A LONG journey, many miles of which must be taken in a native boat, lay between Rangoon and the royal city of Ava; part of the way, too, lay through a district where bands of wild, lawless men were ready to rob or even murder travelers. Would it be right to go in the face of so many dangers?
Had Mr. Judson been allowed to go quietly on with his work of teaching and preaching the gospel, he might perhaps have decided to remain where he was. But every week he found that some native Burman, who had begun to visit the zayat, and even to ask questions about God's way of peace, gave up coming and even went back to the idol temples; though now and then, long after sunset, the missionary would hear the sound of footsteps in the yard, or compound, followed by a timid knock. And when he rose to answer it, he would hear such words as these: "Ah, teacher, I know I have done wrong, for I do not believe in idols now; but what could I do? for the officer came to my house and said, ‘The king is our master; all we are his slaves. He will not allow his subjects to learn the religion of Jesus, but will punish any who dare to do so?' Cannot you go to the king and make known to him your sacred books, then we may have more liberty?”
After much prayer, Mr. Judson and his fellow-laborer, Mr. Hough, made up their minds to go to Ava. When I tell you that the time fixed for their journey was daybreak one December morning, many of you will, I expect, think of some time when you have been out very early on a cold, foggy morning, with perhaps fast-falling snow or rain. But you will remember that the climate of India is much hotter than that of England, so do not be much surprised when I tell you that the air was warm and soft, and the sun shone brightly as Mr. Judson said good-bye to his weeping wife, and the native rowers pushed off from the shore.
"How long would he be away?" I do not think Mrs. Judson even asked her husband. She had tried, oh, so hard, to keep back her tears when they parted; tried, too, to speak cheering, hopeful words as he stepped into the boat; but we may be sure she felt very sad and lonely as she turned from the riverside and bent her steps homewards.
No one was allowed to leave Rangoon without permission from the viceroy or governor, and the pass the missionaries carried must have been a very curious piece of writing, giving them leave "to go up to the golden feet, and lift up their eyes to the golden face." Would that face smile or frown upon them? They could not tell; but all through the day that followed, while their boat moved slowly up the river, it must have been very restful to open their Bibles and read such words as "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." (Psa. 37:55Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. (Psalm 37:5).)
It must have been a long journey, three hundred and fifty miles from Rangoon, and may have seemed still longer, because they wished so much to reach the end of it. When going on deck one morning, they saw the marble roofs and gilded domes of the royal city glittering in the sunshine. In a few hours they were able to land, and went at once to the house of the viceroy, whose wife had taken so much notice of Mrs. Judson's first child, the little Roger, of whose early death you read in a former chapter. He received them kindly, and promised to do all in his power to obtain them an interview with the king, on whom he was, at the time of their visit, in personal attendance.
Returning to their boat, they must have been thankful for a little quiet time for prayer and study. When in the cool of the evening an officer, wearing the imperial uniform, stepped on board, his errand was to tell them the emperor had already heard of their arrival, and had been pleased to command them to attend at Court the next morning.
The sun had only just risen when they were on their way to the palace; but, early as their visit was, they found on their arrival quite a number of native chiefs and others, who were waiting to offer tribute or present petitions to the king. They were taken to the prime minister, who treated them with great politeness and gave them seats of honor. "Who are you? and why do you come to Ava?" he asked.
"We are Christian teachers," was Mr. Judson's reply; "and we come to bring the emperor a copy of our sacred books, and also a small present.”
A short conversation followed, interrupted by a signal from the palace guard, who gave warning of the approach of the king. The prime minister rose hastily and put on his Court dress, saying as he did so, "I will present you; but I do not think you will be allowed to teach religion in our great Burman empire.”
It must have been an imposing scene at Court that day. A victory had been gained in a distant part of the empire, and the troops were to pass in a grand military review before the emperor. The long looked-for moment came at last. Conducted by the prime minister, the missionaries entered the royal presence and respectfully saluted the monarch. "Who are these?" he asked. "We are teachers, great king," Mr. Judson replied in Burmese. The king looked surprised at hearing his own language correctly spoken by a foreigner, and asked several questions; then seated himself on his throne, his right hand resting on the hilt of his jeweled sword, and his dark eyes fixed on the strangers. After a short silence, he commanded one of his officers to read their petition. It was not a very long one, asking in simple but respectful words the king's permission to live in Burmah, to teach and preach the gospel. It also asked him to allow any of his subjects who wished to become Christians to profess their faith in Christ without fear of punishment.
The emperor heard it to the end, then taking it from the hand of the officer, read it through. As he read we may be sure the missionaries were turning to God in prayer. When read, he returned it without saying a word; but took a little book, printed in Burmese, offered him by Mr. Judson, opening it at the first page he read, "There is one eternal God." It was enough; a dark frown gathered on his face, and with a gesture of contempt he threw the tract on the ground.
The prime minister stepped forward, and began to unroll the present the missionaries carried; but the king took no notice. Hearing, however, that Mr. Judson understood the use of medicine, he gave orders that the strangers should be taken to the house of the Court physician, where they were asked such questions as "Can you make the king live forever?" “Have you any medicine that will prevent him from growing old?” “We have no such power or medicine," Mr. Judson replied. After a long and trying interview they were allowed to return to their boat.
In many ways the child of God is called to walk by faith, not sight (2 Cor. 5:77(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) (2 Corinthians 5:7)), and though the missionaries could not understand why their visit to Ava should have ended so strangely, and it must have seemed to them so sadly, still they could not, dare not, doubt that in His own time and way God would open a door for the gospel of His grace in Burmah.
And already the door was open, though it was not in king's palaces, but in strange, out-of-the-way places that the first converts were to pray and sing praises. The work was of God, and none could hinder it or put a stop to it.