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 BIOGRAPHICAL SERIES, No, 1„ 
 
 Jan. 1801. 
 
 Oct. 1868. 
 
 EBORAH B. 
 
 WOMAN’S BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY, 
 
 OF THE WEST. 
 
 11 They have but left our weary ways 
 
 To live in memory here, in heaven by love and praise.” 
 
 iUz. 
 
 CHICAGO: 
 
 James Guilbert, Printer. 
 
 iSSi 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SERIES, No. 1. 
 
 Jan. 1801. 
 
 Oct. 1868. 
 
 MRS. DEBORA 
 
 WOMAN’S BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY, 
 
 OF THE WEST. 
 
 u They have but left-our weary ways 
 
 To live in memory here, in heaven by love and praise.” 
 
 5 
 
 CHICAGO: 
 
 James Guilbert, Printer. 
 
 l88l 
 
•MORNING. 
 
 “We take, with solemn thankfulness 
 Our burden up, nor wish it less ; 
 And count it joy, that even we 
 May suffer, serve, or wait] for Thee, 
 Whose will be done.” 
 
 The annals of missionary lives are replete with examples 
 of burdens borne a with solemn thankfulness,” of suffering, 
 joyfully accepted, for Jesus’ sake; of service, distasteful in 
 itself, gladly performed, that Christ might be honored, and 
 “ His will be done.” From the long list of faithful ones, we 
 recall with reverence, those, who, in the infancy of missions, 
 amid countless difficulties, and in untrodden paths, wrought 
 patiently and bravely, with no record of past success to cheer 
 them, and with few to share their faith, in the future conquests 
 of the gospel in heathen lands. 
 
 To-day, when the world has every where witnessed its tri¬ 
 umphs, we turn back the record, to .sketch, briefly, the life and 
 labors of one of these early toilers who passed long since to 
 her home among the sanctified, Mrs. D. B. L. Wade. 
 
 Deborah B. Lapham was born in Nelson, N. Y. Her life 
 spanned the years from Jan. ioth, 1801, to Oct. 5th, 1868, and 
 ended in Tavoy, Burma. It was a life of loving, humble, 
 earnest service for her Lord, and for the souls He died to 
 save. It involved self-sacrifice, weariness, and suffering, that 
 the end she sought might be attained, and included forty-five 
 years of missionary toil in a heathen land. 
 
 It was also a life u hid with Christ in God,” and rich in 
 those spiritual gifts and graces, that come to the soul, only 
 
3 
 
 through unfaltering^faith, and persistent, pleading prayer, and 
 make to their possessor, “ all suffering joyous, and all labor 
 light.” 
 
 Changes came to her in her early childhood, by her mother’s 
 death, her father’s removal to Hamilton, N. Y., when she was 
 about ten years old, and by his second marriage to Mrs. 
 Wheeler. In her new home, her active, happy temperament, 
 and attractive person, soon made her the leader of a large 
 social circle, and, in the family group she became to the new 
 mother a valued helper, to the. younger sisters, a loving com¬ 
 panion and counsellor. One of these, still living, writes of 
 her, “I think very, few sisters ever had a better influence, 
 than my dear sister Wade.” 
 
 At the age of eighteen, she publicly consecrated herself to 
 Christ, and foreshadowed her future life by the earnestness of 
 her exhortations, and the power of her words over her young 
 friends, as she went from house to house, entreating them 
 to accept her Saviour, and share her joy. “ Deborah was 
 converted a missionary,” said her father, as he witnessed her 
 zeal and her success, and soon the hand of her Heavenly 
 Father pointed out her path. 
 
 Hamilton was already a recognized centre of religious 
 power. A missionary society, to send the gospel to the new 
 settlements in western New York, then almost a wilderness, 
 had been formed in 1S07, and here, years before active-work 
 for them began, earnest prayer for the salvation of the 
 heathen, had gone up from the church in Hamilton. So, 
 when God through Judson, called Baptists to the front, it 
 was accepted as an answer to prayer. Soon, the Hamilton 
 Literary and Theological Institution was founded, “ for the 
 training of a God-called ministry, who should preach Christ 
 where He was not already known.” To this school as its 
 first student, in 1818, came Jonathan Wade, who graduated 
 
4 
 
 in 1822, and was ordained at Broadalbin, N. Y., in the same 
 year. 
 
 Meantime, after ten years in Burma, Mrs. Judson came 
 home to restore her wasted energies, bringing fresh tidings 
 of the little mission at Rangoon. The world seemed larger 
 then, than now, for only sailing vessels traversed the ocean, 
 messages were half a year in passing, and Burma was 
 very far away, and was comparatively little known. So, the 
 missives penned in the invalid’s quiet room in Baltimore, 
 where the winter was passed, found eager readers, and 
 awakened in many hearts, a deeper interest in her work, and, 
 when she returned, Rev. Jonathan Wade, and Mrs. Deborah 
 B. L. Wade, had already pledged themselves to each other, 
 and to God, and were ready to accompany her. 
 
 Designation services at Utica, in which Rev. John Peck and 
 Alfred Bennett participated, and the parting service at Boston, 
 where they joined Mrs. Judson, were full of tender interest. 
 An impressive prayer was made at the wharf by Dr. Bald¬ 
 win, and as the boat passed to the ship, all joined at Mrs. 
 Wade’s request, in singing, “From whence does this union 
 arise.” They sailed June 22nd, and reached Rangoon Dec. 
 5th, 1823. Dr. Price and Mr. Hough and wife had joined 
 the mission during Mrs. Judson’s absence, and Mr. Judson 
 awaited her return, to aid Dr. Price in the establishment of 
 a new mission at Ava. 
 
 A week later, Messrs. Wade and Hough, with their wives, 
 were left in charge of the mission at Rangoon, where 
 eighteen converts had been gathered. The New Testament 
 had also been translated. The future seemed full of promise, 
 and they settled to their work with happy, hopeful hearts. 
 A few quiet months passed by, and then the shadows of war 
 encompassed them, falling first upon Rangoon, and afterward, 
 as the army passed up the river, bringing long and fearful 
 
5 
 
 suffering to the friends at Ava. Who, that reads these pages, 
 does not know its terrible story ? 
 
 u The war had its origin, in feuds which had long existed 
 on the frontiers of Chittagong, and which were unusually 
 violent among the Burmans, on account of their jealousy of 
 the wide extension of British power.” These culminated in / 
 the raising of a large army by the King of Burma, for the 
 invasion of Chittagong. The English in turn, by rapidly 
 sending a fleet to the Irrawady, transferred the field of con¬ 
 flict to their own territory. 
 
 At Rangoon, the arrival of the English fleet, was the signal 
 for the arrest, by the Burman power, of every foreigner, 
 lest they might be spies; and no explanation of the “ mission¬ 
 aries,” that they were not English, but Americans, and in no 
 way connected with the English Government, availed them. 
 Messrs. Wade and Hough were seized and hurried away to 
 bonds and imprisonment, to insult and threatened death. They 
 escaped the last, only through the cowardice of their keepers, 
 who stood armed, with orders to behead them at the first gun 
 from the ships, but at the first volley, fled in terror. Others 
 took their places, but their hands were stayed from their pur¬ 
 pose in the same way. The ladies of the mission, left with¬ 
 out protection, were exposed to the persecutions of their mer¬ 
 ciless enemies, and, disguised as Burmans, fled from place to 
 place, hiding from their pursuers. They found shelter, at 
 last, in a little bamboo shed, out of sight of passers by, but 
 within range of the English guns. Here they remained, until 
 the sound of the bugle, assured them of the approach of Eng¬ 
 lish troops. Throwing aside their Burman disguise, they has¬ 
 tened to seek their protection, for they had, the previous day, 
 seen their husbands driven at the point of the spear to the 
 place of execution, and supposed them no longer living. 
 But God had guarded and preserved, and soon restored them. 
 
6 
 
 Mrs. Wade, writing from Calcutta, whither they went a 
 few months later, says: 
 
 “ As no ship had arrived, from any port, we had no knowledge that 
 war was declared, until the English fleet appeared in the river. The 
 scene which ensued, can not be described, nor ever forgotten. But it 
 was allowed by a kind, indulgent Father, and I am sure, you would, 
 with us, more than ever, adore the riches of Divine grace, could you 
 know how we were supported through the most trying scenes. The 
 grace of God was sufficient for me. I did not in the least, regret that I 
 had left my happy home, for this heathen land ; I was confident that 
 God had marked our path for us, and that He owned and blessed the 
 sacrifice. We used often to say, we would be Avilling to suffer any thing 
 but death, if the English would take Rangoon, so that the Burmans 
 could come to us without fear of Government. 
 
 “ How little we knew what awaited us. We do not, however, regret 
 our sufferings, since there is now such a prospect of the future prosperity 
 of the mission.” 
 
 The war continued for two years, but ended with the pos¬ 
 session by the English, of Arracan, and the Tennasserim 
 provinces, leaving Rangoon still under Burman rule. 
 
 The English headquarters were established at Amherst. 
 Here the judsons had found shelter, under English protec¬ 
 tion, and here, in Nov., 1826, the Wades came from Calcutta 
 to join them. They found the mission desolate. Mr. Jud- 
 son had returned to Ava, to assist in making a treaty of 
 peace, and, in his absence, Mrs. Judson had built her a bamboo 
 house, gathered a little school about her, and then, uncheered 
 by any earthly presence, had turned a month before, from the 
 toils and trials of earth, to the rest and peace of heaven. 
 Mrs. Wade, at once, reopened the school, and took to her 
 arms, and to her loving heart, the motherless child of Mrs. 
 Judson, “on whose wasted form death had already set his 
 seal.” January brought back the bereaved husband, the sor¬ 
 rowing father. But love and care alike were vain, and in 
 April, the little one rested by its mother’s side. Truly the 
 mission at Amherst “ was laid in lowliness of spirit, in suffer¬ 
 ing, and in tears.” 
 
7 
 
 Within the year, Government headquarters were removed 
 twenty-five miles up the river, to Maulmain. The popula¬ 
 tion at Amherst at once declined, and the missionaries fol¬ 
 lowed the Government, and made Maulmain the second mis¬ 
 sionary station in Burma. 
 
 So short the time, and yet, Amherst is a consecrated spot, 
 sacred, for the treasures buried there, hallowed hy the precious 
 friendships cemented in those hours of sorrow and disappoint¬ 
 ment, forever glorified by the wondrous displays of Divine 
 grace that were the fruitage of those days of desolation. 
 
 One has said, “ It is doubtful, if any one can do his noblest, 
 or think his deepest, without a preparation of suffering,” and 
 surely in these sad months at Amherst, u amid the wreck of 
 ruined hopes,” God was preparing these three, for a long 
 united work, in the evangelization of Burma. Henceforth, 
 their letters, and their lives, evince a spirit of more entire 
 consecration of everything to Christ, a closer fellowship with 
 His sufferings, a deeper humility, and an increased devotion 
 to the work before them. 
 
 The nature, and results of this experience in Mrs. Wade, 
 can be best understood by her own words, in a letter addressed 
 in March, 1830, to her sister, Mrs. Handy, in which she says: 
 
 “ How little do we remember, that the life of our sorrowing , suffering , 
 Saviour , is given us as a pattern for our lives. If we will begin to re¬ 
 nounce self-love, and the world, we shall then also begin to perceive 
 something of the Divine mystery of the cross, by which, Paul says, ‘ I am 
 crucified to the world, and the world unto me.” You have, no doubt, 
 perceived by our letters, that, for the last two years, our minds have 
 been very deeply and solemnly impressed with regard to a holy life. 
 
 “ I think what the Bible calls the love of God, is too little understood, 
 and still less felt, by many Christians. We have a little faith, a little 
 repentance, and God will therefore own and save us, for the sake of His 
 dear Son. But the love of God, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, union 
 with Christ, and all those higher attainments, which are the privilege of 
 redeemed souls, are, we fear, little understood by those whose lives are 
 so conformed to the world. I am convinced, my dear sister, that if we 
 could truly renounce the world, and, disregarding the opinions of men, 
 
8 
 
 just look upward, and make it our daily study to do the will of God in 
 all things, we should, by the rich grace of Christ, feel that sweet peace 
 in our minds that passeth all understanding, and that assurance of adop¬ 
 tion, that we so much admire in the Apostles and primitive Christians. 
 
 “Before God called away our dear sister Judson, I had followed the 
 example of other missionaries, without special thought about the duty of 
 living a more holy life, and was about as much conformed to the world 
 as when in America, but since the very solemn impressions we have had 
 upon the subject, we have given up all the valuable presents, and the 
 little money we could call our own, everything that is not necessary to 
 life and health. I should not feel a clear conscience if I had a single 
 dress laid away to gratify my pride, while a dollar is wanting to feed the 
 poor, or to spread the glorious gospel through the world.” 
 
 In this spirit of devotion, the mission and school were re¬ 
 moved to Maulmain, in Nov. 1827. Soon eight of the girls 
 in the school were converted. The work extended, and at 
 the close of 1829 there were 49 native disciples. 
 
 The early part of 1830 found Mr. and Mrs. Wade at Ran¬ 
 goon, strengthening the little band of disciples left there, at 
 the opening of the war, and instructing the newly appointed 
 pastor, Ko-thah-a. At its close they were again at Maulmain, 
 with rapidly failing health, and Mrs. Wade pleading with 
 her physician to be allowed to remain, and not be compelled 
 to ‘ leave all she loves below the skies, and run away,’ as he 
 counselled her to do. 
 
 Two years of fruitless effort to restore their wasting power 
 amid incessant labors, and in the sultry heat of India, made 
 evident the imperative necessity of change of climate, and 
 after ten years absence, they returned to their own land, bring¬ 
 ing with them two of the native converts, a Burman and a 
 Karen. They arrived in Boston May nth, 1833. 
 
 There are some, yet living, who remember that home¬ 
 coming, and the year of blessed awakening to the cause ot 
 missions, that followed in our American churches. The long 
 sea voyage had greatly benefited both Mr. and Mrs. Wade, 
 but, at the request of the Board, they remained in this coun¬ 
 try until the following year, resting, as our returned mission- 
 
9 
 
 aries are usually allowed to do, u in labors more abundant.” 
 
 Eight new missionaries were already under appointment, 
 and a school for the study of the Burmese language, under 
 the instruction of Mr. and Mrs. Wade, and their native as¬ 
 sistants, was opened in Hamilton, N. Y. Besides these 
 duties, they met a large convention of western Baptists in the 
 autumn at Cincinnati, O., and in the following spring made 
 the tour of the Atlantic cities, as far as Georgia. In these, 
 and other cities, Mrs. Wade addressed large meetings of ladies 
 who desired to hear her, but for whom it was not practicable 
 to obtain a personal interview. 
 
 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 experiences. 
 She spoke to them of the character of heathen worship, 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 fol¬ 
 lowed by a plea to American women, to lay aside all super¬ 
 fluities in dress and living, that they might share in this 
 blessed work for Christ. These appeals, 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, les¬ 
 sons that never were forgotten. 
 
 Their visit drew near its close. Their presence, and earnest 
 words, had given an impulse to missionary zeal, that appeared 
 in larger contributions, and in a more confident faith in the 
 results of missionary labor. In the mission stations, their 
 absence had been keenly felt, and, from beyond the sea, Mr. 
 
10 
 
 Judson wrote: u May the Lord bring safely back, my dear¬ 
 est, 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 before them. 
 
 Yet, with unswerving purpose, and unfaltering step, aye, 
 with great longing of heart, they girded themselves anew for 
 the service, “ counting it all joy ” to bear Christ’s message to 
 the ends of the earth. 
 
MID-DAY. 
 
 “ Girt with the love of God on every side, 
 
 Breathing that love as Heaven’s own healing air, 
 I work, or wait, still following my guide, 
 
 Braving each foe, escaping every snare.” 
 
 The brig “Cashmere” left Boston, July 2d, 1S34, with the 
 largest company of missionaries that had yet been sent out by 
 the “ Baptist Convention.” Messrs. Dean, Vinton, Howard, 
 and Comstock, with their wives, Osgood, a printer, and wife, 
 and Miss Ann P. Gardner, afterward Mrs. Abbott, accom¬ 
 panied Mr. and Mrs. Wade, and their native converts, making 
 a company of Christians numbering fifteen. 
 
 Of the ocean passage Mrs. Wade wrote, Nov. 18th: 
 
 “We have been now nearly five months tossing on these rolling bil¬ 
 lows, and fear it may be three or four weeks more before we reach the 
 shores of Burma. We have had on the whole, a pleasant voyage, and 
 much cause for thankfulness. We have regular service every Sabbath, 
 two weekly prayer meetings, a Bible class, and evening worship, all in 
 the large dining saloon, and attended by the officers and crew, and happy, 
 happy seasons we have enjoyed. You will readily imagine that fifteen 
 persons, all setting out to spend their lives in a heathen land, would be 
 very happy in each other’s society. This has been our privilege, but 
 what is more, the blessed Holy Spirit has been poured out, our souls 
 have been made to rejoice in God, and several have been brought into 
 His kingdom. Truly we have been ‘sitting in heavenly places,’ and thus, 
 I trust, preparing for our work among the heathen.” 
 
 Dating: from the Indian Ocean, she wrote of the kind atten- 
 tion received in Boston from Mrs. Haven, and others, and of 
 the preparation made by them for their comfort during the 
 voyage, of u several good strong gingham dresses ” that were 
 given her, more expensive ones having been declined. Dur¬ 
 ing her stay in America many gifts had come to her for her 
 own personal use, but her wants were few, her outfit simple, 
 
 1 
 
r l2 
 
 and two hundred dollars went into the mission treasury, 1 “and,’* 
 she said, “ the thought that this money will purchase many 
 Bibles and tracts, for those who never heard of a Savior, gives 
 me more pleasure than all I ever enjoyed of the pleasures and 
 vanities of the world.” Mr. Wade was able also to give a 
 considerable sum. “ I trust the time will never come, that we 
 shall want a single dollar to lay aside and call our own. I 
 have been very much afraid that my visit to America might 
 tempt me to love the world and want more of it, and that the 
 kindness of friends might puff me up, to think I am something 
 when I am nothing. I think, however, the Lord has enabled 
 me generally to 4 lie low,’ and I am sure I never before felt so 
 deep hatred of myself on account of sin, as since I came on 
 board this ship.” 
 
 « 
 
 December brought them again to Maulmain, but their work 
 waited them elsewhere. Tavoy, one hundred and forty miles 
 down the coast, and thirty miles up the Tavoy river from the 
 sea, was the third center of missionary efFort. Here Board- 
 man and his wife with four boys from the school at Maulmain 
 had gone in 1828. Here he labored and died crowned with 
 success. Mrs. Boardman had remained until April, 1834, 
 when she left as the wife of Dr. Judson, and here, early in 
 1835, the Wades w^ere welcomed by Mr. aud Mrs. Mason. 
 Before his visit to America, Mr. Wade had reduced to writing 
 the Sgau, one of the Karen dialects, and now he gave his 
 time to the same work for the Pwos, and, assisted by Mr. and 
 Mrs. Mason, began the preparation of books and tracts and 
 Bible translations in both languages. 
 
 On Mrs. Wade, meantime, rested the care of the Karen 
 schools in Tavoy. These included day-schools that were in 
 part supported by the Government, boarding schools for the 
 Karen children from the jungle, and a normal-school for the 
 training of teachers and preachers. For this work she was 
 
*3 
 
 specially fitted, as she spoke the language, and having no child¬ 
 ren of her own, she took to her heart these children of the 
 Karens and native Christians, and found in the work a mutual 
 blessing. Thirteen years of noiseless labor followed, in which 
 she cared for these schools during the rains from April to 
 October, and in the dry season visited the jungles with her 
 husband. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wade were the first to visit the Karen villages 
 of Mergui with the gospel; and a more interesting reception 
 than was given them there, it is difficult to imagine. They 
 were led by an intelligent chief, now a pillar in the church, 
 and were met on their arrival by several young women, whom 
 he had invited, among others, to meet them, singing a hymn, 
 of which the first verse and chorus was: 
 
 “ The Lord, His messengers doth send, 
 
 And He Himself will quickly come ; 
 
 The priests cf Boodh, whose reign is short, 
 
 Must leave the place to make them room.” 
 
 Several villages of converted Karens, had been gathered, 
 and taught habits of cleanliness and industry. Some of these 
 were on the head waters of the Tavoy river, and were 
 comparatively easy of access. The most flourishing of these 
 villages was u in the midst of a luxurious plain,” beyond al¬ 
 most inaccessible mountains, two days’ journey from Tavoy, 
 and could only be reached on foot. This is Mata so charm¬ 
 ingly sketched by Mrs. Chaplin, in “ Our Gold Mine.” The 
 long walk “ where no horse could penetrate, the narrow path 
 over steep cliffs, the repose at night in the open air, that these 
 mountain homes might be taught the way of salvation; and 
 the group of disciples who had come out to meet the teachers, 
 encircling them during hours of sleep, lest danger come to 
 them, make a beautiful picture of unselfish service, both in the 
 Christian teacher and the Christian convert. 
 
 The Sabbath morning at Mata was spent in preaching and 
 
H 
 
 administering the ordinances, then^came Bible study, visiting 
 the sick, and meetings for prayer. The next morning the 
 Missionaries pass on to visit other villages scattered among 
 the mountains, and Mata is left in the care of Mrs. Wade. 
 
 For eight years she watched over their interests alone, and 
 her own pen thus outlines her work: “A meeting at the Zayat, 
 every morning at sunrise, the care of a school of seventy 
 pupils, administering to the sick, instructing the Karen sisters, 
 and watching over the church as well as I am able in Mr. 
 Wade’s absence, occupies my time the few months I am there.” 
 Added to this, were the Sabbath Bible readings and explana¬ 
 tions to the hundreds of Karens that, every Sabbath, listened 
 with eager interest to her words. Many were converted, and 
 every year when Mr. Wade returned he found numbers desir¬ 
 ing baptism. 
 
 By the marriage and removal of Miss Gardner, in 1837, and 
 Mrs. Mason’s return to America, the following year, the Ta- 
 voy schools engrossed still more of Mrs. Wade’s time during 
 the rains, and the girl’s school was for a time relinquished. 
 A letter written to Mrs. O’Brien, in April, 1840, explains 
 itself. Mrs. Mason had returned to Burma without addi¬ 
 tional helpers, and Mrs. Wade wrote: 
 
 “ At last I am left to labor in the female and school department entire¬ 
 ly alone. So I try to teach the hoys and young preachers, as ’well as I 
 can, and get Mr. Wade, and Mr. Mason, to devote a little time., daily, to 
 the preachers, while my poor girls must be left in the jungles all the 
 best time in the year for shidy. One and another of them write, ‘The 
 tears run down my eyes, when I think of mama, and that I can not see 
 her all these long rains.’ So tears, most bitter tears, run down my cheeks, 
 as I look hack to my dear native land, and see so many who might come 
 and help us, without the least hope that any help will be sent. But I am 
 not so depressed as to hinder my w ork. To see precious souls converted, 
 and Christ thus glorified, prevents my longing intensely to depart, and 
 be with Him. When, however, on account of sickness, 1 think it maybe 
 the will of God to call me, my mind is filled with inexpressible joy. O! 
 to be with Christ, and to be like Him. I know-He can fill my place with 
 others who can do this delightful work far better than I have ever done 
 it. So J have only to wait until it is His good pleasure to call me home. 
 
*5 
 
 “ Our prospects continue very interesting. During the last five 
 months, twenty-five Karens have been baptized here; and at Mergui, 
 five Burmans are waiting baptism. Is not this encouraging? At Mata, 
 sixteen of our beloved pupils were baptized at one time, just before w e 
 left, in March last. All of them had been converted a year or more. 
 Don’t you think I was very happy, sitting on the banks of this lovely 
 stream, to see them follow Christ in this precious ordinance? And 
 what do you fancy were my thoughts as I sat there. First, ‘Nowwe live 
 if ye stand fast in the Lord,’ and then, How will all these dear pupils 
 adorn the triumphs of Christ, when He comes, with power and great 
 glory. The thought of Christ’s coming to be glorified by His saints, 
 and admired by all them that believe, has been exceedingly sweet to me.” 
 
 The mountain visits were often attended with sickness, and 
 in 1843, s ^ e wr °t e: 
 
 “ I think it very probable that my next excursion may prove fatal. A 
 dreadful fever followed my last trip to the river villages, though Mr. 
 Wade was with me, and every thing was made easy, and yet, I think I 
 shall get a little strength, and try it again. How can I help it? Mr. 
 Wade is delicate at best, and is sure to get sick if I am not with him, 
 and we have six hundred baptised and asking for baptism, to look after. 
 Mr. Mason is also feeble, and none of the others can speak Karen.” 
 
 In acknowledging the receipt of copies of the Mother's 
 Journal , sent by Mrs. Talmage, of New York, she says: 
 
 “The fevers contracted by living in the jungles, traveling over the 
 mountains on foot, sleeping on the ground, etc., have so reduced my 
 strength that I am often able to do little more than to recline on a lounge, 
 and amuse myself with a book. You will recollect, invalids in heathen 
 lands have to be mostly alone, for it would be a double affliction to take 
 the time of any one, when there is so much to do. I have not been al¬ 
 lowed to go into the jungle at all this year, so the books have been in¬ 
 valuable, during the loneliness and fever while Mr. Wade is absent. I 
 have the comfort of a fine girls’ school around me. I can teach but 
 little, but it prospers under my Karen assistants, with aid from sisters 
 Mason and Bennett. While our husbands were in the jungles, we had a 
 meeting for the school which resulted in the conversion of eleven pupils.” 
 
 At her first visit to Mata, Mrs. Wade organized a “Mater¬ 
 nal Association” of sixty members. At the end of eight 
 years, more than a hundred of the children of these mothers 
 had been converted. Her own experience had strengthened 
 her faith in prayer, and in the early conversion of children. 
 Her love embraced alike, those under her own care, the chil¬ 
 dren of her missionary sisters, and the home friends across the 
 ocean. To one of these last she wrote: 
 
i6 
 
 “ Not being a mother myself, I felt the need of helps, in training the 
 numbers of Karen children under my care, and your present was very 
 acceptable. I would like to hear from you again, with a particular ac¬ 
 count of children converted in your association, and what means have 
 been most blessed. This will help me. I want to know whether you 
 find God a prayer answering God. If not, what, think you, are the rea¬ 
 sons you do not receive the fulfillment of His rich promises to us? Can 
 we offer effectual prayer without His spirit in our hearts ? Will the 
 blessed Spirit abide with us, unless we submit our wills entirely to God’s 
 will? Should any one come in this spirit, and trust God’s promises in 
 simple faith, do you think God’s word would fail?” 
 
 Again, she says: 
 
 “It is now three years since I visited my dear Mata home. But I hear 
 from the mother’s meetings that are held every week, and every year a 
 goodly number are added to the church. There is one object for which 
 I beg the prayers of your Association, and the tears fall as I ask it, it is 
 that we missionary sisters may be permitted to present to Christ at His 
 glorious coming all the dear children whom God has given us. There 
 'is now a lovely number of them, and most of them must be trained by 
 those who cannot love as a mother loves. But, I do expect every one of 
 them will be made a precious jewel to adorn the Savior’s crown. And 
 why? Because I have never heard such persevering, agonizing prayer 
 as from these missionary mothers.” 
 
 To Mrs. I. M. Allen, she writes, in the year 1845: 
 
 “Your notes and books have been kindly welcomed. The care of so 
 many Karen children, who have never known subjection to parental 
 authority, has made me deeply solicitous as to my best course with them. 
 Self-government seems, here, for young and old, our best recourse. I 
 have been surpised and delighted at the readiness, with which very 
 young children may be induced to enter upon the work of breaking up 
 bad habits. Children must be made to feel that the responsibility is 
 theirs. Others may teach or direct, but they alone must do the work. 
 Then, if they fail, or get discouraged, as they will at first, time and atten¬ 
 tion and sympathy must be given, and help to form resolutions, and ex¬ 
 ert greater watchfulness.” 
 
 To a missionary sister: 
 
 “ I have been thinking of your two oldest children for a few days past. 
 They are old enough to give their hearts understandingly to the Savior. 
 How would you feel if Eddy was now called away without having an 
 evidence that he had been born again? I have thought, lately, more 
 than usual of the children of missionaries, because I have been laboring 
 for the conversion of some of my Karen pupils. Three weeks ago, I 
 began to speak to some of them, and six came forward and said, they 
 ‘ wished to get a new heart now,’ but two of the finest and most intelli¬ 
 gent boys, said frankly, they ‘would rather play now, and wait till the 
 
*7 
 
 dry season.’ I told them they could do as they liked, that giving the 
 heart to God was entirely between themselves and Him, and I began my 
 little meeting with six, and prayed also for them. The next day they 
 came and begged to attend the meetings. The two Sabbaths following 
 were observed with them as a solemn fast, with prayer. At the end of 
 three weeks, all hope that their sins are forgiven, and that God’s Spirit 
 is abiding with them. One who was converted two years ago, said that 
 his heart was cold, and he wished to come, and thinks he has received 
 greater strength to overcome sin than ever before. Of course, we never 
 think ot baptizing such children until they return to the jungle, and give 
 evidence of a new life at home, but from careful observation for ten 
 years, I think the large number of Karen children converted through 
 such efforts, have given as good evidence as other converts.” 
 
 To a friend in Maulmain, she wrote: 
 
 “ The doctor says, a year or two in a cold climate is the only remedy 
 for fever and the debility thus induced. Can it be my duty to do any 
 such thing as that, in the present state of the funds of the Board, especi¬ 
 ally as there are so many bereaved brethren and motherless babes to go? 
 I want to know the will of God, and am ready to do any thing or go 
 any where He shall direct. The upward prospect is glorious, and, it 
 seems, the summons at any time will cause joy inexpressible. If our 
 faint glimpses of that glory are so enrapturing to the soul, what must it 
 be to rest in the bosom of Infinite love! Your remarks upon that rest 
 filled my eyes with grateful joy. Why should you not my dear brother 
 and sister, enter the land of Beulah and dwell there? 
 
 “ How ardent must be your feelings for dear A., now she is getting so 
 large and intelligent. Have you ever set your hearts upon a time, and 
 prepared yourselves and her for it, and then labored for her immediate 
 conversion, as Jacob wrestled, on that night never to be forgotten while 
 the world stands? Such have been the means which have been blessed 
 to my Karen pupils, for several years past, and the tears come unbidden, 
 as I glance back to scenes in the jungle, where my room seemed the 
 gate of heaven, and the immediate presence of the triune God has filled 
 me 
 
 ‘ With that sacred awe that dared not move, 
 
 And all the silent heaven of love.’” 
 
 While still hoping to get strength to visit her pupils again 
 in their mountain homes, a new trial came to them. Mr. 
 Wade, who for four years had visited the river villages with¬ 
 out her, found his sight failing, and his physician counseled 
 entire rest of mind and eyes, as his only hope of escape from 
 total blindness. Of this, in Aug., 1846, Mrs. Wade said: 
 
 “ Since my recovery from those frequent attacks of fever, induced by 
 living in the jungle villages, we have indulged in the fond hope of being 
 
 2 
 
i8 
 
 permitted to spend our lives with these eight hundred precious disciples, 
 and now that brother Mason’s health has failed, it is doubly trying to 
 think of leaving our station. Mr. Wade is extremely reluctant to leave 
 before he has finished his vocabulary, but the doctor says, there is not the 
 least hope of recovery in this climate, and another year’s residence here 
 might deprive him of sight entirely.” 
 
 In December, Mr. Wade once more visited Ta ville and 
 Newville, the river villages north of Tavoy. The meetings 
 were very solemn. The whole year had been a “ season of 
 refreshing from the presence of the Lord,” and at these meet¬ 
 ings, special power seemed to come, in answer to prayer. “No 
 preaching or exhortations seemed to reach the hearts of the 
 people as did the supplications and confession of sin, when all 
 were bowed in supplication to God.” Sixteen were baptized. 
 A visit to Mata was to have followed, but neither Mr. Wade 
 or Mr. Mason were able to climb the mountains, and a meet¬ 
 ing was at length arranged at the base on the Tavoy side, 
 where Mr. Boardman finished his labors, with the hope that 
 Mrs. Wade might be able to be present. That hope was illu¬ 
 sive. The Karens entered heartily into the plan, but before 
 they had completed the necessary preparations, Mr. Mason 
 was obliged to try the benefit of a sea-voyage, and Mrs. Wade 
 to remain at her Tavoy home, while Mr. Wade, borne in a 
 chair, accompanied by Mr. Cross, set out alone. We quote 
 from Mr. Wade’s journal. 
 
 “We started at an early hour, and before sunset, one party of Karens 
 after another came out to meet us, but were sadly disappointed not to see 
 Mrs. Wade, as they had hoped. Many, in feeble health, and others, too 
 old to think of enduring the fatigue of crossing the mountains, had made 
 a great effort to do so, that they might once more enjoy the privilege of 
 seeing their beloved ‘ mama,’ as they called her. They bore the disap¬ 
 pointment in silence, but their looks showed, better than words can ex¬ 
 press, 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. It 
 was a very busy time in the rice fields, but nearly two hundred assembled 
 on Thursday, and remained until the meetings closed on Monday 
 evening,” 
 
l 9 
 
 Nothing now remained but the preparations for departure. 
 Twenty-five years of toil and exile were past. The vigor of 
 their life had been given to Christ’s work in foreign lands, and 
 now they were going home to Christian America. Worn 
 and sick, ’tis true, but loving hearts were waiting to receive 
 them. Care and comfort, and love and rest, were before them. 
 Did not their pulses thrill with joy at the delightful thought? 
 Ah! home is where the heart is, and theirs were in the Mas¬ 
 ter’s work in Burma, in Tavoy. Exquisitely tender and 
 pathetic is the story of the decision and the leave taking as 
 penned by Mr. Wade. He tells us of the decision made by 
 the brethren of the mission, which, though blindness threat¬ 
 ened, they felt that they could not make themselves, of their 
 own sorrow, of the Karens who came to mourn with them, 
 and adds: 
 
 “ At length the hour of parting came. We commended the mission 
 and each other to God, gave each other a tremulous hand, and sighed, 
 Farewell. At Maulmain we were detained four weeks. We did not re¬ 
 gret it. We loved to linger on missionary fields. It also gave us a precious 
 season of intercourse with precious friends. There was Dr. Judson, who 
 had resided for years in our family, and we had but one heart in mission 
 work. There was brother Mason, with whom we had been most happily 
 associated for thirteen years. There were Burmese Christians, the fruit 
 of early labors in Maulmain. There were other brethren and sisters 
 whom we dearly loved, but the time came for us to depart. We gathered 
 at the mercy seat, commended each other to God in prayer, and moved 
 to the wharf. It seemed much like our own funeral procession. Soon, 
 the scene changed. Every loved one had disappeared, and we were 
 launched on the broad ocean, with the one cheerful consideration, ‘ Such 
 is the will of God.’ ” 
 
 They left Maulmain, December, 1847, anc ^ reac ^ e< ^ Boston, 
 via St. Helena, July 31st, 1848. 
 
EVENTIDE. 
 
 “ Yes, my native land, I love thee 
 All thy scenes, I love them well ; 
 
 Yet I hasten froiji you gladlj', 
 
 Far in heathen lands to dwell. 
 
 Pleased I say, Farewell, Farewell.” 
 
 Two years fled on rapid wing. Years of quiet rest with 
 cherished friends, in pleasant Christian homes. Much of the 
 time had been spent in the family of her sister, the home also 
 of her aged mother. The questions that had burdened their 
 hearts were being solved. “ Have we strength to bear the 
 long journey home,” they had asked, “and will our health, at 
 our time of life, be so improved by the change, that it will be 
 thought advisable to send us back again?” The desire of their 
 heart had been granted them, and, though their sun had passed 
 its meridian to life’s western slope, they turned with youthful 
 ardor to their chosen field of toil once more. 
 
 The meetings of the Union held at Buffalo, in 1850, were 
 of exceeding interest. The presence of four new, and four 
 returning missionaries and their wives, added much to this 
 interest, and the last half day will be remembered as one of 
 the most tender and soul-subduing, in which we are permitted 
 in this world to engage. During the meeting, Mrs. Wade 
 addressed an audience of ladies for the last time. It was a 
 season to be long remembered. 
 
 In 1829, Mr. Judson wrote, at Maulmain: 
 
 “I have been engaged in revision. Brother and Sister Wade have 
 done all the itinerating, and many interesting tales they tell at evening, 
 though I believe they put very little on paper.” 
 
 This is characteristic. Their life was filled with noiseless 
 
21 
 
 labor for souls, and at this last visit, so far as possible, Mrs. 
 Wade secured the destruction of all her letters, saying, that 
 her poor work was not worth recalling after she was gone to 
 rest. Scarcely a half dozen escaped, so that the story of her 
 early life has been gleaned largely from items already in print. 
 For the remaining years we turn less to official reports, and 
 more to the overflowing of a heart full of tender sympathy, 
 in the confidences of personal friendship. 
 
 Seventeen missionaries left our shores in company, July 25, 
 1850, on the “ Washington Allston,” and reached Maulmain, 
 January 22d, 1851. Mrs. Wade wrote on board ship, to her 
 sister: 
 
 “ O! how does my heart cling with love inexpressible to that sweet 
 precious home, we were permitted so highly to enjoy during our stay in 
 our dear native land. Often do 1 think of you all, one by one, and my 
 heart rises in gratitude to God for the blessing of such friends here, and 
 the brighter prospect of living with you all together in heaven. But, 
 should the dear girls fail of reaching that happy place. O! how could 
 we enjoy the bright glories of Heaven without them? And yet, we 
 know we should all say amen to the righteous sentence ‘ Depart’ if they 
 should choose this vain world for their portion, after the Savior has 
 given His precious life to redeem them. We regretted our long deten¬ 
 tion at the Cape, as we all felt anxious to reach the field of our labors. 
 Poor sister Bronson buried her sweet little babe there. I think I told 
 you that brethren Vinton and Kincaid, and their families, nine in all, 
 have left our ship, and taken passage in a fine English steamer for Cal¬ 
 cutta. We were strongly advised to do the same, but we felt very re¬ 
 luctant to take the money so much needed for the poor heathen, for our 
 own comfort, so we concluded to buy such things as would have saved 
 our health at first, and go on, hoping for the best. Thus far we have 
 reason to be satisfied.” 
 
 The mission at Tavoy had been reinforced during their ab¬ 
 sence, and now, on their return, the pastoral care of the Bur- 
 man church in Maulmain was transferred to Mr. Wade. The 
 change was suitable, as devolving on him relations, and duties, 
 becoming his seniority in age, and his standing in the Burmese 
 mission. Owing to the unsettled pastoral relations of the 
 church for several years, its condition required careful investi¬ 
 gation, and eight were excluded. 
 
22 
 
 In July, Mrs. Wade wrote: 
 
 “ Do not think my pleasant visit home, has destroyed my missionary 
 spirit. I was never more interested in the work than now. Mr. Wade 
 has charge of a church numbering one hundred and thirty, besides a 
 branch of thirty or forty at Amherst, twenty-five miles away. It is com¬ 
 posed of Burmans, as the Karens live in the interior. He holds seven 
 meetings every week, besides visits, and has the care of seven Burman 
 preachers, who go daily preaching the gospel through the city and sur¬ 
 rounding villages. Two of them are supported by the church, who 
 keep their chapel lighted, cleaned, and in repair, and support the poor 
 among the disciples, they do this cheerfully, though most of the mem¬ 
 bers are very poor. 
 
 “The work here is not so trying to health, as traveling in the jungles, 
 and we feel that a kind providence has marked our lot. My health has 
 improved very much, since the rainy season closed. I am happy to be 
 able to do more now, than at any time since our return. I have a female 
 prayer meeting every Wednesday, a Bible class on the Sabbath, enquirers 
 every forenoon, visiting the sick, etc., and, every morning, I rise just as 
 the day begins to dawn, and, with my little lantern, walk some distance 
 to the Burman chapel, where I meet a band of Burmese sisters for prayer. 
 After we had offered our united prayers about a month, enquirers began 
 to come in. I am very happy in my work, and have now four in my 
 morning meetings, that I feel the Lord has given me as my spiritual 
 children. I have already my hundred fold for coming back to Burma. 
 We both see the hand of the Lord helping us through our trials as a 
 church. Our last communion was a blessed season.” 
 
 “Jan. nth, 1852. We have prospect of war again. Mr. Kincaid and 
 family had to flee from Rangoon and live on board ship.” 
 
 “21st. Fighting has commenced. All foreigners have left Rangoon. 
 Mr. Kincaid and family, seven in all, are with us, and will go to house¬ 
 keeping on this side the river, till things are more settled in Rangoon.” 
 
 “ Our dear sister Bennett has been staying with us the last three 
 months, preparing to take her last child to America, and then, to leave 
 all her seven children, and come back alone to her husband and her work. 
 Could you, dear sister, do as much for Christ?” 
 
 “May 14th. Thirteen have been baptized since we came here. In my 
 last, I mentioned the war between the English and the Burmans. We 
 have been mercifully protected from all harm, and are now better guarded 
 by troops, and we hope the way is opening for the spread of the gospel 
 through all Burma. Here, surrounded by the comforts of life, we often 
 think of the last war, with all its terrors, and of the years of privation 
 and suffering that followed, and are very thankful that our path is made 
 so easy in outward things, now, in our declining years. I wish you 
 could look into my front room. Every body says I make my home look 
 very cheerful, though my furniture is very cheap and plain. My floor is 
 much rougher and blacker than your kitchen, but it looks clean, and my 
 plain cherry table is bright with pretty pots of flowers, books, maps, etc. 
 
2 3 
 
 The melodeon on one side, a small covered table on the other, two plain 
 cherry stands in corners, hold two Burmese bound boxes, and a few 
 chairs make the room very pleasant without carpet, or rug, or curtain.” 
 
 The war closed in December, 1852, with the annexa¬ 
 tion of Pegu to British India, and united in one continuous 
 sea-board of British possessions, Arracan, Pegu, and Tenas- 
 serim, commanding the outlets of the Irrawaddy, Sal wen, and 
 Sitang, and extended northward to Mandelay. Three millions 
 of people were thus emancipated from one of the most oppres¬ 
 sive and heartless governments in Asia. Soon Toungoo, 
 Shwaygyeen, Henthada and Prome, were occupied as mission 
 stations. 
 
 The theological school had been paralyzed by the war, and 
 by disease, and was discontinued in 1852. This was now re¬ 
 opened with fourteen pupils, and given in charge of Mr. 
 Wade. The pupils increased in numbers and piety, and gave 
 great satisfaction in their progress. In April, 1855, Mrs. 
 Wade wrote: 
 
 “We have now twenty-four pupils studying for the ministry, and ex¬ 
 pect more soon. We feel that our time was never better employed, for 
 there are many Karen churches begging us to send them pastors. One 
 of our ordained preachers from Tavoy has been, for eighteen months, in 
 the new and distant station called Toungoo, where the Holy Spirit has 
 been poured out wonderfully, and he has baptized nine hundred happy 
 converts, and the work still goes on. No white missionary has ever 
 seen that field so ripe for the harvest. Bro. Whitaker is just starting for 
 that region, to be gone a month. We should have been there long ago,* 
 but our health is quite unequal for the journey. Brethren Mason and 
 Harris have both been in Toungoo, but did not see one of these Karen 
 villages. We have constant correspondence with San Quala, the 
 preacher stationed there, and have full confidence in his work. We have 
 seven young men from Toungoo, with us, studying for the ministry. 
 Another Karen preacher has baptized five or six hundred. We are send¬ 
 ing our pupils to aid them. Four went from our school last year, and 
 we hope to send as many more at the close of this term. Don’t you 
 think we are happy in seeing so many whom we trained at Tavoy, able 
 to become pastors of churches? We are passing through severe trials 
 as a mission. Pray for us, that, while God is so blessing the work, Satan 
 may not be permitted to hinder it.” 
 
 “July, 1855. Forty-eight entered the Theological school, and about 
 
2 4 
 
 sixty the Normal. We have been much cheered in the work of helping 
 them to get a knowledge of the blessed Bible, that they may impart it to 
 others, who are crying 1 Come over and help us.’ About fifteen hundred 
 have been baptized in regions just opened to us by the war, by one Ka¬ 
 ren preacher who was educated in his own sweet language, in Tavoy. 
 In other regions a glorious work is going on. The Lord is giving us 
 ‘the heathen for an inheritance.’ The young men with us must be fed 
 while studying. They are willing to live poor, and we are living poor, 
 and our usual supplies do not come from Boston. Must they go back 
 to their rice fields, and these new churches be left without native pastors? 
 Do ask the brethren if they are letting go the rope when the well is so 
 deep and the waters of life are springing up in such rich abundance. 
 Dear brethren, are you letting go at such a time as this?” 
 
 “Jan., 1856. I wish the friends at home could see the ragged clothes 
 these fine young preachers have, while preparing to go to the many 
 flocks calling for shepherds. All our large scholars are in the jungle, 
 for want of means to feed them, while the cry for preachers is heart¬ 
 rending. The people are going back to their superstitions because they 
 have none to lead them, and the young men longing to preach the gos¬ 
 pel, are in the jungle, with none to instruct them in the Bible, because 
 we can not give them plain food. Two hundred are ready to enter the 
 ministry had they the needed instruction. These are the hcen trials of 
 our missionary life.” 
 
 For a little while the school was suspended for lack of funds, 
 but was again opened by the aid of personal friends in Bur¬ 
 ma and America. From their own salary, the Wades, 
 through all these years, while supplies were being affected by 
 financial troubles in the home fields, and from other causes, 
 supported two of the young preachers entirely. 
 
 “Oct., 1858. We daily pray, that, when the Master calls for us, we 
 * may still be found at our post, at work. We desire to be ready for any 
 path He may mark for us. Should one of us be left alone and in feeble 
 health, we might feel it duty to return to our friends, and not take the 
 time of missionaries to care for us. Many are going home, sick, and 
 others are falling on the field, and no new ones are sent to our aid. Satan 
 is pressing us hard, and has succeeded in dividing our little band, so that 
 we are weak indeed, but our Captain is with us and we are sure of victory 
 at last. Truly, I tremble for the Christians in America, who draw back 
 from such a work as the Lord is now carrying on in the country of the 
 Karens. Do ask the sisters, who think jewelry and expensive clothing 
 necessary, while so little is left for the enlightenment of the heathen, 
 how they think their sisters here must feel, to see so many precious con¬ 
 verts, begging for a Bible to guide them, and not be able to supply the 
 want.” 
 
 
2 5 
 
 In May, 1859, Dr. Binney returned from America, when 
 the Theological school was removed from Maulmain to Ran¬ 
 goon, and placed again in his care, and Mr. Wade gave his 
 whole time to the preparation of books for the use of the 
 mission. This change brought to Mrs. Wade, as well as to 
 her husband, release from many cares, and she wrote: 
 
 “If we have been enabled to labor faithfully and with some measure 
 of success for more than thirty-five years, in this good work, we attribute 
 much to the encouragement we have received from the friends we have 
 left behind, and especially to their prayers. And now that our poor 
 labors are nearly finished, we look forward with sure and humble hope 
 to those bright mansions above, where, through grace alone, we expect 
 soon to rejoice together with those precious children whom the Lord 
 has given us in this dark land. 
 
 ‘ Better than daughters or than sons, 
 
 Temples divine of living stones 
 Inscribed with Jesus’ name.’ 
 
 “ I feel it a great mercy, an undeserved blessing, that the physical, and 
 especially the nervous debility, induced by long residence in this hot 
 climate, is seldom permitted to dim the fair prospect of heavenly glory. 
 As I approach nearer and nearer the dark waters, the mild light from 
 the other side falls more and more upon my pathway. My courage may 
 fail when called to go over; but Christ will not fail the soul which trusts 
 humbly, penitently and believingly in His rich free grace.” 
 
 In a letter to her sister, in 1859, she wrote: 
 
 “ ‘ In every thing give thanks,’ said Paul, and I am happy to say, the 
 prevailing feeling of my heart, for a long time has been thankfulness. 
 My health has not been very good for several months past, but the most of 
 the time I have not suffered much pain. Though much alone, I have 
 many interesting books sent me by friends, which have helped me spend 
 my hours of weakness, on my home-made sofa, by my window, very 
 pleasantly. 
 
 “ Are you not glad we can have glass windows and a board house, 
 now that we are old and feeble? Mr. Wade is stronger than I, and works 
 his regular hours with comfort. I too have my little meetings with 
 native sisters, and try to do good to those who come to our house. I feel 
 that my situation is a very favorable one to watch and pray and trim my 
 lamp, and be ready to go.” 
 
 A year later, she says: 
 
 “ A letter from Boston, directed Mr. Wade to pull off our house roof 
 of bamboo and leaves, and put on one of timber and shingles, which are 
 now made here, in the steam saw mills, and now we have such a nice 
 roof over our heads, as we never had before in this country.” 
 
2 6 
 
 “June 20, 1863. This day finishes our forty years of missionary life. 
 What a life of changes and parting scenes mine has been. I am thank¬ 
 ful all has been blessed to make me feel I have a home only in heaven.” 
 
 “Oct. 1st. We have news from America about a month old. [The 
 telegraph had reached Calcutta.] Two overland mails, every month, 
 with letters and papers, that come in about two months. 
 
 “ When we first came to Burma, they were from six to eight months 
 in reaching us. So we are blessed in these last days. My health is fee¬ 
 ble, my strength failing, but without disease, and I was never happier in 
 my life. I seem to live on the pleasant banks of Jordan, often getting- 
 sweet views of the land on the other side, and have no doubts or fears 
 about crossing over. If you think I enjoy all this because I have done 
 some great work, or become very good, jmu will greatly dishonor our 
 blessed Saviour, who knows that I am one of the most undeserving, and 
 that my poor work has been all sin-defiled. All I enjoy is from His rich 
 free grace, and.all my hope is in being united with Christ, that I may be 
 partaker of His holiness. When we become so acquainted with Christ 
 as to see ourselves all sinful and hateful in comparison with Him, we are 
 prepared to prize the blessed robe of His righteousness. And thus, 
 adopted into His family, and loved, not because we are good, but because 
 we are His children, we begin truly to love Him, and to enjoy that peace 
 which nothing can disturb. These are my views in my last days, and 
 they are precious realities to me. O! how we shall love to talk of this 
 wondrous grace of Christ, as we walk the golden streets together.” 
 
 “Jan., 1864. We tremble when a mail arrives, lest we hear of bitter 
 sorrow among those dear to us. Our prayers and sympathies, could not 
 have been greater for our dear country had we always lived under its 
 good government. We daily pray for the removal of slavery and the 
 close of this terrible war.” 
 
 / 
 
 During their residence at Maulmain, they did not forget the 
 mission at Tavoy. They welcomed its missionaries to their 
 home while studying the language, and cheered them by their 
 counsels as they went to their work. One of these, Rev. 
 Thomas Allen, whose heart is still in the foreign work, gives 
 a delightful picture of the reception given by the native Chris¬ 
 tians at the house of Brother and Sister Wade, and under her 
 direction, to the u deputation ” and others who went out in 
 1852, and says of her: 
 
 “ She was habitually cheerful, she always wore a pleasant smile, and, 
 however exhausted, cared always for every want of others before her 
 own. ‘ Never to be weary in well-doing,’ seemed to be her motto. She 
 met us on our arrival with a most hearty welcome, and from that mo- 
 
2 7 
 
 merit took Mrs. Allen under her special care, and became to her all that 
 a mother could be. We spent four months under her hospitable roof, 
 and the intimate friendship there commenced, never ceased till she was 
 called to her home above.” 
 
 We are favored with the privilege of a few extracts from 
 her correspondence. Soon after their arrival she wrote to 
 Mrs. Allen’s mother: 
 
 “ As your beloved daughter is now with us, and we are beginning to 
 love her as a daughter, I thought that you might like to hear from me 
 that she and her husband are in fine health, and though her eyes fill 
 with tears, at mention of the dear home she has left, she is very cheerful, 
 and has made a good beginning in the language. We hope to keep them 
 with us for a time that she may study free from care, and if her health, 
 fails, I will do all I can to be a mother to her. Tavoy is our old home, 
 a pleasant station, and I am sure Mrs. Thomas and your daughter, will 
 love each other like sisters, and our beloved sister Bennett will be like 
 a mother to them both. They enter the missionary life when all the 
 common comforts of life are within reach, and they will not have to 
 live alone as many of us did years ago. You will often think of those 
 who have found an early grave in Burma, but a good number have 
 been spared to labor fifteen or twenty years, and we have been here 
 nearly thirty, and, could I choose again, I would spend them all in 
 Burma.” 
 
 >• 
 
 To Mrs. Allen, in 1855: 
 
 “ My dear sister. Through Mrs. Knapp we have been hearing all 
 about our old home. I feel much interested in your school, and can tell 
 you for your encouragement, that the dear departed sister Mason was 
 blessed in the conversion of several souls, in connection with a small 
 day school. She used to devote an hour daily, while baby was asleep, 
 to a class in some Bible lesson and in talking to them of Christ. And 
 prayer was answered. I trust your labors will be blessed. The natives 
 need daily instruction, to keep the subject of repentance before their 
 minds until deeply impressed, and your school is a very favorable place 
 for such efforts. Please tell me if any one of the pupils appear to be 
 serious. 
 
 “ Sep., 1856.—How lonely you must feel. How anxious about your 
 husband’s health. Howl wish you were in our little prophet’s chamber, 
 while he is in Rangoon. He looks much changed. I fear he can not 
 bear this climate ; if not better from this change I think he ought to 
 go home. I am sure this state of suspense must be very trying to you 
 as well as to him. I have been sighing as I wrote this over the sad in¬ 
 telligence of Sister Harris’s death. How little I thought of ever living 
 to write it.” 
 
28 
 
 In 1859, Mr. and Mrs. Allen were obliged to return home, 
 and the next year Mr. Cross left to help in the harvest fields 
 around Toungoo, leaving the Tavoy mission entirely in the 
 care of native pastors. The experiment was premature and 
 the cause declined. Mr. and Mrs. Colburn were assigned to 
 the place in 1864, and the Wades accompanied them. In 
 Jan., 1864, Mrs. Wade dates from the “sweet Tavoy home 
 
 “ We came here about two months ago, to assist our new missionaries 
 in making a beginning in their new field. They are sent to the Karens 
 in their jungle villages, which we are not able to visit as in former years, 
 but we find so much to do, in this large Burman city, that we have 
 about concluded to remain here, and give them one more call to repent, 
 and believe on Him who alone can save them. Mr. Wade has made 
 one visit with Mr. Colbbrn to Mata, the Karen village, that was once our 
 home. The dear Karens came after them with their elephants, and I 
 wish you could have seen them when they returned with quite a party 
 on five huge elephants, by torch light, in the evening. I wish still more 
 you could see these dear loving Karens, who have been redeemed from 
 this mass of heathenism. These dear children whom the Lord has 
 given us, you will know and love them by and by. 
 
 “This morning Mr. Wade and Mr. Colburn have gone up the river to a 
 Karen Association. You will be surprised that I stay behind, especially 
 when I tell you how much I wanted to go, and how the dear Karens 
 begged to be allowed to prepare an easy chair and carry me every step 
 of the way. But it was important that the men should both go, and 
 Mrs. Colburn with her delicate babe, and almost unacquainted with the 
 language, could not be left alone.” 
 
 “Jan., 1866.—We have suffered much since I last wrote, in the illness 
 of my dear husband. Having no physician nearer than Maulmain, it 
 has been very trying to me, though he has been so sweetly patient, and 
 continually said, I did all for him that any doctor could have done. 
 Brother and Sister Colburn have been as kind as friends can be, and 
 at Bro. Hibbard’s request we at last went to them at Maulmain for 
 medical advice. We returned much improved in health, and are very 
 happy in our work here.” 
 
 “Jan. 10th, 1866.—You think of me, dear sister, to-day, as it is mine 
 and Theresa’s birthday. If time is reckoned in heaven, the happy day 
 of her entrance into the joy of her Lord, must be her birthday there, 
 must it not? How delightful it will be to meet her there and all the 
 loved ones who have gone. But the altogether lovely One will be the 
 chief attraction of heaven. 
 
 “ I have one of the best of husbands. He has long since been enabled 
 to rise above the fears and doubts, with which Satan so troubled him in 
 
2 9 
 
 earlier life, and is now a very happy, cheerful Christian. He grows 
 more gentle and affectionate and indulgent every year, and with presents 
 of books, and a supply of papers, we never feel the want of society. In 
 trying to do good to the poor people around us, we find our time 
 pleasantly occupied, and cannot often find as much time to read together 
 as we wish.” • 
 
 Mr. Colburn remained but a year, when he was obliged to 
 leave on account of ill health, but the Wades remained and 
 labored on. Mrs. Wade still kept her Sunday-School, her 
 class of boys, her woman’s meeting, as in earlier days. The 
 Spirit of God was with them. Eleven boys in the school 
 requested baptism. A subdued feeling seemed to pervade 
 every breast. The following year sixty were baptized. 
 
 In a letter written Dec., 1866, to Heman Lincoln, Treasurer 
 of the Miss. Union, Mrs. Wade says: 
 
 “ We are now quite alone, trying to defend this outpost for Immanuel’s 
 invading army, as our beloved Bro. Colburn’s health has failed and he 
 has been absent now nearly two months. Our Governor and family are 
 absent visiting distant villages, so there is not, besides ourselves, a single 
 white face in the city. We feel, most of all, the want of a physician, lest 
 sickness should come. But the great Physician is with us, and we are 
 joyful in Him. We often look back to this month in 1823, when we first 
 landed in Burma, and the beloved Judson gave us that cordial greeting, 
 and said, ‘We have now eighteen precious souls, redeemed from the 
 power of the great adversary, and, although they are scattered abroad, 
 and have no Fort of Defence, yet we have the sure and faithful promises 
 of God for the future.’ Plow faithfully those promises have been ful¬ 
 filled to us, you well know. When those first dark days in Rangoon 
 and Ava came upon us, though we had no fort on earth for refuge, we 
 had the Strong Tower to which the righteous flee, and we were kept 
 safe. And we live to see not merely eighteen, but eighteen thousand in 
 our ranks, and, without the camp, tens of thousands from whom we 
 constantly receive recruits; and who has numbered those loved ones 
 who have been called up higher, whom Christ will bring with Him, 
 when Pie comes to the grand review. Continue to pray for us, my 
 brother, as we do for you, until our poor prayers are turned to praise.” 
 
 That change was near. Her days of active work for Christ 
 were almost ended. Her sun of life drew near its setting, and 
 to her waiting soul the word of the Lord was verified, u At 
 evening time it shall be light.” In Jan., 1868, her health began 
 
3 ° 
 
 seriously to decline, and she soon recognized it as her last ill¬ 
 ness. Relief was sought, by change of locality, and sea air, 
 and, with her husband she went by Mergui to Maulmain. She 
 returned more feeble than when she left. Medical aid from 
 the first, afforded only partial and transient relief. Her physi¬ 
 cian died in April, and from that time, she was without 
 medical treatment. For a time in May she slowly improved, 
 but the rains, which usually commence by the middle of May, 
 were withheld until the tenth of June. Under the intense heat, 
 the violence of her disease (diarrhoea) increased rapidly. The 
 ninth of June, in the afternoon, they thought her dying. 
 The cool of the evening revived her, and she said that she 
 should not die yet, though it seemed to those about her, she 
 could not survive the night. u Apparently in the very arms 
 of death,” wrote Mr. Wade, from whose journal we sketch 
 this account: 
 
 “ She lay peaceful and happy, gazing at the coming glory. She was 
 too weak to talk much, but every word she uttered, showed that all was 
 peace and triumph within. She said she longed to be with Christ, to 
 behold His glory, to be all pure and holy as the spirits of the just made 
 perfect. All that disturbed her tranquility was my sadness. She said 
 that I ought to be cheerful, but, alas, I could not be so. She was quiet 
 through the night, and in the morning, the immediate symptoms of de¬ 
 parture had passed away. 
 
 “ The few native Christians whom we have in town, are very kind, but 
 are so unaccustomed to European habits, that they know not how to 
 render the aid they would. There is not a single European friend on 
 whom we can call, and they see the exigency of the case, and are very 
 earnest in their prayers, that their beloved mama may recover, or if 
 not, that she may be spared until missionary aid could come from Maul¬ 
 main or Rangoon, or, at least, until the close of the rains, which have 
 now begun. Mrs. Wade is quite resigned to the circumstances, and 
 would not have them different if she could. Her calmness is very won¬ 
 derful to me. With her own hands she has prepared her grave clothes, 
 and made every other arrangement that could be made beforehand for 
 her last sleep, and for my comfort when she can be no longer with me.” 
 
 “ June 18th.—This evening she said, she felt such a peace as she had 
 never known before, or had any conception of. Though the body 
 endured great weariness and discomfort, there was no acute pain, and 
 she felt as if she were lying at the feet of Jesus, like an infant on a mat 
 
at its mother’s feet, content with just looking up into the mother’s face. 
 Again she spoke of the wonderful peace she enjoyed. To me, she says, 
 
 ‘ the world is all left behind, the glory of heaven is before me,’ I am 
 amazed at the grace that makes her so content with her circumstances, 
 with no European but myself, and none of the comforts necessary to 
 the sick room. Her mind is most tranquil. She says she is on the 
 rock Christ Jesus, and the waves that dash around cannot reach her. 
 It gives her pain to see my grief at the prospect of losing her. Indeed 
 I ought not to grieve. It does seem unreasonable selfishness. I do pray 
 constantly for grace to say to her, Farewell, go to Jesus, He calls you, 
 His is the highest claim, go and be happy. Still nature cries, not yet, 
 not yet.” 
 
 “ Sabbath. Mrs. Wade is more feeble, but would not allow me to stay 
 with her during the time for public worship. She entreats me not to 
 let depression of spirits hinder me from attending usual meetings or 
 performing any missionary duty, and urges me to aim constantly to 
 feed Christ’s sheep and lambs, and maintain a cheerful trust in God.” 
 
 “ 23rd.—She seemed stronger and more able to converse. She spoke 
 of past and present experiences, and of the value to her of her later 
 years. She said she had again and again reviewed the past, and had 
 been sometimes overwhelmed with the thought that her life had been 
 a complete failure, as to doing any real good even to these poor heathen. 
 But at the same time, she says, I see the love of God so abounding, that 
 all doubts of my acceptance are at once removed. Indeed she seemed 
 almost to rejoice at her own nothingness, that the grace of God might 
 be magnified thereby. 
 
 “ After a comfortable night, she said, ‘This morning while dozing, I 
 seemed to be singing, ‘ O! bear me, ye cherubim, up, and waft me away 
 to His throne.’ Again ‘ Our season of evening worship was very pleas¬ 
 ant to me.’ ‘ Tell sister Mary when I have sufficient strength to medi¬ 
 tate, my mind is exhilarated as though I almost hear the songs of 
 angels all around me. Buoyancy of spirit when in perfect health, and 
 all is joyous, cannot equal the happiness I feel. The prayers of 
 Quala are keeping me back from heaven. Though longing to go, I am 
 willing to stay if the Lord wills it. All is peace, such peace as none 
 can comprehend without personal experience. It seems like heaven 
 begun. 
 
 “ Lying on her bed, she spoke of the delightful views she had had of 
 heaven, and of the happiness she anticipated in the society of loved 
 ones from whom she is now separated, she said, ‘ Tell sister Mary 
 how much I want to write and tell her of the blissful foretastes I con¬ 
 stantly enjoy of the coming glory, but I am not able and must wait till 
 we meet above. My mind has for years past been preparing for its 
 present happy state. I have had, and still have a most humiliating 
 sense of my own sinfulness, but, at the same time I have daily felt 
 that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth me from all sin, and His right¬ 
 eousness covers me all over like a garment.” 
 
3 2 
 
 And so, trusting in Christ’s perfect righteousness, with no 
 society, save the few native Christians, and her afflicted hus¬ 
 band, who was himself seized with a nervous fever in August, 
 no physician, nor nurse, nor fresh bread, nor other seeming 
 necessaries of the sick room, she remained, through all the 
 summer and early autumn, content, thankful, happy; her 
 spirit sustained by unseen hands, till prayer was answered, 
 the rains were past, when, borne on the bright October air, 
 there fell, on the stricken husband’s ear, one word of parting, 
 and, after a few hours of unconscious breathing, the earth¬ 
 ward “ glimpses of glory ” were merged in the full splendor 
 of heaven’s eternal day. 
 
 The commissioner, with his family and physician, had re¬ 
 turned to the fort, and kindly superintended all the prepara¬ 
 tions for the funeral. Her remains were laid to rest in the 
 burial ground ©f the English Church. Everything was done 
 by the English officials, that could be done at Tavoy, and the 
 next day, Mr. Norris, a missionary brother, arrived from 
 Maul main. 
 
 The beautiful life of our sainted sister, so imperfectly out¬ 
 lined, needs no word of comment. If these pages shall waken 
 in any heart a desire for “ a closer walk with God,” if any 
 young Christian, through this brief record of a holy life, is 
 made stronger for service, and, especially if it leads any to 
 find, and perform the work yet waiting for willing hearts and 
 hands, in heathen lands, the object of this sketch will have 
 been accomplished.