certain, and no argument either way), and their confidence, in any case, as to the indispensable requirement of the form of a form. But none the less do we admire the power of that conviction, which could turn these missionaries from all their early associations, and determine them, with evidently severe struggles and at a painful sacrifice, to resign the fellowship, if not the friends, most dear to them, and also to cut themselves off from the promise of support, and enter upon a new and perilous mission, entirely alone. The letters of both Mr. Judson and his wife show the greatness of the conflict, and the unselfishness as well as strength of the principle. Still, for these very reasons, we cannot suppose that they could have any actual fears of being abandoned by friends at home, or thrown upon their own resources. The effect, as might be expected, was to kindle a new interest in America, and lead to the immediate formation of a Baptist Missionary Association, which assumed from that time the support of their new emissaries. The zeal and liberality they called forth, and continued, were worthy of the cause to which they were pledged.

The most prominent feature in the mission and character of Judson was his unfaltering faith. This belonged to the man as an element of his nature. Whatever he believed, he knew; for he believed it on the word and promise of God, which could not fail. Strange, that all believers have not the same assurance, if it were only as simple consistency! In the man we are contemplating, it seems to have been as absolute as in any we have known,

as absolute as in Paul, when he said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me." Judson did not think that he could do all things, but he knew that all things promised and needful would be done, and must be done by the instrumentality of men. His faith was now to be tested, if any faith could be. Expelled forcibly from their first resting-place, Calcutta, by the unscrupulous, selfish policy of the East India Company, who professed to believe that the preaching of the Gospel would incite the Hindoos to rebellion, and commanded peremptorily to return to their own country, the missionaries succeeded in escaping to the Isle of France, thence to Madras, where the hostility of the "Honorable Company" pursued them, and thence to Burmah, coming to anchor at

last in the harbor of Rangoon, in July, 1813, seventeen months after leaving their native land. And now began the work of faith. A work it was with Judson, in every sense. First, in the labor of acquiring a new and difficult language, without which he could do nothing, and next, the labor, so slow and arduous as to seem almost hopeless, of making any impression upon the mass of superstition, degradation, and idolatry around him. See how strongly, yet how calmly, he speaks of it, after a trial that most men would have thought sufficient. In the absence of his wife, whose impaired health had already compelled her to sail for Madras, he thus writes:

"There is not an individual in the country that I can pray with, and not a single soul with whom I can have the least religious communion. I keep myself as busy as possible all day long, from sunrise till late in the evening, in reading Burman, and conversing with the natives. I have been here a year and a half, and so extremely difficult is the language, perhaps the most difficult to a foreigner of any on the face of the earth, next to the Chinese,- that I find myself very inadequate to communicate Divine truth intelligibly. I have, in some instances, been so happy as to secure the attention, and in some degree to interest the feelings, of those who heard me; but I am not acquainted with a single instance in which any permanent impression has been produced. No Burman has, I believe, ever felt the grace of God; and what can a solitary, feeble individual or two expect to be the means of effecting in such a land as this, amid the triumphs of Satan, the darkness of death? The Lord is all-powerful, wise, and good; and this consideration alone always affords me unfailing consolation and support."

After three years of incessant labor, having to acquire another language, the Pali, a dead tongue, but so intermingled with the Burman as to be essential, he completed a grammar of the language, pronounced by a late writer in the "Calcutta Review" to be superior to any work of the kind, within the writer's knowledge, "for brevity and completeness." This labor brought on a weakness and pain in the eyes and head, which put a stop for a time to all his literary pursuits, and reduced him to a pitiable state. Four years passed before he could say, "I have this day been visited by the first inquirer after religion that I have ever seen in Burmah." Two years more, and he began to hold public worship.

And then, six years from his first landing, he had the joy of seeing one native believer, and administering baptism to "the first Burman convert," in a pond whose .bank was graced with an enormous image of Gaudama. He had from the first administered and shared the Lord's supper with his wife only. Now, on the 4th of July, 1819, he could record in his journal: "We have had the pleasure of sitting down, for the first time, to the Lord's table, with a converted Burman; and it was my privilege a privilege to which I have been looking forward with desire for many years to administer the Lord's supper in two languages."

During this protracted period of excessive toil and mere preparation, his wife dangerously ill, his own strength more than once prostrated, and not a ray of Gospel light penetrating the thick darkness of idolatry and iniquity, his faith never faltered. He felt as sure of ultimate success, as he did of the existence of God. And when doubts and desponding inquiries reached him from America, whither his fellow-laborer, Rice, had returned, to sustain, if possible, the missionary interest, Judson wrote to him in a tone whose heroic courage and Christian confidence have seldom been equalled, all the circumstances considered.

"If they ask again, What prospect of ultimate success is there? tell them, As much as that there is an almighty and faithful God, who will perform his promises, and no more. If this does not

satisfy them, beg them to let me stay and try it, and to let you come, and to give us our bread; or, if they are unwilling to risk their bread on such a forlorn hope as has nothing but the WORD OF GOD to sustain it, beg of them, at least, not to prevent others from giving us our bread; and if we live some twenty or thirty years, they may hear from us again.

"The climate is good, better than in any other part of the East. But it is a most filthy, wretched place. Missionaries must not calculate on the least comfort, but what they find in one another and their work. However, if a ship was lying in the river, ready to convey me to any part of the world I should choose, and that, too, with the entire approbation of all my Christian friends, I would prefer dying to embarking."

In eighteen years of various labor, hinderance, and suffering, the converts in all Burmah are set down as 373; of whom 260 were natives, and 113 foreigners. In

twenty one years, the Burman Bible, translated by that solitary laborer, was completed; and when, in January, 1834, he knelt down with the last leaf in his hand, and prayed God to forgive all the imperfections and sins which had attended the work now finished and dedicated to his glory, we do not wonder at his saying, "Thank God, I can now say I have attained." Yet he devoted six years more to a revision of this great work, completing the new quarto edition in 1840; twenty-seven years from the time he embarked as a missionary. And those competent to judge of this work pronounced it as perfect a translation of the Scriptures as has ever been made. This, with all other labors and trials that marked the period, and the slow progress toward the great end of the mission, deserves to be called, in no ordinary sense, a work of faith.

Another trait of the character before us, related to the last but separate, was the singleness of object in all this devotion and labor. Men of strong mind, and an enthusiastic love of accomplishment, are not apt to deny themselves all side-work or side-play. Judson did this, and did it severely, as well as consistently, throughout. We do not remember an instance of more exclusive devotion to one object. Deeply interested in literary and scientific pursuits, he would not give them any portion of his time or strength." At one time," says his biographer, "he had found the literature of Burmah exceedingly fascinating, especially its poetry; and he had sundry pleasant visions of enriching the world of English literature from its curious stores. He fancied, indeed, that he might in this way extend an interest in that nation, and help their conversion. But not even this could blind him to the danger of leaving his direct work; and "though perfectly familiar with more than a hundred Burman tales, and able to repeat Burman poetry by the hour, he never committed a line to paper." Mrs. Judson was requested to translate the "Life of Gaudama" into English, to be published by a literary society in Caleutta. But she saw that her husband considered it "not objectionable," only in case of her inability to do missionary work; and in entire sympathy with him, she declined the complimentary offer. So in regard to society, though noticed and caressed by the best families in

India, he religiously abstained from the tempting gratification. So in preaching, he would not give his time to English congregations, and even refused to instruct British soldiers at Maulmain, until he saw that their religious inquiries positively demanded it of him; and as soon as he could, he relinquished it for his one great work, the enlightening and saving of heathen souls. In short, he allowed nothing to divert his attention, or divide his energies, even for a good end; he held no end or object as of value, compared with that to which he had dedicated his life. "As Howard, when he visited Rome, left unnoticed the impressive monuments of ancient grandeur, and spent his time wholly in dungeons and prisons, so Dr. Judson believed that he who has undertaken to deliver a nation from the thraldom of sin has objects in view more important than the researches of antiquaries or the companionship of savans. It were well if this exclusive devotion to substantially the same object governed the lives of ministers at home, as well as of missionaries abroad." So writes Dr. Wayland. And if any think that his last remark requires qualification, let them ask if the tendency in the ministry to all sorts of work does not require limitation.

In all his residence in India, the scrupulous missionary made no excursions of pleasure or visits of curiosity. His first visit to Ava, the royal residence, was made for the sole purpose of petitioning the king for an act of toleration in behalf of his subjects. And this attempt is one of the few things in the mission of Judson, whose wisdom Dr. Wayland questions. He doubts whether we" can properly ask one man to permit another man to obey God." If permission be refused, shall we then allow men to infer that they are under no obligation to obey God, or worship him? We are always glad to see such questions raised, in regard to the conflict between civil and religious obligation. Let the decision be what it may in a particular case, there is a recognition of a "higher law," a phrase which men may deride as much as they please; they cannot annul the law, nor put themselves beyond its jurisdiction. In the present instance, the liberty asked was not granted, and Dr. Judson returned to Rangoon, not to relinquish the object, but to prosecute it with new zeal, whatever the