^Mm^-^ %"'^'-k¥A-^- MrSSlONARY EMORIALS \^\ \ 'y <. r ^ ^ ^ '( ^y/yy /. / ^^^/^^ y 'A/ / y/ y ^ '^y/yyy^/y. ' ^'"' ^-^Z-V-- -'-'>"' CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Cornell University Library BV 3271.W12W97 The Wades Jonathan Wade D.D. and) Deb 3 1924 023 048 345 The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023048345 flSiM/a'u'Ki/aM W/a©ii= ©a [B= to waogo THE WADES JONATHAN WADE, D.D. DEBORAH B. L. WADE. ^ ^etnoviaU By WALTER N. WYETH, D.D., 1'1I11,AU1CI,1'1IIA, PlSNN. TV// ///(' A'ti/i'>/s, "I am Ihe ri'siiyrcctio)! and the lift-." Ui«y»- . I, IV \ '■^'^ gjedicatiott. TO THE Missionaries in Burmah, The Field of The Wades. Very Sincerely, The Author. Electrotyped,,pnnted and bound by C. J. Krehbiel & Co., 248 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, O. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1891, by W. N. Wyeth, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. ■y 1 TN presenting the fourth of the Missionary Memorials, the author would express thanks for the cordial as- sistance rendered by the friends of Missions in the effort to make the books effective for good. It is not the aim of this series to promote Foreign Missions alone, but to add to the influences calculated to produce consecration to the cause of Christ, whatever the department of work chosen. Nor is it a special object to extol the several persons memorialized, but rather to exalt the object to which they gave themselves ; noting their sacrifices as evidence of missionary conviction, and their successes as evidence of the favor of God upon missionary work. Also, it is aimed in this brief biography to furnish a line of missionary history, preserving our records from loss, and imparting a knowledge of the same to those not familiar with them. Dr. and Mrs. Wade were among the early and long- time missionaries. They were spared to each other and to the cause for an unusually long period. From the time they were set apart their connection with this serv- ice continued until they were called to their heavenly rest; his, for forty-nine years, hers, for more than forty- five. They were active and efiBcient, well or sick ; even in their last illness, both served the cause of the heathen iii IV PREFATORY NOTE. in the death-room. Yet they were averse to applause, and the longer they lived the less they appeared in our denominational periodicals. Mrs. Wade was sensitively fearful that some one might wish to write a memorial of her, and accordingly she besought her friends to destroy all letters and every trace of her. But enough remains to enable the denomination to secure that right- ful inheritance to the memory of both and the materials of the history they helped to make, which is adapted to inspire our members and enrich our literature. The author hopes that, since only fragmentary records of the Wades existed, this volume will be even more welcome than its predecessors. Man^' yet living remem- ber with great pleasure the persons memorialized, and will derive peculiar satisfaction in reviewing things which they know, while reading much pertaining to missions in the East that may be new to them. And if the youth and the indiiferent derive new stimulus for the work of the Lord from these pages, the author will feel amplj' repaid. W. N. W. 3920 Fairinount Ave. Philadelphia, Pa., April i, 1891. ©intent** PAGE. I. Binary Stars — In the Home Sky, . . 7 II. Abroad — The New Sphere, . 18 III. Rangoon — Siege and Capture, 33 IV. War — The Cloud Shifting, 47 V. Back prom Calcutta — Settling and Un- settling ; Mee Shway-Ee, . . 64 VI. Great Experiences — Language Writ- ten ; Hunger for Knowledge ; " Foot- steps IN THE Sea," ... ... 78 VII. In United States — North, South ; Cast- ing IN Jewelry, ... -94 VIII. Tavoy — "Beautiful Feet;" "City of Love ; " Glory in the Jungles, 105 IX. Jungle Tours — Floods ; Epidemics ; Great Grace Upon the People, . n8 X. Third Decade — Changes — Mergui, St. Helena, Home, . -135 XI. Afield Again — Toiling, Enduring, Dy- ing. Mrs. Wade, 153 XII. Gates Ajar — Looking Heavenward, and Going Thither. Dr. Wade, . . 166 Xin. Aftergleams — The Westering Sun. 176 I love to be in the missionary work, because I love to stand in the ranks and march in the footsteps of those who have gone before me in the best work of the world — the work which God most honors, in which He is most pleased, by which He is most praised, and to which He gives the most illustrious promises. We wish to stand with Martyn and Brainard, and Carey and Judson, and Ann Hasseltine and Harriet Newell, and all the others who have ^iven lustre to history by their self-consecration to the work of the Master. We wish to be in the line of those who have marched under the golden triumphs of God, and under that one banner in the world that never goes down, and to feel that their influ- ence descends upon us. — Dr. R. S. Storrs. THE WADES. I. ^inavu ^tav&—/N the home sky. Sweet, o'er the hills that hide my youth, I hear the bells of morning chime ; They ring for honor, love and truth. And head and heart are keeping time. C. H. Crandall. FACING the title page of this book is a picture which represents the preachers of. fifty years ago — prim, sedate, thoughtful, stilted in manner, and somewhat cumbered with dress. The chop collar, dainty whiskers, and watch-cord, with its dangling key, point to an age of simplicit}^ while the deep " choker" and the grave countenance identify the clergyman of the high pulpit and lofty-galleried church. The subject, Jonathan Wade, was, nevertheless, a child once, to' whom play was more proper than piety, and in whom a sense of the proprieties so clearly pictured in his face had to be cultivated. L,ike other men, he was first the "small boy," whose development and destiny may not have been prefigured, but only guessed at, by others. Let the youth of to-day at- tentively read the story of his life, that they may see how the cultivation of the better nature enlarges one's sphere, lengthens life, and lays hold upon eternal re- 7 8 THE WADES. wards ; and, meantime, learn of the honor God be- stows upon man in taking him into a fellowship of service, and of how great things he is thus enabled to accomplish for his fellow-man. The other picture, that of Deborah B. L- Wade, brings to view a modest, affable, accomplished woman, whom to know was to love, and to associate with whom was to feel an uplifting hand and a power to dispel darkness from the mind and alleviate distresses of heart. She will walk at the side of Mr. Wade through- out these pages ; a noble pair, leaving their Eden home in New York to traverse the wild waste of waters and the still wilder moral desert of southern Asia. Mr. Wade came from the preceding century ; was born December lo, 1798. He was a native of central New York,, town and county of Otsego, a section that fairly represents the hilly surface, salubrity and re- sources of the State. It is not without its charms — lovely vales and streams, eminences and lakes that im- part exhilaration and delight. The Unadilla and Sus- quehanna rivers, that hold the county in their embrace as they flow to the south and south-west, give beauty to the scenery and fertility to the soil. The principal lake, Otsego, terminates at the south amid hills it can not surpass and with which it enjoys a celebrity rare and undying. At this point it is gemmed with the village of Cooperstown, known the world o\-er as the ^ home of the author of " The Last of the Mohicans," " The Pioneer," " The Spy," and other standard fiction, and where they se^'erally were written. The town of Otsego is a few miles north-west of Cooperstown. There Mr. Wade passed his earliest A MEMORIAL. 9 days. When eighteen years of age he was baptized at Hartford, Washington Co., N. Y., east of the Hud- son river, and from the church in that place he went to Hamihon. to pursue a course of study preparatory to the ministry. The institution at this place was estab- lished with the exclusive view of fitting young men for the ministerial calling, though it was not fully organ- ized at the time he entered as a student. The earliest conception of the School, and his thought of seeking such an education as it would naturally furnish, were about simultaneous. In fact, when he had heard of it he made the journey of hundreds of miles, whether by foot or by stage it is not stated, and was on the ground ere it was ready for him. As yet it was not visible. On the 12th of February, 1818, he was examined for admission. The main point in the report was that he " exhibited a letter of his membership and liberty to preach." Where and what did he enter? It is stated in the same report that a committee had been ap- pointed " on the situation which they may think most proper for a site for locating, permanently, the institu- tion." It had no local habitation. The course of study was that only which some of the leaders had mapped out in their minds. The recitation-room was where the building was — nowhere. Yet the mind that could de- vise the enterprise could also find temporary expedi- ents, and the founder invited the Lord's foundling to come to his bed-room and -make his start. In the silence, seclusion and poverty of that humble apart- ment was founded " The Hamilton Literary and Theo- logical Institution," Professor Daniel Hascall on one end of the bench and Jonathan Wade on the other. lO THE WADES. Meanwhile a young woman near by, of kindred spirit, was maturing for some unknown, important sphere. She was born in Nelson, N. Y., January lo, 1 80 1, thus being younger than Mr. Wade by a little more than two years. While yet a child she experi- enced that most trying of all changes, the death of her mother. How long she bore the trial of " home with- out a mother" it is not stated. The loss occurred be- fore she was ten years of age. Ere long her father re- moved to Hamilton, and married an estimable widow, Mrs. Wheeler ; and this daughter continued with the family, a representative of the former home. And thus the reader is introduced to Deborah B. I,apham. Her providential circumstances from childhood were, thus, such as have tested and tempered character in very many instances. While some daughters have proved unequal to the trial, and have suffered dejec- tion, if not despair, she accepted the situation as a part of life. Though 'twas dreadful to live with a mother's form in the grave, yet 'twas blessed to live with a noble purpose in the mind. It was not her disposition to take occasion from a mother's departure to indulge her de- praved tendencies. She kept within the bounds of a proper deportment, and performed the part of a dutiful member of the household. For one so young she was manifestly useful to the rest of the familj'. The settlement in Hamilton was an important cir- cumstance to Dd^orah, because she had a mind to dis- cern the advantages which that center of life furnished, in that early day, and to do so more full}- as opportuni- ties improved. She was in sympathy with the best things, and was becoming qualified to appreciate the A MEMORIAL. II new institution of learning when it should come into existence, and to seize an occasion on which something of value might be obtained or accomplished. lyife with her was more than mere existence ; more than meek supineness under circumstances, content to be led or to be let alone. She had an " active, happy temperament"; was one who might be depended upon to think of something, and to bring the same to pass ; happj^ also, in having a life to live, and never regret- ting that she had been born. In person she was at- tractive, one about whom others clustered, and to whom she was a leader. And in her home, so far from being an annoyance to her stepmother, or holding her- self aloof from her, she maintained an active sympathy with domestic affairs ; " became to the new mother a valued helper, to the younger sisters a loving com- panion and counselor." These young persons met each other at Hamilton ; the one a student, the other a resident. They became Christians at about the same period of life, and were baptized at the same age. Hamilton society in those days was small, its habits primitive and its advantages narrow. The piety of the Church was of a simple type ; its work such as " God's occasions, drifting by," suggested, and the accomplishment of the same only what the rude conditions of the time admitted. There were three objects prominently before it — the building of the spiritual house by accessions, the establishment of the institution of learning, and the furtherance of missions. The village church was open to comers ; not as in the heyday of after-time, when it was fearful of being 12 THE WADES. encumbered with student members. Evidently it fos- tered all who committed themselves to it and to the LfOrd's work. All were needed. Mr. Wade was a pre- cious gift, because rare ; there was no chance for divided affection, and the saints were glad of even one in their m'idst who might be '' encouraged to exercise his gifts." It was a day of " nursing mothers " in Israel, and a missionary student was a choice subject ; even a " sight." And not less was the infant Seminary, that was designed to train him, also a cherished object. The one drew upon the heart because related to 'the other, and both together were the leading interests of the Hamilton church in 1818. In the spiritual work of the church Miss I,apham took an active interest. Her part was voluntary and conspicuous. Though young and untrained, she en- tered upon the duties of the ordinary Christian, and showed what a girl can do when fully consecrated to the Master. She was baptized at eighteen, and imme- diately entered upon the active work of persuading her young friends to become Christians, going from house to house, and pleading with them with an all-absorbing earnestness and resistless power. Her father declared that she was converted a missionary, and Hamilton obtained the first fruits of her -^-ital piety in the trophies secured. For many years, before the opening of the institu- tion, Hamilton had been a recognized center of evan- gelistic power. It was in advance of the denomination as a whole, in having an organized missionary societj- for .seven years preceding the formation of the Tri- ennial Convention, though the direction of its efforts A MRMOKIAL. 1 3 was westward. The waj^ to the East, the vast realm of Paganism, was yet unopened, but a burden of soul for the known millions of heathen had been rolled upon the plain, pioneer people in the church of the village, and they had been wrestling with God in their behalf When Mr. Wade entered Hamilton he found it a life-giving and light-bearing community. Its life was permeating the membership at home, and its light go- ing out through the national convention to heathen- dom. And as to himself, he states that very soon after he obtained a hope in the divine mercy it seemed to him that the missionary enterprise, which is denounced by some as impiously taking God's work into our own hands, and censured by others as a needless expendi- ture of life and money, to do that for the heathen which their circumstances do not much demand, was no more nor less than what His command enjoined on the Church. It seemed to him, also, that if this work was obligatory on the Church, it was enjoined on him as a member of the Church. When Miss Lapham became a Christian, which was almost simultaneously with the above experience, she also found herself in an atmosphere of burning zeal for the salvation of the heathen. It was suited to her newness of life. She found a " church home " in a better than the ordinary sense. Not only were its peo- ple her people, but, likewise, its spirit was her spirit. She glowed with zeal for souls. How soon the thought of going to the heathen entered her mind it is not stated ; but it is evident that she did not wait for a bet- ter opportunity than she already had for saving some, even though it were but to glean in the field after the 14 THE WADES. many experienced reapers. Who knows but that she then gleaned ears of corn after him in whose sight she was to find grace ? The Hamilton church now found the first-best frui- tion of religious activity — a pair of missionaries. What could have been more opportune ? If it had prayed for such a gift from its own number, faith was rewarded. If it had asked, in a vague way, for more laborers, it received a salutary and welcome rebuke in being given something better than it asked or thought. Whatever the case, it now had a new element of inspiration in all its feasts, and the first of the kind in its experience ; and those youthful servants, on their part, had Chris- tian nurture, genial to them, and which was a feature of the religion of their time in an eminent degree. In education their advantages were quite dissimilar and unequal, more so, by far, than the sexes experience at the present day. He had access to the " School," poor as it was, which was started expressly for such as he, and which cherished him in respect to bodily and in spiritual wants. She was " only a girl," and was born in an age when to be a prophet's wife meant, mainlj', to dress plain and serve him and the Church. He was granted a provision for his necessities — twenty-seven dollars and twelve cents the first year — which was about two-thirds of the entire amount raised that year for beneficiary aid ! She, doubtless, was not presumed to need anything. What her education was can be known only by her general character; and how she came by it is involved in the mysteries of family life. Her good success in after years gives evidence of an active girlhood in securing qualification. It is sugges- tive of extra books, tallow-dip, still hours. A MEMORIAL. 15 Mr. Wade pursued his studies in the school for four years, graduating in 1822. He then took up the study of the Burman language, and prosecuted it for one year ; a kind of post-graduate course not before known in this country. His education in an untried course, and under teaching not tested, was primary and crude, yet fundamental ; and in an institution too "sacred" to admit any others than students for the ministry, there would naturally be acquired the sombre visage disclosed in the portrait, with clericalisms that hinder rather than help. Still, the " School" and the student were in advance of their time. "Commencement Day,'' with its mystery of name and meaning, was the 4th of June, 1822. Five young men graduated ; Jonathan Wade, the middle man of the program, with Eugene Kincaid in the lead, and three others, also men of extended usefulness, occupy- ing other positions. Brother Wade — and for a third of a century students were addressed only as " brother " — spoke " On the Harmony of Gospel Doctrine." It was the day for which other days were made, and it was made for other days. The villagers had a new vision — a graduated class from " The Seminary of the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York." And the noted five, as they walked over the hill, with diploma in one hand and umbrella in the other, looked with a serious face far out into the world. The same year, on September 25th, another new and significant circumstance was entered in the Baptist annals of this country. Mrs. Ann H. Judson arrived in Boston Harbor, after ten years absence as mission- ary to foreign lands. She was the first surviving 1 6 THE WADKS. woman to return to America for rest and recital of in- telligence concerning the heathen ; and though shut in by serious sickness for six months, light and love radiated from her room in Baltimore to all parts of the country. The churches felt her presence. Such a center as Hamilton was peculiarly susceptible to her influence, and Mr. "Wade and Miss Lapham more than others of the church. What were the privacies and gentilities of the Lap- ham home during the period now closing it is not for any one to inquire. Yet, when the serious thoughts of him who, from the time of his conversion, felt the cause of the heathen resting upon him, came to be compared with those of her who was "converted a mis- sionary," a match was imminent that seemed to have been made in heaven. They had not seen others vol- untarily going out of Eden " hand-in-hand, and Provi- dence their guide," with such objective realities as the densest paganism plainly before them. And when to the ordinary Christian experience was added their des- tination as missionaries to a degraded race, they stood alone in the community, unaffected by the contagion of example. It was to add to the meaning of life that their secret domestic counsels were held. Here were the circumstances : He had graduated with a zeal of four j^ears' growth for the salvation of the heathen, and was proving his sincerity by striving to acquire the difficult tongue in which they spoke. She had developed, in the church and in his society, with the use of such school facilities as were within her reach. The church was happy in, and the institu- tion proud of the "gifts" they were enabled to lay A MEMORIAL. 17 upon the altar of missions — a kind of first fruits of their increase. Meantime Mrs. Judson was prodding the followers of Christ with pen and voice, striving by a special address to awaken American women to an interest in heathen women, and by her " History of the Burman Mission" to present a rational basis for sacri- fice and encouragement. God thus planned the right conditions and brought forward the right persons with which to begin the second decade of foreign missions. Sentiments of novelty or of fear were scarcely possible to such per- sons; and as for romance, it was hardly compatible with such natures as theirs. 1 8 THE WADKS. II. ^bv0ab—r//£ new sphere. There is no near nor far with God ! By devious paths he leads his own ; Yet is no path so sad, or lone, As that which Christ before us trod. AvANELi- a ^-iceroy, one ruling in the name of a king. Its population was large; vari- ously estimated from eight thousand to fifty thousand, according to the guessing facultj- of the visitor. With- out a census, a heathen population can not well be known, even approximately. A MEMORIAL. 25 By reference to the map the empire will lie before the eye in its ■ proper shape, with the course of its mountains and rivers distinctly visible. The chief rivers are the Irrawady {Ah-rah-wah-tee) and the Sal- wen, having a length of eight hundred to one thousand miles each, and running almost due south, and, there- fore, in some degree parallel with each other. The Salwen, the eastern of the two, communicates with the Irrawady by numerous branches, and thus waters the intermediate regions. At about seventy-five miles from the Bay of Bengal the great Irrawady parts into two streams, sending one in a south-eastward and the other in a south-westward direction, and forming a large delta. These also are parted into numerous branches, which form an exten- sive net^york of navigable waters, covering a large area, and which finally enter the bay by fourteen separate channels. These channels are mostlj- obstructed by sand-bars, and, so, of little use for navigation. On the eastern of the two main branches is situated the city of Rangoon, about twenty-five miles from the bay. The mouth of this stream, called the Rangoon river, is about six miles wide; j^et the channel is narrow, changeable, and difficult to find, on account of extensive shoals. A flat shore, scarcely above high tides, gives the mariner no certain landmarks, and pilots in the time under review were not readily obtained. In the time of the early missionaries Rangoon, notwithstanding its lack of improvement, was the ovXy seaport of consequence in the empire; yet it had scarcely one attractive feature. The land forming the vast delta described, and in which it was located, being 26 THE WADES. almost on a level with the surface of the divisions and subdivisions of the Irrawady, was of a low, marshy character. The city seemed to stand on a wide, un- improved meadow, resembling a swamp. The defenses common to the cities of superstitious people were not better than their ignorance and assumption of superi- ority would justify us in expecting, and were of little avail as against attacks from disciplined nations. They were merely stockades ; rows of timbers standing on end, some eighteen feet high, with a narrow staging running around inside, for musketeers. Add a few disabled cannon lying about the gateways, and the defense is fully described. There was nothing attractive to the eye of the traveler approaching the city. First, a few wooden houses appear, standing between the river, and the fortifications, while back of the same there was a general display of bamboo huts, with only a few shabby brick residences and some small brick houses of worship for foreigners. As homes — one-story build- ings, covered with thatch, that was removed during the dry season to prevent fire, floored with split bam- boo to permit the dirt to fall through to nature's scaven- gers, and raised several feet from the ground to give ventilation and to keep clear of vile, voracious and creeping things — they were not \'erj- in-\-iting to per- •sons of cultivated tastes. Then the swampy, " dead level" site was not relieved by any elevations, such as the beautiful sites to which the missionaries had been accustomed in their native land, and the narrow, soft- paved streets did not admit of even the cheerful racket of wheeled vehicles. The low inhabitants, lolling A MEMORIAL. 27 about the streets, were not so much a relief as a wear- iness to the eye. Says Dr. Malcom, 1836: "There is neither whart nor quay. In four or five places are wooden stairs at which small boats may land passengers, but even these do not extend within twenty feet of low water mark. Vessels lie in the stream and discharge into boats, from which the packages, slung to a bamboo, are lugged on men's shoulders to the custom house." There was none of the pride of home and city, so prevalent , in enlightened countries. All attempts at architectural display were confined to their idolatries ; and in that direction they were excessive. A traveler, like the Apostle Paul, would have been impressed by their squalor and their extravagant superstition at the same time. He would have said, " I perceive that in all things ye are too religious." Tliey wasted much on their religion. They brought the best of animal and mineral productions under contribution to their idola- trous notions and practices, to which they were su- premely devoted. The ways in which their means continuously flowed were the pagoda furnishings and worship. Pagodas were erected all about in accessible and conspicuous places. They were not held as subordinate and sec- ondary to business ; business was made subservient to them. The chief highway from the city, and the only one over which a person could ride, seems to have been set apart to them, and was called Pagoda Road. It bristled with their gleaming turrets. I^arge and small, but of nearly uniform shape, were these many shrines of idolatry. 28 THE WADES. A pagoda is not occupied with idols as is an idol's temple. It is built in their honor, and for the promo- tion of their worship ; while the real places for offer- ings and services are built around them. They are not constructed with spacious rooms nor with any cham- bers, except some small vaults for the deposit of treas- ures. They are usually of solid masonry, with all the appurtenances on the outside. Mr. and Mrs. Wade found Rangoon wholly given to idolatry, and without any of the attractions and con- veniences that make life enjoyable. Mr. and Mrs. Jud- son, pioneers who knew how to give lessons to new comers in management and adaptation, went immedi- ately away, leaving them to an unlearned language and a besotted people, as also under a rapacious govern- ment, that had no respect for the rights and liberties of citizenship, and only bare toleration for respectable foreigners. They were confronted by the pomp in which the religion of the country appeared, and which rendered it exceedingly obstinate, as held by its superstitious devotees. Pagoda Road was thronged with false reli- gionists going to and from their vain oblations. It was the broad road to death, and, as yet, they could do nothing to check the travel. They must suffer a while from a sight of the sweeping destruction of souls tak- ing place, and from a sense of their inability to pre- vent it. There was one pagoda in the vicinity, centuries old, and of great dimensions and magnificence, that stood as the very buttress of heathenism in the empire. It was the Shway-dagon {Shoo-da-gon). It is still there; A me;morial. 29 celebrated, almost, as one of the wonders of the world. It is located on Pagoda Road, and its site was evidently selected because of its being elevated and compara- tively handsome. It is surrounded by many smaller pagodas, some fine zayats (teaching and entertaining places), and kyoungs (priests' houses), and many trees. It has ever been kept in good repair, while others have been permitted to go to decay, or have received but little attention. Some have becoine mere grass-grown heaps. All are conical, or pyramidal, but very slender in form, and of a graceful appearance, making a very pleasant impression to the eye, with various ornamental juttings and the indispensable cap, collar or umbrella — named according to the fancy of the observer. The latter serves as a musical instrument. Its ribs are tipped with little bells, so hung and adjusted as to tinkle when a breeze passes over them, thus produc- ing a pleasant melody throughout the circuit. The Shway-dagon was described by Dr. Howard Malcpm, who visited it in 1 836, in the following minute and graphic manner : The hill has been graduated into successive terraces, sustained by brick walls ; and the summit, which is com- pletely leveled, contains about two acres. The two prin- cipal approaches from the city are lined on each side, for a mile, with fine pagodas, some almost vieing for size with Shoo-da-gon itself. * * * * Passing these on your way from the city you come to a flight of time-worn steps, covered by a curious arcade of little houses, one above another, some in partial decay, others truly beautiful. After crossing some terraces, covered in the same manner, you reach the top, and, passing a great gate, enter at once 30 THE WADES. this sad but imposing theatre of Gaudamas' glory. One's iirst impressions are — what terrible grandeur ! what sicken- ing magnificence ! what absurd imagery ! what extrava- gant expenditure ! what long successions of devotees to procure this throng of buildings of such various dates ! what a poor religion that makes such labors its chief mer- itoriousness ! Before you stands the huge Shoo-da-gon, its top among the clouds, and its golden sides blazing in the glories of an eastern sun. Around are pompous zayats, noble pave- ments, gothic mausoleums, uncouth colossal lions, curious stone umbrellas, gracefully cylindrical banners of gold-em- broidered muslin hanging from lofty pillars, enormous stone jars in rows to receive offerings, tapers burning before the images, exquisite flowers displayed on every side, filling the air with fragrance, and a multitude of cari'ed figures of idols, worshipers, griffins, guardians, etc. Always in the morning men and women are seen in every direction kneeling behind their gift, and with up- lifted hands reciting their devotions, often with a string of beads counting over each repetition ; aged persons sweep out every place, or pick the grass from the crevices ; dogs and crows straggle around the altars, and devour the recent offerings ; the great bells utter their frequent tones, and the mutter of praying voices makes a hum like the buzzing of an exchange. In and about Rangoon there were, probably, not less than five hundred inferior pagodas, which, with their environs, were said to occupy as much space as the city itself, if not more. They were situated in groves and amid costly kyoungs and za>'ats, for the ac- commodation of the hosts of worshipers who came thither, at certain seasons of the 3'ear, from all parts A MEMORIAL. 31 of.the country. Cooked food of all sorts was brought — pastry, flesh and fowl — the nicest the natives could produce, as an offering to the gods. When the days or seasons for offering Were past, the domestic animals, birds of prey, and any other creatures that sought a chance, were permitted to devour it. After an offering was once made it was no longer regarded. Crows and dogs often snatched a gift ere the offerer had finished his prayers. Priests {Potigkees) were not necessary at the altar. Their office was preaching and teaching, and they lived by carrying a vessel or pouch from door to door, and thus receiving gifts. Their ofiice was little more than a sinecure, and it might be assumed or vacated at their pleasure. They would sometimes vacate it temporarily for the liberty that a suspension of its vows secured. As the Great Pagoda ever has been and continues to be an object to amaze and appall the missionary — in the experience of the Wades to do more than that — a description of it by a recent traveler is added, showing how it withstands the wear of centuries, and attracts the attention of the world. He says : The great Shway Dagon Pagoda of Rangoon has a golden spire and jeweled top, which glitters in the sun from every point of the compass. Even the terrace or plat- form on which the pagoda is built rises over one hundred and sixty feet from the level roads beneath it, and is nine hundred feet long by six hundred and eighty feet wide, The ascent to this platform is by four flights of steps, one opposite the center of each face. The pagoda itself, built on the center of this immense terrace or platform, has a ground circumference of one thousand three hundred and 32 THE WADES. thirtj'-five feet, and rises to a height of three hundred and seventy feet, which is about that of St. Paul's cathedral in London. It is gilded from top to bottom, and its golden spire (or h-tee, as it is called) contains at least two hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of jewels, with silver bells that are forever tinkling in the breeze. Chapels and shrines, also, of various sizes, are built around this pagoda, on the platform of which thousands of worshipers pace during the days of high festival. Within these hundreds of images of Gautema may be seen, of all sizes, sitting, standing and reclining, before which are continually burn- ing tapers and candles. This building claims to be, and very probably is, more than two thousand years old ; it is enriched by the supposed relics of eight hairs from the head of Gautema, besides the bathing garment, the water dippers and walking staff of the three preceding Buddhas. It was well known by the English soldiers that the pagodas were repositories of curious and valuable things, and whenever they had access to them they did not hesitate to break into them at any vulnerable point, and penetrating to the receptacles of such treasures, carry them away. They enriched themselves in this way, and probably the British Museum also. Shway- dagon did not escape ; and the scars, even the holes they made, stand a testimony to the ravishment of war. A MEMORIAL. 33 III. ^an$0Cin—s/EGE and capture. The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. — Ps. 74: 20. The hues of bliss more brightly glow, Chastised by sabler tints of woe. Gray. MORE than ten years of missionary operations in Burmah had gone by when Mr. and Mrs. Wade reached this land of idolatry ; but they were years of preparation mainly, there being but little fruit. Not- withstanding the earnest pleadings for help, there were now (first of January, 1824) only three missionaries in the empire, with their wives, who were able to speak the words of eternal life to the perishing. Mr. and Mrs. Wade looked down the dark future with all the hopefulness they could command. Mr. Judson and Dr. Price were seeking the source of civil power to secure an influence that would be favorable to missionary effort in the empire. Ava and Rangoon were so far apart and communication between them so difficult that hope of knowing of and sympathizing with each other was well-nigh vain. This circumstance was the more to be regretted because of the unsettled condition of public affairs. Soon the war-cloud gathered. The British had long 34 THE WADHS. occupied some parts of the country, mainly for merce- nary purposes, and were under agreements which were of doubtful benefit to them, because the Burmans were unreliable, exceedingly suspicious, and haughty. The peacock was, and ever has been, the national emblem, while, in proper contrast, the lion symbolizes the su- premacy of the English. The latter had little reason to regret a breach of faith or of peace, because it af- forded them an apology for further conquests, and an occasion for widening their boundaries. They knew whose armies had the discipline, and with whom re- sided the privilege of dictating terms of peace, while the Burmans had a presumption and vanity that were a continual snare to them, and which filled them with blood-guiltiness. In this case the latter suspected the English of harboring their criminals and interfering with the administration of justice, out of which feuds arose on the confines of Chittagong. The Burmans did not hesitate to go to war, believ- ing themselves to be superior to all nations, except the French, and fearing them only because of the Napo- leonic prowess and dynasty. They began to move. Mr. Judson, on his way to Ava, reported back to Mr. Wade that he passed a body of troops coming down toward Rangoon. The missionaries could but expect them, and they feared that they would not be able to con- vince the Burmans of the difference between them- selves and the English, on account of the general re- semblance in dress and color. Mrs. Wade now found occasion to exhibit some of the elements of character that made her a remarkable woman. With war in full \-iew, in a community of A MEMORIAL. 35 robbers and murderers who only needed a slight provo- cation to commit the most dastardly of deeds, she calmly entrusts herself to the Great Keeper, assured that He will not only care for her, but likewise over- rule all commotion for the speedier introduction of the Gospel to the empire. She says : "A firm confidence that this is the path of duty, marked by Him in whose hand are the hearts of kings, suppresses every rising fear, and we sit down in our study, day after day, with a sweet confidence in the wise directions of our heav- enly father, and forget everything but the acquisition of this difficult language. * * * * I can truly say, the height of my ambition is to be able to speak Bur- man with ease, and spend all my days in teaching these degraded females." In a little more than three months from the date of the above writing the gravest fears were more than realized. While the Burmans were coming down the Irrawady river, in pomp and vain-glory, expecting to carry the English back in chains, or as many of them as might make good servants to the King, and hostlers, and other profitable menials for those able to support them, the British fleet entered its main outlet, and without molestation proceeded toward Rangoon, the strategic point of lower Burmah. The inhabitants of the city were greatly terrified. Their own troops were to stop and give fight on the borders of Chittagong, hundreds of miles above, hoping, doubtless, to sweep the country before them, and trusting Rangoon to hold out by itself Possibly they were not aware of the hostile approach to it by the British. News of the coming of the English from the south. 36 THE WADES. Up the river, reached the fated city the night previous to their arrival. It threw the local authorities into con- sternation and fury. At about seven o'clock in the evening (May lo, 1824), by order of the government, all who were recognized as English, with other for- eigners, were summarily ar,rested. The number in- cluded Mr. Wade and Mr. Hough. It being in vain to plead for mercy with officers destitute of humane feel- ings, appeal was made on the ground of religion. The missionaries expostulated as teachers of religion, claim- ing that as such they had never intermeddled with political affairs. The Governor replied that it was cu.s- tomary in such cases to examine all foreigners. Every one in Rangoon wearing a hat was ordered to be taken prisoner. Yet they were assured that the examination in their case was a mere formality ; that no evil to them was intended, and that they would not be detained more than two or three hours. The Governor's speech and manner were mild, but they had forebodings of severity, and parted with their families under the apprehension that they should see them no more in this world. They were conducted to prison, where they found six Englishmen, merchants and traders in the place, already confined. Mr. Hough, having some use of the language, spoke to the Tykeso in regard to the entire innocence of the missionaries. The reply was that the truth of the assertions was altogether apparent, but that he (the Tykeso) had no power to release them and could only represent their case to the Yawhoon, on whose will depended life and death, and this he promised to do. Meantime one of the sons of Vulcan had entered the prison, loaded with A MEMORIAL. 37 chains and hammers and other means of fettering his victims, and at about nine o'clock the six Enghshmen were put in irons. At daylight the missionaries were fettered in the same way, except that they were chained together. Mr. Wade's journal runs as follows : We saw our companions in affliction led forward one after another to the anvil, and from thence to the door of an inner apartment, where they were thrust into close con- finement. We were allowed to remain unmolested until the pleasure of the Yawhoon concerning us should be more fully expressed. All around us was hurry and con- fusion, and every possible preparation was making for the expected attack. The guns were drawn to the battery, muskets collected and examined, together with spears, large knives, ammunition, etc., which were piled together around the spot where we lay. In the course of the even- ing we heard the Burmans had seized an unfortunate European, who had been sent from .the General with messages to the Governor of Rangoon. We could not )earn his fate, but he was in all probability sent to Ava. At length a Burman came in, who, after casting a scowling glance toward us, asked who we were. " The American teachers," answered a bystander. " Put them with the other prisoners," returned he; which was no sooner said than done. However we were not put in irons, and therefore yet cherished the fond hope of release, but our prospects were constantly becoming darker. Our legs were bound together with ropes, and eight or ten Bur- mans, armed with spears, battle-axes, etc., were placed over us as a guard. An hour or two afterwards the blacksmith came in a second time, bringing a rough, heavy chain. It consisted of three links, each about four inches in length, and pounded together so close as to completely prevent it from bending any more than a straight bar of iron. The 38 THE WADES. parts designed to go round the ankles were bars of iron about two-thirds of an inch thick, partially rounded, and bent together so as just to admit the ankle. This was designed for Mr. H. and myself. He was first seated, his leg laid upon a block, the ring placed upon the ankle and then pounded down close with heavy blows. The other ring was put upon my ankle in the same manner. Our situation afforded no convenience for lying down ; and, of course, allowed us no sleep or even rest. In the course of the night the keys of our rooms, trunks, etc., were demanded, from which we naturally inferred an intention to pillage our houses. They also inquired very particularly if we had any muskets or spears, and how many. We did not fear the loss of property, but trembled at the idea of Mrs. Wade and Mrs. Hough being exposed to the brutal instilts and cruelties of unprincipled robbers. They, like ourselves, were unable to get any rest, though they were not particularly molested by the Burmans. Moung Shwa-ba, one of the native Christians, spent the night with them, and very much encouraged them by his prayers and pious conversation. None of the other Bur- man Christians stayed by them. The fleet very early in the morning (May nth) had got under way, and was rapidly ad-^ancing upon the town. About three or four thousand armed Burmans were col- lected together in front of the town, along the shore, to repel any attack which might be made by the approaching enemy. The women and children, as if foreseeing the events of the da^-, left the town and fled to the jungles, carrying with them as large a portion of their little prop- erty as they were able. When it was annoimced that the fleet was within a few miles of the town, two other Eng- lishmen, chained together, with a Greek and an Armenian chained in the same manner, were added to our miserable number. A MEMORIAI,. 39 Our guard was considerably strengthened, and enjoined strictly to keep us close ; all communication with our serv- ants and things without was cut off. One faithful old servant, belonging to Capt. Tench, seized an opportunity, when our door was partially opened, of slipping into the room unperceived. Seeing the situation of his master, and of us all, he wept like a child ; and not only wept, but tak- ing a large turban from his head and tearing it into long strips, he bound them round our ankles to prevent our chains from galling, which we afterwards found of essen- tial service to us. Shortly after, orders from the Yawhoon were commu- nicated to our guard through the grates of the prison, that the instant the shipping should open fire upon the town, they were to massacre all the prisoners without hesitation. This blasted all our hopes. The guards im- mediately began sharpening their instruments of death with bricks, and brandishing them about our heads, to show with how much dexterity and pleasure they would execute their fatal orders. Upon the place which they intended for the scene of the butchery a large quantity of sand was spread to receive the blood. Among the prisoners reigned the gloom and silence of death — the vast ocean of eternity seemed but a step before us. Mr. H. and myself threw ourselves down upon a mattress, expecting never to rise again, and calmly waited to hear the first gun that should be fired upon the town, as the signal for our certain death. In the meantime an account of our real situation, which we had used various means to conceal, reached the ears of Mrs. Wade and Mrs. Hough. Their feelings can be better conceived than expressed. Who can tell with what agony of soul they listened to hear the first gun, the messenger which would relate a tale more sad and awful than death itself could relate ? At length the fleet arrived and the attack commenced. 40 THE WADES. The first ball thrown into the town came with a tremen- dous noise, directly over our heads. Our guards, filled with consternation and amazement, seemingly unable to execute their murderous orders, slunk away into one corner of the prison, where they remained perfectly quiet until a broad- side from the Liffey (English vessel), which made the- prison shake and tremble to its very foundations, so effect- ually frightened them that, like children, they cried out through fear, and openly declared their intention of break- ing open the door. We used every argument to prevent their doing so, fearing if the Burmans should find us de- serted by the guard they might be induced to despatch us at once, to prevent our making an escape. But they felt the force of no arguments, saying, " The building will cer- tainly be down upon us ; we must go." They soon found means to break open the door ; which being done, they all went out, but took the precaution to secure the door again, by fastening it with rattans upon the outside. We were now left alone. About this time the firing ceased upon both sides, and we began to cherish the fond hope of deliverance, inferring from the circumstances just named that the Burmans had either surrendered or fled, and that the English troops were already landing, who would shortly appear to deliver us from our dangerous situation. All had remained quiet about the space of half an hour; but in a moment the whole scene was changed. About fifty armed Burmans came rushing into the prison like mad men. We were instantly seized, dragged out of the prison, our clothes torn from our bodies and our arms drawn behind us with cords, so tight that it was impossible to move them. I thought mine would have been cut en- tirely to the bone ; indeed, we were treated just as they would treat criminals whom they were about to lead to the place of e.xecution. We were now put in front of several A MEMORIAL. 41 armed men, whose duty it was to goad us along with the points of their spears. Others had hold of the end of the cord which bound our arms ; they would pull us first this way, then that, so that it was impossible for us to deter- mine in what direction they would have us go. Some- times we were impelled forward, then drawn backwards, and again our legs were so entangled with the chains as to quite throw us down. In short, they seemed to study methods of torturing us, but complaints were quite useless. After making an exhibition of us through almost every street in the town we were at length brought to the Yongdau, or place where all causes are tried and sentences passed. It was the seat of judgment, but not of justice. Here sat the dispenser of life and death, surrounded by other officers of the town. He ordered us to be placed before him in a kneeling posture, with our faces to the ground, to which we submitted in the most respectful manner. On one side of us was a noisy rabble, crying out all together, " That dau, that dau " ; that is, " Let them be put to death; let them be put to death." Between ris and the Yawhoon were two linguists kneeling, and with tears, begging mercy for us. The cries of the multitude pre- vailed. The executioner, who stood on one side with a large knife in his hand, waiting the decision, was ordered to proceed ; but just as he was lifting the knife to strike off the head of the prisoner nearest him, Mr. H. begged permission to make a proposal to the Yawhoon, who, hav- ing beckoned to the executioner to desist a little, demanded what he had to say. The proposal was that one or two of the prisoners should be sent on board the shipping, in which case he would at least promise that the firing upon the town should cease directly. " But," said the Yawhoon, " are you sure of this ? Will you positively engage to make peace? " At this moment a broadside from the Liffey occa- sioned great alarm. The Yawhoon and other officers in- 42 THE WADES. - Stantly dispersing, sought refuge under the banks of a neighboring tank. We were now permitted once more to stand upon our feet, which but a moment ago we never expected to do again. The firing increased and the multitude began to flee with great precipitancy'. Though our ankles were already miserably galled with our chains, the cords on our arms intolerably painful, and destitute of any clothes ex- cept pantaloons, urged along with spears, we were obliged to keep pace with those whom fear impelled with hasty step. Having passed through the gate of the town they kept close under the walls to prevent being cut down by the cannon balls which were flying in every direction around us. At length they bent their course toward the place of public execution, whither we supposed they in- tended carrying us. We passed directly bj- the Portuguese woman's house, where Mrs. Wade and Mrs. Hough had but a few moments before turned in to ask protection. They saw us as we passed. They knew they were driving us towards the place of execution, and said to each other, " This is the last time we shall ever behold our husbands." They thought till now that we were already dead ; it was therefore a little relief to know we were still living. Their first impression, as they have since told me, was to follow us and share our fate ; but a moment's reflection convinced them of the impropriety of such a step ; it would make the parting intolerable, both to them and to us, to be murdered before their eyes. Fortunately for us we did not know that they saw us until all was over. We soon after found the}' did not design to carry us to the place of execution ; for having passed b}- this spot they proceeded in the direction of the Great Pagoda. Looking behind, we saw the Yawhoon and his officers following us upon horseback. When they had overtaken us they alighted, and having seated themselves in a zayat, ordersd A MBMORIAI,. 43 US to be placed before them a second time, but not in so degrading a posture as before ; indeed, their whole treat- ment of us seemed a little more mild. Our arms were untied, a little -water was offered us to drink, also a few plantains and cheroots. After a few moments' consulta- tion upon the proposal made by Mr. H., it was assented to, and his chains were taken off. He asked to have me sent with him, but this was refused. Mr. Hough being gone, the remaining prisoners were committed to the charge of an inferior ofiBcer, with strict orders that if Mr. H. did not succeed, to put us to death ; which also was the substance of the message sent by the Yawhoon to the General by Mr. H.,on whose success now hung all our hopes of life. The officer directed that we should be deposited in a building standing upon the base of the Great Pagoda, and be treated hospitably until Mr. H.'s return. Four of our number being quite exhausted with fatigue and pain occasioned by the galling of their chains, were unable to go any farther, which the oiEcer perceiving allowed them to remain in a building at the foot of the pagoda. The place in which we were now to be coniined was a strong brick building, consisting of four apartments. The iirst of these was occupied by large images. The second was a kind of hall, and behind this were two small dungeons, or dark, gloomy apartments, apparently designed as repositories for treasure. We were first confined in the second of these apart- ments, but shortly after in one of the dungeons just men- tioned. We found the place filled with Burman goods of almost every description. There were no windows or any- thing else comfortable, and they gave us nothing to eat. Mr. Hough, in his way to the shipping, met a company of troops which had just landed. He communicated his business to one of the officers, and related where and under what circumstances he had left us. They proceeded 44 THE WADES. forward in search of us, but before they reached the spot we had been removed, as before related, and the Yawhoon, with his attendants, being informed that a company of troops was advancing upon him, fled to the jungles. Mr. Hough delivered his message from the Yawhoon to Sir Archibald Campbell, the General in command, who said in answer, " If the Burmans shed a drop of white blood, we will lay the whole country in ruins, and give no quarter." He returned without delay to the place where he had left the Yawhoon, for the purpose of delivering the General's answer ; but not finding him, he proceeded as far as to the Great Pagoda, where he found many Bur- mans, of whom he inquired after the Yawhoon, and also for the prisoners. Being unable to gain any information of either he returned back to town, where he found Mrs. H. and Mrs. W. safely protected. It is very remarkable that he performed this excursion without being molested by a single Burman. It was now near eight o'clock, and the firing from the shipping still continuing, gave us reason to apprehend that Mr. Hough had done little good by his message to the General. We, however, remained as quiet as possible, which was now our only hope of safety. Exhausted by hunger and the fatigues of the day we laid our naked bodies upon the ground in hope of gaining a little rest ; but our situation was too uncomfortable to admit of sleep. Several times during the night our fears were greatly ex- cited by the Burmans, for there were several hundreds around us, and it was almost impossible to stir without making a noise with our chains loud enough to be heard at a considerable distance. Very early in the morning (May 12th) a party of Bur- mans came, evidently with the design of putting us to death, or carrying us with them into the jungle, which to me seemed more terrible than death. Having entered A MEMORIAL. 45 that part of the building in which they had probably seen us deposited on the preceding evening, and not finding us, they fell into a great rage, if we might judge from their language. This room being contiguous to the place where we were, and the door not shutting perfectly tight, they came to examine it ; and finding it locked were about to burst it open, when some person from the outside cried out that the English were coming, by which they were alarmed and fled with great precipitancy. But a moment before we said to ourselves, " It is all over with us." Death, or some- thing worse, seemed inevitable, but now the most sanguine hopes had succeeded to fear. All the Burmans had fled, and the English troops were near ; we even heard some of their voices distinctly. But we were very soon again plunged from the pinnacle of hope into the depths of despair. The English troops passed by, and the Burmans again took possession of the Pagoda, and we frequently heard them in the adjoining room. Thus " hope and fear alternate swayed our breast." At length the moment of deliverance came. Another party of troops, headed by Sir Archibald himself, advanced. The Burmans, seeing them at some distance, fired two guns, which they had planted upon the Pagoda, which was the first intimation we had of their approach. These guns were no sooner discharged than all the Burmans took to their heels as fast as possible ; and about ten minutes after we had the opportunity and unspeakable pleasure of dis- covering to the troops the place of our confinement. It was about noon. It was General Campbell, I believe, who burst open the door. We crawled out of our dungeon naked, dirty, and almost suffocated. The General welcomed us to his pro- tection, and ordered our chains immediately to be taken off; but they were so large and stiff that all attempts were quite ineffectual, and we were obliged to walk two miles 46 THE WADES. into the town still in irons. Clothes, victuals, etc., were immediately given us. The prisoners who had been con- fined at the foot of the Pagoda had been released and had returned to town early in the morning. Mrs. Wade was informed that I was among the number ; and how great the disappointment when she learned that, instead of being released, no information could be given concerning me or those with me. All they knew was, they had been sepa- rated from us the night before; and indeed, Mrs. Wade had no intelligence of me until I returned to the Mission- house. Three days later Mr. Wade wrote : " The Yawhoon orders every person to be put to death who betrays the least desire to return to Rangoon. Numbers of Siamese, Persees, Portuguese, Musselmans and even Burmans have been found in the jungles, who have been murdered by the Burmans themselves." Five days afterward, on the 17th, he adds: "The army has penetrated the country for several miles around us. The result of ever}^ engagement, as j-et, has been in favor of the English. May God prosper their arms! " A MEMORIAL. 47 IV. "^HX—THE CLOUD SHIFTING. " I do not ask, O Lord, that thou shouldst shed Full radiance here ; Give but a ray of peace that I may tread Without a fear. " I do not ask my cross to understand, My way to see ; Better in darkness just to feel thy hand, And follow thee." THE clear and exciting narrative just given nat- urally awakens the desire for further particulars concerning the wives of the prisoners. The proper and the reliable source of information is the same as that from which the preceding was derived — the jour- nal of Mr. Wade. It speaks of their trying situation as follows : " Mrs. Wade and Mrs. Hough heard the firing com- mence, under the impression that at that moment the merciless Burmans were imbruing their hands in our blood. They also had much reason to fear that a few moments more would bring them to the same fate. Moung Shwa-ba still remained with them, declaring that he would do all in his power to protect them and our property; which he did, even at the risk of his own life. He told them plainly that the Burmans would come in search of them, it being an invariable 48 THE WADES. custom among them, when they put a man to death under our circumstances, to sacrifice also his wife, children and all his relatives, even to the sixth genera- tion. (Mr. Hough's young son, George, was with them also.) Finding, therefore, that they could not remain in the house with the least prospect of escape, they secreted their most valuable articles of furniture, and, having taken a few clothes, a pillow and a Bible, they sought refuge within the walls of a Portuguese church, a little distance off. They begged the priest to open the doors of the church to them ; but the holy father would not suffer a place so sacred to be polluted by the unhallowed feet of heretics. He drove them from the church, from his own house, and even out of his veranda. "They then conceived the project of disguising themselves, as they were obliged to go out into the streets, which were completely filled with Burmans. For this purpose they obtained clothes of the servants who attended them, which they put on over their own, dressed their heads in Burman style, and, lastly, blacked their hands and faces. In this disguise they mixed with the multitude and passed along undiscov- ered, while they frequently heard Burmans inquiring for the teachers' wives, which kept them in constant fear lest they should be known. After going some dis- tance they came to the house of a Portuguese woman, into which they entered and begged protection. But the unfeeling wretch refused them, saying, if she gave them protection she should endanger her own life. But being entirely exhausted with fatigue and distress of mind, they threw themselves down upon a mat, feel- ing that they were unable to go any farther. A MEMORIAL. 49 "The same detachment of English troops that sought for their husbands also sought for them. They, having been driven out of the house of the Portuguese woman, had at length taken refuge in a small bamboo house, together with a number of other females, wives of foreigners, whose husbands were also prisoners. This place merely hid them from the eyes of the pass- ing multitude, though they were in most imminent danger from cannon balls which were every moment falling around them. And even here they were sought by the Burmans ; but a young man who stood at the door told the inquirers that the wives of the teachers were not there, and that he knew nothing of them. "Tlere they remained in a state of great anxiety and danger, till at length they heard the sound of the bugle, Assured by this that English troops must be near, they threw aside their Burman costume and ran out to meet them, their hands and faces still black, and their whole appearance that of persons in great dis- tress. Their first words to the kind officer who took them under his protection, Major Sale, were : ' Our husbands ! our husbands ! ' ' Where are your hus- bands ? ' said the officer. They could only answer that but a little while ago they saw us led by in chains, and almost naked, towards the place of execution. He immediately dispatched two or three of his men to the spot tq see if our bodies could be found, not doubting but we had been put to death. They returned without intelligence. " Mrs. Wade and Mrs. Hough were then conducted into town (it being unsafe to spend the night at the Mission-house), and placed under the protection of Mr, 50 THE WADES. Sarkies, whose family was very kind and used every possible exertion to accommodate and console them." This scene, one of the most dramatic in mission- ary annals, gives occasion to consider anew what the Lord's cause in the East cost those who went to lay the foundations. That they " took their lives in their hands" is not poetic imagery, nor mere prayer-phrase. And had it not been that their lives were also in the hand of Him who turns the hearts of kings as the riv- ulets of water are turned, preventing them from doing even what they " set themselves " to do, many a time might His people have seen the end of missions. But as often as the rulers have taken counsel together against the Lord, so often have the trembling saints seen them fall into the grave that they dug for Him. That the native disciples should have fled was alto- gether excusable ; there was not the occasion for remaining that existed in the case of the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here everybody fled, and to save life. Gen. Campbell, in his official statement, declared that he did not think one hundred men were found in the town on the English taking possession of it. But Moung Shwa-ba remained — the Lord's guard to the suffering women. The cowardice of the heathen was equaled only by their wickedness and superstition, which were the fruitful cause of it. Possibly the scenes in Rangoon were a verification of the proverb : " The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion." Mr. Hough gave the number of the fugitives from town and suburbs as " probably amounting to 25,000." They betook themselves to morasses and bushes, carrying what they could on A MEMORIAI,. 51 their shoulders and heads. The victors' reconnoitering parties searched up their captured countrymen, and released them from their different places of confine- ment, filing off their fetters. The Burmans were too panic-stricken to think of seizing the missionary fami- lies or of plundering their houses. Mr. Wade speaks of the outcome of the affray as follows: "I need not attempt to describe the feelings produced by meeting again, after we had passed through so many and so great dangers ; but at length we found ourselves again all together, well, and be- yond the power of barbarous and unmerciful Bur- mans. For my own part I was rendered almost delirious by so sudden a transition from the deepest distress to the highest pitch of joy." Mr. Hough, after his ineffectual intervention, and the general flight, had returned to the Mission-house, and was there on Mr. Wade's arrival. It is not likely that he much desired the success of his errand, nor that he strove to persuade the English to desist hos- tilities. Mr. and Mrs. Judson had been in Ava a little more than three months when this beginning of the war occurred. They were settling, and, with Dr. Price, were seeking for recognition at court. Mrs. Judson, in a letter to her parents, said : "After two years and a half wandering, you will be pleased to hear that I have at last arrived at home, so far as this life is concerned, and am once more quietly and happily settled with Mr. Judson." How delusive the hopes of earth ! The war- wave pulsed northward. Victory was exhilarating to the mind of the Knglish, and vengeance too much of a 52 THE WADES. fire to die readily in the bosom of the Burmese. Never were two nations more thoroughly filled with the bel- ligerent spirit. In time the victors were far up the Irrawady, threatening the capital. A drama was, consequently, preparing for Ava, similar to that which had been enacted at Rangoon. The Wades first at Rangoon, the Judsons afterward at Ava, were real persons in the real occurrences. In less than a month from the first occurred the second and greatly protracted imprison- ment which has excited the sympathetic interest, and, with other events in missions, affected the affairs of the civilized world. Before events at Ava, and a few days after the capture of Rangoon, a bloody engagement took place at Ramoo, a large village near Cox's Bazaar, a con- siderable distance to the north. The place of the beloved Colman's labors and death became a place of blood. The Burmans, to the number of ten thous- and, made a surprising attack upon a party of English consisti'ng of only five hundred. The latter fought bravely until all their ammunition was exhausted, and then the most of those who had not already fallen were cut off in endeavoring to escape. The sanguinary nature of the conflicts of this time, and the brutal conduct of the heathen toward enemies, is variously represented in the following letter of an English officer to the I,ondon Times, dated May 21 : # In the affair of Ramoo the Burmese fought well, and lost about seventy or eighty, killed ; for no quarter was given, nor do I think it will be given during the war, on either side; for if you save a Burman's life, it is ten to A MEMORIAI,. 53 one that he returns the favor by taking yours. From all appearances this will be a bloody and protracted warfare. We are about to send an expedition against Syriani and the ancient city of Pegu, in a few days. It is seventy miles up the river, and we shall have bush-fighting all the way. We are now busy in preparing fire-booms, and arranging for the boats to go up the river. I do not think we shall be ready for the expedition up the Irrawady river to Prome in less than a month. The Captain of the Lame will then hoist his pennant on board of the steamboat. Sir A. Campbell, with the major part of the forces, will join him, and only a sufiicient garrison will be left to pro- tect Rangoon. If we reach Prome, all will be well ; bu.t it is an extremely difiicult undertaking to transport in open boats a force of six thousand or seven thousand men up a rapid river within a stone's throw bf the beach, and a determined enemy annoying us the whole way. It must, however, be done ; and if they do not come to terms, we must go up Ummerapoora. The mode of annoyance on the part of the enemy is by fire-rafts and war-boats ; and as the heavy-rain season is now coming on, they will have the advantage of the dark nights. With these they oblige us to keep a sharp lookout. They also sink large boats to the gunwale, and turn them adrift upon us. The force with which they come down, aided by the current, is very great. One nearly came on board of us the other night ; it caught a rope, and the rope cut off a boy's leg as clean as if it had been amputated. We are going to send twelve of the Madras vessels for three thousand men, and for provisions. The British were now in possession of the princi- pal, indeed, almost the only seaport of the empire, and whatever they gained in the East they proposed to keep. It, Rangoon, commanded the trade of the whole 54 THE WADES. country, and could easily be protected. It was the great market for teak wood, the best timber for ship building to be found in the East Indies. This conquest by the English was a source of grati- fication to the missionaries, and to the friends of mis- sions as well. The intolerance of the Burman powers to all except the national religion was now broken, while the East India Company would no longer feel bound to abide by its agreement to protect heathenism. There would be toleration to the " new religion," very evidently ; and so the missionaries rejoiced in the suc- cess of the British arms, the answer to their prayers. And yet the mission was in the midst of great tumult. It was surrounded by ten thousand British troops, while two or three times as many natives, en- raged at the capture of their city, and thirsting for the blood of every "white face," and even for that of one another, were lurking in the jungles. Only the two missionaries and their wives, and a single convert, to represent the work of more than ten years, remained in the " hold." All communication was cut off, so that no intelligence from the' missionaries at Ava and from friends beyond the sea was to be expected. In this situation Mr. and Mrs. Wade sat down to their studies, diligently working and patiently waiting, though fully aware that should they, by a sudden irrup- tion, fall into the hands of the Burmans, there would be " no human probability on which to hope for safety." But they felt quite secure under the shelter of the English. They had often said that they would be willing to suffer anything but death to see a change of government, so that the Burmans might have free- A MKMORIAL. 55 dom to investigate the " new religion," as many of them desired to do ; yet they did not anticipate such frightful scenes as they had passed through. After the commencement of hostilities in the tak- ing of Rangoon, the usual accompaniments of war came upon them — famine and pestilence. The mar- kets, always dependent upon the inhabitants, were swept away with the evacuation of the city, and pro- visions could scarcely be obtained at any price, as agri- cultural operations were suspended during the war. For four months Mr. and Mrs. Wade lived almost en- tirely upon poor salt beef, rice and sea biscuit. Finally they were compelled to deny themselves the beef, it was so indigestible. Often did they go to their table faint for want of dinner, and get nothing but rice boiled . in water. Consequentl)^ they became very feeble. Mrs. Wade became so weak that she could seldom sit up all day, and often was confined to her bed for hours by faintness. Mr. Wade was taken suddenly and severely ill of fever, and she broke down entirely in the anxiety and care bestowed upon him, and suffered an attack of the same disease. A violent fever broke out in the army, and before a step had been taken into the interior, thousands of the soldiers were in their graves. It was the beginning of the rainy season, and this circumstance, with the scarcitj^ of food and the fatal character of the prevalent fever, determined the re- moval of the troops to Ava. The same reasons were sufficient to induce the missionaries to quit Rangoon, when to these was added the fact that there would be nothing to secure them from the inhumanity of the Burmans an hour after the English troops should 56 THE WADES. withdraw. So they began to make preparations for going to Calcutta, in Bengal, the only suitable place in all the East as a resort for civilized people desiring health, society and safety, and after about two weeks they had sufficiently recovered to take ship. They left about the middle of September. Mr. Hough and family followed early in November. In breaking up so soon, leaving their beginnings when but just through their initiation by war, and again trying the sea, at a season, too, when violent storms and great danger were to be expected-^this was a trial of which Mrs. Wade speaks as beyond others' conceptions. They now felt that they had no home on earth ; an experience that must come to every mission- ary. However, they were favored with a pleasant voyage, and were but three weeks in reaching Cal- cutta. The voyage greatly improved the health of both. The brethren at Calcutta received them with kindness and gave them a house free of expense. It was five miles out of the city, at Doorgapore, a former residence of Eustace Carey, who had gone to America to awaken interest in Hindoo women's schools. It was built of a coarse kind of mat, with bamboo basket work for win- dows and a mat tied up with tow strings for the door. Everything within corresponded in rudeness. Yet it was situated in a " sweet rural spot," preferable to any in Calcutta for health and opportunity for study. The year 1824, so eventful to the missionaries, was now near to its close. The British troops had taken (besides Rangoon) Mergui, Tavoy, Martaban and the island of Cheduba (with its king and queen), and were A MEMORIAI,. 57 now in great force at Chittagong and Silhet, on the eve of marching toward the capital. Still the Burmans held out with ferocity and infatuation. lyittle could be learned at Calcutta concerning the progress of the war, except as intimated. Reports were in the air, but they were of the air. It was believed at one time that the king and queen and others had been murdered by their own people. From the known character of the people and government such a tragedy was possible at any time ; and if actual, then the inference as to the per- ilous situation of Mr. and Mrs. Judson, if not already massacred, was easily drawn. But though all the missionaries were distressed with anxiety on account of the state of public affairs, Mr. and Mrs. Wade sat down to their books with great diligence. They pursued the study of the language, and Mr. Wade undertook, in addition, the compilation of a Burmese Dictionary, from the partial collections by Messrs. Judson, Carey and Colman. He carried the work on to a point of utility that caused it to be honor- ably recognized. The Supreme Government at Ben- gal offered it so liberal a patronage that the printing of it occasioned no expense to the Mission ; it sub- scribed for one hundred copies of the first edition, at twenty rupees (nearly $io) a copy. Mrs. Colman, remembered as the widow of Rev. James Colman, who died of cholera at Cox's Bazaar, had settled in Bengal, and was carrying on schools at this time, near to Mr. Wade's. Two days in the week she spent with the missionaries, adding greatly to their social enjoyment, and assisting them in their studies. She furnished a Sanscrit and Burman dictionary, the 58 THE WADES. product of her husband's toil, which Mr. W. found to be invaluable in studying the Burman language. She afterwards married Rev. Amos Sutton, D.D., an English missionary, and so continued her beneficent work in the East. There was nothing for the missionaries from Amer- ica to do except to " labor and to wait " — to labor while waiting for an opportunity to return to Burmah ; and this they did with the utmost fidelity. In fact, with the help brought with them, they could prosecute their studies in the language, and in making up the dic- tionary, with as much facility as it could be done in Burmah. But, ah ! the hard part of the waiting consisted in the dreadful suspense as to affairs at Ava; not on their own account, except as they were bound up in heart with the missionaries there, for they were in safety and among friends. Nine months pass by, yes, more than twelve, since Mr. and Mrs. Judson left Rangoon for Ava. Messages from them had long since ceased to come, while letters and parcels for them were accu- mulating at Calcutta. The only report to be credited was that the foreigners, generally', were in prison. This, judging from their own experience with the Bur- mans, included the teachers of religion, for whom the traditional respect was withheld when such teachers were not heathen. The cloud of doubt hung dark over Bengal. The aspect of the English-American society was that of a protracted funeral. All minds were heavy with it. How suggestive the fact that dur- ing all this time, according to subsequent testimony, the heroine of the Ava prison-pen did not, could not, A MEMORIAL. 59 think of friends beyond the immediate circle of suffer- ers for whom she was caring ! It was true that some were praying for her and them, yet without knowl- edge; the fact, however, did not reach her mind to lighten the load she constantly carried. The thought- fulness was on the side of those who did not know. Meantime, Sir Archibald Campbell, Commander-in- Chief, used all proper means to induce the Burmans to return to their former occupations under the protection of the British. But the deluded creatures, supposing themselves to be unconquerable, held out in the face of repeated and crushing disasters, and so kept back the end of the war and the entrance of the Gospel into their domains. Rangoon was easily held by a small army of occupation, while two other armies, one from Chittagong and the other from Assam, penetrated the heart of the territory. The disciplined forces of the Knglish moved steadily northward, conquering as they went, yet con- stantly making overtures for a cessation of hostilities. Every proposition was haughtily rejected by the Bur- mans. Prome, an important strategic point, was wisely sought and readily taken. This opened the way to the upper part of the empire. The year 1826 had opened, and the conquest was approaching its consummation, with vast results to the cause of American missions. Decisive battles were fought, after which Sir Archibald Campbell moved forward with all the confidence of a Napoleon Bona- parte, knowing that while the foe was active and venge- ful, he was also cowardly and undisciplined. He pro- ceeded to latnago, one hundred and twenty miles north 6o THE WADES. of Prome. He passed through a country fortified with the strongest stockades, but which had been deserted. The Burmans had suffered severe loss by cholera, and the ground was strewed with the dead in groups of twenty and forty. On arriving at latnago, Sir Archibald was met by the first of the Zootoo, sent expressly from Ava to sue for peace ; and after several conferences the boon was granted on condition that the following provinces be ceded to the British : — Mergui, Tavoy, Ye and Arracan, with the payment of ten millions of rupees, the release of the prisQtiers, and the acceptance of an English Minister of State at Ava and a Consul at Rangoon. This humiliation was indeed great, but demanded, and to it the deputy acceded, subject to ratification. So panic-stricken were the Burmans, that when Sir James Brisbane moved up the river from Prome, with the flotilla, several large batteries, mounting fifteen to twenty guns, of heavy calibre, were passed without molestation. There was a dread of further provoking English vengeance. In a few weeks, however, rejoicing in Bengal gave way to sad depression. News from Ava had been slow in coming and equally slow in being confirmed or corrected, and when the explanation came it appeared that the terms of peace had not been ratified. It was dangerous to report bad news to the Golden Ears ; for anything that tended to mortify his vanity also aroused his wrath, and caused him to satiate the same on the one who brought the tidings. To intimate that he was not omnipotent, though it were only by stating a fact, exposed the speaker to instant death. One in high re- A MEMORIAL. . 6 1 pute had been induced to suggest to His Majesty the propriety of making peace, and it cost him his life ; and now those who had the terms of peace in their custody dared not say " peace '' to the Golden Ears, and he may not have heard of the conditions or the actual state of the negotiations. Fifteen days were granted the Burmese authorities to make answer, and the assurance was given on the one side that it would be favorable, and on the other that if not favorable, or if delayed beyond the limit, hostilities would be renewed. Sir Archibald became suspicious that duplicity was being practiced, and he prepared to make his word good in a way that would not be misunderstood. Two days before the expiration of the armistice the chief of the Burmese Commission- ers, cajoling with honeyed words and offers of presents, besought him to extend the time another fortnight ; but "they had a Scotchman to deal with." He per- emptorily refused, and notified them that unless the terms of the treaty were wholly fulfilled before ten o'clock of the fifteenth day, he should open fire on Maloun, (or Malloon — Burmese, Male-Iooan) the town before which, probably, he lay. The Commander "made ready," and did not delay the fulfillment of his promise an instant. "The can- nonade began precisely at ten o'clock, January 19th; was continued with great effect, particularly the rocket fire, through the day, and at the close of it the city was taken by assault, the Burmese leaving five hun- dred dead on the field, eighty pieces of artillery, one hundred and twenty gingals (large muskets), eighteen hundred stands of muskets, twenty tons of powder, a 62 THB WADES. large quantity of munitions, and the military chest containing thirty-six thousand rupees. Among the trophies taken was the trunk of the chief negotiator, and in it the original preliminary treaty, which had never been sent to the King for ratification. The craft of the negotiator being thus confirmed. Sir Archibald immediately sent the treaty after him." The British, who lost but fourteen men, pushed on toward the capital, with no expectation of further negotiating before reaching it. Their advances, which seem to have surprised the King, by reason of the fear of telling him the facts, were bold and irresistible, and soon produced consternation throughout the court. The ending of the war and of the tragic scenes of Ava and Oung-pen-la is familiar to the world. When the news reached Calcutta there was rejoicing in the city, as there- must have been among the angels in heaven ; not because of the success of the British arms as a military triumph, but because of what it did for the prisoners and the cause of missions. The painful anxieties of Mr. and Mrs. Wade, running through two years, were now mitigated, and they could pursue their studies with more pleasure, and with more certainty that their acquisitions would avail for the propaga- tion of the Gospel in Burmah. While hostilities were yet continuing. Rev. Geo. D. Boardman and wife reached Calcutta from the United States, and were met by the missionaries with the greatest gladness. Mrs. Colman came down from Chit- pore with a carriage and took them up to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wade, where they remained, happily and in profitable studj', for about two months, waiting A MEMORIAL. 63 entrance to Bnrmah with the word of Hfe. Then all moved into Calcutta, renting a house of three rooms, at fifty rupees a month. The reasons for this change were : to be conveniently near to the chapel ; to obtain with less difficulty an outfit for Rangoon, in case the way there should be opened, and, if it should not, to avoid exposure of health, during the hot or rainy season, in the poor bungalow (an East India one-story house), which they were occupying at Chitpore. Also, the business relating to the publication of the Diction- ary and the study of the language could be conducted with greater facility there. The Dictionary was carried through the press, and the Government gave it a lib- eral patronage. 64 THE WADES. V. ^ach fvjcim ^alcntta—SETTLUVG and UNSETTLING ; MEE SH WA Y-EE. Faithfulness can feed on suffering, And knows no disappointment. George Ei,iot. If there be light upon my being's cloud, I'll cast o'er other hearts its cheering ray ; 'Twill add new brightness to my toilsome way. Emii ^iiXU& — NORTH, SOUTH; CASTING IN JEWELRY. As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear. — Prov. 25 : 12. Yet, having nothing, the whole is ours ; No thorns can pierce us, who have no iiowers. Rose Terry Cooke. LEAVING Mergui March 29th, and touching at ^ Maulmein, they arrived in Rangoon April 3, 1832. Not long after, Mr. Wade had a severe and pro- tracted attack of neuralgia of the stomach, which, there being no physician in Rangoon, made necessary their return to Maulmein, where medical aid could be obtained. After some improvement he resumed the work of reducing the Karen language to writing, which had been interrupted from the time they started for home, and on account of their unexpected deten- tion in Arracan. This employment was the ideal achievement of his missionary life at this period. So intensely did he apply himself to it, and so exclu- sively did it occupy his mind, that laying aside his writing for rest was not discontinuing the toil of his brain. Hard work induced repeated attacks of the disease, increasing in frequency and severity until they became continuous. Then a relinquishment of A MEMORIAL. 95 all study, with a change to a cold climate gave the only hope of recovery, and that was but a slight one. Mrs. Wade, likewise, had been so afflicted that, though holding up bravely under her ills, and for most of the time performing her full share of the duties of the mission, it seemed but humane and just that she also should be granted a respite. In the autumn of 1832 they embarked for the United States. At a time when missionaries were still few, the event was a noted one among the ''wan reap- ers," many of whom would have been glad to have done the same ; a somewhat sad one, too, because it gave intimation as to the decline of health almost in- evitable to all. In the United States the return of missionaries was regarded as a great event — greater than the outgoing of the same, since it meant infor- mation concerning the East, the exhibition of strange things, and, not the least, a "sight" of somebody who had been down into the Hades of heathenism and bore marks of the place. Since the visit of Mrs. Ann H. Judson, ten years before, no one had returned to America to tell in per- son the tales of sin and salvation in Burmah, and the coming of these prominent representatives was hailed with peculiar satisfaction. To render their visit still more entertaining, and as a means to increased interest in the heathen, they brought two native Christians, the first that had appeared in this country — Moung Shway Moung, a Burman, and Ko Chet-thing, a Karen. All arrived in May, 1833, just after the annual meeting of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions. How this interesting group should spend the time 96 THE WADES. in America, compatibly with health-seeking, and so as to gratify friends and promote the cause of missions, was a question that solved itself as the weeks went by. The curiosity to see and hear them, exceeding all disposition of that sort at the present day, was utilized for the benefit of the heathen, Mr. Wade's health had materially improved by the voyage home, and the Board was very anxious that he remain a year for its confirmation, and to do what was then of very great importance — aid in cultivating a missionary spirit in this country. Mrs. Wade, with her great good sense and deep interest in the same object, was well calcu- lated to co-operate most effectively, while the new spectacle of converted heathens in company would assure an outpouring of people anywhere. Very soon, therefore, these angels of missions were on wheels ; but not the fast wheels of to-day. Impor- tant-places were visited and large assemblies addressed. The young Asiatics were introduced to sights and scenes in a civilized land ; with what amazement to themselves it can only be faintly conjectured. It was time now for Mr. and Mrs. Wade to be interpreters. After the foreigners had spoken in their own tongue, the audiences were permitted to know the singular thought that was expressed in such singular speech. But there was another, an unheard-of project that very early occurred to the Board ; one in which these visitors from the East were to perform the principal part. A number of persons were under appointment as missionaries, and why should not they improve a present opportunity to begin the study of the lan- guages of the people to whom they were designated ? A MEMORIAL. 97 And why not experiment on the feasibility of a general arrangement for learning the heathen tongues before going abroad? It was agreed to at once, and on the 20th of June, in less than six weeks from the day of their arrival in Boston, and after much touring had been done, the missionaries and their native assistants began with eight pupils (males and females) the strange thing of inculcating the rudiments of Asiatic dialects in the heart of America, and at the seat of a leading theological seminary. Hamilton, N. Y., the nursery of missionaries, was naturally and fitly se- lected as the place for the school. It continued for nine months, and the Board in its report stated that the "success in acquiring the Burman and Karen is re- garded as triumphant proof of the wisdom that dictated the enterprise." The arrangement, however, did not become permanent. In addition to their duties in the school the mis- sionaries made occasional excursions among the churches, and with the best of results. They traveled in several of the states, north and south, awakening in- terest in the salvation of the heathen, and appealing to Christians to cultivate self-denial for their sakes, in imitation of Him who died for them. A notable oc- casion was a Convention of Western Baptists, occur- ring at Cincinnati, Ohio, in November, which they at- tended, accompanied by such representatives of the Board as Rev. Alfred Bennett and Dea. Heman Lin- coln, treasurer. In this life-story it is fitting to refer to the fact that at this period "great objections existed in the minds of many of our western brethren against what are 98 THE WADES. (were) denominated ' The Benevolent Efforts of the Age' "; also, " against the pecuniary support of the regular ministry of the Gospel." So serious a matter was this that a few individuals in Cincinnati carried on a very extensive correspondence, east and west, re- sulting in calling a general meeting of the Baptists of the Western States, "for the purpose of mutual prayer, deliberation, counsel and effort." The pres- ence of the missionaries and of Messrs. Bennett and Lincoln, all of them grand illustrations of consecrated lives, imparted a holy, delightful atmosphere to the Convention. The question of ministerial support was quickly settled, and with " entire unanimity." The cause of foreign missions was next considered, and as Jonathan Wade stood forth in advocacy of its claims he caused his hearers to feel that it was a serious yet a grand thing to live under the King of Kings and be pledged to His service in saving the nations of the earth. They could not resist the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke. " One after another spoke in its support, till the Convention itself became perfectly missionary, and every member was led to inquire, if the missionary cause did not come from heaven, whence its origin." All the leading, agitating questions of the time were discussed, in a meeting continuing six days, and the most harmonious action taken favoring all benevolent efforts. The first recorded steps were taken here for beginning missionary work in China, and two brethren " were ordained evangelists, with particular reference to their location among the Chero- kee and Creek Indians." Equally influential with her husband was Mrs. A MEMORIAI,. 99 Wade ; a strong character anywhere, and especially in a meeting designed to enlist the hearts of Christians in behalf of the perishing. On the last day she addressed a meeting in the Sixth Street Baptist Church, which was " thronged to overflowing with ladies, every one anxious to hear from her lips of God's grace to the Burmans and Karens." Her modesty and simplicity enabled her to appeal to the women with irresistible power. Following her example of self-denial they cast their ornaments as well as their money into the' mis- sion treasury. In immediate connection with an ac- count of the meeting is found the treasurer's statement, containing the following entries: " Chains, rings, etc., from Mrs. Shays, Cin., O. ; cost $50." " Various arti- cles, gold beads, rings, etc., contributed for the per- sonal benefit of Mr. and Mrs. Wade, sold for $23.52." " Sundry articles, gold necklaces, etc., contributed for the Burman Mission, $19.37." Many items of this kind appear in months following. In the following spring this " quaternion," accom- panied by the Corresponding Secretary, Dr. lyUcius Bolles, made a tour in the South, visiting many of the cities of the Atlantic States. At Augusta, Ga., thej- met two converted Cherokees, who were there intro- duced to the Burman and the Karen. "The spectacle," says Prof Gammell, "was one of rare and extraordi- nary interest. It was the first time in the history of the world that representatives of these ancient ab- original races, dwelling on opposite sides of the globe, had met together in the sympathies of a common faith, and joined in common acts of Christian worship." Referring to their visit in the United States, espe- lOO THE WADES. cially to the part that Mrs. Wade took in addressing meetings of ladies, a writer very appropriately says : In neat but inexpensive attire, she stood before these audiences of the gay and fashionable, " with pleasant voice and a face beaming with Christian affection," and won all hearts by the simple story of her own heart-felt experi- ences. She spoke to them of the character of heathen wor- ship, the degradation of heathen women, the marvelous change wrought in them by the power of the Gospel, the increasing facilities for reaching them by the press, also of the pain of refusing the call for books or tracts (from lack of means to print them) that would show them the way to be saved. This was followed by a plea to American women to lay aside all superfluities in dress and living, that they might share in this blessed work for Christ. These ap- peals, sustained by her own consecrated life, could not be fruitless. Useless jewelry, and other adornings, often, in those years, found place in missionary collections, and many learned from her lips lessons that never were for- gotten. . Mrs. Dr. Binney, in a just and loving tribute to Mrs. Wade, written from personal knowledge of her in America and the East, speaks of first meeting her dur- ing this visit and under circumstances never to be for- gotten : " Charlestown Female Seminary was then taught by a corps of five Christian women, led by that indefatigable worker for the cause of female education and for the cause of Christ, to which everything be- sides was subservient, Miss Martha Whiting. They were educating two hundred 3'oung ladies from nearly every state in New England, and several other states, the larger number of whom were from Baptist families and professing Christians. Miss Whiting brought Mrs. A MEMORIAL. lOI Wade to visit the Seminary, and suspended the usual exercises that she might address the young ladies. Probably no one hour's labor ever expended on that institution has told so largely on the character and use- fulness of its pupils. Some yet live (1870) to testify that her earnest, touching appeal led them with great humiliation, and with heart-searchings, to consecrate themselves anew to the dear Redeemer, whether at home or called to toil in heathen lands. Many have gone home before her, whose lives have- borne testi- mony to the fidelity with which they have kept those early vows of consecration." The time for returning to Burmah hastened on. In a little more than thirteen months from the day of ar- rival here, native land was again left for alien-life amid the deep moral shades of the East. The heart had been cast on the side of the heathen, and there was no disposition to restrain its affections ; no, not for friends, nor for an extra hour. The farewell services at Boston, continuing for sev- eral days, and consisting largely of addresses by Mr. and Mrs. Wade and the natives of the Orient, were scenes of surpassing interest. Mrs. Wade's address to the ladies, in particular, was felt to be more impressive than anything of the kind ever before uttered. Desig- nation services for the new missionaries were also held. Dr. Francis Wayland delivered the main address, a "lofty, bold, beautiful and emphatically Scriptural de- lineation of the objects, qualifications and duties of a Christian missionary." Mrs. Sigburney contributed the closing hymn, in which appears the following strain : I02 THE WADES. Burmah ! We would soothe thy weeping ; Take us to thy sultry breast. Where thy sainted dust is sleeping, Let us share a kindred rest. Friends ! this span of life is fleeting. Hark ! the harps of angels swell. Think of that eternal meeting Where no voice shall say Farewell ! Those thus "separated" for the work to which the Spirit had called them were a noble company, fifteen in number, and conspicuous for great usefulness in heathen lands. On the same ship the American Board of Commissioners sent out three, and the officers of that Board participated in the deeply solemn yet joyful scenes at the departure — scenes more tearful to the staying than to the departing. In the report of the Board, prepared and presented by Dr. Baron Stow, there appears a very full account of the home work of the missionaries, closing with the following emphatic words: "The salutary effects of their visit will long be seen in the enlarged contribu- tions to our treasury, in the multiplication of candi- dates for missionary service, and in the deepened in- terest which shall be excited in behalf, not only of Burmah, but of a world lying in the wicked one ; and as they shall return to their field of toil and sacrifice, to be seen no more till we shall meet them in heaven, they and their enterprise will be enshrined in thous- ands of breasts which, but for their past year's labors, would have remained indifferent and inert, and thous- ands of the ' sacramental host ' will be concerned for their success, who else would have lived and died unto themselves." A MEMORIAL. 103 To this testimony add the expressive words of a writer before quoted : Their presence and earnest words had given an im- pulse to missionary zeal that appeared in larger contribu- tions, and in a more confident faith in the results of mis- sionary labor. In the mission stations their absence had been keenly felt, and from beyond the sea Mr. Judson wrote : " May the Lord bring safely back my dearest, best beloved brother and sister Wade." To them, the romance of mission life was past. The morning mists had long since been lifted, and before their unclouded vision the rugged outline of their field of toil lay stretched out be- fore them. Yet, with unswerving purpose and unfaltering step, aye, with great longing of heart, they girded them- selves anew for the service, "counting it all joy" to bear Christ's message to the ends of the earth. The favored vessel was the Cashmere. It weighed anchor in Boston harbor July 2, 1834, with the largest number of missionaries that had at any time been sent out by American Baptists. It never had done so great service to the world. The products it conveyed to the East were an important contribution to the temporal wants of man, but how vastly greater the present pro- vision for giving the Bread of L,ife to souls dying the death that never dies. The voyage was a pleasant one. How could the so- cial feature be otherwise — so many of one heart and one soul ! And there was a spiritual element in the com- pany, of a very decided character. Besides regular serv- ice on the Sabbath, two weekly prayer meetings, a Bible class and evening worship were held, all public, and at- tended by officers and crew. Special influence was im- I04 THE WADES. parted by the missionaries to the unconverted aboard. A nightly "protracted" meeting was held, and several of them were brought to Christ. Likewise, the studies commended in the little Burman- Karen school at Ham- ilton were here resumed. Messrs. Wade, Howard and Vinton, and their wives, gave attention to the Karen language ; Messrs. Comstock, Dean and Osgood, with their wives, and Miss Gardner, to the Burman. In all these things who were the master spirits, if not Mr. and Mrs. Wade, of ten years' experience in Burmah, and of strong natural character? Yet who less dis- posed to make themselves prominent ? The Cashmere arrived in safety at Amherst, Bur- mah, on December 6, after a voyage of one hundred and fifty-seven days, exceeding by forty days the time anticipated. Although belated, the ship experienced no accidents and only slight gales, and the passengers were shut in their cabins very little. A MEMORIAL. 105 VIII. ^aXfiH'^ — 'BEAUTIFUL FEET"; " CITY OF LOVE"; GLORY IN THE JUNGLES. Go, worlds ! said God, but learn ere ye depart, My favored temple is an humble heart ; Therein to dwell I leave my loftiest skies. There shall my holy of all holies rise. Phii,ip James Baii,ey. A NEW era in the history of the Wades now begins. -^"^ The first decade was fraught with much sick- ness and repeated vicissitudes on land and on sea. A year at home had restored their health and inspired them with the hope that now they might endure the climate, while their experience with the natives had acquainted them with the best and the worst to be expected from them. There was occasion for a new division of labor. While the recruits imparted joy throughout the lines, their coming also caused the older missionaries to lift up their eyes anew, and to be more fully aroused to the demands of the whitened fields. Mr. Mason, after the death of Mr. Boardman, had toiled alone at Tavoy, and Mr. Wade now went to his assistance. " He had seen," says Mr. Wade, " the harvest ripening around him much faster than he, single-handed, could reap and gather in the sheaves. He had uttered, long and loud, the Macedonian cry, I06 THE WADES. yet no help came. He had despairingly concluded that he must continue to toil alone, when he heard that we had arrived in Maulmein and were coming to Tavoy. He came out several miles to meet us, and welcomed us with the bursting of a full heart, like one who finds help when the last lingering hope has died away ; an^ for weeks he ceased not, in his prayers, to thank God with tears for our coming." The region of country which had been entered by those valiant missionaries, Boardman and Mason, and which now was to become the arena of the Wades, is a tract of indefinite measurement, extending many hundred miles along the eastern shore of the Bay of Bengal. It touches Burmah on the north and reaches the sea on the south, and embraces many heathen tribes, among which are the Karens — Sgau and Pwo Karens, for whose salvation the best of the days of Mr. and Mrs. Wade were devoted. Mr. Mason, a man of searching mind and tireless energy, took pains to learn the antecedents of the people, the geographical features of the country, and the elements of its animate nature, and concerning these he wrote extensively. Referring to his writings, a few paragraphs will aid the reader to an understanding of the character of the region which became the field in which the Wades sowed and reaped. He says : An unbroken range of mountains east of Tavoy runs north and south from Maulmein to Mergui. On the east side of this water-shed I found a large river running south- ward, but no one could tell where it emptied. It is formed by two considerable streams, one coming from the north, and the other from the south, uniting a few miles north of A MEMORIAL. 107 the latitude of Tavoy. Here at their junction were the re- mains of an old fortified town, but when built or by whom inhabited the Karens had no traditions to relate. The locality being high and healthful, and access to the coun- try in every direction, by water, being easy, I induced a large number of the Christian Karens to come and form a village here, which we named Matah, " love.'' It is still a considerable village, with rows of fruit-bearing cocoa-nut trees, the seeds of which I planted with my own hands. The river descending from Matah, which I found to be the Tenasserim, I traced from near its source in the high- est mountain of Tavoy, some five thousand feet high, to its mouth, where it falls into the sea south of Mergui. The latitude of the head waters is south of the mouth of Tavoy river, but it runs northerly for forty miles to Matah, and thereafter, being joined by its branch from the north, turns round to the south-east, and descending southerly it reaches the old city of Tenasserim, where it turns west- ward and falls into the sea by several mouths south of Mergui, and one north of the town, forming Mergui island I went down it all the way on bamboo rafts, and the de- scent occupied three weeks. I sat on the raft with a pocket-compass that some kind friend had given me, whose name I have forgotten — but the deed is immortal — and marked on paper every bend of the river from its source to its mouth, and it is almost as crooked as the Jordan. The Tenasserim is a beautiful river, with numerous rapids, on descending some of which we took our baggage off the rafts, and carried it down to the foot of the falls by land, sending the rafts over empty. Weary of this slow process, I tried the experiment, once, of going over with- out unloading, but I did not try it twice. When we got among the rocks and foaming waters the raft rolled over, upside down, and threw us all off. However, we contrived to seize the bamboos and were all carried down safely to Io8 THE WADES. the deep eddies below, from which, having extricated our- selves, we reached shallow water and righted the raft, and having taken the precaution to tie all the baggage on, nothing was lost. In three weeks after their arrival in the country, Mr. and Mrs. Wade, with Miss Gardner, were at Tavoy, preparing to work. By the close of another week Mr. Mason, who had been preparing for his annual tour through the Karen jungle, together with Mr. and Mrs. Wade, set out to accomplish a journey full of promise to the natives and of great gratification to themselves. It was made on foot, and all the clothes, bedding, eat- ables, dishes and cooking utensils were carried in bas- kets, on men's shoulders. Provision was made for carrying Mrs. Wade in a chair, when she could no longer walk, by tying poles to its arms. The first night was spent at a small Christian vil- lage, on the Tavoy side of the mountains, where, though greatly fatigued, they were much refreshed by the cordiality of the villagers, nearly all of whom were professedly Christians, and with whom, joined by some from a neighboring village, they had a most delightful evening service. Here, also, they passed the next day, the Sabbath, all remaining to enjoy the worship. Resuming their journey on the third day, they ar- rived at noon at the memorable spot where Mr. Board- man performed his last missionary labor. It was in the midst of a howling wilderness ; yet, as they rested near, the spirit of the departed seemed to come back and to urge and encourage them, by the rewards he had already attained, to work while the day lasted and not be weary in well doing. Toward sunset they re- A MEMORIAL. 109 sumed their march and continued it until nightfall, when they encamped beside a precipitous stream, a full day's journey from the dwellings of men. The porters set up their small tent, spread the beds on the ground beneath it, and cooked the food. For themselves, hav- ing no cooking pots or dishes, they cut joints of bam- boo and in them boiled their rice, roasted their dried fish on the fire, and ate from large leaves as plates. Supper ended, they gathered dry wood and placed it in piles around the encampment and fired it, as a protection from tigers and other ferocious beasts. During the night the yell of a tiger occasionallj' startled the sleepers, but the Karen disciples said, " Don't be afraid, mamma; we are sleeping all around the tent, and if the tigers take any they will take us." Theii they said among themselves : " We have often traveled with teacher Mason in the jungle, and the tigers have never taken any one yet. It is not so with other companies sleeping in the jungle. No doubt God sends the angels to watch around the camp of the teachers. No doubt they are around us now, though we can't see them." " Yes," said another, " and ever since the English have governed the country the tigers do not seem so ferocious as they were when the Bur- mans governed it. Then the tigers would catch peo- ple traveling through the jungle in the daytime. They fear the English because they are upright and worship the true God." Next morning, striking tent, they proceeded toward Matah, their destination. At mid-day they tented from the scorching sun, more than half a day's journey from Matah ; and while resting were visited by no THE WADES. a large number of Christian Karens from that village, who had come out to meet them. They remained with the missionaries through the day and night, and next morning escorted them into the town, carrying part of their luggage. They were reinforced at inter- vals all the way from their lodging place^f the night previous, by company after company of Karens, both men and women ; so that by noon, the time of arrival, more than a hundred, or nearly all the inhabitants, composed the escort. Their artless affection, expressed by words and actions, the melody of their Christian songs, as they wended their way, single file, through the jungle, charmed away the fatigue of a three days' journey. It was a joyous prophecy of the time when one song shall employ all nations. Matah (originally Matamya), signifying " city of love," is situated in a picturesque valley, or mountain cut, and Mr. Mason said concerning it, " If it be worth a voyage across the Atlantic to see the Shenandoah run through the Blue Ridge, surely a voyage round the world would be amply repaid by a Sabbath spent in this valley." And speaking of the moral renova- tion that had taken place (1835), he says: "What wonders God has wrought for this region in five or six short years. When brother Boardman came out hither there was not a sober individual, male or female, in the jungle, or one who was not in the habit of mak- ing offerings to nats — demons. Now I sit with a hun- dred consistent Christians within call, that have not drunk spirituous liquors for years. Then the idea that they would have books in their own language was as- sociated with tigers laying aside their fierceness. Now A. MEMORIAL. Ill I have a Sabbath-school of thirty-nine children and youth, able to read their own books and give intelli- gent answers in respect to their contents." Mr. Mason, following Mr. Boardman, had broken ground and planted seed in this moral wilderness, and the fruits of his toil were now appearing. Into his labors Mr. and Mrs. Wade were permitted to enter, and all were now rejoicing together ; no one more heartily glad than Mrs. Wade. To her, possessed of all womanly instincts and fineness of nature, it was a severe tax to scale mountains and thread by-paths — the only woman in the company, and frequently ill. The journey was made on foot because a horse could not travel the jungles through which it lay, and only where the path was a little better than usual could the natives carry her in the chair. Much of the way the company proceeded single file. It was a day of ro- mance, as it now appears, but one of flesh-and-bone reality to those who passed through it. Sometimes there was no path at all. For a long way they were obliged to step from one stone to another, in a stream ' of water. Then, in ascending mountains, they must proceed slowly and stop frequently, having not only to climb steep places but often to walk on the very edges of awful precipices, two or three hundred feet high. What must this have been to a woman of Mrs. Wade's sensibilities ! The reception at Matah, by the disciples, compen- sated for the weariness of travel by its whole-souled cordiality. As soon as they had exchanged salutations and seen the missionaries comfortably seated in the rude bungalow, and on the mats provided for them. 112 THE WADES. they dispersed, and on every side was heard the sound of rice mortars. After a time they returned, bringing rice, eggs, sweet potatoes (or yams), wood, water — everything they had that was supposed to be of use to their guests. Then those having ailments came for medicine; others to talk about religion, and tell of their joys and sorrows, temptations and deliverances, delinquencies and reforms since the last visit from the teacher. At evening, at the beating of the gong, all came together for public worship ; and after that the voice of praise and prayer was heard in their houses until midnight. Now that the end of their outward trip has been reached, shall not the missionaries have a rest ? They have found a village of Christians — " first fruits of Asia unto Christ" (this part of it) — may they not build a tabernacle here and sit together in heavenly places with them for a while? Ah ! there are unnum- bered places in heathendom as degraded as was this before Boardman and Mason lifted up their voices in the wilderness, and they must not stop to drink the sweets of Christian fellowship when there is so much to be done. They will provide watchcare and training for the disciples in Matah, and also for special evangel- ization in other parts. But this course involved divis- ion of labor, which meant division of their small forces. Only three days for communing together, for rest, counsel and preparation, and Mr. and Mrs. Wade sepa- rate for a season, for the furtherance of the Gospel. They are now at the confluence of the two streams that form the picturesque Tenasserim, which flows nearly southward. It was planned that brethren Ma- A MEMORIAI.. 113 son and Wade should descend this river, some days' journey, and undertake a work similar to that which had been so successful in this region, and on the morn- ing of the third day after arriving at Matah they were in readiness to depart. The missionaries had "a solemn season of prayer by themselves, and then again with the Karens," after which, all went down to the river, where Mr. Wade and Mr. Mason, with about twenty Karens from the village, embarked on their bamboo rafts. They expected to preach the Gospel in all the Karen villages between Matah and Mergui, the Karens assisting. Mrs. Wade was to perform missionary duty at Matah alone. No sooner were the men gone than was she performing the functions of teacher, expounder and leader. The Karens built a large zayat near her dwell- ing, and on one side of it hung a little gong, which was beat every evening soon after sunset, when about one hundred men, women and children assembled to listen to her instructions. Taking her seat in the midst of them, she would read from the Bible, explain- ing the connection and drawing the practical lessons. Then they would sing one of their hymns and offer prayer. They asked her to preach to them ; she re- plied that " God had not appointed women to preach," but that she would sit down with them and would ex- plain the precious words of the Savior. Next morning an unusually large number assembled, and many fol- lowed her home and kept her engaged in answering questions on the New Testament until four o'clock, when the young came together for Sunday-school. How beautiful the feet of her who brought the good tidings ! 114 THE WADES. Mrs. Wade administered to their bodies as well as to their souls. It was a very sickly time when they came to Matah, and in less than one week she had ten to fifteen patients requiring daily treatment ; yet, in the midst of her efforts to save them she was disposed to reproach herself for " fearing to have them leave this world of sin and temptation and go to the bosom of their Savior." She fought the drink demon, which appeared in visitors from other villages, and at the same time led the victims to Christ. A fall through an old broken bamboo floor crippled her for a time, so that she was obliged to send to the sick or to receive them at her home. Meantime the work at the zayat went on, the services being attended by one hundred and fifty and more. The Lord pro- vided helpers. One of the most influential native Christians, for example, voluntarily spent a whole day in going from house to house, warning the impenitent and stirring up his brethren to more zeal and diligence. Three others went out on a hunting excursion, taking tracts and seeking opportunities to impress Gospel truth upon the natives, amidst opposition and con- tempt. They were joined by some who ridiculed them for asking a blessing at meals, and reviled them for carrying books which, as they declared, prevented the finding of game. The disciples proved faithful, how- ever, declaring that if God did not send game they were content to go home without it. Very soon they discovered and shot a rhinoceros, and before night an- other. The revilers were impressed and promised to visit the Christians at Matah. After one month of toil Mrs. Wade felt compelled A MEMORIAL. 115 to exclaim, "What hath God wrought! " Temperance sentiment had become universal; no one would dare to distill a drop of spirits, or to bring any to the village for sale, the penalty being immediate expulsion from the precinct. There was also a reformation in house- keeping, peculiarly gratifying to her, as she said : " None but those acquainted with the miserable, filthy habits of these heathen nations can sympathize in the joy with which we witness improvements of this kind." After six weeks of separation Mr. Wade returned to the " city of love." The itinerant came in from his tour of tract distribution and preaching along the Tenasserim, and by way of Tavoy, and found what few men are permitted to find, that evangelizing and other good work had been performed in his absence by his good wife, and with decided success. He "arrived in fine health, notwithstanding the fatigues and hard- ships to which he had been exposed, sleeping on the ground almost every night, and often traveling all day on foot under the hot sun." His soul had prospered still more, and now he reaches the acme of joy as he finds a large number of rejoicing converts, read}' to profess Christ. The work of examination is begun, and the notes of the missionaries show that there was a painstaking conscientiousness worthy of imitation. Mr. Wade says : " Every evening we had meetings for this purpose. The voting was by ballot. None were received except by a unanimous vote, and no young person who had not learned to read, no one who would not promise total abstinence from all intoxicating drinks, no one who would not promise to observe all the rules of Il6 THK WADES. Bible morality, no one who could not give a reason of his hope according to the principles of grace through Christ Jesus. After the examination of the candidates for baptism came the examination of the church members preparatory to the lyord's Supper. This took several evenings. Every one was questioned personally, and his conduct since the last communion thoroughly investigated. If any delinquency appeared that could not be rectified at the time, he must sit aside until he could bring forth fruits meet for repent- ance. * * * The church members seem to feel that coming to the table of the Lord is a peculiar privilege. If they have not been able to attend the preparatory meetings, they beg leave to speak on the Sabbath be- fore they come to the table. On Saturday before the Communion, or, if detained, on Sabbath morning, they all, young and old, male and female, brought forward their mites to aid the missionary cause." Alluding to the Sabbath, Mrs. Wade saj^s, in her journal : "This has been one of the happiest days of my whole life. The morning was spent in examining candidates ; the afternoon in a kind of church confer- ence, until the cool of the day, when we had a short service. We then repaired to the beautiful banks of the Tenasserim, where twenty-five lovely converts were buried with Christ in its crystal waters. The assembly was large, the singing animated and melodious, and the scenery around most romantic and delightful. Surely it was one of those scenes in which angels love to mingle. * * * At early candle-light we came to- gether around the table of our L,ord, to commemorate A MEMORIAL. 117 his dying love. We had but one case of discipline, and she seemed so sincerely penitent she was most cord- ially forgiven. The season was one of uncommon in- terest and tenderness of soul, as we were to-morrow to leave these dearly beloved brethren and sisters." The next day, after a farewell meeting with the church, at daybreak, at which provisions for the march were presented and many tears were shed, the mission- aries set out on their return to Tavoy, accompanied by about fifty Karens, men and women. After a fatiguing journey, and much suffering from a burning sun and want of water by the way, they arrived safely and in good health at Tavoy. The wet season was approach- ing, and they must do their work in town. Il8 THE WADES. IX. ^nngle ^0vtv& — floods,- epidemics,- GREAT GRACE UPON THE PEOPLE. Ah ! Genius burns like a blazing star, And Fame has a honeyed urn to fill ; But the good deed done for love, not fame. Like the water-cup in the Master's name. Is something more precious still. Susan Coolidge. TT is now midsummer, and the missionaries are wa- -^ ter-bound at Tavoy ; yet the work they find there is plentiful, and promises great gains to the Karens and the cause of missions. The children at Matah had promised to come to town and learn to read during the wet season, and within six weeks from the time of separating from them they appear in numbers that Exceeded the highest anticipations. They crowded the accommodations provided. Setting out from home for the first time in their lives, and without any convey- ance whatsoever, they travel on foot a distance of thirty to forty miles, through a wilderness infested by tigers and other wild beasts, ford the swollen streams, carry their provision of food and lodging, and spend one night in the forest without shelter. " When they ar- rived it was near night," wrote Mr. Wade, " and they had endured the fatigue of a long day's walk. They came up in Indian file, each one having a basket slung from A MEMORIAL. 119 the shoulders Hke a knapsack, or from the head. Their Hmbs were indeed weary, but their countenances glowed with delight when they saw the missionaries whom they had sometimes seen in their native jun- gle." They together comprised all the children of Matah ; some of them inquirers of the way to eternal life. With what supreme delight Mrs. Wade pursued the avocation of teacher can be learned only from reading her letters and diaries. The custom of supporting pupils had already arisen in this country, and she had no small task in assigning names to them. She pro- tests, and in a way to cause American Christians to inquire whether the motive justifies the effort to write their own names on the foreheads of heathen children. She says : " Our patrons ought to know that naming children causes a great deal of trouble and perplexity, and takes much precious time which we wish to devote to the poor perishing souls around us." She gives a large number of names, embracing distinguished men and women of the denomination fifty years ago, add- ing : "I wish our friends in America to understand that the naming is merely nominal, as we never call them by their English names, nor do they even know that they have received such names." While Mrs. Wade's time was altogether taken up in the school, Mr. Wade applied himself to the study of the Karen, and in preparing and revising books in that language ; and yet neither of them for a moment over- looked the spiritual interests of the pupils and people. All work was made subsidiary to the Gospel, and dur- ing the entire summer the Karens were taught the way I20 THE WADES. of life in a direct manner, and often was there great joy in Tavoy as the result of the conversion of souls. In November of same year (1835) Mr. and Mrs. Wade, with some Burman and Karen assistants, made another evangelizing tour along the Tavoy river, south- ward, distributing tracts and preaching and teaching from the boat at all the villages on the east side. They occupied the boat for lodging, and on the fifth day came their old obstacle — bad weather. " How little do our friends, in their quiet homes in our dear native land," runs his journal, " know what it is to traverse this wide and dreary world, through raging seas, or the tiger-haunted jungle, to proclaim a Savior to these poor, dark heathen !" Being compelled to return to Tavoy, in a few days they started again in the same direction, designing to work on the west side of the river. They had some difficulty, but returned in a little less than a week, quite well satisfied with their tour of visitation, having visited twelve villages, and found a general readiness for the Gospel, and in many cases great eagerness for tracts. Early in December, the rains being past, they went again to the well-remembered field at Matah. The journey was a most fatiguing one. Mr. Wade, as usual, walked all the way, while Mrs. Wade was carried part of the way on a litter, bj- four men. In crossing the mountains she was obliged to walk eight or ten con- secutive miles. As before, the Christians, learning of their coming, came out three or four miles to meet them, in large companies ; and their joy caused the weary almost to forget their weariness. A new bam- A MEMORIAL. 121 boo cottage had been erected for them in the center of the town. The zayat was at once crowded with worshipers, and in a few days the leading members brought in the names of eighteen candidates for bap- tism, and they received the ordinance. The Karen Christians met in the new cottage to consecrate it to the lyord, saying that they built it for no worldl}^ pur- pose but to receive their teachers, and that they might learn more about the Savior who died for them. The year at Tavoy closed with a record of sixty baptisms, and a Karen boarding-school of sixty schol- ars for five months, under Mrs. Wade, with a number of schools under others. The home station and all the outstations had received marked tokens of God's favor. They therefore had the exhilaration that comes from success when they went again to Matah. The year 1836 opened most auspiciously to the missionaries. On the first Sabbath, after a succession of ten meetings, in which all the members gave " the state of their minds " and received instructions, bap- tism was again administered, and the L,ord's Supper observed by two hundred native Christians. Then Mr. Wade and several of the Karen disciples left for Tavoy, with a view to visiting the Yeh, or Ya Karens, below that city. Mrs. Wade was left alone at Matah, with all and much more than the duties usual to a mis- sion resting upon her ; worship to conduct, maternal association to manage, assistants to advise — " Christian Endeavor" members who were about to set out for distant villages, " two and two " — evening Bible study to direct, sickness and funerals claiming her attention as physician, nurse and spiritual guide, and large 122 THE WADES. prayer-meetings before daylight in her care. Such responsibihties were borne in her husband's absence, which continued for five weeks. She entertained the deepest sympathy with her work and the subjects of it. Though sensitive to filth, she conceived an affec- tion for the filthy, and often speaks of them as " lovely." After Mr. Wade's return to Matah they continued their excessive labors there until the loth of March ; held a "protracted meeting," and carried forward the instruction of young men who were to become assist- ant preachers, as a part of their work. Finally, after more than three months' sojourn, the}- go back to Tavoy, leaving in Matah a membership of two hundred and thirty, all in good standing. They fought the drink demon in order to secure conversions, but were not troubled with it afterward. All the Karens, before becoming Christians, make and drink ardent spirits, but they renounce it entirely on being baptized, so that the churches were all strictly temperance churches. The arrival of Rev. Howard Malcom, as deputy of the Board in America, required the attention of the missionaries, particularly as a Conference was called at Maulmein to consider some questions of work and policy. This meeting required the presence of Mr. Wade. Meantime, and very soon after the return from Matah, Mrs. Wade organized some itinerary work for the parts adjacent to Tavoy; Mr. Abbott, a recent recruit of the missionary force, consenting to accom- pany her. The first point to be visited was Toung Byouk, about three daj^s' journey south and east. Pro- ceeding down the Tavoy river, across the little bay A MEMORIAL. 123 and up the Toung Byouk river, they passed the second night in a little village, and told its inhabitants about Jesus. Next day, after contending with rocks and rapids, encountering peril, they reached their landing place, and at evening made known the way of salvation to the people. The following morning they set out on foot for the Karen villages, and after a fatiguing walk over a high and cragged mountain they reached Toung Byouk at about noon. There were a few disciples here, and they were kind- hearted and glad to welcome their visitors. Two fam- ilies had come three days' journey to meet them, the wives desiring instruction and baptism ; and a young woman had come eight or ten miles for the same pur- pose. The duty of examining them rested mainly upon Mrs. Wade ; she deemed them fit subjects, and they were received and baptized. Mr. Abbott left soon, in order to attend the Maulmein Conference. Mrs. Wade remained, with the assistants that came with her, and who made excursions to various villages and sowed the seed of the Kingdom. As before, she gained the affec- tions of the Christians and was accompanied by them as far as to the river, on returning to Tavoy. Another dry season comes, and another scattering of the missionary force takes place. Matah was too important an interest to be neglected, and the districts south and east were presenting a great, open field for renewed and new work. Mr. and Mrs. Wade were such important workers, and so needful to every movement, that it seemed like sparing one of them from a needy cause to unite them anywhere. Either of them could " man " a department of the field, hence they gener- 124 ''^HE WADES. ally operated separately during the dry season, when the outposts were to be occupied. Miss Gardner, too, who came over the ocean with them, had become of great value to the cause at Tavoy, and thus was quali- fied also to go abroad and do special service. L,ate in November'Mr. Wade visits Ya, on the south- west, accompanied by Miss Gardner, who was to in- struct the Burmans and Talings while he should labor with the Karens. The town was a, walled city, built on high land, giving an extended and a delightful view of the semicircular chain of mountains beyond, on three sides, and of the sea on the west. The moral aspects of the place, only, were dark and cheerless. It was true of it, as of other heathen localities, that " Every prospect pleases, And only man is vile." But the pagodas were going to decay, and, notwith- standing the claims of their votaries to the contrary, the idolatry thus symbolized was declining also. A neighboring town gave him a heart}' welcome, and sev- eral were received and baptized. Returning to Ya, another but ineffectual attempt was made to reach the hearts of the people, when the embassadors of Christ retraced their .steps to Tavoy. A few days later, taking Mrs. Mason for an assistant, Mr. Wade made a trip to Toung B3'ouk, three days' journey, where he found a few devout Christians and was much refreshed by their interest in the cause. Meantime Mrs. Wade, with Mr. Mason's assistance, was carrying on the work at Matah, in the usual way and with the usual results, and thus closed the year A MEMORIAL. 125 1 836 with the laborers of the Tavoy mission. They had much to rejoice over, for prosperity had crowned their eiforts. The new year opened auspiciously. It being the dry season, the itinerant and other work could go for- ward at all the points. Mrs. Wade was still busy at Matah, and was gladdened by the coming of Mr. Wade and Miss Gardner from their circuit among the hills ; and all the village rejoiced to see them and to hear the good news they brought from other and distant vil- lages. After two months of constant traveling it was very refreshing to Mr. Wade to meet his wife and the dear Christians at Matah. But he was obliged soon to go to Tavoy, and while there to renew the thatch on his house and the school-houses, preparatory to the rains ; also, to open the theological school there. Mrs. Wade had made much advance in h^r depart- ment. A new zayat was found to be necessary, for the old one, though holding about five hundred, was en- .tirely inadequate. The members at first thought of hiring Burmans from Tavoy to build it, as they could finish it handsomely, but finally concluded that it would be more pleasing to God to have it built by Christians. They set up the corner-post with special prayer, and performed the work of erection with feel- ings of consecration and continuous supplication. As- sistants had been sent out with Mr. Mason, while eight from her Bible class, One of the deacons and two' others had been appointed as preachers and school teachers for distant villages. A similar provision for the home work, during the rainy season, was also made. There had been thirty-four baptisms at Matah during the year, and some at other places adjacent. 126 THE WADES. And now — middle of March — the time had come for the return to Tavoy. All assembled to commemorate the Savior's dying love; there being "three hundred dear Karen converts." " It was a season to be re- membered," says Mrs. Wade — "a little foretaste of the blessed ' thousand years.' In the evening all the inhabitants of Matah, together with many from the surrounding villages, assembled to receive our parting counsel and bid us farewell. The large, new zayat was nearly full, and the expression of sorrow for our de- parture, on every countenance, was deeply affecting to our hearts." The hearts of the missionaries lingered at Matah. There was better success, more cordiality and com- plete Christian friendship there than at Tavoy. The assembly there contained hundreds, to tens here ; yet the Tavoyers had received more means of grace, more books, more access to missionaries than the Karens. When, at the close of this year, 1837, the favorable season had come, Mrs. Wade returned to her " love" — the work in the "city of love." As heretofore, the urgency of the case required husband and wife to leave their home and go apart. But she was accompanied in her long and dreary walk, made specially difficult by illness, by the faithful Christians at Matah ; on the last day one party after another came out to meet and wel- come her. She found the mission-house refitted, ac- cording to the highest ideal of the Karen mind, with a little garden enclosed ; the school-house fitted up also, and the chapel clean, and occupied every night for meeting. The school had been left during the rains in the A MBMORIAlv. 127 hands of two pious young Karens, who had done their work exceedingly well. The Pwo Karens were obliged to learn from manuscript, there being no printed bo.oks in their dialect. The Sgau Karens had new books in their language. The meetings had in- creased in interest, and a number were awaiting bap- l tism. But, on the other hand, there was much sick- ness, and Mrs. Wade had twenty to thirty of the sick to attend daily. After being on the ground for a month, performing double and treble duty, as teacher, physician and nurse, Mr. Wade arrived. The fever, at first prevail- ing, raged for a time, and then the cholera, with equally sweeping and fatal ravages, removing many of the dis- ciples to the painless and sinless land. Mr. Wade gave his time to ministering to the suf- fering, not going away on his usual work, even for a day. His own health was not very good, inasmuch as his old disease was still lingering, yet he hoped for improvement. He had given up the charge of the theological school at Tavoy and it was removed to Maulmein. He had, however, just made a tour of vis- itation to the villages on the Tavoy river, above and below Tavoy, with the intrepid Kincaid as a compan- ion. He was in such danger of helpless prostration from his old malady that he did not venture on a journey alone. Toward the first of April, but not until the cholera had begun to abate and the rains • already had com- menced, the missionaries returned to Tavoy. The sea- son at Matah was filled with more arduous labors and more distressing anxieties than any yet spent there. 128 THE WADES. The natives could not treat the cholera, and as the most prompt attention was the only hope of saving the pa- tients, the missionaries required the attendants to call for them at any time of day or night. Such assiduity, in view of Ijie number of the sufferers, almost wore them out, yet they were happy in the precious oppor- tunity of thus serving Christ in the persons of his members. The summer was a most delightful one at Tavoy, the laborers being in unusual health, and the school being unusually prosperous. Mr. Wade put to press portions of the Scriptures in Pwo and Sgau Karen, and Mrs. Wade wrote a Biblical Catechism. The number of Karen pupils was unprecedented — eighty ; of whom twenty were preparing to be teachers or preachers. Instruction was given in the truths of religion, and Mrs. Wade wrote : " Never before have we had a school which gave us equal pleasure." At the cessation of the rains the school at Tavoy closed, and after the customary vac'ation, or about the first of December, Mr. and Mrs. Wade again go up to Matah. The families had been scattered by the chol- era, yet the church was in fair condition, and the school re-assembled on the approach of Mrs. Wade, with a full attendance. She now had better qualified aids than previouslj'. The parents of the scholars pro- vided the school-house and outfit, and the Tavoy Mis- sionary Society paid the teachers and the native pastor most cheerfully ; while the numerous accessions from neighboring villages were supported by families in Matah. With these supports her mind was more free for distinctively spiritual work. It was her practice to A MSMORIAL. 129 call one class after another to her room, daily, where she catechised and conversed with them concerning the interests of their souls, and then prayed for their immediate conversion. When the time came for the return to Tavoy the most of the pupils followed, and there the same course of soul-winning was pursued, and with cheering success. With the dawn of the year 1840 the missionaries began to consider questions of location and health with more thoroughness than at any former time ; and with these, the matter of improved facilities for cultivating the soil and doing general handiwork. Matah, with its pleasant associations, natural and religious, was re- garded as an unhealthy place ; and to urge the Chris- tians to remain there excited their distrust. In case special medical aid was demanded in the rainy season, no one could go to or come out from Tavoy. And it seemed exceedingly desirable to have the Karen settle- ment removed to a place which might be reached in any season, wet or dry. So few were the people's be- longings, they could make or unmake a town in a day. The Christians at Ya, receiving the spirit of enter- prise from the missionaries, had formed a new village at the head waters of the Tavoy river, and man5' of them during this year had removed thither. These had tasted of knowledge in their old home, and natur- ally desired a continuance of instruction in the new, and it was furnished them. When Mr. and Mrs. Wade visited the place, those still residing in the former village, hearing of them, hastened across the mountains to meet them. Their number, twentj'-two, was increased by baptisms ; and subsequently all the 130 THE WADES. Christian families of Ya were added to the new settle- ment. The next year Mrs. Wade took charge of all the interests at Matah, as before, teaching and holding meetings for conference and prayer with the women. Inquirers, conversions and baptisms was the record of the fruits. Mr. Wade, meantime, perambulated the jungles in the work of evangelization ; and in addition to this familiar labor he spent a part of the dry season in looking out a location for a new Christian village. It was no part of the project to exclude those not Christians. It was merely intended to give the con- verts the advantages of a healthful situation ; then, . with school privileges and stated labors in the Gospel they would be in a physical, mental and spiritual con- dition to apply themselves to the work of saving souls. A place was desired in which the missionaries might spend the rainy season without serious exposure to jungle fever. The point decided upon was on the Tavoy river, a few miles above the city. A few families earlj- moved to the place, and in a short time had proofs of its healthfulness, above that of Burman villages above and below. It was named Newburg — a distinctively Amer- ican name. In order to effect a beginning, Mr. Wade was obliged to assist the families in moving, building materials, paddy, various seeds for their plantations, farming utensils, cattle, etc. He says : " Without such assistance no beginning could be made, because their former residence was beyond the mountains, and hav- ing to carry everything on their own backs, the trans- portation of necessary supplies was quite out of the A MEMORIAL. 131 question. This assistance I have rendered out of my own allowance." This movement for a new village, and the experi- ences following, gave some diversity to the annual changes, which had become quite uniform. It altered the old and added some new paths. It shortened and cheapened the routes, and gave variety to work, even though among the same people. Thus, in 1 841, at the close of the rains, Mr. and Mrs. Wade went up to the new village, and, after a short time, continued to as- cend the river to the settlement of the Ya Karens, with whom they passed two Sabbaths, baptizing twelve. On returning to Newburg, Mrs. Wade took charge of the school there and Mr. Wade proceeded to Matah, by way of Tavoy, stopping on the way to visit a branch of that church. He received the usual evidences of cordiality and aiFection ; the members not only coming out miles to meet him, but, likewise, on his arrival, furnishing him eatables, drawing water, bringing wood, and doing other thoughtful kindnesses. Both of the ordinances would have been administered had the health of Mr. Wade admitted of the service. The state of health of these laborious servants of Christ had not been established since the diseases be- fore mentioned first attacked them. They sometimes were quite well, but not for long periods. Affection of the liver seemed confirmed, and, hence, various dis- orders were expected and experienced. Fever also was one of the institutions of the countrj', and to it they were constantly subject. On account of it, Mrs. Wade could not accompany her husband in the fatigu- ing overland journey just mentioned. He, feeling bet- 132 THE WADES. tex than usual, was prostrated on reaching his work, and became so extremely ill as to alarm the Karens, who carried him home on a litter. The church at Matah in 1842 numbered three hun- dred and twenty, in good standing, besides all who had died, and about a dozen accepted for baptism and awaiting an administrator. Mrs. Wade, in alluding to it at the time, wrote : " Many of the members of this church have not seen a missionary's face for about two years, nor has the church enjoyed the blessed ordinance of the Lord's Supper during that long period ; but it is extremely uncertain with regard to my being able to visit them this season; and there is no question with regard to Mr. Wade's duty in traveling alone. The churches which have entered into this good work among the Karens ought to recollect that we have been now nearly twenty years employed as their mis- sionaries, and that ours has been a long life for India ; that we are now (though in the prime of life) almost worn out, and looking for our summons to the home of the weary pilgrim." It did seem that, held under the relentless grip of disease, they might expect an early release in some way ; yet could they have forecasted the future they would have seen the larger part of their term of service to the heathen still before them. How weary the sight of the long way might have made them ! How wise in the Father to hide their burdens from their view ! One of the trying circumstances of their work was the uncertainty attending the settlements of the Karens. These people were volatile creatures, easily moved. Various causes of change existed almost continually ; A MEMORIAIv. 133 particularly the annoyance occasioned by the proximity of the Burmans, or the breaking out of an epidemic. The town of Matah had elements of permanence, yet the cholera frightened away many of its inhabitants, and gave rise to other ephemeral hamlets. The settlers of Newburg were distressed by fear of the Burmans living about Tavoy, and they moved up the river and formed a part of New Village, or Wathau, where they were joined by some from Matah and Toung Byouk. Placing little value on property, the Karens would sell gardens and orchards for mere nothing in their anxiety to remove ; sometimes the object being to go where bamboo and thatch were more plenty, or some relative lived. On visiting Wathau, Mr. and Mrs. Wade found a temporary zayat erected for them. There they contin- ued a week, holding evening meetings for lectures and for examination of candidates, preparatory to the lyord's Supper ; and there they baptized. Going thence to Ya, they spent two weeks in daily meetings, examining and instructing members and administering the ordi- nances. The Christians at Wathau held their mem- bership here. The liberality of the church was such as to call forth special commendation. Had American Baptists been equally liberal they would have contrib- uted two millions of dollars annually ; or, at the pres- ent time, eight millions. According to means, much more. And so it has ever been to this day. A visit to Matah, just after the above, was equally gratifying. Ten were baptized, and the entire mem- bership examined as to their walk since last visited. Then came the same gratifying evidence of benevolence 134 THB WADES. shown by the Ya church. If any people ever were justified in devoting their means to the support of re- ligion in their own midst, and were entitled to praise for benevolence in so doing, certainly the Karens were ; yet they seemed to understand the claims of the cause, and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. " A contribution to the funds of the Tavoy Mission Society, established in 1835, hav- ing been proposed, nearly all the members of the Ma- tah church, several not members, and numbers of chil- dren, some in their mother's arms, threw their respect- ive mites into the box. In almost every instance each member of a family contributed his or her mite separately ; as it showed that the parents had instructed their children upon the duty of benevolence, and had furnished them the means of carrying their instruction into practice." Such an exhibition of cultivated char- ity was rare in America at that day, and it is still rare. At Matah the congregation numbered two hundred and fifty at this visit ; the communicants, one hundred and fifty, notwithstanding that the body of the church was scattered over an area whose extremities were at least twelve miles apart. At Tavoy, in 1842, was estab- lished The Morning Star, the oldest native newspaper in Farther India ; a product of missionary culture, and an instrumentality to its further promotion. Thus we have a chapter recounting the grace of God upon the people, and full of promise of still greater things. A MEMORIAI,. 135 X. ®hitri» ^atatte — CHANGES— MERGUI, ST. HELENA, HOME. I thank thee, IjOrd, for every saddest cross ; Gain comes to us through loss, The while we go, Blind travelers holding by the wall of time. And seeking out through woe The things that are eternal and sublime. AwcE Gary. ANOTHER year brings its vicissitudes. The health - of the missionaries becomes more and more pre- carious. Some one looking on speaks of Mrs. Wade as being in steady and unalterable decline, and of the end as near. She, however, was hoping for improve- ment, and using the strength that remained in prose- cuting her work. She is taken elsewhere for a change of air, and by this diversion she and her husband be- come useful in new circumstances and in unexpected ways. In the winter of 1843-4 they left Tavoy with the intention of going to Maulmein. On reaching Mer- gui, their first destination, (the vessel being obliged to go to that port,) they found a condition of things that was both critical and interesting. The Karens of the province were there in large numbers, on ac- count of their connection with several cases in the 136 THE WADES. Court, which were being investigated by the English officer. A great number of them were chiefs, and all of them persons of some importance among their countrymen. The missionaries of the place did not understand their dialect, and they persuaded Mr. Wade to remain a while and preach to them, it being found possible to bring them together daily for such a service. For more than a month he and the other missionaries had as much evangelistic work as they had strength to perform, while the circumstances in which these Karens were placed were peculiarly fa- vorable for such labor, and nearly all of them " became decidedly favorable to Christianity." Some were con- verted ; also many of the English. The Commissioner having in charge the public business just mentioned needed an interpreter for the Karens in Court, and, as an inducement to Mr. Wade to remain, gave Mrs. Wade a passage to Maulmein and return, in his own vessel. Both felt that they might be most usefully employed here for a consider- able period, and they were urged to stay, but the little churches in Tavoy demanded their care during the dry season, and with free transportation, provided also by the Commissioner, they return to that city and to their work in the jungles. And yet the time seemed to have come for a discontinuance of those jungle tours, especially by Mrs. Wade, for after illnesses re- peated until they became constant, she could not climb mountains and spend nights on the ground as she had done. Nor was it essentially different with the husband ; still, being a man, he would be expected to protract his endurance beyond hers. A MEMORIAL. 137 The year 1846, and the twenty-third of their ap- pointment, was drawing to a close. On Christmas Day Mr. Wade wrote a letter which, as reciting briefly the state of the outwork of the Tavoy Mission, and as foreshowing a change in his relations to it, and the shadow that might come upon it, marks a period somewhat new, and should be introduced here : Yours of June 12th found me in the Karen jungle, vis- iting the churches on the headwaters of Tavoy river — Ya- ville and Newville. We enjoyed, as last year, a season of peculiar refreshing from the presence of the Ivord at both places.' Indeed, at the former the disciples seemed to have cherished the influences of the Holy Spirit then poured out upon them, and to have continued to feel his presence in their meetings during the whole year. No petty quarreling, one with another, no breaking of the Sabbath, no absent- ing themselves from worship, no foul language, (sins to which Karens are particularly addicted,) and no disorder of any kind wa.s reported at our examination of the church members. At Newville they had not been so persevering in their attendance on public worship — some on account of illness, others because they lived at a distance, and some, no doubt, from a want of a warm Christian feeling — but God graciously poured out upon them his Holy Spirit, giving them contrite hearts, and they confessed and de- plored those delinquencies with many tears. I held fifteen meetings at Yaville, and eighteen at Newville. At the former place nine were baptized, at the latter, seven. These seasons were refreshing to my soul ; but my physical system is no longer adequate to the fatigues and exposures connected with these jungle tours. Once I could endure it ; I enjoyed it ; my constitution was compara- tively firm ; but that day is now past ; repeated attacks of disease, attended with excruciating pain, as the Board 138 THE WADES. are aware, have broken my constitution and unfitted me for that kind of service which requires the strength and vigor of youth. What, then, is to be done ? Must these churches be left as sheep in the wilderness without a shepherd ? "He knows it all" — an epigram that expresses a fact concerning God's watchful eye and disposing hand then, as in the recent day when it was penned. Mr. Wade had other work in hand, not less important nor less noble than direct soul-saving in the wilderness, and which led towards that. It was the compilation of a Karen dictionary, for which he had peculiar qualifica- tions. Should he be frustrated in this, being variously and evenly gifted, there would still be a sphere for him. Service is not all nor alwaj'S on the open field, nor is it necessarily limited to the alternative of the study. Six months pass away and another and very serious cause of apprehension appears. He had complained of the condition of his eyes for quite a long time, and now his physician decides that he is suffering from a disease of the optic nerve that bodes total blindness. He is advised to take entire rest of mind, as well as of the eyes, and to seek a cold climate as the only course assuring recovery. These were heavy orders to a captain of the L,ord's host, who saw no substitute within command, while the land was full of enemies. And, then, which way should he turn for relief? The Himalaya mountains were suggested ; but a flight to them would not take him out of India, nor be less expensive than a voyage home. Mrs. Wade, in her great love for the work, after recovering from frequent attacks of jungle fever, A MEMORIAI,. 139 " indulged the fond hope of being permitted to spend their few remaining days in the midst of the eight hun- dred precious Karen disciples," a large part of whom were the fruit of their toils and prayers. But, discern- ing the signs and taking warning, must they not flee the country ? Neither of them could do and endure as they had in the past. His last journey to Matah was made by being borne in a chair, and the physician forbade her undertaking the tour. He had the usual glad reception by the Karens, who came out from the village to salute him by the way and to help him along. But where was she whom they, in simplicity and afiection, called "Mamma"? "They bore the disappointment in silence, but their looks showed better than words could express, how truly and sincerely they loved her who had taken those long, wearisome journeys and climbed those rugged mountains eight years in succession, to teach them and their children the way to heaven." Meantime the God of Missions was preparing a compensation for the disability of the missionaries. The jungles had yielded precious fruit as the reward of their toil, the best of which now appeared in the person of some extraordinary helpers, Two natives came forward, not obtrusively, but led of the Spirit and seemingly endued ■ with power from on high — Aitee and Kaulapau, who prayed and preached in a most impressive manner. Then there was Paukootee, an assistant in the schools, who supplied the place that Mrs. Wade was unable now to fill, and who gave great satisfaction as a teacher. Mr. Wade, in mentioning I40 THE WADES. the situation, supposing that he was about to take his final leave, said of the precious little band of disciples, " Ye are my joy and my crown." Under Mr. Mason's labors a preacher had been raised up, who became noted in America as well as in Burmah for his extraordinary power and success. It was Sau Quala. His ordination was the first that took place among the Tavoy Karens ; that of Kaulapau oc- curring the same year. The latter was left an orphan, when a child, and became a slave to a Burman. Sau Quala was first found in the niche of a pagoda, where he had been two days fasting and praying, as the priests had told him, that he might be happy after death. He heard of Christ ; his heart was touched ; he came down, followed the missionary home, stayed and listened till he found hope and peace in Christ, and then went forth to tell what great things the I,ord had done for him. It is stated that he was "led to Christ by Ko Thah-byu's first sermon"; and, so, tUat flaming spirit and intrepid soldier of the Cross is credited with this trophy of divine grace. It was like him to find a man in a hole, for he was " a mighty hunter before the Lord." The occasion to which all foreign missionaries of much experience must come was now reached by the Wades — the occasion for relinquishment of their labors and for return to their native land. The hope of re- joining the mission, in this as in other cases, was at- tended with some uncertainty of mind ; the doubt be- ing according to the virulence of disease and their time of life. The homeward look is attended always with pain. A MEMORIAL. 141 There is in it a reversal of thought and feeling which is painful in proportion to the attachments formed in the East, the cost of heart required in first consenting to be a missionary, and the dislike of surrendering an espoused and progressing work. No plans are deeper laid than are his ; and no surrender of work so thor- oughly aifects the whole being. Above all, the few sheep left in the wilderness — ah ! they strain the very heart-strings. Mr. and Mrs. Wade had been abroad nearly twenty- five years. Their only visit to America in 1833-4 was shortened when they saw the necessity for protracting it becoming less, and they gladly hastened from friends of their birth to foreigners made one with them in Christ. Scarcely had they re-entered the eastern clime ere the diseases of the country again began to prey upon them ; nor would they relax their grip except for a season. One complaint made another possible ; and though these missionaries held up bravely against every renewal of attack, consenting to be carried to the field when they could not march afoot, still there came a time when special discretion was the better part of valor and the chief assurance of ultimate suc- cess. So long had both endured disease, and so enfeebled were they, that they hesitated to enter upon the fa- tigues of the long voyage to America. They doubted, too, as to the promised improvement of health, at their time of life, by the change of country and climate. Then, if they could not return, who would " take care of the sheep and lambs of the flock in the Karen wilds?" "Will it not be very discouraging to the 142 THE WADES. friends of the mission to see us return a second time ? " was the reflection of Mr. W., as he thought of meeting congregations composed very largely of persons of " weak hands," needing to be strengthened, and " feeble knees,'' needing to be confirmed. However, the question was hardly debatable; so, laying aside sentiments of regret and misgivings, and that " confusion of face " which every truly sensitive person experiences in circumstances like the above, they made ready for embarkation to the United States. Not a small part of the preparation was the soothing of the minds of the native disciples, who could scarcely become reconciled to the event. Says Mr. Wade : " It was a mourning time. We mourned. Many of the Karen disciples came into town and mourned with us. Those who could not come in sent us mournful letters. We told them if we did not live, or were not able to come back, one or two new missionaries would be sent in our place. 'Ah,' said thej', ' new missionaries will not understand our language ; they will be strangers to us ; they will not love us and care for us as j^ou have done ; you are our father and mother ; if our father and mother go away, shall we ever see them again ? Pray for us, that though separated on earth we may meet and live together in heaven.' " It was a discouraging time as respects laborers, the number of whom was decreasing while the demand was increasing. Still, there was but one course for the Wades; so, giving the tremulous farewell hand, they turned their faces toward the setting sun. The first stage of the journey was northward to Maulmein. Here they were detained four weeks for A MEMORIAL. 143 want of an opportunity to proceed; and though this detention will occasion a sigh in the present reader, in the days of the founders of missions travelers could not make haste, and patience had its perfect work. Be- sides, Mr. and Mrs. Wade had such an attachment for their chosen work that they were not very greatly lured by the pleasures of home ; they " loved to linger on the missionary field." They left Maulmein De- cember 22, 1847, via St. Helena. In trying to depart they encountered difficulties as to transportation. There was the same old hatred of missionaries and the dislike to taking them as passen- gers. They wrote to Calcutta in regard to obtaining passage direct to the United States, and though two American passenger vessels were preparing to sail, their captains utterly refused to take invalid mission- aries on any consideration ; " for," it was alleged, " they should be annoyed all the voyage with efforts for their conversion ! " They finally engaged passage in . an English ship, then loading in Maulmein with timber. Timber ves- sels were generally old and leaky, being unfit for other cargo, and though they were informed that this one was an exception, they soon found that it came under the rule. After a few days their customary experience at sea came on — storm, leakage, perils. Mr. Wade be- came fearfully depressed, feeling that the IvOrd was against the departure, and that he should certainly die at sea. But though the weather continued rough un- til they had rounded the Cape of Good Hope, it be- came fine thereafter, and by using the pumps day and night they reached the island of St. Helena with little or no loss. 144 THE WADES. A new and unexpected experience is here met, while they are waiting for a vessel direct to America. They brought letters of introduction from Dr. Judson to the American consul, and to Mr. Bertram, a Baptist minister, both of whom had so tenderly and fully min- istered to him during the obsequies of Mrs. Judson, two years and over before. The home and help of the consul were at once placed at their command. Mr. Bertram not only welcomed them heartily, but also in- sisted that they must remain a while and aid in har- vesting the souls for whom God was pourin'^ out his . Spirit. A place of worship had been purchased and fitted up, and a baptistery was being constructed, and in a few days the rite of baptism, as understood by the denomination, would be administered on the island for the first time. There was no choice to be made in the case, because they could not find a vessel going to America. They went on shore the day following their arrival ; sent, Mr. Bertram declared, in answer to prayer. Here they continued for three months, not being able to secure a passage, and being led of the Spirit, as it seemed, to engage, as they did most heartily, in the work of saving souls. They received courtesies and hospitalities from those favorable to religion, and en- joyed much Christian intercourse with those truly pious. Six weeks were spent in the countr}', with a pious American lady, in whose house, while they re- mained, a number were converted. It was a delightful spot, several hundred feet above the level of the sea, called " Fairy Land." Thus, with health improved and zeal strengthened — ample compensation for delay A MEMORIAL. 145 in meeting their friends, and no loss of time while realizing improvement of health ; and with memories of the island never to be lost ; of the disappointed and heart-broken Napoleon, whose empty tomb still re- mained to testify to the vanity of human greatness ; of the gentle and triumphant Sarah Boarclman Judson, whose grave beneath the banyan was destined to be forever guarded from violation, and a center of Chris- tian affection, and of the oneness and blessedness of Christian fellowship in any and every part of the world, they once more encounter the sea and come safely to the arms of their friends. They reach Boston July 3 1 , 1848. The little Baptist Church at St. Helena became so attached to them, and was so grateful for their services, that it took action expressive of its appreciation of them and their work, addressing the Board as follows : We, the pastor and elders of the Baptist Church, St. Helena, can not allow this opportunity to pass without ex- pressing our deep sense of gratitude to the Great Govern- or of the Universe and Head of the Church for sending amongst us, in the order of his providence, your mission- ary, the Rev. Mr. Wade, and his good wife, particularly at the very time he did. Their presence and labors greatly encouraged the timorous, and strengthened the faith of the weak converts ; making them bold to come out, in the face of a gainsaying world, to put on the Lord Jesus Christ in the solemn act of baptism. This Christian ordinance met with the greatest opposition from the pnembers of the Church of England, this being the first Baptist and only dissenting church ever established in this island. It is impossible to speak too highly of the piety and labors of both Mr. and Mrs. Wade, while sojourning 146 THE WADES. amongst us. Though in great bodily weakness, still they ever manifested that it was more than their meat and drink to do the will of their Heavenly Father. Their names will be ever embalmed in our memories and written in our hearts. We hold such in reputation, who have counted not their lives dear unto themselves, so that they might win Christ and testify the gospel of the grace of God. As a church, we part with them with deep regret ; and we can say, indeed and of a truth, that they go away from this island leaving a savor of grace behind them, and not without seals to their ministry and souls for their hire. The Baptist Board of Missions have indeed been greatly honored by such a father in Christ and such a mother in Israel ; and we pray that God may send forth many more such laborers into his vineyard. We are happy to say, also, that God has also made their visit a blessing to themselves in greatly restoring their health. They spent two years in the United States — July 31, 1848, to July 25, 1850. This time has its record of them, but it is not found in print; it is deeply engraved upon the hearts of many Christians, and especially those who rank as personal friends. Rest was more necessary, than on the former visit, for fifteen added years of toil after maturitj', after a supposed breakdown also, and an Oriental climatization, had left them in a condition demanding self-care. Still they could not be hid. Christians possessing such rare attainments, and fraught with such rich experiences, contain an aroma that attracts more really and more largely than other types of character. From official mention we gather that they commended themselves and the cause of missions very widelj' to the friends of Christ. A MBMORIAI,. 147 Just before the return to India the Missionary Union held its anniversary in Buffalo, which is spoken of as a meeting of wondrous power, never to be for- gotten. . One secret of its preciousness, if not the principal one, was the presence of these servants of the churches, recruited for another period of field service. Their appearance and addresses were such as visiting angels might be assumed to present, if on their first visit to the many and their last to all. In the meeting there was a heavenly joy and solemnity, made peculiarly precious by the mercy of God in granting repentance and remission of sins to the Gentiles of the East. Mr. and Mrs. Wade were at this time . about fifty years of age. In view of what they had done and endured during the twent5'-five years just preceding, it may be concluded that their characters were fully matured, and the reader may be glad to get a new view of them ere they leave our shores for the last time. Their home, while here, appears to have been with their friends at Eaton, Madison county, New York, near the "school of the prophets" and the vil- lage whence they first went out. In the hilly and cold atmosphere of that locality, and in the perfect home-life which they there enjoyed, health revived. Their only care was their health, excepting always the cause of the perishing on the other side of the globe, who were ever near, though so far away. In this state of joyous freedom they appear in their naturalness. They are not frivolous, neither are they demure. They make no complaints, unless the one common to missionaries, that more interest is 148 THE WADES. not taken in the great object of their lives. They strive to entertain their friends while being enter- tained by them. Their personal peculiarities and dif- ferences of temperament come to light, and we are permitted to see them. A personal letter to the author, from a niece of Mrs. Wade, Mrs. Ella J. Benjamin, gives a peep into a trait that can not be "read" from the frontispiece. Writing from Eaton, N. Y., July 8, i8go, she says : * * * The last time they went to Burmah I was a child of eight years. I remember Uncle Wade as a very jovial man ; he was always ready to enter into childish sports ; and I remember so well how he used to get my sister, older, and myself up early in the morning to slide down hill. And he would laugh until the tears would run down his cheeks. He was such a kind-hearted man, and so thoroughly good. I believe every one loved him. Auntie was more sedate, and would at times reprove uncle for being so boisterous with the children. He was ex- tremely fond of children, and knew just how to make them love him. Never will I forget him. Visiting becomes tedious, especially when protract- ed for two years ; and in that time the elements of the visitor's disposition will become apparent. It be- gets etimii, with its train of mental states not com- mon to active persons. It is a test of disposition, especially when done by rule, as in the case of mis- sionaries taking an enforced rest. And thus the inner life of Mr. and Mrs. Wade is , manifested. But only slight intimations can be gathered, as from above note, because their correspondence is only partially preserved. Mrs. Wade was very anxious that the A MEMORIAL. 149 traces of her career should be obliterated, desiring only a final acceptance and approval of God. The letters that remain are quite uniform in style and matter, and in giving the following the reader will readily infer, and justly, what was the general tenor of her mind. It was addressed to Mrs. O'Brien. Eaton, N. Y., November 24, 1849. My own very dearly beloved Sister: I often long for such refreshing intercourse as I en- joyed in your pleasant chamber, and hope to be indulged once more before bidding a final adieu to my native land. How I need to learn to lean entirely on Jesus. Pray for me that I may do so. I was enabled to do so entirely dur- ing my illness in Philadelphia. I then needed nothing from man. You ask if I have no fear of death. I have not for many years suffered from such fear, with the exception of a temptation to dread being lost in a storm at sea. Even a common storm at sea always causes such a pain- ful, nervous excitement as I never feel in any situation of danger on land. And Satan always tries to trouble me upon this point, so that I have dreaded the voyage at sea far more than sickness and death on land. When taken suddenly and dangerously ill in Philadel- phia, I found myself all ready to welcome the call to go and be with, my Savior and behold his glory. Not a fear, not a doubt, nor a cloud was permitted to dim, even for a moment, the delightful prospect of heavenly glory, into which I thought I was just entering. I thought it right to long for the moment of full release from this body of sin and death. Now all this victory over the " King of Terrors " was nothing less than the rich, free grace of Christ, and a precious gift, too, which nothing could have 150 THE WADBS. purchased but his own precious blood. How is it possible that he could stoop to purchase such a blessing, and at such a fearful price, too, for me, such an unworthy worm of the dust. And I now feel that I love my Savior enough to offer myself willingly and cheerfully for the long voyage before me, and for a grave in the ocean, too, if he sees best. I can trust his care and his dying love to order all. Brother and sister Benjamin (Rev. Judson Benjamin and wife) are much liked in Tavoy, my dear old home. The writing the name brings tears to my eyes. It is now just the time in the year to set off for Matah, where I have seen such glorious work of the blessed Spirit in the conver- sion of souls, and where I have felt such a fullness of the promised blessing. How I long to be spending the good health and strength I now enjoy in laboring there among my spiritual children. God has blessed Burmah with a devoted and most excellent band of laborers. I love every one of them dearly. And you would love to see what kind letters we receive ; all so full of desire to have us with them again. Mr. Wade is sitting by my side and will keep talking, so you must attribute all mistakes and half-expressed ideas to him. On the other side of me stands his sweet-toned, little, portable melodeon, which has kept him from using his eyes too much, and soothes his nervous depression astonishingly. I wish your brother could play on such an instrument and sing away his cares, as Mr. Wade does. I am very happy in my dear sister's family, and with my dear, good mother, and enjoy the quiet of this cold, rainy weather more than I can express. Have visited and attended a great many female meetings since I wrote you, and think the right missionary spirit is increasing. Mr. Wade says : " Send my love to them all" and he anticipates much pleasure in visiting Mr. Flanders and you all. Much love to your dear Mary (and Mr. F. too), and with my A MEMORIAL. 151 heart full of the very best kind of love to you and yours, I remain, as ever, Your affectionate sister, D. B. L. Wade. In another letter of about the same date, addressed to one in whom she confided, and with whom she held constant correspondence — Mrs. Dea. Heman Lin- coln, Boston — she says : " My husband improves slowly, and his sight improves accordingly, and I see no reason why we may not hope for another term of ten years' labor in Burmah, and with better pros- pect of living that time, too, than new missionaries. I quite long to be among the Karens, and use the little strength I have acquired for them. God grant that the fond hope be realized ! " She writes in a similar vein to another of her most cherished friends — Mrs. Rev. C. W. Flanders, of Bev- erly, Mass. Eaton, N. Y., December 18, 1848. My very dear Sister Mary : All the days since my pleasant 'visit with you have I loved to look back to your sweet home and that inter- esting circle of sisters around you ; and, oh, how I do long to hear how you are all getting on ! Have you any new manifestation of the Holy Spirit in your midst ? Is that Missionary Society moving onward ? Did you know that your beloved Aunt Haven and I spent an hour in her chamber in prayer, the afternoon your society was formed? We prayed the Lord to bless your efforts and to bless your souls ; and, oh, I do hope to meet those dear sisters again before we sail for Burmah ! From my letters to your precious mother you will learn all about our sweet, retired home, away^ here, among the beautiful farms of this delightful country. My sister 152 THE WADES. and her husband know how to make a home most delight- ful, and our dear mother is so affectionate, so cheerful, so heavenly-minded that it seems as if we were in a little Paradise. And yet I feel not the least reluctance to going to sea again, and long, indeed, to be among our beloved Karens, to labor and die with them. I am trying, depend- ing on the blessed Holy Spirit, to give myself more un- reservedly to God, on the last days of this year, than ever before. Will not you and Brother Flanders