Hardly had they embarked when they received the order to return. As soon as they had arrived at the general's tent they were placed on the ground, and were beaten with rods to make them put down their legs. This they had not done, as they were unaware of the etiquette of the Burmese towards their superiors. The general surrounded by his savage myrmidons commanded them in threatening tones to go with the other Christians to seize those ships which had not cut their cables. M. Alari who was also ordered to convey a letter to the captains, replied that his sacred office forbade him to take up arms and above all to shed human blood. Many of the bystanders testified to the truth of his statements and his excuse was accepted; but although they had escaped this danger they were reserved for more terrible misfortunes.
Attendants armed with lances conducted them to the bank of the river where they were obliged to witness the greatest scandals and the filthiest abominations. They were exposed in the middle of the public market, with their feet in the mud from daybreak till noon. Their hats which alone could have protected them from the burning rays of the sun had been stolen. They expected death any moment but awaited its approach fearlessly. A lively faith upheld them and they only noticed the misfortunes of other Christians who like themselves had fallen into captivity.
The general encamped by the shore, made careful enquiries in order to discover the place or any information as to where they had buried their wealth and the secret was discovered by torture.
M. Andrien was denounced as a wealthy man, and acting on the information received, the general went to the church with Gaspard, the honest servant of the virtuous missionary. Both prayers and threats were employed to make him reveal the spot where his master had hidden his wealth. The young man naively answered, "that as his master was a priest to whom earthly possessions were valueless, he had never possessed anything besides what the Burmese had carried off."
The greedy Burman unsatisfied with this answer, condemned him to the torture. His feet were thrust into a brazier of glowing charcoal in hopes that the torment of fire would make him reveal a secret that the insolence of authority had failed to do.
Gaspard, who had withstood their promises, showed that he cared naught for tortures. The barbarian was highly annoyed at such contumacious behaviour, whereas he ought to have admired the heroism displayed. He drew his sword and was about to cut off his head. The young man 17 years old was quite impervious to fear, he had not the slightest intention of begging for his life, he merely asked for a few moments in which to commend his soul to God "Let me say a prayer" he said, "and after which you may do as you please with me." His request was granted and after a short interval spent in prayer, he cried out "strike."
The general, amazed to see such heroic conduct in the case of one so young, was seized with a sudden admiration. He thought that a man who had given so striking a proof of fidelity to his masters, ought to join his retinue, and he was treated more as a favourite than as a slave. If we draw a comparison between the atrocities perpetrated by this nation in the war of 1760 and their conduct in this latter conflict, we can perceive that they had lost something of their former savagery. In the former struggle, children had participated in the tortures of their parents, but on this occasion they were merely mournful spectators. But even this blessed change which commenced to become apparent in the manners and customs of the Burmese was still too weak to disguise their pristine characteristics, especially in cases in which they had given themselves up to the lust of avarice. The following notices will assure the reader on these points.
When the Burmese King undertakes a war, he retains only the parents of the conquered as slaves, and he generously hands over the children to the generals and other subordinate officers. It follows from this method of sharing the spoils, that children are often separated for ever from their parents. Here is a touching example of the unhappiness of such innocent victims.
A child six years of age, having been left in a boat, cried ceaselessly for his parents from whom he had just been separated. His streaming eyes were fixed in the direction of the spot where they had last been seen. After two days he saw on the bank one of his aunts to whom he was much attached. This woman, grieved at the loss of her nephew, followed the boat to console herself with a sight which could only make her grief more intense. The child, for whom the sight of his aunt was only a new torture, cried and stretched out his arms and called to her to help him, and at last flung himself in the river to go and rejoin her. The Burmese, untouched by this victory of nature, saved the child only to make him feel the loss of his liberty more keenly. A tender heart had restored him to his relatives, but the brutal captain thrust him into the hold of the vessel so as to run no further risk of losing him.
The Burmese are desirous of great wealth, and, although by nature a warlike race, it is rather the lust of pillage than the mere idea of glory that incites them to risk their persons. War is but a trade, according to their way of thinking, and he who returns with the richest spoils receives the greatest honour from his country. Those who fall into their power have every thing to fear if they are unable to satisfy their greed, and it is quite certain that avarice is the mainspring of their cruelty. A poor Christian, who was believed to be possessed of great wealth, was put to the torture to make him reveal the hiding place of his non-existent riches; but no amount of suffering could extort a word from him. The angry Burman in the presence of his wife and dying mother drew his sword to cut off his head. Frightened at the near approach of death, he begged for a respite, in the vain hope of discovering some means whereby the greed of his savage master might be satisfied. He was unable to fulfil his promises, and, to punish his failure, he was bound hand and foot and cast into the river.