"Ah this is death, my innocent! 'tis he
Whose chilling hand has touched thy tender frame.
Thou heed'st us not; not e'en the bursting sob
Of thy dear father, now can pierce thine ear.
Thy mother's tale replete with varied scenes,
Exceeds my powers to tell; but other harps
And other voices, sweeter far than mine,
Shall sing her matchless worth, her deeds of love,
Her zeal, her toil, her sufferings and her death.
But all is over now. She sweetly sleeps
In yonder new-made grave; and thou, sweet babe,
Shalt soon be pillowed on her quiet breast.
Yes, ere to-morrow's sun shall gild the west,
Thy father shall have said a long adieu
To the last lingering hope of earthly joy;
For thou, Maria, wilt have found thy rest.
Thy flesh shall rest in hope, till that great day
When He who once endured far greater woes
Than mortal man can know; who when on earth
Received such little children in his arms,
Graciously blessing them, shall come again;
Then like the glorious body of thy Lord
Who wakes thy dust, this fragile frame shall be.
Then shalt thou mount with him on angels' wings
Be freed from sorrow, sickness, sin and death.
And in his presence find eternal bliss."
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FOOTNOTES:
[6] Baptist Magazine, 1825.
[7] North American Review.
CHAPTER V.
STATIONED AT MAULMAIN.—ATTACK OF BANDITTI.—MISSIONARY OPERATIONS.—DANGER FROM FIRE.
On consultation it was determined that Mr. and Mrs. Wade should remain in Amherst, and that Mr. and Mrs. Boardman should proceed to Maulmain, a town 25 miles up the river, which had sprung into being in the same manner as Amherst, and was nearly as populous; and that Mr. Judson should divide his time between the two stations.
In pursuance of this plan Mr. Boardman removed his family, which had been increased by the addition of a lovely daughter, now about five months old, to the new city of Maulmain. On the evening of May 28th Mr. Boardman makes this entry in his journal. "After nearly two years of wanderings without any certain dwelling-place, we have to-day become inhabitants of a little spot of earth, and have entered a house which we call our earthly home. None but those who have been in similar circumstances can conceive the satisfaction we now enjoy." ... "The population of the town is supposed to be 20,000. One year ago it was all a thick jungle, without an inhabitant!"