Laid they little Mee Shway-ee.”
But amid the cares and toils of beginning a missionary enterprise in Maulmain, Mr. Judson did not remit his literary labors. The odd moments of time left from zayat work and school work were filled with the work of translation. Even before leaving Amherst he had embarked upon the prodigious task of translating the Old Testament into Burmese. He had begun with the Psalms. After the death of his wife and child his sorrowful heart instinctively turned for consolation to “the prayers of David the son of Jesse.” He had hardly been in Maulmain two years when he makes this record in his journal:
“November 29, 1829. Since my last, we have finished revising the New Testament and the Epitome of the Old—a work in which we have been closely engaged for above a year. We have also prepared for the press several smaller works, viz.:
“1. The Catechism of Religion. This has already passed through two editions in Burmese. It has also been translated and printed into Siamese, and translated into Taling or Peguan.
“2. The View of the Christian Religion, thoroughly revised for a fourth edition in Burmese. It has also been translated into Taling and Siamese.
“3. The Liturgy of the Burman Church.
“4. The Baptismal Service.
“5. The Marriage Service.
“6. The Funeral Service; the last three consisting chiefly of extracts from Scripture.
“7. The Teacher’s Guide; or, a Digest of those parts of the New Testament which relate to the Duty of Teachers of Religion, designed particularly for Native Pastors.