In this way the twenty-two weary months of his captivity passed, amidst hardships, sickness and anxiety unspeakable. At length release came. On the advance of the English army up the Irrawaddy, Dr. Judson was sent for to the Burmese camp, being then a most valuable man, to serve as interpreter and translator, and to negotiate terms of peace; and thus their long captivity came to a close.
Ardently as Judson longed to see his mission established in Upper Burma in his day, sixty years were destined to elapse before the society to which he belonged secured a permanent footing there. It was after the annexation in 1886 that work was permanently taken up by them in Mandalay. A handsome church has recently been erected there at a cost of about £3,000, by contributions from America and Burma, as a memorial of Dr. Judson, and the mission has met with a fair share of success. In addition to Mandalay, three other stations have been taken up by the American Baptist Mission in Upper Burma—viz., Sagaing, Myingyan and Meiktila, and one medical missionary has gone to the Shan States. Bhamo was occupied previously, during King Theebaw’s reign, for work amongst the Kachin tribes.
The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (S. P. G.) began its work in Mandalay under the comparatively favouring auspices of King Mindohn, the father and immediate predecessor of Theebaw. This monarch built for the mission, at his own cost, very commodious and handsome premises of teak wood, consisting of a church, a mission house, and a school, which still remain. In the church is a handsome font, the appropriate gift of Queen Victoria to this church, built by the munificence of a heathen king! Theebaw, when a boy, was a pupil in that school, and there was no thought then of his succeeding to the throne. He made very little progress with English study, though he had a good reputation for Buddhist lore.
Owing to the massacres and other grievous disorders of Theebaw’s reign, the mission had to be closed for several years, the missionaries, along with all the other English residents, having to leave Mandalay. On the annexation being declared, the S. P. G. mission was reopened, and subsequently another station was opened at Shwebo, and these two stations, with a sub-station at Madeya, have experienced a fair share of prosperity since.
During the six years these two missions have been re-established in Upper Burma, the effects of the climate upon the health and lives of the missionaries have been very marked. Both missions have already their record of the faithful dead—mission workers, both male and female, who have fallen in the prime of life, and one before she had well begun her mission work. In both missions, too, during that time several valued workers have had to leave the country, worn down by sickness, and unable to endure the climate.
The Wesleyan Mission commenced work in Mandalay at the beginning of 1887. Up to date we number three European missionaries, two Singhalese workers (from Ceylon), and three other native preachers, and we have occupied three stations, Mandalay, Pakokku and Kyaukse. The story of our work will appear in the subsequent pages.
“WE NUMBER THREE EUROPEAN MISSIONARIES, TWO SINGHALESE WORKERS, AND THREE OTHER NATIVE PREACHERS.”