ear has transgressed, the mouth has transgressed, the
mind has transgressed, the heart has transgressed.
Our transgressions are greater than the hills, loftier
than the mountains. It is not fitting we ascend to
the presence of God. It is fitting we descend to the
lowest depths of hell; and the great grace of God alone
still keeps us here. These heavens so wide, this earth
so great everything in the many waters and numerous
lands God created. He formed man holy, exempt from



234 AN APPEAL.

old age, from sickness, from death ; but he disobeyed
God, obeying Satan, and thus brought misery on him-
self and on all creation. Still God did not give us up.
He had compassion upon us, and sent His only Son to
save the slaves of Satan, who had no rest in his service.
To deliver us from the hands of Satan, and to give us
rest, He bought us with His own blood. He had no
compassion on His own great life, but he had com-
passion on men who were going down to hell. He
died on the cross for us, on account of our sins, and
thus drew open the gate at the foot of the road, so that
man is made again acquainted with God."

One day, addressing some Karens who were halting
between two opinions, he said : " Our fathers and
mothers did not hear what we hear, did not know what
we know. It is of God's special grace that these things
have come unto us. The elders of antiquity yearned to
hear the word of God, but heard it not. That blessing
was reserved for us. Still it is according to the saying,
' Lake pleasant, fish remain/ In a large lake, where
there is nothing to devour the fish, and its waters never
fail, the lake is pleasant ; yet, if there be no fish in it,
it does not call the fish to come unwillingly. If the
fish wish to dwell in it, they remain ; if not, they de-
part. God is the lake, and we are the fish. Unless we
are in God, ere long something will come and devour us.
The fire of hell will devour us. Then dwell in God."

Another day, a caviller objected before some Karens :
" God is possessed of infinite power, and has a perfect
knowledge of all things : why did He create Satan ?



A CAVILLER SILENCED. 235

Did He not know that he would come and deceive
men ? If He knew that he would come and destroy,
why did He create him ? If God compassionates man
if He loves him, why did He create the tree of
temptation ? Did He not know, that, if man ate of it,
he would die ? And, if He knew, why did He create
it ? " Quala was there, and he replied : " God is
above man, above kings, above all. Kings are obeyed
without asking for reasons. We ought not to reply
against God. He is our Father. The child understands
not what the father does. The axe and the knife kill ;
yet without them the father could not obtain food for
the child. He did not permit his child to handle
them ; but one with crooked ears, when unobserved by
its father, takes hold of them and cuts itself. God acts
according to His own will. The house-owner builds a
house, and decides in relation to all its parts. He dis-
poses of the timbers or bamboos according to their
proper positions. God is the owner of the house, and
we ought to submit to His dispensations in silence.
Then He will use us as parts of His building ; that is,
we shall become His children and servants. Some of
God's judicial arrangements are in order that we may
praise Him ; some, that we may repent of our sins ;
some, that we may discern between good and evil ; some,
that we may not hope in transitory things on earth ;
some, that we may avoid hell, and go to heaven. None
are made for the disadvantage, but all for the advantage
of man. To those who murmur, the Holy Book says
'Who art thou, man, that repliest against God?



236 DOUBTING AND BELIEVING.

Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why
hast thou formed me thus ? ' "

" A Karen/' writes the same eye-witness, " never
stands doubting. If he believes, there is no question in
his mind but he has faith ; and, unsuggested, he pro-
ceeds to show his faith by his works. Should he
deceive himself, he discovers it, not by reflection, but
by action. He says to himself, in the language of
Goethe ' Try to do thy duty, and thou wilt quickly
know what is in thee/ " Quala, one day, addressing
some nominal believers in the Christian settlements,
said: "When you are with Christians, you do as
Christians do ; when you are with the world, you do as
the world does. You do not love God; you do not
fear sin. Think, and repent of your sins quickly.
Remain not between Christians and the world, ever
vibrating from the one side to the other. The Holy
Scriptures say we cannot serve two masters ; so choose
the Master who is able to save, and confide in earnest
in Him.

' Go, till you arrive in the presence of God ;
Rest not between.
Go till you reach the feet of God ;
Rest not away.

Pray to God ; pray with the heart :
Hereafter you will be happy.
Should you vacillate to and fro,
The coming state will be misery.
Act for the future,
That you may obtain grace :
J .ehovah is the God of grace ;
Trust ye in Him.' "



AN AWAKENING. 237



Month after month, and year after year, sometimes
alone, sometimes in the company of the missionary or
of a brother Karen, Quala traversed the jungles and
the glens of his country, carrying into every nook and
hamlet the glad tidings of great joy. One scene he
himself describes thus : " When the teachers and
disciples prayed in earnest, the Holy Spirit came down
upon the unconverted; and they came forward, request-
ing to be baptized. Many of these were people with
whom I had laboured and exhorted before the meeting ;
and some had said to me, ' We will wait a year ; ' others,
' We will wait two years ; ' others, ' We will look on a
while longer/ but, when the Holy Ghost touched
them, they repented and became Christians. Many of
those who had been among the unconverted came for-
ward, and confessed their sins and transgressions
publicly. They took up the habit immediately of
private prayer in the jungle, and became very anxious
for their unconverted relatives, going and inviting many
to the meeting. Some confessed sins which had been
committed in secret, and prayed with sobs and tears.
Many others resolved to become Christians, and many
Christians grew in grace." " These things," he adds,
" are the work of the Holy Spirit, but they are spirit-
ually discerned. Those whose minds are enlightened
to see the power of God in them, wonder and praise the
Lord. The advantages of these meetings for prayer for
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit are great. The graces
of Christians are increased ; the unconverted obtain new
hearts ; and those who listen understand the easier."



238 ANOTHER AWAKENING.

In the jungle, on one occasion, the missionary held a
protracted meeting of three weeks, for preaching and
for prayer. " It was not," he writes, " till nearly the
close of the first week, that any effect was produced.
On Sabbath evening, however, many expressed their
conviction that God had poured out His Spirit in a
remarkable manner ; adding, that they now had faith to
believe and pray for greater things. Soon after, a
feeling became manifest in the church, such has had
never before been witnessed. It was evidently from
God. Christians were crushed beneath the weight of
their sins, and confessed them with many tears, as
they had never done before. They soon began to feel
for the impenitent ; and they went out in every
direction to invite them to come in. And I would
say it to the glory of God scarcely any one came and
attended a few of our meetings in succession, without
giving more or less evidence of conversion." During
those three weeks, he could number nojt fewer than
sixty-three converts.

One evening, in the zayat, the names of some of
the unconverted people in the neighbourhood were
read over as subjects for prayer. Among them was
a native priest a man of consideration in the district;
who, hearing that his name had been thus used,
said angrily "What business have they to pray for
me?" A fortnight afterwards, on a Saturday after-
noon, the priest was observed entering the meeting
in company with his wife. " I have not come to be
a Christian," he said, at the close, "but to hear."



A TAVOYAN FESTIVAL. 239

The next day, he was again at the chapel ; and, be-
fore that sun had set, he declared himself on the
Lord's side. "I am determined/' said he, "to become
a Christian." "When?" enquired the missionary.
" Now."

Meanwhile, Ko-thah-byoo, the earliest Karen
convert, was labouring earnestly for souls. Once a-
year, in an old walled town, distant some miles from
Tavoy, the people of the city held a great religious
festival. The town was the seat of the Tavoyans' most
cherished idol a little brass image which had come
floating up the river on a log, and had stopped near the
town, but since had grown to the full stature of a man
beneath the tree which sprang from the ominous log.
Like some images and pictures elsewhere, the figure had
been known, at the approach of war or of pestilence,
to weep and to moan ; and, in honour of it, nearly the
whole population of Tavoy made an annual pilgrimage
to the shrine. One afternoon, just as the fete was
drawing to a close, Ko-thah-byoo, in company with
the missionary and another convert, arrived at the spot.
The others set out on an exploring tour to the neigh-
bouring villages, leaving the old man to rest himself
and to enjoy a quiet sleep. But, returning in an hour
or two, what was their surprise to find him surrounded
by a large congregation of Burmans, whose attention
seemed to be "riveted on his flashing eyes less, ap-
parently, from love than from an indescribable power,
which might best be compared to the fascinating in-
fluence of the serpent over an unconscious brood of



240 "A BLACK FOREIGNER ! "

chickens ? " " The first sentence I heard on coming
up," writes the eye-witness, long afterwards, "was
( Your god is a black foreigner ! ' The words were ut-
tered with such a peculiar expression of countenance,
that the events of a dozen years have done nothing
to efface the impression from my memory. ' If ever
a man hated idolatry/ observed a brother to me,
one day, ' Ko-thah-byoo did.' Yes, if I were
able to throw on canvas Ko-thah-byoo's countenance
at that moment, as it exists in the gallery of my
mind, every one that looked on it would go away,
and say, ' If ever a man hated idolatry, Ko-thah-byoo
did."'

Preaching was Ko-thah-byoo's ruling passion.
One day, a boat in which he was sailing with another,
was suddenly upset ; and he was in danger of losing
his life. " I shall be drowned/' he cried, as he was
struggling with the surge, " and never more preach
the Word of God to the Karens." That was his one
regret; all else was well. And the Lord was with
him. Visiting, on one occasion, the eastern Karen
settlements, where, with the exception of a single visit
of two or three days from Mr. Boardman, he alone had
laboured, an eye-witness wrote: "I cry no longer,
' The horrors of heathenism ! ' but ' The blessings of
missions!' I date no longer from a heathen land.
Heathenism has fled these banks. I eat the rice, and
yams, and fruit, cultivated by Christian hands; I look
on the fields of Christians, and see no dwellings but
those inhabited by Christian families. I am seated in



A CHRISTIAN VILLAGE. 241

the midst of a Christian village ; surrounded by a
people who love as Christians, converse as Christians,
act like Christians, and look like Christians. If it be
worth a voyage across the Atlantic to see the Shenandoah
run through the Blue Ridge, surely a voyage around
the globe would be amply repaid by a Sabbath spent
in this valley."

And how he preached, may be gathered from some
fragments. " A worldly man," he said one day, every
eye intently fixed on him as he proceeded, " is never
satisfied with what he possesses. Let me have more
houses, more lands, more buffaloes, more slaves, more
clothes, more wives, more children and grandchildren,
more gold and silver, more paddy and rice, more
boats and vessels; let me be a rich man. Of God
he is quite unmindful. But watch that man. On a
sudden, his breath departs. He looks around, and,
astonished, exclaims 'Where are my slaves? where
are my buffaloes ? I cannot find one of them. Where
are my houses and my chests of money, my rice and
paddy, and all the fine clothes which cost me so
much ? I can find none of them : who has taken them ?
And where are my wife and children ? Ah ! they are
all missing : I can find none of them. I am lonely
and poor, indeed. I have nothing. But what is
this ?' ' Then, after describing the misery of the lost
soul, he put into the man's mouth this closing lament
" Oh ! what a fool have I been ! I neglected God, the
only Saviour, and sought only worldly goods, while on
earth: and now I am undone." And he added:

R



242 FRUITS.

" All in this world is misery. Sickness and pain, fear
and anxiety, wars and slaughter, old age and death,
abound on every hand. But hearken ! God speaks
from on high 'Children! why take ye delight, and
seek happiness, in that low village of mortality in
that thicket of briers and thorns ? Look up to me; I
will deliver you, and give you rest, where you shall
be for ever blessed and happy .'"

"I have called," said an inquirer one day to the
missionary at Rangoon, " to get more light on the way
of salvation by Jesus Christ." It was a Karen from
the jungle, who had received some weeks before from
Ko-thah-byoo a tract and a kind counsel about his
soul. And all the surrounding villages had been
stirred by his words, during a recent excursion he had
made during a three -months' sojourn at Rangoon.
" The Karens," wrote the missionary, " are thronging
us from Dalla, Leing, Maubee, Kyadau, and many
places I have not heard named, men, women, and
children; and all anxiously enquiring about the re-
ligion of Jesus. There are very many who already
keep the Lord's day, read our tracts, and endeavour to
instruct one another the best they can. They daily
read the tracts, and all get together in their families,
and sing and pray to the God who rules in heaven.
There surely is the sound of rain I would say, of
much rain. Pray for us, and for the Karens who are
looking up to us for the bread of life, their eyes
brightening as they hear of Jesus and the way to
heaven." And he added : "The devil is sorely dis-



CONFESSORS. 243

turbed, and is mustering his forces. What the issue of
the campaign will be, we cannot say ; but those who
were yesterday baptized, said ' If the magistrate
should issue an order to cut off our heads, then let
him cut them off : we believe in Jesus ; and, if we
should be killed, we will go where Jesus is, and be
happy/ "



244 A BURMAN GROUP.



CHAPTER XII.

Scene on the Irriwadi The group of boatmen Inquirers The old
shepherd " Give me one ! " The night-lamp Visit to Prorne
"A spy" New awakenings "Behold, he prayeth ! " A
gathering storm British resident " A little grace " An adieu
The garret at Rangoon A " living epistle " First duty A
shining face Self-denial English travellers The dark ladder
The "grand engine " " Lowliness itself" Daily dying
Madame Guyon and Molinos Crowds Tidings from Tavoy
Consolations "Tears of joy" Native festival Macedonian
cry Results All alone Strivings after holiness Snares
Burnt letter The hermitage An arbour The "miracle"
A grave Asceticism and Christian self-denial.

ON a beautiful summer evening, near sunset, a group
of boatmen were gathered at a small village on the
Irriwadi, listening intently to an earnest " stranger,"
who had landed for an hour from one of the river-
craft which there found a constant rendezvous. It
was Judson, on his way up to Prome, and (as his man-
ner was) sowing beside all waters. On his passage
from Maulmain, he had visited Rangoon, where he
" had a great deal of company, some of whom heard
and lived." His principal inquirer was Thah-tay, a



JUDSON EVANGELIZING. 245

person of some little rank, whom he had formerly
known at Tsa-gaing, and an intimate friend of his old
protector, the north-commandant of the palace. All
the disciples whom he met, appeared to be growing in
grace.* A spirit of inquiry was more prevalent and
more boldly indulged than formerly; and he felt that
he had reason to thank God for all the past, and to
take courage for the time to come. And, embarking
for Proine, the great half-way house on the way to
Ava, he had reached the village just named, where
multitudes listened to his words and eagerly read his
tracts. His way was to produce a few tracts or cate-
chisms ; and, after reading and talking a little, and
getting the company to feel kindly, he would 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 it attentively, and to consider and
pray, they would get furious to obtain a tract, many
hands being eagerly stretched out, and "Give me one !
give me one \" resounding from all sides. Just as he
was leaving, that day, a tract fell into the hands of a
respectable elderly man ; and, before they were out of
sight, a little boat was seen hurrying up in pursuit.
It was the Burman, bent on having another tract ;



* " I asked pastor Thah-a to go with me," Judson writes ; "but
he thinks it quite impossible, on account of having so many irons in
the fire that is, hopeful inquirers, whom he must stay to bring for-
ward and baptize. He is as solicitous and busy as a hen pressing
about her chickens. It is quite refreshing to hear him talk on the
subject, and see what a nice careful old shepherd he makes."



246 SCENE ON THE RIVER.

and, having received the Gospel of St. Matthew, he went
back as happy as if he had found a vein of gold.

Another night, they arrived at a large village,
situated in a beautiful region, the native country of
the tamarind-tree. With the help of Moung Ing, he
soon gathered a large and respectable assembly, to
whom he held forth the word of life. Returning to
the boat, they were followed by a succession of small
parties begging very hard for tracts. As night closed
in, the captain, not very kindly, pushed off into the
river ; but, determined to gain their point, the people
gathered upon the shore, calling out, " Teacher ! are
you asleep ? We want a writing to get by heart."
" We will give you one," shouted a voice from the boat,
" if you will come and get it." Instantly a long canoe
was put off, and they got so near as to be able to reach
a paper stuck on the end of a long pole. This lasted till
nine o'clock ; and, as the captain went ashore and passed
through the village, he found in almost every house
some native, at a lamp, reading aloud one of the tracts.
After a sail of one hundred and seventy miles from
Rangoon, he landed one morning at Prome; and, ac-
companied by the only European resident, he repaired
.to the house of the governor. His wife, who, in her
husband's absence at Ava, was acting governor of the
town, listened most earnestly to Mr. Judson's words ;
but the " foreigner" was suspected by the people as
" a spy," and, only with the greatest difficulty, did he
obtain a grant of an old ruinous zayat.

" We shall come and see you before long," said



LIGHTS AND SHADOWS. 247

some passers-by, one day, as he was taking possession of
the spot. And visitors began to appear, listening with
apparent anxiety, when, late on a Sabbath evening, a
message arrived from the deputy-governor, demanding
his name and title. The rumour spread, that he was a
"spy in British pay ;" and the visitors suddenly dropped
away, till he was left without a solitary inquirer. In
his closet, that evening, he sat "extremely dejected;"
but,

" With a passion half divine,"

he only felt it a new call to a life of self-consecration.
" Never so heartily willing/' he wrote, " to enter into
my rest ; yet willing to offer, and I do with some pecu-
liar feelings offer, my poor life to the Lord Jesus Christ,
to do and to suffer whatever He shall appoint during
my few remaining days. My followers/' he added,
" 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."

A week passed ; and visitors again appeared. " I
cannot but hope," was his entry in his diary, one even-
ing, "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 first he feels the pinch of truth. On the one
side is hell ; on the other, ridicule, reproach, confisca-
tion of goods, imprisonment, and death." One of these
inquirers was a bright young man, once bearing a con-
siderable title, and attached to the imperial court, but
recently placed under ban, the victim of a false accusa-



248 PERSECUTION.

tion. " I cannot think/' were his words one day, " of
embracing the religion of Christ, until the learned and
the great lead the way." The day following, he " be-
gan to speak decidedly for Christ." And, two days later,
Mr. Judson wrote: "Moung A was with me in the
afternoon : his case is becoming extremely interesting.
He began last night to pray to the eternal God." And,
five days afterwards " Oo Myat-pyoo appears to
have taken the religion of Christ into his heart. He
and Moung A bid fair to be the first-fruits of the
mission here."

The deputy-governor had reported him to Ava;
but, strong in his God, and " resolved to labour while
the day lasted," he lost not a moment in urging forward
the work. One day, taking his stand in a public zayat
about a mile from home, he had an uninterrupted suc-
cession of visitors from morning till night ; and, with
the aid of three native fellow-labourers who preached in
other spots, he brought the Gospel intelligibly that
day to the ears of at least one hundred and fifty people
who never had heard it before. Another day, after the
crowd had dispersed, one man remained with him till
night ; and, two days afterwards, he " began to feel the
force of truth." For two or three weeks, it appeared
as if the whole town was roused to listen to " the
news of an eternal God, of the mission of His Son the
Lord Jesus Christ, and of the way of salvation through
an atonement."

But the storm again gathered. At Ava, ever since
he had left them at the close of the war, he had been



BRITISH RESIDENT. 249

regarded with extreme suspicion ; and now, summoned
one day to the court -house, he was strictly examined con-
cerning his past life since he joined the British camp.
The report was forwarded to the capital ; and instantly
the king's ministry was in conference with the British
resident, begging his advice and aid. "Dr. Judson,"
said they, "is come up to Prome, and is distributing
tracts and abusing the Burmese religion, much to the
annoyance of the king." " He is now," replied Major
Burney, "exclusively devoted to missionary pursuits.
I possess no power or authority over him ; but I know
him to be a very good man, who will not injure the
king or his government in any way." "The king is
much vexed with him for his zeal in scattering among
the people writings which condemn the Burmese faith,
and his majesty is anxious to remove him from Prome."
" But the king arid his government have always been
noted among civilised nations for their toleration to-
wards all religious faiths ; and there are thousands
whom the least molestation or injury of Dr. Judson
would offend and grievously displease." " It is to
avoid hurting him that we have consulted you. Will
you write and advise him of the sentiments of the
king?" "I repeat, he is no way connected with
me or my government ; and I can issue no orders to
him. I beg you to leave him alone." " No, we can-
not : the king is greatly displeased. Will you only
write?" "Well, I shall write : but remember, I have
no right to interfere with him ; and, whatever letter he
may receive from me, he will act as his own judgment



250 A RETROSPECT.

and conscience may dictate." " Only recommend him
to return to Rangoon, and to confine his missionary
labours within that city."

Meanwhile, he had some company at the zayat
each day, and crowds on days of worship. Amidst
many opposers, some were observed in distant corners
listening eagerly, whilst five among them seemed to
obtain "a little grace." But the "enemy's forces
came on fresh and fierce;" the poor people became
alarmed ; an imperial order was issued for his own
removal ; and, in other ten days, he was afloat in his