live as we sball then wish to have done ! Let us be
humble, unaspiring, indifferent equally to worldly com-
fort, and to the applause of men absorbed in Christ,
the uncreated Fountain of all excellence and glory."
A month or two after Mrs. Judson's departure for
the United States, there had arrived at Rangoon a
missionary-physician, sent by the American Church to
aid the Burman work. Dr. Price had not been long in
the country, when certain rumours reached the capital
about his skill in the removal of cataracts ; and an order
was received from the king, requiring his immediate
attendance at court. Provided with a boat at the public
expense, he had at once set out, Judson accompanying
him as interpreter in the hope of some opening for the
gospel. On their arrival they were introduced to the
king, "the doctor" being welcomed very graciously.
" And you in black ! " enquired the Emperor one day,
suddenly turning towards Judson, "what are you? a
medical man, too?" "A teacher of religion, your
majesty!" "Have any embraced your religion?"
" Not here." " Are there any in Rangoon ?" " There
are a few/' "Are they foreigners ?" The query was
startling, for an answer might involve the infant Church
in ruin ; but the truth must be spoken at any risk, and
he replied, " There are some foreigners and some Bur-
mans/' The king was silent for a few moments, as if
ROYAL QUERIES. 121
weighing the ominous fact ; but at length his counte-
nance relaxed into a smile. " Thanks to God/' Judson
wrote that evening, " for the encouragement of this day !
The monarch of the empire distinctly understands that
some of his subjects have embraced the Christian reli-
gion, and his wrath has been restrained."
They had now been in Ava two months, residing in
a house adjoining the palace, and often invited into the
royal presence, when one day they proposed to the
king to purchase " a piece of ground within the walls,
to build on it a kyoung or sacred place." His majesty
assented ; but it had formerly been the site of a
Buddhist temple, and the ministers overruled the royal
will. "Well, give him some vacant spot," said his
majesty at another interview; and the door thus re-
mained open. "Are these converts real Burmans?"
asked the king, turning to Mr. Judson, at a subsequent
audience, where two English gentlemen happened to
be present : " do they dress like other Burmans ?"
" Yes," he replied hesitatingly, growing somewhat
alarmed at the royal pertinacity. A day or two after-
wards, he was again in the royal presence, intimating
his purpose speedily to return to Rangoon. " Will
you proceed thence to your own country?" enquired
his majesty. " Only to Rangoon." The king gave an
acquiescing nod. " Will you both go ? " asked the
minister; "or will the doctor remain?" "The hot
season is coming on," said Dr. Price ; " and our present
dwelling is very close." " Then you will return here
after the hot season ?" rejoined the minister, turning to
122 THE PLOT OF GROUND.
Mr. Judson. "If convenient," replied the latter, fixing
his eye on the king, " I will." Another " acquiescing
nod and smile" conveyed the royal sanction; and, the
doctor having again hinted the necessity of another
dwelling, the king, turning to his minister, said, " Let
a place be given him," and closed the audience.
Just outside the walls, on a pleasant bank of the
river, was a plot of ground which the chief minister
had recently enclosed, with the intention of building a
temporary zayat for his own use, when in that quarter
of the city with the king. One evening, before em-
barking, Judson waited on the minister with a petition
asking for the spot, and begging to be allowed to
express his gratitude by presenting a certain sum of
money. After many delays, it was granted; and, at
last, getting formal possession of the ground, he erected
a temporary cot, stationing in it a Burman disciple with
his family until he should return and commence a
mission. The next morning he set out, and in seven
days reached Rangoon. Though almost borne down
by fever and ague, he completed in a few more weeks
his New Testament. And towards the close of the
year, on the return of Mrs. Judson, he was on his way
back to the capital, not ungirt for the ordeal which
was at hand, because feeling that "no beings were ever
under greater obligations to make sacrifices for the
promotion of God's glory."
THIRD VISIT TO AVA. 123
CHAPTER VI.
Third visit to Ava Scene on the river The royal palace Hard-
ships Dark cloud -The British Suspicions "Spies" The
" spotted face " Arrest The cord Imprisoned The cottage
Faith The ruffian-guard Carousals The governor Bribe
' The prisoner Turnkey Scene in the palace Petition The
confiscation Search "A true teacher" RANGOON British
flotilla A panic The reprieve Escape The converts A
good confessor.
ONE evening, about a hundred miles from Ava, the
boat's company were startled to find on the bank an
encampment of Burman troops. The next day they
encountered on the river, in his golden barge, the Bur-
man general, Bandoola, followed by a fleet of golden
war-boats, bearing another body of soldiers. It was a
warlike expedition on its way to the British province of
Chittagong, to seize certain Burman refugees alleged
to be protected by British power. " Are you English 1"
shouted an imperious voice from a war-boat which had
been dispatched to hail the little company ; " and what
is your errand ?" " We are Americans, not English,"
replied Judson ; " and we are on our way to Ava by
124 SCENE AT COURT.
command of the king." Passing onward, they arrived
at the capital to find a menacing cloud overhanging
their future prospects.
In all the grandeur of Oriental magnificence, the
king arrived in the city one day to take possession of
the new palace. Assembled on the scene were all the
viceroys and high officers of the kingdom, dressed in
their robes of state, and with the insignia of office.
" The number and immense size of the elephants/' says
an eye-witness, " the numerous horses, and great variety
of vehicles of every description, far surpassed anything
I had ever seen or imagined. The white elephant was
there, richly adorned with gold and jewels. All the
riches and glory of the empire were exhibited to view.
The king and queen alone were unadorned, dressed in
the simple garb of the country. Hand in hand, they
passed along the streets of the golden city, hailed by
the acclamations of millions." The proud monarch,
intoxicated by the incense of this exuberant loyalty,
was not in a mood to brook the dictation of a foreign
authority ; and, having declared war against England,
he was scarcely seated in his new palace, when he
issued an order that no foreigner should be allowed to
enter its precincts.
Meanwhile the Judsons, with no home to shelter
them from the burning sun by day, and from the cold
dews by night for the dwelling of Dr. Price was so
damp that Mr. Judson could not spend two or three
hours within its wet walls without being thrown into
a fever reared on the spot of ground formerly granted
OMINOUS SYMPTOMS. 125
by the king a humble cot of three small rooms and a
verandah ; protecting them indeed from the dews, but
so close all day as to be " heated before night like an
oven." Thankful, however, for the inestimable pri-
vilege of being able to communicate to any poor
Burman "truths which could save the soul," they
welcomed every evening at worship a number of natives,
whilst on the Sabbath Mr. Judson preached to a goodly
gathering on the other side of the river in Dr. Price's
house. Mrs. Judson, too, had around her each morn-
ing a little group of children learning to read and sew,
and hanging on her lips as she instilled into their won-
dering minds the story of the Nazarene.
At the palace, an ominous look of suspicion met
any foreigner who still, notwithstanding the decree,
was invited into the royal presence. The king, who,
for some months after Mr. Judson' s visit, had been
" enquiring many times about his delay/' now barely
consented to receive him ; and on two or three occasions,
when he was admitted, it was with a marked coldness
and reserve. The queen, too, " had frequently ex-
pressed a strong desire to see Mrs. Judson in her foreign
dress ; " but now she made no inquiries after her, nor
intimated any wish to see her. It only, therefore,
remained to proceed calmly and quietly with their mis-
sionary operations as occasions offered, thus endeavour-
ing to convince the government that they had nothing
to do with the present war.
It was a Sabbath morning, and the simple worship
had just been concluded in Dr. Price's house, when a
126 THE INVADERS.
messenger arrived with the startling intelligence " The
English have taken Rangoon ! " After laying the matter
before the Lord, it was decided that Mr. Judson should
wait on one of the princes who hitherto had been least
suspicious, and gather the mind of the king. The
reply was favourable. " I have been with his majesty,"
said the prince, in the evening, " and you need give
yourselves no uneasiness : the Emperor orders, that the
few foreigners residing at Ava, having nothing to do
with the war, shall not be injured or molested."
The whole city was in commotion. In three or
four days, an additional force of ten or twelve thousand
men was on its way to Rangoon, the chief occasion of
haste being the apprehension that possibly the invaders,
hearing of the advance of the Burman troops, might
take flight on board their ships before there had been
time to secure them as slaves. The golden war-boats
floated down the river, the soldiers singing and dancing.
" Bring me," was the last message from one of the
palace exquisites, "six of the white strangers to row
my boat." "And to me," added the wife of one of
the ministers, " send four to manage the affairs of my
house, as I hear they are trusty servants."
The army had scarcely gone, when the king began
to enquire, why those strangers had come to Burmah.
" There must be spies among us," responded one mi-
nister, " who have invited them over." " I hear,"
said another, " that an Englishman, who came here
the other day, had with him Bengal papers stating
his countrymen's purpose to take Rangoon." "And
ARREST. 127
he has kept it a secret from your majesty/' added a
third. Instantly, three Englishmen Captain Laird,
Gouger, and Rogers were summoned and examined.
They admitted having seen the papers, and were placed
under arrest.
A few weeks passed in painful suspense, when at
length one morning an officer appeared at the mission,
demanding the immediate attendance of Mr. Judson
and Dr. Price at a court of inquiry which had just
been summoned. " Have you been communicating to
foreigners the state of the country," the court de-
manded, "since you came to Burmah?" "We have
often," Judson replied, "written to our friends in
America, but have never corresponded with English
officers or with the Bengal government." After a
protracted investigation, they were released and allowed
to return home. But only a few days had elapsed
when suddenly, one evening, just as they were sitting
down to dinner, in rushed a guard of twelve Burmans,
headed by an officer holding a black book, and followed
by an ominous personage, whom, from his spotted face,
they recognised as an executioner, or "" son of a prison."
The missionaries had been in the habit of receiving
their money -remittances from home by orders on some
mercantile house in Bengal ; and in the accounts of
Mr. Gouger, one of the arrested Englishmen, had been
found sundry sums entered as paid by him to Mr.
Judson and to Dr. Price. At once the inference had
been drawn, that they were in English pay : and what
else could they be but spies ? The discovery had been
128 THE SPOTTED FACE.
reported forthwith to the king ; and, full of rage, he
had ordered their immediate arrest. "Where is the
teacher ?" demanded the officer, who had hastened
with his myrmidons to the mission, to execute the royal
behest. " I am," said Mr. Judson, boldly. " You
are called by the king/' said the officer, gruffly, em-
ploying the ominous formula used at the arrest of any
notorious criminal. Scarcely had he spoken, when the
spotted man, producing the small cord or instrument
of torture, seized Mr. Judson and threw him violently
on the floor. " Stay ! " interposed Mrs. Judson, catch-
ing hold of the executioner's arm ; " I will give you
money." " Take her, too," growled the officer ; " she
also is a foreigner." By this time, a crowd had gathered
round the door ; some masons, at work on the house,
had thrown down their tools and fled ; the little native
children of the mission were screaming and crying ;
the servants stood gazing in mute wonder; and the
" spotted face," tightening the cords on Mr. Judson's
person, was dragging him off with a fiend-like joy.
Another entreaty from Mrs. Judson to " take the silver
and loosen the ropes," only provoked a hellish yell;
and, as the native disciple followed with the money in
his hand, making another effort to mitigate the torture,
they were scarcely out of the house when " the unfeel-
ing wretches again threw their prisoner on the ground,
drawing the cords still tighter, so as almost to prevent
respiration." Arrived at the court-house, and arraigned
before the governor of the city, he listened in horror to
the order of the king, committing him to the death-
SCENE IN THE COTTAGE. 129
prison. It was now dark ; and these demons of dark-
ness hurried him off to the dungeon. The three Eng-
lishmen were there before him ; and, binding him with
three pairs of iron fetters, fastened to a long pole to
prevent him moving, they left him for the night, like
Paul and Silas, his " feet fast in the stocks," but his
spirit not bound.
We return to the cottage by the river- side. It is
the dusk of evening ; and, as we approach, a frail form
and firm brow and
" Look commercing with the skies "
meet us in the vacated room. It is the brave woman,
committing her case to Him who in weakness can
perfect strength. Rising from her knees, she whispers,
in her inmost heart
" Away, despair ! my gracious Lord doth hear.
Though winds and waves assault my keel,
He doth preserve it ; He doth steer,
Ev'n when the boat seems most to reel.
Storms are the triumph of His art :
Well may He close His eyes, but not His heart.'*
But stay ! a strange voice in the verandah ! She
listens ; and a clatter of feet is outside the door.
It is the magistrate of the district sent to examine her ;
and she must " come out " forthwith. With her cha-
racteristic self-possession, she seizes the moment to
commit to the flames her every scrap of manuscript ;
for her letters may disclose that they have correspond-
ents in England, and her journal records every incident
which has occurred since they reached Burmah. This
K
130 THE RUFFIAN GUARD.
done, she obeys the summons; and, after a searching
examination upon every conceivable point, she is left
for the night in charge of ten ruffians, who are com-
manded to suffer no human being to leave the com-
pound on pain of instant death.
Summoning the four native girls to an inner apart-
ment, she bars the door, in the hope of enjoying the
poor consolation of privacy during the gloomy hours of
night. Scarcely have they kneeled, when a hoarse
voice is heard outside, demanding that she shall undo
the bars and come out to them, or they will " break
down the house." Obstinately refusing to comply, and
threatening to complain of their conduct to a higher
authority, she looked out at the upper window and
found them maltreating the two Bengalee servants,
fixing them in the stocks and beating them. Not able
to endui'e this, she called to the head-man, promising
to make them all a present in the morning, if only they
would release the servants. After much delay, they
consented ; and the ruffians fell to carousing, a
diabolical execration ever and anon piercing the
prisoner's heart.
The morning dawned; and, herself still in close
durance, she sent the native disciple to the death-
prison with a little food for Mr. Judson, if still alive.
Learning that they were in irons and suffering great
anguish, she implored the magistrate to allow her to
go to some member of the government to state her
case. " No," was the reply, " I dare not, for fear you
should escape." Another night came ; and, although
THE SUPPLIANT. 131
nature was - almost exhausted, she scarcely closed an
eye, the thought of her husband stretched on the
bare floor, in irons, in the dismal dungeon, " haunting
her mind like a spectre." The second day passed, and
still no relief. But, on the morning after, the thought
struck her, to send a message to the governor of the
city, who had the entire control of prison affairs, de-
siring permission to visit him " with a present." " Let
her come into town," said his excellency, smiling at
the prospect of the "present." "Desire the guard to
conduct her here forthwith." Before an hour had
elapsed, she was in the governor's presence, having
previously passed to him secretly a handsome gift.
" What do you want ? " he said to her, pleasantly.
" The foreigners," she replied, " have been unjustly
imprisoned;" and she detailed briefly, but earnestly,
their wrongs. " It is not in my power to release them
from prison or from irons," answered the governor,
moved by the unwonted spectacle of "a white woman"
thus a suppliant at his feet; "but I can make their
situation more comfortable. Here is my chief officer ;
you may consult with him as to the way."
Glancing at the officer, she detected a countenance
" presenting the most perfect assemblage of all the evil
passions attached to human nature." " The prisoners,"
he whispered, taking her aside, " and yourself also, are
entirely at my disposal, and their future comfort must
depend on your liberality in regard to presents ; and
these must be made in a very private way, unknown to
any officer in the government !" " What must I do,"
132 THE PRISONER.
enquired Mrs. Judson, eagerly, "to obtain a mitigation
of the sufferings of the two teachers ?" " Pay to me,"
replied the officer, "two hundred ticals (about one
hundred dollars), two pieces of fine cloth, and two
pieces of handkerchiefs ! " " There is the money,"
she answered softly, taking from a bag which she had
brought with her the sum demanded; "the other
articles you must not insist upon, for I have not any
nearer than two miles." For a moment he hesitated,
but the glitter of the coin was too much for him ; and,
unwilling to let it slip, he transferred it to a secret
wallet, promising to relieve the captives.
Armed with an order from the governor, she hastened
off to the prison. The door was opened, slowly and
cautiously. " Stay ! " said the gaoler, roughly, glancing
at the document, and keeping her outside ; " I will
call the prisoner." Crawling to the door, loaded with
irons, Judson was beginning to give some directions
relative to his release, when the turnkey abruptly ordered
her to depart. She pleaded her " order from the go-
vernor ; " but the voice growled, " Begone, or we will
make you go ! " But that evening, the prisoners were
removed out of the dungeon into the gaol-enclosure;
where Mrs. Judson was allowed to send them food,
and mats to sleep upon, though not permitted to see
them for some days.
Lolling luxuriously on a rich carpet, and sur-
rounded by a group of gay attendants, a princess was
listening one day coldly and listlessly to a tale of
poignant woe. It was Mrs. Judson before the chief
CONFISCATION. 133
prince's wife, whom she had known in better days,
pleading for her captive husband. " Your case is not
singular," replied the lady, partly raising her head,
and opening the present at her feet ; " all the foreigners
are treated alike." "But it is singular," interposed
Mrs. Judson, boldly, but respectfully; "the ' teachers'
are Americans ; they are ministers of religion ; they
have nothing to do with war or politics, and they came
to Ava in obedience to the king's command. They
have done nothing to deserve such treatment, and is it
right they should be treated thus ?" " The king does
as he pleases," said the princess. " I am not the
king. What can I do ? " " You can state their case
to the queen, and obtain their release. Place yourself
in my situation. Were you in America your hus-
band, innocent of crime, thrown into prison, in irons,
and you a solitary, unprotected female what would
you do ?" "I will present your petition," she re-
plied. " Come again to-morrow."
Meanwhile another injustice was perpetrated. "We
will visit your house on the morrow," whispered the
officers to her significantly, as they returned from Mr.
Gouger's dwelling with a booty of fifty thousand
rupees. And on the following morning, accordingly,
there appeared at the mission the royal treasurer, one
of the palace-governors, and a noble, attended by some
fifty followers. With that fascinating spell which
seemed to touch all who approached her, Mrs. Judson
had scarcely been with them a few minutes "treat-
ing them civilly, giving them chairs to sit on, and
134 THE SEARCH.
refreshing them with tea," when, feeling ashamed
to proceed to the business of confiscation, the royal
secretary, with three officers, went from the verandah
towards the apartments alone, ordering the attendants
to remain outside. " It is painful/' they said, with an
evident confusion, " to take possession of property not
our own ; but we are compelled so to do by order of
the king." She followed, shedding tears. "Where
are your silver, gold, and jewels?" asked the royal
treasurer tremulously. " I have no gold or jewels ;
but here is the key of a trunk which contains the
silver ; do with it as you please." Opening the trunk,
they proceeded to weigh its contents, when Mrs. Jud-
son, remembering the aversion of the Burmans to
seize anything appropriated to a religious use, added,
" This money was collected in America by the dis-
ciples of Christ, and sent here to build a kyoung, and
to support us while teaching the religion of Christ.
Is it suitable that you should take it ?" " We will
state this circumstance to the king," replied one of
them ; " and perhaps he will restore it." " But is this
all the silver you have ?" enquired another. " The
house is in your possession," she answered, having
hidden some treasure, yet scorning to utter an un-
truth ; " search for yourselves." Her drawers and
wardrobe were searched in her presence by the royal
secretary ; but her open frankness so won their good-
will that a list only was taken and laid before the
king. " Judson," said the officer, in presenting it,
" is a true teacher ; we found nothing in his house but
SCENES AT RANGOON. 135
what belongs to priests. In addition to this money,
there is an immense number of articles. Shall we take
them, or let them remain?" "Let them remain,"
replied the king, " and put the property by itself; it
shall be restored to him again, if he is found innocent."
Scenes were to follow, of which years afterwards
Mr. Judson was heard to say, " Oh, I dare not tell
you half the horrors I have seen and felt." But,
meanwhile, we must pause for a moment to glance at
what had been passing at Rangoon.
One morning in May,* there had arrived at the
mouth of the river a flotilla bearing a British force of
six thousand men. Its purpose was to strike a sudden
blow, in anticipation of a threatened Burmese in-
vasion of Bengal. The first step of the native au-
thorities, on learning the approach of the English
troops, was to arrest " every person in Rangoon who
wore a hat." Two missionaries had lately arrived on
a visit from Bengal ; and that night they were placed
in irons, and put in close confinement under armed
keepers.
The next morning, the fleet was within sight of the
town ; and the first shot fired by the invaders was to
be the signal for a massacre of the " white" prisoners.
A death -like pause followed: then "boom! boom!
boom ! " and the keepers, panic-stricken, slank away into
one corner of the prison, speechless, and almost breath-
less. A few more minutes, and the fleet was abreast of
the town, when another broadside made the prison
* 1824.
136 ORDER TO BEHEAD.
shake as if the next moment it would be down. The
keepers hastened to the door, and, breaking it open,
beat a precipitate retreat.
The firing ceased ; and the eye of each prisoner was
intently fixed on the door, in the belief that the troops
were landing, and that there would be an immediate