“The following morning, the royal treasurer, the governor of the north gate of the palace, who was in future our steady friend, and another nobleman, attended by forty or fifty followers, came to take possession of all we had. I treated them civilly, gave them chairs to sit on, tea and sweetmeats for their refreshment; and justice obliges me to say that they conducted the business of confiscation with more regard to my feelings than I should have thought it possible for Burmese officers to exhibit. The three officers, with one of the royal secretaries, alone entered the house; their attendants were ordered to remain outside. They saw I was deeply affected, and apologized for what they were about to do by saying it was painful for them to take possession of property not their own, but they were compelled thus to do by order of the king. ‘Where are your silver, gold, and jewels?’ said the royal treasurer. ‘I have no gold or jewels; but here is the key of a trunk which contains the silver; do with it as you please.’ The trunk was produced, and the silver weighed. ‘This money,’ said I, ‘was collected in America by the disciples of Christ, and sent here for the purpose of building a _kyoung_ [the name of a priest’s dwelling], and for our support while teaching the religion of Christ. Is it suitable that you should take it?’ The Burmese are averse to taking what is offered in a religious point of view, which was the cause of my making the inquiry. ‘We will state this circumstance to the king,’ said one of them, ‘and perhaps he will restore it. But is this all the silver you have?’ I could not tell a falsehood. ‘The house is in your possession,’ I replied; ‘search for yourselves.’ ‘Have you not deposited silver with some person of your acquaintance?’ ‘My acquaintances are all in prison; with whom should I deposit silver?’ They next ordered my trunk and drawers to be examined. The secretary only was allowed to accompany me in this search. Everything nice or curious which met his view was presented to the officers for their decision whether it should be taken or retained. I begged they would not take our wearing apparel, as it would be disgraceful to take clothes partly worn into the possession of his majesty, and to us they were of unspeakable value. They assented, and took a list only, and did the same with the books, medicines, etc. My little work-table and rocking-chair, presents from my beloved brother, I rescued from their grasp, partly by artifice and partly through their ignorance. They left, also, many articles which were of inestimable value during our long imprisonment.
“As soon as they had finished their search and departed, I hastened to the queen’s brother to hear what had been the fate of my petition, when, alas! all my hopes were dashed by his wife’s coolly saying, ‘I stated your case to the queen, but her majesty replied, “_The teachers will not die; let them remain as they are._”’ My expectations had been so much excited, that this sentence was like a thunder-clap to my feelings. For the truth at one glance assured me that if the queen refused assistance, who would dare to intercede for me? With a heavy heart I departed, and on my way home attempted to enter the prison-gate to communicate the sad tidings to your brother, but was harshly refused admittance; and for the ten days following, notwithstanding my daily efforts, I was not allowed to enter. We attempted to communicate by writing, and after being successful for a few days, it was discovered; the poor fellow who carried the communications was beaten and put in the stocks, and the circumstance cost me about ten dollars, besides two or three days of agony for fear of the consequences.
“The officers who had taken possession of our property presented it to his majesty, saying, ‘Judson is a true teacher; we found nothing in his house but what belongs to priests. In addition to this money there are an immense number of books, medicines, trunks of wearing apparel, etc., of which we have only taken a list. Shall we take them or let them remain?’ ‘Let them remain,’ said the king, ‘and put this property by itself, for it shall be restored to him again if he is found innocent.’ This was in allusion to the idea of his being a spy.