BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the twenty-first day of February, A. D. 1829, in the fifty-third year of the Independence of the United States of America, HEMAN LINCOLN, Treasurer of the General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States, of the said district, has deposited in this office the title of a Book, the right whereof he claims as Proprietor, in behalf of said Convention, in the words following, to wit:

"Memoir of Mrs. Ann H. Judson, late Missionary to Burmah. Including a History of the American Baptist Mission in the Burman Empire. By James D. Knowles, Pastor of the Second Baptist Church in Boston.

'Come, Lord, and added to thy many crowns,
Receive yet one, the crown of all the earth,

Thou, who alone art worthy.' "............COWPER.

In Conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, "An Act for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Author and Proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned ;" and also to an Act entitled "An Act supplementary to an Act, entitled, An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies during the times therein mentioned: and extending the Benefits thereof to the Arts of Designing, Engraving and Etching Historical, and other Prints."

JNO. W. DAVIS, Clerk of the District of Massachusetts

PREFACE.

THE Compiler of the following pages, while he feels no wish to disarm criticism, by any apologies, deems it right to say, that he undertook the service with reluctance, arising from a fear, that the multiplied engagements and incessant anxieties of an extensive parochial charge would, alone, prevent him from satisfying the expectations of the public. But a persuasion that such a book would be useful, and the solicitations of those whose opinions and wishes he is accustomed to respect, have induced him to endeavor to perform the duty.

He acknowledges, with gratitude, the kind assistance which he has received from several individuals, and particularly from the parents and other relatives of Mr. and Mrs. Judson. To the materials which they have supplied, the work is indebted for much of its interest and value.

It is much to be regretted, that the greater part of the private journals of Mrs. Judson, and other valuable papers, were destroyed by herself, at Ava, at the commencement of the war, in 1824, to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Burmans. The extracts from her journals, which are quoted in this work, were found by her husband among her papers, and were by him transmitted to this country. They have never before been published.

It ought to be here stated, that it was thought desirable to connect with a Memoir of Mrs. Judson, a History of the Burman Mission. Her life is indeed a history of that Mission, up to the period of her death. Her valuable Letters to Mr.

Butterworth are out of print; and this Memoir contains the only connected narrative, which can now be obtained, of the rise and progress of the Burman Mission. Of the usefulness of such a narrative, no doubt can be entertained. Information concerning the real condition and wants of the heathen world must be spread among the churches, before they can be excited to a proper state of feeling in regard to missions. Christians, therefore, may serve the cause of the Redeemer, by circulating authentic accounts of the deplorable situation of the heathen nations, and statements of the nature, designs, and progress of the benevolent efforts which Christians are now making for the conversion of the world. It is hoped, that such an account of Burmah and of the Burman Mission will be read with interest, and will operate beneficially on the public mind.

Care has been taken to make this narrative as concise as possible. It is, of necessity, for the most part, a compilation from letters and documents, portions of which have before been published; but it is believed that those who have read them will peruse them again with increased pleasure in their connected form. The History is continued to the present time, in order that this book may be a complete record of all the important facts relating to the Mission, up to the latest dates from Burmah.

In preparing the Memoir, the Compiler has aimed to make it, as much as possible, an auto-biography, by introducing Mrs. Judson's private journals and letters, so far as they could be obtained, and were suitable for publication. The reader will find a large proportion of the book composed of details which have not, till now, met the public eye.

The delay which has occurred, in the publication of the Memoir, is, on some accounts, a cause of regret; but it has been unavoidable. After the death of Mrs. Judson was known in this country, it was early resolved, by the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, that a Memoir should be prepared. But it was necessary to obtain from her husband the papers, and other information, which he might furnish. Nearly two years elapsed, before these arrangements could be finished.

Considerable time and labor were necessary,