once. Besides attending to her domestic duties and her native classes
she had learnt the Siamese language, and with the aid of a native had
translated into Siamese her husband's Burmese tracts. The Burmese
territory in the Malay peninsula had formerly belonged to Siam, and
after its annexation to Burma many of the Siamese came to live at
Rangoon. Several thousands resided there at the beginning of the
nineteenth century, and it was that they might hear the Gospel that
Mrs. Judson learnt their language. Suffering from over-work and the
unhealthiness of the city--in those days Rangoon was a pestilential
place--Mrs. Judson sailed for Calcutta, and proceeded to Serampore.
She was back again in January, 1821, after six months' absence, but
during the long rainy season she had such a severe attack of fever that
it was evident that to save her life she would have to return to
America for a complete rest.
After two years in America she returned to Rangoon in good health; and
Mr. Judson now decided to avail themselves of the King of Burma's
invitation to settle at Ava. Leaving the Rangoon mission in charge of
his assistant missionaries, he started with Mrs. Judson on the long
journey up the Irrawaddy to the capital. But before they had proceeded
far war broke out between England and Burma. The Burmese were
possessed of the belief that they were the greatest military power in
the world, and, confident that they had nothing to fear from the
English, encroached upon the possessions of the East India Company.
Other acts of aggression followed, and the Company decided upon
reprisals. Several battles were fought on the frontier, and the
Burmese under Bandoola won two or three victories. Mr. and Mrs. Judson
on their journey up the Irrawaddy met Bandoola proceeding in great
state to take command of his army. They were questioned by the Burmese
general's men, but on explaining that they were not British subjects
but Americans, and that they were proceeding to Ava by command of the
king, they were allowed to continue their journey.
On arriving at Ava the king and queen treated Mr. Judson very coldly,
and did not enquire after Mrs. Judson, whom they had previously desired
to see. This was a discouraging beginning for their new work, but the
Judsons settled down to it, praying that the war might soon be ended.
But the end was far off. On May 23, 1824, the news reached Ava that an
English force had captured Rangoon. It had apparently not occurred to
the Burmese that the English might attack them elsewhere than on the
frontier, and the news of their success filled them with amazement and
indignation. An army was despatched at once with orders to drive out
the invaders.
The king now became suspicious of Mr. Judson. He knew that the
missionary had declared that he was not a British subject, but America
was a land of which he knew nothing. The only white nations of which
he had any knowledge were England and France, and he was under the
impression that after the downfall of Napoleon the French had become
British subjects. His courtiers were equally suspicious of Mr. Judson,
and one managed to discover that he had recently received some money
from Bengal. This money was a remittance from America which had been
forwarded through a Bengal merchant, but the king and his advisers at
once came to the conclusion that Mr. Judson was a spy in the employ of
the English.
An order for his arrest was issued immediately, and an officer,
accompanied by a 'spotted face,' or public executioner, and a dozen men
proceeded to the Judsons' house. The 'spotted face' rushing in flung
Mr. Judson to the ground and began to bind him.
In terrible distress Mrs. Judson besought the officer to set her
husband free, but all the notice he took of her was to have her
secured. When the ropes had been tightly bound around Mr. Judson the
'spotted face' dragged him out of the house. 'Spotted faces' were
almost invariably criminals who had been sentenced to the most degraded
of duties--executing their fellow men. So that they should not escape
from the work to which they were condemned, small rings were tattoed on
their cheeks, forehead and chin. Loathed by all classes, the 'spotted
faces' treated with great barbarity all who came professionally into
their power. The man who had bound Mr. Judson made the missionary's
journey to the prison as uncomfortable as possible. Every twenty or
thirty yards he threw him to the ground, and dragged him along for a
short distance with his face downwards. On arriving at the prison
allotted to men sentenced to death, Mr. Judson was fettered with iron
chains and tied to a long pole, so that he could not move.
Mrs. Judson was left at her home, with a number of soldiers outside to
prevent her escaping. But these men were not satisfied with keeping
her prisoner; they added to her misery by taunting her, and threatening
her with a horrible death. For two days she endured this agony, but on
the third she obtained permission to visit her husband. Heavily
fettered, Mr. Judson crawled to the prison door, but after they had
spoken a few words the jailors roughly drove her away. She had,
however, seen enough of the prison to make it clear to her that her
husband would die if he were not speedily removed from it. By paying
the jailors a sum of money she managed to get him removed to an open
shed in the prison enclosure. He was still fettered, but the shed was
far healthier than the prison.
Having attained this slight relief for her husband, Mrs. Judson now did
all in her power to obtain his release. She called in turn on the
various members of the royal family and the high officials, assuring
them that her husband had done nothing to deserve imprisonment, and
asking for his release. Many of the people were sympathetic, but none
dared ask the king to set the missionary free, for his majesty was
infuriated by the news which reached him, now and again, of the success
of the invaders.
At last, in the autumn, Bandoola arrived at Ava. He had been summoned
from the frontier to proceed towards Rangoon to drive out the British,
and on arriving at Ava he was received with wild enthusiasm. Even the
king treated him with respect, and allowed him to have a free hand.
Mrs. Judson, seeing Bandoola's power, determined to appeal to him for
her husband's release. She was given an audience, and after hearing
her petition, Bandoola promised that he would consider the matter, and
dismissed her with the command to come again to hear his decision. The
gracious manner in which she had been received filled Mrs. Judson with
hope, but on calling for Bandoola's reply two days later she was
received by his wife, who said that her husband was very busy preparing
to start for Rangoon; as soon as he had driven out the English he would
return and release all the prisoners. It was a terrible
disappointment, but Mrs. Judson did not break down, although her health
was far from good. She continued doing as she had done for many
months, trudging two miles to the prison with her husband's food and
walking back in the dark. Every morning she feared to find that her
husband had been murdered, for the news of the British successes
continued to reach Ava, and the people were in a state of excitement,
and continually vowing vengeance on the white _kalas_. However, her
worst fears were not realised. Her husband remained in chains, but, as
he was not treated very harshly, she began to hope that the Burmese
would release him when the war was ended.
But the end of the war was a long way off, and in the middle of
February it became known that the English had quitted Rangoon and were
marching to Ava. Mr. Judson was immediately taken from his shed and
flung into the common prison--one room occupied by over a hundred
prisoners--loaded with five pairs of fetters. It was the hot season,
and Mr. and Mrs. Judson knew that he could not live long in that place.
Indeed, he was quickly attacked with fever, and Mrs. Judson, growing
desperate, so persistently implored the governor to allow her to remove
him that at last he consented. Mr. Judson was removed speedily to a
small bamboo hut in the courtyard, where, made comfortable and nursed
by his wife, he recovered.
In the meanwhile Bandoola had been killed in action, and his successor
appointed. The latter was a man of fiendish tastes, and he decided
before proceeding down the Irrawaddy to take up his command, to remove
the prisoners from Ava, and have them tortured in his presence. So Mr.
Judson and two or three white traders were taken away to Amarapoora.
Mrs. Judson was absent when her husband was removed, and when she
returned and found him gone she feared that what she had been long
dreading had happened--that her husband had been killed. The governor
and the jailors protested, untruthfully, that they did not know what
had become of him; but at last Mrs. Judson discovered where he had been
taken, and started off with her few months' old baby and her native
nurse-girl to find him.
Travelling first by river and then by bullock-cart, she arrived to find
her husband in a pitiable state of health, caused by the ill-treatment
he had received from his warders on the march from Ava. He was in a
high fever, his feet were terribly swollen, and his body covered with
bruises. Mrs. Judson obtained permission to nurse him, but on the same
day her child and nurse-girl developed small-pox. She nursed all three
patients, and to her great joy they all recovered. But the strain on
her fever-weakened strength had been great, and she felt that her life
was quickly drawing to a close. But she bore up bravely, and journeyed
to Ava to fetch her medicine chest.
Neither she nor her husband knew of the intention of the Burmese
general. It was never carried out, for he was suspected of high
treason, and promptly executed.
Time passed, and the King of Burma becoming alarmed at the advance of
the English towards his capital, sent his representatives to treat with
them. Mr. Judson accompanied them to act as interpreter. He was not
in fetters, but he was still a prisoner. On his return he found that
his wife had been again ill with fever, and had been delirious for many
days. But the prospect of peace being soon declared cheered the
much-tried missionaries, and gave them fresh strength.
The terms offered by the English general had been refused by the King
of Burma; but when he found that the enemy would soon be at his capital
he quickly agreed to them, and sent the first instalment of the
indemnity down river to the victors. Mr. Judson was sent with the
Burmese officers to act as interpreter, and when the money had been
handed over to the English he was set free, after having undergone
twenty-one months' imprisonment, during seventeen of which he was in
fetters. That he had managed to live through that long imprisonment
was due to his wife's bravery and devoted attention. She had suffered
more than he, and her constitution, ruined by fever, privation, and
anxiety, was unable to withstand the illness which attacked her soon
after she had settled down again to missionary work.
She died on October 24, 1826, aged 37, and the husband whom she loved
so dearly was not at her bedside. He was acting as interpreter to the
Governor-General of India's embassy to the court of Ava, and did not
hear of her illness until she was dead. The baby girl who had been
born in the midst of sad surroundings only lived for a few months after
her mother's death.
[1] Foreigners
SARAH JUDSON, PIONEER WOMAN IN BURMA
The boy or the girl who does not at an early age announce what he or
she intends to be when 'grown up,' must be a somewhat extraordinary
child. The peer's son horrifies his nurse by declaring that he intends
to be an engine-driver when he is 'grown up,' and the postman's wife
hears with not a little amusement that her boy has decided to be Lord
Mayor of London.
These early aspirations are rarely achieved, but there are some notable
instances of children remaining true to their ambition and becoming, in
time, what they had declared they would be.
Sarah Hall, when quite a little child, announced her intention of
becoming a missionary, and a missionary she eventually became. She was
born at Alstead, New Hampshire, in 1803, her parents being Ralph and
Abiah Hall. They were refined and well-educated, but by no means
wealthy, and Sarah would have left school very young, had not the
head-mistress, seeing that she was a clever child, retained her as
pupil teacher. Quiet, gentle, and caring little for the amusements of
girls of her own age, her chief pleasure was in composing verse, much
of which is still in existence. The following lines are from her
'Versification of David's lament over Saul and Jonathan,' which was
written when she was thirteen years of age:--
The beauty of Israel for ever is fled,
And low lie the noble and strong:
Ye daughters of music, encircle the dead
And chant the funereal song.
Oh, never let Gath know their sorrowful doom,
Nor Askelon hear of their fate;
Their daughters would scoff while we lay in the tomb,
The relics of Israel's great.
At an early age, as already stated, she expressed a wish to be a
missionary to the heathen, and the wish grew stronger with increasing
years. But suddenly it became evident to her that there was plenty of
work waiting for her close at hand. 'Sinners perishing all around me,'
she wrote in her journal, 'and I almost panting to tell the far heathen
of Christ! Surely this is wrong. I will no longer indulge the vain,
foolish wish, but endeavour to be useful in the position where
Providence has placed me. I can pray for deluded idolaters and for
those who labour among them, and this is a privilege indeed.' She
began at once to take an active part in local mission work; but while
thus employed her interest in foreign missions did not diminish, and
the death of the two young missionaries, Wheelock and Colman, who went
to Burma to assist Mr. Judson, made a deep impression on her.
Wheelock, while delirious from fever, jumped into the sea and was
drowned, and Colman, after a time, died at Arracan from the effects of
the unhealthy climate. On hearing of Colman's death she wrote 'Lines
on the death of Colman,' the first verse of which is:--
'Tis the voice of deep sorrow from India's shore,
The flower of our Churches is withered and dead,
The gem that shone brightly will sparkle no more,
And the tears of the Christian profusely are shed.
Two youths of Columbia, with hearts glowing warm,
Embarked on the billows far distant to rove,
To bear to the nations all wrapped in thick gloom,
The lamp of the Gospel--the message of love.
But Wheelock now slumbers beneath the cold wave
And Colman lies low in the dark, cheerless grave,
Mourn, daughters of India, mourn!
The rays of that star, clear and bright,
That so sweetly on Arracan shone,
Are shrouded in black clouds of night,
For Colman is gone!
These lines were read by George Dana Boardman, a young man, twenty-four
years of age, who had just been appointed to succeed Colman at Arracan.
He obtained an introduction to Sarah Hall, and in a short time they
became engaged. They were married on July 3, 1825, and thirteen days
later sailed for Calcutta, where they landed on December 2. The war in
Burma prevented their proceeding to Rangoon, so they settled down at
Calcutta, to study the Burmese language with the aid of Mr. Judson's
books. At this they were engaged almost continuously until the spring
of 1827, when they sailed for Amherst, in Tenasserim, a newly built
town in the recently acquired British territory, to which Mr. Judson
had removed with his converts soon after the conclusion of the war.
The Boardmans' stay at Amherst was, however, short. Towards the end of
May they were transferred to another new city--Moulmein. A year before
their arrival the place had been a wide expanse of almost impenetrable
jungle; now it had 20,000 inhabitants. Wild beasts and deadly snakes
abounded in the jungle around the city and, across the river, in the
ruined city of Martaban, dwelt a horde of fiendish dacoits, who
occasionally made a night raid on Moulmein, robbing and murdering, and
then hurrying back to their stronghold. The Boardmans had been settled
in their bamboo hut barely a month when they received a visit from the
dacoits. One night Mr. Boardman awoke, to find that the little lamp
which they always kept burning was not alight, and suspecting that
something was wrong he jumped out of bed and lit it again. The dacoits
had entered, and stolen everything they could possibly carry off.
Looking-glasses, watches, knives, forks, spoons, and keys had all
disappeared. Every box, trunk, and chest of drawers had been forced
open, and nothing of any value remained in any of them. This was the
first home of their own that the Boardmans had ever had, and to be
robbed so soon of practically everything they possessed was indeed
hard. They had, however, the satisfaction of knowing that the dacoits
had not, as usual, accompanied robbery with murder. But that the
dacoits would have murdered them had they awoke while they were
plundering was plain. Two holes had been cut in the mosquito curtain
near to where Mr. and Mrs. Boardman and their one-year-old child lay,
and by these holes dacoits had evidently stood, knife in hand, ready to
stab the sleepers if they awoke. It was a great shock to Mrs.
Boardman, who was in bad health, but soon she was joining her husband
in thanking God for having protected them.
After the robbery the officer commanding the British troops stationed
two sepoys outside the mission house, and some idea of the dangers
which surrounded the Boardmans may be formed from the fact that one day
the sentry was attacked by a tiger.
But, exposed as the Boardmans were to perils of this kind, they
continued their work among the rapidly increasing population, and met
with considerable success. Many native Christians, converted under Mr.
Judson at Rangoon, lived at Moulmein, and consequently the Boardmans'
work was not entirely among the unconverted. Indeed, before long
nearly all the native Christians in Burma were residing at Moulmein,
Amherst having declined in public favour. When the majority of the
inhabitants of Amherst migrated to Moulmein the missionaries
accompanied them, and soon nearly all the missionaries to Burma were
working in one city. Neither the missionary board in America nor Mr.
Judson considered this to be wise, and some of the missionaries were
removed to other places, Mr. and Mrs. Boardman being sent to Tavoy,
some 150 miles south of Moulmein. The dialect of the people of Tavoy
differed considerably from Burmese, and the Boardmans had practically
to learn a new language. As the written characters of both languages
were the same, the task was not very difficult, and before long the
missionaries were preaching the Gospel to the Tavoyans.
Soon after they had settled down some Karens invited Mr. Boardman to
visit them. Their country was not far away, but the missionary could
not as yet leave Tavoy. The Karens, however, told him something that
excited his curiosity. A foreigner passing through the land had given
them a book, and told them to worship it. They had done so. A
high-priest had been appointed, and he had arranged a regular form of
worship, Mr. Boardman asked the Karens to let him see the book, and
they promised to bring it to him. Soon a deputation, headed by the
high-priest, attired in a fantastic dress of his own designing, arrived
at Tavoy with the book, which was carefully wrapped up and carried in a
basket. On having the book handed to him Mr. Boardman saw that it was
a Church of England Prayer-book. He told the Karens that although it
was a very good book it was not intended to be worshipped, and they
consented to give it to him in exchange for some portions of Scripture
in a language they could read. It was never discovered who gave the
Prayer-book to the Karens, but it may be taken for granted that they
misunderstood the donor's meaning. This book was afterwards sent home
to the American Baptist Missionary Society.
On July 8, 1829, Mrs. Boardman was plunged into grief by the death of
her little daughter, aged two years and eight months. Other troubles
followed quickly. One night Mrs. Boardman was awakened by hearing some
native Christians shouting, 'Teacher, teacher, Tavoy rebels!' The
inhabitants of Tavoy had revolted against the British Government, and
had attempted to seize the powder magazine and armoury. The Sepoys had
driven off the rebels, who were, however, far from being disheartened.
They burst open the prison, set free the prisoners, and began firing on
the mission house. Bullets passed through the fragile little
dwelling-place, and the Boardmans would soon have been killed had not
some Sepoys fought their way to their assistance, with orders to remove
them to Government House. As Mrs. Boardman with her baby boy in her
arms hurried through the howling mob of rebels she had several narrow
escapes from being shot, but fortunately the whole of the little party
from the mission house reached Government House in safety. The
Governor of Tavoy was away when the rebellion broke out, and as the
steamer in which he had departed was the only means of rapid
communication between Tavoy and Moulmein, the little British force
settled down to act on the defensive until reinforcements arrived.
Soon it was found that Government House would have to be evacuated, and
eventually the British and Americans took shelter in a six-room house
on the wharf. In this small house the whole of the white population,
the soldiers, and the native Christians were sheltered. The rebels,
strongly reinforced, attempted to burn them out, but a heavy downfall
of rain extinguished the flames before much harm had been done.
At last, to the great relief of the defenders, the governor's steamer
was seen approaching. The governor was considerably surprised to find
the natives in revolt. Immediately after his arrival he sent his wife
and Mrs. Boardman aboard the steamer, which was to hurry to Moulmein
for reinforcements. Mrs. Boardman begged to be allowed to remain and
share the danger which was threatening both the whites and the native
converts, but the governor firmly refused to allow her to do so.
As soon as the rebellion was quelled Mrs. Boardman returned to Tavoy
and resumed her work, but troubles now came upon her quickly. On
December 2, 1830, her baby boy died, making the second child she had
lost within twelve months. Her husband, too, was in very weak health,
although still working hard. On March 7, 1831, he reported that he had
baptized fifty-seven Karens within two months, and that other baptisms
would soon follow. But the latter he did not live to see, for he died
of consumption three weeks after writing his report.
The Europeans at Tavoy considered it natural and proper that, now Mrs.
Boardman was a widow, she should, return to America, and they were
somewhat surprised when she announced her intention of remaining at
Tavoy. 'My beloved husband,' she wrote, 'wore out his life in this
glorious cause; and that remembrance makes me more than even attached
to the work and the people for whose salvation he laboured till death.'
As far as possible she took up the duties of her late husband, and
every day from sunrise until ten o'clock at night she was hard at work.
Her duties included periodical visits to the Karen villages. This was
a most unpleasant work for a refined woman, and from the fact that she
scarcely ever alluded to these visits we may conclude that she found
them extremely trying. But, as there was no man to undertake the work
which her late husband had carried on with conspicuous success, she
knew unless she did it herself a promising field of missionary
enterprise would be uncared for.
Preaching, teaching and visiting was not, however, the only work in
which the young widow engaged. She translated into Burmese the
_Pilgrim's Progress_.
Adoniram Judson and Mrs. Boardman had known each other from the day the
latter arrived in Burma, and the former, as the head of the
missionaries in that country, was well aware of Mrs. Boardman's
devotion to duty. On January 31, 1834, he completed his translation of
the Scriptures, and on April 10 he and Mrs. Boardman were married.
Mrs. Sarah Judson's home was now once more in Moulmein, and into the
work there she threw herself at once heart and soul. She superintended
schools, held Bible classes and prayer meetings and started various
societies for the spiritual and physical welfare of the women. Finding
that there was a large number of Peguans in Moulmein, she learnt their
language, and translated into it several of her husband's tracts.