whilst some readers will skip the appendix altogether, to others it may appear the best part of my book, as it will give some information regarding the present state of the karens, and will show what sorts of fruit now grow on the tree planted by the devoted american missionaries and their first convert, ko thah byu.

i will not dwell long on the fact mentioned in secular newspapers, that when the english took possession of burmah those of the inhabitants trusted with arms were loyal karens, as they would defend the laws. such courage was displayed by the karens that they were given by the english government a large reward.

it is more interesting to know how the christian karens have honoured the memory of their apostle, ko thah byu. i will give some extracts from his memoir, to which i have been already indebted:—

“on the 16th of this month, may 1878, occurred the fiftieth anniversary of the baptism of the first karen convert, ko thah byu. he was not only the first in time. as a humble, persistent, and prayerful teacher of the gospel to his heathen countrymen, he ranks easily first amongst the hundreds of faithful men who have succeeded him.”

a school and building fund was raised, not only with a view to usefulness in the growing church, but to erect a worthy monument to ko thah byu. to give another extract:—

“it was voted, in view of the exigency and the jubilee, to make a special thank-offering, that the missionary hall might be dedicated without delay. it was the hottest time of the year, but every man, woman, and child stayed at his post. an enthusiasm for giving fell on the people. on the day of dedication our new building fund, which we had set at the modest figure of 20,000 rupees (less than ￡2,000), reached the sum of 42,342 rupees. the debt was extinguished; there was abundance of material on hand, and over 8,000 rupees in cash.... to sum up, since 1868 the karens of bassein alone have sent 43,050 rupees for the erection of permanent and substantial buildings.”

then follows a detailed description of the opening of the ko thah byu mission hall, the winding up of which we will give to our readers:—

“on the wall of the south veranda we have carved in large gilded burmese characters—

1828. ko thah byu. 1878.

and our prayer is that the building may long stand, and do its part towards training and sending forth hundreds of men and women far better equipped for the service of the master than ko thah byu, and with a spirit no less fervent and devoted.”

to bring the account of the karens to a still later date, i give an extract of a comparatively recent speech made by a lady, the only karen missionary at a large conference.6 speaking of the interesting people amongst whom she laboured, she said: “without any literature, they had a tradition about some old book which had been taken from them, but which some day the white men would bring back to them. they were therefore ready to receive the gospel, and when it reached them they yielded readily to its power. now there are over 450 parishes, with their own pastors and schools. they also send out missionaries to the regions beyond. there are 30,000 church communicants. many of the young men have gone with their wives across the hills far north amongst strange peoples, and are there preaching the gospel.... there is a women’s karen missionary society.”