“How short is time, how boundless is eternity ! If we may be considered worthy to suffer for Jesus here, will it not enhance our happiness hereafter? O pray for me. Spend whole evenings in prayer for those who go to carry Gospel to the poor heathen.”
Mr. and Mrs. Judson were married at Bradford, February 5, 1812.
Notes
“History of the Burman Mission, p. 14.
* The remark of one lady respecting Mrs. J. would express the feelings of many others. “I hear,” said she, “that Miss H. is going to India. Why does she go?” “Why, she thinks it her duty; would not you go, if you thought it your duty ?” “But,” replied the good lady with emphasis, “I would not think it my duty.” Many questions of duty, it may be suspected, are decided in this summary manner.
† The following extract from Mrs. Newell’s journal, dated October 20, 1810, refers to Mrs. Judson, and it shows that Mrs. Newell had not then decided to go to India ;
“A female friend called upon us this morning. She informed me of her determination to quit her native land, to endure the sufferings of a Christian amongst heathen nations—to spend her days in India’s sultry clime. How did this news affect my heart Í Is she willing to do all this for God ; and shall I refuse to lend my little aid, in a land where divine revelation has shed its clearest rays ? I have felt more for the salvation of the heathen, this day, than I recollect to have felt through my whole past life.
“How dreadful their situation ! What heart but would bleed at the idea of the sufferings they endure to obtain the joys of paradise ! What can I do, that the light of the gospel may shine upon them ? They are perishing for lack of knowledge, while I enjoy the glorious privileges of a Christian land ! Great God, direct me ! O make me in some way beneficial to their immortal souls.”
CHAPTER III.
Embarkation—Voyage—Arrival at Calcutta.
On the 6th of February, 1812, Mr. Judson, and Messrs. Samuel Newell, Samuel Nott, Gordon Hall, and Luther Rice, were ordained, as Missionaries, in the Tabernacle Church, in Salem. On the 19th of February, Messrs. Judson and Newell, with their wives, sailed from Salem, in the brig Caravan, Capt. Heard, for Calcutta. Mr. and Mrs. Nott, and Messrs. Hall and Rice, sailed for the same port, on the 18th, from Philadelphia, in the ship Harmony, Captain Brown.
The Missionaries were now embarked on their great enterprise. They had, as they supposed, taken a last farewell of their friends on earth ; and they were now hastening to distant lands, to wear out their lives in teaching the dying idolaters of India the knowledge of that Saviour, who died on Calvary, that whosoever should believe in him might not perish, but have everlasting life. Never were men engaged in a nobler enterprise. Never did benevolence impel men to a more worthy sacrifice of ease, and of all that the heart values in the domestic relations and in civilized society. If the soul of man be of inestimable worth, and if the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ be the only instrument of its recovery and salvation, then does the Missionary enterprise surpass, in the importance of its aims, and the benevolence of its motives, every other effort of the human mind. It is not the purpose of this work to advocate, by abstract reasoning, the cause of missions. The whole argument lies within a narrow compass, and may be well stated in the language of Dr. Johnson, whose gigantic mind was little liable to be affected by the wayward impulses of enthusiasm. “If obedience to the will of God be necessary to happiness, and knowledge of his will be necessary to obedience, I know not how he that withholds this knowledge, or delays it, can be said to love his neighbour as himself. He that voluntarily continues ignorance, is guilty of all the crimes which ignorance produces ; as to him that should extinguish the tapers of a light house, might justly be imputed the calamities of shipwrecks.” *
Mrs. Judson was now afloat on an untried element, which was bearing her rapidly away from her home and kindred. The struggle, in a heart so strong in its affections as hers, must have been severe. We have seen, that she had calmly weighed the difficulties and the hazards of the undertaking, and was under the influence of no temporary excitement, nor bold spirit of adventure. She knew well what she must surrender, and the objects which called for the sacrifice—and she left all, for the sake of her Saviour, and of her perishing fellow men. Why should such disinterested benevolence and heroic firmness fail to obtain the applause of men, who are ready to admire and praise these qualities, when exerted on other occasions and for other objects ? Why should the voice of eloquence, and the lyre of the poet, which delight to commemorate the self-denial, and patriotism, and noble daring of the wise and good, be mute, when the missionary departs on his errand of mercy ? The memory of Lady Arabella Johnson has been the recent theme of eulogy, on the spot where Mrs. Judson embarked for India.* In what worthy quality of heart was the missionary inferior to the accomplished Puritan ; and how did the arduous enterprise of Mrs. J. in grandeur of aim, generous self-denial, devoted affection, and intrepid courage, fall short of that which has embalmed the memory of Lady Johnson? Why, then, should not the missionary be included in the following tribute to female excellence, as true as it is beautiful ?
“In the path of duty, no sacrifice is with them too high, or too dear. The voice of pleasure, or of power, may pass by unheeded ; but the voice of affliction, never. The chamber of the sick, the pillow of the dying, the vigils of the dead, the altars of religion, never missed the presence or the sympathies of woman. Timid though she be, and so delicate, that the winds of heaven may not too roughly visit her, on such occasions she loses all sense of danger, and assumes a preternatural courage, which knows not, and fears not, consequences. Then she displays that undaunted spirit, which neither courts difficulties, nor evades them ; that resignation, which utters neither murmur nor regret ; and that patience in suffering, which seems victorious over death itself.” *
The dangers of the ocean are sufficient to intimidate any heart, unless it be fortified with a better armour than that which Horace deemed necessary for the first maritime adventurer.† But Mrs. J. and her companions encountered no other than the usual incidents of a voyage. Some extracts from hèr journal and letters will be read with interest.
“Feb. 18. Took leave of my friends and native land, and embarked on board the brig Caravan, for India. Had so long anticipated the trying scene of parting, that I found it more tolerable than I had feared. Still my heart bleeds. O America, my native land, must I leave thee ? Must I leave my parents, my sisters and brother, my friends beloved, and all the scenes of my early youth ? Must I leave thee, Bradford, my dear native town, where I spent the pleasant years of childhood ; where I learnt to lisp the name of my mother; where my infant mind first began to expand; where I entered the field of science; where I learnt the endearments of friendship, and tasted of all the happiness this world can afford ; where I learnt also to value a Saviour’s blood, and to count all things but loss, in comparison with the knowledge of him? Yes, I must leave you all, for a heathen land, an uncongenial clime. Farewell, happy, happy scenes—but never, no, never to be forgotten.
“Feb. 19. Sea-sick all day, and unable to do any thing. My thoughts, more than usual, fixed on divine things. Longed for the enjoyment of God’s presence on our passage, that we may be preparing for usefulness in future life. In the night, had many distressing apprehensions of death. Felt unwilling to die on the sea, not so much on account of my state after death, as the dreadfulness of perishing amid the waves.
“Feb. 21. Somewhat relieved from sickness, and able to read a few chapters in the Bible. Never had a greater sense of our obligations to live devoted to God, resulting from his distinguished mercies. Even on the ocean, confined as I am, I find many sources of enjoyment, and feel as happy as when on land, in the midst of my friends.
“Feb. 22. O for a heart to live near to God, and serve him faithfully. I need nothing so much as ardent piety.