Lives of the Three Mrs. Judsons Part 12

"Ah this is death, my innocent! 'tis he Whose chilling hand has touched thy tender frame.

Thou heed'st us not; not e'en the bursting sob Of thy dear father, now can pierce thine ear.

Thy mother's tale replete with varied scenes, Exceeds my powers to tell; but other harps And other voices, sweeter far than mine, Shall sing her matchless worth, her deeds of love, Her zeal, her toil, her sufferings and her death.

But all is over now. She sweetly sleeps In yonder new-made grave; and thou, sweet babe, Shalt soon be pillowed on her quiet breast.

Yes, ere to-morrow's sun shall gild the west, Thy father shall have said a long adieu To the last lingering hope of earthly joy; For thou, Maria, wilt have found thy rest.

Thy flesh shall rest in hope, till that great day When He who once endured far greater woes Than mortal man can know; who when on earth Received such little children in his arms, Graciously blessing them, shall come again; Then like the glorious body of thy Lord Who wakes thy dust, this fragile frame shall be.

Then shalt thou mount with him on angels' wings Be freed from sorrow, sickness, sin and death.

And in his presence find eternal bliss."

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 6: Baptist Magazine, 1825.]

[Footnote 7: North American Review.]

CHAPTER V.

STATIONED AT MAULMAIN.--ATTACK OF BANDITTI.--MISSIONARY OPERATIONS.--DANGER FROM FIRE.

On consultation it was determined that Mr. and Mrs. Wade should remain in Amherst, and that Mr. and Mrs. Boardman should proceed to Maulmain, a town 25 miles up the river, which had sprung into being in the same manner as Amherst, and was nearly as populous; and that Mr. Judson should divide his time between the two stations.

In pursuance of this plan Mr. Boardman removed his family, which had been increased by the addition of a lovely daughter, now about five months old, to the new city of Maulmain. On the evening of May 28th Mr.

Boardman makes this entry in his journal. "After nearly two years of wanderings without any certain dwelling-place, we have to-day become inhabitants of a little spot of earth, and have entered a house which we call our earthly home. None but those who have been in similar circ.u.mstances can conceive the satisfaction we now enjoy." ... "The population of the town is supposed to be 20,000. _One year ago it was all a thick jungle, without an inhabitant_!"

While at Amherst, Mrs. Boardman had experienced an alarming attack of a disease incident to the climate, and had to be carried to the boat which conveyed her to her new home on a litter. On her arrival there, although she shared her husband's joy that at length they had a home on the long _promised land_ of Burmah, still her woman's nature, enfeebled by suffering, could not but have trembled at the idea of living in a lonely spot, (for the mission-house was nearly a mile from the barracks,) with the neighboring jungle swarming with "serpents that hiss, and beasts of prey that howl." In addition to this cause of alarm, there was opposite them, on the Burman side of the river, the old decayed city of Martaban; which was the refuge of a horde of banditti, who, armed with knives and swords, would often sally forth in bands of 30 or 40, urge their light and noiseless boats across the river, satiate themselves with plunder and murder in the British town, and return with their spoils to their own territory, where they were secure from British retaliation. The English general, knowing the insecurity of the mission-house, had urged Mr. B. to remove with his family to the protection of the fort; but his object was to benefit the _Burmans_, and to do that, he must live among them.

In their little bamboo hut, therefore, so frail that it could be cut open, as Mrs. Boardman says, with a pair of scissors, they prosecuted their study of the language under a native teacher, and even ventured to talk a little with the half-wild natives around them, and for a few weeks were unmolested. Their courage and confidence had revived, and with Mrs. B., restored health brought happiness. June 20th she writes, "We are in excellent health, and as happy as it is possible for human beings to be upon earth. It is our earnest desire to live, labor and die among this people." With such feelings, they had probably retired to rest on the night of the 24th of June, but awaking towards morning, and perceiving that the lamp which they always kept burning through the night was extinguished, they suspected mischief; and on relighting it, they found to their consternation that their house had been entered by the lawless plunderers mentioned above, and robbed of nearly every valuable article it contained; but how was their horror increased, by finding two large cuts in the moscheto curtains about their bed, through which the murderers had watched their slumbers, ready to stab them to the heart had they offered the slightest resistance, or even had they waked to consciousness. But He who "giveth his beloved sleep," had kindly steeped their senses in slumbers so profound and peaceful, that not even the infant stirred, or opened its eyes which would have instantly been sealed again,--in death.--Every trunk, box and bureau was rifled, looking-gla.s.s, watch, spoons, keys, were gone; and yet as the parents gazed at those rent curtains, and thought how the death-angel had grazed them with his wing as he pa.s.sed by, their hearts rose in grat.i.tude and praise to their Heavenly deliverer. But Mrs. Boardman's feelings are best told in her own expressive words. She says, "After the first amazement had a little subsided, I raised my eyes to the curtains surrounding our bed, and to my indescribable emotion saw two large holes cut, the one at the head, and the other at the foot of the place where my dear husband had been sleeping. From that moment, I quite forgot the stolen goods, and thought only of the treasure that was spared. In imagination I saw the a.s.sa.s.sins with their horrid weapons standing by our bedside, ready to do their worst had we been permitted to wake. Oh how merciful was that watchful Providence which prolonged those powerful slumbers of that night, not allowing even the infant at my bosom to open its eyes at so critical a moment. If ever grat.i.tude glowed in my bosom, if ever the world appeared to me worthless as vanity, and if ever I wished to dedicate myself, my husband, my babe, my _all_, to our great Redeemer, it was at that time.

"To this day not a trace of our goods has been found; leaving no doubt that they were taken immediately over the river to Martaban. Since our loss, we have received many kind presents from our friends, so that we now find ourselves comfortable, and we are contented and happy. Yes, my beloved friend, I think I can say, that notwithstanding our alarms, never did five months of my life pa.s.s as pleasantly as the last five have done. The thought of being among this people whom we have so long desired to see, and the hope that G.o.d would enable me to do some little good to the poor heathen, has rejoiced and encouraged my heart. I confess that once or twice my natural timidity has _for a moment_ gained ascendancy over my better feelings,--and at the hour of midnight, when the howlings of wild beasts have been silenced by the report of a musket near us, we would say to each other, perhaps the next attack will be made upon _us_, and the next charge may be aimed at our bosoms. Then I have been almost ready to exclaim, Oh for one little, _little_ room of such materials, that we could, as far as human means go, sleep in safety. But these fears have been transitory, and we have generally been enabled to place our confidence in the Great Shepherd of Israel who never slumbers or sleeps, a.s.sured that he would protect us.... And we have also felt a sweet composure in the reflection that G.o.d has marked out our way; and if it best accord with his designs that we fall a prey to these blood-thirsty monsters, _all will be right_."

The English, hearing of this robbery, stationed a guard at the Mission-house of two sepoys or native soldiers. As one of these was sitting in the verandah, a wild beast from the jungle sprang furiously upon him, but he was frightened away before the man was much injured.

Such occurrences however were rare, and did not make Mrs. Boardman desire, all things considered, to change her residence She was in the place of her choice, the country of her adoption, she had a faithful and loving husband, and a lovely and almost idolized babe; their house, though small and insecure, was beautifully situated with everything in the natural landscape around to charm her cultivated eye and taste,--these were her _earthly_ comforts. Besides, even the insecurity of their habitation was daily diminis.h.i.+ng; for houses were constantly springing up around them, and more and more of the jungle was cleared and cultivated. But what gave its chief zest to her life and that of her spiritually minded husband, was the fact that they found here a field of _usefulness_ in the only work that seemed to them worth living for. From various motives the natives began to visit them constantly, and in increasing numbers, to inquire concerning the new religion. Mr. B. held a religious service on the Sabbath, and opened a school for boys: Mrs.

Boardman, one for girls, and both conversed as well as they were able with their numerous visitors, and employed all their leisure in mastering the language. On the 22d of July they commemorated together the Saviour's dying love, in the sacrament of the Lord's supper,--a solitary pair--yet not so, for the Master of the feast was there to bless the "two" who thus "gathered together in his name."

The population at Maulmain was now increasing, and that at Amherst diminis.h.i.+ng so rapidly, that Mr. Judson and Mr. and Mrs. Wade thought best to remove from the latter station to the former, and arrived at Maulmain in October. Two houses of public wors.h.i.+p were erected during the year, where Messrs. Judson and Wade were daily employed in proclaiming religious truth, and such was their success, that within a few months they admitted to the church several native members. As many native converts with their families had removed with the Missionaries from Amherst to Maulmain, Mrs. Wade and Mrs. Boardman united their schools into one, which was attended with the most gratifying success.

Moung Shwa-ba and Moung Ing, who have often been mentioned in the former memoir, read the Scriptures and other religious books to all who would hear, at a sort of _reading zayat_, built for the purpose.

In March, 1828, our friends were delivered from a danger not unknown in our own country. One evening, they were startled by a roaring like that of flame, and on going to the door, discovered the whole jungle to the eastward of them enveloped in sheets of flame, which was rapidly approaching their frail cottage. Seeing no hope that their house could escape, they rapidly collected a few valuables, and with their infant prepared to flee towards the river, though in much terror lest their path should be beset by leopards, tigers, and other animals, driven from their haunts by the fire. But when within a few feet of the houses, the flames were arrested by a sudden change of the wind, and the dwellings were unhurt. "Thus again are we preserved," says Mr. B. "when no human arm could have saved us!" Truly,

"The hosts of G.o.d encamp around The dwellings of the just."

Truly "the Lord knoweth how to deliver the G.o.dly."

CHAPTER VI.

REMOVAL TO TAVOY.--IDOLATRY OF THE PEOPLE.--LETTER FROM MRS. B.--BAPTISM OF A KAREN DISCIPLE.--SOME ACCOUNT OF THE KARENS.

The permanent collection of so many Missionaries at a single station was not approved by the Board, nor was it deemed desirable by the Missionaries themselves. In accordance, therefore, with instructions received from America, it was decided that Mr. and Mrs. Boardman should remove to Tavoy. This city is situated on the river Tavoy, 150 miles south of Maulmain, and had at that time a population of 6000 Burmans and 3000 foreigners.

The city was the stronghold of the religion of Gaudama, and the residence of two hundred priests.

On every eligible point stood an emblem or image of idolatry. Tall paG.o.das crowned every eminence, and humbler ones cl.u.s.tered around them, while thickly set groves of banyan and other sacred trees, sheltered shrines and images of Gaudama, and on festival days were crowded with devotees, kneeling in the gloomy pathways, or festooning the sacred trees with the rarest flowers. The tops of some of the thousand paG.o.das in the city, are hung with innumerable little bells, which, moved by the wind, chime sweetly their calls to devotion, reminding one of a pa.s.sage in Moore's description of an eastern city:

"But hark! the vesper call to prayer, --As slow the orb of daylight sets,-- Is rising sweetly on the air From Syria's thousand minarets."

This change in their place of abode could not fail to be a severe trial to our missionaries. To Maulmain they were bound by many ties,--the sweet companions.h.i.+p of fellow-Christians, and the love which attaches the missionary to those spiritual children which the Lord has given him;--moreover it was their first _home_, sanctified by signal deliverances and countless mercies;--nevertheless, like Abraham who at the call of Jehovah, "went out, not knowing whither he went,"--these "followers of them who through faith inherit the promises," obeyed the voice of duty, and feeling themselves "strangers and pilgrims on the earth," went without murmuring to their new sphere of labor. "One thing is certain," says Mr. B. in a subsequent letter "we were brought here by the guidance of Providence. It was no favorite scheme of ours."

On arriving at Tavoy, they were kindly received by Mr. Burney the English resident, and within ten days from their arrival, had procured a house, and begun to teach inquirers in the way of salvation Much as there was to discourage them in this _city of paG.o.da_, "the missionary looked out on the strange magnificence of shrines and temples that lay around him,--upon the monuments that had perpetuated for many ages this idolatrous wors.h.i.+p,--upon the priests who taught it, and the countless devotees who practised it; and as he prepared to strike the first blow at the h.o.a.ry superst.i.tion which they all enshrined, he felt to the full the sublimity and greatness of the undertaking. He stood alone, the herald of truth, before this mighty array of ancient error; but he trusted implicitly in the promises of revelation, and felt a.s.sured that the day was at hand when all this empty adoration of Gaudama would give place to the wors.h.i.+p of the living G.o.d!"[8]

A new difficulty occurred here, which however was speedily surmounted by the diligence and zeal of the missionaries; the dialect of Tavoy was so different from pure Burmese as to be almost unintelligible to those who knew only the latter, but both, fortunately, employed the same written characters. Mrs. Boardman's employments at this time are enumerated in their letters. After unwearied toil, and repeated repulses and discouragements, she succeeded in establis.h.i.+ng a girls' school, in which she employed a woman who could read, as an a.s.sistant. She describes a visit to her school thus: "I am just returned from one of the day-schools. The sun had not risen when I arrived, but the little girls were in the house ready for instruction. My walk to this school is through a retired road, shaded on one side by the old wall of the city, which is overgrown with wild creepers and pole-flowers, and on the other by large fruit-trees. While going and returning, I find it sweet and profitable to think on the shortness of time, the vanity of this delusive world,--and oh I have had some precious views of that world where the weary are at rest; and where sin, that enemy of G.o.d, and now constant disturber of my peace, will no more afflict me."

In another letter of a later date, she describes herself as sitting at her table in a back porch, from which she can see her "dear husband," in a room before her, teaching nine little heathen boys; while in one of the long verandahs on each side of the house, the native Christians are holding a prayer-meeting in their own language, and in the other, a Chinese convert is urging three or four of his deluded countrymen to turn from their stupid superst.i.tions to the service of Jehovah.

She mentions also the baptism of a _Karen_, (the name of a tribe in Burmah,) "a _poor man_, who had been converted while in the service of Mr. Judson;" little knowing the importance of the fact thus recorded.

This "poor man," in fact formerly a slave, and whom the writer of an article in a former number of the _Quarterly Review_ would have sneered at as he did at the "fisherman," the _wonderful trophy of divine grace_, mentioned in Mrs. Judson's history of the mission, was the famous Ko-thay-byu, whose life has been written by Mr. Mason, and who, by his zeal and success in missionary labor, obtained the name of "the Karen Apostle." He was the first to introduce to the notice of the missionaries, the tribe to which he belonged, a people so remarkable, that we are unwilling, even in our brief sketch, to pa.s.s them over without notice.

The Karens, according to a writer in the _North American Review_, are a savage and ignorant race of men, (their _name_ in the Burman language signifying _wild men_,) scattered in vast numbers over the wilds of Farther India, and inhabiting almost inaccessible tracts, among the mountains and forests. Their peculiar physiognomy, strange traditions, and some of their customs have led to the opinion that they were of Hebrew origin, though some think they are of the Caucasian variety of the human species. They differ much from the Burmans, by whom they are heavily taxed and grievously oppressed, and in every way treated as inferiors.[9] "Their traditions have been preserved, like the poems of Ossian, by fond memories delighting to revive the recollections of former glory and prosperity; repeated by grandsires at even-tide to their listening descendants, and sung by mourners over the graves of their elders.

"They believe in a G.o.d who is denominated Yu-wah," a name certainly similar to the Hebrew Jehovah. Some of their traditional songs are curious and interesting. For instance,

"G.o.d created us in ancient time, And has a perfect knowledge of all things; When men call his name, _he hears_!"

And again

"The sons of heaven are holy, They sit by the seat of G.o.d, The sons of heaven are righteous, They dwell together with G.o.d; They lean against his silver seat."

The following stanza, says the writer above referred to, might be mistaken for the production of David or Isaiah.

"Satan in days of old was holy, But he transgressed G.o.d's law; Satan of old was righteous, But he departed from the law of G.o.d, And G.o.d drove him away."

They say that G.o.d formerly loved their nation, but on account of their wickedness he punished it, and made them the degraded creatures they now are. But they say "G.o.d will again have mercy upon us, G.o.d will save us again." One verse of one of their songs is,

"When the Karen king arrives Everything will be happy; When Karens have a king Wild beasts will lose their savageness."

Professor Gammell says, in substance, that they present the extraordinary phenomenon of a people without any form of religion or established priesthood, yet believing in G.o.d, and in future retribution, and cheris.h.i.+ng and transmitting from age to age a set of traditions of unusual purity, and containing bright predictions of future prosperity and glory.