Almost all the heroines who have gone forth from the churches of America to dot heathen soil with their lowly graves have been attended by some stronger arm than that of weak, defenceless woman. Many of them have had husbands on whom they relied for support and protection, and to whom they could turn with the assurance of sympathy in hours of anguish and gloom.
But Miss Macomber went out attended by no such kind companion. She resolved on a missionary life, without the offer of marriage being connected with it. No husband helped her decide the momentous question; and when she resolved, it was to goalone. Impelled by the Christian's high and holy motives, she determined on a course which would involve her in a thousand perplexities and load her with a thousand cares. With none to share these cares and perplexities, with no heart to keep time with the wild beatings of her own, she crossed, a friendless woman, the deep, dark ocean, and on soil never trodden by the feet of Christian men erected the banner of the cross.
Eleanor Macomber was born at Lake Pleasant, Hamilton county, New York. Here her childhood and youth were passed, and here was her mind prepared for that career of usefulness which in after years made her an ornament to her sex, to the church, and to the world.
From Lake Pleasant she removed to Albany, where her heart was brought into subjection to the divine will and her mind impressed with the great truths of revelation. She became a convert to the religion of the cross. She became a convert to tears, to prayers, to self-denying labors, to a life of sacrifice and devotion. Her piety was from henceforth of the highest character, and all her daily deportment gave evidence of her love to the Savior.
In 1830 she was sent out by the Missionary Board, of the Baptist denomination, as a teacher among the Ojibwas, at Sault de Ste. Marie, in Michigan. This was her first missionary work, and she continued engaged in it nearly four years, when, in the mysterious providence of God, her health failed, and she was obliged to return to her friends. But the great Head of the church, in removing her from one field of labor, was only preparing her for another. In 1836 she became connected with the Karen mission, and a more extended field of usefulness was thrown open before her. She sailed from this country in the ship Louvre, and arrived in Maulmain in the autumn of the same year.
After her arrival she was stationed at Dong-Yahn, about thirty-five miles from Maulmain. Here she lived and labored almost alone, doing the great work which was assigned her. In the midst of discouragements she fainted not, but performed labors and endured afflictions almost incredible. When she arrived at the scene of her future labors her heart was affected at what she saw. Vice and sin reigned triumphant. The most odious, disgusting, and blasphemous crimes were committed. On every hand intemperance and sensuality were observable. She immediately commenced in their midst the worship of God. On the Sabbath the people were drawn together to hear about the blessed Jesus; and the story of the cross was told with all the sweetness of woman's piety. During the week her house was thrown open for morning and evening prayers. A school was soon gathered under her persevering labors: ten or twelve pupils gathered into it.
Mr. Osgood, who accompanied Miss Macomber from Maulmain to her field of labor, and whose duty required him to leave her there, an unprotected stranger, in the midst of a brutal, drunken community of heathen barbarians, writes as follows of her place of toil and her feelings on her arrival:—
"We ascended the Salwen River about twenty-five miles, and slept in our boats the first night. On the morning of the next day, December 20, we procured a guide and proceeded overland, following the line of the Zuagaben Mountains, to the house of one of the chiefs, about ten miles. The chief and most of the inhabitants were absent, attending the burning of a Burman priest. I immediately despatched a messenger for him, and in the mean time took up lodgings in his house, to wait his return. Two or three men and several females and children spent the greater part of the afternoon and evening with us, hearing sister M. read from the books which have already been written in their language. We, however, soon found that we had arrived in a most unpropitious time; for almost every man in the vicinity was in a state of beastly intoxication.
"On the morning of the 21st, as the chief did not arrive, we concluded to return about half way to the river, with a view to exploring the country, and in hopes of meeting the chief on his return, and holding a conference with him and several other principal men relative to the objects of the mission. Having proceeded as far as we intended, and waited some time in vain for his arrival, I concluded to go in person and endeavor to prevail upon him to return, as my business would not allow of protracted absence from home. On arriving at the place of the feast we found a large concourse of people, consisting of Burmans, Peguans, Karens, and Toung-thoos, who were assembled upon an extensive plain to pay the last tribute of respect to a Burman priest that had been some months dead and was now to be burned. The body was mounted upon an immensely large car, decorated according to Burman custom, to which were attached ropes, made of grass, three or four hundred feet long. With these the car was drawn about the plain, levelling, in its course, every obstacle.
"After some little search we found the chief men, the objects of our pursuit, but so completely drunk that all attempts to induce them to return with us were entirely fruitless. We immediately returned to the house of the chief where we had lodged the previous night. In the evening the chief returned, but so intoxicated as to be entirely unfit for business.
"We rose early on the morning of the 22d to take advantage of the effect of the night's rest upon our host, and obtained the privilege of a few minutes' conversation. He gave us permission to build in any place we saw fit to select; but before I had fixed upon a place he was again missing. After selecting a place and making the necessary preparations for building, I prepared to return to Maulmain. Until this time our dear sister Macomber had borne the trials of the journey and the prospect of being left alone without the least appearance of shrinking; but when the moment of separation came, the thought of being left, without a friend in the midst of a drunken people, and even in the house of a man completely besotted with ardent spirits, and at a distance of thirty miles or more from any civilized society, with scarcely a sufficient knowledge of the language to make known her wants, was too much for the delicate feelings of a female to endure; and she could only give vent to the emotions of her heart by a flood of tears. She soon, however, recovered her self-possession, and resolved to cast herself upon the merciful protection of her heavenly Father, and to pursue what seemed to her to be the path of duty."
But the laborer did not long toil in vain. In less than one year, a church of natives, converted through her instrumentality, was formed and placed under the care of Rev. Mr. Stephens. The people changed beneath the influence of divine grace. Intemperance, sensuality, and other vices gradually disappeared; and morality, solemnity, virtue, and religion took their places. The Sabbath day was respected; and in the jungle and thicket the voice of prayer was often heard. Jesus and the cross received thought; and the great idea of salvation by grace was pondered and believed.
In a few months the little church planted through her instrumentality numbered more than twenty persons, who continued faithful in the duties and practices of the disciples. Her feelings towards the little band of Christians gathered by her in the very wilderness of sin are represented as having been very strong and earnest. Her language was, when speaking of the church,—
"For her my tears shall fall,For her my prayers ascend,To her my toils and cares be given,Till toils and cares shall end."
She was anintelligentmissionary. Her mind was of superior order, and reason held even balance. Her zeal for the truth was not a blind, headlong enthusiasm, which sparkles, and glitters, and comes to an end, but a zeal founded on the wants and woes of a perishing world. She measured the depths of heathen degradation and estimated the worth of souls, and went to work calmly, philosophically, and earnestly.
The faith which she carried forth was well studied and fully understood. She had a reason to give for the hope which was in her and which she so fondly cherished. She was able to defend it—to develop its glories—to show its superiority to any and all the forms of heathenism. The kindness of her own heart led her not only to appreciate the superior excellence of the gospel, but also to feel most deeply for the degraded Karens. Towering far above them in the majesty of intellect and the grandeur of thought, she sought to inspire them with feelings kindred to her own. Her high ambition was, to lift the race from its fallen position, save the people from their prevalent vices, enlighten the minds of the young, and improve and regenerate the hearts of all.
She thought it not inconsistent with her true dignity, as a woman possessing a high order of intellect, to bring her mind into contact with the most degraded of the human family, if by so doing she could be the means of saving some and improving others. Hence shestudiedto do good. The energies of her mind were placed under contribution to furnish arguments by which the heathen mind might be convinced and the heathen heart subdued. She met the strongest objections to the new faith; she answered the questions of the cavilling priest; she reasoned with the common people from the law and the gospel, until enough were converted to form a church of our Lord Jesus.
She was alaboriousmissionary. All our missionaries are laborers. The work itself compels toil; and it cannot be avoided. But few go into it with an idea of ease and personal aggrandizement; and that few are disappointed. The great enterprise is in itself a hardship; and however cheerfully it may be borne for Jesus and a dying world, it cannot be carried on without immense labor and sacrifice on the part of the missionaries.
But the noble woman of whom we write was in labors more abundant. She even went beyond what was expected of a most faithful servant of God: she exerted herself to an extent which but few others have done, and gathered a reward in proportion to her labors. Others have suffered more and had a more checkered life; but none have put forth greater exertions to accomplish a given result.
Indeed, the spectacle of a weak, friendless, lone woman removing from Maulmain to Dong-Yahn, and there, with no husband, no father, no brother, establishing public worship, opening her house for prayer and praise, and gathering schools in the midst of wild and unlettered natives, is one full of moral grandeur. The idea of performing such a work alone, the idea of a defenceless woman going into a besotted nation, among a drunken, sensual people, and lifting them up to the privileges of a refined faith, a pure religion, is an idea worthy of an angel. This idea entered the mind of our subject, became a part of herself, and was carried out in her life.
Not content with sitting down and teaching all who came to her, she went out to the surrounding tribes, and, for miles around, preached salvation to the dying. In these excursions she was generally attended by one or two converts, who formed her escort and guard, and performed that part of the labor which could not be brought within the province of woman. In this heroic and romantic manner she travelled from place to place, fording rivers, crossing deep ravines, climbing high hills and mountains, entering the dwellings of the poor, sitting beside the bed of the dying, rebuking the sinful, and every where preaching the doctrines of salvation.
The spectacle was one which affected even the heathen heart; and this estimable woman was respected and loved even by those who scorned the gospel and hated Christ. She had "a more excellent way;" and that excellence was exhibited in every step of her progress. As she approached the towns and villages, on her excursions of mercy, she was often met by enthusiastic crowds, who welcomed her with joy, and led her to the homes of the dying, and besought her aid. Most females would have fainted under her toils and turned back from the amount of work to be performed; but gifted with wisdom and strength from on high, endowed with powers not her own, she continued until a church was gathered and the foundation laid for a prosperous mission.
She was apiousmissionary. Doubtless much of the success which crowned the efforts of Miss Macomber must be attributed, not to the brilliancy of her intellect, not to the vigor of her mind, not to the vast labor performed, but to thepietyof her heart. It was this which induced her to go out; she had no other motive in leaving home and all the joys of kindred and native land. It was this that induced her to plant the cross where the name of Jesus had not been preached; to go alone, a friendless woman, in the midst of savages; to brave sickness, disease, and death itself, in order to utter notes of salvation which should fall on dying ears like strains from heaven. It was this which sent her, like an angel of mercy, to the homes of the weary, to the abodes of sickness, to the hovels of want, to dens of crime, to whisper rebuke in one place and consolation in another.
She gave ample evidence that her heart had been baptized in the Holy Spirit; that her mind had come into contact with the great truths of revelation; that she had been to the cross and received an impulse from the spectacle of death there witnessed; that her heart had bled at scenes of woe which every where abound on heathen soil; that, in the majesty of humble faith and trust in the Divinity, she had resolved to die in the holy work to which God and the church had assigned her.
We not unfrequently behold the most lovely exhibitions of piety in Christian communities. We see religion doing its holy work in the lives of its professors; we contemplate instances of piety and devotion which seem to be more of heaven than earth; but never can be witnessed in Christian lands those sublime trophies of godliness which we find on shores which are covered with heathen abomination. We must leave home, we must cross the ocean, we must follow Harriet Newell through all her sufferings, until she finds an early grave. We must follow Ann H. Judson to the dungeons of Ava, to the damp, cold prisons of the East, to her home of suffering and death. We must trace the course of Miss Macomber from Maulmain to her new residence at Dong-Yahn; we must see her on her excursions into the surrounding province, and listen to her teachings as around her a rude group gather to hear of Jesus.
Here is piety in its most lovely form. Here is godliness in its most divine attire. Here is pure religion, which is undefiled before God. In these cases we see what cannot be witnessed at home, and what thousands of pious women would shrink from as impracticable and impossible.
Amid such scenes as these Miss Macomber seems to rise above the measure of a human being, and gain a likeness to Him who went about doing good. She appears superior to the infirmities of humanity, because she was engaged in an employment so nearly resembling that of her divine Master, and performed it with so much of the excellence and beauty of his spirit and grace.
Perhaps no better description of Miss Macomber as a laborer in the vineyard of her Lord can be given than she herself furnishes in her printed letters, which are found scattered through the missionary magazines of the denomination to which she belonged.
"DONG-YAHN, April 15, 1837.
"A line to you the last of December left me at this place, in the house of a Karen chief, waiting the building of my own, and giving what little religious instruction my knowledge of the language would admit. I have now the happiness to inform you that the excitement, which I then attributed wholly to novelty, proved to be a gracious influence of the Holy Spirit. A number of these poor, dark heathen, who were then bound in Satan's double chain, (idolatry and drunkenness,) have been liberated and brought into the glorious liberty of the gospel of Christ, and are now rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. Ten have been baptized, four men and six women; and a number of others, I trust, will ere long seek the blessed privilege. Many are still inquiring, and some, I trust, earnestly seeking. But many are opposing, reviling, and persecuting; and a few are indifferent and unconcerned.
"The progress of the work has been deeply interesting to all who have been acquainted with it, and particularly so to myself. Never were the power and mercy of God more manifestly displayed, and never did his saving grace shine through a more feeble instrumentality. But God can work according to his will; and, blessed be his name, the heathen shall be given to his Son.
"Our first baptism was on the 12th of January. Chung-pau, a man rather advanced in years, but of a sound, good mind, and who has thus far manifested a most devoted spirit, had from the first listened with uncommon interest; and I think I shall never forget the sensations it gave me when he would come and sit down by me, and, with a countenance which bespoke a soul awakened to the interest of eternal realities, would ask, 'What is it to believe? What canIdo to believe? I want to escape hell and obtain heaven. I wish to trust in Jesus Christ. What shall I do?' O, what would I have given in that moment for an easy use of the language! But I said what I could; and the Spirit taught him as man could not.
"On the 21st of January brother Osgood came up again, and had the happiness to baptize six more; viz., Ah-wah and wife, Bah-mee and wife, and Ko-pee and wife; and Mr. Judson baptized three of the chief's daughters on the 16th of March, one only about twelve years old. All gave good evidence of a gracious change, and have since manifested a growing devotion to the cause. A number of others of the chief's children, I trust, have been made partakers of divine grace, and will ere long enter the visible church. One of those baptized was married; and although her husband made no objections to her baptism, yet he immediately left her. She has two young children, whom her father has added to his eleven; and it is truly interesting to see the care he personally takes of them. Bah-mee has also been turned off by his widowed mother without a spoonful of rice for his family, (wife and two children;) and yet I hear not a hard or murmuring word. They seem to take it as a thing of course, that, if theywillbe disciples, they must suffer persecution.
"When I consider these and many other things which these dear Christians meet with, I cannot but admire the power of divine grace, and find new cause to bless God for light and civilization.
"The men baptized all expressed a great desire to devote their future lives to the service of God in making known his great salvation to those who were ignorant of it. They have uniformly manifested the same spirit ever since, and have been very useful so far as they knew. I have spared no pains in giving them every opportunity in my power for religious instruction; and their progress has been truly pleasing. The chief and Bah-mee both read Peguan well, and Burman some; and have now learned to read and write their own language. The former is about forty, of respectable talents and considerable influence. Bah-mee, who I think is an uncommonly able man, is about thirty; was in the priest's office three years, but left them some years ago; and when I came here was fast pursuing the drunkard's road with all the others. Ko-pee is but little over twenty, but has a wife and two children. He knows nothing of letters, but possesses a quick, discerning mind, and a lovely disposition. He is learning to read; and I am making great efforts to have the old man (Chung-pau) learn to read. I hope to get them all to Maulmain during the rains, that they may have better advantages for religious instruction, and that those who can may get a good knowledge of Burman books. They all understand considerable of the language; and it will be long before there will be books to any extent in their own. It has all the time seemed to me an indication of designs of great mercy towards this people that men of such qualifications should be called just at the commencement of labors amongst them; and I trust that God will so direct that they may accomplish much for the salvation of their countrymen and the glory of his name.
"I have had two or three Burman assistants constantly, who not only go out in the vicinity, accompanied by some of the Karens, and preach daily, but make excursions of four or five days in the villages, amongst the mountains, preaching the gospel to Toung-thoos, Peguans, or Burmans, as they happen to meet with them. I have made it my personal business to go with some of them; so that I have visited all the families within six or seven miles once or twice. I trust that these labors, though feeble, have not been in vain. I can speak but little of the language; but keeping a Karen with me, who is accustomed to my broken speeches, I give him ideas which he explains; and have been comforted and happy in the work, though attended with much fatigue and exposure.
"These things have not gone forward without opposition, as you will readily suppose. Besides all that would be expected from a numerous and deeply interested priesthood, we have had the fierce and violent opposition of a young prophet, who started up just before my arrival, and is located about a mile from me. He renounces a little of Boodhism and adds some other things; is unlettered and of no marked character; and yet he has many very devoted adherents. It is believed, however, by the best judges that he will be of short continuance. He effectually evades every effort to make him hear the gospel. His followers do not permit us to ascend the ladder into his house; and I have been out sometimes two or three days in succession, and have not been permitted to enter more than ten or twelve houses. It was fatiguing and painful to be exposed to the sun or hot air so long, and to find a seat as I could on the ground; but I was never comfortless or unhappy, assured that I was going at the bidding of Him who exposed his life unto death for a guilty world.
"We have had morning and evening worship from the first, and four or five exercises on the Sabbath, usually in Peguan, interpreted into Karen. I often ask questions at the close. A school has been sustained by my teacher, who, though very incompetent, has done very well. We have about a dozen scholars, as none will come who are opposed to us."
The following letter was written at Dong-Yahn February 5, 1838, and published shortly afterwards in this country:—
"The work of God is still going on here. Three men requested baptism last Sabbath, and a number more will soon come forward. This is the more encouraging, as, just now, there is an unusual effort of the adversary to put the cause down. It is the season for funeral festivals; and for fifteen or twenty days they have been in constant celebration, which of course attracts much attention. But the priests, not finding their coffers so well filled as usual, have seemed to make an effort as for life; and there is no end to the fog of worthless stuff which comes from them. It would seem that there was very little else said or done than what their violence called forth. No one of the Christians can go abroad but they hear from every quarter 'Jesus Christ,' by way of contempt; and all who attend our meetings receive the same treatment unless they join the rabble. So that when any of them decide to come out and face the whole, which to a heathen is mountainous, there is strong evidence that divine grace has taken possession of their hearts.
"One woman had made up her mind to come forward, but said she feared she could not endure to be cast off, not only by her parents and relatives, but by the whole village, as they had told her they would do. So she concluded to wait and see how her mind was when the others were baptized.
"Have been absent considerably of late, wishing to visit all the villages just about the mountain. Found ten or twelve places of some importance: this, however, is the largest and most important, except Tun-pah-tine, where we have one convert, and where I spent four days last week. There are some encouraging indications there; but the chiefs will not yet consent to my building a zayat. I am trying to get some of the converts to go and build there; but they are so timid and deficient in energy that, if left to themselves, I do not know that they would ever go out of their own village; though they never hesitate to go wherever I direct them. But in this case I wish them to take some responsibility.
"We have now an applicant for baptism from Puh-ong, a young man who has some excellent qualifications for usefulness. There are also two or three encouraging cases in Tun-loh, five or six miles distant, as also in some other directions; but the future is unknown.
"Our meeting is beginning to attract more attention, so that our room is often crowded; consequently I have engaged the chief to put on an addition of a few feet, which will be done this week.
"All the Christians seem to be getting on well, Bah-mee is my principal preacher. He certainly does admirably, considering what he was a year ago; but I find it necessary to see him, look over every subject, and give him all the ideas I wish to have advanced.
"There are constant rumors of robberies on the river, which of course prevent our doing any thing here."
Under date of July 30, 1838, we find the following article:—
"I still find much comfort and encouragement in trying to lead Karens in the path of knowledge and salvation. At the same time, I have constant cause to mourn over their defects and errors, which require not a little watchfulness and anxiety; but even in this I find a pleasure, having the assurance that I am notalone.
"In regard to the state of things at Dong-Yahn, Ko My-at-yaw, whom I left in charge, informs me that about all remain as when I left. The three or four who were rather hopeful still seem to be inquiring; opposition is about the same. There has been another attempt to burn the house, but unsuccessful. I have very little expectation that it will stand till my return; but this is but a secondary cause of anxiety. Their seeming determination to go down to eternal death causes me, at times, exquisite pain. O, when will they turn and live?
"The native Christians have generally, from the first, appeared remarkably firm and steadfast; and although some cases have required discipline, yet not one has had the appearance of contemplated or wilful sin. One poor old man alone, twelve or fifteen miles off, was overcome, by the long solicitation of a numerous family and under peculiar circumstances, so as to eat in a feast made to appease evil spirits; but he immediately came down here, confessed, and appeared truly humbled; said he did not forget God any moment, or cease to love him; but to be at peace with friends, he ate. I directed him to return and prove his sincerity by a future upright walk, and when we all returned, at the close of the rains, we would consult together on his case. There have been some other similar cases in regard to drinking—an evil which I fear more than all others.
"Agreeably to our earnest prayer, there seems to be an opening amongst the Pgwos at Bassein. I have prepared an assistant (Telaw) and family to go over to Rangoon two or three times; but they have been providentially prevented. We now wait with anxiety to hear from that quarter in regard to political affairs."
In November of the same year she writes as follows: "I may have mentioned that there had been attempts to burn the house and zayat at Dong-Yahn when we were in it. Since the rains ceased the attempt has been again repeated and considerable damage done; but I understand the chief thinks he can repair it for the dry season with but little expense; and I expect to build before another season, as the house was of the kind which usually lasts but two years. I thought it probable that the first attempt was in consequence of the increase of our number—brother and sister Brayton being then there; but now believe it was owing to a settled enmity to the gospel of Christ.
"Should not the power of God be displayed in changing the hearts of the perpetrators, or they be found out, I expect to be annoyed all the coming season, and have but little hope of keeping a house standing. Still, the cause is God's; the hearts of men are in his hands. He can subdue them; and I believe he will, and that the gospel will yet triumph at Dong-Yahn. It has already done wonders; and the time cannot be far distant when the enemy will be put to silence. Two or three of the assistants have just returned from there, and give the most cheering accounts of the attention of numbers to the word. They say that the three or four inquirers appear well, and talk of being baptized. The chief, who remains there constantly, is very much encouraged, and appears truly devoted to the cause of Christ. Ko My-at-yan is also there; rather old and feeble, but a faithful laborer.
"I am not a little comforted in seeing the zeal and increased efficiency with which the natives go to their work since leaving school, (about six weeks ago.) Ko Chung-paw, Telaw, and Bah-mee have been out in different directions, and bring pleasing accounts. They spent three weeks in one town on a branch of the Dah Gyieng. They say they every where met with Karens; but they are very much scattered and very poor, having lately emigrated from the Shyán country, three or four days over the mountains. The Karens, to an individual, listened well, though Boodhists; and many expressed a desire to receive further instruction, so as to become Christians. An aged priest, highly esteemed among them, and who does not conform to all the customs of the Burman priests, would not release them short of two days, so anxious was he to hear. They left the Testament and other Burman books, and Ko Chung-paw gave him his eyeglasses. The old priest sent me presents and a request to visit them. I attempted to visit that region last season; but reports of robberies on the rivers prevented. It is not more than four or five tides from here. The assistants have just been sent to make them another visit, and to tell them that, if they wish for instruction, they must build a zayat."
At the close of the same year our laborious missionary gives to her supporters and patrons the following summary view of the Dong-Yahn station, with which she was connected, and in the prosperity of which she was so much interested:—
"I shall ever rejoice in what I have witnessed of the power of divine grace amongst the heathen. A number of precious souls have been rescued from Satan's power; and one, I trust, has gone home to heaven, though not permitted to join the church below.
"The native Christians here now number twenty-three, twelve of whom have been baptized the present year. A few are still inquiring; but the multitude are going on the broad way to eternal death.
"During the dry season the assistants visited, more than once, all the villages about these mountains; and I think, from what I could judge by spending most of the time with them, the truth was faithfully declared and the way of life made plain. At Tunpuhtine and Puhaung some have been gathered in; at Tunlopun are some hopeful cases, as well as at Pahleen and Pompeah.
"Evening and morning worship has been kept up all the time, and worship on the Sabbath, with Sabbath schools, &c.
"Bah-mee, whom I selected for the purpose from amongst the first converts, and who has thus far justified my expectations, has been my principal means of communication with the people. I have taken unwearied pains with him, giving him every means in my power for instruction; and I am daily comforted in seeing that it has not been in vain. He is much engaged about the vicinity we lately visited, on a branch of the Dah Gyieng, and I trust his labors there have been blessed. But experience has often shown that natives, however efficient with teachers, are but children if left alone.
"Ko Chung-paw, two years ago, was fast going down the declivity of life in all the darkness of heathenism; but a ray of heavenly light darted across his path, arrested his attention, and soon kindled to a flame. Now, I may say, he is a 'burning and a shining light;' one to whom we often point as a witness of the power and purity of the religion of Jesus Christ."
Miss Macomber died in April, 1840. The closing scenes of her life were full of sadness and full of glory. Her death was deeply lamented by those who knew her worth; and many of the Dong-Yahn women came to her funeral, crying, "The mamma is dead! the mamma is dead!" and with wails of sorrow surrounded her grave. They had listened to her counsels, they had experienced her kindness, they had partaken of her hospitality; and, though many of them did not love the Savior, they mourned the fall of his servant. Their nation had sustained an irreparable loss; and they came to pay their last tribute of respect to the ashes of the departed. The last hours of Miss Macomber are thus described by Rev. S. M. Osgood, who was at Maulmain at the time of her death. The account, from the pen of one who witnessed the whole scene, will be read with deep interest. Mr. Osgood says,—
"It becomes my painful duty to announce to you the death of our dear sister E. Macomber, who died with jungle fever on the evening of the 16th instant, after an illness of nine days aged thirty-nine years.
"On the 9th of March Miss Macomber came down from Dong-Yahn with brother Stevens, and on the morning of the 10th left us again, with a view to visit a body of Pgwo Karens, residing high up one of the rivers. She had also a particular reference to spending the hottest part of the season on the river, having suffered much from the extreme heat at Dong-Yahn during the hot season last year. On the 4th instant she returned from this excursion, having enjoyed excellent health and a peculiarly pleasant season in labor for the good of the souls of the Karens, many of whom listened with much interest, and were 'almost persuaded to be Christians.'
"She arrived here late in the evening, and appeared quite well, with the exception of a slight cold, which she said she had taken that evening. On Sunday, the 5th, she complained of headache, but not so severe as to prevent her attendance upon the usual religious exercises of the day; and on Monday, after spending some hours with me in the bazaar, she left, and started on her return to Dong-Yahn. Before she arrived, however, her illness grew more violent, and, though it subsequently abated for a time, became again so decided that on the following Wednesday she was removed to this place by Christian Karens for the purpose of obtaining medical aid. Nothing remarkable or alarming was then discovered in her symptoms; and Doctor Charlton, the medical gentleman who was called in, expressed the fullest confidence that her disease would yield to the ordinary course of treatment, and that she would soon be able to resume her labors. But she thought otherwise; and although she did not express any conviction during two or three of the first days that the disease would prove fatal, she afterwards told me repeatedly that she had not from the first had the least expectation of recovery.
"On Saturday, the 11th instant, she, with the greatest composure, attended to the settlement of her temporal affairs, and then seemed to feel that her work was done. Her mind was perfectly clear and calm to the last; and during her whole illness she was a lovely example of Christian fortitude, patience, and resignation. Her faith was unwavering; and consequently she was enabled to look forward to the period of her dissolution with evident pleasure, and with the fullest conviction that death was but the door to endless bliss. I asked her if she felt any reluctance to die; and she replied, 'I have not the least. It is a pleasure to think of dying. I shall see much of what I have recently thought a little of—the glory of God and the love of Christ. When I think of the dear Karen disciples I feel for them, and would be willing to stay with them a little longer; but if it is the Lord's will that I should leave them, I have nothing to say. Tell my friends I am not sorry that I came to this country or that I came alone. I have suffered for nothing which they could have supplied me with. I have found kind friends to take care of me.' She appeared upon the whole rather anxious to die, and to die soon. The morning before her death, although none of us thought she was so near her end, she was heard to pray, 'O my Master, take me to thyself this day.' While in the agony of death she said, 'Why cannot I be released?' But when one remarked, 'The Lord's time is the best time,' she replied, 'Yes;' and after a few minutes more she quietly fell asleep in Jesus.
"The dear Karen Christian disciples have suffered a great loss, which they most deeply feel. Brother Stevens and I visited them a few days subsequent to her death and found them overwhelmed with grief, but at the same time resolved to trust in the Lord and go forward. They are a lovely band, and apparently as well grounded in the principles of religion as could be expected of any so recently converted from heathenism."
Thus parted with earth one of the most devoted servants of God. She has gone up on high to receive her reward. By her death the heathen lost a most faithful friend, the Missionary Union lost a most devoted laborer, and the cause of Christ parted with a most zealous advocate.
And shall we weep? No; death has gained no victory. God and the Christian have triumphed over death and the grave.
"Well we know her living faithHad the power to conquer death;As a living rose may bloomBy the borders of the tomb."
Her life was short, and her sun went down while it was yet day. But short as her stay on earth was, she was enabled to do much good; and in eternity many will rise up to call her blessed.
The Burman empire has witnessed the death scene of some of the most illustrious women who have ever lived. It is the graveyard in which their bodies have been laid to rest after the spirits have departed. It will continue to be a spot of melancholy interest as long as the ashes of departed saints are deemed of value by the Christian world; and those graves will remain the silent pledges that Burmah will never be abandoned, as a field of missionary exertion, until missionary exertion shall be no longer necessary. The soil in which such choice spirits find rest, the groves in which they seek shelter, the flower which blossoms, and the tree which waves its branches over them, are all sacred in the estimation of those who love God and delight in the glory of his kingdom. Senseless as they are, they assist in forming a shelter for honored dust, over which monuments of marble, with letters of gold and silver, are not worthy to rise. When Mrs. Comstock died another name was added to the glorious catalogue of the fallen—not fallen, but ascended. Another grave was made, from which, on the morning of the resurrection, will come forth a glorified one, to shine in the crown of the Savior forever.
Sarah Davis Comstock was a native of Brookline, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Robert S. Davis, of the Baptist church in that place. In the house of her father her youthful days were passed, and there she received the mental and moral education which fitted her to labor for the souls of the heathen. In early life she found the Savior, and during her residence in America gave full evidence of a pious, self-denying spirit.
Previous to his sailing for the East, Mr. Comstock selected her for his companion, and with a martyr spirit she determined to bear the sacrifice and endure the toil. She was married to Mr. C., and in the act gave herself not only to him, but to the cause of Christ—to all the sufferings incident to a life in Burmah.
They, in company with several other elected missionaries, were publicly consecrated to the work in June, 1834, and sailed immediately for their field of labor. The services of consecration, on the 28th of June, occurred in the Baldwin Place Church, in Boston, and were of thrilling interest. Meetings had been held during the day in another church, at which Rev. Mr. Wade and the converts from heathenism, Ko Chet-thing and Moung Sway-moung, had spoken. Indeed, the whole of the previous week had been given to missionary exercises and missionary sympathy; and when the evening of the Sabbath came, the spacious church was densely crowded with an eager and holy throng. Rev. Dr. Wayland delivered an eloquent address of more than an hour's length; after which the missionaries were instructed by Dr. Bolles, secretary of the American Baptist Board, under whose patronage they were to be sent out. When their instructions had been given, Mr. Wade replied in behalf of his brethren and sisters who were so soon to leave our shores. The whole scene was one of deep interest; and many were the prayers offered to God in behalf of that company of devoted Christians. In these delightful services Dr. Comstock, father of Rev. Grover S. Comstock, one of the missionaries, and Rev. Dr. Wisner, secretary of the American Board, participated; and in the crowded house there were several missionaries connected with other denominations, who looked on with thrilling interest and satisfaction. One who witnessed the scene and heard the addresses which were given speaks of the occasion as follows:—
"At seven o'clock, notwithstanding the weather, that spacious building was crowded to excess, above and below; hundreds werestandingthrough the whole service and hundreds retiring from the house because there was not even a place to stand. To be present among those thousands on such an occasion, once in a life, were to stamp that life with an impression to which language is not equal. What, then, must have been felt by each of these missionaries, by their relatives and friends, by those angels who rejoice over one sinner that repenteth, and whose prophetic thoughts would connect this preparatory hour with the repentance of myriads in a distant clime, and age after age?
"We did not wonder, therefore, to hear Dr. Wayland's address open with a confession of the inadequacy of speech to do justice to the thoughts and feelings that fill the soul to overflowing at such an hour. And while listening to his lofty, bold, beautiful, and we may add emphaticallyscripturaldelineation of the objects, qualifications, and duties of a Christian missionary,—a delineation that made every other object and character than that of the Christian dwindle into utter insignificance in the comparison,—we felt as did Peter on the mount of glorious vision: 'It is good to be here.' And the thought more than once occurred to us, How would the late venerable Baldwin have enjoyed this scene!
"We were struck by the remark of Mr. Wade, that, while he regarded the prayers of Christians in this country as indispensable to the success of the mission, he could not but fear that prayerssuch as he had sometimes heardwould avail them or their offerers little. The fervor of love, the expectancy of hope, and the persevering constancy of faith were the spiritual qualities wanted. Could they not be obtained?
"In the farewell of Ko Chet-thing and Moung Sway-moung there was a simplicity and pious warmth that went to the heart. They were grateful for the unspeakable blessings of the gospel sent to them when in darkness, and happy alike that they had been permitted of God to see the land where the seed grew; that they were now about to return to plant and rear the tree of the gospel in Burmah; and that they could hope hereafter to meet their Christian friends of America in heaven."
The closing hymn, which was sung by the choir and congregation with fine effect, was written for the occasion by one of the sweetest writers among American poets.
Native land!—in summer smiling,—Hill and valley, grove and stream;Home! whose nameless charms beguiling,Peaceful nursed our infant dream;Haunts! to which our childhood hasted,Where the earliest wild flowers grew;Church! where Christ's free grace we tasted,Graved on memory's page,—Adieu!
Mother! who hast watched our pillowIn thy tender, sleepless love,Lo, we dare the crosted billow;Mother, put thy trust above.Father! from thy guidance turning,O'er the deep our way we take;Keep the prayerful incense burningOn thine altar, for our sake.
Brothers! sisters! more than everAre our fond affections twined,As that hallowed bond we severWhich the hand of Nature joined.But the cry of Burmah's anguishThrough our inmost hearts doth sound;Countless souls in misery languish;We would fly to heal their wound.
Burmah! we would soothe thy weeping;Take us to thy sultry breast;Where thy sainted dust is sleepingLet us share a kindred rest.Friends! this span of life is fleeting;Hark! the harps of angels swell;Think of that eternal meeting,Where no voice shall say,Farewell!Mrs. L. H. Sigourney.
On the morning of Wednesday, July 2, the good ship Cashmere, Captain Hallet, bore them from our shores, some of them to return no more. There were on board Mr. and Mrs. Comstock, Mr. and Mrs. Dean, Mr. and Mrs. Vinton, Mr. and Mrs. Howard, Mr. and Mrs. Wade, Mr. and Mrs. Osgood, Miss Gardener and the Eastern converts, all belonging to the Baptist denomination; together with Dr. Bradley and wife and Miss White, belonging to the stations of the A.B.C.F.M.
The morning dawned in beauty and loveliness; and, as the sun rolled up the sky, a crowd of people were seen assembling on the wharf. Soon from the deck of the vessel was heard the melodious but firm voice of Rev. Dr. Sharp, in prayer to God, pleading for those who were now to commit themselves to the perils of the deep. Hymns were sung, kind words were spoken, Christian greetings were exchanged, and farewell embraces given; and, amid sobs, and tears, and prayers, the vessel swung off from her moorings. As she floated out gently into the harbor the vast crowd on shore commenced singing the hymn of Bishop Heber,—
"From Greenland's icy mountains,From India's coral strand."
This hymn was scarcely finished, and the last echo was yet upon the air, when from the ship was heard another song. Voices which seemed divine united in another hymn, and, as holy stillness gathered over the people, they heard repeated by the departing missionaries the lines of Rev. S.F. Smith:—
"Yes, my native land, I love thee;All thy scenes, I love them well."
Suchhymns, sung undersuchcircumstances, bysuchmen and women, must have produced joy and rapture among the ransomed spirits on high; and doubtless Jesus, man's ascended Savior, looked down upon his followers with divine approval.
The Cashmere anchored before Amherst on the 5th of December, and the missionaries were warmly greeted by Dr. Judson and his associates. After remaining awhile at Amherst and Maulmain, Mr. Comstock and wife proceeded to the province of Arracan, which was to be the field of their labors; and on the 26th of February, 1835, it being the Sabbath, they performed their first missionary duty in Arracan. On the 4th of March they arrived at Kyouk Phyoo, from which place Mr. Comstock writes an interesting letter, giving a description of the field of labor in which he and his companion were to be engaged. The interest of this sketch will be increased by a perusal of that description in the language of the author himself:—
"As this province is a new field of labor, perhaps a short account of it will not be uninteresting. It is situated on the eastern shore of the Bay of Bengal, and extends from 15 deg. 54' to 20 deg. 51' north latitude. Its width is very variable. At the northern part of the province it is about ninety miles wide, while the width at the extreme southern point is but two or three miles. Probably the average width is something less than fifty miles. It is bounded on the north by the Province of Chittagong, on the east by the Burman empire, and on the south and west by the Bay of Bengal. An extensive range of mountains is the boundary between Arracan and Burmah, over which are several passes—one to Ava, one to Prome, another to Bassein, &c. Only thefirstis very much travelled. By this we are only six or eight days' journey from Ava. A good deal of this province is mountainous, and much of the rest is jungle or uncultivated land. The people live in small villages, which are scattered over the whole province. The population, according to the government census, I do not exactly know; but it must be something less than two hundred and fifty thousand. It is very difficult, however, to ascertain the population, as the people will deceive all they can, to avoid taxes, which were very oppressive under the Burman government, and are not very light now. A great deal of itinerant labor must be performed here, as the inhabitants are so scattered; and much must be done by tracts. Two or three laborers besides brother Simons and myself should enter this field as soon as may be. The province is subdivided into four subordinate jurisdictions, called districts. The northern one, Akyab, is the largest. Here is brother Fink, with his native church; and here, I believe, brother Simons intends to settle. The Ramree district is the next in size. It consists of Ramree Island, about forty miles long, and on an average about fifteen wide, extending from 18 deg. 51' to 19 deg. 24' north latitude of Cheduba Island, lying a short distance to the south-west of Ramree, which is eighteen miles long and fourteen wide, and of several smaller islands. There are in the district three hundred and seventy-four villages and about seventy thousand inhabitants. This is the field of labor I occupy. Kyouk Phyoo is on the northern point of Ramree Island; and, though not as central or as large as some other places, is, on some accounts, a very desirable station."
In his labors Mr. C. found a valuable help in Mrs. C., who with unreserved diligence devoted herself to the duties of her station in different parts of Arracan. Though not exposed to the trials and dangers which attended the efforts of the first missionaries, yet in labors abundant and faith unwavering she certainly was.
There is mentioned of her a most beautiful incident which occurred when about to part with her children, who were to visit America to commence a course of instruction not to be obtained in Burmah. When the vessel was about to sail, and Mr. Kincaid, who was to conduct them to this country, was ready to go on board, Mrs. Comstock took her two children and led them forth towards the ocean which would soon part her from them forever, and, kissing the cheek of each, committed them to the care of Him who holds the storms in his hand and controls the tempests as he will. It cost a struggle such only as a mother's heart can feel and realize; and, as she kissed them for the last time and gave them to her husband, she turned her streaming eyes to heaven and exclaimed,"O Jesus, I do this for thee!"
It was the last time. The vessel spread her canvas to the gales of heaven, and the children of the devoted woman were wafted from her, to see her face no more; and when next they meet, it will be before the great white throne, where the secrets of all hearts will be revealed, and where the Savior will place upon the head of his servant a crown of glory, and declare, in the hearing of an assembled world,"This, beloved disciple, I do for thee!"
It will be a delightful recompense for all the trials, inflictions, and sufferings of a missionary life, and will more than compensate the most self-sacrificing of all earth's children for the most toilsome labors, the most severe trials. Far happier will be he whose brow is encircled with such a crown than he who in this life is hailed as a royal emperor and led in chains of gold from throne to throne, from kingdom to kingdom.
One of our poets has thrown this beautiful incident into rhyme. One verse of his poem we repeat:—
"One burning kiss, one wild good by;Put off, put off from shore!In mercy to the mother fly,And swiftly waft them from her eye,For she can bear no more!She knelt and cried, as o'er the seaFaded their forms like sunset ray,'O Savior, I do this for thee!'And, sobbing, turned away."
The faith of Mrs. Comstock was strong. She believed that the efforts of Christian philanthropy would be attended by the desired blessing, and that Arracan would lift up its hands to God and implore the love of Jesus upon her prostrate sons. In a letter from Ramree, written only a few months before her death, she wrote as follows: "I believe these hills and vales of Arraean will yet leap at the 'sound of the church-going bell,' and the hundreds and thousands of her children will be seen coming up from every city, village, and hamlet, with united heart and voice, to the worship of the great Jehovah. It may not be in my day; but my childrenmaysee it. God grant that they may be privileged in hastening it on. We see but little fruit of our labors, i.e., so far as converts are concerned, but see the seed germinating. It is not dead—it will yet spring up; yes, this very seed we are now sowing will spring up and yield a glorious harvest."
With this confident expectation she labored on until the hand of death came to close her labors and lead her away to her infinite reward. In whatever part of Arracan she was, she was zealous to do the will of her Master, and seemed governed by a firm determination to glory in nothing but the cross of Jesus. Whether at Kyouk Phyoo, at Akyab, or at Ramree, or any of the other spots of toil and denial, she wasfaithfulto the great work assigned her. She never lost sight of the object to accomplish which she had been sent out to a heathen land.
She departed this life on the 28th of April, 1843. Her disease was the malignant dysentery, which is peculiar to the climate. Her two children, lovely little boys, followed her to the grave; and in three months they were laid to rest by her side. About two hundred inhabitants of the Ramree district attended her funeral; and when the disconsolate husband had gone to his deserted home they remained and poured forth their sorrow over the new-made grave. Her death exerted a deep and powerful influence on the minds of the natives; and some were led to prepare to meet God by seeking the mercy of his Son.
The touching account of the death of his companion we give in Mr. C.'s own words: "For several months past Mrs. Comstock had been blessed with unusually good health; and we had repeatedly spoken with gratitude of the goodness of God in granting us so long an exemption from sickness. We hoped, too, that we should be permitted to labor more vigorously and uninterruptedly for the good of the heathen than we had been able to do. She had just completed a Book for Mothers, which, I think, was greatly needed, and will, I trust, prove very useful. She was contemplating a work for children, and had begun to inquire for scholars to attend during the rains, just at hand. We had, too, already decided to spend a month or two early in the cold season at Cheduba, and then take a tour of a month to Ava and the villages on the way thither. Our prospects for the future appeared to be unusually encouraging; and we fondly hoped that we should be permitted to see many turning unto the Lord in Arracan. We did not, however, forget that death might destroy all our plans, and often conversed together freely on the probability that one of us might be called speedily into eternity. She had no fear of death nor any anxiety as to the time or manner of her departure, but only spoke of it as affecting our future course.
"She was taken ill on Saturday, April 22. Our English doctor was then absent from Ramree; but, had he been here, we should not, probably, have thought it necessary to call him, as Mrs. C. had prescribed for many similar cases with entire success. On Monday I saw that her disease was very severe and obstinate, and asked her if I had not better call the Mussulman doctor who is left in charge here when the English one is absent. He came Tuesday morning. He prescribed for her, but wished the English doctor sent for; and I despatched a messenger for him. He arrived early on Wednesday morning, and faithfully and assiduously tried every remedy to arrest the disease, but in vain. On Friday evening, the 28th, at eight o'clock, she very suddenly expired. Occasionally there were slight symptoms of amendment; and I fondly hoped, to the very last, that she might recover. A minute or two before her death she took some nourishment, and remarked that she thought she should soon regain her strength. I trusted that it might be so, and stepped on to the veranda to say to the native Christians that there was still a little reason to hope. I heard her speak, and hastened to her just in time to see her sink back upon her pillow, and. without a struggle or even a gasp, breathe her last.
"The body was immediately surrounded by weeping and wailing heathen women, who felt that they had lost a friend. Such indeed was the case; for Mrs. C. truly pitied and loved the women of Arracan, and was never happier than when telling them of the Savior. On the day after her death, as the news spread in the town, men, women, and children (more of the last two) began to crowd to my house; and it was estimated that about two thousand were here during the day. Their expressions of attachment to my dear wife and of sorrow for her loss were deeply affecting. 'How kindly she always spoke to me when she met me!' 'She always gave us medicine when we were sick.' 'She was truly a good woman.' 'She came here to die, far from her native land, with no mother or sister near her, because she pitied us.' Expressions similar to these were made and listened to with many tears. I remarked once, 'What crowds are pressing to the house! Areallfrom the town?' A bystander replied, 'Yes; as the news spreads all will be here, for she was greatly beloved.' Another added, 'Many tears will be shed in Ramree to-day.'
"I was surprised and deeply affected to witness such manifestations of feeling among the heathen towards a Christian missionary. They more firmly convinced me that she had not lived in vain, but had exerted an extensive and salutary influence, which, I doubt not, will be powerfully felt in preparing the way of the Lord here. Her labors, too, I trust, will prove the means of salvation to many souls. She was a most conscientious and laborious missionary. The rains before last she had a school, to which she devoted a good deal of time; translated the Scripture Catechism, administered medicine to the sick, conversed with the women who were daily calling at the house, and taught her own children, besides attending to household duties. She was from daylight till nine o'clock at evening constantly engrossed with labors and cares. As far as her own feelings were concerned, she would have delighted uniformly to be as active and busy as she then was.
"She was not, however, always called to such constant and severe labor, but uniformly did what she could. Whenever women came to the house she felt it her duty to leave all and go and tell them of the Savior; and I recollect that in a few instances, when she was so engaged that she could not at once go to them, and they left without hearing of Christ, she was very much grieved on account of it. If I was not at hand, she conversed with the men, too. Towards evening, when she could be out, she might often be found seated on a rice mortar, with half a dozen women around her, in the adjoining villages. Attention to the sick, also, demanded a good deal of her time and thought. I have known her to give medicine to twenty applicants in a day. She was always anxious to accompany me in my tours to the villages during the cold season; but circumstances usually prevented it. She would have prepared more works for the press but for a feeling of extreme self-depreciation, which led her to think that she was not competent to prepare a book fit to be printed. The Scripture Catechism and Mother's Book are both, I think, calculated to do much good. She not only labored faithfully, but prayed fervently, and with tears, for the salvation of the heathen. She has, however, entered into her rest; her labors and prayers have ceased; and I am left alone to train my children up for God and to do what I can to win the heathen to Christ. The Lord has thus decided; and he does all things well. I am enabled to say, in sincerity I trust, 'Thy will be done.' I have lost a most affectionate and amiable wife, my children have lost a kind and faithful mother, and a prayerful and diligent laborer is lost to the cause of missions; but I will not repine or murmur. The Lord is as rich in mercy as he is infinite in wisdom; and let him do what seemeth good in his sight. I need not ask the sympathy and prayers for the members of the Board and other friends, for I feel assured that I shall have them. Pray, not only that my affliction may be greatly sanctified to my spiritual good and to the good of other friends and other missionaries, but also that the death of my dear wife may be made the means of life to many souls in Arracan. Several appear tender, and seem to recall the instructions she has given them."
Mr. Comstock did not long survive her. In about one year from the time his wife was taken from her toils his earthly joys and sorrows closed, and he went up on high. Borne down by anxiety, care, and affliction, he died April 24, 1844. He was the third son of Rev. Oliver C. Comstock, of Michigan. He graduated at Hamilton Institution in 1827. For a while he studied and practised law in the city of Rochester, where he was becoming very successful as a counsellor. But God had another station for him to occupy—a wide field of usefulness for him to fill. In the winter of 1831 he was led to view himself as a sinner and embrace Jesus as his Savior. He became a member of the First Baptist Church, and was baptized by his venerated father. Soon he became convinced that the Christian ministry demanded his exertions and powers. He soon removed to Hamilton and entered the theological class, and at once commenced preparing himself for labors in Burmah, and soon went forth to do the will of God in wild and uncultivated regions. But his afflictions were many—his toils great—his years few. He died ere the desire of his heart had been realized. He ascended to heaven ere the field given him to cultivate was seen blossoming as the rose.
Called by God, he left the path to earthly honor and distinction and entered the scorned and despised service of the crucified One, and in that service found an early grave. He saw his beloved companion go down to the tomb; he saw two darling babes laid beside her; and, panting for the loved ones, he himself went down into the sepulchre.
Here ends the record of a family sacrificed on the altar of Christian benevolence; a record written with tears of sorrow and anguish, yet gleaming with signs of glory; a record which even the cold cynic might respect, and the stoic read with emotions of wonder and admiration.
"Patriots have toiled, and in their country's causeBled nobly; and their deeds, as they deserve,Receive proud recompense. We give in chargeTheir names to the sweet lyre. The Historic Muse,Proud of the treasure, marches with it downTo latest times; and Sculpture, in her turn,Gives bond in stone and ever-during brassTo guard them and immortalize her trust.But fairer wreaths are due, though never paid,To those who, posted at the shrine of Truth,Have fallen in her defence."