“October 23. Had some pleasant conversation with Moung Zah in the palace, partly in the hearing of the king. At length his majesty came forward, and honored me with some personal notice for the second time, inquired much about my country, and authorized me to invite American ships to his dominions, assuring them of protection, and offering every facility for the purposes of trade.
“October 24. Visited Moung Zah at his house. He treated me with great reserve, and repelled all attempts at conversation. Afterward called on Prince M., and spent a long time with him and the officers in waiting. The whole tract was read before them by one of the secretaries. In the afternoon, went out of town to visit Moung Shwa-thah, former viceroy of Rangoon. During our absence, Prince M. sent to our house to call me, saying that a learned pundit was in attendance with whom he wished to hear me converse.
“October 26. While I lay ill some days ago, a young man, brother of an officer of Prince M., visited me, and listened to a considerable exposition of Gospel truth. Since then he has occasionally called, and manifested a desire to hear and know more. This evening he came to attend our evening worship, and remained conversing till nine o’clock. I hope that light is dawning on his mind. He desires to know the truth, appears to be, in some degree, sensible of his sins, and has some slight apprehension of the love and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“October 28. Spent the forenoon with Prince M. He obtained, for the first time (though I have explained it to him many times), some view of the nature of the atonement, and cried out, ‘Good, good!’ He then proposed a number of objections, which I removed to his apparent satisfaction. Our subsequent conversation turned, as usual, on points of geography and astronomy. He candidly acknowledged that he could not resist my arguments in favor of the Copernican system, and that, if he admitted them, he must also admit that the Buddhist system was overthrown. In the afternoon, visited Prince T. A hopeless case.
“October 29. Made an introductory visit to the Great Prince, so called by way of eminence, being the only brother of the queen, and sustaining the rank of chief a-twen-woon. Have frequently met him at the palace, where he has treated me rather uncourteously; and my reception to-day was such as I had too much reason to expect.
“October 30. Spent part of the forenoon with Prince M. and his wife, the Princess of S., own sister of the king. Gave her a copy of Mrs. Judson’s Burman catechism, with which she was much pleased. They both appear to be somewhat attached to me, and say, ‘Do not return to Rangoon, but, when your wife arrives, call her to Ava; the king will give you a piece of ground on which to build a kyoung’ (a house appropriated to the residence of sacred characters). In the evening, they sent for me again, chiefly on account of an officer of Government, to whom they wished to introduce me.
“October 31. Visited the a-twen-woon Moung K., whom I have frequently met at the palace, who has treated me with distinguished candor. He received me very politely, and, laying aside his official dignity, entered into a most spirited dispute on various points of religion. He pretended to maintain his ground without the shadow of doubt; but I am inclined to think that he has serious doubts. We parted in a very friendly manner, and he invited me to visit him occasionally.
“November 12. Spent the whole forenoon with Prince M. and his wife. Made a fuller disclosure than ever before of the nature of the Christian religion, the object of Christians in sending me to this country, my former repulse at court and the reason of it, our exposure to persecution in Rangoon, the affair of Moung Shwa-gnong, etc., etc. They entered into my views and feelings with considerable interest; but both said, decidedly, that, though the king would not himself persecute any one on account of religion, he would not give any order exempting from persecution, but would leave his subjects, throughout the empire, to the regular administration of the local authorities.
“After giving the prince a succinct account of my religious experience, I ventured to warn him of his danger, and urged him to make the Christian religion his immediate personal concern. He appeared, for a moment, to feel the force of what I said, but soon replied, ‘I am yet young—only twenty-eight. I am desirous of studying all the foreign arts and sciences. My mind will then be enlarged, and I shall be capable of judging whether the Christian religion be true or not.’ ‘But suppose your highness changes worlds in the meantime?’ His countenance again fell. ‘It is true,’ said he, ‘I know not when I shall die.’ I suggested that it would be well to pray to God for light, which, if obtained, would enable him at once to distinguish between truth and falsehood; and so we parted. O Fountain of Light, shed down one ray into the mind of this amiable prince, that he may become a patron of Thine infant cause, and inherit an eternal crown.
“November 14. Another interview with Prince M. He seemed, at one time, almost ready to give up the religion of Gaudama, and listened with much eagerness and pleasure to the evidences of the Christian religion. But presently two Burman teachers came in, with whom he immediately joined, and contradicted all I said.