on the 4th. He is sixty-nine years old, a little deaf, very timid and retiring. My expectations of him are not disappointed. He says that he thinks this is the true religion, and the only one that provides a way of escape from hell, of which he is exceedingly afraid, in consequence of his many, many sins. " July 13. Took up my position at my favorite zayat. It stands at the crossing of two great roads, the one leading •from the river side to Shway San-dau, and the other from the town to the place of burying, or rather burning, the dead. Several funeral processions pass every day, and many of the followers, in going or returning, stop at my zayat to rest. To-day there was a funeral of distinction, and all the officers of government, with their respective suites, attended. In consequence of this, the crowd around me was greater than ever before. But they were not hearers of the right stamp. Most of them, being adherents of government, were rude, insolent, and wicked in the extreme. A few consider- ate persons remained till night, particularly one man, on whose account I also remained, though dreadfully exhausted. He has been with me two days, and I have a little hope that he begins to feel the force of truth. " July 14. Another day of hard conflict. The enemy begins to be alarmed, and his forces come on fresh and fierce, while we, few in number, have to sustain the combat without any human reinforcement. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. At night felt an entire prostration of strength, so much so that I was unable to go through with the evening service as usual." "Prome, August 23, 1830. "Dear Brethren and Sisters: Tired of minuting down the events of each day, I have written nothing since my last date, July 16. My time has been spent in the same LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 375 way as stated in the first part of that month. At one period, the whole town seemed to be roused to listen to the news of an eternal God, the mission of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the way of salvation through his atonement. A considerable proportion of the hearers became favor- ably disposed. At length the enemy assumed a threatening aspect ; the poor people became frightened ; many sent back the tracts they had received; and there was a general fall- ing ofF at the zayats. I was summoned to undergo a long examination at the court house, not, however, on the subject of religion, but concerning all my past life since I have been in Burmah. The result was forwarded to Ava. The magis- trates still preserve a perfect neutrality, in consequence of the absence of the governor. At Ava, I have been regarded as a suspicious character, ever since I deserted them at the of the war, and went over to the British. I know not what impressions the governor of this place will there re- ceive, or % how he will feel towards me, when he is informed of the noise I have made in Prome during his absence." "Below Prome, September 18, 1830. "Afloat on my own little boat, manned by none other than my three disciples, I take leave of Prome and her towering god Shway San-dau, at whose base I have been laboring, with not the kindest intentions, for the last three months and a half Too firmly founded art thou, old pile, to be over- thrown just at present ; but the children of those who now plaster thee with gold, will yet pull thee down, nor leave one brick upon another. 44 The government writer, Moung Kywet-nee, who recom- menced visiting us a few days ago, has been hanging about us for two hours, lamenting our departure ; and he is now sitting alone at the water's edge, looking after our boat as it floats down the stream. 4 Mark me as your disciple ; I pray 376 THE EARNEST MAN. to God every day ; do you also pray for me ; as soon as I can get free from my present engagements, I intend to come down to Rangoon,' are some of his last expressions. " The sun is just setting. We could not get our boat ready earlier in the day ; and, as it is Saturday evening, we intend to proceed as far as Men-dai, in order to spend the Lord's day there. There is no period of my missionary life that I review with more satisfaction, or, rather, with less dis- satisfaction, than my sojourn in Prome. This city was found- ed several hundred years before the Christian era. Through how many ages have the successive generations of its dark inhabitants lived and died, without the slightest knowledge of the Great Eternal, and the only way of salvation Avhich he has provided ! At length, in the year 1830, it was ordered that a missionary of the cross should sit down in the heart of the city, and from day to day, for above three months, should pour forth divine truth in language which, if not elo- quent and acceptable, was at least intelligible to all ranks. What a wonderful phenomenon must this have been to celes- tial beings, who gaze upon the works and dispensations of God in this lower world ! It was necessary to the accom- plishment of the divine purpose, that, after so many centuries of darkness, there should be such an exhibition of light as has been made, and no more. Thousands have heard of God who never, nor their ancestors, heard before. Fre- quently, in passing through the streets, and in taking my seat in the zayats, I have felt such a solemnity and awe on my spirit, as almost prevented me from opening my lips to communicate the momentous message with which I Avas charged. How the preacher has preached, and how the hearers have heard, the day of judgment will show. O, how many will find their everlasting chains more tight and intol- erable on account of the very warnings and entreaties they have received from my lips ! But what more can be done LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 377 than has been clone ? Though warned and entreated, they have wilfully, obstinately, and blasphemously refused to lis- ten. But, blessed be God, there are some whose faces I ex- pect to see at the right hand of the great Judge. The young man just mentioned, the carpenter, Moung Shway-hlah, a poor man, by name Moung Oo, in addition to some others mentioned in former letters, give us reason to hope that they have received the truth in good and honest hearts. Many also there are who have become so far enlightened, that I am sure they never can bow the knee to Shway San-dau, with- out a distressing conviction that they are in the wrong way. Farewell to thee, Prome ! Willingly would I have spent my last breath in thee and for thee. But thy sons ask me not to stay ; and I must preach the gospel to other cities also, for therefore am I sent. Read the five hundred tracts that I have left with thee. Pray to the God and Saviour that I have told thee of. And if hereafter thou call me, though In the lowest whisper, and it reach me in the very extremities of the empire, I will joyfully listen, and come back to thee." Who can doubt that, while Kincaid is gathering in the glorious harvest in that ancient seat of idolatry, he that then sowed in tears, and he that now reaps, are rejoicing together ? Being driven from Prome by the jealousy of the im- perial government, he returned to Rangoon, where, finding no missionary on the ground, he remained through the next ten months, chiefly occupied with his translation. An interesting picture of him, at that time, is furnished by Miss Roberts, a distinguished 378 THE EARNEST MAN. English authoress, who happened to be in Rangoon during the year 1830. "A Visit, to Mr. Judson in 1830. " Being unexpectedly in Rangoon, in the autumn of 1830, and hearing that the justly celebrated American missionary, good Mr. Judson, was still there, with indefatigable zeal pros- ecuting his ' labor of love,' in the conversion of the Bur- mese, I was extremely anxious to see him ; and, having in- formed ourselves that a visit from English travellers would not be deemed a disagreeable intrusion, the captain, his wife, and myself, immediately proceeded to Mr. Judson's house. " It was a Burman habitation, to which we had to ascend by a ladder ; and we entered a large, low room, through a space like a trap-door. The beams on the roof were uncovered, and the window frames were open, after the fashion of Bur- man houses. The furniture consisted of a table in the centre of a room, a few stools, and a desk, with writings and books neatly arranged on one side. We were soon seated, and were most anxious to hear all that the good man had to say, who, in a resigned tone, spoke of his departed wife in a man- ner which plainly showed he had set his affections 'where alone true joy can be found.' He dwelt with much pleasure on the translation of the Bible into the Burmese language. He had completed the New Testament, and was then as far as the Psalms in the Old Testament, which having finished, he said he trusted it would be the will of his heavenly Father to call him to his everlasting home. " Of the conversions going on amongst the Burmans, he spoke with certainty, not doubting that when the flame of Christianity did burst forth, it would surprise even him by its extent and brilliancy. As we were thus conversing, the bats, which frequent the houses at Rangoon, began to take LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 379 their evening round, and whirled closer and closer, till they came in almost disagreeable contact with our heads ; and the flap of the heavy wings so near us interrupting the conver- sation, we at length reluctantly took our leave and departed. And this, thought I, as I descended the dark ladder, is the solitary' abode of Judson, whom after ages shall designate, most justly, the great and the good. It is the abode of one of whom the world is not worthy ; of one who has been im- prisoned, chained, and starved, and yet who dares still to prosecute his work in the midst of the people who have thus treated him. America may indeed be proud of having given birth to so excellent and admirable a man, who, amidst the trials, sufferings, and bereavements with which.it has pleased Heaven to afflict him, still stands with his lamp brightly burn- ing, waiting his Lord's coming. " If there be any man of whom we may without presump- tion feel assured that we will hear the joyful words, ' Well done, thou good and faithful servant,' it is certainly the pious Judson, the great and persevering founder of Christianity in a land of dark idolatry and superstition." Human life probably presents few more striking con- trasts, between the outward condition and the real greatness and influence of an individual. The occu- pant of this humble dwelling was, at that very mo- ment, wielding, in the little pen which plied its task so diligently from hour to hour, the mightiest agency ever felt in Burmah, — a power to, mould her destinies, greater than that of Britain with all her armies. But, in sight of the moral desolation on every side, he could not satisfy himself even with such labors. 380 THE EARNEST MAN. The missionary fire seems to have burned with irre- pressible ardor in his soul, during this residence in Ran- goon. Besides the care of directing the native evan- gelists, and receiving the most urgent cases of inquiry at his house, he was every morning abroad at sunrise, perambulating the streets of Rangoon for the distri- bution of tracts, and for religious conversation with such as he could induce to listen. The result was most extraordinary. At first, he gave away between fifteen and twenty tracts a day. Gradually, the attention of the native population at large was aroused, and the tide of interest steadily rose, till the number amounted to two or three hundred daily, given to none but those who asked. During the last three days of January, one thousand were distributed, " given only to those who asked earnestly." By cautious inquiries, it was ascertained that they were in almost every house in the city, and were eagerly read in secret. Nor was this all. The leaven seemed to be silently spreading and working through the whole land. With all his pre- cautions to secure leisure for translation, more than half his time was consumed by visitors. " People find their way to me," he writes,, "from all parts of the country." " The spirit of inquiry is spreading everywhere. I sometimes feel alarmed, like a person who sees a mighty engine beginning to move, over which he knows he has no control." LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 381 In the midst of this excitement, the time arrived for the great annual festival of Shwa-da-gong, bringing innumerable crowds of pilgrims to this splendid seat of Boodhistic worship. Mr. Judsou was now in his element, eager to improve the opportunity thus offered, of spreading the news of salvation to the remotest lim- its of the empire. The interest which pervaded the town, seized upon the strangers ; and so great was the cry for tracts, that, though he distributed ten thousand during ike progress of the festival, the demand was not more than half supplied. Not far from six thou- sand applications were made at his own door. " Some come," he writes, " two or three months' journey from the borders of Siam and China : ' Sir, we hear that there is an eternal hell. Do give us a writing that will tell us how to escape it.' Others come from the frontiers of Kathay, a hundred miles north of Ava: * Sir, we have seen a writing that tells about an eternal God. Are you the man that gives away such writings ? If so, pray give us one, for we want to know the truth before we die ! ' Others come from the interior of the country, where the name of Jesus Christ is a little known : 'Are you Jesus Christ's man ? Give us a writing that tells about Jesus Christ.' " A few of his c]±aracteristio letters will best depict his labors at this time. 382 THE EARNEST MAN. " To the Missionaries at Maulmain, particularly Mr. Bennett. " Eangoon, November 13, 1830. " Dear Brethren : I wrote to you lately by Ko Ing, since which I have received yours by Moung En. We continue to distribute about forty tracts a day, and should gladly double the number if we could depend on a supply from Maulmain. By tracts, I mean not the single sheets or handbills,* contain- ing merely a scrap of Scripture, which, being wholly inade- quate to give any full idea of the Christian religion, it is im- possible to mock any poor soul with, when he holds out his hand for such spmtual food as his case requires. They do well enough among the converts ; and if you find they are useful in your parts, I shall be happy to send you back those I have on hand, for there is no demand for that article here in the present state of the mission. . . . But by tracts, I mean The View, The Catechism, The Balance, and The In- vestigator. I earnestly beg the brethren to wake up to the importance of sending a regular supply of all these articles. How long we shall be allowed a footing in Rangoon, is very uncertain. While a missionary is here, a constant stream ought to be poured into the place. Rangoon is the key of the country. From this place tracts go into every quarter. I could write sheets on the subject, but I trust that it is un- necessary. Six weeks have elapsed since I wrote for The Balance, and for a few only, as I did not wish to distress any one ; and though it was then out of print, it is not yet put to press. And why? Because The Epitome has been in the way. I am glad The Epitome is printed; but, after all, we shall not give away one a week of that article. The state of things does not immediately require it. But of The Balance I shall give away one hundred a week. There are daily calls for it. During the last six weeks I should have * Two pages tracts of Scripture Extracts. LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 383 given away one thousand of The Balance, and they would now be circulating all over the country. I found twenty in the house on my arrival, and have been dealing them out like drops of hearts' blood. There are few left. I did ex- pect some by Moung En ; but alas ! out popped two bundles of scrippets* The book of Scripture Extracts, however, I am thankful for. I do not write this with any disposition to find fault. I am sure you have done all for the best ; and I feel for brother Bennett in his labors at the press. I only blame myself that I have not been more explicit, and written more urgently on the subject. " Yours ever, A. Judson." " To the Missionaries at Maulmain. " Rangoon, November 16, 1830. " Dear Brethren : We were obliged to give away ninety- five tracts and Scriptures yesterday, besides refusing several. This morning I took twenty in my hand, as usual, and though I avoided streets, and kept to the jungle, and walked as fast as possible, yet, notwithstanding every precaution, they fleeced me of fifteen by sunrise. We shall not be able to stand it longer than fifteen or twenty days at this rate. They come from all parts of the country, and the thing is spreading and increasing every day. I hope you will not fail me in the hour of need. We want thousands of The Cate- chism, The View, The Balance, and The Investigator. Next to these we shall want a thousand or two of the Gospel of Luke, that is, after the Scripture Extracts are done* which will be shortly, if you will only send them along. I am more and more convinced that Bunnah is to be evangelized by tracts and portions of Scripture. They are a reading people beyond any other in India. The press is the grand engine * The two-page tracts mentioned above. 384 THE EARNEST MAN. for Burmah. Every pull of brother Bennett at the press, sends another ray of light through the darkness of the em- pire. I write in a hurry, for I am in the middle of the sixty-fifth Psalm ; and though I keep snug in the garret, I have had, within an hour, one man from Mad-dee-yah, who has come for tracts, having heard the gospel from one of the disciples at Prome, a writer from Kyouk-mau, brought hither by your inquirer, Moung Louk, a disciple from An-au-len, and Moung Hming, from Pan-ta-nau, who requests baptism, and brings also a message and request for tracts from Nah- kau-dau, who says he heard about Jesus Christ from a for- eigner * at Prome. And as I am alive, here comes at this moment a priest and his followers. So farewell, "Yours, A. Judson." " Rangoon, February 1, 1831. " Dear Brethren : The great festival falls this year on the 25th. Alas ! alas ! what shall I do ? I beg and entreat that you will not give any tracts in the vicinity of Maulmain, until after the 1st of March ; but let every thing that can possibly be got ready, be sent with all possible expedition to this place. I do beg you will all make one effort, and, if possible, send me fifteen or twenty thousand tracts between this and the 25th or 28th. The festival will last several days. I have lost all hope of hoarding up my present stock. We have been obliged to give away above one thousand within the last three days. It is not here as at Maulmain, where a great many are destroyed. Here, I am persuaded, after a great deal of inquiry, not one in a hundred is destroyed. The people are eager to get tracts. We don't give to every one we meet, as you do, but to those only who ask earnestly. Don't think the tracts you print, and stitch, and trim, with a * " Judson himself," says Mr. Bennett, in a note. LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 385 great deal of labor, and send here, are lost. I trust that the most of them will come to light at the day of judgment. " I send this by San-lone, who goes around in Moung G way's boat He, and perhaps the same boat, will return soon ; I hope in time for the festival. Send every thing you possibly can, and by every other boat or vessel after receiving this. " In great haste, yours, "A. Judson." " To Mr. Bennett. " Rangoon, February 7, 1831. " Dear Brother Bennett : I wrote lately by Moung San- lone, saying that the great festival falls on the 25th instant, and begging that, until tfJht time, no tracts might be circu- lated in your quarter, but that every thing that could be got ready should be sent hither. If you listen to that petition, well ; if not, to repeat it, with all the urgency of a dying man, would be of no use. We were giving away at the rate of three or four hundred per day, until I became alarmed, and reduced the allowance to two hundred. We are just, therefore, keeping our heads above water. But we have no hopes of being ready for the festival, unless you pour in fif- teen or twenty thousand more, between this time and that. We have had none since the arrival of Moung En. He and A brought good supplies ; but alas ! no Views, and but few Balances and Investigators. O, when will the time come that I shall have as much as I want, and of the right kind ! I have labored to very great disadvantage ever since I came down from Prome, for want of the right kind of supply. If, instead of printing such a variety, the brethren had aimed only at furnishing a sufficient supply of the necessaries of life, how much better it would have been ! I should not then have been left for months without The Balance, or any equivalent, nor be left, as I now am, month after month, without The View — the staple commodity. How distress- 25 386 THE EARNEST MAN. ing it is, when the poor people come crying for the elements of the Christian religion, to be obliged to give them one of the small numbers of the Scripture Extracts, which singly can give them no idea ! By the way, I beg you will send no more of No. 8 ; it is just good for nothing, in the present state of things. I do not write thus by way of finding fault with my brethren ; I am quite sure that you have meant all for the best. " I have made too many mistakes, and criminal ones too, all my life long, to allow me to find fault with others. I only hope that things will now be kept in such a train as to prevent my being reduced again to the straits I have been in for several months. When you have made arrangements to insure a supply of the four standard articles, so that we can always have as many of such kind, and of all the kinds, as the state of the market requires, I would recom- mend to the brethren to issue a small edition of three thou- sand of the First Epistle of John. " I once thought of Luke ; but if you take hold of that, we shali be left to starve again, for want of the necessaries of life. You say that there are fourteen hundred of the Scripture Extracts remaining ; and these, stitched together or in two parts, will answer to give in cases where something more than the four standards is required. As to the Septenary, I would suggest that it is to be kept for special cases, and not distributed promiscuously, for you will not want to print another edition immediately. It was not intended for general circulation, but to be kept on hand for the converts and hopeful inquirers. As to your plan of printing The Catechism and View together, it is most excellent. You cannot furnish too many of that article. As to The Balance, it is now all tjie rage, particularly with the cut. I suppose you cannot clap the cut on the covers of those that have it not. It doubles the value. I presume that from fifty to one hundred per day inquire particularly for The Balance, and we are obliged to turn them off with some- LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 387 thing very inadequate to their exigency. Is not this most awful ? Only contrast the countenance of one who has No. 8 forced upon him instead of The Balance, and goes away feeling very ' gritty,' with the countenance of another, who seizes upon the desired article, gloats upon the interesting Bennett cut, and goes away almost screaming and jumping for joy. " I see, on reperusing your letter, that you speak of a second edition of The Septenary. I have no objection, provided it does not deprive us again of the necessaries of life. I hope, however, you will not abandon the study of the language. The proverb of the ■ cat and her skin,' I do not like. I have a much better one from the first authority. ' My son,' said the head jailer of the death prison at Ava to an under jailer, who was complaining that they could get no more out of a poor fellow whom they had been tormenting for several days, his wife and house being completely stripped — ? my son,' said the venerable old man, ' be sure you have never wrung a rag so dry but that another twist will bring another drop.' . . . Love to Mrs. Bennett and family. " Yours, "A. Judson." " To Mr. Bennett. " Rangoon, March 3, 1831. " Dear Brother Bennett : I am in great distress. The View has been out several days. It failed us in the midst of the festival. Why some were not ready to be sent by The Hebe, when the arrival would have been so opportune, I cannot conceive. We had been on a short allowance of one hundred per day for several days, and were nearly exhaust- ed, when, on the morning of the 22d, the splendid consign- ment of Moung San-lone arrived. On that day, Tuesday, we gave away three hundred ; on Wednesday, eight hun- dred ; on Thursday, nine hundred ; on Friday, the full moon, 388 m THE EARNEST MAN. seven hundred ; on Saturday, eleven hundred ; on Sunday, eight hundred; on Monday, five hundred. On Tuesday, the immense crowd of boats began to move off. Moung San-lone, second, had been petitioning for two thousand, with which to proceed a few miles up the river, and supply the departing boats. I could not listen to him, when, at the crit- ical moment, The Hebe hove in sight, with your second con- signment, and I sent off a couple of disciples with twelve hundred, but no View. On the same day we gave away, at the house, six hundred ; on Wednesday, seven hundred ; on Thursday, to-day, five hundred. I have been trying for two days to reduce the allowance, but in vain. And even if I could reduce it to two hundred, which is the utmost I hope for, how many days should I hold out ? I have no Views, only six hundred of The Balance, ditto Catechism, about one hundred and fifty of The Investigator, a few Septenaries and Scripture Extracts. That is all ; for we do not consider The Epitome a suitable thing to give away promiscuously to people who have never Jjeard a word of the gospel. Now you see, do you not, that I am in distress ? In a very few days, unless we have a fresh supply, we shall have to shut up the house, and send away the hungry souls, without giving the crumb of a Catechism. It is true that we have had a glorious festival ; but when a famishing man sees pale hunger advancing with rapid strides, it affords him no relief to re- flect that he feasted sumptuously a week ago. We have had a glorious festival, for which I feel under infinite obligation to you ; and as you have begun to run well, I hope nothing will hinder you from prosecuting the race. I have the great- est hope that in a very few days a supply will arrive. As to The Investigator, I begin to hesitate about giving it promis- cuously. It is an excellent work, but appears to be rather too straightforward for the present state of Burmah. It gives more offence than The Balance. The latter work, being LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. S89 cast in a hypothetical shape, is less offensive. I think of proposing a large edition of The Balance, say twenty thou- sand. . . . Yours affectionately, "A. Judson." " Rangoon, March 16, 1831. " Dear Brother Bennett : Your last box of 4 pills ' has quite relieved my distress, and I perceive as yet no symptom of a return, the thermometer being down to one hundred, in consequence of a persevering application of refrigerants. Pretty work for a missionary ' Next box of pills you send, please inclose one compounded of five hundred Catechisms." " March 30. " Your splendid consignment came to hand this morning. I feel as rich as Croesus. But I am sorry to say (perhaps you will be glad) that, for some reason or other, the tide seems to be turning. There are now comparatively few applica- tions for tracts, and I shall not need any other supplies just at present. Never, however, hesitate to send a few, at least, when a good opportunity offers, especially by native boats, if it is only to encourage the trade. Little San-lone went off with five hundred a few days ago, to be present at the annual festival of Shway Mandan, in old Pegu, which took place the 21st instant. If the present consignment had then arrived, he would have taken two thousand or more". I expect him back every day. Pastor Thah-a and Shway-too start to-mor- row morning with a few hundred for the villages of Kam- bai, &c." "With this spectacle of spiritual famine before his eyes, he felt, with inconceivable pain and bitterness,, the comparative coldness and inaction of Christians at 390 THE EARNEST MAN. home. The fields were whitening for the harvest, but there were none to reap. Writing to the correspond- ing secretary, under date of March 4, 1831, he says : — " Priests and people, from the remotest regions, are alike eager to get our writings. I should have given away double the number, if I could have obtained sufficient supplies. But poor brother Bennett cannot, single handed, with bad type, and not yet familiar with Burmese printing, answer all the demands which we make upon him, from different quarters. May God forgive all those who desert us in our extremity. May he save them all. But surely, if any sin will lie with crushing weight on the trembling, shrinking soul, when grim death draws near, if any sin will clothe the face of the final Judge with an angry frown, withering up the last hope of the condemned, in irremediable, everlasting despair, it is the sin of turning a deaf ear to the plaintive cry of ten millions of immortal beings, who, by their darkness and misery, cry, day and night, ' Come to our rescue, ye bright sons and daugh- ters of America, come and save us, for we are sinking INTO HELL.'" " Brother Bennett works day and night at the press ; but he is unable to supply us ; for the call is great at Maulmain and Tavoy, as well as here, and his types are very poor, and he has no efficient help. The fact is, that we are very weak, and have to complain that hitherto we have not been well supported from home. It is most distressing to find, when we are almost worn out, and are sinking, one after another, into the grave, that many of our brethren in Christ at home are just as hard and immovable as rocks ; just as cold and repulsive as the mountains of ice in the polar seas. But whatever they do, we cannot sit still, and see the dear Bur- mans, flesh and blood like ourselves, and like ourselves pos- sessed of immortal souls, that will shine forever in heaven, or LABORS IN PROME AND RANGOON. 391 burn forever in hell — we cannot see them go down to per- dition without doing our very utmost to save them. And thanks be to God, our labors are not in vain. We have three lovely churches, and about two hundred baptized con- verts, and some are in glory. A spirit of religious inquiry is extensively spreading throughout the country, and the signs of the times indicate that the great renovation of Bur- mah is drawing near. O, if we had about twenty more versed in the language, and means to spread schools, and tracts, and Bibles, to any extent, how happy I should be ! But those rocks and those icy mountains have crushed us down for many years." N The number of effective missionaries had been so reduced by sickness, that in May of this year, he was the only one left who could preach the gospel in Bur- mese. Mrs. Wade being obliged, as the only chance for her life, to leave for America, Mr. Wade, who was also in feeble health, was urged by all the missionaries on the ground to accompany her. On hearing this sad Dews, he writes, after expressing his cordial appro- bation of the step : — " I have also written to the brethren to know what I shall do with myself in the mean time. I know not whether they can keep the press moving without me. And though they can, what will become of the native flock in Maulmain? What of the Karens ? What of all the people in the ceded provinces, from Tenasserim to the frontiers of China ? What of all the people from Rangoon to Ava ? I am startled and terrified to find that, by several unexpected moves, I am left, as it were, alone ; there being not another foreigner in 6\)2 THE EARNEST MAN. all the country that can preach the gospel to the perishing millions." The result of the consultation above referred to, was, the transfer of Mr. Jones to Rangoon ; on whose arri- val, Mr. Judson returned to Maulmain. CHAPTER XXII. PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. " Soon after the arrival of the first Burmese mission- ary in Rangoon, his attention was attracted by small parties of strange wild-looking men, clad in unshapely garments, who, from time to time, straggled past his residence. He was told that they were called Karens ; that they were more numerous than any similar tribe in the vicinity ; and as untamable as the wild cow of the mountains. He was further told that they shrunk from association with other men, seldom entering a town, except on compulsion ; and that, therefore, any attempt to bring them within the sphere of his influence would prove unsuccessful." * Such was the first introduction, to the notice of west- em Christians, of this interesting race, whose religious history has been an almost literal fulfilment of the pre- diction, " a nation shall be born in a day." * Memoir of Mrs. Sarah B. Judson. 394 THE EARNEST MAN. The deep interest awakened in Mr. Judson's mind by the appearance of these forlorn beings, communicated itself to the Burman converts ; and led, during the war, to the redemption, by one of the number, of a Karen bond-slave whom he had chanced to find in Rangoon. On the establishment of the mission at Maulmain, he was brought thither by his benefactor, and through the instrumentality of the missionaries, particularly of Dr. Judson, became a convert to Christianity. His heart immediately began to yearn over his brethren accord- ing to the flesh, and he became an active and successful evangelist among them. This was Ko-Thah-byu, a name to be remembered among those of the higher nobility of the redeemed, who, having turned many to right- eousness, shall shine as the stars, forever.* Through him, access was gained to his wild countrymen. The condition of this people, brought to light by the benevolent inquiries of our missionaries, is among the most interesting of ethnological problems. Entirely dissimilar to the Burmans in physical traits and in character, and with little, in these respects, in common with any of the tribes within the empire, no clue to their origin has yet been obtained. Their own traditions point to no earlier residence, from which their ancestors emigrated into the Burmese mountains. One * See Mr. Wade's account of his life. PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 395 could almost fancy they had sprung up spontaneously, in the tangled jungles and wild mountain fastnesses, where, for ages, they have had their home. They are a mild, docile, peaceful race, yet cherishing an uncon- querable love of liberty. Treated with extreme cruelty and ignominy by the Burmans wherever they came into contact, robbed, kidnapped as slaves, and subject to merciless exactions from government, the only refuge of this simple and timid people, was to scatter as widely as possible, so that more than two or three families were seldom found together. In these little groups, they were scattered over several distinct districts of Burmah, in the Tenasserim provinces, in the region south of Ar- racan, and in a wild region southeast of Ava, to the number of one hundred and fifty to two hundred thou- sand. This mode of life precluded social progress. At the time they were discovered by the missionaries, they were in the lowest possible condition in this re- spect ; their knowledge of the useful arts being no more than would suflice for the construction of a rude canoe, the weaving of baskets, and the preparation of a coarse cotton cloth for their scanty covering. Agriculture was unknown among them. They subsisted upon the pro- ducts of the mountain streams, and the spontaneous fruits of the wilderness, migrating from place to place, as the natural provision around them was exhausted. Under 396 THE EARNEST MAN. such circumstances, it would be folly to expect an elevat- ed moral condition. Though affectionate; confiding, and wonderfully truthful, presenting in these points, partic- ularly in the latter, an honorable contrast to their haughty Burman masters, they were, like all savages, indolent, filthy, intemperate, and excessively supersti- tious. In short, they presented the aspect of a people of excellent natural dispositions, but crushed and dis- pirited by the oppression of a more powerful and intel- ligent race, below the expectation, and almost below the wish for improvement. Yet, in the bosom of this outcast people was cherished one idea, one hope, nobler than had ever dawned on the mind of the proud and sagacious Burman. Amidst the mad idolatry of India, and in the very lap of the gorgeous system of Buddhism, the Karens alone were found to be free from image-worship. They had in- deed no religious rites, if we except their propitiatory offerings in danger and sickness to the Nats, a sort of petty mischievous agents not unlike the elves of north- ern Europe. But in their traditionary songs and le- gends had been handed down from one generation to another, the idea of one God, the invisible, supreme Euler of the world, and the prediction that at some future day, white foreigners from across the ocean would come to instruct them in his worship. One of PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 397 these legends was found to be an account of the crea- tion and fall of man, similar to that given in Genesis. Some of their moral precepts also bore a striking resem- blance to those of Scripture? The date of the traditions, and their primary source, were lost in the same obscurity as the origin of the people themselves. Thus prepared, these rude, untutored savages received the Christian missionary in a manner far different from that experienced among the Burmans. They welcomed him and his " glad tidings," as the fulfilment of that Mes- sianic hope, — so we mi^ht almost call it, — for which they long had waited ; and receiving the seed of the kingdom into good and honest hearts, brought forth fruit an hundred fold. Never, probably, among any race of men, has the gospel won such rapid triumphs, or so signally demonstrated its power to improve even the temporal condition. The scion soon far outstripped in growth the parent- mission. Within thirty years after the conversion of Ko-thah-byu, behold these va- grant tribes, blighted by a deep sense of their innate inferiority and their hopeless state of servitude, assum- ing the beautiful lineaments of true Christian civiliza- tion, — their language reduced to writing, and the Bible translated into it, printing presses at work to multiply the means of Christian culture, Christian villages gath- ered, Christian schools and churches, springing up 398 THE EARNEST MAN. all over the Karen wilderness. They have developed an eagerness, and a capacity for acquiring both human and Christian knowledge, and a facility in adopting the habits of civilized life, whiclf is truly marvellous ; while in the simplicity, consistency, and fervor of their piety, they present a most lovely form of Christian character, reminding one of the early Moravians of Germany. But the details of this wonderful story do not belong here, except so far as they are connected with Dr. Jud- son's limited personal labors among the Karens. To his beloved co-laborers was granted, in a far greater degree than to himself, the joy of leading this willing flock into the true fold, and of imparting to them the blessings of Christian knowledge. But it was his great delight to labor among them, when he could snatch an interval of leisure from his other duties ; and if he ever envied his brethren any privilege, I believe it was that of preaching Christ to the Karens. It was found extremely difficult, at first, to persuade even the Christian Karens to abandon their scattered and unsettled mode of life. The habit, first induced probably by the instinct of self-preservation, had become a second nature. But the missionaries hoped to do little of 'permanent value for them, until they could be congregated into villages, where not only their religious instruction could be steadily and systematically prose- PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 399 cuted, but schools could be maintained, and families could be trained into the habits of decency, cleanliness, and industry befitting a Christian community. It was partly in furtherance of this object, that Dr. Judson, at several different times, made excursions into the Karen jungles. His journals of these tours, are among the most interesting illustrations of his genuine missionary spirit. While following him from hamlet to hamlet, as he passed up and down the mountain streams and through the thickets, proclaiming the gospel to the sim- ple dwellers of the wilderness with such heartfelt joy, and unable to forbear weeping when obliged to abandon the delightful work for the prosecution of his transla- tion, we see how deeply he had drunk into his Master's love for souls, and how great was the sacrifice he made to duty, in devoting so much of his life to the solitary labors of the study. The incidents of the second and third of these ex- cursions, which occupied nearly the whole of the months of January, February, and March, of 1832, are given as follows, in his Journal : — " Wadesville, January 1, 1832. " We set out from Maulmain, as purposed in my last, and leaving the Sal wen on the west, and the Ataran on the east, we followed the Gyne and the Dah-gyne, as it is termed ■bovfl its confluence with the Houng-ta-rau, which falls in from the east, and in three days reached this place, the dis- 400 THE EARNEST MAN. tance being, b} r conjecture, above eighty miles. Accounts, on first arriving, are rather unfavorable. . " January 8. My people have been out for several days, in different directions. One party has ascended the river to Kau-nau's village, beyond which boats do not pass. Others have been to Lausan's village, southeast of this, on the Pan- ka-rong rivulet ; others have proceeded further in the same direction, to the head of the Patah River, which also falls into the Dah-gyne. There are twenty-seven baptized disci- ples in these parts, who were nearly all present to-day. at worship, and I am happy to find that they have all behaved well since my last visit, though they have been obliged to encounter a great deal of reproach and opposition from their unbelieving countrymen. But a number of circumstances, too tedious to detail, have conspired to damp the spirit of religious inquiry, which appeared a few months ago ; and though, at one time, there were reported to be a considera- ble number who were ready to embrace the Christian religion, and though it is to be hoped that many of them will prove to be sincere, there seems to be a simultaneous understanding among them to consider longer, before finally committing themselves. I have not, therefore, had the happiness of adding a single individual to the branch of the church in this quarter. " January 9. The disciples at this place being desirous of changing their residence, and uniting with other disciples from different parts in forming a new settlement, we went down the river a short distance, and on the western bank, just below the mouth of the Pan-ka-rong rivulet, found a spot which, uniting the suffrages of all parties, we commended to God, praying him to come and make it his abode, and bless the inhabitants with all temporal and spiritual blessings, and cause it to be a spring whence living waters should flow into all the adjacent parts. Having performed this service, PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 401 and taken leave of the disciples, we proceeded down the river. " January 10. We arrived early at the mouth of the Leing- bwai, which falls into the Dah-gyne from the northwest, and bent our course thitherward. At night, reached Ken- doot, where they have repeatedly rejected the gospel. "January 11. Continued to work our way up the river, frequently impeded by the trees which had fallen across the water, and through which we were obliged to cut a passage for the boat. At night, came to a small cluster of houses, where we found an elderly woman, who, with her daughter, formerly applied for baptism, but was advised to wait. She now received us joyfully, and united with her daughter and son-in-law in begging earnestly that their baptism might be no longer delayed. J directed them to meet me at K wan-bee, about a mile distant, where I formerly baptized nine disciples, most of them from Tee-pah's village, a few miles to the west. "January 12. Proceeded to K wan-bee. A few people came together on the beach to stare at us, and we had a little meeting for worship before breakfast. We then proceeded to investigate the case of Loo-boo, who was reported to have joined, when his child was extremely ill, in making an offer- ing to a nat (demon) for its recovery. We at first thought of suspending him from the fellowship of the church ; but he made such acknowledgments and promises that we finally forgave him, and united in praying that God would forgive him. We do not hear of any other case of transgression ; but on the contrary, in two instances of extreme illness, the dis- ciples resisted all the importunities of their friends to join in the usual offerings to propitiate the demons, who are sup- posed to rule over diseases. In one instance, the illness ter- minated in death ; and I have to lament the loss of Pan- mlai-mlo, who was the leader of the little church in this quarter, and the first of these northern Karens, who, we 26 402 THE EARNEST MAN. hope, has arrived safe in heaven. I ought, perhaps, to except the case of a man and wife near the head of the Patau River, who, though not baptized, and never seen by any foreign missionary, both died in the faith ; the man enjoining it on his surviving friends to have the View of the Christian Religion laid on his breast and buried with him. " Some of the disciples have gone to Tee-pah's village to announce my arrival; and while others are putting up a small shed on the bank, I sit in the boat and pen these notices. " In the evening, held a meeting in the shed, at which sev- eral of the villagers were present. " January 1 3. My people returned from Tee-pah's village, bringing with them several disciples and one woman, the wife of Loo-boo, who presented herself for baptism, with twelve strings of all manner of beads around her neck, and a due proportion of ear, arm, and leg ornaments ! and, strange to say, she was examined and approved, without one remark on the subject of her dress. The truth is, we quite forgot it, being occupied and delighted with her uncommonly prompt and intelligent replies. In the afternoon sent the boat back to Maulmain, with directions to proceed up the Salwen, hav- ing concluded to cross thither by land. In the evening, had a pretty full shed ; but the inhabitants of the place do not appear very favorably inclined. "January 14. The three persons mentioned on the 11th presented themselves, with the decorated lady of yesterday. Being formerly prevented by illness from animadverting on female dress in this district, as I did in the Dah-gyne, I took an opportunity of ' holding forth ' on that subject before breakfast ; and it was truly amusing and gratifying to see the said lady, and another applicant for baptism, and a Christian woman who accompanied them, divest themselves, on the spot, PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 403 of every article that could be deemed merely ornamental ; and this they did with evident pleasure, and good resolution to persevere in adherence to the plain dress system. . We then held a church meeting, and having baptized the four applicants, crossed the Leing-bwai on a bridge of logs, and set out for Tee-pah's village, accompanied by a long train of omen, children, and dogs. Towards night we arrived at that place, and effected a lodgment in Tee-pah's house. In the evening, had a pretty full assembly. *■ January 15, Lord's day. Iu the foreuoon I held a meet- ing for the disciples only, and, as I seldom see them, endeav- ored to tell them all I knew. Had more or less company through the day. In the evening a crowded house. Tee- pah's lather, a venerable old man, came forward, and wife I a good confession. Some others, also, begin to give evidence that they have received the truth into good and honest hearts. u January 16. In the morning Tee-pah's mother joined the party of applicants for baptism, and her younger daughter- in-law, whose husband was formerly baptized. But Tee-pah :. though convinced of the truth, and giving some evi- of grace, cannot resolve at once on entire abstinence from ruin, though he has never been in the habit of intoxica- tion. In the course of the forenoon, we held a church meet- ing, and unanimously received and baptized eight individuals from this and a small village two miles distant. " Took an affectionate leave of the people, and prosecuted our journey towards the Salwen. Came to Zat-kyee's small Village, where one man and his wife embraced the truth at &TB< hearing ; and the man said, that as there was no suit- able place for baptizing at that village, he would follow on, until he could say, ' See, here is water,' &c. I gave him leave to follow, not with that view, but to listen further to the blessed gospel. At night, reached JShway-bau's village, 404 THE EARNEST MAN. ft where they afforded us a shelter rather reluctantly. In the evening, however, had an interesting, though small assem- bly. " January 1 7. Pursued our way, and soon came in sight of the Salwen, the boundary between the British and Burmese territories. Arrived at Poo-ah's small village, consisting of three houses, not one of which had a leaf of covering. No one welcomed our arrival ; so we sat down on the ground. Presently the preaching of one of the Karen disciples so wrought upon one of the householders, a Burman with a Karen wife, that he invited me to sit on his floor; and my people spread a mat overhead, which, with my umbrella, made me quite at home. The householder, in the interval of his work, and one of the neighbors, began to listen, and were present at evening worship. "January 18. Shway-hlah, the man who followed us from the village day before yesterday, appearing to be sincere in his desire to profess the 'Christian religion, we held a meeting, though four disciples only could be present ; and on balloting for his reception, there was one dissentient vote, so that I advised him to wait longer. He appeared to be much disap- pointed and grieved ; said that he should perhaps not live to see me again, and have an opportunity of being initiated into the religion of Jesus Christ; and after a while the two Karen disciples insisting that he should be reexamined, we gave him a second trial, when, on cross-questioning him in the Burman language, which he understood pretty well, (for we began to suspect the Karen interpreters of being a little partial to their countryman,) some circumstances leaked out which turned the scale in his favor, and he gained a clear vote. After his baptism, he went on his way rejoicing, resolving to tell ail his neighbors what ' great things the Lord had done for him.' At morning worship, our host and the neighbor mentioned above, appeared to be very near the kingdom of heaven,' PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 405 but the other people of this village decidedly reject the gospel. "January 19. The boat having last night arrived from Mauhnain, we prepared to proceed up the river. The two hopeful inquirers requested us to make them another visit on our return. Resolve to do so ; and hope to find that the seed now sown in this and the neighboring villages will have sprung up and be ripe for harvest 11 Passed Panchoos's village, where we spent an hour, and Nga-koung's, too far inland to visit. -January 20. Passed the head of Kanlong Island, and breakfasted near Yetdau's village, where we found two or three inquirers. One woman followed to the boat, and lis- tened attentively. Passed Kan-karet Island, beyond which the Yoon-zalen empties into the Salwen from the west, and about noon reached Tat-sau's small village. One man, who had heard the gospel before, appeared very favorably im- pressed. Crossed the river to Lee-hai's village on the Bur- man side. In the evening, had a considerable assembly at his house, lie and his son-in-law, their wives and one or two others, appeared open to conviction. M January 21 . llecrossed the river to take in Ko-Myat-kyau and Chet-thiug, whom I had sent away from Kwan-bee, with directions to make a circuit to the north, and meet me at this place. They have proclaimed the gospel in many places where it was never heard before, and met with some in- stances of hopeful inquiry. We then proceeded up the Salwen, and in passing the mouth of the Yen-being, whieh falls in from the east, I sent Moung Zu-thee and Tau-nah to make another circuit, and meet me at Poo-ah's village ten days hence. At night, sent the two remaining Karen disci- ples to a small village a few miles inland. "January 22. On their return we again set out, and at three o'clock reached the landing-place called Toung Pyouk, 406 THE EARNEST MAN. where trading boats from Maulmain are obliged to stop, on account of the rapids in the river. No village near, and only- two boats. A most dreary place. Nothing but rocks and sand hills. Sent two of my people forward by land, intend- ing to follow them to-morrow. " January 23. Followed the track of my people, and after travelling five hours, came to Chanbau's village, in the midst of the mountains. In the evening, had a pretty large, but not very attentive assembly. Two or three received the word with apparent joy, and none manifested decided oppo- sition. to January 24. Set out for Bau-nah's village, two days' jour- ney ; but after travelling an hour over dreadful mountains and in the bed of a rivulet, where the water was sometimes knee deep, and full of sharp, slippery rocks, when my bare feet, unaccustomed to such usage, soon became so sore that I could hardly step ; and having ascertained that such was the only road for many miles, I felt that I had done all that lay in my power towards carrying the gospel further in this di- rection, and therefore relinquished the attempt, and reluc- tantly returned to Clfanbau's village. Not so many present at evening worship as yesterday. The seed sown here ap- pears, in some instances, to have fallen on good ground ; but our short stay deprives us of the pleasure of seeing fruit brought to perfection. " January 25. Returned to the boat, which we reached in two and a half hours, by a more direct route, and proceeded down the river. Soon came to a landing-place, where, ob- serving a few boats, we stopped, with a view to communicate the gospel to the boat people. The two Karen disciples went to a village about a mile inland. In the evening, had a con- siderable assembly on the sand bank. " January 26. Some of the villagers came to the boat, and after listening a while, invited me to return with them. I PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 407 found three houses only, but the inhabitants listened with the best attention. "January 27. This little village may be said to have em- braced the gospel. At one time we had eight applicants for baptism ; but two only were finally received, Ko Shway and his wife Nah Nyah-ban. They both understand the Burmese language pretty well ; and the woman possesses the best in- tellect, as well as the strongest faith, that I have found among this people. I invited them, though rather advanced in life, to come to Mauhnain, and learn to read, promising to sup- port them a few months ; and they concluded to accept the invitation next rainy season. They followed us all the way to the boat, and the woman stood looking after us until we were out of sight. '* In the afternoon, arrived again at the Yen-being River, and sent some of my people to a neighboring village two miles distant. The villagers listened a while, and then sent a respectful message, sayirfg that they believed the religion of Jesus Christ, that it was most excellent, &c, but begged that the teacher would go about his business, and not come to disturb them. " January 28. Proceeded down the Salwen, touching at several villages, and on reaching Yet-dau's, found sufficient encouragement to spend the night. "January 29. Four persons, two men and their wives, having heard the gospel before, and being now quite settled in their minds, and giving good evidence of having the grace of God, were received into the Christian church by baptism. Enjoyed a very pleasant Lord's day, having several seasons of worship, in a little shed pertaining to the village. Two other persons request baptism, and their case will be consid- ered to-morrow. ** January 30. In the morning, held a church meeting by the river side, and received the last two applicants. The 408 THE EARNEST MAN. chief of the village, Yet-dau's father, and several other per- sons, arc very favorably impressed. Not a word of opposition to be heard. Took an affectionate leave of this little church, now consisting of six members, and went down the river on the west side of Kanlong Island, having come up on the east side from Poo-ah's village. Entered the Mai-zeen rivulet, in Burmese territory, and landed at Thah-pe-nike's village, where we spent the day. In the evening, had a noisy assem- bly. Some professed to believe, but pleaded the fear of gov- ernment as an excuse for not prosecuting their inquires. One young man, Kah-lah by name, drank in the truth, and promised to come to Maulmain as soon as he could get free from some present engagements. "January 31. Continued our course down the river, and landed on the west side, at Ti-yah-ban's village. The chief is said to be very much in favor of the Christian religion, but, unfortunately, had gone up the river, and his people did not dare to think in his absence. fn the afternoon, came to the ' upper village,' the first we found on Kanlong. They listened well, but, about sunset, took a sudden turn, and would give us no further hearing. We removed, therefore, to Yai- thah-kau's village. Some of my people went ashore. The chief was absent, and the principal remaining personage, a Buddhist Karen, said that when the English government en- forced their religion at the point of the sword, and he had seen two or three suffer death for not embracing it, he would begin to consider, and not before ; that, however, if the teacher desired to come to the village, he could not be inhospitable, but would let him come. I sent back word that I would not come ; but, as he loved falsehood and darkness, I would leave him to live therein all his days, and finally go the dark way ; and all my people drew off to the boat. While we were deliberating what to do, something touched the old man's heart ; we heard the sound of footsteps advancing in the dark, PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 409 and presently a voice. ' My lord, please to come to the vil- lage.' ' Don'i eall me lord. I am no lord, nor ruler of this world.' ' What must I call you ? Teacher, I suppose.' k Yrs. but not your teacher, for you love to be taught false- hood, not truth.' * Teacher, I have heard a great deal against this religion, and how can I know at once what is right and what is wrong ? Please to come and let me listen attentively to your words.' I replied not, but rose and followed the old man. He took me to his house, spread a cloth for me to sit on, manifested great respect, and listened with uncommon attention. When I prepared to go, he said, ' But you will not go before we have performed an act of worship and prayer?' We accordingly knelt down, and, during prayer, the old man could not help, now and then, repeating the close of a sentence with emphasis, seeming to imply that, in his mind, I had not quite done it justice. After 4 ! was gone, he said that it was a great thing to change one's religion; that he stood quite alone in these parts ; but that, if some of his acquaintance would join him, he would not be behind, iirnary 1. Went on to Pa-dah's village, near the southern extremity of the island, where there is a Buddhist print, and the people generally are worshippers of Gaudama. Met with a frigid reception. But one man, who had heard and received the truth before, came forward boldly, and re- quested baptism. He bore an excellent examination, and we received him gladly. The opposition here is strong. None of the villagers present at evening worship, except a brother of the chief, and one other man ; but these spoke decidedly in favor of the Christian religion, as did the old man of yotcplay, who followed hither by land. The priest, I hear, is very angry, and, unfortunately for his cause, uses abusive language. " February 2. Went round the northern extremity of Kanlong, and up the eastern channel, to Poo-ah's village, 410 THE EARNEST MAN. where we found the two disciples whom we sent away on the 21st ultimo. They have met with a few hopeful inquirers, Some who live near are expected here to-morrow. In the mean time, went down the river a few miles, to Poo-door's village. My people preceded me, as usual, and about noon I followed them. But I found that the village was inhabited chiefly by Buddhist Karens, and, of course, met with a poor reception. After showing myself, and trying to conciliate the children and dogs, who cried and barked in concert, I left word that, if any wished to hear me preach, I would come again in the evening, and then relieved the people of my presence, and retreated to the boat. At night the disciples returned, without any encouragement. One of them, how- ever, accidentally met the chief, who said that if I came, he would not refuse to hear what I had to say. On this half invitation, I set out, about sunset, and never met with worse treatment at a Karen village. The chief would not even invite us into his house, but sent us off to an old deserted place, where the floor was too frail to support us ; so we sat down on the ground. He then invited us nearer, and sat down before us, with a few confidential friends. He had evi- dently forbidden all his people to approach us, otherwise some would have come, out of curiosity. And what a hard, suspicious face did he exhibit ! And how we had to coax him to join us in a little regular worship ! It was at least an hour before he would consent at all. But in the course of worship his features softened, and his mind ' crossed over,' as he ex- pressed it, to our religion ; and I returned to the boat inclined to believe that all things are possible with God. " February 3. Some of my people who slept at the village returned with the report that the place is divided against itself. Some are for and some against us. The opposition is rather violent. One man threatens to turn his aged father out of doors if he embraces the Christian religion. Perhaps PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 411 this is not to be regretted. Satan never frets without cause. Turned the boat's head again to the north, and retraced our way to Poo-ah's village, where we spent the rest of the day. But the two hopeful inquirers that I left here on the 29th have made no advance. " February 4. Shway-hlah's wife, mentioned the 16th ultimo, having been here three times to meet me, was this time examined and received. She came accompanied by Tat-kyee, the principal man in her village, who himself is half a Christian. He had heard that I wished to have a zayat in these parts, and invited me to go up to the mouth of the Chummerah rivulet, now dry, where some of his people in- tend settling, and he would assist in building the zayat. I regarded this as an intimation of the path of duty, and set out for the place, about three miles distant. It was an addi- tional inducement, that Tee-pah's village has been lately re- moved towards the Salwen, and is now situated two miles inland from the spot recommended. On our way we met a deputation from Tee-pah, inviting me to fix on the same Bpot, and his people also would assist in building the zayat. On arriving at the place we were joined by Tee-pah's father, and several other disciples, bringing with them a lad who has for some time listened to the truth, and now earnestly re- quested to be baptized. We held a church meeting on the bank, twelve disciples present from different parts, and unan- imously received him. I then marked out a place for the zayat, dispatched Tau-nah to bring his family from the Dah- gyne district, and build a house near the zayat, as he is to be stationed here, by mutual consent of all parties ; and hav- ing named the new place Chummerah, from the adjoining rivulet, we took leave of the disciples, and again went down the river to Poo-door's village, where we arrived late at night. u February 5. Went to the village and had worship. The 412 THE EARNEST MAN. chief was absent on some government business. * Six persons appeared to be near the kingdom of heaven, among whom is the old man whose son threatens^to turn him out of doors. In the afternoon, proceeded down the river, and came to a village of Toung-thoos, a race of people from whom we have never yet obtained a disciple. They are strict Buddhists. Their language is entirely different from the Kareir, but the men generally understand a little Burmese. We did all in our power to gain their confidence, but in vain. They re- jected our overtures, and would not even allow us to sleep in their houses. " February 6. Went on our way ; entered the Maizeen rivulet, which falls into the Salwen from the east, and landed at Kai-ngai's village, where we spent a few hours, but, not meeting with much encouragement, in the evening dropped down to the mouth of the rivulet, where, finding some rela- tions of Pan-lah, who listened well, we spent the night " February 7. Proceeded down the river to Kappay's village, where some listened with delight ; thence to a small village on the Burman side ; thence to Pah-an, on the Brit- ish side; and thence to Rajah's village, on the same side, where we spent the night. The chief, who had heard the gospel before, now listened with the utmost eagerness till after midnight. " February 8. Rajah made a formal request to be admit- ted into the Christian church, and we had no hesitation in complying. He is the first Karen chief baptized in these parts. His people show a strange aversion. Not one of them would accompany us to the water, though he gave them an invitation. They seem to take side with his eldest son, a grown man, who has been a Buddhist priest, and is still strongly attached to that religion. After the baptism, we went to a small village below Rajah's ; thence to Taroke-lah, inhabited by Talings ; thence to a village of Toung-thoos, where we PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 413 found one man that listened ; thence to a Karen village below Kan-blike. In the evening, had a considerable assembly. Three persons professed to believe. "February 9. Visited Wen-gyan, Pah-len, and Zong- ing, Taling villages, where we found a few Karens. At the latter place, collected a small assembly for evening worship. A few professed to believe ; others were violent in opposing. "February 10. Visited several Taling villages in succes- sion. In the afternoon, readied the confluence of the Salwen and the Gyne, upon which we turned into the latter, and went up to Taranah, where Ko Shan resides, as mentioned December 29. The inhabitants of this place, like the Ta- lings in general, are inveterately opposed to the gospel, and Ko Shan has had very little success. Two or three individ- uals, however, appear to be favorably impressed ; but the opposition is so strong that no one dares to come forward. " February 11. Left Ko Shan, with the promise of send- ing him aid as soon as possible, and in the afternoon reached Maulmain, after an absence of six weeks, during which I have baptized twenty-five, and registered about the same number of hopeful inquirers." M February 29, 1832. Left Maulmain for the Karen vil- lages on the Salwen, accompanied by Ko Myat-kyau, who speaks Karen, three other Taling disciples, and the two Karen assistants, Panlah and Chet-thing. The other Karen assistant, Tau-nah, I expect to meet at Chummerah, accord- ing to the arrangement of February 4. At night, reached Tong-eing, and found that the few Karens near the place had concluded to reject the gospel. "March 1. Touched at the village above Nengyan, and found that the inhabitants have come to the same conclusion, * till the next rainy season.' Passed by all the Taling towns, and touched at the village below Rajah's, where we found that the people still adhere to the new Karen prophet, Aree- 414 THE EARNEST MAN. niaday. Moung Zuthee unfortunately encountered a very •respectable Burman priest, with a train of novices, who, not relishing his doctrine, fell upon him, and gave him a sound beating. The poor man fled to me in great dismay, and, I am sorry to say, some wrath, begging leave to assemble our forces, and seize the aggressor, for the purpose of delivering him up to justice. I did assemble them ; and, all kneeling down, I praised God that he had counted one of Our number worthy to suffer a little for his Son's sake ; and prayed that he would give us a spirit of forgiveness, and our persecutors every blessing, temporal and spiritual ; after which we left the field of battle with cool and happy minds. Reached Ra- jah's late at night. He remains firm, though not followed by any of his people. His wife, however, and eldest daughter, after evening worship, declared themselves on the side of Christ. " March 2. Spent the forenoon in instructing and examin- ing the wife and daughter. The former we approved, but rejected the latter, as not yet established in the Christian faith. After the Baptism, Rajah and his wife united in pre- senting their younger children, that I might lay my hands on them and bless them. The elder children, being capable of discerning good from evil, came of their own accord, and held up their folded hands in the act of homage to their pa- rents' God, while we offered a prayer that they might obtain grace to become true disciples, and receive the holy ordi- nance of baptism. At noon, left this interesting family, and proceeded up the river, stopping occasionally and preaching,* wherever we could catch a listening ear. Entered the Mai- san, and landed at the village above Rai-ngai's, which Ko Myat-kyau has formerly visited. In the evening, had two very attentive hearers. " March 3. The two attentive hearers were up nearly all night, drinking in the truth. One of them became urgent PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 415 • for baptism ; and on bearing his present and past experience, from the time he first listened to the gospel, we concluded to receive him into the fellowship of the church. His wife is very favorably disposed, but not so far advanced in knowl- edge and faith. Returned to the Sal wen, and made a long pull for Poo-door's village ; but late in the evening, being still at a considerable distance, were obliged to coil ourselves up iu our small boat, there being no house in these parts, and the country swarming with tigers at this season, so that none of us ventured to sleep on shore. "^larch 4, Lord's day. Uncoiled ourselves with the first dawn of light, and soon after sunrise took possession of a tine flat log, in the middle of Poo-door's village' a mile from the river, where we held forth on the duty of refraining from work on this the Lord's day, and attending divine worship. Some listened to our words ; and in the forenoon we suc- ceeded in collecting a small assembly. After worship, the old man mentioned formerly, whose son threatened to turn him out of doors, came forward, with his wife ; and having both witnessed a good confession, we received them into our fellow- ship. Poo-door himself absent on a journey ; but his wife ready to become a Christian. / •• March b. Spent the forenoon in examining and receiving another couple, and then went on to Chummerah. The dis- ciples from Tee-pah's village have built a zayat, and two or three families, including Tau-nah's, have arrived, and are settling themselves. At night, went out to the village, four miles distant, (instead of two, as first reported,) and had a full assembly of disciples and inquirers at evening worship. •• March 6. The truth is evidently spreading in this village ; one inquirer after another is coming ojer to the side of Christ. After morning worship left some of my people to follow up the work, and returned to the zayat. 416 THE EARNEST MAN. " March 7. In the forenoon above twenty disciples assem- bled at the zayat ; and after -worship we examined and re- ceived five persons more, all from Tee-pah's village. Left Zuthee in charge of the zayat, and took Tau-nah in his place. Visited Pan-choo's village, where some listened in silence. " March 8. Went several miles inland to visit Nge Koung's village ; but the people, being Buddhist Karens, would not even treat us hospitably, much less listen to the word. In the afternoon reached Yah-dans village, and visited the little church, chiefly to receive the confession of two female members, who have been implicated in making some offer- ing to the demon who rules over diseases — the easily beset- ting sin of the Karens. Spent the rest of the day in preaching to the villagers and visitors from different parts. Several professed to believe. Had a profoundly attentive though small assembly at evening worship, on the broad sand bank of the river, with- a view to the accommodation of certain boat people. We felt that the Holy Spirit set home the truth in a peculiar manner. Some of the disciples were engaged in religious discussion and prayer a great part of the night. " March 9. Several requested baptism. In the course of the day we held a church meeting, composed of the disciples from Maulmain, and others from the neighboring village, and received three persons into our communion, all men, formerly disciples of the new prophet Areemaday. In the afternoon, proceeded up the river, as far as Zat-zan's village, where two old women, of some influence in these parts, lis- tened with good attention. At night severaf of the disciples went inland a few miles, to Laidan, where the inhabitants are chiefly Buddhist Ifcirens ; but finding Mah Kee-kah, the widow of Pan-mlai-mlo, whose death is mentioned January 1 2, her parents and sisters drank in the truth. Hope to visit them on my return. PREACHING TOUHS IN THE JUNGLES. 417 " March 10. "Went on to the mouth of the Yen-being, and as far as the great log, which prevents a boat from proceeding further. Providentially met with Wah-hai, of whom I have heanl a good report for some time, He was happy to see us, and we were happy to examine and baptize him. We then visited the village, whence they formerly sent a respectful . desiring* us to go about our business, and found some attentive listeners. •• .March 11, Lord's day. Again took the main river, and soon fell in with a boat containing several of the listeners of lay, among whom was one man who declared his res- olution to enter the new religion. We had scarcely parted with this boat when we met another, full of men, coming down the stream; and, on hailing to know whether they wished to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, an el- derly man, the chief of the party, replied that he had al- ready heard much of the gospel ; and there was nothing he desired more than to have a meeting with the teacher. Our boats were soon side by side, where, after a short engage- ment, the old man struck his colors, and begged us to take him into port, where he could make a proper surrender of burnetf to Christ. We accordingly went to the shora, and spent several hours very delightfully, under the shade of the overhanging trees, and the banner of the love of Jesus. The old man's experience was so clear, arid his desire lor baptism so strong, that, though circumstances prevented our gaining so much testimony of his good conduct since believ- ing as we usually require, we felt that it would be wrong to refuse his request. A lad in his company, the person men- tioned January 30, desired also to be baptized. But though he had been a preacher to the old man, his experience was not so decided and satisfactory; so that we rejected him for the The old man went on his way, rejoicing aloud, and leclaring his resolution to make known the eternal God, and 27 418 THE EARNEST MAN. the dying love of Jesus, all along the banks of the Yoon-za- len, his native stream. " The dying words of an aged man of God, when he waved his withered, death-struck arm, and exclaimed : ' The best of all is, God is with us,' I feel in my very soul. Yes, the great Invisible is in these Karen wilds. That mighty Being, who heaped up these craggy rocks, and reared these stupendous mountains, and poured out these streams in all di- rections, and scattered immortal beings throughout these deserts — he is present by the influence of his Holy Spirit, and accompanies the sound of the gospel with converting, sanctifying power. ' The best of all is, God is with us. 7 1 In these deserts let me labor, On these mountains let me tell How he died — the blessed Saviour, To redeem a world from hell.' " March 12. Alas ! how soon is our joy turned into mourn- ing ! Mah Nyah-ban, of whom we all had such.a high opinion, joined her husband, not many days after their baptism, in making an offering to the demon of diseases, on account of the sudden, alarming illness of their youngest child ; and they have remained ever since in an impenitent, prayerless state. They now refuse to listen to our exhortation, and ap- pear to be given over to hardness of heart and blindness of mind. I was therefore obliged, this morning, to pronounce the sentence of suspension, and leave them to the mercy and judgment of God. Their case is greatly to be deplored. They are quite alone in this quarter, have seen no disciples since we left them, and are surrounded with enemies, some from Maulmain, who have told them all manner of lies, and used every effort to procure and perpetuate their apostasy. When I consider the evidence of grace which they formerly gave, together with all the palliating circumstances of the PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 419 case, I have much remaining hope that they will yet be brought to repentance. I commend them to the prayers of the faithful, and the notice of any missionary who may travel that way. In consequence of the advantage which Satan has gained in this village, the six hopeful inquirers, whom we 1 left here, have all fallen oif; so that we are obliged to retire with the dispirited feelings of beaten troops. " I respectfully request, and sincerely hope, that this article may be neither suppressed nor polished. The principle of • double selection,' as it is termed, that is, one selection by the missionary and another by the publishing committee, has done great mischief, and contributed more to impair the credit of missionary accounts than any thing else. We in the East, knowing how extensively this principle is acted on, do scarcely give any credit to the statements which appear in some periodicals, and the public at large are beginning to open their eyes to the same thing. It is strange to me that missionaries and publishing committees do not see the excel- lency and ellicary of the system pursued by the inspired writ- ers — that of exhibiting the good and the bad alike. Nothing contributes more to establish the authenticity of the writing. A temporary advantage gained by suppressing truth, is a real defeat in the end, and therefore (mvtj -&vteov afafteut.* " Returned down the river; reentered the Yen-being ; had another interview with the listeners of yesterday ; met with a Taling doctor from Kan-hlah, near Maulmain, who listened all the evening with evident delight. "March 13. Spent the day and night at Tatzan's, Se- hai's, and the village of Lai-dan, where we failed of finding Mali Kee-kah, but found her parents, who listened well. In these parts I have a considerable number of hopeful inquir- ers. May the Lord bless the seed sown, and give us the * We must sacrifice only to truth. 420 THE EARNEST MAN. pleasure of reaping a plentiful harvest at no very distant period. " March 14. Touched at Yah-dan's, and went down the west side of Kan-long, as before, to Thah-pa-nike's ; (15,) proceeded to Ti-yah-bans, where we left a few hopeful in- quirers ; and then went on to Pa-dah's village. In the even- ing, had worship at the chief's house. "March 16. The opposition here is violent. The man who was baptized on my last visit, has been obliged to re- move to the outskirts of the village, but he remains steadfast in the faith ; and to-day another man came out, and having witnessed a good confession, was received into the fellowship of the persecuted. At night, ran down to Poo-door's village, about five miles ; found him at home, and spent the evening in persuading him to forsake all for Christ. His language is that of Agrippa: 'Almost,' &c. I have great hopes and great fears for his immortal soul. Three of the disciples went several miles inland, to a village where there are some hopeful inquirers. " March 1 7. Returned up the river to Chummerah. In the evening, had a considerable assembly of disciples prepar- atory to the administration of the Lord's supper. " March 18. Administered the Lord's supper to thirty-six communicants, chiefly from villages on the Salwen. " March 19. Left Tau-nah and Moung Tsan-lone in charge of the zayat and boat, and set out with the rest of my people, and two or three new followers, on a journey over- land to the Dah-gyne. In the evening, after marrying a couple at Tee-pah's village, had an interesting assembly, with whom we enjoyed religious discussion till near midnight. Two opposers came over, I trust, to Christ. " March 20. Went on our way, and in two hours and a quarter, not including stops, reached Kwanbee, on the east of the Leing-bwai. Two hours and a quarter more brought PREACHING TOURS IN THE JUNGLES. 421 ns to Mai-pah, where the people, being prejudiced against the gospel, gave us a poor reception. '•March 21. In a neighboring village, found a few who listened well. After spending the morning in instructing them, continued our journey eastwardly, and after two and a half hours' hard walking, reached a small village near the Dah-gyne, where the people received us hospitably, but, being Buddhists, listened with no good disposition. •• -March 22. Reached the new place selected January 9, which we call Newville, about forty miles distant, I conjec- turef from Chummerah. Found two families only settled here, but others are about joining them. Some of the disci- ples went to the neighboring villages to give information of my arrival. " March 23. Most of the disciples visited me in the course of the day. In the evening, had a pretty full room. Received and baptized one couple, who applied for baptism on my first visit, but were rejected. • March 24. Having removed Moung Doot from this station, — who, though a good man, has grown cold and in- active, — appointed Pan-lah in his place, and selected a few individuals for the adult school, we set out on our return to Chummerah, and at night reached Mai-pah, twenty miles distant, being half-way between the two stations. " March 25. In the morning, had a small, attentive assem- bly, from one of the neighboring villages. Then went on to Tee-pah's village, which we reached in season for evening worship. "March 26. Three lads from Tee-pah's village, two of them baptized, joined our company, with a view to the adult school at Maulmain. Took the boat at Chummerah, and went down the river. Spent the night at Rajah's village. Some begin to listen. " March 27. Ran down the river without touching at any 422 THE EARNEST MAN. place by the way. At night, reached Maulmain, after an absence of nearly a month, during which I have baptized nineteen, making eighty Karen Christians in connection with the Maulmain station, of whom one is dead, and two are sus- pended from communion. Am glad, yet sorry, to find that brother Bennett arrived a fortnight ago from Calcutta, with a complete fount of types, and yesterday sent a boat to call me, which, however, passed us on the way. Must I, then, relinquish my intention of making another trip up the river, before the rains set in ? Must I relinquish for many months, and perhaps forever, the pleasure of singing as I go : — . ' In these deserts let me labor, On these mountains let me tell ? ' Truly, the tears fall as I write." The whole number of Karens received to church- membership on profession of their faith, within twenty- five years, amounts, as nearly as can now be ascertained, to about TWENTY THOUSAND. CHAPTER XXIII. LABORS OP THE STUDY. Very early in Dr. Judson's residence in Burmah, he became convinced that the Press must be one of the chief instruments of its regeneration. He found its inhabitants a reading people, beyond any other in India ; * of a remarkably inquisitive, speculating turn of mind, not disposed to admit any new doctrine, with- out a full apprehension of the why and wherefore. In regard, especially, to a change of religion, which in- volved so much worldly sacrifice, and even the risk of life, the cool and cautious Burman was doubly on his guard ; and, as a general thing, the reception of Chris- tianity was the result of deep conviction of the under- standing. " It is," says Mr. Judson at a subsequent period, " rather characteristic of Burman converts, that they are slow in making up their minds to em- * He states, in one of his Jetters, that five millions, that is, about one third of the population, knew how to read. 424 THE EARNEST MAN. brace a new religion; but the point once settled, is settled forever." He describes one individual as " a pretty fair specimen of a cautious Burman, who turns a thing over ten thousand times before he takes it; but when once he takes it, holds it forever." In his earliest attempts to communicate Christian ideas, he was met with the inquiry : " Where are your sacred books ? " He saw that, in christianizing such a people, " the hearing of the ear " would not alone suffice. '" I have found," he writes in 1817, " that I could not preach publicly to any advantage, without being able, at the same time, to put something in the hands of the hearers. And in order to qualify myself to do this, I have found it absolutely necessary to keep at home, and to confine myself to close study for three or four years." A short time previous, he had announced the print- ing of a couple of tracts ; the one a View of the Chris- tian Religion, a thousand copies ; the other a Catechism, four thousand copies. These, though written within four years after his first arrival in Rangoon, proved to be perfectly intelligible to the natives, and have re- mained standard works to this day. It was not long before " the first inquirer " presented himself, with the momentous question : " How long will it take me to learn the religion of Jesus Christ ? " " How came LABORS OF THE STUDY. 425 you," it was asked, " to know any thing of Jesus ? Have you ever been here before ? " " No." " Have you seen any writing concerning Jesus ? " "I have seen two little books." " Who is Jesus ? " " He is the Son of God, who, pitying creatures, came into this world, and suffered death in their stead." " Who is God ? " " He is a being without beginning or end, who is not subject to old age or death, but always is." " I cannot tell," adds Mr. Judson, " how I felt at this moment. This was the first acknowledgment of an eternal God, that I had ever heard from the lips of a Burman." He then attempted to enter into conver- sation with the visitor, in order to communicate to him something more respecting God and Christ; but he gave little attention, seeming intent only on obtaining " more of this kind of writino." After watch- ing three weeks in vain for the reappearance of this interesting inquirer, Mr. Judson learned, accidentally, that the reading of these books had been his sole em- ployment in the interval ; and that he showed them to every one who called on him. The story is a striking illustration of the trait of Burman character above referred to. A similar case, more interesting still, from its rich results, was related by him in an address to the students of Brown University, during his visit in this country. 426 THE EARNEST MAN. " In the early part of his residence in Rangoon (he went on to relate) a Burman philosopher, attended by his pupils, on their way to a neighboring pagoda, was wont to pass the place where he lived, and from which he instructed the people. On one occasion, the philosopher was stopped by the crowd gathered about Dr. Judson, and his eye acciden- tally fell upon the first tract that was published in the Bur- mese language," the opening words of which announced the existence of a living, eternal God. These significant words arrested his whole attention, and he stood a long time, as in profound thought, his whole soul absorbed with the great truth which they taught. To himself, as well as the whole nation, this was a new idea, and it led to a long course of study and investigation, which finally resulted in the renun- ciation of the religion of his country, and the adoption of Christianity. " He was baptized, and commenced a course of zealous labor as a Christian teacher. He soon became obnoxious to the government, and was tried and condemned to death. But, before the day of execution came on, he effected his escape, and fled from the city. Since that time Dr. Jud- son had never seen him, nor learned any particulars of his life, but had frequently heard of him, through persons who came a long distance from the interior, in search of- tracts and Bibles, having been awakened to inquiry, and converted to the Christian faith, by his instructions." In addition to these tracts, he prepared others from time to time, some for awakening attention among the people ; others, for the instruction of the converts, or as aids to the native assistants. He did not even think it beneath him to draw up a little manual of astronomy, LABORS OF THE STUDY. 427 and another of geography, for use in the schools. To the class first mentioned, belongs The Golden Balance, written in 1829, a popular appeal to the understanding of the sagacious Burmans, founded on a comparison of Buddhism with Christianity. Assuming nothing but what they themselves admit concerning Gaudama and his doctrines, a bold contrast is drawn between the leading points of the two religions, to which, in closing, he challenges attention in a style well adapted to those whom he addressed : " O ye Talings and Burmans ! if through fear that your dark neighbors will revile you, you dare not open both eyes, do pray open one eye the breadth of a hair, and, in pity to yourselves, take one look." This tract has been very widely cir- culated, and has exerted a powerful influence on the native mind.* But, above all, the knowledge of God's own Word was, in his view, not only preeminently desirable as an adjunct to missionary labor, but its only true and per- manent foundation. Dr. Judson was thoroughly im- bued with the great Protestant doctrine, the right of every man to know for himself, without the interven- tion of any human medium, the will of God as re- vealed in his own inspired Scriptures. He would not * A translation of The Golden Balance, by the author's own hand, will be found in the Appendix to Dr. Wayland's Memoir, ii. 448. 428 THE EARNEST MAN. even venture to commence preaching, without some portion of the sacred volume, to which he could refer as his ultimate authority, and by which his hearers could themselves test his teachings. Accordingly, after trying his hand at Burman com- position in the tracts first mentioned, he immediately applied himself to the translation of the Gospel of Matthew, of which he proposed to print a small edition, " by way of trial, and as introductory to a larger edition of the whole New Testament." This was the commencement of that great work, whose completion, twenty-three years after, marks the most important epoch in the history of Burmah, when the Bible be- came the inalienable inheritance of her children. Through several succeeding years, the labor was prosecuted under great difficulties, the necessities of the mission allowing him, for the most part, to devote to it only scattered intervals of leisure, gleaned from more pressing avocations. The translation of the en- tire New Testament was finished in June, 1823.* * the story of the preservation of this precious work, related by- Mrs. Judson, might adorn the page of romance. It was taken to Ava in manuscript; and when Mr. Judson was thrown into prison, was secretly sewed up by his wife in a cushion too hard and un- sightly to tempt the cupidity even of his jailers, and used by him as a pillow. When, at the close of seven months, he and his fellow sufferers were so rudely thrust into the inner prison, the old pillow fell to the share of one of the keepers ; but finding it probably too LABORS OP THE STUDY. 429 On his return to Amherst, at the close of the war, he resumed the work ; and, from the year 1828, it be- came his chief employment The conviction constantly grew upon him, that this was his assigned calling in the kingdom of God, his life-work, and that his undi- vided energies must be henceforth consecrated to its accomplishment. On the last day of January, 1834, lie thus records the attainment of his wishes, by the completion of the entire Old Testament. "January 31, 1834. Thanks be to God, I can nbw say I have attained. I have knelt down befpre 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 imperfections 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 inspired word, now complete in the Burman tongue, the grand instrument of filling all Burmah with songs of praise to our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen." But this was only " the beginning of the end." He immediately commenced a revision of the whole work, hard for his use, he threw it back, and it came once more into its owner's hands. It was again lost when he was driven to Oung-pen- la; and being stripped, by one of the attendants, of the mat which was tied around it, the roll of hard cotton was again flung back into the prison. Here it was found by Moung Ing, who took it home, as a memorial of his teacher, without suspecting its priceless contents. " Several months after, the manuscript, which now makes a part of the Burmese Bible, was found within, uninjured." 430 THE EARNEST MAN. which occupied him till near the close of 1840 ; " hav- ing bestowed," as he writes to Rev. Dr. Cone, soon after its completion, " more time and labor on the re- vision, than on the first translation of the work." . Of the principles by which he had been guided in his momentous task, one only, the basis of all the rest, need be mentioned here. It was his single object to give a faithful expression, in the vernacular tongue, of every thought expressed in the original. " I take this occasion," he writes in 1841, "to say that I heartily approve of the resolution of the American Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, passed April, 183-3 : ' That all missionaries of the Board who are, or who shall be, engaged in translating the Scriptures, be instructed to endeavor, by earnest prayer and diligent study, to as- certain the exact meaning of the original text, and to express that meaning as exactly as the nature of the language into which they shall translate will admit, and to transfer no words which are capable of being literally translated.' " Mr. Judson's work, through his conscientious adhe- rence to this principle, came under the disapprobation of the American Bible Society, from which aid had been received in publishing the Burman Scriptures. On learning the fact, that the versions by Baptist mis- sionaries allowed no transfer of words from the origi- LABORS OP THE STUDY. 431 nal, which could be expressed in the vernacular tongue, the Board of that Society deemed it necessary to es- tablish more specific rules, by which their patronage should in future be regulated. Their deliberations re- sulted in the resolution, "to encourage such versions only as conform in the principles of their translation to the common English version." Meanwhile, their aid was suspended, till they should be assured that the ob- noxious translations were modified in accordance with this direction. Compliance with such a requisition being found im- possible, the majority of Baptists in the Board and Society retired from its ranks. The American and Foreign Bible Society was then organized, on the prin- ciple previously adopted by the Board of Foreign Missions, and carried out in Mr. Judson's translation. Mr. Judson hailed the formation of this Society, and of a kindred one in England, as progressive steps in the advancement of the kingdom whose foundation is Truth. " I approve," he writes to the Corresponding Secretary, July 12, 1839, " of the principles on which the American and Foreign Bible Society was founded, and which are repeatedly recognized in their first An- nual Report, particularly that foreign translations are not to be conformed to the common English versioii." See, also, the " Resignation," page 57 of the said Re- 432 THE EARNEST MAN. port, beginning with, " He is bound to express ; " the letter of Mr. Hinton to Lord Bexley, page 66, begin- ning with " In the name of all that is honest ; " and the 5th reason of the " Protest," page 31 of the Con- stitution of The American and Foreign Bible Society. In May of the same year, he expressed himself as fol- lows, in a letter to the Rev. Dr. Cone : * Maulmain, May 17, 1839. Very dear Brother : Many thanks for your kind let- ter of last September. The intelligence contained therein, and in the Annual Report, is of a most animating nature. It cannot be doubted that the divine blessing rests on the " distinct organization " of efforts for the wider circulation of the Holy Scriptures in all lands In your Annual Report, I see, that " in the distribution of the Scriptures in the English language, you are to use the commonly received version, until otherwise directed by the Society." I do not know that I understand the drift of the resolution ; but it looks as if a new English version was con- templated. I perceive also, that the bare suggestion of such a project, is sufficient to fill some good minds with horror. But I must say that I cannot sympathize with them. I be- lieve that the commonly received version is one of the very best that was ever made. But it is not inspired ; and to pay undue reverence to any human production, whether it be mother church, or mother translation, partakes of the nature * For the original of this letter, which is given in no previous account of Dr. Judson, (having been mislaid for some years, and but recently fodnd,) I am indebted to the kindness of my venerable friend, to whom it was written LABORS OF THE STUDY. 433 of idolatry. I am probably less averse to the proposal of a new translation, because the idea of correcting the old one has been a favorite with me for many years. I commenced the work even so long ago as when I was at Andover, and on my passage out to this country ; and it was in studying the Greek, and correcting the common version, that I first began to be favorable to the Baptist sentiments. If the work should be attempted, the rush of prejudice would, doubtless, for a time, be terrific ; but the truth is mighty and will prevail. Of Dr. Judson's qualifications, as a translator of the Scriptures, it is necessary to add but little here. His natural gifts, his thorough linguistic training, both clas- sical and sacred, and his wonderful mastery of the Burman tongue, have been already noticed in previous chapters. His conscientious fidelity in this most sacred of all trusts, is worthy the study of all who are engaged in this work. To the end of life he was a close philo- logical student ; availing himself of all the aids of modern scholarship within his reach, yet never allow- ing his translation to be, in great or in small points, a mere reflection of the ideas of other men. Every sug- gestion was carefully weighed and tested, and its claims fully established to his own mind, before it was per- mitted to Become his guide. He was never weary of revising and re-revising his labor, either to conform it more perfectly to the sense of the original, or to give to the sense a more idiomatic and felicitous expression in Burman. 28 434 THE EARNEST MAN. The pains he took, in furtherance of this great object of his life, to forget his mother-tongue, and to transfer his entire intellectual life into the forms of a foreign language, is a remarkable instance of resolute single- ness of purpose. He preached, it is supposed, but one English sermon during his whole residence in India ; and when Dr. Malcom visited him in 1847, he had not then heard one for fourteen years. He denied himself all English reading, except a single newspaper and a few books of devotion ; relinquished, so far as possible, English society and correspondence ; and sought, by exclusive intercourse with the natives, and with the literature of the country, the power not merely of using the words of the language with facility, but of thinking and feeling, of living wholly in it. His mind was steeped in Burman literature ; while his constant famil- iarity with all classes of society, gave him command of the widest variety in the forms of living speech. The result was, a style of composition in which his own strong mental characteristics spontaneously expressed themselves, with all the freshness and force, all the idiomatic accuracy and elegance, of one " to the manner born." His Burman Bible has been pronounced, by high authority,* "perfect as a literary work;" "an imperishable monument of his genius." But its high- * Dr. Wayland's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 167. LABORS OF THE STUDY. 435 est praise is in the fact, as stated by a brother mission- ary, that " it is free from all obscurity to the Burmese mind. It is read and understood perfectly. Its diction is as choice and elegant as the language itself, peculiar- ly honorific, would afford, and conveys, doubtless, the mind of the Spirit as perfectly as can be." Yet, even now, he had not fully reached his own standard. He admits, indeed, that in regard to the New Testament, and the historical books of the Old, he was better satisfied than he ever expected to be. " The language," he says, " is, I believe, simple, plain, intelli- gible ; and I have endeavored, I hope successfully, to make every sentence a faithful representation of the original." " But," he writes in another letter, " the beau ideal of translation, so far as concerns the poetical and prophetical books of the Old Testament, I profess not to have attained. If I live many years, of which I have no expectation, I shall have to bestow much more labor on those books." "They are doubtless suscep- tible of much improvement, not merely in point of style, but in the rendering of difficult passages, about which the most eminent scholars are not yet agreed." This labor he did not live to perform, but bequeathed it, in the noble spirit of a true Christian scholar, to his successors. " I commend the work, such as it is," thus lie writes to the corresponding secretary, " to God, to 436 THE EARNEST MAN. the church in Burmah, and to my successors in this department of labor ; begging them not to spare my errors, and yet not prematurely to correct a supposed error, without consulting the various authors whom I have consulted, and ascertaining the reasons of my po- sition ; and especially not to adopt a plausible correc- tion in one instance, without inquiring whether it is admissible and advisable in all parallel and similar pas- sages." Judson was too great a man to regard the ap- plication of progressive scholarship to his work as an indignity to his memory ; and he was too intelligent a Christian, too true a Protestant, to be willing that his translation, or any other, should receive the honor due alone to the sacred originals. At the same time, his very reverence for the originals made him anxious that no inexperienced or rash hand should be laid to the revision of a work, on which he had spent the best labors of his life. Judging from similar cases in the past, one thing we may regard as certain ; that, however future revisors may improve his work, Judson's translation must forever remain, substantially, the Bible of Burmah. The first version in the language, of such general ac- curacy, in style and manner so felicitous a reflection of the original, and so purely vernacular, it must ever be, LABORS OP THE STUDY. 437 like Wickliffe's in the English, the basis and model of all others for the use of the people. A brief notice of Dr. Judson's purely literary labors will close this chapter. The Burman Grammar, the Pali Dictionary, and the Burman and English Dictionary, which were all prepared within the first five years of the mission, have been already noticed in Chapter xn. When he had finished the final revision of his Bible in 1840, he hoped to be allowed to return to the field of personal missionary effort, from which he had been so long withdrawn by his duties as a translator. But the wish was not realized. Nearly two years previous, he had been compelled, by an affection of the throat and lungs, threatening to end in pulmonary consump- tion, to refrain, for many months in succession, from his usual Sabbath ministrations to the native church in Maulmain, of which he was pastor. Subsequently, he was able, at intervals, to resume " the delightful work of preaching;" but he never fully surmounted the dif- ficulty, which returned upon him with every exposure or unusual fatigue. In June, 1841, he writes: "My own health is poor. I am ever and anon subject to some ailment ; and every cold I take touches the sore 438 THE EARNEST MAN. place, and breaks down my voice." The state of his health at length induced him to yield a reluctant assent to the pressing solicitations of the Board, and of his missionary brethren, and turn his attention to the preparation of a complete Burman and English dic- tionary. While he acknowledged the great importance of the work, and could not deny that he had enjoyed better opportunities than any other man for becoming quali- fied for it, he yet turned with strong aversion from this dry, and as he called it, " unmissionary " drudgery. But no sooner was he convinced that this also was " a work given him to do," than he devoted himself to it with all the diligence and patient perseverance of a predestined lexicographer. Nay, more ; he reaped the earnest man's invariable reward, that of becoming deeply interested, and almost enthusiastic, in his la- bors. " We are apt to magnify the importance of any undertak- ing in which we are warmly engaged. Perhaps it is from the influence of that principle, that, notwithstanding my long- cherished aversion to the work, I have come to think it very important ; and that, having seen the accomplishment of two objects on which I set my heart when I first came out to the East, the establishment of a church of converted natives, and the translation of the Bible into their language, I now beguile my daily toil with the prospect of compassing a third, which may be compared to a causeway, designed to facilitate the LABORS OP THE STUDY. 439 transmission of all kuowledge, religious and scientific, from one people to the other." It was his first intention to make a single work, Burmese and English ; but as he proceeded, his plan enlarged, and he concluded to make it a double work, in two parts, the first English aud Burmese, the second Burmese and English. When he commenced this laborious undertaking, he hoped to complete it by the end of 1845. But it grew under his hands; and sick- ness and afflictions brought frequent and long interrup- tions to his studies. In 1849, he had finished the first part ; and had proceeded so far in the second, as to an- ticipate its completion in the course of another year. He then supposed that it would make two quarto vol- umes of a thousand or twelve hundred pages. But before that time came, he had obtained his discharge from all earthly toil, " bequeathing," in his own words, " both the plodding and the profit to any brother who shall be willing to carry on and complete the work." CHAPTER XXIV. MISSIONARY POLICY. Mr. Judson took with him to India no specific plan of missionary operations. A few general ideas were firmly fixed in his mind ; but the details gradually de- veloped themselves, as the result of long-continued observation of the working of various methods. His views never attained, indeed, to that iron rigidity of outline which excludes all modification, nor was he the man to wish that his particular notions should be en- forced as laws on others. But the mature conclusions of so comprehensive and discriminating a mind, must be of great weight with reflecting men ; for, unlike the hobbies of narrow minds, adopted by accident or ca- price, they will always be found to embody some impor- tant principle. To present briefly, the leading features of his views on the conduct of missions, is the object of this chapter. 1. The preaching of Christ ; in other words, the direct communication of gospel truth to individual MISSIONARY POLICY. 441 minds, as the grand agency for Christianizing a heathen people. A preliminary course of training in' human knowledge, by which they should be gradually pre- pared to receive Christian ideas, was entirely foreign to his theory, which rested on a firm belief in the adap- tation of the gospel to the necessities of man's inward nature. Why should time be spent in beguiling him along through the flowery paths of science, when there is in every human breast a sense of guilt, a demand for expiation, a foreboding of future retribution, through which the gospel can at once reach to the springs of moral life ? His idea of " preaching," however, em- braced more than the mere oral communication of » truth. In whatever form it was brought into direct contact with the mind, whether through the spoken or the written word, the Saviour's command, " Preach the gospel," was strictly fulfilled. Thus in his address, when in this country in 1846, before the American and Foreign Bible Society, he says : '— " The word preach has in modern usage acquired a mean- ing rather too specific for the original. Oral communication may be the first and most obvious, but is certainly not the exclusive meaning of the original word. It is more faithfully represented in English by the word proclaim. If a messen- ger from a king or superior government should be sent to a rebellious province, to proclaim pardon to the inhabitants, he would evidently be fulfilling his commission, whether he 442 THE EARNEST MAN. communicated the intelligence by addressing the people in his own person, or by inserting notices in the public prints, or by circulating handbills, or by distributing authentic docu- ments from the sovereign, declaring the terms of pardon. The apostle Paul did as really and certainly, as effectually and extensively, proclaim the gospel, when he penned the Epistles to the Hebrews and the Romans, as when he ad- dressed the Jews in their synagogues, or received company in his own hired house at Rome. The earlier communi- cations of a missionary, sent to impart the gospel to an unen- lightened people, will probably be of an oral kind ; but he will have very imperfectly fulfilled his commission, if he leave them without the written word. The mischievous con- sequences also of such neglect are abundantly manifest in the missions conducted by the man of sin. Protestant missions have patronized the translation and distribution of the Scrip- tures ; but of late years there has appeared, in one or two instances, a tendency to promote the oral communication of the gospel, not indeed to an undue preeminence, but in such a manner as to throw a shade over the written communi- cation, by means of tracts and Scriptures. In examining (he annals of modern missions, it is difficult to ascertain which mode of communicating the gospel among a reading nation, has received the greatest share of divine blessing, and been instrumental of bringing most souls to the knowledge of the truth. And however the preaching of the gospel, in its common acceptation, and the distribution of tracts, may se- cure earlier effects, and be regarded as more popular, all missionary operations, to be permanently successful, must be based on the written word." To his mind, there was nothing antagonistic in these different methods. They were mutually supplemen- MISSIONARY POLICY. 4^3 tary. Neither of them could do without the other, and each grew by the increase of the other. He would have flooded Burmah, if he could, with Bibles and tracts ; but he would not have had, on this account, one missionary the less. As the permanent foundation of the Christian church in a heathen land, he gave the first place to the diffusion of the Holy Scriptures ; but as an instrument for the actual ingathering of souls, to the labor of the living preacher. His views on this point are very clearly expressed in the following letter to the corresponding secretary, written in 1838 : — " Modern missions have been distinguished from the Roman Catholic, and indeed from all former missions, since apostolic times, by patronizing and honoring the word of God. And I do believe that those missions which give the highest place to the divine word, will be most owned of God, and blessed. There is only one book in the world which has (irs< •ended from heaven, or, as I tell the Burmans, there is only one golden lamp which God has suspended from heaven to guide us hither. Shall we missionaries throw a shade around it, or do aught to prevent the universal diffusion of its life-giving rays ? O that one complete volume of the Bible, and not merely the New Testament, — for the word of God, though not such a book as human philosophy and logic would have devised, is doubtless, in the eye of infinite Wisdom, a perfect work, and just fitted to answer the great end which God has in view, — O that one copy of the Bur- man Bible were safely deposited in every village where the language is understood ! Burmah is now shut against us, but it will not be so always ; and where there is a will there is a 444 THE EARNEST MAN. way. And Arracan, with her two thousand villages or more, is open for the reception and deposit of two or three thou- sand Bibles. " I would not be understood to depreciate the preaching of the gospel, the grand means instituted by Christ for the conversion of the world. But all our preaching must be based on the written word ; and when the voice of the living preacher is passed away from the village, the inspired vol- ume may still remain to convict and to edify. I would say, therefore, that the preached gospel and the written word are the two arms which are to pull down the kingdom of dark- ness, and build up the Redeemer's. Let us not cut off one of these arms ; for the other will, by itself, be comparatively powerless, as the history of the church in every age will tes- tify." 2. Multiplication of centres of influence, as opposed to a system of centralization in a few large stations. The operation of the latter method — the gradual ray- ing out of light from a single point, or a few points, through the boundless regions of heathen darkness, was altogether too slow a process. Ere the saving beams could have crept to the utmost borders of death, gen- erations, he saw, would have sunk unilluminated into the night that knows no hope of day. He would has- ten towards the perishing millions with the light of life, would kindle a beacon simultaneously on every height,' that all might see and rejoice together in the salvation of God. In that eloquent appeal, whose words burn with the fire of his own heart, addressed to the Board MISSIONARY POLICY. 445 in 1832, he thus maps out the field which he proposed to them for immediate occupancy : — " Respected Fathers and Brethren : At our month- ly concert this morning, it was unanimously agreed that a joint letter should be addressed to you, on the importance of sending out more missionaries to this part of the heathen world. Being every one of us exceedingly pressed for want of time, we cannot stop to prepare an elaborate statement, but must come at once to the point in hand. '• We are in distress. We see thousands perishing around us. We see mission stations opening on every side, the fields growing whiter every day, and no laborers to reap the har- vest. If each one of us could divide himself into three parts, happy would he be, not only to take leave of his native land and beloved connections at home, but of still nearer and more intimate connections. We want instantly to send aid to the Tavoy station, where brother Mason is laboring, al- most alone. We want instantly to send a missionary to Mer- gui, a pleasant, healthful town, south of Tavoy, where a small church has been raised up, and left in charge of a native pastor. Our hearts bleed when we think of poor Mcrgui and the Karens in that vicinity, many of whom are ready to embrace the gospel and be saved. But how can we allow ourselves to think of that small place, when the whole kingdom of Siam lies in our rear, and the city of Bangkok, at once a port for ships and the seat of imperial government ? We want instantly to dispatch one of our number to Bang- kok. One ? There ought, at this moment, to be three, at least, on their way to that important place. Another ought to be on his way to Yah-heing, a large town east of Maul- main, from which there is a fine river leading down to Bang- kok ; there are many Karens at Yah-heing. The 'Christian religion is creeping that way, by means of our Karen dis- 446 THE EARNEST MAN. ciples. North of Yah-heing and the Thoung-yen River, the boundary of the British territory on that side, lies the king- dom or principality of Zen-mai. There have been several communications between the government of Maulmain and Lah-bong, the present capital of that country. Moung Shway-bwen, one of our disciples, formerly with brother Boardman at Tavoy, is a nephew of the prince, or deputy prince, of that country, and is anxious to return thither. But how can we send him, a very young man, without a mis- sionary ? If we had a spare missionary, what a fine oppor- tunity for introducing the gospel into that central nation ! It would open the way to other neighboring nations, not even mentioned in foreign geographies, and even to the bor- ders of China and Tartary. Between Maulmain and Zen- mai are various tribes of Karens, Toung-thoos, Lah-wahs, &c. The former are literally crying aloud for a written language, that they may read in their own tongue the wonderful works of God. From the banks of the Yoon-za-len, on the northwest, the celebrated prophet of the Karens has repeat- edly sent down messages and presents to us, begging that we would come and instruct his people in the Christian religion. But how can we think of supplying that quarter, when the old kingdom of Arracan, now under British rule, and speak- ing the same language with the Burmese, is crying, in the whole length and breadth of her coast, for some one to come to her rescue ? In that country are one or two hundred con- verts, and one country-born missionary, from the Serampore connection, who is laboring without any prospect of reinforce- ment from Bengal, and desirous that one of us should join him. Kyouk Phyoo, lately established by the English, is es- teemed a healthy place. The commandant is disposed to welcome a missionary, and afford him every facility. Our hearts bleed when we think of Kyouk Phyoo, and the poor inquirers that one of our number lately left there, ready to MISSIONARY POLICY. 447 embrace the Christian religion, if he would only promise to remain or send a successor. From Kyouk Phyoo, the way is open into the four provinces of Arracan, namely, llek-keing, Chedubah, Bamree, and Sandoway; and what a grand field for our tracts, and the New Testament, now in press ! Of all the places that now cry around us, we think that Kyouk Phyoo cries the loudest. No; we listen again, and the shrill cry of golden Ava rises above them all. O Aval Ava ! with thy metropolitan walls and gilded turrets, thou sittest a lady among these qpstern nations; but our hearts bleed for thee ! In thee is no Christian church, no missionary of the cross. M O God of mercy, have mercy on Ava, and Chageing, and A-mu-ra-poo-ra. Have mercy on Pugan and Prome, (poor Frame !) on Toung-oo, on the port of Bassein, and on all the towns between Ava and Rangoon. Have mercy on old Pegu and the surrounding district. Have mercy on the four prov- inces of Arracan. Have mercy on the inhabitants of the banks of the Yoon-za-len, the Sal-wen, the Thoung-yen, and iic. Hare mercy on all the Karens, the Toung-thoos, the Lah-wahs, and other tribes, whose names, though un- known in Christian lands, are known to thee. Have mercy on Zen-mai, on Lah-bong, Myeing-yoon-gyee, and Yay- heing. Have mercy on Bangkok, and the kingdom of Siam, and all the other principalities that lie on the north and east. Have mercy on poor little Mergui, and Pah-Ian, and Yay, and Lah-meing, and Nah-zaroo, and Amherst, and the Island of Baloo, with its villages of Talings and Karens." — " Have mercy on the churches in the United States ; hold back the curse of Meroz ; continue and perpetuate the heavenly re- vivals of religion which they have begun to enjoy ; and may the time soon come when no church shall dare to sit under Sabbath and sanctuary privileges, without having one of their number to represent them on heathen ground. Have mercy on the theological seminaries, and hasten the time when one 448 THE EARNEST MAN. half of all who yearly enter the ministry shall be taken by thine Holy Spirit, and driven into the wilderness, feeling a sweet necessity laid on them, and the precious love of Christ and of souls constraining them. Hear, O Lord, all the prayers which are this day presented in all the monthly con- certs throughout the habitable globe, and hasten the millennial glory, for which we are all longing, and praying, and labor- ing. Adorn thy beloved one in her bridal vestments, that she may shine forth in immaculate beauty and celestial splendor. Come, O our Bridegroom ; come 4 Lord Jesus j come quickly. Amen and Amen." For the furtherance of this object, he urged the division of forces to the utmost possible extent. He would have no two men together at a post, where one, by putting forth all his energies, could do the essential work. He even discouraged young missionaries from lingering at stations already occupied, under the plea of learning the language, and becoming familiar with the routine of missionary service. He would have them go immediately into the field, and learn to work by working. " Look at dear Boardman ! " he says. " Eleven months after landing at Amherst, he was in Tavoy. And what a light he kindled up in his short life ! " " With the New Testament in hand, and tracts and prayers all prepared, a young missionary can begin to preach and exhort very soon. How much better for him to dash into Toung-oo, or some other place, get the language from the living sounds, kindle up a bright MISSIONARY POLICY. 449 light that will never go out ! How much better than to be rusting here in Maulmain ! " Increasing by soat- tering, strengthening by dividing, was, in his view, the great law of missionary warfare. But, it might be asked, would not the seeming ad- vantages of so great a division of forces, be at the ex- pense of their real effectiveness ? Must not this exten- sion of the line of attack occasion the weakening of each separate part, and so of the whole aggregate? Would not a few stations, fully manned, with the advantages of combined and systematic effort thus secured, accomplish more than ten times the number, with only one or two laborers at each ? Dr. Judson held the reverse of this to be the fact ; and the longer he observed the working of the two methods, the deep- er grew his conviction that he was in the right. " For- merly," thus he writes to the Board in 1835, "having spent many years alone, I felt desirous of missionary society, and was disposed to encourage a few to stay together, not doubting that we should all find enough to do. But I have now learned that one missionary, standing by himself, feeling his individual responsi- bility, and forced to put forth all his efforts, is worth half a dozen cooped up in one place, while there are unoccupied stations in all directions, and whole dis- tricts, of thousands and hundreds of thousands, perish- 29 450 THE EARNEST MAN. _> ing in the darkness of heathenism." " This is the way in-which I think missions ought to be conducted. One missionary, or two at most, ought to be stationed in every important central place, to collect a church and an interest around him ; to set the native wheels at work, and keep them at work. Very few native assist- ants will hold out well, unless well instructed, and kept under rigid supervision. An additional missionary would doubtless do good ; but nearly all the good he would do, would probably be done if he were away, laboring in some other place, which, but for him, would be unoccupied, and where, of course, all he should effect, would be so much net gain to the cause." Though confined, for the most part, at Maulmain, by his duties as a translator, he was always ready to as- sume extra duties there, in order that his brethren might be free to reinforce destitute stations, or to found new ones. Nor, as we have already seen, were his affections limited to the country of his adoption. He pleaded as earnestly for Assam, and Arracan, and Siam, as for Burmah, and was just as willing to spare from the missionary ranks for their benefit. He thus expresses his exultation at the opening of the mission in Assam, though it took from Burmah a beloved and efficient laborer. MISSIONARY POLICY. 451 " Maulmain, June 11, 1835. " The letters of Pearce, Trevelyan, and Jenkins, copies of which have been forwarded to you from Bengal, have opened to us a new missionary field, blessed with a very healthful climate, and the protection of English government. " Brother Brown embraced the proposal with instant en- thusiasm, not merely because of the above advantages, for Assam presents a splendid opening for missionary efforts, and brother Brown is excellently well qualified to take the lead in that great and important mission. My heart leaps for joy, and s\w!Is with gratitude and praise to God, when I think of brother Jones at Bangkok, in the southern extremity of the continent, and brother Brown at Sadiya, in Assam, on the frontiers of China, immensely distant points, and of all the intervening stations, Ava, Rangoon, Kyouk Phyoo, Maul- main, and Tavoy, and the churches and schools which are springing up in every station, and throughout the Karen wilderness. Happy lot to live in these days ! O, happy lot to be allowed to bear a part in the glorious work of bringing an apostate world to the feet of Jesus ! Glory, glory be to God!" 3. Missionaries for life, was an idea to which he attached much importance. This point is so fully- brought out in the following letter, as to make remarks unnecessary. To the Corresponding Secretary. "Maulmain, January 12, 1833. " Rev. and dear Sir : It is with regret and consternation that we have just learned that a new missionary has come out for a limited term of years. I much fear that this will occa- sion a breach in our mission. How can we, who are devoted for life, cordially take to our hearts and councils one who is 452 THE EARNEST MAN. a mere hireling ? On this subject all my brethren and sisters are united in sentiment. We should perhaps address a joint letter to the Board ; but such a measure might not appear sufficiently respectful. May I earnestly and humbly entreat the Board to reconsider this matter, and not follow implicitly in the wake of other societies, (I beg pardon,) whether right or wrong. " I have seen the beginning, middle, and end of several limited term missionaries. They are all good for nothing. Though brilliant in an English pulpit, they are incompetent to any real missionary work. They come out for a few years, with the view of acquiring a stock of credit on which they may vegetate the rest of their days, in the congenial climate of their native land. Do not a man and woman who cohabit for a time, quarrel and part the first opportunity ? And is it not one end of the marriage tie for life to promote har- mony and love ? Just so in the case before us. As to lessening the trials of the candidate for missions, and making the way smooth before him, it is just what ought not to be done. Missionaries need more trials on their Jirst setting out, instead of less. " The motto of every missionary, whether preacher, print- er, or schoolmaster, ought to be, * Devoted for life.' A few days ago, brother Kincaid was asked by a Burmese officer of government, how long he intended to stay. ' Until all Bur- mah loorships the eternal God,' was the prompt reply. If the limited term system, which begins to be fashionable in some quarters, gain the ascendency, it will be the death blow of missions, and retard the conversion of the world a hundred years. " Excuse my freedom of speech, and believe me to be, " With all faithfulness and respect, " Your • devoted for life,' "A. JUDSON." MISSIONARY POLICY. 453 4. The entire devotion of the missionary to his spe- cific work, the conversion of the heathen. He urged, in furtherance of this object, a mode of living tending to separate missionaries from European society. " Be- ware," thus he writes to certain missionary candidates in this country, " beware of genteel living. Maintain as little intercourse as possible with European society. The mode of living, adopted by many missionaries in the East, is quite inconsistent with that familiar inter- course with the natives which is essential to a mission- ary." His own dwelling was always fixed in the native quarter, at a distance from the English population. He wished the natives to feel that he was their friend, their brother, who had given himself wholly to them ; and he knew that few of them would venture to seek him among the residences of their aristocratic foreign rulers. His intimate knowledge of Burmese character, by which he exercised so strong and beneficent an influ- ence on the native mind, and bound the hearts of the converts to him as to their spiritual father, justified the wisdom of his course, and repaid, a thousand fold, any sacrifices of personal ease and comfort. 5. Tlie training of the native churches into the ca- pacity of self-management ; their growth into such a state of Christian maturity, that they could perform, 454 THE EARNEST MAN. unassisted, all the functions of the spiritual body. This result, so essential to the permanence of Christian in- stitutions in the country, yet so slow and difficult of attainment among a people just emerged from heathen- ism, and moulded from birth into habits of dependence, he sought with a fine tact, and a patient perseverance, which show how much his heart was engaged in it. He watched every sign of progress in this respect, with no less pleasure than the mother watches her child as it attempts to stand and walk, and ventures on little independent journeys of a yard or two, without her guiding and supporting hand. As soon as three or four disciples can be collected at one point, the cases of new candidates for baptism is always brought before them, by the relation of their Christian experience, and the decision is according to the judgment of the body. In his journals, while visiting the Karens, he more than once records, with the playful fondness and pride of a parent's heart, the rejection, by the little native church of five or six members, of candidates with whom he was himself very well satisfied. In such cases, he would endeavor by some means to bring the case before them for a second hearing, but never overruled their action by his authority. So far as possible, the demo- cratic spirit, which has ever been one of the grand characteristics of the Baptist churches at home, was MISSIONARY POLICY. 455 infused into these new churches, planted in the ex- hausted soil of slavery and despotism, as the only means of gradually training them up into a realization of the noble ideal presented in the New Testament. The development of the various gifts in the native churches, was an object of special solicitude with him. The productiveness of the little church in Rangoon, in this respect, has been already noticed. The same thing appears in those constituted in the second period of the mission, both among Burmans and Karens. Of course, all the gifts for the edifying of the body of Christ, are to be ascribed to a divine source; nor, wanting this higher influence, can any amount of training and cul- ture supply the church with true laborers. But it is no less true, that the gifts of the Spirit are germs to be nurtured ; and, as a general thing, only those which are nurtured come to maturity. Had Judson and his early associates repressed, or even neglected, the native ele- ments of usefulness, can it be supposed that the result would have been what we now find it? He would have felt, that to do this, was to build the church in Burmali on the sand. Foreign hands must indeed do the preparatory work, must start into motion the agen- cies necessary for the regeneration of the country. But, for the completion and perpetuity of the work, the reliance must be upon the native churches, and espec- 456 THE EARNEST MAN. ially the native ministry. To call out, and to cherish by instruction, by pious influence, and by suitable exer- cise, every talent for Christian usefulness, was, there- fore, an object second to none in his esteem. Might not some of the methods by which this object was sought, as exhibited in the following extracts, if applied in our own Christian land, do much to resolve the ques- tion, so often and so anxiously asked : " How is the spirit of the ministry to be revived in our churches?" Writing from Rangoon in 1831, be says : " Moung En is settled with me ; his department is to receive com- pany (i. e. inquirers) at the house." " Moung Sanlone is becoming a valuable assistant. It is his business to go about the place, distribute tracts, and con- verse whenever he can get opportunity ; and he some- times makes short excursions into the neighboring vil- lages." " I have sent Moung Shway-doke with three thousand tracts up the Laing River, which breaks off from the Rangoon outlet a little above Rangoon, and joins the great River Tingdau, below Prome. It passes through a populous part of the country, where the word of life has never yet been published. Moung Sanlone has left me this morning with twenty-five hun- dred tracts, to visit the neighborhood of old Pegu, on the east ; and Moung Shway-too will shortly leave with three thousand, for the large towns of Pan-ta-nau and MISSIONARY POLICY. 457 Bassein, on the west." And what a picture is this, of his arrangements for a missionary tour into the jungle : " In view of my leaving Maulmain, on a second tour among the Karens, I have appointed the two deacons, Ko Dwah and Ko Shway-ba, to conduct the daily evening worship, and the public worship on Lord's day. The former acts also as teach- er to Mrs. Bennett, and the latter is employed in copying translations. Ko Man-boke, the other deacon, and his wife, I send to the aid of brother and sister Wade at Mergui, where Pastor Ing also is stationed. Moung Sanlone and Moung Shway-moung, I send to itinerate in the direction of Yay ; and Moung Poo, from the school, and Moung Zah, to itine- rate between this and Amherst, chiefly in the vicinity of Pah-ouk. Ko Shan and family I send to reside at Tara-nah, a populous Taling village, on thaGyne, a few miles above Maulmain, where he has a son settled. Moung En ex- pects soon to revisit Rangoon. Moung Dway has gone to Bengal with brother Bennett. The three Karen families who have been in the adult school, and Moung Doot, who is now here on a visit from his station at Wadesville, I shall take with me, together with Ko Myat-kyau, who speaks the Karen well, Moung Zuthee, Moung Tau-ma-gnay, Moung Tsan-lone, the schoolmaster, and Moung Ouk-moo, just from school, 'all good men and true.'" In 1835, he writes from Maulmain : — " I have now five native assistants, who spend an hour with me, every morning, in reporting the labors of the preceding day, in receiving instructions, and in praying together. These men penetrate every lane and corner of this place and the neighboring villages ; and since I have adopted this plan, — about four months, — there are some very encourag- 458 THE EARNEST MAN. ing appearances. As soon as I get through with the Old Testament complete, I want to double their number, and de- vote part of my time to instructing them systematically. Now, ten such persons, half students, half assistants, cost no more than one missionary family ; and for actual service they are certainly worth a great deal more." To such training, under the blessing of God, is to be ascribed the wonderful development of the missionary and ministerial spirit in the native churches ; and to this, in turn, the rapifl spread of the gospel among the various races embraced in the operations of the mis- sion. Of this, many interesting proofs might be given ; but for want of space, a single example must suffice. • "In April, 1833, Ko Thah-byoo, the missionary pioneer among the Karens at Tavoy and this place, was sent to Mau- bee, a Karen district north of-Rangoon, and in the course of the year reported about thirty hopeful inquirers, five of whom received baptism at the hands of Ko Thah-a, pastor of the church in Rangoon. At the close of the year, we sent Tau- nah, Pan-lah, and two younger assistants to the aid of Ko Thah-byoo. They returned, after a stay of about three months, and gave a still more encouraging account of the state of religious inquiry in that quarter. Soon afterwards, we dispatched Pan-lah and three younger assistants. Tau- nah was obliged to remain with Miss Cummings, in charge of the Chummerah station. Pan-lah and his company spread themselves over the district of Mau-bee, and each one acted as schoolmaster and preacher in his own circle, for the space of seven or eight months. On their return, they reported several hundred hopeful inquirers, out of whom two hundred MISSIONARY POLICY. 459 and ten had made the three several applications for bap- tism, being examined and approved by Pan-lah and com- pany, in council with the previously baptized; but were obliged to wait for want of an administrator of the ordi- nance." 6. In regard to schools, as a branch of missionary agency, Dr. Judson's mind seems to have been longer in reaching definite conclusions, than in respect to some other points. It is clear, I think, that, from the begin- ning to the close of his missionary life, he highly ap- proved of schools when they could be made the medium of direct religious instruction, and were held in strict subserviency to the higher agencies of the missionary work. The care of schools he regarded as a depart- ment of labor peculiarly appropriate to female mis- sionaries. But be did not believe, that to educate a people in secular knowledge was to christianize it, or that the process had any tendency, direct or indirect, to this result. To convert a mission among the heathen into an educational establishment, whose objects should take precedence of direct efforts for the conversion of souls, and the gathering of churches, would have been, in his view, an utter subversion of its true ends. He was particularly opposed to the attempt to Anglicise the native mind, by schools in which the vernacular should be superseded by English^ as not only a waste of time and money, but in every way injurious in its 460 THE EARNEST MAN. influence. The education of the English country-born population, he regarded as not belonging to the sphere of missions to the heathen ; and that much expenditure of time and labor in this direction was, therefore, incon- sistent with fidelity to the missionary's true calling. The following letter, written in 1849, exhibits his ma- turest views on several of the above points, and the grounds of his aversion to making school-teaching the business of one who professed, or who could acquire, the ability to preach the gospel. There is no indication that he did not continue to give his cordial approbation to missionary schools, which were truly such, and were conducted by those to whom the labor properly be- longed. ¥ To the Corresponding Secretary. " Maulmain, March 16, 1849. " Dear Brother : When I spoke of brother *s school, in my letter to you of the 22d November, 1847, as one of our most effective engines lor the renovation of these provinces, I had not become aware of the great change which the school had gradually undergone. . . . "The propriety of bestowing much missionary labor and expense upon country-born children, is very ques- tionable, that class of the population being found throughout India to have less influence on the population at large than any other. Their influence, for obvious reasons, is generally confined to themselves. The propriety of teaching English to the natives, to the exclusion and depreciation of their own vernacular, is still more questionable. MISSIONARY POLICY. 461 . . "Iain more and more convinced of the truth of a remark which I made some years ago, that English preach- ing, English teaching, and English periodicals, are the bane of missions at the East. There are several missionaries — more, it is true, from Great Britain than from America — who never acquire the languages, except a mere smattering of them, of the countries to which they are sent, but beguile their time and expend their labors among their own country- men and the' country-born population, under the fallacious idea that through them the Christian religion will gradually reach the masses of the native population. There are, how- ever, some symptoms of an approaching change in public sentiment throughout the East, in regard to the mode of con- ducting missionary operations. It begins to be found that popular English schools, containing hundreds of pupils, and instructed by great and powerful men, — but men ignorant of all native languages, — will never convert the millions of the heathen. • Such schools,' as the senior missionary of the Kislmagur mission lately observed to me, on visiting this place, • are very pretty things to amuse English visitors with, and make interesting reports for people at a distance, who cannot enter into fche merits of the case.' u Still, some good results from every good effort, though not the most judiciously directed ; and I have always endeavored to keep myself free from strong party feelings. Live and let live, is not a bad motto, nor should I have written, a word of the above, had I not felt for some time past that I had com- mitted myself too far in what I had said about one of the mission schools, and made myself somewhat responsible for what I cannot regard as the most judicious expenditure of labor and funds. Yours, faithfully, A. Judson. Schools for the instruction of the native ministry, he considered an indispensable branch of the missionary 462 THE EARNEST MAN. system. But he had no thought of modelling these in- stitutions, for young men wanting the first rudiments of knowledge, after those demanded by the necessities of European or American civilization. Their aim should simply be, to fit these native youths for the work they were called to do. The admirable good sense and right feeling of the following letter, will commend themselves to every intelligent reader. " To the Corresponding Secretary. " Maulmain, January 3, 1835. . . . " My ideas of a seminary are very different from those of many persons. I am really unwilling to place young men, that have just begun to love the Saviour, under teachers who will strive to carry them through a long course of study, until they are able to unrafel metaphysics, and calculate eclipses, and their souls become as dry as the one and as dark as the other. I have known several promising young men completely ruined by this process. Nor is it called for in the present state of the church in Burmah. I want to see our young disciples thoroughly acquainted with the Bible, from beginning to end, and with geography and history, so far as necessary to understand the Scriptures, and to furnish them with enlarged, enlightened minds. I would also have them carried through a course of systematic theology, on the plan, perhaps, of Dwight's. And I would have them well in- structed in the art of communicating their ideas intelligibly and acceptably by word and by ivriting. So great is my de- sire to see such a system in operation, that I am strongly tempted, as nobody else is able to do any thing just now, to make a beginning ; and perhaps after brother Wade, who is MISSIONARY POLICY. 463 excellently well capacitated for this department, has settled the Karen language with brother Mason, he will carry on what I shall begin, having both Karen and Burmese students und»r his care. . . . " Yours, faithfully, A. Judson." One characteristic trait of Dr. Judson should not be. omitted, in this statement of his views. He held his opinions strongly, and on all proper occasions, pressed them earnestly on the attention of the Board. But this being done, he submitted the result implicitly to their decision. As a veteran in the field, practically familiar with the whole routine of service, he, if any one, might have claimed exemption from control by a body of men located on the other side of the world. But so far from betraying any restiveness under the restraint, he uniformly sustained the authority of the Board, by the respectful deference of his suggestions, and by his cheerful compliance with their instructions. These sometimes clashed very much with his own wishes, as when he was required to yield his desire of giving himself to preachjng, to their conviction that he ought to prepare a dictionary. He remonstrated in- deed, most earnestly ; but their deliberate decision is to be his law. "I must not do it," he writes to the cor- responding* secretary ; " I cannot do it, unless the Board expressly order it ; and then I will obey, believing that vox senatus vox Dei." On another occasion, he thus 464 THE EARNEST MAN. expresses himself: " But whatever disposition of men the Board be pleased to make, or whatever other orders to issue, I beg that nothing discretionary be left with us, at least so far as I am concerned. We shall all obey orders from home ; but if left to ourselves, I fear, from past experience, that we shall sometimes manage to help each other to do that which is most pleasing in our own eyes." As there must be a directing power somewhere, he thought it most safely lodged in the hands of those whom the churches had chosen for this trust and who are directly accountable to them. During his long missionary life, he never, in any instance, dis- obeyed the instructions of the Board, nor ever sought to control their action, or lessen their influence, by ap- peals from their decisions to the public. CHAPTER XXV. VISIT TO AMERICA. LABORS ON HIS RETURN. From the year 1832, when Dr. Judson fixed his residence permanently in Maulmain, for the purpose of completing the Burman Bible, no marked event oc- curred in his public life for many years. Even during this period, however, he was not a mere student. Most of the time, he was pastor of the native church in Maulmain, which increased under his care to one hun- dred and sixty members. Mrs. Judson writes, in 1835 : " Mr. Judson preaches every Lord's day to a crowded assembly, and every evening to a congregation averaging thirty The native assistants go about the town every day, preaching the gospel ; and Mr. Judson holds a meeting with them every morning before breakfast, when he prays with them, listens to their reports, gives them instruction," &c. In 1837, he gives the following account of his daily round of occupation. " My days are commonly spent in the fol- lowing manner : the morning in reading Burman j the 30 466 THE EARNEST MAN. forenoon in a public zayat, with some assistant, preach- ing to those who call ; the afternoon in preparing- or revising something for the press, correcting proof- sheets, &c. ; the evening in conducting worship in the native chapel, and conversing with the assistants, and other native Christians or inquirers." But, not long after this date, the affection of the throat and lungs mentioned in a previous chapter, deprived him of the use of his voice ; and from that time, he was only able to preach at intervals. In 1845, Mrs. Judson's health, already enfeebled by repeated attacks of the diseases incident to the climate, failed altogether. After trying, in vain, short excur- sions at sea, and exhausting all the resources of medi- cal skill, Mr. Judson was forced to the conclusion that a long voyage, and a residence for a year or two in a colder climate, could alone save her life. Her debility rendering it necessary for him to accompany her, they took passage, with three of their six surviving children, in a ship bound for England, intending to proceed thence, without delay, to the United States. As he could not turn his visit to account for the mission, by preaching, he took with him two Burman assistants, with a view to prosecuting his labors on the Diction- ary. On their arrival at Port Louis in the Isle of France, Mrs. Judson's health was so greatly improved, VISIT TO AMERICA. 467 that both she and her husband deemed it safe for her to proceed the rest of the way without him. Dr. Jud- son therefore sent back his assistants in a vessel which he found ready to sail for Maulmain, and partly en- gaged his own passage in another, which was to leave two weeks later. They were encouraged in this plan, by the offer of accommodations for the family, in a ship bound directly for the United States, — an ar- rangement which promised a speedier voyage and a great saving of trouble and anxiety to Mrs. Judson. But before the expiration of their stay at Port Louis, a relapse came on, which reduced her lower than ever before, and at once reversed their plans. Mr. Judson now felt that it was impossible to leave her ; and near the end of July, they reembarked for this country. For a while, she seemed to rally again, and his hopes revived. But the improvement was only temporary, and she gradually declined till they reached the port of St. Helena, where she «xpired, on shipboard, a few days after their arrival. The following touching ac- count of the closing scenes, and of the incidents of the funeral, is extracted from a short obituary sketch by Dr. Judson. " On our passage homeward, as the strength of Mrs. Jud- son gradually declined, I expected to be under the painful necessity of burying her in the sea. But it was so ordered 468 THE EARNEST MAN. by divine Providence, that, when the indications of approach- ing death had become strongly marked, the ship came to an- chor in the port of St. Helena. For three days she continued to sink rapidly, though her bodily sufferings were not very severe. Her mind became liable to wander ;. but a single word was sufficient to recall and steady her recollection. On the evening of the 31st of August, she appeared to be draw- ing near to the end of her pilgrimage. The children took leave of her, and retired to rest. I sat alone by the side of her bed during the hours of the night, endeavoring to admin- ister relief to the distressed body, and consolation to the departing soul. At two o'clock in the morning, wishing to obtain one more token of recognition, I roused her attention, and said, ' Do you still love the Saviour ? ' 'O yes,' she re- plied, ' 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, life continued to recede, and she ceased to breathe. For*a moment I traced her upward flight, and thought of the wonders which were opening to her view. I then closed her sightless eyes, dressed her, for the last time, in the drapery of death ; and, being quite ex- hausted with many sleepless njghts, I threw myself down and slept. On awaking in the morning, I saw the children stand- ing and weeping around the body of their dear mother, then, for the first time, inattentive to their cries. In the course of the day a coffin was procured from the shore, in which I placed all that remained of her whom I had so much loved ; and after a prayer had been offered by a dear brother min- ister from the town, the Rev. Mr. Bertram, we proceeded in boats to the shore. There we were met by the colonial chaplain, and accompanied to the burial-ground by the ad- herents and friends of Mr. Bertram, and a large concourse VISIT TO AMERICA. 469 of the inhabitants. They had prepared the grave in a beau- tiful, shady spot," contiguous to the grave of Mrs. Chater, a missionary from Ceylon, who had died in similar circum- stances on her passage home. There I saw her safely depos- ited; and, in the language of prayer which we had often presented together at the throne of grace, I blessed God that her body had attained the repose of the grave, and her spirit the repose of paradise. After the funeral, the dear friends of Mr. Bertram took me to their houses and their hearts ; and their conversation and prayers afforded me unexpected relief and consolation. But I was obliged to hasten on board ship, and we immediately went to sea. On the following morning, no vestige of the island was discernible in the dis- tant horizon. For a few days, in the solitude of my cabin, with my poor children crying around me, I could not help abandoning myself to heart-breaking sorrow. But the prom- ises of the gospel came to my aid, and faith stretched her view to the bright world of eternal life, and anticipated a happy meeting with those beloved beings whose bodies are mouldering at Amherst and St. Helena. " I exceedingly regret that there is no portrait of the seroml, as of the first Mrs. Judson. Her soft blue eye, her mild aspect, her lovely face, and elegant form, have never been delineated on canvas. They must soon pass away from the memory even of her children, but they will remain for- ever enshrined in her husband's heart. " To my friends at St. Helena I am under great obligation. I desire to thank God for having raised up in that place a most precious religious interest. The friends of the Redeemer rallied around an evangelical minister, immediately on his arrival, and within a few months several souls were added to their number. Those dear, sympathizing, Christian friends received the body of the deceased from my hands as a sacred deposit, united with our kind captain, John Codman, Jr., of 470 THE EARNEST MAN. Dorchester, in defraying all the expenses of the funeral, and promised to take care of the grave, and see to the erection of the gravestones, which I am to forward, and on which I propose to place the following inscription : — " Sacred to the memory of Sarah B. Judson, member of the American Baptist Mission to Burmah, formerly wife of the Rev. George D. Board man, of Tavoy, and lately wife of the Rev. Adoniram Judson, of Maulmain, who died in this port, September 1, 1845, on her passage to the United States, in the forty-second year of her age, and in the twenty-first of her missionary life. " She sleeps sweetly here, on this rock of the ocean, Away from the home of her youth, And far from the land where, with heartfelt devotion, She scattered the bright beams of truth." Dr. Judson, with his motherless children, arrived in Boston about the middle, of October, feeble in health and sick at heart ; anxious only to be allowed to re- turn, if possible, before the setting in of winter, to the scene of his labors. But he was not able to realize this desire ; nor that of occupying, as he had previous- ly requested, some retired corner where he could work at his dictionary, " undisturbed and unknown ! " The disease of his throat, which precluded public speaking, and for several months scarcely allowed him to raise his voice above a whisper, increased his natural shrink- ing from public display. But the tide of popular feel- ing was too strong to be repressed. For more than thirty years, liis name had been "a household word" VISIT TO AMERICA. 471 among the friends of missions. A whole generation had grown up, familiar with the story of his labors and sufferings, not one of whom had ever seen his face. To them he was a sort of Christian Paladin, who had experienced wonderful fortunes, and achieved wonder- ful exploits of philanthropy, in that far off, almost mythical land of heathenism. To the body of older and maturer Christians his presence spoke with a deeper, but not less exciting power. The feeling was of course peculiarly strong in his own denomination. Hundreds among them yet lived, who remembered when word was first brought that God, without waiting for our slow movements, had himself planted an Amer- ican Baptist Mission in Asia ; and who recalled, with a thrill of grateful joy, those early efforts, the direct fruits of Judson's conscientious sacrifice to duty, in which they had themselves participated. They saw the entire missionary history of Baptists starting from this one point, and growing into a mighty stream of blessing to our own churches, and its whole course marked by memorials of his influence and labors. To be within reach of this man, and not be eager to see him, to hear his voice, to grasp his hand, would have argued insensibility to the most sacred obligations, and indifference to the cause to which he was devoted. But the feeling was not confined to Baptists. Thou- 472 THE EARNEST MAN. sands, ranged under a different standard in the king- dom of Christ, welcomed him with the catholic fellow- ship of Christian love, as one of the pioneers of American Christianity in heathendom, whose labors the God of missions had honored with signal tokens of approbation. So general a feeling of enthusiasm to- wards an individual, simply on the ground that he was a good man, had never before been awakened in this country ; and however annoying was the publicity, to a man of his retiring and almost morbid modesty, it can- not but be regarded with respect and pleasure, as a gratifying index of the moral feeling of the commu- nity. The public meetings called to welcome him, in sev- eral of our cities, those connected with the benevolent societies, or in connection with the anniversaries, and, with his visits to various seminaries of learning, often presented scenes of intense interest. One incident * of the first meeting in Boston, two days after his arrival, is too beautiful to be passed over : — " While Mr. Hague was speaking, a gentleman was mak- ing his way from the further part of the house towards the pulpit. He was welcomed there with surprise and delight, and was immediately introduced to the congregation by Dr. Sharp, as the Rev. Samuel Nott, the only survivor, except- * Belated in the report of the meeting, for the Christian Watch- man and Reflector. VISIT TO AMERICA. 473 ing I h. Judson, of the five missionaries who first went out to India from America, and the very man, who, when Judson became a Baptist, stood up and shielded him with the mantle of Christian love. 4 For this,' said Dr. Sharp, ' I have always respected him, and I am sure you will be glad to hear him.' u It is hardly possible for us to describe the scene which followed. For thirty-three years Nott and Judson had been separated. They met at this moment for the first time since that separation ; and as they now embraced each other with deep affection and grateful joy, tears started from many an eye. Mr. Nott proceeded to speak with much emotion. More than thirty years ago he gave his brother the right hand of fellowship ; and when he became a Baptist it was not withdrawn. One reflection most solemnly impressed him — of the five who went out to India, three are dead. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever. In a little while they would all be gone, and every agency now employed pass away ; but God's word will stand fast, and prevail over all the earth. Mr. Nott referred to the small beginning of the American Board, as well as the Baptist, their trust in Gfd, and the present great and glorious work which is exhibited to us in contrast. The missionary movement in this country originated simultaneous- ly in different hearts ; the spirit of the Most High, and not human influence, gave it birth. He deemed it a very trifling question whether Adoniram Judson or Samuel J. Mills was the originator of foreign missions. Samuel Nott, Jr., cer- tainly was not. They were all mere boys, but with God's blessing on their puerile efforts, they had begun an influence which is spreading over the world. " It was now discovered that Mr. Bingham, a pioneer mis- sionary to the Sandwich Islands, was unexpectedly present; and another thrill of pleasure went through the congregation as his name was also announced by Dr. Sharp. He addressed 474 THE EARNEST MAN. the assembly, congratulating his missionary brethren, refer- ring to his own early toils and to the great success of the Sandwich Island mission, and exhorting the people gener- ously to sustain the glorious cause of missions." On most of these occasions, Dr. Judson, being unable to use his voice audibly, addressed his remarks in a whispered tone to some one who stood beside him in the pulpit, and who repeated them, sentence by sen- tence, to the assembly ; a few times he wrote them out in full to be read by another ; and occasionally, at some more private meeting in a small room, his audi- tors had the pleasure of catching the rich thoughts and feelings which came gushing as from an overflowing soul, through his own low but impressive tones. Dr. Wayland has preserved several of these addresses, in his Memoir. The writer would be glad, did space al- low, to add a few personal reminiscences of similar occasions ; but no description could convey the peculiar impression of his manner, — so quiet, so simple and humble, yet breathing a hush, a thrill through the assembly, such as I have never witnessed elsewhere. We felt that we were in the presence of one who had " entered within the vail," one conversant, beyond most of his fellow-men, with the mysteries of the invisible world, and whose life was "hid with Christ in God." Those .whispered words stole on us like messages from VISIT TO AMERICA. 475 the inner sanctuary, too sacred to be spoken in com- mon tones to the outward ear, but uttered directly to the listening heart. Dr. Judson was greatly interested in what he saw of the immense growth and improvement of his native land since he left it in his youth ; most of all, in the progress of religious benevolence. He formed delight- ful friendships with many whose faces he had never seen before, and enjoyed with the keenest zest those pleasures of refined social intercourse from which he had been so long debarred. No one who had the pleas- ure of his society, found in his simple, genial manners, and in his lively, though always instructive and ele- vated conversation, any trace of the bigot or ascetic. But his heart yearned for " his home on the banks of the Salwen ; " and though a longer residence in this country was urged on him for the sake of his health, he could not be persuaded to remj^n beyond the beginning of the summer of 1846. On the second of June, he was married to Miss Emily Chubbuck, a lady widely known by her graceful literary productions, whose sprightly charms of mind and devoted affection were the light and solace of his last years.* On the * She was the mother of the youngest of the six orphan children, to whom this volume is inscribed. It should be added, as one of the most beautiful traits in her truly noble character, that she knew 476 THE EARNEST MAN. 11th of July, 1846, they embarked at Boston in the ship Faneuil Hall, bound for Maulmain, which place they reached, after a pleasant voyage, on the 30th of November. On his arrival at Maulmain, finding every depart- ment of labor at that station fully manned, he could not satisfy himself with sitting down to the mere liter- ary employment of making a dictionary. Previous to his return, he had formed the design of again fixing his residence at Rangoon, should it be practicable; with the further purpose of improving any opportunity which might offer for making another attempt at Ava, which had always been the central point of interest to his mind. He found the circumstances of the empire not favorable to his wishes, the reigning king being no less hostile to Christianity than his predecessor, and apparently disposed to adopt more and more the exclu- sive policy q£ the Chinese in regard to foreigners. During a preliminary visit to Rangoon, Dr. Judson was convinced, that even such freedom of missionary effort as had been formerly allowed, would not now be per- mitted. In a letter to the corresponding secretary, he says : " Any known attempt at proselyting would be no difference among the six. All were equally the objects, not only of her faithful care, but of a deep maternal tenderness, of which there are but few examples, and which is sufficient alone to endear her memory to all who honored Dr. Judson. LABORS ON HIS RETURN. 477 instantly amenable at the criminal tribunal, and would probably be punished by the imprisonment or death of the proselyte, and the banishment of the missionary." Still, as he received personally a very friendly recep- tion from the governor of the city, with 'whom he had been acquainted twenty years before, he resolved to re- move thither, — making the dictionary, for the prose- cution of which Rangoon furnished greater facilities than Maulmain, his avowed occupation, and doing what missionary work he could in private. The following extracts from Mrs. Judson's interest- ing " Reminiscences," furnish a brief outline of the incidents of this visit. " The first business of my husband, on arriving in Ran- goon, was to collect the Christians together ; but so scattered was the little flock, and so doubtful their state, that he was obliged to reorganize the church, commencing the new or- ganization with about a dozen members. For a time every thing went prosperously with us. Frequent meetings were held at our house, and regular worship on the Sabbath. Gradually, the congregation enlarged to twenty, to thirty, and still upward, until it attracted the attention of govern- ment. It must not be supposed that these men were so im- prudent as to come in of a morning, or leave the house after worship, in a company. They came at all hours between daylight and ten o'clock, and dispersed as gradually. Some brought parcels, some dishes of fruit, some came with their robes tucked up like coolies, and some, scorning concealment, or believing it unavailing, appeared in their usual dress, as 478 THE EARNEST MAN. though on a matter-of-course visit to the foreigner. When they were assembled, the outer door was barred, and it was with great difficulty that any one could gain admittance after- wards. Dr. Judson sometimes smiled at these precautions ; but he considered that this was the first time since the war that any missionary had been stationed in Burmah, without the protection of an English resident at Ava, and was assured that there never had been a time of such intolerance throughout the land, as under the new king. Meantime the Karens had been apprised of our arrival, and they came down from the jungle in parties of three, four, or a half dozen, remaining at our house till one of the Burmese assist- ants could procure them passports thence to Maulmain. (Previously they had escaped, overland.) All this coming and going attracted attention to our house, and would have done so much earlier, but that it chanced to be on a Mussul- man street. " One Saturday morning we were startled by some private intimations that the bloody ray-woon, as one of the vice- governors was called, had his eye on us ; and, a little before evening, the hints were fully confirmed. We learned from an undoubted source, that a police guard had been stationed in the vicinity of our house, with orders to seize every native not known to be a servant of the house, seen coming out of it. We inferred that their policy was not to disturb us, at pres- ent, but the blow was first to fall on the poor Christians. Several Karens were stopping with us, and, in addition to our usual company of worshippers, quite a number of invited friends and strangers liad promised to be with us on the next day. The church had been making individual efforts to en- large the congregation. I shall never forget the expression of my husband's face, as though really piercing to the invis- ible, when he exclaimed, ' I tell you, if we had but the power to see them, the air above us is thick with contending LABORS ON HIS RETURN. 479 spirits — the good and the bad striving for the mastery. I know where final victory lies, but the struggle may be a long one/ There was not much time for talking, however. He communicated the state of things, as far as he thought expe- dient, to his two native assistants, and sent them out to warn the nearer worshippers. In this, great caution was neces- . in order to prevent a panic ; and I suppose that the Rangoon Christians have never, to this day, known the extent of their danger. As the assistants, by an especial arrangement, did not return till after our landlord's hour for closing the gate, Dr. Judson, with some difficulty, got the key into his own possession ; and so, in the first gray of morning, the Karens were guided out of town, and advised to return to the jungle. The last place to which the assist- ants carried their warning, on Sunday morning, was a little village five miles from Rangoon, where they remained till towards evening. Dr. Judson was afraid of compromising the Christians by going to any of their houses that day ; but he had advised them, through the assistants, how to hold worship, and we knew of several places where little knots of men and women were gathered for prayer. H These demonstrations on the part of government were followed up by a series of petty annoyances and insults, which effectually precluded the possibility of accomplishing much good. The governor was friendly, but weak and cow- ardly; and we soon found that his protection was really worthless, except as he could hold the petty officers in awe. The bloody ray-woon laughed at his authority, and once actually assembled the troops against him, when the poor governor yielded. Both Christians and inquirers, however, still came to us in private ; and many a man, who refused to take even a book from the teacher's hands, would watch his opportunity, when going out, to snatch one from a box placed near the door for that purpose, aud hide it in his dress, con- 480 THE EARNEST MAN. gratulating himself, no doubt, that he was unsuspected even by us. Dr. Judson was now convinced, that to attempt any- thing further, without having first secured a favorable reception in the capital, was a mere waste of time. " I am persuaded," he writes, " as I have been for years past, that the only way to keep footing in Rangoon, is to obtain some countenance at Ava." It was now about ten years since this important post had been abandoned, and circumstances had in that time changed, in every respect, for the worse. He felt that the attempt involved great danger, — possibly the risk of life itself. But with his dictionary for an introduc- tion to the intelligent members of the government and nobility, the prosecution of which, moreover, would bring him into close relations with the most learned men of the capital, he hoped prejudices might be con- ciliated, and the way gradually paved for the accom- plishment of his chief object. He had become wholly absorbed in this plan ; all his arrangements were made for a speedy departure from Rangoon, and a permit obtained from the friendly gov- ernor to proceed to the " golden city ; " when — like a clap of thunder — came the tidings from Maulraain, that the low state of the treasury at home had com- pelled the utmost possible retrenchment in every de- LABORS ON HIS RETURN. 481 partment at that station, and that nothing remained for carrying out his wishes. This unexpected blow was the more disheartening, as an index of the declining state of missionary feeling in the churches at home ; and for a moment he was ready to despair of a work dependent for the means of its accomplishment on such feeble and fitful piety. He thus expresses the first bit- terness of his disappointment, in a letter to the corre- sponding secretary ; which he cannot close, however, without a touch expressive of his characteristic hope- fulness, and his unwavering adherence to his favorite apothegm : " Truth is mighty and will prevail." " It is my growing conviction that the Baptist churches in America are behind the age in missionary spirit. They now and then make a spasmodic effort to throw off a nightmare debt of some years' accumulation, and then sink back into unconscious repose. Then come paralyzing orders to re- trench ; new enterprises are checked in their very concep- tion, and applicants for missionary employ are advised to wait, and soon become merged in the ministry at home. Several cases of that sort I encountered during my late visit to the United States. This state of things cannot last al- ways. The Baptist missions will probably pass into the hands of other denominations, or be temporarily suspended ; and those who have occupied the van will foil back into the rear. Nebuchadnezzar will be driven out from men, to eat grass like an ox, until seven times pass over him. But he will, at length, recover his senses, and be restored to the throne of his kingdom, and reign over the whole earth." 31 482 THE EARNEST MAN. Nothing was now left but to return to Maulraain for the present. He never relinquished, however, his plan of attempting a mission at Ava ; and in all his subsequent arrangements, reserved the liberty of im- proving any favorable opportunity for it which might arise. He accordingly applied to the Board, soon after his return to Eangoon, for a standing appropriation for this special service. This was cheerfully granted ; but before its arrival, another somewhat encouraging indi- cation had passed away, and no other occurred while he lived. He acquiesced in it as the will of Provi- dence, and therefore, on the whole, for the best. But is it not a pity that, in so many instances, the wisest and most beneficent schemes for the advancement of truth and righteousness, should be frustrated for lack of a few hundreds or thousands of dollars, out of the abundance which God has lent, for this very purpose, to the church ? No doubt all such disappointments will be found, in the end, to have been overruled for the best ; but who can tell how long they may postpone the incoming of the millennial day ! CHAPTER XXVI. CLOSING SCENES OF HIS LIFE. After his return from Rangoon, Dr. Judson resided at Maulmain, devoting himself with great assiduity to the completion of his dictionary. In November, 1849, he took a violent cold, which brought on a fever, simi- lar to those from which he had suffered more or less through his whole missionary life, but of an aggravated type. He never surmounted the effects of this attack. Finding himself unable to rally as usual, he took a short coast voyage, but without much relief. He then removed with his family to Amherst, for the benefit of the sea-air ; but the change proved equally unavailing. He at length yielded to the importunities of his mis- sionary brethren, and embarked, in a state of excessive weakness, in a ship bound to the Isle of France, at- tended by Mr. Thomas Ranney, a member of the mis- sion, — Mrs. Judson's health not permitting her to accompany him, as she most earnestly desired. 484 THE EARNEST MAN. From the time of his sailing, he sunk rapidly; and, after a few days of intense suffering, " he fell asleep " on the 12th of April, 1850, in the G2d year of his age. In the afternoon of the same day, " in latitude thirteen degrees north, and longitude ninety-three degrees east, and scarcely three days out of sight of the mountains of Burmah," the mortal remains of Adoniram Jud- son were committed to the deep. The Christian world is indebted to Mrs. Judson, for a most interesting account of the last year of her hus- band's life, which is here given as the most appropriate close to this sketch of his character and labors. " Closing Scenes in Dr. Judson's Life, communicated to his Sister by Mrs. Judson. " Maulmain, September 20, 1850. "My dear Sister : Last month I could do no more than announce to you our painful bereavement, which, though not altogether 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. Kanney, from Mauritius, to the secre- tary of the Board ; and I can add nothing to it, with the ex- ception of a few unimportant particulars, gleaned in conver- sations with Mr. Ranney and the Coringa servant. I grieve that it should be so — that I was not permitted to watch be- side 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 CLOSING SCENES OF HIS LIFE. 485 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 uncommonly 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 incident that occurred, whether trivial or important, had a tendency to suggest some peculiar- ly spiritual train of thought, till it seemed to me that, more than ever before, ' 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 Sabbath, audibly, and in my presence, at which time he was frequently so much affected as to weep, and sometimes so overwhelmed with the vastness of his conceptions 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 I give you, my dear sister, some idea of the share borne by him in those memorable conversations ; but it would be impossible to con- vey, even to those who knew him best, the most distant con- ception of them. 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 touching tenderness, the elevation of thought, and intense beauty of expression, which characterized those private teachings, were not only beyond what I had ever heard before, but such as I felt sure arrested his own attention, and surprised even him- self. About this time he began to find unusual satisfaction 486 THE EARNEST MAN. and enjoyment in his private devotions, and seemed to have 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 fervently that his impressions on this particular subject might be trans- ferred to his sons and daughters, and thence to their off- spring, so that he should ultimately meet a long, unbroken line of descendants before the throne of God, where all might join together in ascribing everlasting praises to their Redeemer. "Another subject, which occupied a large share of his at- tention, was that of brotherly love. You are, perhaps, aware that, like all persons of his ardent temperament, he was subr ject 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 he was now aware that he had never placed his standard of love high enough. He spoke of them as children of God, redeemed by the Saviour's blood, watched over and guarded by his love, dear to his heart, honored by him 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 at- tachment to them should be of the most ardent and exalted character ; it would be so in heaven, and we lost immeasur- ably by not beginning now. 'As I have loved you, so ought ye also to love one another,' was a precept continually in his CLOSING SCENES OF HIS LIFE. 487 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, ' O, the love of Christ ! the love of Christ ! ' " His prayers for the mission were marked by an earnest, grateful enthusiasm ; and in speaking of missionary opera- tions 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 won- ders — O, 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 unwil- lingly 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 feeling led to no relaxation of effort. He longed, however, to find some more spiritual employment, to be en- gaged 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 oc- curred 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 so 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, com- 488 THE EARNEST MAN. meneed when a student at Andover, and was not satisfied with a common walk on level ground, but always chose an up-hill path, and then frequently went bounding on his way with all the exuberant activity of boyhood. " He was of a singularly happy temperament, although 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 momentarily disheartened. On the other hand, being accustomed to re- gard all the events of this life, however minute or painful, as ordered in wisdom, and tending to one great and glorious end, he lived in almost constant obedience to the apostolic injunction, ' Rejoice evermore ! ' He often told me that al- though 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. " Towards the close of September of last year, he said to me one evening, ' What deep cause have we for gratitude to God ! Do fou 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 missionaries, and our eternal prospects, occupied a prominent position. When he had finished his glowing pic- ture, I remarked, I scarcely know why, but there was a heavy cloud upon my spirits that evening, ' We are certainly very happy now, but it cannot be so always. I am thinking of the time when one of us must stand beside the bed, and see the other die.' CLOSING SCENES OF HIS LIFE. 489 " ' Yes,' lie 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 sud- den illness of one of the children. There was an unpleas- ant, chilling dampness in the air, as it came to us through the openings in the sloats above the windows, which affected your brother very sensibly; and he soon began to shiver so vio- lently, that he was obliged to return to his couch, where he remained under a warm covering until morning. In the morning 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 attention. From that time he was never well, though in writing to you before, I think I dated the commencement of his illness from the month of November, when he laid aside his studies. I know that he regarded 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 al- ways wise to be prepared for exigencies 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 sinking 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 and uncomplaining dispo- 490 THE EARNEST MAN. sition led him to speak so lightly of it, that I used sometimes to fear that 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 freedom on his daily pro- gress, and the extent of his self-conquest. Just before our trip to Mergui, which took place in January, he looked up from his pillow one day with sudden animation, and said to me earnestly, ' I have gained the victory at last. I love every one of Christ's redeemed, as I believe he would have me 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 fre- quently dwelt with great emphasis. After further 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 pe- culiarly besetting sin, which it is now my duty to correct. Can you tell me of any ? ' "And truly, from this time no other Avord would so well express his state of feelings 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. ' O, the love of Christ ! the love of Christ ! ' he would suddenly exclaim, while his eye kindled, and the tears chased CLOSING SCENES OF HIS LIFE. 491 each other down his cheeks ; " we cannot understand it now ; but what a beautiful study for eternity ! ' "After our return from Mergui, the doctor advised a still further trial of the effects of sea air and sea-bathing ; and we accordingly proceeded to Amherst, where we remained near- ly a month. This to me was the darkest period of his ill- ness — no medical adviser, no friend, at hand, and he daily growing weaker and weaker. He began to totter in walk- ing, clinging to the furniture and walls, when he thought he was unobserved, (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 in- tense, so that, in spite of his habitual sel£eontrol, his groans would fill the house. At other times a kind of lethargy seemed to steal over him, and he would sleep almost inces- santly for twenty-four hours, seeming annoyed if he were aroused or disturbed. 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 early mis- sionary life. lie had a great deal also to say on his favorite theme, ' the love of Christ ; ' but his strength was too much impaired for any continuous mental effort. Even a short 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 expression of my anxieties and misgivings, and our kind missionary friends, who had from the first evinced all the tender interest 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 dis- tant, we thought it best, in the mean time, to remove from our old dwelling, which had long been condemned as un- 492 THE EARNEST MAN. health}', to another mission house, fortunately empty. This change was, at first, attended with the most beneficial results ; and ;l'i;t*»:IJfiiI^.' ;: ft*i*--*' liSl'liSillillil!:! iiuiiiji ;iiii; jlili ! !iii|!!Sii PI i;,i . ii iiiii I mm I ilil lli ; j:l mMw Ms t . ;l|lil!!iil!!!ilf4',i : J i^ vr ;s ' ; iiMiiililiiiliii; i Pi! 1 11 : III I ISIiillllllli: -I iilil: PIP i "'iiiil,*',