3—THE MISSIONARIES AND THE KING.
ON one occasion, as Judson was engaged in his mission work in the zayat, the viceroy passed by, seated upon a huge elephant, and surrounded with a numerous suite. Presently he sent a message desiring to see the way in which printing is done, for he wished to have some Burman books printed, and much to the annoyance of his highness Judson had to inform him that the teacher who understood printing had gone to Bengal. However, Judson managed to assure him that he himself was ignorant of the art. It afterwards transpired that the viceroy had seen one at least of Judson's tracts, a testimony that even into the high places of the land, Christian truth had penetrated.
The king who reigned in Burmah when Judson arrived in the country was not by any means attached to Buddhism, and under his rule the missionaries had considerable liberty. But one day a royal dispatch boat pulled up to the shore, and the messengers, calling the people together, proclaimed: “Listen ye. The immortal king, wearied, it would seem, with the fatigues of royalty, has gone to amuse himself in the celestial regions. His grandson, the heir-apparent, is seated on the throne."
With the old king's death religion revived, sacred offerings, and the building of fresh pagodas, recommenced with energy, and the great and sacred pagoda, containing six or eight hairs of Gautama, was regilt. The Christian zayat was seldom visited, curiosity as to the new religion rapidly waned, and Judson dreaded banishment for himself and death for the converts.
With such sorrowful surroundings Judson settled upon the bold step of laying his case before the king himself, and of seeking toleration for the Christian religion. He accordingly prepared as a present, the Bible in six volumes, covered with gold leaf, each volume being in a rich wrapper; and then, accompanied by his fellow missionary, Colman, set off upon his voyage up the river to the city of Ava.
The river was infested with robbers, and in parts notorious for murders, but God's good hand brought our missionaries and their crew safely through all difficulties and dangers. At the distance of some two hundred and sixty miles from Rangoon he visited the ancient city of Pugan—" Took a survey of the splendid pagodas and extensive ruins of the once famous city," and gazed upon the surrounding country filled with decay, and monuments and temples of every size. "Here," he says, "about eight hundred years ago, the religion of Buddha was first publicly recognized and established as the religion of the empire. Here, the first Buddhist apostle of Burmah disseminated the doctrines of atheism, and taught his disciples to pant after annihilation as the supreme good."
Rather less than another hundred miles brought him close to Ava itself, and he “distinguished the golden steeple of the palace amid the glittering pagodas” of that city.
He obtained leave for an interview with the king, and, in prospect of the event, says, "Tomorrow's dawn will usher in the most eventful day of our lives; tomorrow's eve will close on the bloom or the blight of our fondest hopes. . . . Thy will, O God, be ever done; for Thy will is inevitably the wisest and the best."
The magnificence of the palace exceeded all that our missionaries had conceived, and in the attitude of profound respect they awaited the monarch. “He came forward unattended, in solitary grandeur," carrying the gold-sheathed sword, which seems to have taken the place of the scepter. "But it was his high aspect and commanding eye that riveted our attention. He strided on, every head, excepting ours, was low in the dust. When he drew near we caught his attention. He stopped, partly turned toward us—
"Who are these?" said he. "The teachers, great king," I replied.
After a variety of questions, the petition was read. The emperor stretched out his hand, and the officer who had read it crawled forward and presented it, together with a tract on the Christian faith, and while he did so Judson prayed earnestly for the king and for Burmah.
The emperor perused the petition, but having read the opening words of the tract, which stated the fact of there being an eternal God, he dashed it with disdain to the ground.
In vain did the missionaries try to catch his eye by opening their beautifully bound volumes. The decree was, that the emperor had no use for their sacred books, and that he made no order as to their petition. A little more, and he rose from his seat, strode on to the end of the golden-pillared hall, where, throwing himself upon a cushion he watched the parade of his troops and listened to their martial music.
Private efforts were made in the missionaries' favor by some of the officers of the Court, but the emperor was highly adverse to the foreign “religion-makers." However, he was more amused than angry, "What," said he, laughing, “have they come presuming to convert us to their religion? Let them leave our capital." So the voyage back to Rangoon had to be made.
With the king—whose word was life or death—adverse to them, the missionaries were in the greatest anxiety for the future. They gathered together the few converts, and told the disappointing result of their interview, when, to their surprise and joy, instead of fearing, these believers in Christ proved full of faith and courage. At this time God began in a very marked way to strengthen the hands of the mission. The work prospered, though it had to be carried on in secret and with the greatest caution. Both men and women were added to the church, and the protecting hand of the Almighty shielded His servants from persecution.
About a year after Judson's return from his visit to the king, Dr. Price, a physician, joined him in the work. The prospects of the mission were brighter than they had been for a long time, and hope for greater things filled their hearts, when suddenly there came a summons from Ava, that Judson and the doctor were required at the “golden city”! It was impossible to refuse the king, and once more Judson found himself on his way to the capital, though he went with very great unwillingness.
There a welcome awaited them, occasioned by tidings of the doctor's surgical skill; indeed, so favorable was the Court now towards the missionaries that the king heard without displeasure that some of his subjects in Rangoon had received the new religion. Further, on one occasion, during a private interview, the king ascertaining that Judson was accustomed to preach Sunday by Sunday, enquired, "What, in Burman ? " and then immediately commanded, "Let us hear how you preach." Whereupon the whole Court was silent, as Judson proclaimed the eternal being of the living God before the monarch. He was not unfriendly towards the mission, and in the Court some of the high officers had obtained, at least, the knowledge of the teaching of Christianity.
Thus all seemed to promise well, yet in a moment, and from a most unexpected quarter, every hope was suddenly dashed, and the very lives of the missionaries were hardly spared to them ; so that this visit to Ava, apparently so favorable, ended with intense suffering and sorrow.
War had broken out between the English and the Burmans, and the former took Rangoon. Dr. Price and Judson were regarded as spies, and were thrown into a horrible dungeon, where they must have perished had it not been for the heroic efforts of Mrs. Judson. That noble woman, who had only just recovered from a most serious illness, with all the ingenuity and courage of a woman's love, brought the prisoners food, and again and again saved their lives. In vain did she appeal to the queen—were they not Americans, and not English; teachers of religion, and no spies? The white prisoners were held in irons, and for months death, in its most horrid forms, stared them in the face. Once indeed they were appointed for sacrifice, but the officer who had prepared that fate for them fell himself a victim to his superiors.
Meanwhile the English moved surely on. Vain were the fleet of golden war boats and the strange devices of the Burman warriors, and at last the English army was almost at the gate of Ava.
Then, in their despair, the king and his advisers took Judson out of prison, and made him their interpreter, and sent him to the English camp, where he conducted the terms for peace.
Eventually, after exacting a huge ransom, the English withdrew, taking with them all the white prisoners, and the missionaries also, and thus, after an absence of two years and three months, was the mission home at Rangoon once more reached in safety.
Thus ended Judson's visits to the king and a most marvelous series of escapes from death. We can, however, see how God ordered that His servants should speak of Him in the highest places in Burmah, as well as to the poor of the land, and that the story of God and of His Son should be heard even in the palace of the " golden foot " himself.