what became of him! I had then no doubt but I could procure the release of Mr. Judson if he had not been executed, by getting a petition presented to the queen: but I was also a prisoner, and could not move out of the house. After dark, Moung Ing returned, with the intelligence that he saw Mr. Judson conducted to the court-house, and thence to the deathprison, the gates of which were closed, and he saw no more. What a night was now before me! The uncertainty of Mr. Judson's fate, my own unprotected situation, and the savage conduct of the ten Burmans, all conspired to make it the most dreadful night that I ever passed. I barred the doors, and retired with the four Burman children into the inner room. The guards were constantly ordering me to unbar the gates and come out, as they could not be assured of my safety, if I remained within. They next threatened to go in, and inform the magistrate that I had secreted myself; and that they must not be blamed if I made my escape. Finding themselves unsuscessful in their demands, they took the two servants and made their feet fast in the stocks. As I apparently took no notice of this, they ordered the stocks to be raised, which makes the situation of the person confined extremely painful this I could not bear to see, and promised them all a present in the morning, if they would release the servants. The next morning I sent Moung Ing with a piece of silver, in order to gain admission to the prison to ascertain the real situation of Mr. Judson. Dr. Price and the three Englishmen were all confined in the inner prison, each with three pair of iron fetters, and fastened to a long pole.

"My only concern was how to get to the governor of the city, who has the entire direction of prison affairs, in order to obtain at least a mitigation of the sufferings of the missionaries. I sent a request to the governor to allow me to visit him with a present. The next day I received an order, which was most readily obeyed, to visit him. My present gained me a favourable reception; and, after listening attentively to my relation of the brutal manner of Mr. Judson's arrest and his present dreadful situation, he manifested considerable feeling, severely reprimanded the writer who allowed such treatment, and then assured me that he would make the situation of the 'teachers' more comfortable. He told me, however, that I must consult with his head writer respecting the means, and immediately called and

introduced him to me. I shuddered to look at the man; for a more forbidding countenance was surely never before seen. I found, to my sorrow, that, under the governor, he had much to do with the prison, and had power to make us suffer much. He took me aside; and told me, that if I wished to make the situation of the missionaries more tolerable, I must bring him two hundred tickals and two pieces of fine cloth,-on the reception of which he would release Dr. Price and Mr. Judson from the hole, and put them in another building, where I should be allowed to send them pillows and mats to sleep on, and their daily food. At the same time I obtained an order from the governor for an interview with Mr. Judson; and, for the first time in my life, looked into the interior of a Burman prison. The wretched and ghastly appearance of the missionaries produced feelings indescribable, and forbad a moment's hesitation in producing the sum demanded for their temporary relief. Mr. Judson was allowed to hobble to the door of the prison; and, after five minutes' conversation, I was ordered to depart by a voice and in a manner to which I had been accustomed, and which convinced me that those underlings felt that we were entirely in their power. Our house was two miles from the prison; and, knowing that nothing could be done without money, I had provided myself with a considerable sum in the morning, which enabled me to pay the two hundred tickals without delay; and, the same evening, had the consolation of hearing that Mr. Judson and Dr. Price were in a better prison.

My next object was to get a petition presented to the queen, the brother of whom is by far the most powerful man in the empire. Our situation as prisoners rendered a personal interview with the queen impossible. I was obliged, therefore, to address her through the medium of her brother's wife, who is of low origin, and proud, haughty, and ambitious. I had visited her in better days, and received distinguished marks of her favour; but now the scene was changed: Mr. Judson was in irons and in distress, which were reasons sufficient for a frigid reception. I took with me a valuable present, consisting of a gold-wrought mantle and other little trappings. She was lolling in state, and hardly deigned to raise her eyes on my entrance into her splendid hall. I took my seat, not at a respectful distance or at her bidding, but as near as I could well ap

proach, that she might not lose a syllable of what I had to communicate. I waited not for the question usually asked, 'What do you want?' Grief made me bold; and, at once, I began a relation of our wrongs. I stated to her that Dr. Price and Mr. Judson were Americans-that they were ministers of religion-that they had nothing to do with war or politics-and that she well knew that even their residence in Ava was in consequence of the king's command. In vain I strove to work on her feelings, by requesting her to imagine herself in my situation-a stranger in a foreign land, and deprived of the protection of an only friend, who, without any alleged crime, was thrown into prison and fetters, She unfolded the present, and coolly said, Your case is not singular: the other White prisoners suffer equally with your husband. I will however present your petition to her majesty the queen: come again to-morrow.' I went from her with a little hope; and, faint as it was, I endeavoured to communicate the same to Mr. Judson, but my admittance was strictly forbidden by the writer to whom I had given the two hundred tickals.

"The next morning I saw three of the king's officers pass; and was informed, that they had gone to take possession of Gauger's property, and that on the morrow our house would be searched. 1 spent the day, therefore, in making preparations to receive them; arranging and secreting as many articles as possible, knowing that we should be in a state of starvation, unless some of our property could be preserved. I again endeavoured to gain adinittance to Mr. Judson, but was refused.

"The three officers, who had taken possession the day before of Mr. Gauger's property, now came to take an account of ours. Among the three was one (Koungtong-myoo-too), who seemed to take an interest in my forlorn condition, and who prevented the others from taking many articles, which were afterwards, during our long trial, of the greatest use. They first demanded my silver, gold, and jewels: I replied that gold I had none-jewels I had never worne since my residence in their country-but here was the key of a trunk which contained the silver, open and look for themselves. They seemed pleased with my offering them the key, requested I would open the trunk, and that only one person should be allowed to enter my inner room to take an account of the property. And here justice obliges me to say that the conduct of these Burman officers in this transaction was more humane and

civilized than any other which I witnessed in Ava. The silver was weighed, and laid aside. Have you no more?' said one of them. Search for yourselves,' I replied: the house is at your disposal.'-' Have you not deposited money and jewels in the hands of others?' I have no friends in this country: with whom should I deposit treasure?'- Where is your watch?' I produced an old one of Mr. Judson's, which had been out of use for a long time; but which answered their purpose just as well, and was the means of preserving a good one which I had then about me. Where are your goods, your pieces of muslin, handkerchiefs, &c.?' Mr. Judson is no merchant: he neither buys nor sells; but subsists on the free offerings of the disciples of Christ, who collected the money which you have taken to build a church for the preaching of the Gospel. Is it suitable to take the property of a Pongyee (priest)?' It is contrary to our wishes,' said Koung-tong; but we act in obedience to the king's command.' Even our trunks of wearing apparel they examined: I begged that they would not take them, as they would be of no use to the king, but to us they were invaluable : they said that a list only should be taken, and presented to his majesty; when, if he gave no further order, they should remain. They did the same with regard to the books, medicines, and most of the furniture; and, on presenting the list to the king, he gave an order that these things should not be taken at present. These gentlemen, however, took every thing new or curious, and whatever to them seemed valuable. When they had finished, I gave them tea; and begged the royal treasurer to intercede for the release of Mr. Judson.

"After their departure, I had an opportunity of going again to the queen's sisterin-law; who informed me that she had presented my petition to the queen, and that her reply was, 'He is not to be executed: let him remain where he is!' I felt ready to sink down in despair, as there was then no hope of Mr. Judson's release from any other quarter; but a recollection of the judge in the parable, who, though he feared not God nor regarded man, was moved by the importunities of a widow, induced me to resolve to continue my visits until the object was obtained. But here, also, I was disappointed: for, after entreating her many times to use her influence in obtaining the release of the missionaries, she became so irritated at my perseverance, that she refused to answer my questions; and told me, by her looks

and motions, that it would be dangerous

to make any further effort.

"I find, my dear sir, in being thus particular, that my letter will be stretched to an immoderate length; and must, therefore, be more general.

"For the next seven months, hardly a day passed in which I did not visit some one member of government, in order to interest their feeings on our behalf. The king's mother, sister, and brother, each in turn, exerted their influence in our favour; but, so great was their fear of the queen, that neither of them ventured to make a direct application to his majesty: and, although my various efforts were useless as to their grand object, yet the hopes which they excited kept our minds from sinking, and enabled us to endure our long impri sonment better than we otherwise could have done.

"The last person to whom I applied, was the celebrated Bundoolah, just previous to his departure for Rangoon. He had gained some advantages over the native soldiers at Arracan, 200 of whom he had sent as prisoners to Ava: this, together with the circumstance of his having obtained two or three thousand English muskets, gained him a most favourable reception at court; and every honour, in the power of the king to bestow, was heaped upon him. He had the entire management of affairs, and in fact was the real king of the country. With fear and trembling I presented to him a written petition for the liberation of Dr. Price and Mr. Judson he listened to the petition attentively, made some inquiries relative to our coming to Ava, and then said that he would reflect on the subject-' Come again to-morrow.' My hopes were now more sanguine than ever; but the morrow dashed them all, when the proud Bundoolah uttered- I shall soon return from Rangoon, when I will release the teachers, with all the other prisoners.'

"The war was now prosecuted with all the energy of which the Burmans are capable. Their expectations of complete victory were high; for their general was invincible, and the glory of their king would accompany their armies. The government talked loudly of taking Bengal, when they had driven the presumptuous creatures from their own territories; and of destroying from the earth every whitefaced stranger. So great was their hatred to the very appearance of a foreigner, that I frequently trembled when walking the streets; and, that I might not immediately be recognised as a stranger, and sometimes gain admission to Mr. Judson's prison, I adopted the Burman dress altogether.

"Extortion and oppression had now become so familiar to us, that we daily expected their appearance in some new garb or other. Sometimes for ten days together, I was not allowed to see Mr. Judson; and

even then could gain admittance only after dark, when I was obliged to return to our house, two miles, without an attendant.

"The means which we invented for communication were such as necessity alone could have suggested. At first I wrote to him on a flat cake, baked for the purpose, and buried it in a bowl of rice; and, in return, he communicated his situation on a piece of tile, on which, when wet with water, the writing became invisible, but when dried perfectly legible. But, after some months' experience, we found that the most convenient as well as safeest mode of writing, was to roll up a chit, and put it in the long nose of a coffee-pot in which I sent his tea. These circumstances may appear trivial; but they serve to shew to what straits and shifts we were driven: it would have been a crime of the highest nature, to be found making communications to a prisoner, however nearly related

"Bundoolah departed from Ava, in all the pomp and splendour imaginable; commanding an army of between 40,000 and 50,000 men: he was to join the Prince Thar-yar-wadee, who had marched some months before, at the head of an equal number. The first two or three reports of the invincible general were of the most flattering nature, and were joyfully received by the firing of cannon. NowRangoon was surrounded by the Burman troops: then the fort on the pagoda was taken, and guns and ammunition sufficient for the Burman army, should the war continue ever so long: and next-his majesty might expect to hear, that not a white face remained in Rangoon ! But no such report ever came: the cannons ceased to fire on the arrival of a boat; and soon it was whispered about that the Burmans were defeated, and thousands of them killed, among whom were many officers; and that Bundoolah and the few that remained had fled to Donaboo. With what anxiety did we listen for the report

The English are advancing!' for, in the arrival of foreign troops consisted our only hope of deliverance.

"The war now dragged on heavily on the part of the Burmans; and, though the king and government continued to supply Bundoolah with what he required, yet their confidence in him was shaken, and their hopes far from sanguine.

"The news, at length, came, that the English army were advancing, and that they were within twenty miles of Donaboo. The town was all confusion, and the queen began to send away, to a more secure place, her immense treasure. It was now the first of March, the commencement of the hot season; which, in Ava, is peculiarly severe. The white prisoners were all put inside of the common prison, in five pair of irons each; and where they were so crowded with Burman thieves and robbers, that they had not

sufficient room to lie down. There were at the time nearly a hundred prisoners, all in one room, without a window or hole for the admittance of air, and the door half closed. I again applied to the governor of the city to allow the missionaries to be removed to their former place, or at least to let them remain outside of the door during the day. I offered him money, and promised to reward him handsomely when in my power; but all in vain. The old man shed tears at my distress; but said that it was not in his power to comply with my request, for his orders were from a high quarter: he had even been commanded to execute all the white prisoners in private; and to keep them in close confinement was as little as he could do. He ordered, however, that they should be allowed to go outside of the door to eat their rice; and, when inside, be placed as near the door as possible. I was afterward informed, from authority, that the queen's brother, Mentho-gyee, had ordered the governor to destroy the white prisoners; but that the governor, fearing they might be required by the king, dared not obey the command.

"The situation of the white prisoners was now wretched in the extreme. The heat during the day was dreadful: indeed, the confined air deprived them of inclination for food, and their whole appearance was more that of the dead than of the living. I daily visited the governor, and continued to entreat him to pity the foreigners: sometimes he appeared to feel for us, and seemed half inclined to listen to my request; but the fear of Mentho-gyee, doubtless, prevented.

"It was now reported that the foreign troops had reached Donaboo; and it was whispered about that Bundoolahwas dead. No one, at first, ventured to say this openly; but the report was now conveyed officially to his majesty, who was mute with disappointment, while the queen smote her breast and exclaimed, Ama Ama!' What was to be done now? Where could another general be found, and from what quarter could troops be raised? The prince and woongyees at the Burmese camp had intimated the necessity of making peace: but this was too humiliating to be thought of for a moment. What!' said one of the woongyees at court, shall we allow it to be recorded in a future history of the country, that our glorious king made a peace with strangers, and gave them part of his territory? No, we will die first.'

"The pagan woongyee, who had been in disgrace for some time, now thought it a good opportunity to retrieve his character and regain his influence. He petitioned his majesty to allow him to go at the head of a new army; and positively assured the king, that he would conquer the English, and drive them from Burmah.

He was immediately raised to the highest rank, and all power committed to him. His first object was to manifest his inveterate hatred to every foreigner; and those, who had for eleven months escaped confinement, now fell into his merciless hands, and were thrown into prison. Among the number was Mr. Lonogo, a Spanish gentleman, who had for twenty years been high in the king's favour, and had done all in his power to alleviate the sufferings of the foreign prisoners; but he was now among them.

"Mr. Judson had now been in close confinement, and in five pair of fetters, for a month; and, with anguish indescribable, I saw him sinking under the weight of his sufferings. He was taken with a high fever. My distress and entreaties now prevailed with the governor of the city to give a written order to remove Mr. Judson from the common prison, into a little bamboo room, six feet long and four wide. I also obtained an order to give him medicine, and visit him whenever I wished. I had removed into the governor's compound, and was living in a bamboo house where the thermometer daily rose to 106; but thought myself happily situated to be near the prison, and allowed to visit Mr. Judson, who began now to hope that he should recover from the fever, as his situation was so much better than before.

"But new and dreadful trials were yet before us. I had gone in, one morning, to give Mr. Judson his breakfast, and intended spending a few hours as usual, when the Governor, in great haste, sent for me. I was agreeably disappointed on appearing before him, to find that he had nothing in particular to communicate, and that he was uncommonly kind and obliging. He had detained me a long time, when a servant came in hastily, and whispered that the foreign prisoners had all been taken out, and he knew not where they were carried. Without speaking to the governor, I ran down stairs into the street, hoping to catch a sight of them; but they were beyond the reach of my eye. I inquired of all whom I met, which way the white prisoners were gone; but no one knew. I returned again to the governor, who declared that he was perfectly ignorant of their fate; and that he did not know of their being taken out of prison till a few moments before. This was all false; as he had evidently been detaining me, to avoid witnessing the scene that was to follow. He also said, with a meaning countenance, 'You can do no more for your husband: take care of yourself.' This was a day never to be forgotten. I retired to my little bamboo house, and endeavoured to obtain comfort from the only true source; but my mind was in such a distracted state, that I could not steadily reflect on any thing. This one thought occupied my mind to the exclusion of every other that I had seen