of ten or twelve
thousand men, under the command of the Kyee-woon-gyee, were sent off in
three or four days, and were to be joined by the Sakyer-woon-gyee, who
had previously been appointed Viceroy of Rangoon, and who was on his way
thither, when the news of its attack reached him. No doubt was
entertained of the defeat of the English; the only fear of the king was,
that the foreigners hearing of the advance of the Burmese troops, would
be so alarmed, as to flee on board their ships and depart, before there
would be time to secure them as slaves. 'Bring for me,' said a wild
young buck of the palace, 'six kala pyoo, (white strangers,) to row my
boat;' and 'to me,' said the lady of a Woongyee, 'send four white
strangers to manage the affairs of my house, as I understand they are
trusty servants.' The war boats, in high glee, passed our house, the
soldiers singing and dancing, and exhibiting gestures of the most joyous
kind. Poor fellows! said we, you will probably never dance again. And
it so proved, for few if any ever saw again their native home.

"As soon as the army were despatched, the government began to inquire
the cause of the arrival of the strangers at Rangoon. There must be
spies in the country, suggested some, who have invited them over. And
who so likely to be spies, as the Englishmen residing at Ava? A report
was in circulation, that Captain Laird, lately arrived, had brought
Bengal papers which contained the intention of the English to take
Rangoon, and it was kept a secret from his Majesty. An inquiry was
instituted. The three Englishmen, Gouger, Laird, and Rogers, were called
and examined. It was found they had seen the papers, and were put in
confinement, though not in prison. We now began to tremble for
ourselves, and were in daily expectation of some dreadful event.

"At length Mr. Judson and Dr. Price were summoned to a court of
examination, where strict inquiry was made relative to all they knew.
The great point seemed to be whether they had been in the habit of
making communications to foreigners, of the state of the country, &c.
They answered, they had always written to their friends in America, but
had no correspondence with English officers, or the Bengal government.
After their examination, they were not put in confinement as the
Englishmen had been, but were allowed to return to their houses. In
examining the accounts of Mr. G. it was found that Mr. J. and Dr. Price
had taken money of him to