The Life of the Rev. George Whitefield, Volume 2 (of 2) (part 1 of 4)

The Life of the Rev. George Whitefield, Volume 2 (of 2)

The Life of the Rev. George Whitefield

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Transcriber’s Notes │ │ │ │ │ │ Punctuation has been standardized. │ │ │ │ The text may show quotations within quotations, all set off │ │ by double quotes. The inner quotations have been changed to │ │ single quotes for improved readability. │ │ │ │ Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. │ │ │ │ Non-printable characteristics have been given the following │ │ Italic text: --> text │ │ superscripts --> x{th} │ │ │ │ This book was written in a period when many words had │ │ not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have │ │ multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in │ │ the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated │ │ with a Transcriber’s Note. │ │ │ │ Index references have not been checked for accuracy. │ │ │ │ Footnotes are identified in the text with a number in │ │ brackets [2] and have been accumulated in a single section │ │ at the end of the text. │ │ │ │ Transcriber’s Notes are used when making corrections to the │ │ text or to provide additional information for the modern │ │ reader. These notes are identified in the text by a ♦ symbol, │ │ and are accumulated in a single section at the end of the │ │ book. │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Illustration: REV{D}. GEORGE WHITEFIELD, B.A. AGED 54

Engraved by J. COCHRAN.

THE LIFE

OF THE

REV. GEORGE WHITEFIELD,

B.A., OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, OXFORD.

BY

REV. L. TYERMAN,

AUTHOR OF “THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE REV. SAMUEL WESLEY, M.A., RECTOR OF EPWORTH;” “THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE REV. JOHN WESLEY, M.A.;” AND “THE OXFORD METHODISTS.”

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL II.

London: HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 27, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.

MDCCCLXXVII.

Hazell, Watson, and Viney, Printers, London and Aylesbury.

GENERAL CONTENTS.

VOL. II.

SECOND VISIT TO SCOTLAND.

JUNE TO OCTOBER, 1742.

Marvellous Work of God――Revivals at Cambuslang, Kilsyth, etc.――Letter to Lord Rae――Erection in the Hospital Park, Edinburgh――Great Commotions――Opposition of the “Associate Presbytery”――Mr. Robe’s Answer――Letter to Ebenezer Erskine―― Public Fast――Anti-Whitefieldian Declaration――Letter from Gentleman in Boston――Hostile Pamphlets――Pamphlet by Whitefield on New England Revival――Whitefield’s Financial Report of Orphan House――Letter to Rev. Mr. Willison―― Young Truants――Invasion of Georgia――Whitefield’s Chaplain and Surgeon Imprisoned――Letter to Trustees of Georgia―― Whitefield’s Vindication of himself――Methodism in Wales―― Whitefield’s Letter to his Mother――Second Visit to Cambuslang――The Moravians――Letter to Habersham――Revivals in Scotland――Letter to Colonel Gardiner――Whitefield and Wesley Reconciled――Collections in Scotland, 1–35

IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

NOVEMBER, 1742, TO AUGUST, 1744.

Letter to Habersham――Aristocratic Hearers――Letter to Lady Frances Gardiner――Rev. John Meriton――Persecution in Wales―― John Cennick in Trouble――Letter to Bishop Sherlock――Orphan House――Letter to Ingham――Letter to Colonel Gardiner―― Letter to Hervey――Methodism in Wales――Whitefield in Gloucestershire――Second Conference of Calvinistic Methodists――Rev. Howell Davies――Whitefield elected Moderator――Tour in Wales――David Taylor――In West of England―― Association at Trevecca――Rev. Richard Thomas Bateman――Thomas Adams――Persecution at Minchin Hampton――John Syms――Proposed Conference――Separation from Church――Narrow Escape――Dissenters Alarmed――Birth of Son――In Devonshire and Cornwall――Letter to Howell Harris――Wiltshire Societies――In Staffordshire, etc.―― Association at Watford――Whitefield’s Poverty――Death of his Child――Trial at Gloucester Assizes――Fly-Sheets of Bishop of London――Whitefield’s Answers――A Furious Pamphleteer――Rev. Thomas Church――Fine Picture of Enthusiasm――Bishop Smalbroke’s Charge――Whitefield’s Answer――Brutal Treatment at Plymouth―― Labours at Plymouth――Rev. Henry Tanner――Rev. David Crossly―― Thomas Beard――Methodist Soldiers――The Christian History―― Whitefield’s Preachers――Outrages at Exeter, 36–119

THIRD VISIT TO AMERICA.

AUGUST, 1744, TO JUNE, 1748.

Dangerous Voyage――Whitefield Ill――Prince’s _Christian History_――Sir William Pepperell――Letter by Whitefield’s Wife――Dr. Timothy Cutler――Rev. Charles Chauncy, D.D.――Rev. Zachary Grey, D.D.――Whitefield’s Answer to Chauncy――Hostile Publications――Friendly Publications――Summary――Whitefield in Boston――A Convert――Rev. Thomas Prince――Paper Warfare―― Cennick’s Secession――Cape Breton Expedition――Sermon in a Thunderstorm――Brainerd――Receipts and Disbursements for Orphan House――Bickerings ――Associations of Calvinistic Methodists―― Whitefield’s Preachers――Outrage at Plymouth――Whitefield’s Loyalty――In Maryland――In Virginia――Rev. Samuel Davies――Rev. Samuel Finley, D.D.――Countess of Huntingdon――Whitefield a Slave-Owner――Loss of Health――Letter to Cennick――Again Itinerating――Letter to John and Charles Wesley――Rev. Samuel Moody――Hunting after Sinners――Visit to Bermudas――Voyage Home――The Revival in America, 120–185

THREE YEARS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

JULY 1, 1748, TO AUGUST 29, 1751.

Popularity in London――Lady Huntingdon and the Calvinistic Methodists――Whitefield as Moderator――Resolves not to found Societies――Ceases to be Moderator――Howell Harris his Successor――New Scheme――Whitefield becomes Lady Huntingdon’s Chaplain――Earl of Bath――Earl of Chesterfield―― Lord Bolingbroke――Dr. Stonehouse――Whitefield in Scotland―― Synod of Glasgow――Proceedings of other Synods, and of the Associate Presbytery――Bishop Lavington Enraged――Persecution in Wales――Whitefield Visits Dr. Watts――Thomas Olivers Converted――Whitefield wishes to have Slaves――Letter to Dr. Doddridge――Aristocratic Hearers――Dr. Stonehouse afraid to become a Methodist――Whitefield in the West of England――Rev. Andrew Kinsman――Mr. Robert Cruttenden――A Reverend Slanderer―― John Sladdin’s Pamphlet――Whitefield and Bishop Lavington―― “The Devil’s Castaways”――Whitefield at Portsmouth――In Wales――An Indigent Minister――New Jersey College――College of Philadelphia――Franklin on Reformations――Rev. Robert Robinson――Letter to a Bishop――Bishop Lavington’s “Enthusiasm of Methodists and Papists Compared”――Rev. George Thompson―― At Exeter――Letter to Hervey――Tour to the North of England―― Wesley and Grace Murray――Another Tour――Colonel Galatin―― Methodism in Dublin――Persecution at Cork――New Year’s Sermon―― Rev. William Baddiley――Dr. Andrew Gifford――Persecution in Ireland――Whitefield helping Wesley――Government of Georgia――At Gloucester, etc.――Letter to Franklin――In Cornwall――New Jersey College――At Northampton――Persecution at Rotherham――Rev. John Thorpe――“Ingham’s Circuit”――In Scotland――James Nimmo, Esq.――Old Friends Meet again――Rev. Martin Madan――Rev. Moses Browne――Memorable Visit――Methodism in Canterbury――Letter on Marriage――Original Letter by Gilbert Tennent――Moses Browne Embarrassed――“A House of Mourning”――Hostile Publications―― Whitefield on Slavery――In Ireland――Original Letter by Whitefield’s Wife――Leaving England, 186–277

FOURTH VISIT TO AMERICA, AND RETURN TO ENGLAND.

SEPTEMBER, 1751, TO MARCH, 1754.

In America――Letter on Wesley――Sudden Return to England―― Original Letter to Blackwell――Tour to West of England and Wales――Letter to Franklin――Success in Scotland――In Yorkshire, etc.――John Edwards and Dublin Methodists――The Orphan House―― John and Charles Wesley――The New Tabernacle ――The Moravians―― Whitefield’s Hymn Book――Specimens of Preaching――Foundation Laid of New Tabernacle――Methodism in Norwich――Whitefield’s “Expostulatory Letter” to Zinzendorf――Letters by James Hutton, Peter Bohler, and Count Zinzendorf――Andrew Frey’s Pamphlet―― Letter to John Syms――New Tabernacle Opened――Tour to Scotland――Glasgow Playhouse――Glorious Seasons in Yorkshire―― Another Tour――Norwich Tabernacle――Bristol Tabernacle――Wesley dangerously Ill――Letters concerning――Visit to England of Gilbert Tennent and Samuel Davies――New Tabernacle paid for, 278–324

FIFTH VISIT TO AMERICA.

MARCH, 1754, TO MAY, 1755.

Popery in Lisbon――Learning Lessons――Arrival in America―― Itinerating――New Jersey College――Government of Georgia―― Scenes at Boston, etc.――Revival in Virginia――Visit to Orphan House――Return to England, 325–340

EIGHT YEARS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.

1755 TO 1763.

Evangelical Clergymen――Trying to Serve a Friend――Whitefield’s “Communion Morning’s Companion”――Death of Lady Anne Hastings――Cornelius Winter――Methodists at Norwich――Wesley and Hervey――Charles Wesley’s Poem on Whitefield――Commencement of the “Seven Years’ War”――Tour to Newcastle――Long Acre Chapel―― Bishop Pearce――Letters to――Long Acre Riots――Archbishop Herring on Whitefield and Wesley――Threatening Letters―― Advertisement in London Gazette――Whitefield’s “Address to Persons of All Denominations”――National Alarm――Collection on Fast-Day――Tottenham Court Road Chapel――Rev. Dr. Thomas Haweis――Wesley’s Letter to William Law――Franklin’s Novel Scheme――Visit to a Murderer――Tour to Scotland――Rev. John Fawcett, D.D.――Samuel Whitaker――Labours in Scotland――Helping Charles Wesley――Rev. Henry Venn――Congregations in London―― Faithful Preaching――Balaam-like Pamphlets――Shuter, the Comedian――Memorable Visit to Scotland――Thomas Rankin――Visit to Ireland――Nearly Murdered――Methodist Clergymen――“Mission Week” at Cheltenham――Death of Belcher and Burr――Whitefield’s Health Failing――Almshouses at Tottenham Court Road Chapel―― Letter to Professor Francke――Journey in One-Horse Chaise―― “Spiritual Routs”――Rev. Robert Robinson――Visit to Berridge―― In Scotland――Thanksgiving Sermons――Return to London――Death of Hervey――Dr. Free――Remarkable Meetings――Lady Huntingdon and Methodism in Brighton――Whitefield Publishes a Sermon by John Foxe, the Martyrologist――Seven Weeks in Scotland――The Orphan House――Rev. Samuel Clarke’s “Annotations”――Three Thanksgiving Sermons――Sermon Against Theatres――Enlargement of Tottenham Court Road Chapel――Whitefield Publishes a Pamphlet on “Russian Cruelty”――Collections on Fast-Day――Riot at Kingston-on-Thames――Earl Ferrers――Burial of an Executed Felon――Preaching Journeys――Samuel Foote――“The Minor”―― Large Number of Disgraceful Pamphlets Published――Madan’s Letter to Garrick――Painful Year――Foote after Whitefield’s Death――Sermons and Collections on Fast-Day――Berridge Helping Whitefield――Whitefield seriously Ill――Scurrillous Publications――Jonas Hanway――Bishop of Lincoln――At Bristol―― Trip to Holland――Wesley’s Conference at Leeds――In Scotland―― In the West of England――Relieving the Poor――Trying to Settle his Affairs――Whitefield’s Trustees――A Farewell Sermon―― Extracts from other Sermons――Volume of Sermons, Published by Gurney――Answer to Bishop Warburton’s “Observations”――Tour to Scotland――Embarks for America, 341–466

SIXTH VISIT TO AMERICA.

JUNE 4, 1763, TO JULY 8, 1765.

At Sea――Pastoral Letter――At Philadelphia――Prevented Going to his Orphan House――At New York――Letter to Charles Wesley――At Boston――Harvard College――Dr. Wheelock’s School――The Orphan House――Again at New York――At Philadelphia――Letter to Wesley―― The “New Lights”――Arrival at Savannah――Proposal to Convert the Orphan House into a College――Memorials――Orphan House Accounts――At Bethesda――Tour to Philadelphia――Embarks for England――John Harman――Lloyd’s Evening Post, 467–486

WHITEFIELD’S LAST FOUR YEARS IN GREAT BRITAIN.

JULY 7, 1765, TO SEPTEMBER 5, 1769.

Health not Improved――Supplies for his Chapels――Important Letter――Lady Huntingdon――Chapel at Bath――Memorial to George III.――Whitefield a Peacemaker――Methodists at Sheerness――“Brilliant Audiences”――Samson Occum――Thomas Powys, Esq.――“Quadruple Alliance”――John Fawcett begins to Preach―― Letter to Gustavus Gidley――Whitefield’s Loyalty――A Royal Marriage――Fletcher of Madeley helps Whitefield――At Bath and Bristol――Captain Torial Joss――Captain Scott――Rowland Hill―― “Lecture upon Heads”――The Methodist and Mimic――_The Methodist_――Letter to Thomas Powys, Esq.――“Preface” to Bunyan’s Works――Cornelius Winter――Winter’s Delineation of Whitefield――Re-opening of Brighton Chapel――Rev. Richard de Courcy――Another Preaching Tour――Services at Haverfordwest―― Letter by Fletcher of Madeley――Letter to Rowland Hill―― Chandler’s Proposal respecting Colonial Bishops――Whitefield’s Correspondence with the Archbishop of Canterbury respecting Orphan House――Proposal to make Orphan House a Public Academy――Letters to Rowland Hill――Whitefield Attends Wesley’s Conference――His Kindness to Wesley’s Preachers――Tour to Newcastle-on-Tyne――A Burglary――Visit to Venn at Huddersfield――Wesley’s Northern Societies――A Remarkable Service――Troubles of Methodist Students at Cambridge――Death of Earl of Buchan――The Young Earl of Buchan――Correspondence with Benjamin Franklin――Trevecca College――Expulsion of Oxford Students――Whitefield’s Letter to Dr. Durell――Hostile Publications――Curious Engraving――A Felon Executed――Visit to Tunbridge Wells――Letter by Rowland Hill――Death of Whitefield’s Wife――Opening of Trevecca College――Whitefield Ruptures a Blood-vessel――His Portrait――Remarkable Meetings at Lady Huntingdon’s――Orphan House Enlargements――Opening of Chapel at Tunbridge Wells――Extracts from Last Sermons in England――Rev. George Burder――Gurney’s Volume of Whitefield’s Sermons, 487–568

SEVENTH VISIT TO AMERICA.

SEPTEMBER, 1769, TO SEPTEMBER, 1770.

Embarks for America――Letter to Wesley――Detention in the Downs―― Ordination Service at Deal――Last Sermons at Ramsgate――Arrival at Charleston――At Bethesda――Letter to Charles Wesley―― Memorable Day at the Orphan House――Whitefield’s Memorable Sermon there――♦Orphan House Accounts――Rules for Orphan House Academy――Subsequent History of Orphan House――Wesley’s Letter respecting Orphan House――Happy――Another Gospel Tour――Meets Wesley’s Missionaries――Rev. Dr. Kirkland――Preaching on a Felon’s Coffin――A Rebuke――Whitefield’s Popularity―― Whitefield’s Preaching Places during Last Two Months of his Life――His Last Letters――Riots at Boston――His Last Sermon――Rev. Jonathan Parsons――Whitefield’s Death――His Funeral――Benjamin Randall――Mourning at Savannah――Whitefield’s Corpse――His ♦Cenotaph――Proposed Monument――Visits to Whitefield’s Sepulchre――One of his Bones Stolen――His Will――Elegies, Charles Wesley’s, Cowper’s――Funeral Sermon by Wesley――Funeral Sermons Preached――Funeral Sermons Published――Rev. Jonathan Parsons on Whitefield――Dr. Pemberton on Ditto――Rev. Henry Venn on Ditto――Toplady on Ditto――Rev. John Newton on Ditto――The Scots’ Magazine on Ditto――The _Pennsylvania Journal_ on Ditto――Dr. Gillies on Ditto――Concluding Remarks, 569–635

INDEX.

NAMES OF PERSONS AND PLACES. 635–645

THE LIFE

OF

THE REV. GEORGE WHITEFIELD, B.A.

SECOND VISIT TO SCOTLAND.

JUNE TO OCTOBER, 1742.

WHEN Whitefield arrived in Edinburgh, a minister told him, that, though seven months had elapsed since his departure, scarcely one of his converts had “fallen back, either among old or young.”[1] This was a remarkable fact; but there was also another, equally deserving notice. As already shewn, up to the time of Whitefield’s first visit to Scotland, the churches of that country, like those of England, were in the most deplorable condition. In many instances, ministers were unfaithful; in most instances, congregations were dead; and, as it respects the outside populace, it is not an extravagance to say, that, speaking generally, they were almost entirely regardless of religion, and were steeped in worldliness, frivolity, and vice. In the interval, however, between Whitefield’s first and second visits, a most marvellous work of God had taken place. How far Whitefield’s labours and influence, in 1741, had contributed to this, it, perhaps, would be presumptuous to say. So far as it concerns the cause of Christ, this is of little consequence. Every reader of the unvarnished facts will form his own opinion on the subject. Many of these facts have been already given; and others must now be mentioned. Cambuslang was then a small parish, about four miles from Glasgow; and here Whitefield had preached with amazing power and success only a few months before. The minister of Cambuslang――the Rev. William McCulloch――was a man of “genuine piety, and of considerable capacity; but had nothing particularly striking either in the manner or substance of his preaching.”[2] During most of the year 1741, he had strongly pressed on his congregation the nature and necessity of the new birth. In the third week of February, 1742, three days were specially employed in prayer. On the fourth day, Thursday, February 18, “about fifty persons came to Mr. McCulloch’s house, under convictions and alarming apprehensions respecting the state of their souls, and desiring to speak with him.” After this, numbers of others daily resorted to him, and he soon found it necessary to preach a sermon every day, and, after the sermon, to spend some time with the penitents, “in exhortations, prayers, and singing of psalms.” In less than three months, more than three hundred were converted. Though the parish was of small extent, and most of the people lived within a mile of Mr. McCulloch’s church, not fewer than twelve “societies for prayer” were begun by the converts. In the month of April, the Rev. Mr. Willison, one of Whitefield’s correspondents, visited the place, and wrote: “The work at Cambuslang is a most singular and marvellous outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I pray it may be a happy forerunner of a general revival of the work of God, and a blessed means of union among all the lovers of Jesus.”

Kilsyth, a small town, about twelve miles from Glasgow, was another place graciously visited by God’s good Spirit. Its minister, the Rev. James Robe, began a series of sermons on the new birth, as early as the year 1740; but nothing remarkable occurred until May, 1742, the month when Whitefield set out on his second visit to Scotland. At the beginning of the month, “societies for prayer were erected in the parish;” and, almost immediately, great numbers began to cry aloud for mercy. On May 16, after dismissing his congregation, Mr. Robe invited the penitents into his barn; but the numbers were so great, that the barn could not contain them: and, nolens volens, he was obliged to convene them in his kirk. He says, “I sung a psalm, and prayed with them; but, when I essayed to speak to them, I could not be heard, such were their bitter cries and groans. After this, I ordered that they should be brought to me in my closet, one by one; and, in the meantime, I appointed psalms to be sung with those in the kirk, and that the precentor and two or three of the elders should pray with the distressed.” Before the month ended,――that is, before Whitefield had arrived in Scotland,――the penitents at Kilsyth numbered nearly a hundred; and a similar work was begun, and was spreading in several neighbouring parishes, as Kirkintilloch, Auchinloch, Campsie, and Cumbernauld.[3] Such was the state of things, in this part of Scotland, when Whitefield and his wife reached Edinburgh, on Thursday, June 3, 1742.

One of his first letters, at Edinburgh, was addressed to Lord Rae, the death of whose wife had recently occurred. An extract from it will help to shew the spirit in which Whitefield began his work in Scotland.

“EDINBURGH, June 4, 1742.

“MY LORD,――Your lordship’s kind letter was put into my hands yesterday. I heartily sympathise with you; but could not help rejoicing on your honoured lady’s account, knowing she is now entered into her blessed Master’s joy. Among Christians, death has not only lost its sting, but its name. I never was so joyful as I am now at the death of those who die in the Lord; and never was so reconciled to living myself. Lately, in London, we had a sister in Christ, whose last words were, ‘Holy, holy, holy.’ She could say no more here; but our Saviour sent for her to finish her song in heaven. I preached over her corpse; our Society attended; and surely never did any triumph over death more than we did that night. But your lordship may ask, ‘Why are you reconciled to life?’ Because I can do that for Jesus on earth, which I cannot do in heaven: I mean, be made instrumental in bringing weary, heavy-laden sinners to find rest in His blood and righteousness. If our Saviour were to offer either to take me now, or to let me stay only to take one sinner more, I would desire to stay to take the sinner with me.

“I hear of wonderful things in Scotland. I can only fall down and worship. I have seen greater things than ever in England. I expect to see far greater in Scotland. Our Lord will not let His people be disappointed of their hopes.”

Whitefield was in Edinburgh, but where was he to preach? The question was soon solved. The following minute was passed at a meeting of the managers of Heriot’s Hospital, held on June 17, 1742: “The managers agree to erect seats in the Hospital Park for about two thousand people, part of which are to be covered with shades, and let out to the best advantage. It is further agreed, that, out of the profits arising from these seats, after paying all charges anent the same, a sum not exceeding £60 sterling shall be given to the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, for defraying his charges during his continuance in this country.”[4] The seats, thus erected, were semicircular in form; those with shades were let at three shillings each for the season; and those without shades might be used by paying a halfpenny each for them, every time they were occupied. A few seats outside the railing were free; and the back seats within were permitted to be used by soldiers gratuitously. The money thus raised seems to have amounted to £260 3s., which was distributed as follows: For erecting seats, £80 4s.; for repairing the “park dikes,” £28 5s.; payment to the tacksman of the park for damage done to the grass, £4 10s.; gift to Whitefield, £60; balance paid to the treasurer of the hospital, £87 4s.[5] Such was Whitefield’s cathedral in the metropolis of Scotland.

From the day of his arrival, he preached twice daily, expounded almost every night, and regularly visited the three hospitals.[6] On the 12th of June, in writing to his helper, John Cennick, he remarked: “Our Saviour deals most lovingly with me. I never enjoyed so much happiness in Him as now. Day and night, He is pleased to shine upon my soul. My success here is great. I am enabled to ‘be instant in season, and out of season,’ and to ‘reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine.’”[7]

Of course, a little time was requisite to erect Whitefield’s open-air church; and hence, after spending twelve days in Edinburgh, he set out, on June 15, to Kilsyth, Cambuslang, and other places, in the west of Scotland. Previous to starting, he wrote, as follows, to the Rev. William McCulloch, minister at Cambuslang:――

“EDINBURGH, June 8, 1742.

“REVEREND AND VERY DEAR BROTHER,――I heartily rejoice at the awakening at Cambuslang and elsewhere. I believe you will both see and hear far greater things than these. I trust, that, not one corner of poor Scotland will be left unwatered by the dew of God’s heavenly blessing. The cloud is now only rising as big as a man’s hand: in a little while, we shall hear a sound of an abundance of gospel rain. God willing, I hope to be with you at the beginning of next week.”

Whitefield spent more than a fortnight in this revival excursion to the west,――one of the most remarkable fortnights in his eventful life. Hence the following letters to his friends. The first and second were addressed to John Cennick.

“GLASGOW, June 16, 1742.

“Last Lord’s-day, I preached, in the morning, in the park at Edinburgh, to a great multitude. Afterwards, I attended, and partook of the holy sacrament, and served four tables. In the afternoon, I preached in the churchyard, to a far greater number. Such a passover, I never saw before. On Monday, I preached again in Edinburgh. On Tuesday, twice at Kilsyth, to ten thousand; but such a commotion, I believe, you never saw. O what agonies and cries were there! Last night, God brought me hither. A friend met me without the town, and welcomed me in the name of twenty thousand. The streets were all alarmed. By three o’clock this morning, people were coming to hear the word of God. At seven, I preached to many, many thousands; and again this evening. Our Lord wounded them by scores. It is impossible to tell you what I see. The work flies from parish to parish. O what distressed souls have I beheld this day! Publish this on the housetop; and exhort all to give thanks.”

In this letter, Whitefield’s wife added a postscript:――

“My husband publicly declared here, that, he was a member of the Church of England, and a curate thereof; and, yet, was permitted to receive, and assist at the Lord’s supper in the churches at Edinburgh.”[8]

“June 19, 1742.

“Yesterday morning, I preached at Glasgow, to a large congregation. At mid-day, I came to Cambuslang, and preached, at two, to a vast body of people; again at six, and again at nine at night. Such commotions, surely, were never heard of, especially at eleven o’clock at night. For an hour and a half, there was such weeping, and so many falling into such deep distress, expressed in various ways, as cannot be described. The people seemed to be slain in scores. Their agonies and cries were exceedingly affecting. Mr. M’Culloch preached, after I had done, till past one in the morning; and then could not persuade the people to depart. In the fields, all night, might be heard the voice of prayer and praise. The Lord is indeed much with me. I have, to-day, preached twice already, and am to preach twice more, perhaps thrice. The commotions increase.”[9]

On his return to Edinburgh, Whitefield wrote to a friend in London, as follows:――

“EDINBURGH, July 7, 1742.

“I arrived here, last Saturday evening, from the west, where I preached all last week――twice on Monday, at Paisley; three times each day, on Tuesday and Wednesday, at Irvine; twice on Thursday, at Mearns; three times on Friday, at ♦Cumbernauld; and twice on Saturday, at Falkirk, in my way to Edinburgh. In every place, there was the greatest commotion among the people. The auditories were very large, and the work of God seems to be spreading more and more.

“Last Sabbath, I preached twice in the park at Edinburgh, and once in the church, and I have preached twice every day since. A number of seats and shades, in the form of an amphitheatre, have been erected in the park, where the auditory sit in beautiful order.

“I purpose going to Cambuslang to-morrow, to assist at the communion; and shall preach at various places westward before I return here.”

To John Cennick, he sent the following:――

“NEW KILPATRICK, July 15, 1742.

“Last Friday night, I came to Cambuslang, to assist at the blessed sacrament. On Saturday, I preached to above twenty thousand people. On the Sabbath, scarce ever was such a sight seen in Scotland. Two tents were set up, and the holy sacrament was administered in the fields. When I began to serve a table, the people crowded so upon me, that I was obliged to desist, and go to preach in one of the tents, whilst the ministers served the rest of the tables. There was preaching all day, by one or another; and, in the evening, when the sacrament was over, at the request of the ministers, I preached to the whole congregation of upwards of twenty thousand persons. I preached about an hour and a half. It was a time much to be remembered. On Monday morning, I preached again to near as many. I never before saw such a universal stir. The motion fled, as swift as lightning, from one end of the auditory to the other. Thousands were bathed in tears――some wringing their hands, others almost swooning, and others crying out and mourning over a pierced Saviour. In the afternoon, the concern was again very great. Much prayer had been previously put up to the Lord. All night, in different companies, persons were praying to God, and praising Him. The children of God came from all quarters. It was like the passover in Josiah’s time. We are to have another in two or three months, if the Lord will.[10]

“On Tuesday morning, I preached at Glasgow――it was a glorious time――and, in the afternoon, twice at Inchannon. Yesterday morning, I preached there again; and here twice. Every time there was a great stir, especially at this place. A great company of awakened souls is within the compass of twenty miles; and the work seems to be spreading apace. I am exceedingly strengthened, both in soul and body, and cannot now do well without preaching three times a day.”

These were strange scenes. Much might be written respecting this remarkable work of God in Scotland; but want of space prevents enlargement. Those who wish for a full account, will do well to get, (if they can,) and read, “A Faithful Narrative of the Extraordinary Work of the Spirit of God, at Kilsyth, and other Congregations in the Neighbourhood. Written by James Robe, A.M., Minister of the Gospel at Kilsyth,[11] 1742.” (12mo. 224 pp.) The “commotions,” however, which Whitefield mentions, may be briefly noticed. They were severely criticised at the time; and even now deserve attention. What were they? Mr. Robe shall answer.

Besides the intense excitement among the penitents in general, about one in five of them “came under,” what Mr. Robe calls, “faintings, tremblings, or other bodily distresses.”[12] He writes: “The bodies of some of the awakened were seized with trembling, and fainting; in some of the women there were hysterics, and convulsive motions in others, arising from an apprehension and fear of the wrath of God.” Among those who were not physically affected, there were loud outcries for the mercy of God; and, among those who found peace with God, there were some who experienced great, though joyous, agitation. Mr. Robe remarks:――

“Some, who had been under deep apprehensions of Divine wrath, and had sunk under a sense of their guilt, when the Lord opened their hearts to receive Him as offered to them in the gospel, were surprised with joy and admiration. Some cried out with a loud voice, shewing forth the praises of the Lord. Others broke forth into loud weeping, from a sense of their vileness and unworthiness. Some had, for a time, their bodies quite overcome, and were ready to faint, through the feeling of such unexpected happiness. The countenances of others quite changed. There was an observable serenity, a brightness, an openness, so that it was the observation of some concerning them, that they had got new faces.”[13]

This is not the place to enter into any elaborate defence or condemnation of such religious phenomena. They were not novel. Similar scenes had been witnessed, in Bristol, under Wesley’s ministry, only three years before; and, at this very time, and on a large scale, similar scenes were being witnessed, among the Presbyterians of New England. Of course, they were denounced, especially by the Erskines and their friends; but Mr. Robe, while not enamoured of them, endeavoured to explain them, shewing that they were the natural results of deep convictions and strong emotions; that exactly the same sort of thing had often happened in the history of the Christian Church; and that the Bible itself contained similar examples. One or two extracts, from Mr. Robe’s “Preface,” must suffice:――

“I seriously beg those who are prejudiced against this dispensation of God’s extraordinary grace, and look upon it as a delusion, to direct me and other ministers what we shall answer the distressed persons of all ages, who come to us crying bitterly that they are lost and undone, because of their sins. Shall we tell them, that, their fears of the wrath of God are all delusion? Shall we tell persons, lamenting their cursing, swearing, Sabbath-breaking, and other immoralities, that, it is the devil who makes them see these evils to be offensive to God, and destructive to their souls? Shall we pray, and recommend them to pray to be delivered from such delusions? It would be worse than devilish, to treat the Lord’s sighing and groaning prisoners at this rate. And, yet, such treatment is a natural consequence of reckoning this the work of the devil, and a delusion.”

In reply to “The Associate Presbytery”――the Church-reformers of the age――who bitterly denounced the work, and compared the converts to the Camisards,[14] Mr. Robe remarks:――

“My dear brethren, whatever bitter names you and your party give us――whatever bitter reproaches you cast upon us――we take all patiently. There are thousands of witnesses, that we return you blessing for cursing, and that we pray for you, who despitefully use us. We would lay our bodies on the ground, for you to go over, if it could, in the least, contribute to remove your prejudices, and advance the kingdom of our dear Redeemer; but we cannot look upon the guilt you have brought upon yourselves, without the deepest grief; and upon the opposition you give to us in our endeavours to recover sinners out of the snare of the devil, without the most zealous concern. You declare the work of God to be the work of the grand deceiver. My dear brethren, for whom I tremble, have you been at due pains to know the nature and circumstances of this work? Have you taken the trouble to go to any of these places, where the Lord has appeared in His glory and majesty? Have you ever so much as written to any of the ministers, to receive information from them? It is not consistent with common justice to condemn them as deceivers; and it is amazing rashness, to pronounce, without enquiry, that to be the work of the devil, which, for anything you know, may be the work of the infinitely good and holy Spirit. Is not this to be like the scribes and Pharisees, who ascribed the miraculous work of our Lord to Beelzebub? Are you not afraid lest you come too near this sin?”

There is something profoundly mournful in all this. The Erskines were sincere, but sour. Their zeal to reform the Church of Scotland might be commendable; their opposition to the work of God cannot be too severely censured. They had been the friends of Whitefield. At their invitation, he, eleven months before, had come to Scotland; but, instead of co-operating with him, they almost immediately disowned him. Only a week after this, his second arrival in Scotland, he wrote a most friendly letter to Ebenezer Erskine; but, as will soon be seen, without good effect. The letter was as follows:――

“EDINBURGH, June 10, 1742.

“REVEREND AND VERY DEAR SIR,――The love which I bear you, for my Master’s sake, constrains me to send you a line. It is some concern to me, that our difference as to outward things should cut off our sweet fellowship with each other. God knows, I highly value and honour you. Reverend and dear sir, I do assure you, I love you and your brethren more than ever. I applaud your zeal for God; and, though, in some respects, I think it not according to knowledge, and to be levelled frequently against me, yet I feel no resentment, and should joyfully hear you and your brethren preach. I salute them all; and pray our common Lord to give us all a right judgment in all things. I hope the glorious Emmanuel will be present at the sacrament, and will make Himself known to you in breaking of bread. When I shall come to Stirling, I know not. O when shall the time come, when the watchmen will see eye to eye? Hasten that time, our Lord and our God! But, perhaps, I am troublesome. Forgive me, reverend and dear sir, being, without dissimulation, your younger brother and servant in the gospel of Christ,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

What was the response to this loving letter? Exactly five weeks afterwards, on the 15th of July, “The Associate Presbytery” issued a document announcing a “Public Fast,” and the reasons for observing it. One reason was, that the “bitter outcryings, faintings, severe bodily pains, convulsions, voices, visions, and revelations,” connected with the revivals at Cambuslang and other places, were a proof that the work there was a delusion, and of the devil; and another was, “the fond reception given to Mr. George Whitefield, notwithstanding it is notoriously known, that he is a priest of the Church of England, who has sworn the oath of supremacy, and abjured the Solemn League and Covenant, and endeavours, by his lax toleration principles, to pull down the hedges of government and discipline, which the Lord has planted about His vineyard in this land.”[15]

This was bad enough to come from Christian men; but worse followed. A month later, there was published a pamphlet of thirty-two pages, of minute type, and closely printed, with the title, “The Declaration of the true Presbyterians within the Kingdom of Scotland, concerning Mr. George Whitefield, and the Work at Cambuslang.”

This pretentiously religious, but extremely malignant production begins as follows:――“The Declaration, Protestation, and Testimony of the suffering Remnant of the anti-Popish, anti-Lutheran, anti-Prelatic, anti-Whitefieldian, anti-Erastian, anti-Sectarian, true Presbyterian Church of Christ in Scotland.” Very sonorous, but very rancorous! Whitefield is branded as “an abjured, prelatic hireling, of as lax toleration principles as any ever set up for the advancing of the kingdom of Satan.” He is “a wandering star, who steers his course according to the compass of gain and advantage.” He is “a base English impostor, whom the enemies of Christ’s kingdom have chosen as their commander-in-chief, to lead the covenanted kingdom of Scotland back to Egypt and Babylon, to the bondage and slavery of Popery, Prelacy, and Sectarianism.” He is “the most latitudinarian, prelatic priest that ever essayed to confound, and unite into one, almost all sorts and sizes of sects and heresies with orthodox Christians.” His “foul, prelatic, sectarian hands” had administered the sacrament to Presbyterians. He “is not of a blameless conversation, as the Word of God requires all the ministers of the gospel to be, but is a scandalous idolater, being a member of the idolatrous Church of England, which resembles the idolatrous Church of Rome, in many of her idolatries.” He “is a poor, vain-glorious, self-seeking, puffed-up creature.” He “is a limb of Antichrist; a boar, and a wild beast, from the anti-Christian field of England, come to waste and devour the poor erring people of Scotland.” “In collecting such vast sums of money in Scotland, his insatiable covetousness is shewn; and it is evident, that, his design in coming is to pervert the truth, subvert the people, and make gain to himself, by making merchandise of his pretended ministry.” The pamphlet finishes by “protesting, testifying, and declaring against Whitefield, and all, of every rank, station, and degree, within the kingdom of Scotland, who, in any manner of way, have aided, assisted, countenanced, and encouraged him.” The last paragraph in this pious production is as follows:――

“And that this our Declaration, Protestation, and Testimony may come to the world’s view, we do appoint and ordain our emissaries, in our name, to pass upon the ―――― day of August, 1742, to the market-cross of ――――, and other public places necessary, and there publish, and leave copies of the same, that none may pretend ignorance thereof.

“Given in Scotland, upon the ―――― day of August, 1742.

“Let King Jesus reign, And let all His enemies be scattered.”

Worse and worse; and yet there is more to follow. About the same time, there was published, in Edinburgh, “A Letter from a Gentleman in Boston, to Mr. George Wishart, one of the Ministers of Edinburgh, concerning the state of Religion in New England.” (12mo. 24 pp.) Three extracts from this production must suffice.

“The minds of the people, in this part of the world, had been greatly prepossessed in favour of Mr. Whitefield, from the accounts transmitted of him, as a wonder of piety, and a man of God. Accordingly, when he came to Boston, about two years ago, he was received as though he had been an angel of God, yea, a god come down in the likeness of man. He was strangely flocked after by all sorts of persons, and much admired by the vulgar, both great and small. The ministers had him in veneration, and, as much as the people, encouraged his preaching, attending it themselves every day in the week, and mostly twice a day. The grand subject of conversation was Mr. Whitefield, and the whole business of the town was to run from place to place to hear him preach. His reception, as he passed through this and the neighbouring governments of Connecticut and New York, was after much the same manner, save only, that he met with no admirers among the clergy, unless here and there one, anywhere but in Boston. You ask, What was the great good this gentleman was the instrument of? I answer, Wherever he went, he generally moved the passions, especially of the younger people, and females; the effect whereof was a great talk about religion, together with a disposition to be perpetually hearing sermons, to the neglect of all other business. In these things chiefly consisted the goodness so much spoken of. I could not but discern, that there were the same pride and vanity, the same luxury and intemperance, the same lying and tricking and cheating, in the town, as there were before this gentleman came among us. There was also raised such a spirit of bitter, censorious, uncharitable judging, as was not known before; and the greatest friends of Mr. Whitefield were as much puffed up with conceit and pride as any of their neighbours.”

The writer then proceeds to say, that a number of imitators of Whitefield sprung up after his departure, and that one of the most famous of them was Gilbert Tennent,

“A man of no great parts or learning, and whose preaching was in the extemporaneous way, with much noise, and little connection. Under his preaching, scores cried out, fell down, swooned away, and were like persons in fits. Visions became common, and trances also. Laughing, loud, hearty laughing, was one of the ways in which the new converts almost everywhere expressed their joy at the conversion of others. Houses of worship were scarce emptied night or day for a week together, and unheard-of instances of supposed religion were carried on in them. In the same house, and at the same time, some would be praying, some exhorting, some singing, some clapping their hands, some laughing, some crying, some shrieking, and some roaring out.”

The gentleman in Boston concludes thus:――

“I am among those who are clearly of opinion, that, there never was such a spirit of superstition and enthusiasm reigning in the land before; never such gross disorders, and bare-faced affronts to common decency; never such scandalous reproaches on the blessed Spirit, making Him the author of the greatest irregularities and confusions. Yet, I am of opinion also, that the appearances among us have been the means of awakening the attention of many; and a good number, I hope, have settled into a truly Christian temper.”

The “Letter” was written with seeming candour, but there can be little doubt that its publication in Edinburgh added to the difficulties which Whitefield had to encounter among the precise Presbyterians of the kingdom of Scotland. Almost contemporaneously with this, there was published in Glasgow, a small 12mo. book, of 130 pages, entitled, “The State of Religion in New England, since the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield’s arrival there, in a Letter, from a Gentleman in New England, to his Friend in Glasgow: with an Appendix containing Proofs of the principal Facts, and further Accounts of the Disorders in matters of Religion lately introduced into various parts of New England and Carolina.” The gentleman’s letter is dated “May 24, 1742.”

The preface to this publication contains the following:――

“Mr. Whitefield asks nothing, indeed, for his preaching, but he has a brother Syms to suggest, wherever he goes, what it is decent to give so great a man; and, by these means, he has, these four months past, made as much gain as several of the bishops in England, or any six ministers in Scotland, for the same time; and that partly by getting from some poor parishes, for a day’s holding forth, nearly as much as they collect for their own poor in a whole year.”

This was a baseless slander; but let it pass. The “Gentleman in New England” asks:――

“In what does Mr. Whitefield’s fervour turn? Is it not upon getting money and popular applause, by perpetually roaring out hell-flames, fire and brimstone, incarnate devils, and damnation? Some are frightened out of their senses; others fall into convulsions and epileptic fits; and others scream and roar with hideous voices. These are, according to him, the fruits of the Spirit, and gales from the Holy Ghost.”

Gilbert Tennent, the friend of Whitefield, is similarly abused.

“In the pulpit, Gilbert Tennent is an awkward and ridiculous ape of Whitefield, for his appearance is very clownish. His great business, in his sermons, is either to puzzle or to frighten his hearers, but especially the latter, which he does by roaring and bellowing damnation, devils, and all the dreadful words he can think of. He is followed by all sorts of people, as much as Whitefield was, and, by many, is ♦preferred to him.”

Of the Presbyterian helpers, employed by Whitefield and Tennent in New England, the “Gentleman” remarks:――

“There is a creature here whom, perhaps, you never heard of before. It is called an Exhorter. It is of both sexes, but generally of the male, and young. Its distinguishing qualities are ignorance, impudence, zeal. Numbers of these exhorters are among the people here. They go from town to town; creep into houses; lead captive silly women; and then the men. Such of them as have good voices do great execution. They move their hearers, and make them cry, faint, swoon, and fall into convulsions.”

The converts of Whitefield and Tennent are thus described:――

“The converts are all made in this manner. First, they become concerned for their souls, and greatly distressed, and not rarely distracted. They continue in this condition for some days, and then, all at once, without any visible means, they come out of their dark and disconsolate state all light, joy, and ecstasy. This they express by their talk to their neighbours, which they call telling their experiences; and, in many places, by immoderate laughter and singing hymns. Their joy is sometimes so great, that, their eyes sparkle, and their faces shine. These are certain signs of the Spirit of God being in them. One of a hundred excepted, they all make religion to consist in the feeling of inward impulses and impressions, in an inexplicable faith, joys, ecstasies, and such-like things. They are bigoted to certain opinions, which they do not understand; and have not the least degree of charity for those who are of another way of thinking. All of them are vain, self-conceited, superstitious, enthusiastic, censorious slanderers. Reason, learning, and morality, they professedly disregard. If they hear a minister preach, in the most evangelical manner, upon any moral duty, or if they hear him recommend the exercise of reason and understanding, they call him a dry, husky, Arminian preacher, and conclude for certain that he is not converted.”

The reader may easily imagine the effects likely to be produced, at this juncture, among the Presbyterians of Scotland, by such infamous statements respecting Presbyterian converts and congregations in New England.

The subject is a loathsome one; but, perhaps, it is best, once for all, to exhaust it. To say nothing of objectionable passages in Ralph Erskine’s pamphlet, entitled, “Fraud and Falsehood Detected,” and in the sermons he preached at different places in the year 1742, particularly those on Luke xxii. 31, 32; Heb. xiii. 8; and Rev. v. 9;[16] the following publications must have annoyed Whitefield, and, also, injured him in the estimation of the Scottish people.

1. “Some Observations upon the Conduct of the Famous Mr. W――field. By a true Lover of the Church and Country. Edinburgh: printed in the year 1742.” (12mo. 12 pp.) The author of these “Observations” told his readers, that, Whitefield had taken upon himself “the office of a thirteenth apostle;” and that he began his work in Scotland “with a notorious lie, for he said he was £600 out of pocket about his Hospital in Georgia, whereas it can be proved that he advanced about £1000 to a captain of a man of war, who gave him bills for it upon the Admiralty, who paid this sum to him a little before he came to Scotland.” The writer adds, “Instead of going to Georgia, this thirteenth Apostle was moved to take to him a fellow-mate; so that now, I am afraid, these” (Scotch) “collections will be applied towards the maintenance of him, her, and their issue.” The anxious author, in conclusion, benevolently remarks: “Let all good people beware of this stroller; for he will yet find a way to wheedle you out of your money. He is as artful a mountebank as any I know.”

2. “A Letter to a Gentleman in Edinburgh, containing Remarks upon a late Apology for the Presbyterians in Scotland, who keep Communion, in the Ordinances of the Gospel, with Mr. George Whitefield, a Priest of the Church of England: shewing that such a Practice is not justifiable by the Principles and Practice of the Church of Scotland, from the Reformation to this day; nor by the Westminster Confession of Faith, Solemn League and Covenant. In which Mr. Whitefield’s Religion, Orthodoxy, and Moral Character are set in a proper light, by Collections from his own printed Performances. Glasgow, 1742.” (pp. 112.) The letter is signed, “John Bisset, Minister of the Gospel in Aberdeen;” and is dated, “October 26, 1742.” Upon the whole, the pamphlet is well written, and less verbose than many of the Scotch productions of that period. Half of it is an elaborate criticism of the “late Apology;” and the remainder a venomous attack on Whitefield, who is branded as being “enthusiastically, daringly presumptuous, and popishly superstitious,”――“a strolling impostor, whose cheats, in due time, will be discovered.” In conclusion, Mr. Bisset writes: “Mr. Whitefield has done more to promote effectually the cause of ♦Episcopacy, and a liking to it in Scotland, than all the means, fair and foul, that have been used since our reformation from Popery to this day.”

Besides the above, two other antagonistic pamphlets must be noticed, which, though not printed in Scotland, were doubtless circulated there, and helped to increase the difficulties with which Whitefield had to struggle.

1. “A Brief History of the Principles of Methodism, wherein the Rise and Progress, together with the Causes of the several Variations, Divisions, and present Inconsistencies of this Sect are attempted to be traced out, and accounted for. By Josiah Tucker, M.A., Vicar of All Saints, and one of the Minor Canons of the College of Bristol. Oxford, 1742.” (8vo. 51 pp.) Mr. Tucker, in obsequious terms, dedicated his anti-Methodistic publication to Dr. Boulter, Archbishop of Armagh, who had treated Whitefield with great courtesy on his return from America in 1738. Mr. Tucker tells the Archbishop, that Whitefield left the University of Oxford “with a crude and undigested notion of the system of William Law;” and, that “it happened through a blunder on his side, and a mistake of the question on all sides, that he fell in with the Calvinistical party, and looked upon them as his patrons and advocates.” “It was some time, however, before he understood his new credenda, or so much as knew the nature of the five points, and how they hang in a chain one upon another.”

2. “Genuine and Secret Memoirs relating to the Adventures of that Arch-Methodist, Mr. G. W――fi――d: Likewise, Critical and Explanatory Remarks upon that inimitable piece, entitled ‘God’s Dealings with the Rev. Mr. Whitefield;’ wherein is likewise proved (by his own words), that he has had pretty large dealings also with Satan: the whole interspersed with observations instructive and humorous. Collected and published, by a Gentleman of Oxford, for general information; and necessary to be had in all families as a preservative against Enthusiasm and Methodism. Oxford, 1742.” (8vo. 85 pp.)

This was a most disgraceful and disgusting pamphlet. To quote its obscenity would be criminal. It finishes with eight verses, entitled “The Field-Preacher. To the Tune of the Queen’s Old Courtier.” The first of these verses is as follows:――

“With face and fashion to be known, With eyes all white, and many a groan, With arms outstretched, and snivelling tone, And handkerchief from nose new-blown, And loving cant to sister Joan. (Chorus.) ’Tis a new teacher about the town, Oh! the town’s new teacher!”

Abuse like this was not pleasant. It is true, that Whitefield had long been used to it; but the repetition of the thing did not abate its hardship. Most of it was utterly untrue, the remainder, to a great extent, was ill-tempered banter, and the whole was provokingly disagreeable. Whitefield was quite as sensitive as are popular men in general; and there can hardly be a doubt that such injustice caused him many a bitter pang. In the midst of all, however, he rarely, if ever, lost his equanimity; and he generally avoided “rendering railing for railing.” He doubtless prized his reputation, as every good man does; but his own fame was to him of less importance than the prosperity of the work of God. Whatever interfered with that created profound distress; and, hence, it is not surprising, that he replied to one of the slanderous publications just mentioned. If what the “Gentleman in New England” had said was true, the Presbyterians in Scotland might justly look upon Whitefield’s ministry with suspicion and alarm. To prevent this, Whitefield wrote and published the following: “Some Remarks on a late Pamphlet, entitled, ‘The State of Religion in New England, since the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield’s arrival there.’ Glasgow: printed by William Duncan, and sold by the booksellers in Edinburgh and Glasgow, 1742.” (16mo. 32 pp.) The “Remarks” are dated “Cambuslang, August 31, 1742.”

Want of space renders it impossible to give a lengthened outline of Whitefield’s pamphlet. Speaking of the publication to which he was now replying, he truly says: “The design of it is base and wicked. It is intended, if possible, to eclipse the late great and glorious work in New England; to invalidate the testimonies that have been given of it; and, thereby, to bring a reproach upon, and to hinder the spreading of, a like glorious work, which God, of His infinite mercy, has, for some time, been carrying on in Scotland.” He proceeds to shew that the gentlemen, who had testified concerning the scriptural character of the New England revival, were men of “sound understanding, integrity, sobriety of manners, and piety.” Among others, he mentions the Honourable Mr. Willard, secretary of the province; also the Rev. Messrs. Colman, Cooper, and Prince, who held degrees conferred by the University of Glasgow. He gives numerous testimonies, by persons living on the spot, flatly contradicting the sweeping accusations of the “Gentleman in New England;” and shews that some of his quotations were so garbled as to be practically false. Stoutly defending his friend Tennent, he writes: “I have the happiness of being intimately acquainted with Mr. Gilbert Tennent. I scarcely know a man of a more catholic spirit. Indeed, to the honour of the grace of God be it spoken, he is a son of thunder, especially in his applications, and when he is preaching the law. At such times, people cannot easily sleep. He is a workman that needs not be ashamed, and is taught of God rightly to divide the word of truth. His book, entitled ‘The Presumptuous Sinner Detected,’ and his many printed sermons, shew him to be a man of great learning, solidity, and piety.” Whitefield, however, admits that there had been some chaff among the wheat. “The sum of the matter,” he says, “seems to be this――there has been a great and marvellous work in New England; but, by the imprudences of some, and the overboiling zeal of others, irregularities, in several places, have been committed. This is nothing but what is common. It was so in Old England a few years ago. Many young persons there ran out before they were called. Others were guilty of great indiscretion. I checked them in the strictest manner myself; and found, as they grew acquainted with the Lord Jesus and their own hearts, the intemperance of their zeal abated, and they became truly humble walkers with God. After a gathering, there will always be a sifting time. The Church is generally shaken before it is settled.” Finally, to shew that he was neither vanquished nor disheartened, Whitefield concludes with two verses from the Scotch Psalter:――

“Why rage the heathen? and vain things Why do the people mind? Kings of the earth do set themselves; And princes are combin’d To plot against the Lord, and His Anointed, saying thus, ‘Let us asunder break their bands, And cast their cords from us.’

He, that in heaven sits, shall laugh; The Lord shall scorn them all. Then shall He speak to them in wrath, In rage, He vex them shall. Yet, notwithstanding, I have Him To be my King appointed: And over Sion, my holy hill, I have Him King anointed.”

It ought to be added that, immediately after the publication of Whitefield’s pamphlet, the Rev. Jonathan Edwards issued a very able and exhaustive treatise on the same subject, with the title, “Some Thoughts concerning the present Revival of Religion in New England, and the way in which it ought to be acknowledged and promoted. By Jonathan Edwards, A.M., Pastor of the Church of Christ at Northampton.” This was first published in Boston, New England; and, in 1743, was reprinted in Edinburgh. (12mo. 221 pp.)

In some of the hostile publications already mentioned, Whitefield had been attacked respecting his Orphan-house collections; and probably this, and other reasons, led him to publish the following: “A Continuation of the Account of the Orphan House in Georgia, from January, 1741, to June, 1742; to which are subjoined some Extracts from an Account of a Work of a like Nature, carried on by the late Professor Francke, in Glaucha, near Halle, in Saxony. By George Whitefield, A.B., late of Pembroke College, Oxford. Edinburgh: printed by T. Lumisden and J. Robertson; and sold by J. Traill, Bookseller, in the Parliament Close. 1742.” (18mo. 86 pp.)

Whitefield’s Preface, dated “September 22, 1742,” contains the following curious paragraph――a paragraph which, of course, will shock both teetotallers and the members of the Anti-Slavery Society:――

“Once I am clear of all arrears, the Orphan House will be supported at a very easy expense. The last Parliament have altered the constitution of the colony of Georgia, in two material points: they have allowed the importation of rum, and free titles to the land. If they should see good hereafter to grant a limited use of negroes, Georgia must, in all outward appearances, be as flourishing a colony as South Carolina.”

Since his arrival in England, in March, 1741, Whitefield had collected, for his Orphan House, £1158 6s. 0½d.; and had expended £1302 17s. 2½d.

Before proceeding further, two more of his publications, in Scotland, must be mentioned; both of them reprints, but suited to the circumstances in which the now found himself. 1. “A Letter, from the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield to the Religious Societies of England, written during his voyage to Philadelphia, in 1739; and now particularly recommended to those who have lately formed themselves into Religious Societies in Scotland; to which is added an extract from a late Author, shewing that a Catholic Spirit is the only thing that can unite and make Christians happy one amongst another in this divided state of things. Edinburgh: 1742.” (18mo. 27 pp.) 2. “Nine Sermons, upon the following subjects, namely: 1. The Lord our Righteousness,”[17] etc. “By George Whitefield, A.B. Edinburgh, 1742.” (12mo. 199 pp.)

We now return to Whitefield’s correspondence, which, practically, is a journal of his proceedings. We left him at Edinburgh on July 7, 1742.

The ministers of “The Associate Presbytery” were, without doubt, the most violent of Whitefield’s opposers in Scotland; but there were also others who gave him trouble. The Rev. Mr. Willison, of Dundee, was one of the best of the Scottish clergy. Between him and Whitefield there had been considerable correspondence. Under his auspices Whitefield had preached in Dundee. Mr. Willison, also, sympathised with the present revival movement; but even he occasioned Whitefield some disquietude. Hence the following letter:――

“EDINBURGH, July 7, 1742.

“REVEREND AND DEAR SIR,――Your letter gave me some concern. I thought it breathed a sectarian spirit, to which I hoped dear Mr. Willison was quite averse. You seem not satisfied, unless I declare myself a Presbyterian, and openly renounce the Church of England. God knows that I have been faithful in bearing a testimony against what I think is corrupt in that Church. I have also shewn my freedom in communicating with the Church of Scotland, and in baptizing children in their own way. I can go no further.

“Dear sir, be not offended at my plain speaking. I find but few of a truly catholic spirit. Most are catholics till they bring persons over to their own party, and there they would fetter them. I have not so learned Christ. I shall approve and join all who are good, in every sect; and cast a mantle of love over all who are bad, so far as is consistent with a good conscience.

“Morning and evening retirement is certainly good; but if, through weakness of body, or frequency of preaching, I cannot go to God at my usual set times, I think my spirit is not in bondage. It is not for me to tell how often I use secret prayer. If I did not use it――nay, if, in one sense, I did not pray without ceasing――it would be difficult for me to keep up that frame of mind, which, by the Divine blessing, I daily enjoy. If the work of God prospers, and your hands become more full, you will then know better what I mean.

“But enough of this. God knows I would do everything I possibly could to satisfy all men, and give a reason of the hope that is in me with meekness and fear; but I cannot satisfy all who are waiting for an occasion to find fault. Our Lord could not; I, therefore, despair of doing it. However, dear sir, I take what you have said in good part; only I think you are too solicitous to clear up my character to captious and prejudiced men. Let my Master speak for me. Blessed be God! He will, so long as I simply throw myself into His almighty arms.

“I am glad the work goes on with you. Glory be to God! we have seen glorious things in the west.

“Yours, etc.,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

In the following letters, Whitefield refers to the opposition which he had to encounter in Scotland. The first was addressed to a minister in London:――

“INCHANNON, July 21, 1742.

“REVEREND AND DEAR SIR,――I heartily rejoice that the Lord is blessing and owning you. Go on, dear sir, go on, and you will certainly find the glorious Emmanuel will be with you more and more. It is observable that there is but one thing in Scripture, which we are commanded to do out of season――preaching. Be instant, therefore, in season and out of season. The Lord will stand by you and strengthen you, and deliver you from wicked and unreasonable men. You will find the blessedness of the cross; and the Spirit of Christ and of glory will rest upon your soul.

“The Messrs. Erskine and their adherents have appointed a public fast, to humble themselves, among other things, for my being received in Scotland, and for the delusion, as they term it, at Cambuslang and other places; and all this because I would not consent to preach only for them, till I had light into, and could take the Solemn League and Covenant. To what lengths may prejudice carry even good men! From giving way to the first risings of bigotry and a party spirit, good Lord, deliver us!”

The next letter seems to have been addressed to the Rev. John McLaurin, of Glasgow, and was accompanied by a number of young people who appear to have come all the way from Glasgow to Edinburgh, to hear Whitefield preach.

“EDINBURGH, July 28, 1742.

“REVEREND AND DEAR SIR,――With this, I suppose, you will receive several young ones, who, I think, have acted wrong in leaving their respective employments, under parents and masters, to go after me. Be pleased to examine them, and send them home.

“The Lord was with me at Falkirk, and is pleased to work by me here. O free grace! I am persuaded I shall have more power, since dear Mr. Gibb has printed such a bitter pamphlet. Now I begin to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. I rejoice and am exceeding glad. The archers shot sore at me that I might fall, but the Lord is, and the Lord will be, my helper.”

To a friend in London, Whitefield wrote:――

“EDINBURGH, July 31, 1742.

“One of ‘The Associate Presbytery’ has published the most virulent pamphlet I ever saw, ascribing all that has been done here, and even in New England, to the influence of the devil. O how prejudice will blind the eyes of even good men!”

Whitefield had other troubles besides the bitter pamphlets that were published against him. The Spaniards had invaded Georgia. With forty sail of small galleys, and other craft, they had come into Cumberland Sound. With another fleet of thirty-six ships, they had entered Jekyl Sound. They had landed four thousand five hundred men, and marched, through the woods, to Frederica. Half of their galleys also approached the same town, and twenty-eight sail attacked Fort William. Oglethorpe’s military force was small, but proved victorious; and July 25, 1742, was appointed, by the General, “as a day of public thanksgiving to Almighty God for His great deliverance in having put an end to the Spanish invasion.”[18] Whitefield had heard of the invasion; but, as yet, he had not heard of the defeat. In a series of letters, written in July, his superintendent, Mr. Habersham, had informed him, that, finding the Orphan House in great danger of attack, they had removed all its inmates, eighty-five in number, to Mr. Jonathan Bryan’s plantation, in South Carolina. They arrived at midnight on July 10; and, within six weeks afterwards, were safely back to Bethesda.[19] Hence the following letter to Whitefield:――

“BETHESDA, August 19, 1742.

“MY DEAREST FRIEND AND BROTHER,――I hope, before this reaches you, you will have received mine of the 4th, 11th, 14th, and 27th of July; and that you see your way clear to come to us. Blessed be God! we have reason to conclude the Spaniards have entirely left the colony; and we are now again very comfortably settled. The deliverance the Lord has wrought for us, by General Oglethorpe, I think, is the most remarkable I ever heard or read of, except some instances recorded in the Old Testament. I cannot now mention particulars. At Savannah, the poor people are almost all sick; at Frederica likewise, and at Mr. Bryan’s, and at other neighbours’, they are in the same condition. We also have many down. We have a good crop on the ground; but, except a few boys, have none to gather it. Brother Hunter” (the surgeon belonging to the Orphan House) “has his hands full, and is chiefly at Savannah. It is but little we buy abroad. We hunt, and kill our own stock; and have potatoes and corn enough of our own. I hope you are now on your passage to us. We cannot but expect you.”

Besides the Spanish invasion, Whitefield had another trouble in Georgia. Mr. Jonathan Barber, his lay-chaplain at the Orphan House, and Mr. Hunter, the house surgeon, had been arrested at Savannah, and imprisoned above a week, for privately insulting the Savannah clergyman. These and other matters are mentioned in the following letters. At the time when they were written, Whitefield was in the midst of the marvellous revival scenes at Cambuslang. The first was addressed to Mr. Barber, his recently imprisoned chaplain.

“CAMBUSLANG, August 17, 1742.

“And has my dear brother Barber got the start of me? What, put into prison before me? I wish you joy, my dear brother, with all my heart. Had I been at Savannah, I would have come, and, if there had been need, would gladly have washed your feet. I doubt not but your imprisonment was for Christ’s sake. I wish you had told me who stood by at Savannah, and brought you refreshment. Greet them, and give them particular thanks in my name. I must write to the Trustees, and to others. I heard nothing of the affair, till I received your letter last week. A word or two of yours, to Mr.O――――,” (the Savannah clergyman,) “I think a little too harsh; but Paul spoke once a little too harsh to the high priest. Our Jesus will overlook this, and will reward you for your imprisonment by-and-by.

“I cannot help believing that Georgia will yet be a glorious colony. The counsel of God shall stand. He surely put it into my heart to build the Orphan House. He certainly brought you to Georgia to superintend it. He will bless you and yours. I join in blessing God with you, and in admiring how He has spread a table for my dear family in that wilderness. I am kept from the least doubting. I am just now about to publish a further account of the Orphan House, and hope shortly to collect some more money towards its support.

“I am blessed with far greater success than ever; and Satan roars louder. You will see, by what I here send, how the archers, of different classes, shoot at me; but the Lord causes my bow to abide in strength, and enables me to triumph in every place. Last Lord’s-day, I believe, there were here thirty thousand people, and above two thousand five hundred communicants. The work spreads, and, I believe, will yet spread.”

Whitefield was young, but plucky. He was not disposed to submit silently to the high-handed acts of the small officials at Savannah. Hence the following, addressed to their superiors, the Honourable Trustees for Georgia:――

“CAMBUSLANG, August 17, 1742.

“HONOURED GENTLEMEN,――Letters, which I received last week from Georgia, occasion my troubling you with this. I find that Mr. Hunter and Mr. Barber have been taken up by a warrant, and were imprisoned above a week, for a thing which, I believe, none of you will judge cognisable by the civil magistrates. It seems that Mr. Barber, in a private conversation with Mr. O――――, (who I suppose is the present minister of Savannah,) told him, ‘he was no Christian; that he wondered at the impudence of young men in subscribing articles they did not believe; and that he should think it his duty to warn his friends not to hear him.’

“I acknowledge, that such language was too harsh; but Mr. Hunter, who did not say near so much, was linked in the same prosecution, and imprisoned with him. Mr. Jones, who was then at Frederica, being informed of it, declared such a procedure to be illegal; and his Excellency General Oglethorpe desired my friends to lay the matter before the Board of the Honourable Trustees. They have sent to me a particular account of what has passed, which I will transmit to you, or, when I come to London, I will wait upon you in person. I find, also, that my friends were denied a copy of the proceedings in court; in which, I am persuaded, you will think they have been wronged. My friends require no satisfaction, but only desire that such a proceeding may be animadverted upon; knowing that otherwise it will be a great discouragement to people’s settling in Georgia.

“I am sorry, also, to inform you, honoured gentlemen, that five very small children, (Swiss or Dutch,) whose parents lately died in their passage from England, have had their goods sold at Vendue, and are bound out till the age of twenty-one years. This I think directly contrary to the grant given me by you; for, thereby, I was empowered to take as many orphans into the house as my fund would admit of.

“I understand, also, that the magistrates have been at the Orphan House, and claim a power to take away the children when they please, whether the children choose it, or complain of ill-treatment, or not. This grieves some of the children, and makes others of them insolent, who are, hereby, taught, that they have a power to go away when they will. This must be discouraging to those who are entrusted with their education; and who aim at nothing but the glory of God, the welfare of the colony, and the salvation of the children’s souls. I suppose the magistrates have taken such a liberty from the instructions which were sent from you some time ago; but Mr. Jones has told them, that, they have misunderstood you; and his Excellency General Oglethorpe, I find, has written to you about it.

“Our plantation thrives well; and Mr. Habersham hopes we shall do with white servants alone. I will do all I can to promote the good of Georgia: only I beg that the management of the Orphan House and the orphans may be secured to me and my successors for ever; and that the magistrates be not suffered to disturb us, when there is no ground of complaint. They acknowledged, when at the Orphan House last, that the children were taken good care of, both as to their bodies and souls: will it not then tend much to the welfare of the colony, that the Orphan House should meet with all possible encouragement?

“His Excellency General Oglethorpe has informed my friend Mr. Habersham, that, if I desired it, he thought you would grant me a greater tract of land, which I should be obliged to give away in a certain term of years; and that we might have our own magistrates, as the people of Ebenezer have. I know not whether I shall desire such a favour; but, if I should, I desire to know what you, honoured gentlemen, would say to it. Many have applied to me respecting their settling in Georgia; but, hitherto, I could give them no encouragement. I wish I may be enabled to give them a great deal in the future.

“Honoured gentlemen, I do not desire to find fault. I doubt not but you have been prejudiced both against me and my friends. The event will shew what friends we are to Georgia. The Orphan House will certainly be of great utility to the colony; and the children educated therein will, I trust, be the glory of the society to which they belong. They are bred up to industry, as well as to other things; and are taught to fear God and honour the king. I heartily pray God to bless all who are concerned in the management of Georgian affairs.

“I hope to be in London in about two months. In the meanwhile, I would beg the favour of a line by your secretary, and I also entreat you, honoured gentlemen, to write to the magistrates of Savannah, to let the Orphan House managers alone. If I, or my friends, should happen to say or do anything amiss, I assure you, you shall have all possible satisfaction given you by them, and also by, honoured gentlemen, your very humble servant,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Such was Whitefield’s letter to the Trustees of Georgia, written in the midst of the great revival at Cambuslang.

On the same day, he wrote a long letter to his good friend, the Rev. Mr. Willison, of Dundee, who seems to have been far more anxious about Whitefield’s reputation than Whitefield was himself. The letter is historical, and extracts from it must be given.

“CAMBUSLANG, August 17, 1742.

“REV. AND VERY DEAR SIR,――I heartily thank you for your concern about unworthy me. Though I am not very solicitous respecting what the world says of me, yet I would not refuse to give to any one, much less a minister of Jesus Christ, all reasonable satisfaction about my doctrine or conduct.

“I am sorry that ‘The Associate Presbytery’ have done me much wrong. As to what they say about the supremacy, my sentiments agree with what is said in the Westminster Confession of Faith (chapter xxiii.). I do own the Lord Jesus to be the blessed Head and King of His Church. I never abjured the Solemn League and Covenant; neither was it ever proposed to me to be abjured.

“As for my missives, if ‘The Associate Presbytery’ will be pleased to print them, the world will see that they had no reason to expect I would act in any other manner than I have done.

“What that part of my experience is that savours of the grossest enthusiasm, I know not. It is not specified; but this one thing I know, when I conversed with them, they were satisfied with the account I then gave of my experience, and also of the validity of my mission. Only, when they found I would preach the gospel promiscuously to all, and for every minister that would invite me, and not adhere only to them, one of them said, ‘That they were satisfied with all the other accounts which I gave of myself, except of my call to Scotland at that time.’ They would have been glad of my help, and would have received me as a minister of Jesus Christ, had I consented to preach only at the invitation of them and their people. I thought their foundation was too narrow for any high house to be built upon. When I was last in Scotland, I declared freely, (and I am more and more convinced of it since,) that they were building a Babel.

“At the same time, they knew very well, I was far from being against all church government. How can any church subsist without it? I only urged, as I do now, that, since holy men differ so much about the form, we should bear with one another, though, in this respect, we are not of one mind. I have often declared, in the most public manner, that I believe the Church of Scotland to be the best constituted National Church in the world; but, then, I would bear and converse with all others, who do not err in fundamentals, and who give evidence that they are true lovers of the Lord Jesus. This is what I mean by a catholic spirit.

“You know how strongly I assert all the doctrines of grace as contained in the Westminster Confession of Faith, and in the doctrinal Articles of the Church of England. I trust, I shall adhere to these as long as I live; because I verily believe they are the truths of God, and because I have felt the power of them in my heart.

“I am only concerned that good men should be guilty of such misrepresentations; but this teaches me, more and more, to exercise compassion towards all the children of God, and to be more jealous over my own heart, knowing what a fallible creature I am. I acknowledge that I am a poor blind sinner, liable to err; and I would be obliged to an enemy, much more to so dear a friend as you are, to point out to me my mistakes, as to my practice, or as to unguarded expressions in my preaching or writing.

“I am just about to print a further account of the Orphan House in Georgia; and, having many other affairs of importance before me, can only now entreat the continuance of your prayers, and beg to subscribe myself,

“Yours, etc.,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Unfortunately, Whitefield’s troubles were not confined to Scotland and Georgia. Methodist affairs in Wales were far from being in a satisfactory state. Hence the following letter to Howell Harris:――

“CAMBUSLANG, August 26, 1742.

“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,――I was glad, last night, to receive your letter. I love your simple, honest heart.

“The account, sent with this, will shew you how often I have been enabled to preach; but with what efficacy and success, pen cannot describe. The glorious Redeemer seems to be advancing from congregation to congregation, carrying all before Him.

“I am opposed on every side. The Messrs. Erskines’ people have kept a fast for me, and given out that all the work now in Scotland is only delusion, and by the agency of the devil.

“What you said about poor Wales affected me. I lay upon my face this day, and, for some time, pleaded, with groans unutterable, for direction in that and several other matters of great consequence. I fear my dear brother thinks too highly of me; but, if Christ is pleased to honour me so far, I shall be glad to help the brethren in Wales. I am sorry to hear there have been such divisions; but dividing times generally precede settling times.”

In the midst of all these altercations, it is refreshing to be able to introduce one of Whitefield’s filial outpourings to his mother, who was now an inmate of Whitefield’s house in Bristol.

“CAMBUSLANG, August 26, 1742.

“HONOURED MOTHER,――I rejoice to hear that you have been so long under my roof. Blessed be God that I have a house for my honoured mother to come to! You are heartily welcome to anything it affords, as long as you please. I am of the same mind now, as formerly. If need were, these hands should administer to your necessities. I had rather want myself, than you should. I shall be highly pleased when I come to Bristol, and find you sitting in your youngest son’s house. O that I may sit with you in the house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens!

“My honoured mother, I am happier and happier every day. If any at Bristol enquire after me, please to tell them, I am well both in body and soul, and desire them to help me to praise free and sovereign grace. O that my dear mother may be made an everlasting monument of it! How does my heart burn with love and duty to you! Gladly would I wash your aged feet, and lean upon your neck, and weep and pray until I could pray no more. With this, I send you a thousand dutiful salutations, and ten thousand hearty and most humble thanks, for all the pains you underwent in conceiving, bringing forth, nursing, and bringing up your most unworthy, though most dutiful son, till death.

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Whitefield’s second visit to Cambuslang was on Friday, August 13, 1742; and here, and in the surrounding neighbourhood, he spent the next three weeks. A glimpse of his enormous labours may be obtained from the following, which was written to a friend in London:――

“CAMBUSLANG, August 27, 1742.

“A fortnight ago, I came to this place, to assist at the sacramental occasion, with several worthy ministers of the Church of Scotland. Such a passover has not been heard of. I preached once on the Saturday. On the Lord’s-day, I preached in the morning; served five tables; and preached again, about ten o’clock at night, to a great number in the churchyard. Though it rained very much, there was a great awakening. The voice of prayer and praise was heard all night. It was supposed, that, between thirty and forty thousand people were assembled; and that three thousand communicated. There were three tents. The ministers were enlarged, and great grace was among the people.

“On Monday, August 16th, at seven in the morning, the Rev. Mr. Webster preached, and there was a great commotion; and also in the third sermon of the day, when I preached.

“On Thursday, August 19th,[21] I preached twice at Greenock; on Friday, three times at Kilbride; on Saturday, once at Kilbride, and twice at Stevenson. On Sunday, August 22nd, four times at Irvine; on Monday, once at Irvine, and three times at Kilmarnock; on Tuesday, once at Kilmarnock, and four times at Stewarton; on Wednesday, once at Stewarton, and twice at ♦Mearns; and yesterday, twice at this place. I never preached with so much apparent success before. The work seems to spread more and more. Oh, my friend, pray and give praise on behalf of the most unworthy wretch that was ever employed in the dear Redeemer’s service!”

This is a mere outline of a fortnight’s stupendous labours in the west of Scotland. The sacrament at Cambuslang was an event never to be forgotten. Thirteen ministers were present on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; and, on Monday, twenty-four. “All of them,” wrote the Rev. Mr. McCulloch, the pastor of Cambuslang, “appeared to be very much assisted in their work. Four of them preached on the fast-day; four on Saturday; on the Sabbath I cannot tell how many; and five on Monday. Mr. Whitefield’s sermons, on Saturday and the two following days, were attended with much power, particularly on Sunday night, and on Monday; several crying out, and a great weeping being observable throughout his auditories. While he was serving some of the tables, he appeared to be so filled with the love of God, as to be in a kind of ecstasy, and he communicated with much of that blessed frame. The number present, on the Lord’s-day, was so great, that, so far as I can hear, none ever saw the like since the revolution, in Scotland, or even anywhere else, at any sacrament occasion. This vast concourse of people came, not only from the city of Glasgow, but, from many places at a considerable distance. It was reckoned, that, there were two hundred communicants from Edinburgh, two hundred from Kilmarnock, a hundred from Irvine, and a hundred from Stewarton. Some, also, were from England and Ireland. A considerable number of Quakers were hearers. The tables were all served in the open air, beside the tent below the brae. Some estimated the number of persons present at fifty thousand; some at forty thousand; and the lowest estimate was upwards of thirty thousand. Not a few were awakened to a sense of sin; others had their bands loosed, and were brought into the liberty of the sons of God; and many of God’s children were filled with joy and peace in believing.”[22]

Whitefield came back to ♦Edinburgh early in September, and here he chiefly remained and laboured until his return to England at the end of October. His letters, during this interval of two months, are full of interest, and extracts from them must be given.

Already a scheme was contemplated to unite the Methodists in Wales into a separate connexion; and the following, addressed “to Howell Harris, in Hoxton, near London,” refers to this:――

“September 3, 1742.

“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,――Wales is upon my heart. I think to meet all the Brethren there together. As the awakening seems, in some measure, to be over, and there are so many living stones, it may be time to think of putting them together. May the great Builder of the Church guide and direct us! I am glad to hear that matters at Bristol are better than I expected. We have had most blessed days here. I and the people have been in the suburbs of heaven. Blessed be God! I live in heaven daily. O free grace! I feel myself viler, and yet happier, every day.”[23]

Whitefield’s friend, Gilbert Tennent, had been brought into contact with the Moravians, and had not liked them. Hence the following, which Whitefield wrote to a gentleman in America:――

“EDINBURGH, September 13, 1742.

“I have just been writing to our dear brother, Gilbert Tennent. He speaks many things, which, I know, are too true of the Moravian Brethren; but his spirit seems to be too much heated, and, I fear, some of his own wildfire is mixed with that sacred zeal, which comes from ♦God. I want to be more like Jesus, who sees all the quarrels and heart-risings of His children, and yet bears with, and loves them still. I confess, I am jealous over many, who talk and write of the Lamb, and who mimic some particular person in their outward way, but yet are not truly poor in spirit. They act too much like me, who, at my first setting out, imitated the outward show of humility in Monsieur Dezenly, before I got true simplicity of heart. At the same time, I would love all who love Jesus, though they differ from me in some points. The angels love all the true worshippers of Jesus everywhere, and why should not we? If our brethren will quarrel with us, let us not quarrel with them.”

In the same catholic spirit, Whitefield wrote as follows, to a friend in Pennsylvania:――

“EDINBURGH, September 22, 1742.

“You cannot have a scene of greater confusion among you, than there has been in England. But, blessed be God! matters are brought to a better issue, and, though we cannot agree in principles, yet we agree in love. I have not given way to the Moravian Brethren, or to Mr. Wesley, or to any whom I thought in an error, no, not for an hour. But I think it best not to dispute, when there is no probability of convincing. Disputing embitters the spirit, ruffles the soul, and hinders it from hearing the still small voice of the Holy Ghost.”

To Mr. Habersham, the superintendent of his Orphan House, he wrote:――

“EDINBURGH, September 24, 1742.

“MY MOST ENDEARED FRIEND AND BROTHER,――With this, I send you a ‘Continuation of the Orphan House Account,’ which I have printed to satisfy the public, and to promote future collections. I yet owe upwards of £250 in England, upon the Orphan House account, and have nothing towards it. How is the world mistaken about my circumstances! worth nothing myself, embarrassed for others, and yet looked upon to abound in riches! Our extremity is God’s opportunity. O faith, thou hast an all-conquering power! I put my trust in God, and, through His mercy, I shall not miscarry. I pray for you. I think and dream of you almost continually. I long, I long to be with you, and, methinks, could willingly be found at the head of you, though a Spaniard’s sword should be put to my throat.

“Some of my friends in Philadelphia are suspicious that I am joined with the Moravian Brethren; but, indeed, I am not. My principles are still the same; only, as I believe many of them love the Lord Jesus, I would be friendly to them, as I would be to all others who bear the image of our common Master, notwithstanding some of my principles are as far distant from theirs as the east is from the west.”

The next extract, from a letter to a minister in Wales, affords a glimpse of Whitefield’s labours in Scotland, and announces his purpose to return to England. Perhaps, it ought to be premised, that, on Sunday, the 3rd of October, a sacrament was held at Kilsyth, in which a dozen ministers took part. The solemnities of the day began at half-past eight in the morning, and continued, without intermission, till half-past eight at night. During the day, twenty-two different services were held; and the number of communicants were nearly fifteen hundred. At Muthel, also, a gracious revival had been vouchsafed. After public worship in the kirk, crowds of people were wont to flock to the manse of the Rev. William Hally, the minister, who wrote, “Their mourning cries frequently drown my voice, so that I am often obliged to stop till they compose themselves.”[24]

“EDINBURGH, October 6, 1742.

“The Lord has dealt bountifully with me. He gives me to rejoice in all His dispensations towards me. I am taught more and more, every day, to live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. God keeps me, and brings me where I would desire to be――at His feet, waiting His will, and watching the motions of His blessed Spirit, word, and providence. Here I find safety and refuge amidst the various storms of opposition and reproach with which I daily meet. God is on my side: I will not fear what men or devils can say of or do unto me. The dear Messrs. Erskine have dressed me in very black colours. Dear men, I pity them. Surely they must grieve the Holy Spirit much. O for a mind divested of all sects and names and parties! I think, it is my one single aim to promote the kingdom of Jesus, without partiality and without hypocrisy, indefinitely amongst all. I care not if the name of George Whitefield be banished out of the world, so that Jesus be exalted in it.

“Glory be to His great name! we have seen much of His power in Scotland. The work in the west goes on and increases. Last Sabbath and Monday, things greater than ever were seen at Kilsyth. There is a great awakening also at Muthel. I preach twice every day with great power, and walk in liberty and love. In about three weeks, I purpose to leave Scotland; and hope, before long, to spend a month in Wales. I intend to travel through Newcastle and Yorkshire.[25]

“I have been much strengthened since the Spaniards invaded Georgia. I am, like the ark, surrounded with waves; but, through free grace, I am enabled to swim above all. Ere long, I shall rest on Mount Zion, in the arms of my beloved Jesus.”

Among the distinguished persons with whom Whitefield became acquainted in Scotland, was Lady Frances Gardiner, daughter of the Earl of Buchan, and wife of the celebrated Colonel Gardiner, who fell, in the service of his country, at the battle of Prestonpans, in 1745. The Colonel was now with his soldiers at Ghent; and to him Whitefield addressed the following characteristic letter:――

“EDINBURGH, October 17, 1742.

“HONOURED SIR,――Though I never had the pleasure of seeing you, I have often prayed for you. I hope you will not be offended with me for troubling you with this. Your honoured lady tells me you will not.

“Dear sir, I rejoice to hear that you are a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and that you delight to fight the Redeemer’s battles. May you be covered with all His armour, and be filled with all His fulness!

“I have the pleasure often to go without the camp, and to bear a little of His sacred reproach; and I prefer it to all the treasures in the world. Weak as I am, my Jesus makes me more than conqueror, through His love. He has brought mighty things to pass here, and gotten Himself the victory in many hearts. I trust not a day passes without some poor creature being plucked as a brand from the burning.

“I wish I could hear that God was more in the camp. Blessed be His name! for raising you up, to lift a standard for Him. May you be endued with the meekness of Moses, the courage of Joshua, the zeal of Paul, and a large portion of the blessed spirit of Christ!

“I hope, honoured sir, you will, now and then, remember me, a poor sinner, and speak a word for me to the King of kings and Lord of lords, that I may not turn my head in the day of battle, but rather die for Him, than, in any wise, deny Him. Neither you nor yours are forgotten by me. I am a poor creature, but happy, very happy, in the once crucified, but now exalted Jesus. For His sake, and in His great name, I beg leave to subscribe myself, honoured sir, your affectionate, humble servant,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Colonel Gardiner was as distinguished a Christian as he was a soldier. Nine days after the date of Whitefield’s letter, the Colonel wrote, as follows, to his friend Dr. Doddridge, of Northampton:――

“GHENT, October 16, 1742.

“I have received a letter from Mr. Whitefield. The accounts I have had of that man, both when in England and since I came here, have ravished my soul. If my heart deceives me not, I would rather be the persecuted, despised Whitefield, to be an instrument in the hand of the Spirit, for converting so many souls, and building up others in their most holy faith, than be the emperor of the whole world.”[26]

Towards the close of his visit to Scotland, Whitefield re-opened his correspondence with Wesley, the result of which was a perfect reconciliation. From this time, their mutual regard and friendly intercourse suffered no interruption, until Whitefield’s death, twenty-eight years afterwards. The following is one of the letters which, at this important period, passed between them:――

“EDINBURGH, October 11, 1742.

“REVEREND AND DEAR SIR,――About ten days ago, I sent you a packet, by my dear wife, which I hope you will have received ere this comes to hand. Yesterday morning, I had your kind letter, dated October 5.

“In answer to the first part of it, I say, ‘Let old things pass away, and all things become new.’ I can heartily say ‘Amen’ to the latter part of it. ‘Let the king live for ever, and controversy die.’ It has died with me long ago.

“I shall not leave Scotland in less than three weeks. Before yours came, I had engaged to go through Newcastle,[27] in my way to London. I rejoice to hear the Lord has blessed your dear brother’s labours.

“I am enabled to preach twice daily, and find I walk in light and liberty continually. I thank you, dear sir, for praying for me, and thank our common Lord for putting it into your heart so to do. I have been upon my knees praying for you and yours. O that nothing but love, lowliness, and simplicity may be among us! The work is still increasing in Scotland. Dear friend, my soul is on fire. O let us not fall out in the way! Let us bear with one another in love. God be praised! for giving you such a mind. My kind love to all who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity. In much haste, and with great thanks for your last letter, I subscribe myself, reverend and very dear sir, your most affectionate, though younger, brother in the gospel of our glorious Emmanuel,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Before leaving Scotland, Whitefield made three collections for his Orphan House. In the park, at Edinburgh, on October 6, his congregation gave him the noble sum of £128 10s. 7d.;[28] and, on another occasion, they contributed £44. At Glasgow, also, the public collection and private donations amounted to the same sum as the first collection in Edinburgh, making £300 in all. Even the liberality of his friends excited the anger of his enemies. The Scots’ Magazine sneeringly remarked (pp. 459, 464):――

“By his affecting comments on the widow’s throwing her two mites into the treasury, many, who live on charity, have literally given him the whole of their living, and been obliged to beg their next meal. At his diets for collecting, when he has raised the passions of his audience by a suitable sermon, his next care is to ply them while in a right frame. For this purpose, he makes his last prayer very short; thereafter pronounces the blessing without singing psalms; and then immediately falls a collecting, in which he shews great dexterity.”

IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

NOVEMBER 1742 TO AUGUST 1744.

WHITEFIELD left Scotland on November 1st, 1742; and arrived in London five days afterwards. He now resumed his ministry in his wooden Tabernacle, where, for some time past, Howell Harris had been officiating as his substitute. One of his first letters, in London, was addressed to his friend Habersham.

“LONDON, November 12, 1742.

“MY DEAREST FRIEND AND BROTHER IN A CRUCIFIED JESUS,――How do I long to come over to see you, and the rest of my dear family! The cloud seems now to be moving towards America. I trust I shall be with you in a few months.

“The Lord did wonderful things for me and His people in Scotland. The concern expressed at my departure was unspeakable. I rode post from Edinburgh, and came here, in rather less than five days, on Saturday last.

“There seems to be a new awakening in London. We have been obliged to enlarge the Tabernacle. Dear Brother Harris has been sent with a sweet, searching commission. Brother Cennick is much blessed in Wiltshire. The word runs and is glorified in Wales. God is raising some fresh witnesses of the power of His dear Son’s blood in Gloucestershire. Blessed are the eyes which see the things that we see.

“The collections in Scotland were large. In Edinburgh, I collected £128 at one time, and £44 at another; and in Glasgow, about £128, with private donations. Blessed be God! I owe nothing now in England on the Orphan-house account; what is due is abroad. I think, since I have been in England, we have got near £1500. The Lord will provide what we want further. Glory be to His name!

“My wife lies now very weak. She was tossed for ten days in her voyage from Scotland. The ship was in imminent danger, but the Lord gave her much of His presence. I trust she will be ready shortly for another voyage.”

Whitefield spent nearly four months in London. His congregations, of course, were very large, and, in another respect, were remarkable. His friend Wesley was pre-eminently and almost exclusively the poor man’s preacher. It was otherwise with Whitefield. During the winter of 1742, the Earl and Countess of Huntingdon were constant in their attendance upon his ministry, and were often accompanied by his lordship’s sisters, the Ladies Hastings. Occasionally, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and Catherine, Duchess of Buckingham, two of the most celebrated and remarkable women of their day, were among his hearers; so also was Lord Lonsdale, who had been one of the lords of the bedchamber, and constable of the tower. Charles, third Duke of Bolton; Lord Hervey, who had distinguished himself as an orator in both houses of Parliament, and who had held the offices of vice-chamberlain, and keeper of the privy-seal; and Lord Sidney Beauclerk, fifth son of the Duke of St. Albans, were likewise numbered among the young preacher’s auditors. Yea, even royalty itself, in the persons of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, youngest son of George II., and his brother Frederick, Prince of Wales, helped to swell some of Whitefield’s congregations.[29]

This is a remarkable fact, and, perhaps, may be partly accounted for by the favour with which Whitefield had been honoured by some of the aristocracy of Scotland. Between him and them a warm friendship had been created; and there can hardly be a doubt that this helped to secure him the attention of not a few of the nobility of England. As shewing his Christian intimacy with persons of distinguished rank in Scotland, the following letters, written within a fortnight after his arrival in London, will be useful. The first was addressed to Lady Frances Gardiner, the wife of the celebrated colonel.

“LONDON, November 13, 1742.

“HONOURED MADAM,――Mindful of my promise, which I made before I left Edinburgh, I now steal a few moments to send your ladyship a letter of thanks. I trust it will find you sitting under the Redeemer’s shadow with great delight. It rejoiced me when I heard that God had blessed my unworthy ministry, to recover your ladyship from a state of darkness and spiritual desertion. Glory, glory be to rich, free, and sovereign grace! I trust you will now be kept in the love of God, and that no idol will interpose between you and the Redeemer. I hope the dear Colonel is now in his proper place, and that you can think of him without anxiety or distracting care. This is that freedom wherewith Jesus Christ makes us free: to love all things in Him, and for Him, and to love Him above all. Thus we have peace and joy. Whenever we deviate from it, we fall into darkness and distress of soul.

“We have blessed seasons in London. O who can express the loving-kindness of the Lord, or shew forth all His praise? We beg your prayers; and wishing you and your honoured Colonel all manner of prosperity, I am, etc.,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

The following also was addressed to a titled lady in Edinburgh:――

“LONDON, November 13, 1742.

“I hope this will find you a very poor sinner, sitting at the feet of Jesus. If I mistake not, your soul is athirst for God, yea, to be filled with all the fulness of God. Go on, dear madam. God will satisfy all your desires. He has promised, and He will perform. There is no end of His goodness.

“I believe your ladyship will hear shortly from Mr. Harris. He is a dear soul, and left London on Thursday last, full of simplicity and love. The work goes on bravely in Wales, and elsewhere. Surely it is the midnight cry. Surely the Bridegroom is coming. Methinks I hear your ladyship say, ‘Then I will make ready to go forth to meet Him.’ That you may be always ready to obey the most sudden call, is the hearty prayer of, etc.,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

The next was written to one of the Scottish nobles:――

“LONDON, November 15, 1742.

“MY LORD,――My departure from Edinburgh was very sudden, and it was but a few days before I left, that I heard of your lordship’s illness. I have not been unmindful of you, and I trust, that, in answer to prayer, our Lord has rebuked your fever, and that this will find you risen and ministering unto Him. How apt are we, when in health, to follow Jesus afar off, and to fall into a Laodicæan spirit. May this sickness be a means of drawing you nearer to God!

“I am now in my winter quarters, preparing for a fresh campaign. Happy they who fight under the Redeemer’s banner!”

Whitefield’s “fresh campaign” included more than preaching. He lived in troublous times, and needed both “the sword and trowel.” Affairs in New England made him anxious. Hence the following to the Rev. Dr. Colman, of Boston:――

“LONDON, November 18, 1742.

“REV. AND DEAR SIR,――The confusion in New England has given me concern; but our Lord will over-rule all for good. When I shall come to Boston, the Lord Jesus only knows. I believe it will not be long. I find I shall come in perilous times; but the all-gracious Saviour, who has helped me hitherto, will guide me by His counsel, and give me a true scriptural zeal. How hard it is to keep in the true narrow path, when speaking for the Lord Jesus! God preserve me, and all His ministers, from defending His truths and cause in our own, or under the influence of a false spirit! It destroys the cause we would defend. In Scotland, there have been, as yet, but few of the disorders complained of amongst you; but, as the work increases, I suppose, the stratagems of the enemy will increase also. This is my comfort――Jesus reigns.”

The Rev. John Meriton was encountering bitter opposition in the Isle of Man, and wished for Whitefield’s advice respecting his going to Georgia. Whitefield’s answer was as follows:――

“LONDON, November 19, 1742.

“REV. AND DEAR SIR,――If the Lord has given you more zeal, I wonder not that you meet with more opposition. However, I would not have you rash or over-hasty in leaving the Isle of Man. Wait; continue instant in prayer; and you shall see the salvation of God. I have not heard from my family abroad for some time, and cannot give you any determinate answer about your going to Georgia, because I know not how their affairs stand. God will yet shew you what He would have you to do. Even so, Lord Jesus. Amen and amen!”

From New England and the Isle of Man, the reader must follow Whitefield to the principality of Wales. One of the Methodist Exhorters there had been indicted for holding a conventicle. Whitefield’s services were solicited on behalf of this luckless brother. He, at once, opened a correspondence with the Bishop of Bangor, on the subject; and the following is one of the letters that passed between them:――

“LONDON, November 19, 1742.

“MY LORD,――I received your lordship’s letter this evening. It confirmed me in the character given me of your lordship’s spirit. I verily believe you abhor everything that has a tendency to persecution; and yet, in my humble opinion, if Mr. C―――― is not somewhat redressed, he is persecuted.

“My Lord, the whole of the matter seems to be this: In Wales, they have fellowship meetings, where some well-meaning people meet together, simply to tell what God has done for their souls. In some of these meetings, I believe, Mr. C―――― used to tell his experience, and to invite his companions to come and be happy in Jesus Christ. He is, therefore, indicted as holding a conventicle; and I find this is the case of one, if not two, more.

“Now, my Lord, as far as I can judge, these persons, thus indicted, are loyal subjects of his Majesty, and true friends of the Church of England service, and attendants upon it. You will see, by the enclosed letters, how unwilling they are to leave the Church; and yet, if the Acts, made against persons meeting together to plot against Church and State, be put in execution against them, what must they do? They must be obliged to declare themselves Dissenters. I assure your lordship, it is a critical time in Wales. Hundreds, if not thousands, will go in a body from the Church, if such proceedings are countenanced. I lately wrote them a letter, dissuading them from separating from the Church; and I write thus to your lordship, because of the excellent spirit of moderation discernible in your lordship, and because I would not have (to use your lordship’s own expression) ‘such a fire kindled in or from your diocese.’”

Whitefield found it necessary to appeal to another bishop of the English Church. John Cennick was one of Whitefield’s preachers in as full a sense as Thomas Maxfield was one of Wesley’s, and had as great a claim upon Whitefield’s sympathy and support, as the itinerants of Wesley had upon him. John Cennick was now in trouble. Though he had occasionally preached in London, Bristol, Kingswood, and elsewhere, his labours had been principally devoted to the county of Wilts. His first sermon, in the county, was preached in the street of Castlecombe, on July 16, 1740; and, before long, he formed himself a preaching circuit, consisting of Lyneham, Chippenham, Avon, Langley, Hullavington, Malmsbury, Littleton-Drew, Foxham, Brinkworth, Stratton, Somerford, Tytherton, Swindon, and other places. He had many adventures, and some of them serious ones. In the month of June, 1741, accompanied by Howell Harris and twenty-four other friends, all on horseback, he went to Swindon, and began to sing and pray; but, before he could begin to preach, the mob, he writes, “fired guns over our heads, holding the muzzles so near our faces, that Howell Harris and myself were both made as black as tinkers with the powder. We were not affrighted, but opened our breasts, telling them we were ready to lay down our lives for our doctrine. They then got dust out of the highway, and covered us all over; and then played an engine upon us, which they filled out of the stinking ditches. While they played upon brother Harris, I preached; and, when they turned the engine upon me, he preached. This continued till they spoiled the engine; and then they threw whole buckets of water and mud over us. Mr. Goddard, a leading gentleman of the town, lent the mob his guns, halberd, and engine, and bade them use us as badly as they could, only not to kill us; and he himself sat on horseback the whole time, laughing to see us thus treated. After we left the town, they dressed up two images, and called one Cennick, and the other Harris, and then burnt them. The next day, they gathered about the house of Mr. Lawrence, who had received us, and broke all his windows with stones, cut and wounded four of his family, and knocked down one of his daughters.”

Within three months after this, Cennick was again in peril. While preaching at Stratton, the Swindon mob arrived, with “swords, staves, and poles.” Cennick writes:――“Without respect to age or sex, they knocked down all who stood in their way, so that some had blood streaming down their faces, and others were taken up almost beaten and trampled to death. Many of our dear friends were cut and bruised sadly; and I got many severe blows myself.”

Notwithstanding, however, this brutal opposition, Cennick’s labours were successful. He formed several Societies. At Brinkworth, in the month of August, 1741, he began to build his first meeting-house. “On Monday, October 25, 1742,” he writes, “I bought the house and land at Tytherton, where now our chapel is built; and, on Sunday, November 14, I preached the first time there, after we had taken down several lofts at one end of the house, in order to make room.”[30]

Cennick continues, “Two days after this, we were sadly misused at Langley-Burrell. The rude people, besides making a noise, cut the clothes of the congregation, threw aquafortis on them, and pelted them with cow-dung.”

In the midst of all this, Cennick wrote to Whitefield, as follows:――

“Last Tuesday, at Langley, several persons came, casting great stones at the windows of the house where we worshipped, and hallooed to each other to disturb us with their noise. They then blamed each other for not dragging me out of the pulpit, and pulling the house to pieces. At last, they laboured very hard in gathering dirt and filth, which they continued to throw at us till we finished. Not content with this, they laid wait for us in the fields and lanes, and pelted us as we passed on our way. They cut the clothes of some of the Society with scissors, and pushed them into brooks and ditches.

“The persecutions in these villages seem to increase in proportion as the work goes on. The ministers and parish officers threaten to famish the poor ‘Cennickers.’ Their threats have prevailed with some, while others tell them, ‘If you starve us, we will go’ to the meetings; ‘and rather than we will forbear, we will eat grass like the kine.’”[31]

Such was poor Cennick’s plight. First of all, Whitefield wrote to him a letter of consolation:――

“LONDON, November 20, 1742.

“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,――Your letter did not surprise me at all, though it made me look up to the Lord for you. I believed you would be down in the valley of humiliation soon; but, fear not; it is only that you may be the more exalted. I trust this will find you mounting on wings like an eagle; walking, yet not weary; running, yet not faint. God does and will remarkably appear for you. Doubtless you are His servant and minister. He, therefore, that touches you, touches the apple of God’s eye. Poor Wiltshire people! I pity them. If I knew their bishop, I would apply to him. I wrote to the Bishop of Bangor for our brethren in Wales, and have received a very favourable answer. The wrath of man shall turn to God’s praise, and the remainder of it He will restrain.”

Dr. Sherlock was the bishop in whose diocese Cennick’s “Wiltshire circuit” was situated. Sherlock, as every one knows, was eminent for his learning, and yet more eminent for his piety. The prelate had no power to punish the mob for their riotous proceedings; but he had power to rebuke his persecuting clergy; and, hence, Whitefield wrote to him as follows:――

“LONDON, November 30, 1742.

“MY LORD,――I beg your lordship’s pardon for troubling you with this. I believe you will not be offended when you know the cause.

“There is one Mr. Cennick, a true lover of Jesus Christ, who has been much honoured in bringing many poor sinners in Wiltshire to the knowledge of themselves and of God. He is a member of the Church of England; but is sadly opposed by the clergy in Wiltshire, as well as by many who will come to hear him preach.

“In a letter, dated November 16, from Foxham, he writes thus: ‘The ministers of Bremhill, Seagry, Langley, and many others, have strictly forbidden the churchwardens and overseers to let any of the Cennickers have anything out of the parish; and they obey them, and tell the poor, if they cannot stop them from following me, they will famish them. Several of the poor, who have great families, have already been denied any help. Some of the people, out of fear, have denied they ever came; and others have been made to promise they will come no more; whilst the most part come at the loss of friends and all they have. When the officers threatened some of them to take away their pay, they answered, “If you starve us, we will go; and rather than we will forbear, we will live upon grass like the kine.”’

“In another letter, I received from Mr. Cennick last night, he writes thus: ‘I should be glad if you could mention the cruelty of the ministers of Bremhill and Seagry to the Bishop of Sarum. Indeed, their doings are inhuman. The cry of the people, because of their oppression, is very great.’

“In compliance with my dear friend’s request, I presume to lay the matter, as he represents it, before your lordship; being persuaded that you will not favour persecuting practices, or approve of such proceedings to keep people to the Church of England. Should this young man leave the Church, hundreds would leave it with him. But I know, that, at present, he has no such design. If your lordship pleases to give me leave, I would wait upon you, upon the least notice. Or, if your lordship is pleased to send a line into Wiltshire, to know the truth of the matter, and judge accordingly, it will satisfy your lordship’s most obedient son and servant,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

The effect of Whitefield’s letter is not known; but, twelve days after it was written, Cennick says, in his diary: “On Sunday, December 12th, a servant of farmer Rogers, of Tytherton, daubed the gates and stiles our people had to pass over with dung and tar; and, by this means, many had their clothes entirely spoiled.”

At present, nothing need be added respecting Cennick’s circuit. Whitefield visited it a few months afterwards, and met with some memorable adventures.

Of course, wherever he was, the Orphan House in Georgia occupied Whitefield’s attention and time. The clergyman at Savannah, on account of whom the chaplain and the surgeon of the Orphan House had been imprisoned, was now dead; and, further, a fatal disease was prevalant among the colonists. Addressing the secretary of the Trustees of Georgia, Whitefield writes:――

“LONDON, November 20, 1742.

“Another distress is come upon poor Georgia. A violent sickness rages, and has taken off many. My letters say, the Orphan-house surgeon had fifty patients under his care. This, I trust, will more and more convince the Honourable Trustees, of what benefit the Orphan House is, and will be, to the colony.

“I hear that Mr. O――――, the minister of Savannah, is dead. I know one Mr. Meriton, a clergyman in the Isle of Man, who would go and supply his place, if he were applied to. I believe, the Bishop of Sodor and Man will give him a recommendation. You may acquaint the Honourable Trustees with this, and let me know their answer.[32]

“I hope, in about two months, to embark for Georgia. I find, God has given my family a good crop; but the hands are sick, so they cannot speedily carry it in.”

Of course, the greatest orphanage of the time was the one founded by Augustus Hermann Francke, at Halle, in Germany, in which he made provision for two thousand children. Besides providing for their sustenance, he established, on their behalf, a large library, and a museum of natural curiosities; and also commenced a printing office, and furnished it with the means of printing books in numerous languages. Fifteen years ago, Professor Francke had died, at the age of sixty-five, regretted by all classes in Germany, and extolled for the noble services which he had rendered to his country, and to the world. His son was his successor, and to him Whitefield addressed the following letter:――

“LONDON, November 24, 1742.

“REV. SIR,――I have long designed writing to you, but have always been prevented. I can now defer no longer; for, though I never saw you in the flesh, I highly esteem you, and wish you much prosperity in the work of the Lord.

“Your honoured father’s memory is very precious to me. His account of the Orphan House has been a great support and encouragement to me in a like undertaking. The account, sent with this, will inform you how it prospers. Hitherto, it has answered its motto, and has been like the burning bush, on fire, but not consumed. About January next, God willing, I intend to embark. In the meanwhile, I should be glad to know how it is with your Orphan House; and whether you have any commands for Georgia.”

Whitefield’s work was multifarious in its character; but his great employment was testifying the gospel of the grace of God. He had no idle moments; but his highest ambition was to save the souls of his fellow-men. Hence the following:――

“LONDON, December 4, 1742.

“Vile and unfaithful as I am, my Master lets me have my hands full of work. From morning till midnight, I am employed; and I am carried through the duties of each day with almost uninterrupted tranquillity. Our Society[33] is large, but in good order, and we make improvements daily.”

“LONDON, December 9, 1742.

“I am never so much in my element as when I preach free grace to the chief of sinners. I am much blessed here. We have many gracious souls. Ere long, I must leave them.”

“LONDON, December 18, 1742.

“The 16th of this month was my birthday. It made me blush to think how much sin I have committed against God, and how little good I have done for Him. I am now in my winter quarters, preparing for a fresh campaign. Our Society goes on well. Though I richly deserve it, our infinitely condescending Jesus will not lay me aside, until He has performed all His good pleasure by me.”

It is a fact of great importance, and which must always be borne in mind, that, notwithstanding the excitement in which he lived, Whitefield habitually cultivated his own personal religion. The following extracts from letters, written at this period, beautifully illustrate this momentous matter.

His old friend, the Rev. Benjamin Ingham, by his powerful preaching, had formed fifty Religious Societies in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and had recently placed them under the care of Moravian ministers. Whitefield now wrote to him as follows:――

“LONDON, December 21, 1742.

“To-day, I dined with old Mr. F――――, and was kindly entertained by him and his wife. I remembered what sweet counsel you and I had taken there together; and I rejoiced in the happy prospect of our being, before long, with our blessed and glorious Lord. My brother, what has our Saviour done for us since that time? What is He doing now? What did He do before time began? What will He do when time shall be no more? O how sweet it is to be melted down with a sense of redeeming love! O to be always kept low at the feet of Jesus! It is right, my brother, to insist on poverty of spirit. I know what a dreadful thing it is to carry much sail without proper ballast. Joy, floating upon the surface of an unmortified heart, is but of short continuance. It puffs up, but does not edify. I thank our Saviour, that He is shewing us here more of our hearts and more of His love. I doubt not but He deals so with you. I heartily greet your dear household,[34] and your Societies. If our Saviour gave me leave, I would gladly come to Yorkshire; but the cloud points towards Georgia.”

Colonel Gardiner was still with his regiment in Flanders, and to him Whitefield wrote the following:――

“LONDON, December 21, 1742.

“HONOURED SIR,――Your kind letter put me in mind of righteous Lot, whose soul was grieved, day by day, at the ungodly conversation of the wicked. It was the same with holy David. His eyes, like yours, gushed out with water, because men kept not God’s law. Your situation and employment cannot be very agreeable to a disciple of the Prince of Peace. I cannot say, I would change posts. Indeed, honoured sir, I think mine is a glorious employ. I am not ashamed of my Master, though my Master may well be ashamed of me. I know no other reason why Jesus has put me into the ministry, than because I am the chief of sinners, and, therefore, fittest to preach free grace to a world lying in the wicked one. Blessed be God! He gives much success. I am often ashamed that I can do no more for that Jesus who has redeemed me by His own most precious blood. O that I could lie lower! Then should I rise higher. Could I take deeper root downwards, I should bear more fruit upwards. I want to be poor in spirit. I want to be meek and lowly in heart. I want to have the whole mind that was in Christ. O that my heart were Christ’s library! I would not have one thief to lodge in my Redeemer’s temple.”

To a titled lady in Scotland, he wrote:――

“LONDON, December 23, 1742.

“The Lord empties before He fills; humbles before He exalts. At least, He is pleased to deal thus with me. I thank Him for it, from my inmost soul; for were it not so, His mercies would destroy us. When I discover a new corruption, I am as thankful as a sentinel, keeping watch in a garrison, would be at spying a straggling enemy come near him. I stand not fighting with it in my own strength, but run immediately and tell the Captain of my salvation. By the sword of the Spirit, He soon destroys it. This is what I call a simple looking to Christ. I know of no other effectual way of keeping the old man down. Look up then, dear madam, to a wounded Saviour. Tell Him your whole heart. Go to Him as a little child. He will hear your lisping, and set your soul at liberty.”

The Rev. James Hervey had told Whitefield, that his “Journals and Sermons, especially the sweet sermon upon ‘What think ye of Christ?’” had been “a means of bringing him to a knowledge of the truth.”[35] In reply, Whitefield wrote to him as follows:――

“LONDON, December 23, 1742.

“MY DEAR BROTHER HERVEY,――I thank you for your kind and very agreeable letter. It was refreshing to my soul, and stirred me to give thanks on your behalf. O my dear brother, I hope nothing will deter you from preaching the glad tidings of salvation to a world lying in the wicked one. I would not but be a poor despised minister of Jesus Christ for ten thousand worlds. Go on, thou man of God; and may the Lord cause thy bow to abide in strength! I should be glad to come, and shoot some gospel arrows in Devonshire;[36] but the cloud seems now to point towards America. Blessed be God! for making any of my poor writings of use to you. If I did not proclaim free grace, the stones would cry out against me. Whilst I am writing, the fire kindles. This fire has been, of late, kindled in many hearts. Our large Society goes on well. We have many who walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghost. I hear of glorious things from various parts. I hope, ere long, we shall hear of persons going from post to post, and crying, ‘Babylon is fallen! Babylon is fallen!’ I trust you, my dear sir, will be made a happy instrument, in the Mediator’s kingdom, of pulling down Satan’s strongholds. Pray write me word, how the war is going on between Michael and the Dragon. For the present, adieu!”

Methodism was prospering in Wales; but it needed organization. In a letter, sent to Whitefield shortly before his departure from Scotland, Howell Harris wrote: “The people are wounded by scores, and flock under the word by thousands.” Though the movement was pre-eminently, if not exclusively, a Church of England one, yet, Dissenters in Wales were already somewhat numerous. In Carnarvonshire, there was one congregation; in Denbighshire, there were three; in Flintshire, one; in Merionethshire, one; in Montgomeryshire, five; in Radnorshire, eight; in Cardiganshire, ten; in Pembrokeshire, nine; in Carmarthenshire, about twenty; in Brecknockshire, ten; in Glamorganshire, twenty-three; and in Monmouthshire, thirteen. Some of the ministers of these congregations were men of mark. John Thomas, in Carnarvonshire, was “an humble, meek, and serious man,” and a good preacher. Lewis Rees, in Merionethshire, was “a very godly man, exceedingly well gifted in prayer, and also frequent in it.” Philip Pugh, in Cardiganshire, was “noted for his uncommon piety, diligence, and success.” Henry Palmer, in Carmarthenshire, was “an Apollos in the Scriptures, and very pious.” James Davies, in Glamorganshire, was remarkable “for his industry, and for his gifts in preaching and prayer, especially the latter;” Lewis Jones, “for his seriousness, popularity, and excellent utterance;” and Henry Davies, “for devoutness and affectionate piety.”[37]

There were, at least, ten Methodist clergymen in Wales, including Daniel Rowlands, Rector of Llangeitho; Howell Davies,[38] Rector of Prengast; Thomas Lewis, a curate near Brecon; William Williams, curate of Lanwithid; John Hodges, Rector of Wenvoe; and his curate, Thomas Sweetly.[39] There were also a large number of lay-preachers, including Howell Harris, Herbert Jenkins, J. Beaumont, J. Lewis, J. Jones, R. Tibbut, John Richards, to say nothing of John Cennick and Joseph Humphreys, who were occasional visitors.

For want of rules and order, there had been occasional collisions among these godly and earnest men. To prevent this, in the future, the first Calvinistic Methodist Conference was held at Waterford, in South Wales, on January 5, 1743. The conference consisted of four clergymen――George Whitefield, Daniel Rowlands, J. Powell, and William Williams; and of three lay-preachers――Howell Harris, Joseph Humphreys, and John Cennick. Whitefield was elected moderator. The decisions were: 1. That the lay-preachers should be divided into two classes――Superintendents and Exhorters; and that Howell Harris should be their general overseer. 2. That each superintendent should have a certain district in which to labour. 3. That the ordained clergymen should visit the “districts,” or circuits, as far as they were able. 4. That the Exhorters should be arranged in two divisions,――public and private. 5. That Messrs. Jenkins, Beaumont, James, J. Lewis, B. Thomas, and J. Jones should be the Public Exhorters; and that certain brethren, whose names were mentioned, should be the Private Exhorters. 6. That the Private Exhorters should “inspect only one or two Societies each, and should follow their ordinary calling.” 7. That none should be received into the Association, as Exhorters, but such as were “tried and approved of.” And, 8. That no one should “go beyond his present limits without previous advice and consultation.”

At a monthly meeting, held soon afterwards, the boundaries of each circuit were fixed; and it was further agreed: 1. That all public exhorters should have about twelve or fourteen Societies to overlook, with the assistance of the private exhorters, twice a month. 2. That T. Williams should be the superintendent of the Societies in the vale of Glamorgan and in part of Monmouthshire. 3. That J. Lewis should be the superintendent of part of Monmouthshire and part of Breconshire. 4. T. Jones, of “parts of Monmouthshire and the other side of the Passage.” 5. T. James, of parts of Breconshire and Radnorshire. 6. And J. Jones, of Herefordshire and a part of Radnorshire. 7. That J. Beaumont and H. Jenkins should assist Howell Harris in visiting all the Societies in Wales and England. And, 8. That the associations or conferences of “ministers and exhorters in England and Wales should be held every half-year.”[40]

Thus was founded Calvinistic Methodism. For a brief period, Whitefield was its chief; and the Tabernacle, London, was its principal seat of government.

It is a notable fact, that the first Calvinistic Methodist Association was held eighteen months before Wesley held his first Methodist Conference in London. How far the one gave birth to the other, it is impossible to determine; but, at the beginning, the two organizations strongly resembled each other. Howell Harris was the general overseer in Wales, as Wesley was in England. The Welsh “superintendents” corresponded to Wesley’s “assistants;” the “public exhorters” occupied the same position as Wesley’s itinerants; and the “private exhorters” exactly answered to Wesley’s local preachers.

This is not the place for a history of the Calvinistic Methodist Connexion; but, it may be added, that, in 1870, the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists had 1,126 chapels and preaching places; 1,031 societies; 92,735 communicants; 419 ministers; 354 local preachers; 3,321 deacons; 18,579 Sunday-schoolteachers; and 143,946 Sunday-school scholars. The cost of their chapel property was estimated, at the census of 1851, at nearly a million sterling.

After finishing the business of the first conference of the Calvinistic Methodists in Wales, Whitefield returned to London, and, for some unstated reason, abandoned his intention of immediately setting sail for Georgia. Perhaps this change of purpose was occasioned by the duties imposed upon him as moderator of the newly organised body, or perhaps, the cause was a domestic one; for Whitefield, a few months later, became a father.

Meanwhile, his fellow-labourers in Wales kept him well informed of their proceedings. Hence the following:――

“February 2, 1743.

“MY DEAREST, DEAREST BROTHER WHITEFIELD,――We met to-day, according to appointment, and had a most heavenly Association. I trust the work goes on sweetly everywhere. In most places, there is a general, fresh, and uncommon stirring. Many come anew under convictions, and old worldly professors and backsliders return. Never before did I feel such power given me in preaching, and in administering the Lord’s supper. The Lord comes down among us in such a manner as words cannot describe. To prevent nature mixing with the work, I have openly discountenanced all crying out; but God gives such light and power in the ordinance, that many cannot help praising and adoring Jesus. Thus I was obliged to leave my whole congregation, consisting of many hundreds, in a flame――the one catching it from the other. This is our condition generally every Sabbath. I trust the exhorters move, for the most part, very properly, and that every one is owned in his place.

“I am, etc.,

“DANIEL ROWLANDS.”[41]

Ten days later, Howell Harris wrote to Whitefield, as follows:――

“February 12, 1743.

“With us, the work everywhere goes on more and more sweetly. I trust we shall have good order. The exhorters shew a very tractable spirit; each observes his place; and we have sweet harmony and love. Great power attends the ministers and exhorters in their several places. The Lord greatly blesses brother Herbert Jenkins. He is universally liked, and called for; and, unless his call be exceeding clear to Wiltshire, I do not think he ought to go, except it were occasionally. Perhaps, my brethren Beaumont, T. James, Jenkins, and myself, may alternately visit our English brethren, if we are called for, and see that our Saviour blesses us there.

“Since I left you, I have been able to visit the Societies in every place where I have been. My dear Lord favours me with continual employment every day, and gives me strength of body. In some places, He blesses us with His presence in a wonderful manner. He sometimes gives great freedom to pray for the bishops and clergy. Brother T. Lewis, the young clergyman near Brecon, comes on gloriously and powerfully, and has sweet union with us. He will be a shining light. The work in Cardiganshire is uncommon. I hope to be there in about a fortnight. I am now going towards Montgomery and Radnorshire. On the 1st of March, we are to have another Association at Llandovery, Carmarthenshire; from whence I hope to go to Pembrokeshire, and so to settle all the Societies against our next meeting at Waterford, where I trust our Lord will send you.

“February 14. Since I wrote the above, I have seen brother W. Williams, on his return from brother Rowlands. He informed me of the enemy being let loose on them, while they were discoursing near the sea-side in Cardiganshire. A company of ruffians came upon them, armed with guns and staves, and beat them unmercifully; but they escaped without much hurt. The ruffians were set on by a gentleman of the neighbourhood. No wonder the enemy rages, when he sees his kingdom so attacked.

“I am, etc.,

“HOWELL HARRIS.”[42]

A fortnight afterwards, Harris wrote again to Whitefield:

“March 1, 1743.

“MY DEAREST BROTHER WHITEFIELD,――Last Sunday, I was with brother Rowlands at the ordinance, where I saw, heard, and felt such things as I cannot communicate on paper. I never before witnessed such crying, heart-breaking groans, silent weeping, holy mourning, and shouts of joy and rejoicing. Their ‘Amens,’ and crying of ‘Glory to God in the highest!’ would have inflamed your soul, had you been there. It is very common, when Mr. Rowlands preaches, for scores to fall down by the power of the word. Some lie there for hours; some praising and admiring Jesus Christ and free grace; others wanting words to express their feelings. Some fall down on their knees, praying and interceding for a long time together; others lie wounded under a sense of their having pierced Jesus, so that they can hardly bear it; others triumph over all their enemies; and others rejoice in hope of a clearer manifestation of God’s glory.

“Mr. Rowlands’ congregations consist of above two thousand people, the greater part of whom are brought into glorious liberty. Many of them are scattered up and down the country, and, being exceedingly poor, they cannot come to that exact order and plan which you have in London. I see daily that what is right and much to edification in one place and among some people, is impracticable among others. We have left it to brother Rowlands to settle and unite the people in private bands, and we find the good effect of doing so. He provides some glorious souls to exhort and watch over them.

“O my brother, my heart is full. I am sure God is about to do a great work in Wales. There is a revival everywhere. I believe you will be detained here by Jesus Christ a longer time than you think. There are eight counties open for you, and thirsting to hear you. Opposition ceases, and, I believe, you will have many churches opened to you, besides chapels. Some new houses for worship are being built. Beaumont is much owned in Radnorshire and Herefordshire.

“I am, etc.,

“HOWELL HARRIS.”[43]

No wonder that Whitefield went to Wales as soon as possible. On his way, he spent a fortnight in Gloucester and the immediate neighbourhood. The following letters, apparently to his friend Syms, are full of interest:――

“GLOUCESTER, March 24, 1743.

“MY DEAR MAN,――An effectual door is opened in these parts. On Saturday night (March 19th), I preached here. The Lord was with me. On Sunday morning, I preached again in the barn. It was a sweet time to me and to the people. At noon, I preached at Mr. F――――r’s, on the hill, to a glorious auditory. Here Jesus Christ displayed His power. At four, I preached in a field near Stroud, to a congregation consisting of many, many thousands. Afterwards, I went to the new house at Hampton, and the glory of the Lord filled it. It is reported to be haunted; but the landlord spoke truly, when he said, we should pray the devil out of it. It is exceedingly commodious for our purpose.

“On Monday, at noon, I preached in the courtyard to a large auditory. I also settled, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, an orphan house. Particulars of that you shall have hereafter. It will be but of little expense. In the evening, the Lord gave me a sweet time at Pitchcomb.

“On Tuesday, a man was hanged in chains on Hampton Common. A more miserable spectacle I have not seen. I preached, in the morning, to a great auditory, about a mile from the place of execution. I intended doing the same after the criminal was turned off, but the weather was very violent. Thousands and thousands came to hear me, but, through misinformation, stayed at the top of the hill, while I preached at the bottom. In the evening, I preached at Gloucester, in the barn.

“On Wednesday, I preached at Gloucester-Ham, near the gallows, after another malefactor was turned off. God gave me to speak with power; but, the weather being violent, I was shorter than usual. In the evening, I preached again in the barn. It was a night much to be remembered.

“This morning, I preached again, and am just now going to my evening lecture. To-morrow, I leave Gloucester for a few days. The Association is put off for a week, so I shall have more time in Gloucestershire. Never did I see people more hungry and simple. Many come telling me what the Lord did when I was here last. Let Him have all the glory! I am sure God called me here.

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[44]

“GLOUCESTER, March 29, 1743.

“MY DEAR MAN,――Last Thursday evening, I preached at Gloucester, with as sweet, convincing, soul-edifying power as ever I felt in my life. The barn, though made more commodious, was quite crowded.

“On Friday morning, I preached again; and, afterwards, went to Hampton, the snow falling and freezing on us all the way. In the evening, I preached at Chalford, upon walking with God.

“On Saturday, I preached at Ruscom in the morning, and at King-Stanley in the afternoon. In the evening, I visited brother C――――’s sweet Society; and, afterwards, rode to Hampton. The congregations, on account of the weather, were not so great; but our Saviour most richly fed us. At Stanley, I thought I was on the very suburbs of heaven.

“On Sunday morning, I preached at Dursley, where our dear brother Adams[45] had been taken down the Sunday before. No one was permitted to touch or affront me. The congregation consisted of some thousands, and the word came with a most gloriously convincing power. In the afternoon, I preached to about twelve thousand on Hampton Common, at what the people now call ‘Whitefield’s Tump,’ because I preached there first. They hung on me to hear the word. It ran and was glorified. In the evening, we had a most precious meeting with the two united Societies in the new house at Hampton.

“On Monday, I preached at Painswick. It was a precious opportunity. From a little after one until near seven in the evening, I met the different classes of the Society here, and was much pleased with many of them. They grow, and will, I believe, be brought into good order.

“Last night and this morning, I preached again with sweet power. Preaching here is now like preaching at the Tabernacle. This evening I am to preach again; and, after that, to hold our first lovefeast.

“And now, my dear man, help me to be thankful, and to bless the Lord for all His mercies conferred on

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[46]

For four days longer, Whitefield continued to preach twice a day; and then, on the evening of Saturday, April 2, set out for Wales. The following letter, also addressed to Mr. Syms, describes his journey:――

“WATERFORD (SOUTH WALES), April 7, 1743.

“MY DEAR MAN,――I preached and took my leave of the Gloucester people on Saturday evening last. It was past one in the morning before I could lay down my weary body. I rose again at five; got on horseback, and rode to Mr. F――――’s; where, at seven, I preached to a sweet congregation, come [on Easter Sunday] to meet their risen Saviour. At ten, I read prayers, and preached from these words. ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ I afterwards helped to administer the sacrament in Stonehouse church. Then I rode to Stroud, where I preached to about twelve thousand, in Mrs. G――――’s field. Much of the Divine presence was there. About six in the evening, I preached to a like number on Hampton Common; and, after this, I went to Hampton, and held a general lovefeast with the united Societies there. I went to bed about midnight, very cheerful and very happy.

“On Monday morning, I preached near Dursley, to some thousands, with great convictions accompanying the word. About seven in the evening, I reached Bristol, and preached, with wonderful power, to a full congregation, at Smith’s Hall; and afterwards spent the evening very agreeably with dear Mr. Chapman, of Bath, and some other friends.

“On Tuesday morning, I preached again to a full congregation; and then set out for this place, where we arrived at about eight in the evening.

“On Wednesday, at noon, I opened the Association, with a close and solemn discourse upon walking with God. The brethren and people felt much of the Divine presence. Afterwards, we betook ourselves to business. Several matters of great importance were dispatched. We broke up about seven, and met again at ten, and continued settling the affairs of the Societies till two in the morning.

“On Thursday, we sat again till four in the afternoon. Then, after taking refreshment, I preached upon ‘The Believer’s Rest,’ after which we went on with our business, and finished our Association about midnight.

“I am chosen, if in England, to be always moderator. I trust our Saviour gives me a spirit for it. I find, more and more, the Lord will lead me in a way by Himself, and will perform in me and by me all the good pleasure of His will. Dear Brother Harris, in my absence, is to be moderator.

“The Brethren have put the Societies in Wales upon my heart. O pray that I may put them, and all my other concerns, upon the Mediator’s shoulders: those alone can bear them. Perhaps, in a month, I may come to London. It seems the will of the Lord, that I should stay in Wales about a fortnight, and take a tour into Pembrokeshire. Great doors are open there. Our Saviour keeps me very happy; and is, I believe, preparing me for greater blessings.

“I am, etc.,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[47]

Such is Whitefield’s own account of the second conference of the Calvinistic Methodists,――a godly council, sitting till midnight one day, and till two o’clock in the morning on another, and refreshing themselves, in the midst of their business, with two warm-hearted sermons, by the young man whom they had elected to be their moderator as long as he lived. Whitefield’s sermon, preached at the opening of the conference, has been published; but lack of space prevents the insertion of even a mere outline of it. It is one of his best, and, of course, has a slight Calvinistic tinge.

“The in-being of sin,” said the preacher, “will never be totally removed, till we bow down our heads and give up the ghost. The apostle Paul, no doubt, speaks of himself, and that, too, not when he was a Pharisee, but a real Christian, when he complains, that, when he would do good, evil was present with him, not having dominion over him, but opposing and resisting his good intentions and actions, so that he could not do the things which he would, in that perfection which the new man desired. This is what he calls sin dwelling in him. But as for its prevailing power, it is destroyed in every soul that is truly born of God, and is gradually weakened as the believer grows in grace, and the Spirit of God gains a greater ascendancy in the heart.”

“O prayer,” cried the impassioned preacher, in another part of his Conference sermon, “O prayer, prayer! it brings and keeps God and man together; it raises man up to God, and brings God down to man. If you would keep up your walk with God, pray, pray without ceasing. Be much in secret, set prayer. When you are about the common business of life, be much in ejaculatory prayer. Send, from time to time, short letters post to heaven, upon the wings of faith. They will reach the very heart of God, and will return to you loaded with blessings.”

With respect to that with which he was often charged, he justly observed:――

“Though it is the quintessence of enthusiasm, to pretend to be guided by the Spirit without the written Word, yet it is every Christian’s duty to be guided by the Spirit in conjunction with the written Word. Watch, therefore, I pray you, O believers, the motions of God’s blessed Spirit in your souls; and always try your suggestions or impressions by the unerring rule of God’s most holy Word. By observing this caution, you will steer a middle course between two dangerous extremes; I mean, enthusiasm on the one hand, and Deism and downright infidelity on the other.”

On the subject of Christian fellowship, two sentences fell from his lips, which Methodists of the present day will do well to ponder.

“If we look into Church history, or make a just observation of our own times, I believe, we shall find, that, as the power of God prevails, Christian Societies and fellowship meetings prevail proportionately. And as one decays, the other insensibly decays and dwindles away at the same time.”

“One word,” cried the preacher, “one word to my brethren in the ministry, and I have done. You see, my brethren, my heart is full; I could almost say it is too big to speak, and yet too big to be silent, without dropping a word to you. I observed at the beginning of this discourse, that, in all probability, Enoch was a public person, and a flaming preacher. Though he be dead, does he not speak to us, to quicken our zeal, and to make us more active in the service of our glorious and ever-blessed Master? How did Enoch preach? How did he walk with God? Let us follow him, as he followed Christ. The judge is before the door. He that cometh will come, and will not tarry. His reward is with Him; and, if we are zealous for the Lord of hosts, ere long, we shall shine as stars in the firmament, in the kingdom of our Father, for ever and ever.”

Whitefield himself has left no information respecting the business of the Conference, except that he was chosen to be perpetual moderator, and that, in his absence, Howell Harris was to be his substitute. Fortunately, a manuscript book, containing the minutes of the proceedings, has been preserved, and, from it, the following facts are gleaned.

The clergymen present were Whitefield, W. Williams, T. Lewis, and Howell Davies. The lay-preachers were Howell Harris, Herbert Jenkins, T. James, J. Beaumont, T. Williams, J. Lewis, T. Adams, and Mr. Hughes. Besides these, there was also present a Dissenting minister, whose name is not recorded.

After going through the list of superintendents, exhorters, and stewards, and making appointments for the several circuits, it was further agreed, 1. That the superintendents should have liberty to preach, not only in their own circuits, but, when journeying, elsewhere. 2. That “Howell Harris should be superintendent over Wales, and go to England when called.” 3. That all persons, who thought they had a call to be exhorters, should make application to one of “the monthly Associations,” by whom “their gifts, graces, and call” should be “closely examined.” If approved of, they were to be appointed, by the “Association” examining them, to a suitable circuit; with the proviso, that the “General Association” should be informed of the action that had been taken. 4. That the superintendents should send an account of what God had done, in their respective circuits, to London every month, directed to Mr. J. Syms, Charles Square, Hoxton, for the minister of the Tabernacle. 5. That each superintendent should keep a book, in which he should write the names of his private exhorters, and also the names of the members of his Societies; and that he should report the state of each Society to the General Association. 6. That the next Quarterly Association should be held at Trevecca, on the first Wednesday after Midsummer-day. 7. That there should be a Monthly Association in each of the counties of South Wales. 8. That the Monthly Associations should consist of an ordained minister as a moderator, the superintendent of the circuit, his assistants and private exhorters. 9. That a secretary should be chosen, for each monthly meeting, to enter in a book minutes of the proceedings. 10. That each meeting should begin and end with prayer and exhortation. 11. That private exhorters should not send notices of preaching to any place; but should speak in any private house, to the family and neighbours, if desired.[48]

Such was the primitive platform of the Calvinistic Methodists, laid down, at Waterford, in Wales, on April 6th and 7th, 1743. As soon as the Conference was ended, their moderator again set out on his gospel-ramblings. The following jottings are taken from the letters which he wrote to his friend and secretary Syms:――

Saturday, April 9. Preached at Cardiff, and at Fonmon.[49] At Cardiff, the congregation large; and the greatest scoffers quiet.

Sunday, April 10. Preached twice at Lantrissaint, where Howell Harris also preached in Welsh.[50]

Monday, April 11. Preached from a balcony, in the street, at Neath, to about three thousand people.[51]

Tuesday, April 12. Preached once at Harbrook, and twice at Swansea, the congregations at the latter place consisting of four thousand persons. In all these visits, he was accompanied by Howell Harris, who generally preached in Welsh, after Whitefield’s sermon was concluded.

Wednesday, April 13. Preached twice at Llanelly, and once at Abergwilly.

Thursday, April 14. Preached twice at Carmarthen, “one of the greatest and most polite places in Wales; in the morning, from the top of the cross; in the evening, from a table near it. It was the great sessions. The justices desired I would stay till they rose, and they would come. Accordingly they did, and many thousands more, and several people of quality.”[52]

Friday, April 15. Preached at “Narberth, to some thousands, with great power.”

Saturday, April 16. Preached at Newton, and at Jeffreston, to “several thousands, very like the Kingswood colliers.”

Sunday, April 17. “Preached at Llys-y-fran, and had, as it were, a Moorfields congregation;”[53] also “to about the same number near Haverfordwest.”

Wednesday, April 20. “Preached, at eight in the morning, to about eight thousand people, at Carmarthen; and, in the afternoon, to several thousands, at Narberth.”

Thursday, April 21. “Preached this morning at Larn;[54] and, coming over the ferry, had the unexpected compliment paid me, of one ship firing several guns, and of some others hoisting their flags. This afternoon, I preached at Kidwelly, to a large congregation. One of the ministers preached against me last Sunday, and mentioned me by name; but, like my other opposers, and like the viper biting the file, he only hurt himself.”

Friday, April 22. “Preached twice at Carmarthen, to about ten thousand people. We had another blessed Association, and have now settled all the counties in Wales.”

Saturday, April 23. “Preached at Llangathan, in the church, to a great congregation; and at Llandovery in the evening.”

Sunday, April 24. “Preached at Llandovery in the morning; and, in the evening, to a large and polite auditory at Brecon.”

Monday, April 25. Preached at Trevecca, and at Guenfithen. “My body is weak, but I am at the Redeemer’s feet, and He reigns King in my heart, and causes me to rejoice and triumph over all.”

Tuesday, April 26. Preached at Builth, and Gore. “Between eight and nine at night, we set out from Gore for Leominster, and reached there between two and three in the morning.”

Wednesday, April 27. Preached twice at Leominster. “The Lord broke up the fallow ground, and gave me a blessed entrance into Herefordshire.”

Thursday, April 28. “Found some of our Lord’s disciples at Hereford, and also at Ross, and might have preached at both places, if time would have permitted; but I was hastening to Gloucester, where we arrived at eight in the evening; after having, in about three weeks, travelled four hundred English miles, spent three days in attending two Associations, preached about forty times, visited about thirteen towns, and passed through seven counties. Here, then, will I set up my Ebenezer; thank the adorable Jesus for all His mercies; and, from the bottom of my heart, give Him all the glory.”

After preaching three or four times in “the barn” at Gloucester, (which, during his absence, had been turned into a commodious chapel,) Whitefield returned direct to London. Arriving there, he wrote the following letter to one of the servants of the Earl of Huntingdon――David Taylor――who had been converted under the ministry of Benjamin Ingham, and was now preaching in Yorkshire. Notwithstanding the enormous toil indicated by the above jottings, Whitefield was willing and wishful to undertake fresh labours quite as arduous.

“LONDON, May 6, 1743.

“MY DEAR BROTHER,――A day or two ago, I had the pleasure of receiving a letter from you. Accept my thanks for it.

“I am glad that our Saviour is getting Himself the victory in your parts, and that fresh doors are opened for our dear brother Ingham to preach the everlasting gospel.

“Blessed be our glorious Emmanuel! I also can tell you of new and glorious conquests made of late. I am but just returned from a circuit of four hundred miles in Gloucestershire and Wales. Dagon has everywhere fallen before the ark. The fields are white unto the harvest. The congregations were very large; and I was never enabled to preach with greater power.

“I purpose staying here about a month, and intend once more to attack the prince of darkness in Moorfields, when the holidays come. Many precious souls have been captivated with Christ’s love in that wicked place. Jerusalem sinners bring most glory to the Redeemer.

“Where I shall go next, I cannot yet tell. If my Master should point out the way, a visit to Yorkshire would be very agreeable. Perhaps Exeter and Cornwall may be the next places. I love to range in such places.

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

The Whitsuntide holidays occurred in the fourth week of May; but no record exists of Whitefield’s intended “attack on the prince of darkness,” except that he preached in the morning of Whit-Sunday in Moorfields, and made a collection for his Orphan House, amounting to £23. The following are extracts from letters addressed, at this time, to his two superintendents――the first to Mr. Habersham, the second to Mr. Barber.

“LONDON, May 21, 1743.

“MY VERY DEAR FAITHFUL FRIEND AND BROTHER,――After watching and praying and striving some days for direction, I now sit down to write you a letter, though I know not well what to say or do. The concern I have felt for you and my dear family has had an effect on my body, and has increased the weakness, which the season of the year, my constant labours, and continual cares have brought upon me. I fear I have been sinfully impatient to come to you. I think I could be sold as a slave to serve at the galleys, rather than you and my dear orphan family should want. You may well expect me; but I must not mention it, lest my impatient heart should say, ‘Lord, why wilt Thou not let me go?’

“After I have fought the Lord’s battles in Moorfields, these holidays, I think to take a tour into Cornwall and Wales, and, perhaps, to Ireland.”

Whitefield here laments that he has not, before now, returned to Georgia; and yet, strangely enough, he assigns no definite reason why his intentions and promises to return were not fulfilled. There is the same obscurity in the letter addressed to his Orphan-house chaplain:――

“LONDON, May 21, 1743.

“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER BARBER,――Little did I think, when I parted from you at Bethesda, that I should be writing to you at this time in London. But God’s ways are in the great waters, and His footsteps are not known. I have essayed to come to you more than once, or twice; but, I believe I can say, ‘The Spirit suffered me not.’ In thought, I am with you daily; when I shall come, in person, our Saviour only knows. I long to be with you, to open our hearts freely, and to tell one another what God has done for our souls.”

All this sounds well enough; but it does not assign the reason or reasons why he was not in Georgia. Was he kept in England by his new relationship to the Calvinistic Methodists? Or did his wife, for a sufficient cause, object to his return to America? Because Whitefield himself is silent on the subject, these are questions which it is impossible to answer. All the debts due in England, on account of his Orphan House, were now defrayed; and, with the foregoing letters, he sent £25 towards the expenses in America; but the debts there required a considerably larger sum than this.[55]

Whitefield remained in London until June 13, when he again set out on another of his evangelistic tours. Preaching all the way, he arrived at Gloucester, “shouting, Grace! Grace!” He preached at Gloucester, Fairford, Burford, Bengeworth, Stroud, Hampton, Bristol, and Kingswood. On Saturday, June 25, he rode to John Cennick’s circuit, Wiltshire. He writes:――

“Sunday, June 26, I preached at Brinkworth, on these words, ‘Thy Maker is thy husband.’[56] It was a day of espousals, I believe, to many. God was with us of a truth. After sermon, I rode to Langley, in company with many dear children of God, who attended me both on horseback and on foot. We sung, and looked like persons who had been at a spiritual wedding. The Lord helped me in preaching there also. All was quiet. In the evening, I preached at Tytherton, and a blessed time it was. Afterwards, we set out for Hampton, and reached there about midnight. We rode, as the children of Israel, passing through the enemies’ country.”

On Wednesday, June 29, Whitefield reached Trevecca, “where,” says he, “I met a whole troop of Jesus’ witnesses. At five in the evening, I preached. After I had done, Howell Davies preached and prayed. About eight, we opened the Association with great solemnity. Our Saviour was much with me, teaching and helping me to fill my place in a particular manner. About midnight, we adjourned; but several of the Brethren sat up all night, and ushered in the morning with prayer and praise. About eight, we met again, and were greatly delighted at the simple accounts the superintendents brought in of their respective Societies. We continued doing business till two in the afternoon, and broke up with much solemnity and holy joy. We had great union with one another.[57] Indeed, Jesus has done great things for Wales. The work is much upon the advance. I was surprised to find so much order. Brother Howell Davies has been blessed to the conversion of a young clergyman, rector of St. Bartholomew’s, London.”

The “young clergyman,” just mentioned, was the Rev. Richard Thomas Bateman, “a man of high birth and great natural endowments.”[58] About the year 1740, he left his rectory in London, and retired to a small living in Pembrokeshire. He was wholly unconverted, and was the clergyman who preached against Whitefield only two months before Whitefield’s present visit to Trevecca. His text was 1 John iv. 1, and his sermon was full of railing against the Methodists, charging them with hypocrisy, enthusiasm, and kindred crimes. He continued in Wales about four years after his conversion, preaching with great power and success; and, then, in 1747, returned to his rectory in London;[59] opened his church to the Wesleys and Whitefield; and was present at Wesley’s yearly Conference in 1748.[60] Among others with whom he formed a friendship was the celebrated Joseph Williams, of Kidderminster, who wrote to him as follows:――

“KIDDERMINSTER, June 10, 1747.

“It did me good to hear you pour out your soul in prayer before your sermon, and to feel you bearing mine along with you to the mercy-seat. I have great expectations from your coming to London, and am solicitous about the good fruits thereof. Many a fervent prayer have I put up for you on that account. I want to know whether God has touched any hearts by your ministry. God has not wrought this great change in you, at so ripe an age, merely for your own sake, but for the sake of many. He has much people in the great city yet to be called; and, having called many by Mr. Whitefield, and the Messrs. Wesley, and their fellow-helpers, He has now appointed to call many more by Mr. Bateman,――many who perhaps would not come within hearing of any of the others. I want to know if you have gathered the firstfruits, as a pledge of a glorious harvest. I want, also, to know how your parishioners and others, particularly clergymen, behave towards you. Will you not favour me with a letter? I trust you will. Let it be a long one. I love long letters from my fathers and brethren in Christ.”[61]

Like the other Methodist clergymen, Mr. Bateman had to encounter considerable opposition; but this is not the place to pursue his history.

To return to Whitefield. When preaching his first sermon on Hampton Common, Gloucestershire, a young man, Thomas Adams, prompted by curiosity, came to hear him. Adams was converted, and, being converted himself, he endeavoured to convert his brethren. For some time past, he had been one of Whitefield’s preachers, and had been eminently successful “in Hampton,[62] and the adjacent country, in calling sinners to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.” Having formed a society at Hampton, Adams, on Saturday, July 9th, was quietly singing and praying with its members, when, all at once, the house was surrounded with a mob, which, for weeks past, had “breathed out threatenings and slaughter against” Adams and his friends. Adams, in a letter to Whitefield, shall tell his own story.

“The mob, which consisted of near a hundred persons, were now about the house, making a terrible noise, and swearing prodigiously. I went down to them, and opened the door, and asked them what they wanted. I told them, if they wanted my life, I was willing to deliver it up for Jesus’ sake; but withal I desired to know why they either disturbed me or sought my life; for I was not aware that I had given them any just cause for either. Some of them said I had, by bringing in false doctrine, and impoverishing the poor. I told them, that they could prove neither, and that their accusation was really false. They seemed somewhat at a stand; when about five of them began to be more exasperated, and took me, in order to throw me into a lime pit. I told them, they need not force me, for I was willing to suffer for Jesus’ sake. But while they were pushing me along, some neighbours took me in their arms, and carried me into one of their houses.

“On Sunday morning, about twenty of the Society met again. We spent the morning in prayer. In the evening I preached; when in came the mob, demanding me to come down. I asked, by what authority they did so? They swore they would have me. Then said I, So you shall. So they took me to the lime pit, and threw me in. I told them, I should meet them at the judgment. They let me out, and I came home, and kneeled down with the people there, and prayed to God, and praised Him. After that, I exhorted them from 1 John iii. 1–3. When I was concluding, in came the mob again, and took me to a brook to throw me in there. I told them the law was against them, but I was willing to suffer anything for Christ. They said, if I would forbear preaching for a month, they would let me go. I told them, I would make no such promise. So forward I went. One of them threw me in, and I went to the bottom; but I came up again, with my hands clasped together. One or two of them jumped in, and took me out. Then another pushed me in again, and much bruised and cut one of my legs against a stone. I came home talking to them. Many advise us to prosecute them; but, if they are quiet, I am content, and can say from my heart, ‘Father, forgive them.’ I should be glad if you would be here on Sunday next.”

It so happened, that Whitefield could not be there “on Sunday next,” for he had to preach four times at Bristol fair; but he set out on Wednesday, July 20th, and five days afterwards wrote as follows:――

“HAMPTON, July 25, 1743.

“On Thursday last, I came here, and expected to be attacked, because the mob had threatened, that, if I ever came again, they would have my black gown to make aprons with. No sooner had I entered the town, than I heard the signals, such as blowing of horns and ringing of bells, for gathering the mob. My soul was kept quite easy. I preached on a large grass plot, from these words, ‘And seeing the grace of God, he exhorted them with full purpose of heart to cleave unto the Lord.’ As it happened, I finished my sermon and pronounced the blessing, just as the ringleader of the mob broke in upon us. One of them, as I was coming down from the table, called me a coward; but I told him they should hear from me in another way. I then went into the house, and preached upon the staircase to a large number of serious souls; but the troublers of Israel soon came in to mock and mob us. As you know, I have very little natural courage; but I leaped downstairs, and all ran before me. However, they continued making a noise about the house till midnight, abusing the poor people as they went home, and broke one young lady’s arm in two places. They threw brother Adams a second time into the pool, by which operation he received a deep wound in his leg. They wheeled young W―――― H―――― in a barrow to the pool’s side, lamed his brother, and grievously hurt several others. Hearing that two or three clergymen were in the town, one of whom was a justice of the peace, I went to them; but, instead of redressing, they laid the cause of all the grievances at my door. By the help of God, I shall persist in preaching myself, and in encouraging those who, I believe, are truly moved by the Holy Ghost. I know of no law of God or man against it. As I came out from the clergymen, two of the unhappy mobbers were particularly insolent, and huzzaed us out of the town.”

To avoid a recurrence to these disgraceful proceedings, it may be added, that Whitefield and his friends commenced an action against five of the ringleaders of the mob; that they were tried at the Gloucester Assizes on March 3, 1744; and that they were found guilty. Whitefield, immediately, wrote a full account[63] of the whole affair, and, from that account, the following extracts are taken:――

“Several of our brethren, both in England and Wales, have received much damage, and have been frequently in great hazard of their lives. Wiltshire has been remarkable for mobbing and abusing the Methodists; and, for about ten months past, it has also prevailed very much in Gloucestershire, especially at Hampton. About the beginning of July, 1743, for several days, the mob at Hampton assembled in great bodies, broke the windows of Mr. Adams’s house, and assaulted the people to such a degree that many expected to be murdered, and hid themselves in holes and corners, to avoid the rage of their adversaries. Once, when I was there, they continued from four in the afternoon till midnight, rioting, giving loud huzzas, casting dirt upon the hearers, and making proclamations, ‘that no Anabaptists, Presbyterians, etc., should preach there, upon pain of being first put into a skin-pit, and afterwards into a brook.’ At another time, they pulled one or two women down the stairs by the hair of their heads. On the 10th of July, they took Mr. Adams out of his house, and threw him into a skin-pit full of noisome things and stagnated water. They also put one of our friends, named Williams, into the same pit twice, and afterwards beat him, and dragged him along the kennel. They likewise led Mr. Adams a mile and a half to Bourn brook, and threw him in, and so injured his leg, that he went lame for near a fortnight.

“Both the constables and justices were applied to, but refused to act; and seemed rather to countenance the mobbing, hoping, thereby, that Methodism would be put a stop to, at least, at Hampton. For a season, they gained their end. There was no preaching for some time, the people fearing to assemble on account of the violence of the mob.

“Upon my return to town, I advised with my friends what to do. For several reasons, we thought it our duty to move for an information in the King’s Bench against five of the ringleaders, and fixed upon the riot which they made on Sunday, July 10, when they put Messrs. Adams and Williams into the skin-pit and brook. But, before this was done, I wrote a letter to one whom they called captain, desiring him to inform his associates, that, if they would acknowledge their fault, and would pay for curing a boy’s arm, which was broken the night I was there, and would mend the windows of Mr. Adams’s house, we would readily pass all by. The rioters sent me an insolent answer, and said, ‘There should be no more preaching in Hampton.’ Finding them irreclaimable, we moved for a rule of court in the King’s Bench to lodge an information against five of the ringleaders. The rioters were apprised of this, appeared by their counsel, and prayed the rule might be enlarged till the next term. This was granted.

“Meanwhile, they continued mobbing. One Saturday night, at eleven o’clock, they broke into Mr. Adams’s house, when there was no preaching, made those who were in bed get up, and searched the oven, cellar, and every corner of the house, to see whether they could find any Methodists. Some time after, they threw another young man into a mud-pit three times successively, and abused the people in a dreadful manner.

“The next term came on. We proved our accusation by twenty-six affidavits; the rule was made absolute, and an information was filed against them. To this they pleaded ‘Not guilty;’ and the cause was referred to the assize held at Gloucester, March 3, 1744. Being aware of the great consequence of the trial, we kept a day of fasting and prayer through all the Societies both in England and Wales. Our Scotch friends also joined us. We had about thirty witnesses to prove the riot and facts laid down in the information.

“Our counsel opened the cause with much solidity and sound reason. They shewed, ‘That rioters were not to be reformers, and that His Majesty had nowhere put the reins of government into the hands of mobbers, or made them judge or jury.’ Our witnesses were then called.

“The counsel for the defendants then rose, and, I think, said all that could be said, to make the best of a bad matter. One urged that we were enthusiasts, and that our principles and practices had such a tendency to infect and hurt the people, that it was right for any private person to put a stop to us, and whoever did so was a friend to his country. The other counsel was pleased to mention me by name, and acquainted the court, that, ‘Mr. Whitefield had been travelling from common to common, making the people cry, and then picking their pockets, under pretence of collecting money for the colony of Georgia; that he had now several curates, of which Mr. Adams was one, who, in his preaching, had found fault with the proceedings of the clergy, and said, if the people went to hear them, they would be damned.’”

Whitefield then proceeds to give an outline of the evidence in favour of the defendants, and the substance of the judge’s charge; and continues:――

“Upon this, the jury were desired to consider their verdict. There seemed to be some little demur amongst them. His lordship perceiving it, informed them, ‘they had nothing to do with the damages; that was to be referred to the King’s Bench; they were only to consider whether the defendants were guilty or not.’ Whereupon, in a few minutes, they brought in all the defendants ‘guilty of the whole information lodged against them.’

“I then retired to my lodgings, kneeled down, and gave thanks, with some friends. Afterwards, I went to the inn, prayed and returned thanks, with the witnesses; exhorted them to behave with meekness and humility to their adversaries; and sent them home rejoicing. In the evening, I preached on these words, ‘By this I know that Thou favourest me, since Thou hast not suffered mine enemy to triumph over me.’ Next morning, I set out for London.”

We must return to Whitefield’s travels. When he left the rioters at Minchin-Hampton, on Saturday, July 23, 1743, he returned direct to Bristol; and, on the following day, “preached four times in the fields, to congregations as large as those at the beginning” of his career.

On Saturday next ensuing, he came to Exeter, where he spent three days. He writes:――

“EXETER, August 2, 1743.

“I preached, last Saturday night, to a great body of people. Several of the clergy attended, with whom Exeter abounds. Some went off; others stayed till I had done. All was quiet; and our Lord soon made way for Himself into the people’s hearts.

“Yesterday evening, I preached, on Southernay Green, to upwards of ten thousand. It was just like a Moorfields congregation. God was with us of a truth.

“The people were very desirous of my longer continuance here; but so many things concur to call me to London, that I leave Exeter to-morrow morning, and preach in my way to town. I am in my element when evangelizing.”

One of the things which brought Whitefield, in such haste, to London, was the necessity of consulting his friends concerning the steps which ought to be taken in reference to the Hampton rioters; but there were also other matters scarcely of less importance.

In the beginning of this year, 1743, Count Zinzendorf had declared war against Whitefield. He had heard him preach, and, in the plenitude of his power, had said to the young evangelist,――“You must first formally recant the abominable doctrine of reprobation, so contrary to sound reason; and then preach openly free grace in the blood of the Lamb, and an election of grace as taught in the Scriptures, which is quite different from the doctrine of predestination which you teach; and if not, our Church must necessarily be opposed to you.”[64]

Probably, Whitefield cared but little for Zinzendorf’s imperious censure; but, in the month of August, another incident occurred, which touched him more deeply.

John Syms, for years past, had been Whitefield’s travelling companion. He seems also to have acted as Whitefield’s secretary. He was his confidential friend. During the last two months, Whitefield had written Syms, at least, eight letters, giving an account of his every-day proceedings, and all of which are published in Whitefield’s collected works. Strangely enough, all at once, the faithful Syms wished to leave Whitefield and to join the Moravians. Whitefield was extremely reluctant to part with him; and told James Hutton, that, “he could not discharge John Syms, his agent, believing it to be the Saviour’s will that he should stay with him, and do the work with which he had entrusted him. Whitefield wished Hutton to advise Syms to continue with him; but this could not be done, inasmuch as Syms had said he was called by the Holy Ghost to leave him; and the Brethren could not advise him against his own convictions.”[65]

The result was, Whitefield lost his secretary, travelling companion, and major-domo. John Syms was received into the Moravian fellowship; and continued one of the Unitas Fratrum until his death, in 1756. He was buried in Camberwell churchyard, where there used to be a memorial of him and of his sister, Mrs. Sarah Osborn.[66]

Another matter demanded Whitefield’s attention, even more important than the retention or otherwise of Secretary Syms.

John Wesley was now in the north of England; Charles Wesley was in Cornwall; Whitefield was in Devonshire; Spangenberg was in London; John Nelson was in Yorkshire. The Moravians were an organized body of Christians. The Calvinistic Methodists were formed into a connexion. And Wesley had large and flourishing societies in London; Bristol, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and other places. Somehow, Wesley formed a project for bringing the three communities into closer union with each other; and, for that purpose, proposed that a conference should be held in London.[67] He himself travelled from Newcastle; his brother Charles hurried from Cornwall; Whitefield came from Exeter; John Nelson trudged from Birstal. What was the result? Charles Wesley writes:――

“Gwennap, Sunday, August 7. My brother summoned me to London, to confer with the heads of the Moravians and Predestinarians. We had near three hundred miles to ride in five days. I was willing to undertake this labour for peace, though the journey was too great for us and our weary beasts, which we have used almost every day for these three months.

“Friday, August 12. By nine at night, I reached the Foundery. Here I heard the Moravians would not be present at the conference. Spangenberg, indeed, said he would, but immediately left England. My brother was come from Newcastle, John Nelson from Yorkshire, and I from the Land’s End to good purpose!”[68]

What did John Wesley say? To a Moravian, who, in 1746, taunted him with having opposed reconciliation and union, he wrote:――

“Alas, my brother! what an assertion is this! Did not I come, three years ago, in all haste, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and my brother, in five days, from the Land’s End, to a supposed conference in London? Was this standing out? But with what effect? Why, Mr. Spangenberg had just left London. None besides had any power to confer with us. And, to cut us off from any such expectation, James Hutton said they had orders not to confer at all, unless the Archbishop of Canterbury, or the Bishop of London, were present. There cannot be under heaven a greater mistake than this, that I ever did stand out, or that I do so now. There has not been one day, for these seven years last past, wherein my soul has not longed for union.”[69]

It is impossible to determine, with certainty, whether Wesley’s wish was for the Moravians, the Calvinistic Methodists, and the Arminian Methodists to be amalgamated into one connexion; or whether he merely wished that, by mutual explanations and concessions, they might cultivate a better understanding with each other, and so avoid all unnecessary collision, and unite, as far as practicable, in advancing the work of God; but one thing is certain, through no fault of his, the attempt was a failure. Ten months later, Wesley instituted a conference of his own.

No authentic information exists as to the part which Whitefield took in these proceedings; but, a few days after the proposed conference should have met, Wesley, “to cut off all needless dispute,” wrote down his sentiments, as plainly as he could, on the “three points in debate” between him and Whitefield, namely, “Unconditional Election, Irresistible Grace, and Final Perseverance.” The paper[70] doubtless was put into Whitefield’s hands, and must have satisfied him of the sincerity of Wesley’s friendship; though Arminian Methodists, as Mr. Jackson says, will think “it leans too much towards Calvinism.”

In one thing, Whitefield and Wesley were agreed; namely, that their Societies should not separate themselves from the Established Church. Hence the following letter, written, by Whitefield, soon after the date of the intended conference:――

“LONDON, August 20, 1743.

“How wonderfully does our all-wise Redeemer order things for the trial of His children! Alas! alas! how apt are they to judge, censure, and be needlessly prejudiced against each other!

“In our last Association, we agreed not to separate from the Established Church, but to go on in our usual way. The motion to separate was made only by a very few, of more contracted principles. By far the greater part most strenuously opposed it, and with good reason; for, as we enjoy such great liberty under the mild and gentle government of his present majesty, King George, we think we can do him, our country, and the cause of God, more service in ranging up and down, preaching repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus, to the multitudes who will neither come into church or meeting, but who are led, by curiosity, to follow us into the fields. However disorderly this may seem to bigots of every denomination, yet, it is a way to which God has affixed His seal for many years past; and, therefore, we have no reason to turn to the right hand or to the left, but to press forwards, and to do our utmost towards enlarging the kingdom of our Lord Jesus.”

Whitefield’s wife was near her confinement; and, at the beginning of September, had a narrow escape from an untimely death. Whitefield himself shall tell the story.

“LONDON, September 2, 1743.

“My wife has been in trying circumstances, partly through the unskilfulness of a chaise-driver――I mean myself. Being advised to take her out into the air, I drove her, as well as myself, through inadvertence, into a ditch. The ditch might be about fourteen feet deep. All, who saw us, cried out, ‘They are killed!’ but, through infinite mercy, we received no great hurt. The place was very narrow near the bottom, and yet the horse went down, as though lowered by a pulley. A bystander ran, and caught hold of its head, to prevent its going forwards. I got upon its back, and was drawn out; whilst my wife, still hanging between the chaise and the bank, was pulled up by two or three kind assistants. The chaise and horse being taken up, and our bruises being washed with vinegar in a neighbouring house, we went on our intended way, and came home rejoicing in God our Saviour.

“Not expecting my wife’s delivery for some time, I intend making a short excursion, and then you may expect further news from yours, etc.,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Northampton, among other places, was visited by Whitefield, in the “short excursion” just mentioned. His friend Hervey had recently become curate at Weston-Favel; and, perhaps, it was this circumstance which brought Whitefield into this particular locality. Be that as it may, the visit became a memorable one, from the angry feelings it excited among some of the leading Dissenters of the day.

Others, besides clergymen and Presbyterian ministers, were unpleasantly perplexed by Whitefield and the Methodists. Dr. Doddridge, though one of the most liberal-minded of the Dissenters, found it difficult to look with favour upon the proceedings of some of the Methodist evangelists. Hence the following extract from a letter, addressed to the Rev. Mr. Witton, son-in-law of the celebrated Philip Henry:――

“NORTHAMPTON, June 8, 1743.

“I am much concerned at the anxiety and disturbance which Mr. Wesley’s coming into your neighbourhood has occasioned. You are pleased to ask my advice, and therefore I give it.

“I think the gentlest methods will be the most effectual. Opposition will but give strength to the faction, if it be attended with violence and heat. Should Mr. Wesley come hither, as perhaps he may, and excite such a flame among the weaker part of my hearers, I would appoint some stated season for meeting once a week, with a few steady and experienced brethren of the church, that an hour or two might be spent in prayer and consultation, as new incidents might arise within the sphere of our personal observation. I would endeavour to renew my zeal in preaching the great truths of the gospel, and in visiting and exhorting my hearers. I would, with great meekness and compassion, and yet with great solemnity, admonish the persons attacked with the contagion, and lay open before them the absurd nature and tendency of the views they had rashly entertained; and I would, as God enabled me, pray earnestly for them.”[71]

Among others, who wrote to Doddridge, respecting Whitefield, was the Rev. Robert Blair, D.D., author of the well-known poem, “The Grave.” In a letter, dated July 28, 1743, he says:――

“I wish you would give me your opinion of Mr. Whitefield, a man who has made abundance of noise in the world. I never in my life knew any person so much idolized by some, and railed at by others.”[72]

Soon after this, during a visit to London, Doddridge seems to have attended Whitefield’s Tabernacle, and to have taken part in one or more of its services. Perhaps the influence of Colonel Gardiner, one of his correspondents, had induced him to do this. Whatever the inducement, however, the act itself created alarm among the London Dissenters. Hence the following, addressed to Doddridge, from Dr. Isaac Watts:――

“STOKE NEWINGTON, September 20, 1743.

“I am sorry that, since your departure, I have had many questions asked me about your preaching or praying at the Tabernacle, and of sinking the character of a minister, and especially of a tutor, among the Dissenters, so low thereby. I find many of your friends entertain this idea; but I can give no answer, not knowing how much you have been engaged there. I pray God to guard us from every temptation.”[73]

This is mightily amusing. Dr. Doddridge, the theological tutor of the Dissenters’ College, daring to preach or pray in Whitefield’s Tabernacle! What a sin against all ecclesiastical and ministerial propriety! The poor Doctor, however, went further than even this. He allowed Whitefield to preach in his own pulpit at Northampton! This seemed to perfect the enormity. Among others who took the Northampton professor to task for his eccentric conduct, was the Rev. John Barker, an influential minister,[74] in London, who wrote as follows:――

“November 4, 1743.

“It is an honour to our interest that you stand so well with the sober and moderate clergy. For this reason, I was troubled to hear of the late intercourse between you and Mr. Whitefield, the consequence of which, with respect to the Church, it is easy to foresee. I was willing to think well of the Methodists; but, after a candid attention to them, their proceedings appear not to me to be wise and good. Their devotion is unseasonable, irregular, and injudicious. Their sermons are low and loose. Their spirit appears to me turbulent, unruly, and censorious. They practise upon weak people and poor people. They call them to pray and sing when they should be in their business or their beds. They disturb the peace and order of families, and give great uneasiness in them. What they pretend to above their neighbours appears to be mere enthusiasm. Their people are slothful, or mopish, or dejected, or pragmatical, rather than sober, discreet, judicious, exemplary, regular Christians; and I have no expectation but that Methodism, like any other enthusiasm, will promote infidelity, and turn out to the hurt and damage of religion, and the souls of men. Though I judge not their hearts, views, and motives, but admit those are secret things which belong to God, yet I thought it needful, very lately, to warn my hearers of these people’s errors, and advise them to avoid them.”[75]

Doddridge’s chief castigator, however, was Nathaniel Neal, Esq., son of the Rev. Daniel Neal, the historian of the Puritans. Nathaniel was an eminent attorney, secretary to the Million Bank, and author of “A Free and Serious Remonstrance to Protestant Dissenting Ministers, on occasion of the Decay of Religion.”[76] He wrote not fewer than three long letters to Doddridge, filling nine printed octavo pages, and dated respectively, Million Bank, October 11, October 15, and December 10, 1743. He addresses Doddridge with great deference and respect; but, evidently, in great alarm, lest Doddridge should irretrievably injure his position and character, as the chief of the Dissenters’ tutors, by countenancing the proceedings of the eccentric Methodist.

In the first of his letters, he writes:――

“It was with the utmost concern that I received the information of Mr. Whitefield’s having preached last week in your pulpit. I attended the meeting of the trustees of Mr. Coward’s benefaction this day, when the matter was canvassed, and I now find myself obliged to apprize you of the very great uneasiness which your conduct herein has occasioned them.”

Mr. Neal proceeds to tell the Doctor that his “regard to the Methodists” was injuring him in the opinion of his friends, and was giving an advantage against him to his “secret and avowed enemies.” He adds:――

“In the case of such a public character, and so extensive a province for the service of religion as yours, it seems to me a point well worth considering, whether it is a right thing to risk such a prospect as Providence has opened before you, of eminent and distinguished usefulness, for the sake of any good you are likely to do amongst these people. Your countenancing the Methodists has been the subject of conversation much oftener than I could have wished. The trustees are particularly in pain for it, with regard to your academy; as they know it is an objection made to it, by some persons seriously, and by others craftily.”[77]

In his third letter, Mr. Neal expresses a holy dread lest Doddridge should be “engaged amongst men of weak heads, and narrow, gloomy sentiments, who may and ought to be pitied and prayed for, but whom no rules of piety or prudence will oblige us to make our confidants and friends.” He continues:――

“There are letters shewn about town, from several ministers in the west, which make heavy complaints of the disorders occasioned by Whitefield and Wesley in those parts. One of them, speaking of Mr. Whitefield, calls him ‘honest, crazy, confident Whitefield.’ These letters, likewise, mention that some ministers there, who were your pupils, have given them countenance; and you can hardly conceive the disrespect this has occasioned several ministers and other persons in town to speak of you with.”[78]

Poor Doddridge, with the best intentions, had stirred up a nest of ecclesiastical hornets. He had to make the best of the affair; and part of his answer to Mr. Neal was as follows:――

“December 12, 1743.

“I am truly sorry that the manner in which I spoke of Mr. Whitefield, in my last, should have given you uneasiness. What I said proceeded from a principle which I am sure you will not despise: I mean a certain frankness of heart, which would not allow me to seem to think more meanly of a man to whom I had once professed some friendship than I really did.

“I must, indeed, look upon it as an unhappy circumstance that he came to Northampton just when he did, as I perceive that, in concurrence with other circumstances, it has filled town and country with astonishment and indignation.

“I had great expectations from the Methodists and Moravians; and I am grieved that so many things have occurred among them which have been quite unjustifiable. I suppose they have also produced the same sentiments in the Archbishop of Canterbury, who, to my certain knowledge, received Count Zinzendorf with open arms, and wrote of his being chosen the Moravian Bishop, as what was done ‘plaudente toto cœlesti choro.’ I shall always be ready to weigh whatever can be said against Mr. Whitefield; and, though I must have actual demonstration before I can admit him to be a dishonest man, and though I shall never be able to think all he has written, and all I have heard from him to be nonsense; yet, I am not so zealously attached to him as to be disposed to celebrate him as one of the greatest men of the age, or to think that he is the pillar which bears up the whole interest of religion among us.

“I had heard before of the offence which had been taken at two of my pupils in the west, for the respect they shewed to Mr. Whitefield: and yet they are both persons of eminent piety. He whose name is chiefly in question, I mean Mr. Darracott, is one of the most devout and extraordinary men I ever sent out, and a person who has, within these few years, been highly useful to numbers of his hearers. Mr. Fawcett labours at Taunton; and his zeal, so far as I can judge, is inspired both with love and prudence. Yet, I hear those men are reproached because they have treated Mr. Whitefield respectfully; and that one of them, after having had a correspondence with him for many years, admitted him into his pulpit.

“I own, I am very thoughtful where these things will end. In the meantime, I am as silent as I can be. I commit the matter to God in prayer. I am sure I see no danger that any of my pupils will prove Methodists. I wish many of them may not run into the contrary extreme.”[79]

These are long, almost tedious, extracts; but they are of great importance as plainly shewing that, at the beginning of his career, the Independents looked upon Whitefield with as much suspicion as many of the clergy of the Church of England and many of the Presbyterian ministers of Scotland did. It was a heinous sin against all the proprieties of their Church, that Doddridge and two of his ordained pupils had countenanced the preaching of this young, popular, powerful, and successful evangelist.

We again return to Whitefield’s wanderings. In the Scots’ Magazine, for 1743, under the heading of “Marriages and Births,” the following announcement was made: “October, 1743. At his house in Hoxton, the wife of Mr. George Whitefield, of a son.” This event seems to have occurred during Whitefield’s “short excursion” to Northampton and its neighbourhood. Hence, under date of October 5th, he writes: “The last evening of my short excursion, I preached from a balcony, to many thousands, who stood in the street as comfortable as at noonday. Upon retiring to my lodgings, news was brought me, that God had given me a son. This hastened me up to London, where I now am, and from whence, after I have baptized my little one, I purpose to set out again on my Master’s public business.” Ten days after writing this, the untiring Whitefield was at Avon, in Wiltshire, and did not return to his wife and infant son until seven weeks afterwards. Perhaps, this was not an example of either connubial or paternal behaviour to be commended; but let it pass. The following extracts from his letters will furnish an idea of his labours, in the west of England, during the next two months:――

“COLLUMPTON, October 25, 1743.

“I wrote to you on the 15th instant at Avon. In the morning, I walked to Tytherton, and preached. After sermon, I baptized four boys, each about three months old. The ordinance was so solemn and awful, that Mrs. Gotley[80] (who is a Quaker) had a mind immediately to partake of it. When I go to Wiltshire, I believe I shall baptize her and her children, with some adult persons who have tasted of redeeming love. About one o’clock I preached at Clack, in the street. I then rode to Brinkworth and preached there, and, afterwards, administered the holy sacrament to about two hundred and fifty communicants. Some strangers, from Bath, went home filled with our Redeemer’s presence. I have also preached at Chippenham. We had a wonderful time in Wiltshire.

“I hope I managed all things right about the affair of the Hampton rioters. They have compelled us to appeal unto Cæsar. Evidences shall be examined in the country, in time enough to send the examinations to town.

“On Saturday last (October 22nd), when I came to Wellington, the Rev. Mr. Darracott[81] persuaded me to stay there, because the country people had come from all quarters several times to hear me, and had been disappointed. I consented, and preached in his meeting-house, in the evening, to a large auditory. The Rev. Mr. Fawcett,[82] formerly pupil to Dr. Doddridge, came there, and stayed all night. The blessed Jesus gave us much freedom in conversation. I hope both will be instruments, under God, in promoting a good work in these parts.

“Sunday morning, I preached again in the meeting-house; and, in the evening, to seven thousand in the field.[83]

“On Monday, at ten in the morning, and at two in the afternoon, I preached, at Collumpton, with much freedom and power; was kindly received, met some reputable Dissenters, and am now setting out for Exeter.”

Whitefield seems to have made Exeter his head-quarters for nearly a fortnight. Hence the following letters:――

“EXETER, October 28, 1743.

“I have a strong conviction that our Lord intends doing something in the west. Since my arrival here, letters of invitation have come from many parts. The common people begin to feel. I preached this afternoon on Southernay Green. Even some of the polite were much affected. I believe I shall think it my duty to stay in these parts for some time.”

“EXETER, November 6, 1743.

“On Monday last” (October 31st), “I went to Axminster, and preached to about two thousand without; and afterwards exhorted within the house where I lay. The next day, I preached to a greater number of people; and, at night, gave an exhortation, and met the Society. Our Lord vouchsafed us a gracious blessing.

“On Wednesday, I went to Ottery; but, just as I named my text, the bells rang. Upon this, I adjourned to a field, whither the people ran in droves. As I stepped into the inn, before I went to the field, a clergyman came, who asked me by what authority I preached, and said it was a riot, and that the meeting was illegal. I answered him, as I thought pertinently, and afterwards went and shewed him my authority, by preaching on these words, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ In the evening, I returned to Exeter, where some hundreds were waiting to hear me expound. The Lord makes this place very comfortable to me. Prejudices fall off daily, and people begin not only to discern, but to feel, the doctrines of the gospel.

“Postscript.――Ten at night. It would have pleased you to be here this evening. I question whether near a third part of Exeter were not attending on the word preached. All was solemn and awful, and the Lord gave me much assistance from His Holy Spirit. Help me to praise Him.”

From Exeter, Whitefield proceeded to Bideford, where he wrote as follows:――

“BIDEFORD, November 11, 1743.

“The Rev. Mr. Thompson, Rector of St. Gennys, Cornwall, is here. God willing, I will go with him to-morrow. There is also another clergyman about eighty years of age, but not above one year old in the school of Christ.[84] He lately preached three times and rode forty miles the same day. The Dissenting minister and his wife were very hearty; and, perhaps, here is one of the most settled female Christian Societies in the kingdom. I cannot well describe with what power the word was attended. Yesterday, in the afternoon and evening, it was just like as at Edinburgh. The old clergyman was much broken. A young Oxonian, who came with him, and many others, were most deeply affected. I suppose, there were upwards of two thousand, in the evening, in the meeting-house. Dear Mr. Hervey,[85] one of our first Methodists at Oxford, and who was lately a curate here, had laid the blessed foundation.

“So far from thinking of nestling at London, I am more and more convinced that I should go from place to place; and I therefore question if I shall see London for some time.

“Postscript.――Seven at night. To-day has been as yesterday, and much more abundant. I am here, as in Scotland and New England. Here is work enough for three months. The weather is very favourable; range, therefore, I must and will.”

On Saturday, November 12, Whitefield accompanied Mr. Thompson to his rectory at St. Gennys, Cornwall, where he seems to have remained a fortnight. Hence the following:――

“ST. GENNYS, November 25, 1743.

“I am glad that the Lord inclined my heart to come hither. He has been with us of a truth. How did His stately steps appear in the sanctuary last Lord’s-day! Many, many prayers were put up, by the worthy rector and others, for an outpouring of God’s blessed Spirit. They were answered. Arrows of conviction fled so thick and so fast, and such a universal weeping prevailed from one end of the congregation to the other, that good Mr. Thompson could not help going from seat to seat, to encourage and comfort the wounded souls. The Oxonian’s father was almost struck dumb; and the young Oxonian’s crest was so lowered, that I believe he will never venture to preach an unknown Christ, or to deal in the false commerce of unfelt truths.

“I could enlarge, but I must away to Bideford, just to give Satan another stroke, and bid my Christian friends farewell; and then return the way I came, namely, through Exeter, Wellington, and Bristol, to the great metropolis.”

Whitefield arrived in London at the beginning of December, and wrote the following hitherto unpublished letter to “Mr. Howell Harris, at Trevecca, near the Hay, South Wales, Breconshire.”

“LONDON, December 6, 1743.

“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,――I thank you for your kind letters and kind present. Our Saviour will plentifully reward you for all favours conferred on me and mine.

“I rejoice exceedingly that the word runs and is glorified in Wales. I hope to rejoice together with you at the next Association. Great things have been doing in the west. I believe Mr. Thompson, of Cornwall, will come with me into Wales. I have thoughts of removing my little family to Abergavenny in a short time; and to leave that house for you and yours to live in, till I come from abroad again, if you will be pleased to accept of it.

“I can easily forgive our dear brother Beaumont;[86] but, I think, he and his wife have dealt very unsimply in respect to their marriage. I pray our Lord Jesus Christ to bless them exceedingly, and to prevent all ill consequences that may arise, to the people of God, from such a procedure.

“I intend being here but a few days; and I have many things to say to you when we see each other face to face. Oh, my brother, my dear, very dear brother Harris, Jesus is better and better to me every day. I have had close attacks, but strong consolations. I would write much, would time and business permit; but I must bid you adieu. My tender, tender love to all. My dear wife and Mr. Grace send their most cordial respects. The Lord Jesus be with your dear soul, and give you to pray for, my dear, dear, dear brother,

“Yours most affectionately in Christ Jesus,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

“P.S.――Mr. Mason, the bookseller, is dead; also Mr. Dubert’s wife. About seven of our friends have lately died in the Lord. Courage, my dear man,――courage; we shall go ere long. Yet a little while, and He that cometh will come, and will not tarry.”

In less than a fortnight, Whitefield was again on the wing. On Friday, December 16, he rode to a place “five miles beyond Reading.” The next day, he got to Clack. “It rained and snowed much for about seven miles,” says he, “and the way was dangerous; but the blessed Jesus kept us in safety.” On Sunday morning, he preached, and administered the sacrament to the Wiltshire Societies, at Tytherton;[87] and, in the evening, he preached at Brinkworth. He writes: “They were good times. I have a cold, but our Lord warms my heart. To-morrow (December 19) I must away to Gloucester. Oh, follow, follow with your prayers.”

Whitefield was now on his way to a new sphere of labour. All readers of Methodist history are well acquainted with the disgraceful and terrible riots which took place at Walsal, Wednesbury, Darlaston, and West Bromwich, in 1743. In the former part of the year, both the Wesleys had preached here, at the peril of their lives. As recently as October 20, John Wesley had been all but murdered by the godless ruffians of the neighbourhood; and now, at the end of December, Whitefield came.[88] The following extract is taken from a pamphlet, entitled, “Some Papers, giving an Account of the Rise and Progress of Methodism at Wednesbury, in Staffordshire, and in other Parishes adjacent; as likewise of the late Riot in those parts.” Printed by J. Roberts, London. 1744. (8vo. 30 pp.)

“Mr. Whitefield was at Birmingham, where there is a Society, about Christmas last; and you may suppose great numbers would, out of curiosity, flock to hear a man who had been so much talked of. He was also invited to Wednesbury, where he preached in the streets for several days. He was invited to Birmingham by a Dissenter. His stay was not above a week or ten days, and, towards the last, his auditors were not so numerous, and the behaviour of some of them not over civil. I do not find the number of the Methodist converts to be near so numerous as was at first apprehended; and those few of them, who were of the communion of the Church of England, are, in general, very regular in their behaviour, and in their attendance at church. The Dissenters constitute the greater number, and are their greatest admirers, particularly of Mr. Whitefield. About Wednesbury, some of their converts have been raised into strange and unaccountable ecstasies; but I cannot find there have been any of the like instances at Birmingham.”

Such was the testimony of an unfriendly writer. Whitefield’s own account is as follows:――

“December 31, 1743.

“What do you think? Since my last, I have stolen a whole day to dispatch some private business; however, in the evening, I expounded, at Birmingham, to a great room full of people, who would rush into my lodgings, whether I would or not.

“On Sunday morning (Christmas Day), at eight, I preached, in the street, to about a thousand, with much freedom. I then went to church and received the sacrament, and afterwards preached to several thousands in the street. As no minister would preach in a house at Wednesbury,[89] where a weekly lecture used to be kept up, I was earnestly entreated to go; and, after my afternoon’s preaching at Birmingham, I went and preached there, at six in the evening, to many hundreds in the street. The word came with power, and only one or two made a noise. We afterwards had a precious meeting in private.

“On Monday morning, about eight, I preached to a large company in a field. By eleven, I returned to Birmingham, and preached to many thousands, on a common near the town. The soldiers were exercising; but the officers, hearing that I was come to preach, dismissed them, and promised that no disturbance should be made. All was quiet, and a blessed time we had. In the afternoon, at three, I preached again to about the same company, with the same success. Then I rode to Wednesbury, and preached there, and afterwards exhorted. About one, I went to bed exceeding happy.

“In the morning, I broke up some fallow-ground at a place called Mare Green, about two miles from Wednesbury. Much mobbing had been there against Mr. Wesley’s friends. A few began to insult me. Several clods were thrown, one of which fell on my head, and another struck my fingers, while I was in prayer. A sweet gospel spirit was given to me. I preached again at Birmingham, to larger auditories than before, about eleven in the morning and three in the afternoon. In the evening, I expounded twice in a large room; once to the rich, and once to the poor; and went to rest happier than the night before.[90]

“In the morning (Wednesday, Dec. 28), I took my leave of the Birmingham people, who wept much, and shewed great concern at my departure. I then went to Kidderminster, where I was kindly received by Mr. Williams, with whom I have corresponded for near two years. Many friends were at his house. I was greatly refreshed to find what a sweet savour of good remained to this day, from Mr. Baxter’s doctrine, works, and discipline. I preached, about three in the afternoon, to a large auditory, near the church. Some unkind men, though they promised not to do so, rang the bells; but our Saviour enabled me to preach with power. In the evening and next morning, I preached in the meeting-house.

“I then (Thursday) went with Mr. Williams to Bromsgrove, and was kindly received by one Mr. K――――y, a good man, and several others, among whom were two or three Baptist ministers, and one Independent. In the afternoon, I preached in a field. Some rude people kicked a football, and sounded a horn; but the Lord enabled me to preach with boldness. About six, I preached in the Baptist meeting-house; left Kidderminster at eight, and reached Worcester at ten. Mr. Williams and another friend accompanied us.

“The next day, I reached Gloucester, very thankful, and rejoicing greatly in Christ for giving me such a delightful and happy Christmas.”

This is a notable letter. Whitefield was now on the ground where Wesley and his friends had been nearly murdered; but all the inconvenience suffered by Whitefield was a little noise at Wednesbury, the throwing of a few clods at Mare Green, the ringing of the church bells at Kidderminster, and a game at football and the sounding of a horn at Bromsgrove. Compared with Wesley, the lines fell to Whitefield in pleasant places.

The observant reader will also notice Whitefield’s enormous labours. In four days, in mid-winter, he held nineteen services, twelve of his sermons being preached in the open air, and three in Dissenting chapels. The opportunity of thus serving his great Master was Whitefield’s idea of spending “a delightful and happy Christmas!” No wonder that his Master blessed him, and filled him so full of joy at midnight hours.

But little more remains to be said respecting Whitefield’s career in 1743. In common with his friend Wesley, he was again and again fiercely assailed by the public press. He was pilloried in the famous Dunciad of Alexander Pope, as follows:――

“So swells each windpipe; ass intones to ass, Harmonic twang! of leather, horn, and brass; Such as from lab’ring lungs th’ Enthusiast blows, High Sound, attemper’d to the vocal nose! Or such as bellow from the deep Divine; There, Webster! peal’d thy voice, and, Whitefield! thine.”

Pope was a poet; another assailant, the author of “The Progress of Methodism in Bristol, or, the Methodists Unmasked, 1743” (18mo. 72 pp.), was a poetaster, and unworthy of being further noticed; but, possibly, his ribald verses, in which he malignantly attacked Whitefield, as well as Wesley, were quite as goading as Pope’s more polished lines.

Whitefield began the year 1744 in his native city, Gloucester. He then went to Watford in Wales, and, as moderator of the Calvinistic Methodists, presided, on January 3rd, at one of their associations, or conferences. Among the subjects considered at this meeting, the Hampton riot seems to have been the principal. Whitefield writes:――

“After mature deliberation, we determined to prosecute the affair to the utmost, and to set apart January 24 (the first day of the term) for a day of fasting and prayer, and to make collections for that purpose. The cause is the Lord’s, and much depends on our getting the victory. I believe we shall.”

The work in Wales was in great prosperity. In a letter, written soon after the assembling of this conference, Howell Harris says:――

“The labours of all our associates are more or less blessed. The Lord countenances the lay-preachers much; but He is more abundantly with the ordained ministers. The believers are generally strong and full of spiritual warmth and life. They do, indeed, adorn the gospel. The congregations are exceedingly large wherever we preach. Some of the greatest opposers are not only silenced, but constrained to own that the Lord is among us of a truth. In many places, the people meet at five o’clock in the morning to adore and worship the Lord together; and, in some places, meetings are resumed in the evenings, and kept up all night in prayer and praise.”[91]

It is a strange fact, that, notwithstanding the falsely reputed wealth of Whitefield’s wife, and his own enormous popularity, his income was insufficient for the maintenance of his family in London. Hence, during his visit to Wales, he made arrangements for the removal of his wife and child to Abergavenny;[92] and, on his return to London, wrote, as follows, to a friend at Gloucester:――

“LONDON, January 18, 1744.

“This afternoon, I received your kind letter; and I thank you a thousand times for your great generosity in lending me some furniture, having little of my own. I know who will repay you. Next week, God willing, my dear wife and little one will come to Gloucester, for I find it beyond my circumstances to maintain them here. I leave London this day sennight. My brother will receive a letter about my wife’s coming. She and the little one are brave and well. But why talk I of wife and little one? Let all be absorbed in the thoughts of the love, sufferings, free and full salvation, of the infinitely great and glorious Emmanuel.”

Three weeks after this, Whitefield’s “little one” was dead. The letter containing an account of his bereavement is so characteristic, and so unfolds Whitefield’s weaknesses as well as virtues, that it must be inserted without abridgment.

“GLOUCESTER, February 9, 1744.

“Who knows what a day may bring forth? Last night, I was called to sacrifice my Isaac; I mean, to bury my only child and son, about four months old.

“Many things had occurred to make me believe he was, not only to be continued to me, but, to be a preacher of the everlasting gospel. Pleased with the thought, and being ambitious of having a son of my own so divinely employed, Satan was permitted to give me some wrong impressions, whereby, as I now find, I misapplied several texts of Scripture. Upon these grounds, I made no scruple of declaring ‘that I should have a son, and that his name was to be John.’ I mentioned the very time of his birth, and fondly hoped that he was to be great in the sight of the Lord.

“Everything happened according to the predictions, and my wife having had several narrow escapes while pregnant, especially by her falling from a high horse, and my driving her into a deep ditch in a one-horse chaise a little before the time of her lying-in, and from which we received little or no hurt, confirmed me in my expectation, that God would grant me my heart’s desire.

“I would observe to you, that the child was even born in a room which the master of the house had prepared as a prison for his wife, on account of her coming to hear me. With joy would she often look upon the bars and staples and chains, which were fixed in order to keep her in. About a week after his birth, I publicly baptized him in the Tabernacle, and, in the company of thousands, solemnly gave him up to that God, who gave him to me. A hymn, too fondly composed by an aged widow, as suitable to the occasion, was sung, and all went away big with hopes of the child’s being hereafter to be employed in the work of God; but how soon have all their fond, and, as the event has proved, their ill-grounded expectations been blasted, as well as mine!

“House-keeping being expensive in London, I thought it best to send both parent and child to Abergavenny, where my wife had a little house, the furniture of which, as I thought of soon embarking for Georgia, I had partly sold, and partly given away. In their journey thither, they stopped at Gloucester, at the Bell Inn, which my brother now keeps, and in which I was born. There, my beloved was cut off with a stroke. Upon my coming here, without knowing what had happened, I enquired concerning the welfare of parent and child; and, by the answer, found that the flower was cut down.

“I immediately called all to join in prayer, in which I blessed the Father of mercies for giving me a son, continuing it to me so long, and taking it from me so soon. All joined in desiring that I would decline preaching till the child was buried; but I remembered a saying of good Mr. Henry, ‘that weeping must not hinder sowing;’ and, therefore, I preached twice the next day, and also the day following; on the evening of which, just as I was closing my sermon, the bell struck out for the funeral. At first, I must acknowledge, it gave nature a little shake; but, looking up, I recovered strength, and then concluded with saying, that this text, on which I had been preaching, namely, ‘All things work together for good to them that love God,’ made me as willing to go out to my son’s funeral, as to hear of his birth. Our parting from him was solemn. We kneeled down, prayed, and shed many tears, but, I hope, tears of resignation; and then, as he died in the house wherein I was born, he was taken and laid in the church where I was baptized, first communicated, and first preached.

“All this, you may easily guess, threw me into very solemn and deep reflection, and, I hope, deep humiliation; but I was comforted from that passage in the book of Kings, where is recorded the death of the Shunammite’s child, which the prophet said, ‘the Lord had hid from him,’ and the woman’s answer to the prophet when he asked, ‘Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with thy child?’ And she answered, ‘It is well.’ This gave me no small satisfaction. I preached upon the text, the day following, at Gloucester; and then hastened up to London, and preached upon the same there.

“Though disappointed of a living preacher, by the death of my son, yet, I hope, what happened before his birth, and since at his death, has taught me such lessons, as, if duly improved, may render his mistaken parent more cautious, more sober-minded, more experienced in Satan’s devices, and, consequently, more useful in his future labours to the Church of God. Thus, ‘out of the eater comes forth meat, and out of the strong comes forth sweetness.’ Not doubting but our future life will be one continued explanation of this blessed riddle, I commend myself and you to the unerring guidance of God’s word and Spirit, and am,

“Yours, etc.,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Whilst Whitefield was burying his child at Gloucester, his friend, Charles Wesley, was preaching, at the peril of his life, in Staffordshire. At Wednesbury, the mob “assaulted, one after another, all the houses of those who were called Methodists.” All the windows were broken, and furniture of every kind was dashed in pieces. At Aldridge and several other villages, many of the houses were plundered, and the rioters “loaded themselves with clothes and goods of all sorts, as much as they could carry.”[93] Whitefield heard of this execrable rioting, and wrote:――

“There has been dreadful work near Birmingham; but Satan will be overthrown. We had a glorious fast on Monday (February 20th), and collected above £60 for our poor suffering brethren.”

A week after this, Whitefield set out on a visit to his wife at Abergavenny, and took her “a second-hand suit of curtains,” which he had bought for her humble dwelling.

At the beginning of the month of March, he returned to Gloucester, to be present at the assizes, at which the Hampton rioters, already mentioned, were tried, and found guilty, the amount of damages to be paid being referred to the King’s Bench, London. Whitefield writes:――

“I hear the rioters are hugely alarmed; but they know not that we intend to let them see what we could do, and then to forgive them. This troublesome affair being over, I must now prepare for my intended voyage to America.”

Nearly seven months, however, elapsed before Whitefield’s voyage was begun,――an interval which was partly occupied with what, to Whitefield, was extremely uncongenial, a literary war.

To understand the controversy, it is needful to remark, that, of late, several publications had been issued, and industriously circulated, attacking the loyalty of Whitefield and his friends. Among others, there was a quarto-sized sheet, of four pages, entitled, “The Case of the Methodists briefly stated, more particularly in the point of Field-Preaching.” The writer tries to prove that field-preaching is contrary to the Act of Toleration; and then he proceeds to shew, that, because of the largeness of his congregations, Whitefield’s preaching in the open air was eminently calculated to promote sedition, and to be a serious danger to the state.

The principal publication, however, was “Observations upon the Conduct and Behaviour of a certain Sect, usually distinguished by the name of Methodists. London: printed by E. Owen, in Amen Corner. 1744.” (4to. 24 pp.) Rightly or wrongly, Dr. Gibson, Bishop of London, was supposed to be the author. The pamphlet consisted of three parts. In the first, it was alleged, 1. That the Methodists generally set the government at defiance, by appointing public places of religious worship, and by preaching in the fields, without taking the prescribed oaths, and subscribing the declaration against popery. 2. That they broke the rules of the Church, of which they professed themselves members, by going to other than their own parish churches to receive the sacrament. 3. It was also stated that really there was no need for Methodist meetings, because, for many years past, many of the Religious Societies, in London and Westminster, had spent their Sunday evenings (after attending church) in serious conversation and reading good books; and the bishops and clergy had encouraged these Societies, though some of them had been misled into Methodist extravagances.

In the second part, which is principally levelled against Whitefield, thirteen questions are asked, of which the following are specimens:――Question 4. Whether a due and regular attendance in the public offices of religion does not better answer the true ends of devotion, and is not better evidence of the co-operation of the Holy Spirit, than those sudden agonies, roarings, and screamings, tremblings, droppings-down, ravings, and madness into which the hearers of the Methodists had been cast? Question 9. Whether it does not savour of self-sufficiency and presumption, when a few young heads, without any colour of a Divine commission, set up their own schemes as the great standard of Christianity?

The third part is a severe critique on the Christian History, of which Whitefield was the chief promoter. Here, again, sundry questions were asked, as, for instance, “Whether the zealous endeavours to form Band-Societies, according to the Moravian way, and putting them under the instruction and ordering of particular superintendents, and exhorters; and the holding of associations and meetings, at set times and places, with select moderators; together with the fixing of visitations and their boundaries and limits,――whether these proceedings, not warranted by any law, are not a presumptuous attempt to erect a new church constitution, upon a foreign plan, in contempt of those wise rules of government, discipline, and worship, which were judged by our pious ancestors to be the best means for preserving and maintaining religion, together with public peace and order in Church and State?” Again, “Whether these itinerant preachers, and the setting up of separate places of public worship at pleasure, and those pretences to more immediate communications with God, and the visible endeavours to bring the parochial pastors and the public worship under a disesteem among the people,――whether these and the like practices are not of the same kind with those of the last century, that had so great a share in bringing on those religious confusions, which brought a reproach upon Christianity in general, and which, by degrees, worked the body of the people into a national madness and frenzy in matters of religion?”

To see the full force of these accusations, it must be borne in mind, that, they were published at a time when, (1) The nation was in a state of great excitement from an expected invasion by Prince Charles, the young Pretender; (2) The Methodists in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Staffordshire, were being subjected to the most brutal treatment by clerically encouraged mobs; and (3) The general belief was that these “Observations upon the Conduct and Behaviour of the Methodists” were not of ignoble origin, but were written by the bishop of the metropolitan diocese, and with the approval of a considerable number of his prelatic brethren.

On January 26, 1744, Whitefield published the following advertisement:――

“Whereas some anonymous papers, against the people called Methodists in general, and myself and friends in particular, have been, for some weeks, printed in a large edition, and handed about and read in the Religious Societies of the cities of London and Westminster, and given into the hands of many private persons, with strict injunctions to lend them to no one, nor let them go out of their hands to any; and whereas, after having accidentally had the hasty perusal of them, I find many queries, of great importance, concerning me and my conduct, contained therein; and as it appears, that, one paper has little or no connection with another, and a copy, when applied for, was refused me, and I know not how soon I may embark for Georgia――I am, therefore, obliged hereby to desire a speedy open publication of the aforesaid papers, in order that a candid impartial answer may be made thereto by me,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Six days after the date of this advertisement, Whitefield wrote as follows to the Bishop of London:――

“LONDON, February 1, 1744.

“MY LORD,――Simplicity becomes the followers of Jesus Christ; and, therefore, I think it my duty to trouble your lordship with these few lines.

“I suppose your lordship has seen the advertisement published by me, about four days ago, concerning certain anonymous papers, which have been handed about the Societies for some considerable time. As I think it my duty to answer them, I should be glad to be informed whether the report be true, that your lordship composed them, that I may the better know to whom I may direct my answer. A sight also of one of the copies, if in your lordship’s keeping, would oblige, my lord, your lordship’s most obliged, dutiful son and servant,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

“P.S. The bearer will bring your lordship’s answer; or, if your lordship favour me with a line, be pleased to direct for me, to be left with Mr. J. Syms, in Pitfield Street, near Hoxton.”

Instead of writing, the Bishop sent, by the bearer of Whitefield’s letter, a verbal message, to the effect that Whitefield should hear from him; but the only further communication which came to hand was the following, written, two days after the date of Whitefield’s letter to the Bishop, by the printer of the “anonymous papers.”

“February 3, 1744.

“SIR,――My name is Owen. I am a printer in Amen Corner, and I waited upon you to let you know that I have had orders from several of the Bishops, to print, for their use, such numbers of the ‘Observations upon the Conduct and Behaviour of the Methodists,’ with some few additions, as they have respectively bespoken; and I will not fail to wait upon you with one copy, as soon as the impression is finished.

“I am, sir, your most obedient servant,

“E. OWEN.”

There can hardly be a doubt that the “Observations” were the productions of Bishop Gibson’s pen. Others, besides Whitefield and his friends, fully believed this. Zinzendorf, on receiving a copy of the anonymous pamphlet, wrote a long letter, in Latin, to the Bishop, expressing his surprise that any one belonging to the Church of England should have evinced such ignorance by the remarks made respecting the Moravians. A Moravian deputation also waited upon Gibson, on the same subject; and a further correspondence ensued between the Bishop, Zinzendorf, and James Hutton;[94] in which Zinzendorf almost indignantly repudiated any present connection with the Methodists, telling his lordship, that, it was “very difficult to decide whether the Moravians have a greater dislike to the Methodists’ plan of salvation, or the Methodists to that of the Moravians.”

But leaving this, all candid readers will acknowledge that the “conduct and behaviour” of the Bishop of London and his brethren were disingenuous. To be the circulators of anonymous “fly-sheets,” full of the most serious accusations, was an act dishonourable to a bishop’s dignity, and savoured more of the assassin than of a pastor of the flock of Christ.

Whitefield lost no time in replying to the Bishops’ pamphlet. On the 10th of March, he finished, and committed to the press, “An Answer to the first part of an anonymous Pamphlet, entitled, ‘Observations upon the Conduct and Behaviour of a certain Sect usually distinguished by the name of Methodists.’ In a Letter to the Right Reverend the Bishop of London, and the other the Right Reverend the Bishops concerned in the publication thereof.” (8vo. 26 pp.) Before the year was ended, Whitefield’s “Letter” passed, at least, through three editions in England, besides being printed and published at Boston in America. The motto on his title-page was Psalm xxxv. 11, “False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.”

It is difficult to furnish an outline of Whitefield’s pamphlet; but the following extracts will give the reader an idea of its style and spirit:――

“Young as I am, I know too much of the devices of Satan, and the desperate wickedness and deceitfulness of my own heart, not to be sensible, that I am a man of like passions with others; and that I, consequently, may have sometimes mistaken nature for grace, imagination for revelation, and the fire of my own temper for the pure and sacred flame of holy zeal. If, therefore, upon perusing the pamphlet, I find that I have been blameable in any respect, I will not only confess it, but return hearty thanks both to the compiler and your lordships, though unknown. Indeed, it is but of little consequence to the merits of the cause to know who the author is. Only this much may be said, your lordships yourselves being judges, it is not quite fair to give stabs in the dark.”

Whitefield proceeds to say, that the title of the Bishops’ pamphlet ought to have run thus: “Misrepresentations of the Conduct and Principles of many Orthodox, well-meaning Ministers and Members of the Church of England, and loyal Subjects to his Majesty, King George, falsely termed a Sect, and usually distinguished, out of contempt, by the name of Methodists.” He adds:――

“The principles, as well as conduct, of the Methodists are greatly misrepresented in this pamphlet. Its design is to exhibit their proceedings as dangerous to the Church and State, in order to procure an Act of Parliament against them, or to oblige them to secure themselves by turning Dissenters. But is not such a motion, at such a season as this, both uncharitable and unseasonable? Is not the Administration engaged enough already in other affairs, without troubling themselves with the Methodists? Or, who would now advise them to bring further guilt upon the nation, by persecuting some of the present government’s most hearty friends? I say, my lords, the present government’s most hearty friends; for, though the Methodists (as the world calls them) disagree in some particulars, yet I venture to affirm that, to a man, they all agree in this: namely, to love and honour the king. For my own part, I profess myself a zealous friend to his present majesty King George, and the present Administration. Wherever I go, I think it my duty to pray for him and to preach up obedience to him, and all that are set in authority under him. I have now been a preacher above seven years, and for six years past have been called to act in a very public way. Your lordships must have heard of the great numbers who have attended: sometimes several of the nobility, and, now and then, even some of the clergy have been present. Did they ever hear me speak a disloyal word? Are there not thousands, who can testify how fervently and frequently I pray for his majesty King George, his royal offspring, and the present government? Yes, my lords, they can; and, I trust, I should be enabled to do so, though surrounded with popish enemies, and in danger of dying for it as soon as my prayer was ended.”

So much for Whitefield’s loyalty. What about his ecclesiastical misbehaviour? He writes:――

“If your lordships apprehend that we are liable to ecclesiastical censures, we are ready to make a proper defence, whenever called to it by our ecclesiastical superiors. As for myself, your lordships very well know that I am a Bachelor of Arts, have taken the oaths, have subscribed to the Articles, and have been twice regularly ordained. In this character, I have acted, both at home and abroad; and I know of no law of our government which prohibits my preaching in any field, barn, street, or outhouse whatever.”

Whitefield proceeds to say, he has perused “all the Acts of King Charles II., wherein the word field is mentioned,” and that he finds “they are intended to suppress seditious conventicles,” and then continues:――

“These are the only field-meetings that are prohibited; and how, my lords, can such Acts be applied to the Methodists? Are they ‘seditious sectaries, disloyal persons, who, under pretence of tender consciences, contrive insurrections?’ No, my lords. How then can your lordships, with a safe conscience, encourage such a pamphlet, or bespeak any number of Mr. Owen, in order, as may be supposed, that they may be dispersed among your lordships’ clergy? Well might the author conceal his name. A more notorious libel has not been published. The pamphlet comes into public like a child dropped, that nobody cares to own. And, indeed, who can be blamed for disowning such a libel?”

This, addressed to bishops, by a young clergyman, was bold language; but their lordships deserved it; for, whatever faults belonged to Whitefield and the first Methodists, they certainly were as free from sedition as the Episcopal Bench itself.

Whitefield’s “Second Letter,” to the bishops, was written during his voyage to America, and was first “printed and sold by Rogers and Fowle, in Queen Street, near the Prison, Boston, 1744.” (4to. 24 pp.) It is dated August 25, 1744; but, to prevent a recurrence to the subject, it is noticed here. First of all, Whitefield replies to the censures pronounced upon “itinerant preaching,” and concludes thus:――

“May I not take the freedom of acquainting your lordships, that, if all the Right Reverend the Bishops did their duty, (especially my Lord of London, whose diocese is of such vast extent,) they would all of them long since have become itinerant preachers.”

He next defended the doctrines, preached by himself and the Methodists,――justification by faith, sudden and instantaneous conversion, and other cognate truths. He attacked Archbishop Tillotson, because, “contrary to the laws of Church and State, he makes good works a condition of our acceptance with God;” and he declared concerning the author of “The Whole Duty of Man,” that, because he entirely omits to teach the doctrine of justification by faith, his famous book might “more properly be termed, Half the Duty of Man.” He belaboured the clergy for playing at dice, and cards, and other unlawful games, contrary to the seventy-fifth canon of the Church; and complained, that, by “frequenting taverns and alehouses,” they injured the laity by a vile “example.” He rebutted the charge against himself of being an enthusiast; and, as for the “sudden agonies, roarings, and screamings” of some of his converts, he said, “The itinerant preachers look upon these as extraordinary things, proceeding generally from soul-distress, and sometimes, it may be, from the agency of the evil spirit, who labours to drive poor souls into despair.”

What was the result of all this plain-speaking? First of all, another anonymous author, merely using the initials, “J. B.,” published a furious pamphlet of fifty-four pages, entitled, “A Letter to the Reverend Mr. Whitefield, occasioned by his pretended Answer to the first part of the Observations on the Conduct and Behaviour of the Methodists. By a Gentleman of Pembroke College, Oxon. London, 1744.” (8vo.)

How far the author of this letter was a gentleman will appear from the following extracts from his rancorous production:――

“Do you think my Lord of London would choose to let you know whether he was the author of the papers, or would be fond of entering into a personal dispute with you? with you, I say, sir, or your followers; who, I may venture to affirm, can curse, rail, and berogue your antagonists, (though in Scripture language all the while,) so as hardly to be exceeded by any Pope, or spiritual bully, that ever yet appeared in Christendom.”

“You are one who has been travelling over all countries, to establish new-fangled societies; heads and spiritual directors, hot-brained cobblers, and the meanest class of men; fellows that have nothing to lose, all big with venom against the clergy of the present Establishment, and despising the laws of the State, and the peaceful constitution of the realm. You are perpetually sowing divisions, and urging on the bigotry of your disciples, and their implacable malice, by your belying, railing, and scandalising the ministers of the Church, as well as by treating as heathens and reprobates of the infinitely good Being, all others, who dare despise your hellish doctrines and practices. You exactly copy after Cromwell, the Whitefield of the last century, in artfully compounding Churchmen and Dissenters, people of all sorts and denominations, to bring about your design of ruining the present constitution. When I see a man, of your vast importance, railing, hectoring, and bullying your superiors, I cannot help thinking of a pert liquor amongst us, which foams, and bounces, and sputters, and makes a mighty ado; and yet all the while is but bottled small-beer.

“Your favourite method of wounding characters in a scrip of prayer, to shew the world how kindly you can forgive, after you have been publicly railing at them for nothing, puts me in mind of Jack in the Tale of a Tub; who was mighty fond of falling down on his knees, and turning up his eyes in the midst of a kennel, as if at his devotions; but who, when curiosity attracted men to laugh or to listen, would, of a sudden, bespatter them with mud.”

Much more of the same kind of scurrility, and of even worse, might be given; but the last paragraph in the “Gentleman’s” ill-mannered pamphlet must suffice.

“Thus ends your railing; and, like a woman that has fought herself out of breath, when you can spit no more of your malice, you tell us, you would ‘not bring a railing accusation against any.’ What a monstrous fib is that! ‘Neither would I,’ you add, ‘when giving a reason of the hope that is in me, do it any otherwise than with meekness and fear.’ There you fib again most desperately! Why, my dear meek soul, of a sudden, you have certainly forgot yourself; and your darling spirit of bitterness, that has possessed you through the whole Letter, at length, seems to be jaded. However, it cannot help fibbing still; and there is not a more remarkable instance of this, than in your last Judas’ kiss, where you would have their lordships believe, you are ‘their most dutiful son and servant.’”

These are fair specimens of the scolding of this zealous defender of the Bishop of London and his brethren, and of Church and State. Whitefield never noticed the defence, though written by a Gentleman of Pembroke College, Oxford. Another pamphlet, however, written by a Church dignitary of some importance, received more attention. This was “A Serious and Expostulatory Letter to the Reverend Mr. George Whitefield, on occasion of his late Letter to the Bishop of London and other Bishops; and in Vindication of the ‘Observations upon the Conduct and Behaviour of a certain Sect usually distinguished by the Name of Methodists,’ not long since published. By Thomas Church, A.M., Vicar of Battersea, and Prebendary of St. Paul’s, London.[95] 1744.” (8vo. 60 pp.) Want of space prevents the insertion of lengthy extracts from Mr. Church’s letter, but its scope may be guessed by the following sentences:――

“Field-preaching is forbidden by the statute, as having a tendency to sedition and tumults.” “Your extravagances have been the scorn of the profane, and have strengthened the prejudices of some against our religion itself.” “I never knew nor heard of any one instance of a parish in England so carelessly attended as the charge committed to you in Georgia, the only place, I think, to which you have had any regular appointment. How unfit are you, of all men, to upbraid the clergy with non-residence, with being shepherds who leave their flocks, and let them perish for lack of knowledge.”

Whitefield immediately replied to this, in an 8vo. pamphlet of 20 pages, bearing the following title:――“A Letter to the Rev. Mr. Thomas Church, M.A., Vicar of Battersea, and Prebendary of St. Paul’s; in Answer to his Serious and Expostulatory Letter to the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, on occasion of his late Letter to the Bishop of London, and other Bishops. By George Whitefield, A.B., late of Pembroke College, Oxford. London: printed by W. Strahan, for J. Robinson, at the Golden Lion, in Ludgate Street, and sold at the Tabernacle, near Moor-Fields, 1744.” The letter is dated, “London, May 22, 1744,” and its biographical sections must be briefly noticed.

Whitefield had often been taunted and even threatened for not using the Liturgy in many of his public services. In reference to this, he writes:――

“As for my irregularities in curtailing the Liturgy, or not using the Common Prayer in the fields, I think it needless to make any apology till I am called thereto in a judicial way by my ecclesiastical superiors. They have laws and courts. In and by those, ecclesiastics are to be judged; and I am ready to make a proper defence, whenever it shall be required at my hands.”

Mr. Church and many others had retorted Whitefield’s attacks on non-resident clergy, by telling him he had been guilty of non-residence himself. To this Whitefield replied as follows:――

“I wish every non-resident minister in England could give as good an account of his non-residence as I can give of my absence from Savannah. To satisfy you, reverend sir, I will acquaint you with the whole affair. When I first went abroad, I was appointed to be minister of Frederica; but, upon my arrival in Georgia, finding there was no minister at Savannah, and no place of worship at Frederica, by the advice of the magistrates and people, I continued at Savannah, teaching publicly, and from house to house, and catechizing the children day by day, during the whole time of my first continuance in Georgia; except about a fortnight, in which I went to Frederica, to visit the people, and to see about building a church, for which I had given £50 out of some money I had collected, and of which I have given a public account. In about four months, I came back to England to receive priest’s orders, and to collect money for building an Orphan House. At the request of many, the honourable trustees presented me to the living of Savannah. I accepted it, but refused the stipend of £50 per annum, which they generously offered me. Neither did I put them to any expense during my stay in England, where I thought it my duty to abide till I had collected a sufficient sum wherewith I might begin the Orphan House, though I should have left England sooner, had I not been prevented by the embargo. However, I was more easy, because I knew the honourable trustees had sent over another minister, who arrived soon after I left the colony.

“Upon my second arrival at Georgia, finding the care of the Orphan House and the care of the parish too great a task for me, I immediately wrote to the honourable trustees to provide another minister. In the meanwhile, as most of my parishioners were in debt, or ready to leave the colony for want of being employed, and, as I believed erecting an Orphan House would be the best thing I could do for them and their posterity, I thought it my duty, from time to time, to answer the invitations that were sent me to preach Christ Jesus in several parts of America, and to raise further collections towards carrying on the Orphan House. The Lord stirred up many to be ready to distribute and willing to communicate on these occasions. I always came home furnished with provisions and money, most of which was expended among the people; and, by this means, the northern part of the colony almost entirely subsisted for a considerable time. This was asserted, not very long ago, before the House of Commons.

“And now, sir, judge you whether my non-residence was anything like the non-residence of most of the English clergy. When I was absent from my parishioners, I was not loitering or living at ease, but preaching Christ Jesus, and begging for them and theirs; and when I returned, it was not to fleece my flock, and then go and spend it upon my lusts, or lay it up for a fortune for myself and my relations. No: freely as I had received, freely I gave. I choose a voluntary poverty. The love of God and the good of souls is my only aim.”

All candid readers will admit that Whitefield’s simple statement is a sufficient refutation of the plausible charge, so often brought against him, concerning his non-residence in the only parish he ever had.

Before proceeding with Whitefield’s itinerary, it may be well to complete the list of his publications during the year 1744. This shall be done as briefly as possible.

1. “A Short Account of God’s Dealings with the Reverend Mr. George Whitefield, A.B., from his Infancy to the Time of his entering into Holy Orders. The Second Edition.” (12mo. 46 pp.) This was an exact reprint of the edition published in 1740.

2. “A Brief Account of the Occasion, Process, and Issue of a late Trial at the Assize held at Gloucester, March 3, 1744.” (8vo. 15 pp.) This has been already noticed.

3. “The Experience of Mr. R. Cruttenden, as delivered to a Congregation of Christ in Lime Street, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Richardson. Prefaced and recommended by George Whitefield, A.B.” (8vo. 32 pp.) Cruttenden, after losing his fortune, by the bursting of the South Sea bubble, had recently been converted, at the Tabernacle, under the preaching of John Cennick.[96] Nothing in the pamphlet requires notice, except, perhaps, the following well-deserved rap, which Whitefield, in his preface, gives to Dissenting ministers, some of whom were as bitterly opposed to the great preacher as were his clerical brethren of the Church of England.

“Those serious, godly ministers among the Dissenters, who, through prejudice or misinformation, oppose, or are shy of us, as though some dangerous sect was sprung up, may, from this and such-like instances, begin to reason with themselves, whether we are not sent of God? and whether it is not high time to acknowledge and adore God in His late sovereign way of working? Here is an account of a learned and rational man, brought to Jesus, and built up in Him, by what the world would call illiterate preachers. This is not the first instance by hundreds. No set of men could do such things, or meet with such success, unless God was with them. It is not the first time that our Saviour has perfected praise out of the mouths of babes, and chosen the weak things of this world to confound the strong.”

4. There is only another publication to be noticed. Three years before, Dr. Smalbroke, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, had delivered a charge, to his clergy, against the Methodists; and now, in the year 1744, and when a part of his diocese was disgraced by the riots at Wednesbury and other places, he published it. Smalbroke was a somewhat distinguished man; but withal whimsical, as, for instance, when, in his “Vindication of the Miracles of Christ,” he made elaborate calculations concerning the number of devils in the herd of swine at Gadarene. He was also fond of strife, more than twenty of his publications being of a controversial character. The pith of his anti-Methodistic charge was, that, “the indwelling and inward witnessing of the Spirit in believers’ hearts, (if there were ever such things at all,) as also praying and preaching by the Spirit, are all the extraordinary gifts and operations of the Holy Ghost, belonging only to the apostolical and primitive times; and, that, consequently, all pretensions to such favours, in these last days, are vain and enthusiastical.” Whitefield’s reply was written on shipboard, during his voyage to America, and was first printed at Boston, in New England. Its long title was as follows: “Some Remarks upon a late Charge against Enthusiasm, delivered by the Right Reverend Father in God, Richard, Lord Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, to the Rev. the Clergy in the several parts of the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, in a Triennial Visitation of the same in 1741; and published, at their request, in the present year 1744. In a Letter to the Rev. the Clergy of that Diocese. By George Whitefield, A.B., late of Pembroke College, Oxon.” (8vo. 35 pp.) Passing over the theological part of Whitefield’s pamphlet, one extract from his concluding observations must suffice. In a foot-note he states, “The Methodists in Staffordshire were mobbed last Shrove-Tuesday, and plundered of their substance to the amount of £700.” To these persecuted inhabitants of the diocese of Lichfield, Whitefield says:――

“You have lately been enabled joyfully to bear the spoiling of your goods. Think it not strange, if you should hereafter be called to resist unto blood. Fear not the faces of men, neither be afraid of their revilings. The more you are afflicted, the more you shall multiply and grow. Persecution is your privilege; it is a badge of your discipleship; it is every Christian’s lot, in some degree or other. Only be careful to give no just cause of offence. Be studious to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit in your lives. Call no man master, but Christ. Follow others only as they are followers of Him. Be fond of no name but that of Christian. Beware of making parties, and of calling down fire from heaven to consume your adversaries. Labour to shine in common life, by a conscientious discharge of all relative duties; and study to adorn the gospel of our Lord in all things. If you are good Christians, you will fear God, and, for His sake, honour the king. Be thankful for the many blessings you enjoy under the government of his present majesty, King George; and continue to pray to Him, by whom kings reign, and princes decree justice, to keep a popish pretender from ever sitting on the English throne.”

We now return to Whitefield’s itinerancy. There is but little evidence to shew how he spent the interval between March 15th and June 26th. John Cennick, in his diary, says: “On the 3rd of April, at my special desire, the first association of our ministers and preachers, which had been kept in Wilts, took place in my house at Tytherton. There were present the following preachers: Mr. Whitefield, Howell Harris, John Cennick, Joseph Humphreys, and Thomas Adams; and the following exhorters: William Humphreys, Isaac Cottle, Thomas Lewis, and Thomas Beswick.”[97]

Part of the fifteen weeks was spent in London, part in Bristol, and part in Wilts. He was also awaiting an opportunity to embark for Georgia; and, with Mr. Smith, a merchant, actually took a passage in a ship about to sail from Portsmouth. At the last moment, however, the captain refused to take him; upon which he set out for Plymouth, preaching at Wellington, Exeter, Bideford, and Kingsbridge on the way.[98] At Plymouth, he was made the subject of a brutal attack, which might have ended seriously. Hence the following letters:――

“PLYMOUTH, June 26, 1744.

“MY DEAR FRIEND,――You see by this where I am. Doubtless, you will wonder at the quick transition from Portsmouth to Plymouth. When I wrote last, I intended going to the former; but, just before I took leave of the dear Tabernacle people, a message was sent to me, that the captain, in whose ship I was to sail from thence, would not take me, for fear of my spoiling his sailors. Upon this, hearing of a ship that was going under convoy from Plymouth, I hastened hither, and have taken a passage in the Wilmington, Captain Dalby, bound to Piscataway, in New England.

“My first reception here was a little unpromising. A report being spread that I was come, a great number of people assembled upon the Hoe (a large green for walks and diversions), and somebody brought out a bear and a drum; but I did not come till the following evening, when, under pretence of a hue-and-cry, several broke into the room where I lodged at the inn, and disturbed me very much.

“I then betook myself to private lodgings, and being gone to rest, after preaching to a large congregation, and visiting the French prisoners, the good woman of the house came and told me, that a well-dressed gentleman desired to speak with me. Imagining that he was some Nicodemite, I desired he might be brought up. He came and sat down by my bedside, told me he was a lieutenant of a man of war, congratulated me on the success of my ministry, and expressed himself much concerned for being detained from hearing me. He then asked me if I knew him? I answered, No. He replied, his name was Cadogan. I rejoined, that I had seen one Mr. Cadogan, who was formerly an officer in Georgia, about a fortnight ago, at Bristol. Upon this, he immediately rose up, uttering the most abusive language, calling me dog, rogue, villain, etc., and beat me most unmercifully with his gold-headed cane. As you know, I have not much natural courage; and, being apprehensive that he intended to shoot or stab me, I underwent all the fears of a sudden violent death. My hostess and her daughter, hearing me cry ‘Murder,’ rushed into the room, and seized him by the collar; but he immediately disengaged himself from them, and repeated his blows upon me. The cry of murder was repeated, and he made towards the chamber door, from whence the good woman pushed him downstairs. A second man now cried out, ‘Take courage, I am ready to help you;’ and, accordingly, whilst the other was escaping, he rushed upstairs, and finding one of the women coming down, took her by the heels, and threw her upon the floor, by which her back was almost broken. By this time the neighbourhood was alarmed; but, being unwilling to add to the commotion, I desired the doors might be shut, and so betook myself to rest.”

This strange adventure is explained in another letter, written to the same friend, a few days afterwards.

“PLYMOUTH, July 4, 1744.

“Since my last, I have had some information about the late odd adventure. It seems that four gentlemen came to the house of one of my particular friends, and desired to know where I lodged, that they might pay their respects to me. My friend directed them; and, soon afterwards, I received a letter, informing me that the writer of it was a nephew of Mr. S――――, an eminent attorney at New York; that he had had the pleasure of supping with me at his uncle’s house; and that he desired my company to sup with him and a few more friends at a tavern. I sent him word that it was not customary for me to sup out at taverns, but I should be glad of his company, out of respect to his uncle, to eat a morsel with him at my lodgings. He came; we supped. I observed that he frequently looked around him, and seemed very absent; but, having no suspicion, I continued in conversation with him and my other friends till we parted. I now find that this man was to have been the assassin; and that, being interrogated by his companions as to what he had done, he answered, that being used so civilly, he had not the heart to touch me.

“Upon this, as I am informed, the person who assaulted me, laid a wager of ten guineas that he would do my business for me. Some say, that they took his sword from him, which I suppose they did, for I only saw and felt the weight of his cane.

“The next morning, I was to expound at a private house, and then to set out for Bideford. Some urged me to stay and prosecute; but, being better employed, I went on my intended journey; was greatly blessed in preaching the everlasting gospel; and, upon my return, was well paid for what I had suffered; for curiosity led perhaps two thousand more than ordinary to see and hear a man who had like to have been murdered in his bed. Thus all things tend to the furtherance of the gospel.

“‘Thus Satan thwarts, and men object, And yet the thing they thwart effect.’

“Leaving you to add a hallelujah, I subscribe myself,

“Ever, ever yours,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Whitefield seriously believed that this atrocious outrage was a deliberate attempt to murder him; the probability is, that it was a cruel freak, similar to many others for which naval stations have frequently been infamous.

Whitefield spent more than six weeks at Plymouth, and in the immediate neighbourhood. His detention, occasioned by waiting for the convoy, was not without good results. Hence the following extracts from letters written during this interval. To John Syms, Whitefield wrote as follows:――

“PLYMOUTH, July 21, 1744.

“MY DEAR MAN,――I expected a line from you to-day; but, I suppose, you think we are gone. This day came in a privateer, who saw the Brest squadron, which has pursued two of our men of war; so that, had we sailed, we should in all probability have been carried into France. We are now to go under the convoy of the grand fleet.

“I have been greatly refreshed this evening in preaching the blood of Jesus. The congregations grow every day. Last night, many from the dock guarded me home, being apprehensive there was a design against me. Without my knowledge, they insulted a man who intended to hurt me. I am sorry for it. My health is better. Whether we sail or not, expect to hear again from, dear, dear Johnny, ever, ever yours whilst

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[99]

“PLYMOUTH, July 26, 1744.

“Could you think it? I have been preaching a confirmation sermon. Do you ask me where? In a Quaker’s field. As I saw thousands flocked to the church to have the bishop’s hands imposed upon them, I thought it not improper to let them have a word of exhortation suitable to the occasion. I have also made an elopement to Kingsbridge, where, a few days ago, I preached to many thousands. It was a most solemn occasion. The hearts of the auditory seemed to be bowed as the heart of one man.”

In other letters to his “dear man,” John Syms, he writes:――

“PLYMOUTH, July 27, 1744.

“Matters go on better and better here. I begin to think myself in London. We have our regular morning meetings. We are looking out for a place proper for a Society, and to expound in. People come daily to me, especially from the dock, under convictions. Some, I believe, have really closed with Christ; and here are several aged persons perfectly made young again. We are just now entered upon our singing hours.

“Fresh news from Kingsbridge of souls being awakened; but I am kept close prisoner on account of the convoy. Brother Cennick must come into these parts soon.”

“PLYMOUTH, July 29, 1744.

“Our Lord has been giving us blessings in drops; but now He is sending them in showers. We have had a most precious meeting this morning. Perhaps more good has been done by this one sermon, than by all I have preached before. The wind is yet against us. Our Lord detains me here for wise reasons. Some persons, formerly prejudiced against me, have offered to give me a piece of ground for a Society room. I believe one will be built soon. Brother Cennick must stay in the west some time.”

“PLYMOUTH, August 3, 1744.

“Our convoy is come, and perhaps we may sail to-morrow. It is delightful to be here. We come from the dock, in the evenings, singing and praising God. Our parting there has been more awful than words can express.

“I must tell you one thing more. There is a ferry over to Plymouth; and the ferrymen are now so much my friends, that they will take nothing of the multitude that come to hear me preach, saying, ‘God forbid that we should sell the word of God!’”

Thus, at Plymouth, as in other places, did Whitefield triumph in Christ Jesus. One of the conversions, which took place under his marvellous ministry, is too notable to pass unnoticed. Henry Tanner, born at Exeter, was now in the twenty-sixth year of his age, and was working, at Plymouth, as a shipwright. One day, while at work, he heard, from a considerable distance, the voice of Whitefield, who was preaching in the open air; and, concluding that the man was mad, he and half a dozen of his companions filled their pockets with stones, and set off to knock the preacher down. Whitefield’s text was Acts xvii. 19, 20. Tanner listened with astonishment; and, without using his stones, went home, determined to hear him again next evening. The text, on this occasion, was Luke xxiv. 47; and Tanner was in such an agony of soul, that he was forced to cry, “God be merciful to me a sinner!” The next night, while Whitefield was preaching on “Jacob’s Ladder,” Tanner found peace with God. He, at once, joined the Society at Plymouth, which had been formed by Whitefield, and suffered violent persecution from his unconverted wife. To secure time for prayer and Christian usefulness, he seldom allowed himself more than six hours in bed, and frequently but four. Ten years after his conversion, he removed to Exeter, and began to preach with great success. In 1769, the Tabernacle at Exeter was built, mainly through his exertions, and he became its minister. His labours, however, were not confined to Exeter. At the request of Toplady, he used to preach at Broad Hembury; whilst Moreton, Hampstead, Crediton, Topsham, and various other places, were favoured with his services. On Sunday morning, March 24, 1805, when he had completed the eighty-sixth year of his age, he was carried, in a chair, to his pulpit, and tried to preach, but was so ill that he was obliged to relinquish the attempt. A week afterwards he peacefully expired.[100]

While, however, God was raising up new labourers, by means of Whitefield’s ministry, He was taking others to Himself. One of these was the Rev. David Crossly, of Manchester, who, within a week of the time when Whitefield embarked at Plymouth for America, wrote as follows to Whitefield’s friend, Mr. Syms:――

“MANCHESTER, August 3, 1744.

“How glad I am to hear of Mr. Whitefield’s success in the service of his God. O happy Mr. Whitefield! His unparalleled labours, with answerable success, make his life a continued miracle. For a month past, I have been nigh unto death. My life is generally despaired of; and the Lord seems to be preparing the way for it, first, by a flow of converts, above twenty having been added to us during the last two months; and, secondly, by raising up several with very useful gifts; so that I am ready to say, ‘Lord, now let Thy servant depart in peace! Let me, O Lord, come above to the palm-bearing company! Fifty-five years have I been in the work, a poor weakling, yet crowned, by Thy blessing, with success.’

“As to Mr. Whitefield’s Preface to my Sermon,[101] I give a thousand thanks to him. It is his goodness, not my deserts, that has placed his valuable name before any performance of mine.”[102]

A month after the date of this letter, good old David Crossly was gone. “I am ready for the Bridegroom,” he cried; “I know my Redeemer liveth;” with the utterance of which he triumphantly expired.[103]

Another brave-hearted man must be mentioned. Thomas Beard was one of Wesley’s preachers, but he was also warmly attached to Whitefield, and wrote to him the following sweet and simple letter:――

“BERWICK-UPON-TWEED, September 17, 1744.

“SIR,――It has been often upon my mind to write to you since I have been in this state of life, which is not agreeable at all to my inclinations. I have but little acquaintance with you, but I hope you will not be offended at my writing to you. The children of God, while on this side of the grave, always stand in need of one another’s prayers, especially such of them as are under persecutions, or temptations, for the truth’s sake. I find I stand in need of the prayers of all the children of God.

“I was pressed, in Yorkshire, for preaching, and so sent for a soldier. I earnestly pray for them who were the occasion of it. All my trust is reposed in Jesus, my sweet Saviour. I know He will not leave nor forsake me. His blood has atoned for my sin, and appeased His Father’s wrath, and procured His favour for such a sinful worm as myself. Herein is my comfort, though men raged at me, my dear Saviour did not leave nor forsake me.

“I have lately been on a command in Scotland, and met with many who enquired concerning you. I preached at Cowdingham. Some of your friends came to see me from Coppersmith. Many thought it strange to see a man in a red coat preach.

“I beg you would write to me in General Blakeney’s regiment of foot, in Captain Dunlop’s company.

“I am your unworthy brother,

“THOMAS BEARD.”[104]

Before Whitefield had an opportunity to answer, poor Beard, as one of the first of Methodism’s martyrs, had been called to inherit a martyr’s crown. Wesley, in 1744, wrote thus concerning him:――

“Thomas Beard, a quiet and peaceable man, who had lately been torn from his trade, and wife and children, and sent away as a soldier; that is, banished from all that was near and dear to him, and constrained to dwell among lions, for no other crime, either committed or pretended, than that of calling sinners to repentance. But his soul was in nothing terrified by his adversaries. Yet the body, after a while, sunk under its burden. He was then lodged in the hospital at Newcastle, where he still praised God continually. His arm festered, mortified, and was cut off: two or three days after which, God signed his discharge, and called him up to his eternal home.”

The case of Thomas Beard was far from being a solitary one. Magistrates, as well as mobs, hated the Methodists, and were always ready to approve of the violent proceedings of the press-gangs of the period. Not a few of both Wesley’s and Whitefield’s preachers and people were driven from their homes, and dragged into the army. Two purposes were thought to be served by these high-handed acts; first, the army obtained the recruits it greatly needed; and, secondly, as both mobs and magistrates imagined, the voices of Methodists and Methodist preachers were likely to be silenced. The last was a huge mistake. It may fairly be questioned whether the Methodists, who were forced into the army and navy, did not, in such positions, render greater service to the cause of Christ and of Methodism, than they could have rendered had they remained at home unmolested. Passing men like John Nelson, Thomas Beard, and many others, pressed into regiments at home, there were a considerable number with the English army in Flanders, whose heroism and Christianity will always shed a lustre on Methodism’s early annals. Wesley mentions some of these with the highest approbation, as, for instance, John Haime, John Greenwood, William Clements, John Evans, and others. Whitefield also, in his periodical, the Christian History,[105] published a number of letters, written by soldiers belonging to his own community, as well as by some who were Wesley’s followers. One man, at Ghent, under the date of December 24, 1744, tells of being recently converted under the preaching of a “dragoon,” belonging to “the first regiment of guards,” in which regiment there were now “about a hundred members of that branch of the Society, that is, the United Society.” He continues: “The Lord adds to our number daily, and works very powerfully amongst us.” Another, at the same place, blesses God that he ever heard John Cennick preach. Anthony Conjuet, “a drummer in the English camp in Flanders,” relates that he and the regiment of English Guards had lately been “seven hours under the firing of the French cannons,” and then adds:――

“There are many of the members of the Societies killed and wounded. Most of them were taken notice of for their valour. Ebenezer Wells and Thomas Burford, and our brothers Cook and Forrest, are all wounded, and prisoners with the French. William Clements, teacher of a Society, is wounded in both arms, but is in a fair way to do well. John Evans, teacher of another Society, (who is a gunner of the train,) and Brother Hymms (Haime?) the dragoon, are well. Brother Hymms is also teacher of another Society. There are three other teachers alive and well.

“There is a great awakening in our camp, and the work of grace goes on with great success. Many blaspheming tongues are now singing praises to God, and to the Lamb.”

William Clements, mentioned in the foregoing letter, gives an account of “an engagement with the French, which lasted from five o’clock in the morning until three in the afternoon;” and of his being “now under the surgeon’s hands in Brussels.” He adds, that he has “received letters from the Brethren at the Camp,” telling him, that, since the battle, “the work of the Lord had gone on with great power.” And then, after sending his salutations to his “friend in Suffolk,” he concludes thus:――

“Grant, I beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that we may be of that happy number who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb; and that we may stand upon Mount Zion, amongst the multitude which no man can number, to sing praises and hallelujahs for ever and ever. Amen.

“Which is all at present from your poor unworthy brother,

“W. CLEMENTS.”

These were bravely loyal, though deeply injured, Methodists; and displayed equal valour in fighting for their country, and for the kingdom of their God and Saviour.

Before following Whitefield to America, a few facts respecting the Societies over which he and his assistants presided may be useful. For want of materials, a full account of these is impossible; but the following scraps of information, taken from the Christian History, will, perhaps, be interesting:――

Wales.――Herbert Jenkins, in a letter dated “October 3, 1744,” tells of attending an “Association,” in Wales, at which “above twenty brethren” were present.

“The Lord,” says he, “made us of one heart and mind. We consulted about the best measures to carry on the cause of our Redeemer. We sung and prayed heartily together. When we parted, we went east, west, north, and south. The waters were out, and I was to the middle of my leg on horseback. One of the brethren had his horse carried away by the floods, and he himself narrowly escaped being drowned.”

In another letter, dated “February 23, 1745,” Jenkins writes:――

“I went to the Association in Wales, where about sixty of us met together, four of whom were clergymen. The Lord was amongst us. Many of the hearers were greatly comforted. We were two days together, and had sweet harmony. We had good accounts of the progress of the work of our Lord in six or seven counties.”

Bristol, Bath, etc.――In October, 1744, E. Godwin writes:――

“I have changed the tickets of about a hundred and twenty at Bristol, and have received fourteen new members. After I changed the tickets, I held a lovefeast, when, with a hymn, we publicly admitted our new members. On the first Monday in this month, we had a letter-day. We were about three hours together, and had a collection for defraying the charge of the place, which was the largest that had been made since Mr. Whitefield solemnized a feast-day here.”

Under the date of November 16, 1744, Herbert Jenkins says:――

“The hall in Bristol is commonly full. I generally preach, morning and evening, with freedom and delight. The people are devout and serious. Last Sunday, I preached four times; but, though I had walked to Connam and Kingswood, I was stronger in body, and happier in my soul at last than I was at first. The Society at Bath goes on sweetly, and grows in grace, and in number, daily. We had a choice lovefeast there last Thursday night. It was the first in that place, and was very solemn and orderly.”

Ludlow, Leominster, etc.――In a letter, dated December 12, 1744, James Ingram says:――

“I went to Ludlow, it being fair-day there; and soon had a pressing invitation to preach at an honest Dissenter’s house. I complied, though a young man told my sister I should be put into the stocks if I offered to cant there. I preached to a serious auditory, and the poor loving people would not willingly part with me. Only one of them had ever heard such things before. I promised to visit them again. The Society at Leominster seems pretty sweet. We met at four in the morning. I have now almost finished my round, and a happy one it has been. The people in Monmouthshire are more lively than usual. I was accompanied by eight or nine horse-people, and some on foot, from Caldicot to Redwick.”

A letter from James Beaumont must be quoted at greater length. It is dated June 10, 1745. He writes:――

“On Thursday, the 7th inst., I was at Leominster. During the time of my preaching, the people behaved tolerably well; but, soon after I had done, a man came to press me. He took me to the justice’s house, and there left me. The justice being absent, I knew not what to do; but, seeing myself surrounded by a large and turbulent mob, I got upon the justice’s steps, and spake of their illegal proceedings, and then returned, without any hurt, to Brother K――――’s, and sang a hymn of praise to our great Deliverer. Soon after this, I was pressed again, by another constable, who took me before the commissioners in a public-house. By this time the town was in an uproar. The commissioners ordered the constable to take me to a private room. I was confined about four hours; and was then called before the commissioners, who asked me if I was exempted from the present Act. I told them I was. Justice H―――― said, ‘By what?’ I answered, ‘I have £3 a year freehold in the parish of Old Radnor.’ ‘Where are your writings?’ said they. I said, ‘At home.’ They then asked me if I had any friend, in Leominster, who would satisfy them of the account I had given of myself. ‘I have,’ said I; and, soon after, the man came in, and confirmed what I had said. Then the gentlemen were pleased to condescend to do me justice, and I was discharged immediately. They ordered an officer to guard me to my friends, to whom I was safely brought; and we joined in praises to God for His mercies to me His sinful child.”

Wiltshire.――On November 15, 1744, E. Godwin writes:――

“Wiltshire is surely a garden of the Lord. Last week I was chiefly about Longley and Brinkworth. Last Monday I went to Blunsdon. It was their revel; so I preached out of doors, and a great power seemed to attend the word, some crying, who had hardly ever wept since they were children.”

The preacher, at this time appointed to the Wiltshire circuit, was George Cook, of whom E. Godwin had said, only a few weeks before, “Brother Cook’s preaching is much blessed in Wiltshire, though his gifts are not enlarged enough for a city.” On December 8, Cook wrote to Cennick:――

“On the 22nd day of last month I went to Wickwar. As soon as I began preaching, the mob came with sheep-bells tied to a stick, and so they did ring them. They had also frying-pans, horse-rugles, a salt-box, and a post-horn. Some of the mob did put their mouths to the window, and made a noise like that of dogs; and they called me false prophet, and all manner of names they could think of; but Satan can go no farther than his chain. The Lord gave me an uncommon power to speak of His blood; and many of the people were greatly refreshed in their souls. Pray for me, dear sir.

“I am your little, weak, sinful, simple brother, in the wounds of the Lamb,

“GEORGE COOK.”

Within a month afterwards, this “weak and simple brother” was dead. John Cennick writes:――

“January 7, 1745. I rode round by Avebury, where brother Cook sickened of the small-pox. The minister of Avebury behaved very ill while he was sick, and threatened he would remove him, bad as he was, out of the place, and would treat him as a vagabond. He was not willing that brother Cook should be buried at Avebury; and, therefore, in the dead of the night, the friends brought him to Tytherton upon a horse; and, about two o’clock on Sunday morning last, they laid him by the side of three other bodies of the saints.”

Eight months after this strange interment, John Edwards came to Avebury, where George Cook had died. Edwards shall tell his own story.

“I went to Avebury, where we had a blessed season; but, in the midst of my discourse, came the minister’s servant-maid, from her master, with a partridge for my supper; and to tell me, that he would have me come to drink a bottle with him. I met him the next day, and thanked him for his present and invitation. He called me ignorant, unlearned, fool, etc. I told him I was wise unto salvation; but as for being a fool, I acknowledged that, and was determined to be more and more a fool for Christ’s sake. He hooted and hallooed me, like a schoolboy, till I left him. The same night, when in the midst of my discourse, a company came, and began to throw stones at me, and struck me once on the breast. The people shut the door, and then those outside began their music with bells and horns. They broke the windows with clubs, and some of the people’s faces were cut with glass. They threw in dirt and mud; and, at length, I broke off preaching, and went to prayer for our enemies.”

Gloucestershire.――Isaac Cottell, in a letter dated October 10, 1744, gives an account of his labours in the Gloucestershire circuit. The following is an extract:――

“On October 7, I came to Wickwar about five o’clock in the evening. The house, where I was to preach, was surrounded with a mob, making a great noise. When I had been there about a quarter of an hour, in came the curate of the town, three gentlemen, and the constable with his long black staff. One of the gentlemen ordered the people to make way for the parson to come up to me. I was then singing a hymn; and the gentleman snatched the book out of my hand, tore it, and threw it up into the window. I then gave out a verse extempore; and he put his elbow up to stop my mouth. Then the curate came up to me, and began to read the Act of Parliament, and commanded us to depart in half an hour. At the same time, the gentleman asked me why I ran about the country, to pick people’s pockets? I told him I came to preach the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings. He said I came to make a riot. I told him, if he did not take care, he would make a riot himself. With that the gentlemen began to withdraw; and I got upon a stool, sang a hymn, and went to prayer. Dear sir, though the devil roars, the Lord Jesus Christ will have the victory.”

This kind of persecution, in Whitefield’s native country, was continued. Ten months afterwards, George Cross wrote to John Cennick:――

“I met with much opposition in Gloucestershire; for T. B. had declared to the congregations at Thornbury and Rangeworthy, that, I preach damnable doctrine; and that you, brother Godwin, brother Thorne, brother Pugh, and I worship the body of Jesus, which, he said, is idolatry.”

Essex.――In a letter dated July 30, 1744, F. Pugh gives an interesting narrative of his preaching at Braintree, Bocking, and in “a Quaker’s mill-yard, about a mile from Chelmsford.” In another letter, written at Braintree, twelve months afterwards, he says:――

“I have met with a deal of persecution since I came here. There were many stones, and much dust thrown at me last Wednesday night. There is a mountebank in town, who is the cause of all the persecution. There was a drummer, who drew his hanger at me, and damned me, saying it was fit for me to die; but a soldier ran to him, and took it from him. Last Sunday, I preached at Tiptree-heath, to some thousands. There were two chariots; and gentlemen in gold lace came to hear. One of the gentlemen, in a chariot, sent for me, and desired me to preach in the town where he lived; but I could not, for my rounds were already settled and published.”

Northamptonshire, etc.――Thomas Lewis, in a long letter, written at Olney, October 13, 1744, tells of his preaching “in the Tabernacle” there, for an entire week, and of the conversions which took place during the services. At Northampton, “the people seemed to be all in a flame, and stretched after God.” Other places in the counties of Buckingham and Northampton were also visited.

Staffordshire, etc.――W. Allt writes:――

“February 6, 1745. Several at Whittington are under convictions. One, who had spent all his youth in indefatigable industry to gather together this world’s wealth, was for selling what he had, and said he could travel the world over with me; but I advised him to keep at home, telling him that Jesus would be found there. Many at Wolverhampton seem very desirous to meet, but dare not, the mob is so desperate. They arose, after I was gone on Sunday last, and broke brother D――――’s windows, and beat a young man shamefully, and tore his coat all to pieces. At Brewood, the friends are very zealous, in going from house to house, to tell what the Lord has done for them; and people come several miles to converse, and sing, and pray with them. I am persuaded, if a minister was there, several hundreds would come to hear him every Sunday. The people are very simple and free from prejudice. They say the parishioners are half papists; and the Church and Dissenting ministers are exceeding bitter. I have exhorted twice at Birmingham with much freedom.”

Herbert Jenkins, in a letter, dated February 23, 1745, says:――

“The first night I was at Birmingham, the people received the word with great affection, and with many tears. The place where we met on Sunday night was so thronged that the candles went out; but the Lord made the place a Bethel to our souls. I stayed there four days, declaring to all who came the glad tidings of salvation. From thence, I went to Wednesbury, where, for a week, morning and evening, I shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God. Many heard with tears, longing and panting for a discovery of the Lord Jesus; while others rejoiced in the Lord, their portion and everlasting friend. There is much Christian simplicity among them. I preached once at Wolverhampton (a large populous place), to a little company of sincere seeking souls. The next day I went to Brewood, where there was scarcely a dry eye among all the people. From thence, I went to Bewdley, where I was invited by a minister of the Established Church, who received me very courteously, and procured the Presbyterian meeting-house for me to preach in. The minister came to hear me, and behaved very civilly. The people flocked to hear the word. There is a little Society formed.”

Devonshire.――After attending “The Association” of Calvinistic Methodists in Bristol, John Cennick, on September 5, 1744, set out for Devonshire. He preached in Mr. Darracott’s chapel at Wellington, to a “congregation made up of Church people, and several sorts of Dissenters.” He had, what he calls, “blessed times,” at Exeter. At Kingsbridge, he preached in the Baptist and Presbyterian chapels. At Plymouth, “the room” was always crowded; and, on Tuesday, September 11, he “laid the first stone of the New Tabernacle with prayer and singing.” On his return to London (to officiate as Whitefield’s successor at the Tabernacle), he spent ten days at Exeter, where the Dissenting ministers circulated “fly-sheets,” asserting that Whitefield and his assistants were “false prophets, unlearned, and Antinomians.” Cennick was a puzzle to the people. Some said he was “a patten-maker;” others said he had been “a footman.” Numerous other trades were mentioned, when, at last, a man declared he “was certainly a coachman.” “Yes,” replied another, who happened to be one of Cennick’s hearers. “Yes, he is a coachman, and drives the chariot of the Lord, and wishes you all to be his passengers.”

On his arrival in London, Cennick seems to have received a large number of letters from the Plymouth converts. One correspondent told him, that, the Presbyterian minister had warned his people against Whitefield and his preachers, whom he called “Bold Intruders, Usurpers, and Novices.” The same writer said:――

“I have removed our singing meeting to the Baptist Chapel. There are about fifty who meet to learn the tunes. My house is, every night, like a little church; and, last Sunday evening, I began to read Mr. Whitefield’s sermons to the people. Several gentlemen have desired to draw off our masons, so that the building of the Tabernacle has been neglected. I have had much trouble to keep the work going forward.”

Cennick was succeeded in Devonshire by Thomas Adams. At Exeter, Adams preached in “the Society room,” at five in the mornings; and in the house of Mr. Kennedy, his host, at seven in the evenings. He writes: “It would have delighted you to have seen the multitudes who flocked to hear. Mr. Kennedy’s three rooms and large passage would not near contain the people: many, very many stood in the court.” At Kingsbridge, Adams met a lawyer who had been converted by Whitefield’s preaching. At Plymouth, he found “the partition-wall of bigotry tumbling down daily.” This was in the month of November, 1744. Shortly afterwards, so far as Exeter was concerned, the scene had changed.

In 1745, a pamphlet of forty-two pages was published at Exeter, entitled, “A brief Account of the late Persecution and Barbarous Usage of the Methodists at Exeter.[106] By an Impartial Hand.” The author assures his readers, that he is not a Methodist himself; and that “it would never have entered his head to have taken up his pen in defence of the Methodists, had they not been daily, and openly, treated in Exeter with such rudeness, violence, and abuse, as would have made even Indians, or Pagans, to have blushed.” He relates that,――

“The rioters violently entered the Methodist meeting-house, interrupted the minister with opprobrious and obscene language, and fell upon him in a most furious manner with blows and kicks. They treated every man they could lay their hands upon with such abuse and indignity as is not to be expressed. But what is more than all, was their abominable rudeness to the poor women. Some were stripped quite naked. Others notwithstanding their most piercing cries for mercy and deliverance, were forcibly held by some of the wicked ruffians, while others turned their petticoats over their heads, and forced them to remain, in that condition, as a spectacle to their infamous banter and ridicule; the poor creatures being afterwards dragged through the kennel, which had been filled with mud and dirt. Others of the women had their clothes, yea, their very shifts, torn from their backs. Towards the close of the evening, one of the mob forced a woman up into the gallery, and attempted other outrages, three different times. After many struggles, she freed herself, leaped over the gallery, and so made her escape. Many, to avoid falling into the hands of this wicked crew, leaped out of the windows, and got over the garden walls, to the endangering of their lives. This outrage was committed in the centre of the city, and in the presence of many thousands. The riot continued for several hours. The mob had their full swing. No magistrates came to the relief or assistance of the poor people, notwithstanding they were applied to, and greatly importuned to read the Riot Act. It is true, no one was actually murdered; but the whole Society were put into great danger and fear of their lives, and expected nothing but death. Many of the women are now in very critical circumstances, under the care of surgeons and apothecaries; and their lives are even yet (two days after the riot) in danger.

“Before I dismiss this Exeter riot, I must remark, that the Methodists, not only on the day of the grand riot, but, many times since, have been treated by this lawless rabble with the utmost fury and violence. They have been mobbed and insulted, at noonday, in the open streets, and furiously pelted with dirt, stones, sticks, and cabbage-stumps.

“After the strictest enquiry, I cannot find that any one Dissenter, of any denomination, was at all concerned in this riot. They were all of the old stamp, that have ever been known by the name of church rabble; though I cannot omit to notice, that the Methodists complain much against the Presbyterian clergy, who (they say), in their sermons and conversations, frequently represent them in a false and injurious light; and, thereby, lessen the affection, and raise the antipathy, of the people towards them.”

The author concludes by saying, that his pamphlet was written “for his own private amusement, and without any design to publish it;” and that its publication was the result of what he saw and heard after the pamphlet was finished.

“On a certain evening, he saw, with his own eyes, the wicked rioters collected and assembled together, by beat of drum, in the open streets, with sticks and bats, in order to disturb and abuse the poor Methodists, who were at their meeting-house, worshipping and serving God, in a manner perfectly innocent and inoffensive, without the least disturbance to the public peace. He saw the Methodists flee with great fear and trembling, and the rabble persecuting with rage and violence. And he heard, that, the very night before, this same riotous crew, to the number of many hundreds, attacked Mr. Adams, one of the Methodist ministers, with sticks, dirt, and mud; and that, in all probability, they would have murdered him in the open street, had not a good Samaritan, in Southgate Street, taken him into his house, and there rescued him from their violent and wicked hands.”

At the risk of being prolix, Mr. Adams’s own account must be added to these statements of the “impartial” observer at Exeter. The Christian History No. 3, vol. vii., 1745, contains two letters on the subject, one by “a gentleman in Exeter,”[107] dated June 16, 1745, and the other by Thomas Adams himself, dated Hampton, June 20, 1745. The latter writes:――

“On my way to the west, I heard of a cruel persecution at Exeter; but I had no freedom to omit going thither, though I expected much opposition. Our Saviour brought me there on Saturday evening, and I was kindly received by Mr. Kennedy and his wife. Many told me, we should be mobbed, if I preached in the play-house; but we thought it was right to try. Accordingly, I preached there, at six o’clock on Sunday morning, and we were not much disturbed. I preached again in the afternoon, and, though many of the mob came in, they did not disturb us.

“The next morning, (Monday) we were much interrupted, by the mob beating a drum and a pan, at a window of the play-house; and they hallooed us, and beat the drum quite to Mr. Kennedy’s house. We did not, however, receive much personal abuse until eight days after, when I came back from Plymouth.” [Adams here interjects an account of his preaching at Plymouth, Kingsbridge, Wonhil, and Tavistock, at which last-mentioned place, the mob brought out the water-engine, and endeavoured to play it upon him and his congregation. He then proceeds with his narrative of the persecution at Exeter.]

“The evening I returned to Exeter, I preached in Mr. Kennedy’s house. The next morning, (Thursday) I preached at the play-house; and so continued morning and evening till Saturday; but not without interruption of a drum, besides being hallooed after, and pushed about, as we went along the street.

“On Saturday morning, as soon as I had done preaching, some of the brethren told me there were several constables waiting at the Dove to impress me. Accordingly, when I came to the Dove, one of the constables laid hold on me, and said, I was a fit person to serve the king. I told him, if he had sufficient authority for his proceedings, I would go with him. They then took hold of Brother S――――, who had come with me from Plymouth, and told him he must go with me. We knew not whither we were going, till we got to Southgate prison. When we came to the prison door, they stopped us, and said, we must go in there. Having entered, one of the constables asked me what countryman I was. I modestly answered, ‘My country is Canaan, and thither I am journeying.’ They said we must stay in prison till Monday, and then be brought before the justices at their quarter sessions.

“We had not, however, been there above five or six hours, when two of the constables came again, and desired to know our circumstances and manner of living; and particularly if I had taken the oaths, and qualified myself for preaching. I said, ‘You ought to have enquired into this before you brought us hither. Do we look like vagrants? Mr. S. is a tradesman, and keeps an open shop in Plymouth, and came hither about business. He is also a constable, so that you have impressed one of the king’s officers. As to myself, I am of the Church of England, and have no need to take the oaths to qualify myself for a preacher; and, besides, I am a freeholder.’ When they heard this, they said, ‘Gentlemen, we have no more to say. You are welcome to go as soon as you please.’ So they called the keeper of the prison, and desired him to release us. At first, he refused, and said he durst not without an order from the magistrates. They said, as they brought us thither without being committed by the justices, they had power to release us. The keeper said, they must give security to bear him blameless. Whether they did or not, I cannot tell; but they let us go; and I believe the poor constables were as glad to bring us out as they were to put us in. I gave the turnkey sixpence, because he used us kindly, and asked us to go on the leads of the house to air ourselves.

“In the evening, I again preached in the play-house, but was much disturbed. Some beat a drum; some hallooed; some stamped up and down the galleries; and some spat on the people, and slapped them on their faces. Mr. S. and another[108] went to a justice of the peace, and desired the Proclamation might be read, to disperse the mob. The justice said he would come; and bid them go directly to the town clerk’s, and he would meet them there. Thither they went, and from thence to the mayor’s, who made many objections against going. After great delay, he went with reluctance; but, before they came, we were gone, being apprehensive that the mob would abuse the women as they had done before, which was cruel and inhuman.

“The passage, from the play-house to the street, was filled with fellows of the baser sort. One poor wretch gnashed his teeth, and swore he would be revenged on me. We were pushed about most grievously. The women were thrown into the dirt, and one had her eye much hurt. Two of the brethren were cuffed prodigiously. I received only some scratches on my hand, but was besmeared all over with mud and dirt, the mob pelting us with all the nastiness the kennels afforded, till we got to the house of Mr. Kennedy.

“The next day being Sunday, and the last of my being there, many of our friends thought it would be best to preach in Mr. Kennedy’s house, which I did both morning and evening. It was well we did not go to the play-house, for the mob were there, and seemed more desperate than ever. One of our friends found a paper stuck up against the play-house door, with these words: ‘For the benefit of the mob. This evening will be acted at the theatre, Hell in an Uproar; or, the Furies let loose. The part of Beelzebub, by Mr. P――――ns: Queen of Hell, by Mrs. L――――w, etc.’

“After I had done preaching on Sunday evening, and was going to Rocks Lane, to take my leave of the Society, I was stopped by the same two constables who imprisoned and released us. They told me, the mayor had sent them to acquaint me, that I must meet him and the justices at their quarter sessions on the morrow, at eleven o’clock. I answered, ‘I cannot, for I am obliged to go out of town early in the morning.’ They said, if I would not promise them to be there, they must keep me in custody. I said, I would wait upon the mayor in half an hour, if they would appoint a place where I should meet them; which they did. So I gave a short exhortation to the Society; and then Brother S―――― and I went with one of the constables to the mayor.

“His worship asked me if my name was Adams. I said, ‘Yes.’ He asked if I was the preacher. I said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Have you qualified yourself?’ I answered, ‘My qualification and sufficiency are of the Lord.’ He bid me not tell him of the Lord, but to say whether I had qualified myself according to the Act of Toleration. I answered, ‘I am not a Dissenter, and therefore have nothing to do with that Act, being a son of the Church of England.’ He furiously cried, ‘You are not of the Church,’ and called me several ridiculous names. I said, ‘Sir, you may call me what you please, but I say I am of the Church; and, considering myself so, do not know that my proceedings are illegal.’ He called me several names again, and said I made collections among the poor people, and got their money from them. ‘Sir,’ said I, ‘I never made a collection amongst them in my life.’ He persisted in saying that I did; and asked, ‘How else do you live?’ ‘Sir,’ I said, ‘I have nothing from you; and I know not why I came here to receive such ill-treatment;’ to which I added, that, ‘I did not apprehend I was under any obligation at all to come there; for,’ said I, ‘by the same rule that you stop me on my journey, you may stop any gentleman who comes on business.’ He answered, ‘Sure you have not the d――――d impudence to call yourself a gentleman!’ I said, ‘Sir, whether I be gentle or simple, I am sure you do not use me well; therefore, I don’t think to stay any longer with you.’ ‘But,’ said he, ‘I desire you will be at the quarter sessions to-morrow.’ ‘I cannot,’ said I, ‘for I am obliged to go out of town very early in the morning.’ The constable standing by said, ‘Sir, if you please, I will keep him in custody till the time.’ ‘Will you?’ said I; ‘you had best know by what authority you touch me. If you act contrary to law, I shall let you hear of it. Besides,’ I added, ‘you know I have not reckoned with you yet for yesterday’s five hours’ false imprisonment.’ And so, without offering to stop us any longer, they let us go.

“When we came out of the mayor’s house into the street, we found a mob of some hundreds gathered together, who pelted us with cabbage-stumps, and whatever they could find, until we came almost to Southgate, which was near a furlong; when one opened a door, and desired us to come in, which we did. By this time, I was ready to fall down, by reason of the violent blows I received on my head, and other parts of my body. O good God, forgive these cruel men!

“I am to return to the west in a few days. I am filled with comfort, and not in the least troubled or terrified, though I expect much opposition, and am persuaded afflictions await me. O pray for me, my dear, dear friends, that I may be kept near the Saviour, and may be made bold as a lion, wise as a serpent, meek as a lamb, and harmless as a dove.”

This is a long account; but it is useful as illustrating the state of some of the first towns in the kingdom a hundred and thirty years ago; and as shewing the cruel persecutions to which Whitefield’s preachers, and the Societies they had gathered, were at that time subjected.

It would be easy to furnish other extracts from the Christian History――a book now nearly non-existent; but enough has been written to afford the reader a glimpse――though an imperfect one――of the extent and quality of Whitefield’s brotherhood, when, for the third time, he set sail for America.

THIRD VISIT TO AMERICA.

AUGUST 1744 TO JUNE 1748.

WHITEFIELD and his wife embarked at Plymouth about August 10, and landed at York, in New England, on October 26. The voyage was long, rough, and dangerous. Six days before his arrival, he wrote:――

“In a week or two after we sailed, we began to have a church in our ship. Two serious New England friends, finding how I was served at Portsmouth, came from thence to Plymouth, to bear me company. We had regular public prayer morning and evening, frequent communion, and days of humiliation and fasting. Being time of war, and sailing out with near a hundred and fifty ships, we had several convoys. Their taking leave of each other, at their several appointed places, was striking. We have often been alarmed; once with the sight of a Dutch fleet, which we took for an enemy; and again at the sight of Admiral Balchen, who rode by us, receiving the obeisance of the surrounding ships as though he were lord of the whole ocean. On another occasion, one of the ships struck her mainsail into our bowsprit. A little after we came up with the convoy, and our captain informed them of what had happened. The answer was, ‘This is your praying, and be damned to you!’ This shocked me more than the striking of the ships. At another time, we were alarmed with the sight of two ships, which our captain took to be enemies. The preparations for an engagement were formidable: guns were mounted, chains put round the masts, everything taken out of the great cabin, and hammocks placed about the sides of the ships. All, except myself, seemed ready for fire and smoke. My wife, after having dressed herself to prepare for all events, set about making cartridges, whilst I wanted to go into the holes of the ship, hearing that was the chaplain’s usual place. I went; but not liking my situation, I crept upon deck, and, for the first time in my life, beat up to arms, by a warm exhortation. The apprehended enemy approached; but, upon a nearer view, we found them to be two ships going under the same convoy as ourselves.”

Perhaps it will be thought that Whitefield and his fellow-voyagers were more alarmed than hurt. But the narrative is not ended. When near the port of York, a small fishing smack approached them. Being told that the smack would be in port several hours before the ship, Whitefield and others went on board. It soon grew dark. The pilots missed the inlet, and the smack was tossed about all night. Whitefield’s hunger was such, that, to use his own expression, he “could have gnawed the very boards.” The fishermen had nothing eatable, except a few potatoes. Whitefield eagerly devoured them. About half an hour after his arrival at York, he “was put to bed, racked with a nervous colic, and convulsed from his waist down to his toes.” For four days, his life was in danger. Word was sent to Boston, that he was dying. A friend and a physician came, says he, “either to take care of me, or to attend my funeral; but, to their great surprise, they found me in the pulpit.” The truth is, as soon as Whitefield’s pain abated, the minister at York asked him to preach, and, of course, the temptation was too powerful to be resisted.

Not content with this imprudence, he crossed the ferry to Portsmouth, caught cold, had a return of illness, and was taken to the house of Mr. Sherburne.[109] Three physicians attended him, and Colonel Pepperell,[110] with many others, came to condole with him. It so happened, however, that he was announced to preach at Portsmouth the day after his arrival. A substitute was provided: but, when the time for holding the service came, Whitefield suddenly exclaimed, “Doctor, my pains are suspended; by the help of God, I will go and preach, and then come home and die.” He wrote:――

“With some difficulty, I reached the pulpit. All looked quite surprised. I was as pale as death, and told them they must look upon me as a dying man; and that I came to bear my dying testimony to the truths I had formerly preached amongst them, and to the invisible realities of another world. I continued an hour in my discourse, and nature was almost exhausted; but, O what life, what power, spread all around! All seemed to be melted, and were in tears. Upon my coming home, I was laid on a bed, upon the ground, near the fire; and I heard them say, ‘He is gone!’ but God was pleased to order it otherwise. I gradually recovered; and, soon after, a poor negro woman came, sat down upon the ground, looked earnestly in my face, and said, ‘Master, you just go to heaven’s gate; but Jesus Christ said, Get you down, get you down; you must not come here yet. Go first, and call more poor negroes.’[111] You will find by this, I am still alive; and, if spared to be made instrumental in making any poor dead soul alive to God, I shall rejoice that the all-wise Redeemer has kept me out of heaven a little longer.”

Whitefield was now thoroughly disabled. Hence the following letter from his wife to a friend in England:――

“PORTSMOUTH, NEW ENGLAND, November 14, 1744.

“My dear and honoured master has ordered me to send you an account of our sorrowful, yet joyful, voyage.

“Our captain and others say, they never saw such a voyage; for all nature seemed to be turned upside down. We had nothing but storms, calms, and contrary winds. We frequently expected to go into eternity. Our own provision was spent; and Mr. Whitefield was so ill, that he could not take the ship’s provision. The winds were such that we expected to be driven off the coast, after we had seen land a week. We prayed to the Lord to send a boat to take us on shore; and, accordingly, a fishing schooner came, that had not been out for a long time before. Into it we went, hoping to get on shore in three or four hours: but the wind arose, and we were out all night.

“On the morrow, being the 26th of October, we landed, about nine in the morning, at York; where the Lord was pleased to visit my dear and honoured master with a nervous colic, which almost took his life. As soon as he was able to go about, he went out and preached twice a day, which was too much for him. We came from York here; and, in the way, he preached in the rain. On reaching Portsmouth, he preached at candle-light. This laid him up again, and the next day he was judged to be dangerously ill; but, when the time he had proposed to preach arrived, finding himself free from pain, he went out and preached. This had like to have cost him his life, for he became as cold as a clod. But the Lord was pleased to hear prayer from him, and he is now in a fair way.

“The Lord is doing great things here. The fields are indeed ready to the harvest, though there is some opposition. Mr. Whitefield has written several things, which will be sent as soon as printed here. We received your letter by Captain Adams, but Mr. Whitefield has not strength to answer it. He desires you will send the contents of this to all friends, and tell them they may expect letters the first opportunity.

“The Lord is with my dear Mr. Whitefield, and has been through his illness. He says, he was frequently in hopes of entering his eternal rest; but, since he is longer detained, he is fully persuaded it will be for the Mediator’s glory. I would enlarge, but my dear master’s illness, and many other things, oblige me to subscribe myself your sincere friend and affectionate servant,

“ELIZABETH WHITEFIELD.”[112]

Mrs. Whitefield speaks of “some opposition.” What was it? Considerable space will have to be occupied in answering this question. The reader will already have observed that some of the Presbyterian and Congregational ministers of America were as bitterly opposed to Whitefield as were any of the clergy of the Church of England. This will become increasingly manifest by the following details. First of all, however, must be given a rampant letter by a quondam Congregationalist, who was now an Episcopalian of the most fervid type.

Timothy Cutler, after graduating at Harvard College, was ordained in 1709, minister of Stratford, Connecticut, and soon became the most celebrated preacher in the colony. In 1719, he was chosen president of Yale College. Three years afterwards, he renounced his connection with the Congregational churches; and, in consequence, was dismissed from his presidential chair. Embarking for England, he was, in 1723, ordained, first a deacon and then a priest of the Established Church; and, at the same time, was created a doctor of divinity, by the Oxford University. Soon after, he became rector of Christ Church, Boston, where he continued till his death in 1765. Though haughty and overbearing in his manners, he was a man of great ability, and, in addition to his general learning, was one of the best oriental scholars of the age. In the following letter to the Rev. Dr. Zachary Grey, of Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire, Dr. Cutler, doubtless, represented the Episcopalian animosity too generally cherished by the clergy of New England.

“BOSTON, NEW ENGLAND, September 24, 1743.

“Whitefield has plagued us with a witness. It would be an endless attempt to describe the scene of confusion and disturbance occasioned by him: the divisions of families, neighbourhoods, and towns; the contrariety of husbands and wives; the undutifulness of children and servants; the quarrels among the teachers; the disorders of the night; the intermission of labour and business; the neglect of husbandry and the gathering of the harvest.

“Our presses are for ever teeming with books, and our women with bastards. Many of the teachers have left their particular cures, and are strolling about the country. Some have been ordained by them evangelizers. They all have their armour-bearers and exhorters. In many conventicles and places of rendezvous, there has been chequered work――several preaching, and several exhorting, or praying, at the same time,――the rest crying, or laughing, yelping, sprawling, or fainting. This revel, in some places, has been maintained many days and nights together, with intermission, and then there were the ‘blessed outpourings of the Spirit!’

“Some of the New Lights[113] have overdone themselves by ranting and blaspheming, and are quite demolished; others have extremely weakened their interest, and others are terrified from going the lengths they are inclined to. On the other hand, many of the Old Lights (thus are they distinguished) have been forced to trim, and some have lost their congregations; but they will soon raise up a new congregation in any new town where they are opposed. I do not know, but we have fifty, in one place or other, and some of them large and much frequented.

“When Mr. Whitefield first arrived here, the whole town was alarmed. He made his first visit to church on a Friday, and conversed with many of our clergy together, and belied them, me especially, when he had gone. Being not invited into our pulpits, the Dissenters were highly pleased, and engrossed him; and immediately the bells rang, and all hands went to lecture. This show kept on all the while he was here. The town was ever alarmed; the streets were filled with people, with coaches, and chaises――all for the benefit of that holy man. The conventicles were crowded; but he rather chose the common, where multitudes might see him in all his awful postures: besides, in one crowded conventicle, six were killed in a fight before he came in. The fellow treated the most venerable with an air of superiority; but he for ever lashed and anathematized the Church of England, and that was enough.

“After him came one Tennent――a monster! impudent and noisy――and told them they were all damned! damned! damned! This charmed them; and, in the most dreadful winter I ever saw, people wallowed in snow, night and day, for the benefit of his beastly brayings; and many ended their days under these fatigues. Both of them carried more money out of these parts than the poor could be thankful for.”[114]

Another notable opponent must be introduced. The Rev. Charles Chauncy, D.D., was born in Boston, in the year 1705. He entered Harvard College at the age of twelve, and four years afterwards received his first degree. In 1727, he was ordained pastor of the first church in Boston, as colleague of the Rev. Thomas Foxcroft. He died in 1787, in the eighty-third year of his age, and the sixtieth of his ministry. Chauncy was eminent for his learning, was ardently attached to the civil and religious liberties of his country, and strongly objected to State Church establishments. His publications were too numerous to be specified in a work like this. His last days were almost entirely occupied in devotional exercises.

One of his publications, issued in 1742, was entitled, “Enthusiasm described and cautioned against. A Sermon preached at the Old Brick Meeting-house in Boston, in 1742. With a Letter to the Rev. Mr. James Davenport.” (8vo. 35 pp.) Mr.Davenport was the minister of Southhold, Long Island; and, during Whitefield’s previous visit to America, became extremely popular in the great revival. Among other places, he visited New Haven, and encouraged the agitations and outcries, which at that time attracted so much attention. In 1742, the Assembly of Connecticut, deeming him under the influence of enthusiastic impulses, directed the governor to transport him out of the colony to the place whence he came. Two years afterwards, he published a confession and retractation. Whitefield is not mentioned in Dr. Chauncy’s sermon; but there can be little doubt, that it was levelled against him as well as against James Davenport.

Twelve months after this, Whitefield was made one of the most prominent figures in another of Chauncy’s works: “Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion in New England. By Charles Chauncy, D.D. Boston, 1743.” (8vo. 454 pp.) It is impossible to give here any general outline of Chauncy’s book, but a few facts and extracts may be useful.

Dr. Chauncy declares that he “could never see upon what warrant, either from Scripture or reason, Mr. Whitefield went about preaching from one province and parish to another, where the gospel was already preached, and by persons as well qualified for the work as he could pretend to be.” He inclines to think, however, that Whitefield was moved by conceit and a love of popular applause. “The inconveniences, which had arisen from this method of acting, had been so great, that the Assembly of Connecticut had passed an Act, restraining both ordained ministers, and licensed candidates, from preaching in other men’s parishes, without their and their church’s consent; and wholly prohibiting the exhortations of illiterate laymen.” “Most, if not all, of the present itinerants are swollen and ready to burst with spiritual pride. As to their mission, they have none, except from their own fond imagination.” “Mr. Whitefield seldom preached, but he had something or other in his sermon, against unconverted ministers; and what he delivered had an evident tendency to fill the minds of the people with evil surmisings against the ministers, as though they were, for the most part, carnal, unregenerate wretches. He often spake of them, in the lump, as Pharisees, enemies of Christ Jesus, and the worst enemies he had.” “There never was a time, since the settlement of New England, wherein there was so much bitter and rash judging――parents condemning their children, and children their parents; husbands their wives, and wives their husbands; masters their servants, and servants their masters; ministers their people, and people their ministers. Censoriousness, to a high degree, is the constant appendage of this religious commotion.” “I have all along encouraged a hope of Mr. Whitefield as a real Christian. And he has certainly been zealous and active beyond most of his brethren. But has he not, through the inexperience of youth, and an intemperature of zeal, been betrayed into such things as cannot but be condemned? In particular, I was always afraid, lest people, from him, should learn to give heed to impulses and impressions, and, by degrees, come to revelations, and other extraordinaries of this kind.”

“Another bad thing is the confusion that has been so common, of late, in some of our houses of worship. Says a friend, in giving an account of things, he was himself a witness to, ‘The meeting was carried on with great confusion; some screaming out in distress and anguish; some praying; others singing; some jumping up and down the house, while others were exhorting; some lying along on the floor, and others walking and talking: the whole with a very great noise, to be heard at a mile’s distance, and continued almost the whole night.’”[115]

Dr. Chauncy proceeds to mention the dangerous errors now prevalent among the people; namely: 1. “That which supposes ministers, if not converted, incapable of being instruments of spiritual good to men’s souls. Mr. Whitefield very freely vented this error!”[116] 2. “A presumptuous dependence on the blessed Spirit; appearing in the following particulars: so depending on the help of the Spirit as to despise learning;” also, so as to “oppose a diligent use of appointed means;” and so as to “reflect dishonour upon the written revelations of God.” 3. “The making assurance essential to conversion.” 4. “The connecting a knowledge of the time of conversion with the thing itself as though there could not be the one without the other.” 5. “The vilifying of good works.” 6. “Decrying sanctification as an evidence of justification.”

Dr. Chauncy inserts a “proclamation for a day of public fasting and prayer,” issued, on the 9th of February, 1743, by the Honourable Jonathan Law, Esq., Governor of Connecticut, in which the ministers and people of the colony are exhorted to “confess and bewail” all their sins; “particularly, the great neglect and contempt of the gospel and the ministry thereof, and the prevailing of a spirit of error, disorder, unpeaceableness, pride, bitterness, uncharitableness, censoriousness, disobedience, calumniating and reviling of authority; also divisions, contentions, separations, and confusions in churches; and injustice, idleness, evil-speaking, lasciviousness, and all other vices and impieties which abound among us.”

The fifth and last part of Dr. Chauncy’s book contains “the best expedients to promote the interest of religion at this day.” He quotes, with approval, some of Jonathan Edwards’s recommendations, such as “confessing of faults on both sides;” “the exercise of extraordinary meekness and forbearance;” “prayer with fasting;” “care taken that the colleges be so regulated as to be nurseries of piety;” and “taking heed that, while fulfilling the external duties of devotion――as praying, hearing, singing, and attending religious meetings――there must be proportionable care to abound in moral duties, as acts of righteousness, truth, meekness, forgiveness, and love towards our neighbour.” To these recommendations, Dr. Chauncy adds some of his own, namely: 1. “The putting a stop to itinerant preaching.” 2. “So to guard church pulpits, that no raw, unqualified persons might be suffered, upon any terms, to go into them.” 3. To guard “against a wrong use of the passions.” 4. The exercise of a “strict discipline in our churches.” 5. “A due care to prove all things, that we may hold fast that which is good.”

These are lengthy, though imperfect, extracts; but, if an apology be needed, it may be found in the facts that Dr. Chauncy was one of the most influential men in New England, and that the effects produced by his book were greater than can be well imagined. He prefixes to his work a list of nearly eight hundred subscribers, including four governors of colonies, twenty-seven “honourables,” and a hundred and forty-seven “reverends.”

Whitefield published a reply to Chauncy’s book; but, strangely enough, the reply is not in his collected works, and seems to have been unknown to all his biographers. The following was its title: “A Letter to the Rev. Dr. Chauncy, on account of some passages relating to the Rev. Mr. Whitefield, in his book entitled, ‘Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion in New England.’ By George Whitefield, A.B., late of Pembroke College, Oxon. Boston, 1745.” (4to. 14 pp.) The letter is dated, “Portsmouth, Piscataqua, November 19, 1744;” and the preface to it, “Boston, January 18, 1745.”

The spirit breathing in Whitefield’s pamphlet is beautifully Christian; and, wherever he defends himself, he does it most successfully. He confesses, however, that he was wrong, when he said, “Many, nay, most of the New England preachers did not experimentally know Christ;” and, in reference to Tillotson, he says, “I acknowledge that I spake of his person in too strong terms, and too rashly condemned his state, when I ought only to have censured his doctrine.” The following is Whitefield’s concluding paragraph:――

“I write this under the immediate views of a happy eternity; and rejoice in the prospect of that day, wherein I shall appear before a compassionate Judge, who will cover all my infirmities with the mantle of His everlasting righteousness, and graciously accept my poor and weak efforts to promote His kingdom. I beg, reverend sir, an interest in your prayers, that I may glorify God, whether by life or death; and, praying that you may be taught of God to preach the truth as it is in Jesus, turn many to righteousness, and shine in the kingdom of heaven, as the stars in the firmament, for ever and ever, I subscribe myself, reverend and dear sir, your most affectionate, humble servant,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Other hostile publications must be mentioned. The Congregational ministers of Massachusetts were accustomed to meet at Boston on the day of the opening of the colonial legislature, to converse on matters of general interest, and to hear a sermon from one of their number previously appointed. The convention of 1743 had for its moderator the Rev. Nathaniel Eells, and by its authority the following was published: “The Testimony of the Pastors of the Churches in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in New England, at their Annual Convention in Boston, May 25, 1743, against several Errors in Doctrine and Disorders in Practice, which have of late obtained in various parts of the Land.” The doctrinal errors were attaching importance to secret impulses of the mind, without due regard to the written word; that none are converted, but such as know they are converted, and the time when; that assurance is of the essence of saving faith; and that sanctification is no evidence of justification. The disorders in practice were: Ordained ministers and young candidates going from place to place, and preaching without the knowledge, or contrary to the leave, of the stated pastors in such places; private persons of no education and but low attainments, without any regular call, taking upon themselves to be preachers of the word; ordaining or separating persons to the work of the evangelical ministry at large, without any relation to a particular charge; separation from the particular flocks to which persons belong, to join themselves with, and support lay exhorters and itinerants; and assuming the prerogatives of God, to look into the hearts of their neighbours, and to censure their brethren, especially their ministers, as Pharisees and Arminians.

As an antidote to the decisions of this convention, another publication was issued. On the 7th of July, 1743, ninety ministers met at Boston, chose Dr. Sewall as their moderator, and Thomas Prince as their secretary, and published “The Testimony and Advice of an Assembly of Pastors of Churches in New England, at a meeting in Boston, July 7, 1743, occasioned by the late happy Revival of Religion in many parts of the Land.” The “Testimony” was signed by sixty-eight of the ministers present, and was agreed to by forty-five who were absent.

After this there was a convention of laymen, who issued the following: “The Testimony and Advice of a Number of Laymen, respecting Religion and the Teachers of it. Addressed to the Pastors of New England.” The “Testimony” is dated “Boston, September 12, 1743.” Speaking of Whitefield, it says:――

“He came here in September, 1740, and, with indefatigable industry, travelled through this province, preaching, begging, and collecting from town to town. Though he was a man of a weak mind, little learning, and no argument, yet, by means of a somewhat crafty improvement of the advantageous circumstances and character under which he arrived, and by his being somewhat of an orator, and assuming an over-sanctified behaviour, by great diligence, and by preaching frequently memoriter and with a vehemence unusual to the people of this province, he gained upon their passions, and thereby wheedled himself into their affections.”

After sneering at Whitefield as “the grand itinerant,” “the reverend bachelor of arts,” “the reverend youth,” and “the reverend stripling,” the “Testimony” finishes by exhorting the “pastors of New England,” to study the Scriptures, to acquire knowledge, to preach the gospel in its simplicity, to throw aside the use of technical terms, which neither they nor their hearers understand, and not to be “apish imitators of foreigners.”

All these were issued previous to Whitefield’s arrival in 1744; the following were published soon after:――

1. “A Letter from two neighbouring Associations of Ministers in the Country, to the Associated Ministers of Boston and Charlestown, relating to the admission of Mr. Whitefield into their pulpits.” The “letter” was dated December 26, 1744, and had the approbation of nineteen ministers. The following is an extract. Having assumed, as an undisputed truth, that great and grievous disorders had prevailed among the churches, through the influence of itinerants, they ask:――

“Brethren, are you satisfied that Mr. Whitefield approves not of these disorders? Is he against separations? Is he an enemy to enthusiasm? Do you find in him a disposition to the most plain Christian duty, of humbly confessing and publicly retracting his wicked and slanderous suggestions concerning the ministry, and concerning our colleges, so much our glory? Do you find him inclined to heal the unhappy divisions occasioned by his former visit? Have you not, by opening your pulpit doors to this gentleman, encouraged the weaker sort of people to expect the like of their ministers?” etc., etc.

2. The next publication must be prefaced. The Rev. Edward Wigglesworth, D.D., was a man of distinguished talents, and, for the last two and twenty years, had been professor of divinity in Harvard College. The Rev. Edward Holyoke was president of the same college, and, as a scholar and a preacher, had gained a high reputation. During his former visit to America, Whitefield had preached before the professors and students of Harvard College with great power and acceptance; but, in his journal, subsequently published, there was the following paragraph:――

“The ministers and people of Connecticut seem to be more simple and serious than those who live near Boston, especially in those parts where I went. But I think the ministers preaching almost universally by notes, is a certain mark they have in a great measure lost the old spirit of preaching. For, though all are not to be condemned who use notes, yet it is a sad symptom of the decay of vital religion, when reading sermons becomes fashionable where extempore preaching did once almost universally prevail. When the spirit of prayer began to be lost, then forms of prayer were invented; and I believe the same observation will hold good as to preaching. As for the universities, I believe it may be said their light is now become darkness――darkness that may be felt――and is complained of by the most godly ministers. I pray God these fountains may be purified, and send forth pure streams to water the city of our God. The Church of England is at a very low ebb; and, as far as I can find, had people kept their primitive purity, it would scarce have got a footing in New England. I have many evidences to prove that most of the churches have been first set up by immoral men, and such as would not submit to the discipline of their congregations, or were corrupt in the faith. But I will say no more about the poor Church of England. Most of her sons, whether ministers or people, I fear, hate to be reformed.”

This evoked “A Testimony from the President and Professors, Tutors, and Hebrew Instructor of Harvard College, against the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield and his Conduct.” The “Testimony” is dated “December 28, 1744.” The faculty of Harvard College say, “We look upon Mr. Whitefield’s going about in an itinerant way, especially as he has so much of an enthusiastical turn of mind, as being utterly inconsistent with the peace and order, if not the very being, of the Churches of Christ.” Whitefield was charged with “enthusiasm,” and with being “an uncharitable, censorious, and slanderous man.” The faculty refer to his “reproachful reflections” on their college, and denounce his “rashness and his arrogance; his rashness,” say they, “in publishing such a disadvantageous character of us, because somebody had so informed him; and his arrogance, that such a young man as he should take upon him to tell what books we should allow our pupils to read.” They pronounce Whitefield’s assertion that “the light of the universities had become darkness,” a “most wicked and libellous falsehood;” and, in reference to his statement that many of the ministers of the country were unconverted, they say he is “guilty of gross breaches of the ninth commandment of the moral law.” They bear “testimony” against him as “a deluder of the people,” in the affair of contributions for the Orphan House; for he had led the people to believe that the orphans would be under his own immediate instruction, and yet “he had scarce been at the Orphan House for these four years.” And, in conclusion, they condemn his extempore preaching, and his itinerating, as “by no means proper.”

Whitefield replied to the “Testimony,” in a letter, dated “Boston, January 23, 1745.” He answers the accusation of the college faculty, that “he conducted himself by dreams;” and “usually governed himself by sudden impulses and impressions on his mind.” As to his having slandered Harvard College, he says, he meant no more than President Holyoke did, when, speaking of the degeneracy of the times, in his sermon at the annual convention of ministers, May 28, 1741, he remarked: “Alas! how is the gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed! We have lost our first love; and, though religion is still in fashion with us, it is evident that the power of it is greatly decayed.” He further replies to the charges that he was “a deluder of the people,” and had “extorted money” from them for his Orphan House. He explains in what sense he was an “extempore preacher;” denies the charge that he was an “Antinomian;” and justifies his itinerancy. He concludes thus:――

“I am come to New England with no intention to meddle with, much less to destroy, the order of the New England churches; or to turn out the generality of their ministers, and re-settle them with ministers from England, Scotland, and Ireland, as hath been hinted in a late letter written by the Rev. Mr. Clap, rector of Yale College. Such a thought never entered my heart. I have no intention of setting up a party for myself, or to stir up people against their pastors. Had not illness prevented, I had some weeks ago departed from these coasts. But, as it is not a season of the year for me to undertake a very long journey, and as I have reason to think the great God daily blesses my poor labours, I think it my duty to comply with the invitations that are sent to me, and, as I am enabled, to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. This indeed, I delight in. It is my meat and my drink. I esteem it more than my necessary food. This, I think, I may do, as a minister of the King of kings, and a subject of his present majesty King George, upon whose royal head I pray God the crown may long flourish. And, as I have a right to preach, so, I humbly apprehend, the people have a right to hear. If the pulpits should be shut, blessed be God! the fields are open. I can go without the camp, bearing the Redeemer’s sacred reproach. I am used to this, and glory in it. At the same time, I ask public pardon for any rash word I have dropped, or anything I have written or done amiss. This leads me also to ask forgiveness, gentlemen, if I have done you or your society, in my Journal, any wrong. Be pleased to accept unfeigned thanks for all tokens of respect you shewed me when here last. And, if you have injured me in the “Testimony” you have published against me and my conduct (as I think you have), it is already forgiven, without asking, by, gentlemen, your affectionate, humble servant,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

The whole of Whitefield’s letter is in his best style of writing. For him, it is terse and pointed; and, of course, it is respectful and Christian. Certainly it contains one retort, which, though perfectly fair, must have been especially stinging. The faculty of Harvard College published their “Testimony” to prove that Whitefield was “an enthusiast, a censorious, uncharitable person, and a deluder of the people;” and here Whitefield quietly reminds them that, on May 28, 1741, Mr. Holyoke, their president, preached a sermon, which was afterwards published, in which the following paragraph occurs, respecting himself and his friend Gilbert Tennent:――

“Those two pious and valuable men of God, who have been lately laboring more abundantly among us, have been greatly instrumental in the hands of God, in reviving His blessed work; and many, no doubt, have been savingly converted from the error of their ways, many more have been convicted, and all have been in some measure roused from their lethargy.”

Whitefield’s reply to the “Testimony” of Harvard College was complete; but Harvard College, unfortunately, was not silenced. Hence the publication of the following unworthy production:――

3. “A Letter to the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, by way of Reply to his Answer to the College Testimony against him and his Conduct. By Edward Wigglesworth, D.D., Professor of Divinity in said College. To which is added the Reverend President’s Answer to the things charged upon him, by the said Mr. Whitefield, as Inconsistencies. Boston, New England, 1745.” (4to. 68 pp.) The president’s Answer is dated “February 20, 1745,” and Dr. Wigglesworth’s Letter, “April 22, 1745.” The former contains nothing that need be noticed; but the letter, written “in the name, and at the desire of the Reverend President and others of Harvard College,” must not be passed in silence.

Dr. Wigglesworth reiterates the charge of enthusiasm; he censures Whitefield for censuring Tillotson; and is angry because Whitefield had said, Harvard College, “in piety and true godliness,” was not much superior to the English Universities. He accuses Whitefield of uttering and writing “pernicious reflections upon the Ministers of the Churches of New England,” and says, “What you have done, and others who have followed your example, has had an effect more extensive and pernicious than any man could have imagined six years ago. Who could have believed, that, in such a country as this, such a spirit of jealousy and evil-surmising could have been raised, by the influence and example of a young stranger? Perhaps there is not now a single town in this province, and, probably, not in Connecticut, in which there are not numbers of people whose minds are under strong prejudices against their ministers; such prejudices as almost cut off all hope of their profiting by their sacred ministrations.”

Wigglesworth next attacks Whitefield respecting his Orphan House management and accounts; censures him for leaving the children; and tells him that his superintendents, Habersham and Barber, are “gentlemen of no name or character in these parts of New England, nor so much as known by name among multitudes of his contributors.” Itinerant preaching and its results are condemned; and then the divinity professor says: “You have in all parts of England and Wales, as far as your interest reached, formed your followers into bands and associations, after the Moravian manner; and have set over them exhorters, superintendents, and visitors; and are yourself Grand Moderator over all, when in England, and your dear brother Harris in your absence. So we may very reasonably conclude, that, whenever you think the good people of this country enough under your influence to bear it, you will throw off the mask here too, and endeavour to reduce us to the same model.”

Dr. Wigglesworth benignly concludes, by saying, “As you have been permitted to fall into repeated, deliberate, most public, comprehensive, and pernicious violations of the holy laws of God, I cannot persuade myself that any good could come of private conferences, but think you ought to give satisfaction in as public a manner as you have given offence.”

Whitefield lived long enough to requite this offensive imperiousness. Twenty-nine years afterwards, when the library of Harvard College was destroyed by fire, and while Wigglesworth was still divinity professor, Whitefield, forgetful of the past, did his utmost in begging books for the new library; and, four years later still, while Holyoke was yet president, had the noble revenge of being thanked, in the following minute, entered in the college records:――

“At a meeting of the President and Fellows of Harvard College, August 22, 1768, the Rev. G. Whitefield having, in addition to his former kindness to Harvard College, lately presented to the library a new edition of his Journals, and having also procured large benefactions from several benevolent and respectable gentlemen, it was voted that the thanks of this corporation be given to the Rev. Mr. Whitefield, for these instances of candour and generosity.”[117]

Unfortunately the list of controversial pamphlets is not exhausted. To those already noticed, the following must be added:――

4. “A Letter from the Rev. Nathaniel Henchman, Pastor of the First Church in Lynn, to the Rev. Stephen Chase, of Lynn End, giving his reasons for declining to admit the Rev. George Whitefield into his pulpit.” Mr. Henchman’s letter is dated “January 3, 1745.” The reverend writer was too angry to be polite. He speaks of “strolling itinerants, and swarms of mean animals called exhorters.” He resents Whitefield’s “slanderous treatment of our colleges,” and “the insufferable pride and vanity of the man.” “Who,” he asks, “ever equalled him in vain-glorious boasting?” and adds: “In one country, he is a true son of the Church of England; in a second, a staunch Presbyterian; and in a third, a strong Congregationalist.” He suspects Whitefield of coming to America “to make a purse for himself, by begging, with great solemnity, for his poor little ones at the Orphan House in Georgia,――the most ill-projected scheme since darkness was on the face of the deep, to found an Orphan House in an infant and expiring colony, and in the heart of the enemy’s country, though it answered well his mendicant intention.” Henchman also accuses Whitefield of a design “to raze the foundation of our churches, and change the religion of New England.”

5. “The Sentiments and Resolution of an Association of Ministers, convened at Weymouth, January 15, 1745, concerning the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield.” In addition to accusations already mentioned, the “Association” find fault with Whitefield, because, though he had condemned persons who “cried out in the public assemblies,” yet, when preaching in country towns, if such an incident occurred, he would at once raise his voice as if he were trying to vie with the people in screaming; the result of which was, the cries waxed louder and louder, till the whole assembly was thrown into confusion. The Association were “surprised and grieved,” that he, a priest of the Church of England, should administer the Lord’s supper in Congregational churches. They condemned his practice of singing hymns in the public roads, when riding from town to town, and lamented, that, in almost every town where he had preached, there had been more or less alienation between the minister and people. They came to the “resolution,” that, they would not “directly or indirectly encourage Mr. Whitefield to preach, either publicly or privately, in their respective parishes.” This was signed by fifteen ministers.

6. Another pamphlet contained “The Testimony of an Association of Ministers, convened at Marlborough, January 22nd, 1745;” and also the Testimony of another “Association of Ministers in the county of Bristol.” The two Testimonies unitedly were signed by nineteen ministers, who came to the general conclusion, that “the devil himself, with all his cunning, could not take a more direct step to overthrow the churches of New England, hurt religion, and destroy the souls of men, than Whitefield had taken.”

7. “The Declaration of the Faculty of Yale College,” dated “February 25, 1745.” The “Faculty” endorse “The Testimony” of their brethren of Harvard College. They also especially insist upon two things: 1. “That Whitefield and other itinerants had laid a scheme to turn the generality of ministers out of their places, and to introduce a new set, attached to Whitefield; because Whitefield had stated, that, the generality of ministers were unconverted, and that all unconverted ministers were half beasts and half devils, and could no more be the means of any man’s conversion than a dead man could beget living children.” 2. That Whitefield had “publicly told the people in New England, that they might expect, in a little time, a supply of ministers from his Orphan House; and that he had told Edwards, of Northampton, that he intended to bring over a number of young men from England to be ordained by the Tennents.”

8. This publication was followed by “A Letter from the Rev. Mr. Clap, Rector of Yale College, in New-Haven, to the Rev. Mr. Edwards, of Northampton, expostulating with him for his injurious reflections in a late Letter to a Friend, and shewing that Mr. Edwards, in contradicting the Rector, plainly contradicts himself.”

Mr. Clap was a strong-minded man, and, in the higher branches of mathematics, had no equal in America, except Professor Winthorpe. He constructed the first orrery made in that country. The pith of his present pamphlet was a dispute between him and Edwards, as to what Whitefield had said respecting his design “to turn the generality of the ministers of New England out of their pulpits, and to bring ministers from England, Scotland, and Ireland,” to supply their places. Besides displaying considerable bitterness between the two disputants, the publication of Rector Clap exhibited Whitefield in an obnoxious light.

9. “Mr. Pickering’s Letter to Mr. Whitefield, touching his Relation to the Church of England, his Impulses, or Impressions, and the present unhappy state of things.” The letter of the Rev. Theophilus Pickering, minister at Ipswich, is dated “February 12, 1745,” and the writer objects to Whitefield, 1. Because he is a clergyman of the Church of England; 2. Because of his “dreams and impressions;” 3. Because Whitefield’s “travelling services will be more hurtful than beneficial.”

10. “A Letter to the Second Church and Congregation in Scituate; written by their Reverend Pastor, shewing some Reasons why he doth not invite the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield into his Pulpit.” The Letter is signed “N. Eells,” and is dated “April 15, 1745.” Mr. Eells had been the pastor of the Church at Scituate forty years and ten months; and his “Reasons” were――1. Whitefield “did not stand right in the gospel of Christ; for, by his episcopal ordination, he received no authority to itinerate, as he had done for years past; and the authority he had received from the bishop who ordained him, he had forfeited, and was now suspended from the ministry of the Church of England, and from communion at the Lord’s table.” 2. “The manner of his itinerancy was not according to Scripture, but was rather a blemish, reproach, and scandal to the ministry; for he had no authority from Christ, either mediately or immediately; and he spent his time in places where the people did not want him.” 3. “He had made it manifest that he was no real friend to the ministers and churches of this land; for he had represented the pastors of these churches to be men of no grace, without the knowledge of Christ, and so unqualified for the ministry; he had preached in places at the invitation of factious persons, contrary to the mind of their pious and orthodox pastors; he had favoured disorders in the public worship of God, such as screaming, etc.; and he had encouraged separation and separatists from our churches.”

Such are specimens of the publications against Whitefield. We have met with three only in his favour.

1. “An Apology on behalf of the Rev. Mr. Whitefield, offering a fair Solution of certain Difficulties, objected against some parts of his Public Conduct, in point of Moral Honesty and Uniformity with his own Subscriptions and Ordination Vows: as the said exceptions are set forth in a late Pamphlet entitled, ‘A Letter to the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, publicly calling upon him to vindicate his Conduct, or confess his Faith,’ signed L. K. By Thomas Foxcroft, A.M., one of the Pastors of the first Church in Boston. Being several Letters, written for the satisfaction of a Friend, and published by Desire. Boston, 1745.” (4to. 38 pp.)

For twenty-eight years, Mr. Foxcroft had been the minister of the Church just mentioned, and, strangely enough, Dr. Chauncy was his colleague. Mr. Foxcroft’s first letter is dated “December 31, 1744,” and his second and third were written during the fortnight next ensuing. He shews, that, “Bishops of the Church of England have power to grant licenses of wider extent than the narrow district of a single parish, to any ordained minister they think proper, who, in virtue of such license, may travel from place to place as they think fit.” “The sending forth of itinerant preachers was a practice of the Church of England at the beginning of the Reformation; and has been remarkably revived of late years, particularly with relation to foreign parts.” “Mr. Whitefield is not the only episcopal itinerant in America. In the Abstract of the Proceedings of the Society for Propagating the Gospel, for 1743, Mr. Morris is expressly named ‘Itinerant Missionary,’ in Connecticut; Mr. Punderson, ‘Itinerant Missionary,’ in New England; and Mr. Lindsay, ‘Itinerant Missionary,’ in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It is no violation, therefore, of the original commission from the Bishop, to act beyond the limits of a particular cure or charge, or even in the character of an itinerant. And, with regard to special license,” continues Mr. Foxcroft, “I question whether the itinerant missionaries above-mentioned have had this any more than Mr. Whitefield.”

2. “An Inquiry into the Itinerancy and the Conduct of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, an Itinerant Preacher: vindicating the former against the charge of unlawfulness and inexpediency, and the latter against some aspersions, which have been frequently cast upon him. By William Hobby, A.M., Pastor of the first Church in Reading. Boston, 1745.” (8vo. 28 pp.)

Mr. Hobby was a graduate of Harvard College, and was a fluent and fervid preacher. He died in 1765, aged fifty-seven. Passing over that part of his pamphlet which refers to the lawfulness of itinerancy, it may be stated, that he successfully replies to the attacks on Whitefield respecting his Orphan House accounts, his being an enthusiast and ecclesiastical chameleon,[118] and his aspersion of ministers. With regard to the accusation that he was a perjurer, because he had sworn to prosecute his appeal against Commissary Garden’s censure, and had not done so, Mr. Hobby says, “Whitefield exerted himself to the utmost to get a hearing in the court at home (which he now proves by an affidavit, taken before the Lord Mayor of London by himself and his solicitor), but all in vain.”

Mr. Hobby comes to the following conclusion respecting Whitefield: “In most things he is highly commendable; in more justifiable; and in almost all very excusable. I say in almost all, for I am willing to allow Mr. Whitefield has his foibles and imperfections. He is a man of like passions with others. What then――shall I condemn him because he is not perfect? Alas! what shall I then do with myself and others? The sun itself has its spots: shall we therefore try to put out the sun? Vain attempt! Or shall I shut my eyes against its light? Ridiculous and absurd! Neither would I shut my eyes against Mr. Whitefield’s excellences, and only open them to behold his weaknesses.”

3. “Invitations to the Rev. Mr. Whitefield from the Eastern Consociation of the County of Fairfield. With a Letter from the Rev. Mr. Samuel Cooke,[119] of Stratfield, in Connecticut, to a Minister in Boston, concerning the former success of Mr. Whitefield’s Ministry there. Boston, 1745.” (8vo. 8 pp.) There is nothing in this publication that deserves special notice, except that Mr. Cooke, on behalf of himself and nine other ministers, whose names and residences are given, earnestly entreats Whitefield to visit the churches of the “Eastern Consociation;” and forwards to Whitefield a minute passed at a meeting held in 1740, inviting him to visit the same churches, but stipulating that he should not make “personal reflections to wound the characters of others, who have been generally well accepted among Christians for piety;” and that he should “not expect them to make collections for his Orphan House in Georgia.”

Such was the literary storm through which Whitefield had to pass when he visited America in 1744. There is much in the publications, so briefly noticed, which invites remark; but want of space precludes comment. It is certainly amusing that liberty-loving Connecticut should pass and enforce the despotic Act it did. Puritanism was becoming as intolerant as prelacy. As to Whitefield’s aspersions of New England ministers, the accusation was scarcely true. He rarely, if ever, mentioned names; but rather denounced, in general terms, the employment of an unconverted ministry. No doubt, in many instances, the pulpits of America were occupied by sincere, earnest, able, godly men; but it is equally certain, that, in many other instances, the ministers were culpably defective. Even President Holyoke seems to admit this; and Dr. Chauncy becomes its apologist. It is also true, that, during Whitefield’s residence in England, the American revival had been disgraced by many scenes of fanatical confusion, and by a bitterness of spirit indulged by some of its converts; but it is difficult to see how absent Whitefield deserved blame for this. It is absolutely false, that Whitefield had been suspended from the ministry, and excluded from the communion of the Church of England. The taunts, likewise, in reference to his Orphan House accounts, were unmerited, inasmuch as he had printed and published a balance-sheet, which his enemies in New England might have read if they had wished. The power and the practice of bishops to license ordained ministers to become itinerant preachers is a point which must be left to Church lawyers. There is, however, one other subject too important to pass unnoticed. In England and in Wales, he and others associated with him had formed a considerable number of Societies, and had employed an earnest band of itinerant preachers and exhorters, and had instituted quarterly and other associations, or conferences. In short, almost without intending it, he had formed a party, he himself being its “moderator,” the Tabernacle, Moorfields, its head-quarters, and the Christian History its literary magazine.[120] Whitefield, however, refrained from the formation of a sect across the Atlantic. He honestly told the faculty of Harvard College, that he had “no intention of setting up a party for” himself; and he faithfully adhered to this declaration. In America, at least, he was not the founder of a sect. It is true, that, in New England and elsewhere, separate congregations were formed in several places, by illiterate, but pious, preachers; but this was not done by the authority and immediate help of Whitefield. These “Separatists” and “New Lights,” as they were called, might have been converted, or benefited by Whitefield’s preaching; but their organizations were their own. In many instances, their former pastors failed to feed them with the bread of life, and, naturally enough, they sought it somewhere else. Many of these “separate” churches existed long after Whitefield’s death; and some of them warmly welcomed Wesley’s preachers. A member of the Irish conference was induced to become the pastor of one of them, over which he presided for nearly half a century. It is now known as “The Benevolent Congregationalist Church,” and is one of the largest and most wealthy churches in New England.[121]

We must now return to Whitefield’s itinerancy. He was left at Portsmouth, New England, ill and disabled. As soon as possible, he removed to Boston. The following is from Prince’s Christian History, No. xciv.:――

“Saturday, November 24, 1744. The Rev. Mr. Whitefield was so far revived, as to be able to set out from Portsmouth to Boston, whither he came, in a very feeble state, the Monday evening after. Since then, he has been able to preach in several of our largest houses of public worship, particularly the Rev. Dr. Colman’s, Dr. Sewall’s, Mr. Webb’s, and Mr. Gee’s. At Dr. Colman’s request, and the consent of the Church, on the Lord’s-day after his arrival, he administered to them the holy communion. And, last Lord’s-day, he preached for Mr. Cheever, of Chelsea, and administered the holy supper there. The next day, he preached for the Rev. Mr. Emerson, of Maiden. Yesterday, he set out to preach at some towns to the northward. On his return, he proposes to comply with the earnest invitation of several ministers, to go and preach to their congregations in the southern parts of the province. He comes with the same extraordinary spirit of meekness, sweetness, and universal benevolence, as before. In opposition to the spirit of bigotry, he is still for holding communion with all Protestant churches. In opposition to enthusiasm, he preaches a close adherence to the Scriptures, the necessity of trying all impressions by them, and of rejecting whatever is not agreeable to them, as delusions. In opposition to antinomianism, he preaches up all kinds of relative, and religious duties; and, in short, the doctrines of the Church of England, and of the first fathers of this country. As before, he first applies himself to the understandings of his hearers, and then to the affections; and the more he preaches, the more he convinces people of their mistakes about him, and increases their satisfaction.”

To this testimony must now be added extracts from Whitefield’s letters.

“BOSTON, January 18, 1745.

“You see I am now at Boston, whither I was brought from Piscataqua[122] in a coach and four. The joy with which I was received by the common people, cannot be described; but many of the ministers,――how shy! how different from what they once were! When last in Boston, Governor Belcher was in the chair. He honoured me with great honour, and the clergy paid the nod, and obeyed. In many, I then perceived, it was quite forced; and, I think, when at his table, I whispered to some one, and said, ‘If ever I come again, many of those, who now seem extremely civil, will turn out my open enemies.’ The event has proved, that, in this respect, I have been no false prophet. You know where it is written, ‘There arose a king, who knew not Joseph.’ Freed, therefore, from their former restraint, many have appeared in puris naturalibus. Some occasions of offence had undoubtedly been given whilst I was here, and preached up and down the country. Nothing, however, appeared but a pure, divine power, converting, and transforming people’s hearts, of all ranks, without any extraordinary phenomena attending it. Good Mr. Tennent succeeded me; numbers succeeded him. Lectures were set up in various places. One minister called to another, to help to drag the gospel net; and one would have imagined the millennium was coming. At last, wild-fire broke out and spread itself; and, it must be confessed, that, many good souls, both among clergy and laity, for a while, mistook fancy for faith, and imagination for revelation; and were guilty of great imprudences. What these were, I have not time now to particularize; I can only inform you, that all is laid to me as being the primum mobile, though there was not so much as the appearance of anything of this nature when I left New England last. But, maugre all, my poor labours are yet attended with the usual blessings.”

Whitefield seems to have spent about three months in Boston and its neighbourhood, partly in preaching, and partly in writing pamphlets and sermons for the press.

Hence the following:――

“BOSTON, February 6, 1745.

“I remember you once told me, one of the good old Puritans wrote, that he went from Old England to avoid the lord bishops, and came to New England to get under the Lord Brethren. Well is it at present that there are ‘Lord Brethren;’ for, finding some of their pastors, without cause, shy of me, they have passed votes of invitation for me to preach in the pulpits; and some time ago prevailed upon me to set up a lecture at six o’clock in the morning. Not expecting a very great auditory, I opened a lecture in one of the smallest meeting-houses, upon these words, ‘And they came early in the morning to hear him.’ How was I disappointed! Such great numbers flocked to hear, that I was obliged to make use of two of their largest places of worship, where, I believe, seldom less than two or three thousand hearers assembled. I began with the first of Genesis, and have lectured, in order, till I am almost come to the story of Abraham sending his servant to fetch a wife for Isaac. It is impossible to describe the eagerness and punctuality of these early visitants. To see so many hundreds, of both sexes, neatly dressed, walking or riding so early along the streets to get food for their souls, has feasted my own heart. The Pharaohs, who used to say, ‘Ye are idle, ye are idle,’ now are struck dumb; for lecture, and family prayer, and breakfast, are over in many houses before the sun is suffered to come into the windows of others; and it is become almost a common proverb, ‘Between tar-water and early rising, the physicians will have no business.’ One morning, the crowd was so great, that I was obliged to go in at the window. The high-sheriff, who was most forward in persecuting good Mr. Davenport, accompanied me; and when he put his head into the window after me, the people were ready to cry out, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’”

These were remarkable scenes, on cold, dark, wintry mornings, in the city of Boston, where ministers had joined in denouncing Whitefield, and where the “Lord Brethren,” by their voting powers, had defeated the ministers, and had opened to Whitefield their pulpit-doors. Under the circumstances, his success was marvellous. The following extract describes one of his converts:――

“BOSTON, February 17, 1745.

“Good Mr. P――――[123] told me I should be very shortly favoured with the company of a very pensive and uncommon person;――a man of good parts, ready wit, and lively imagination, who, in order to furnish matter for preaching over a bottle, had made it his business to come and hear, and then carry away scraps of my sermons to serve as texts for his tavern harangues. A few nights ago, he came, for this purpose, to Dr. Sewall’s meeting. Upon my coming in, he crowded after me amongst the people, and, having got sufficient matter to work upon, attempted to go out; but, being pent in on every side, his endeavours were fruitless. Obliged thus to stay, waiting for fresh matter for ridicule, he was pricked to the heart. He came to Mr. P――――, full of horror, confessed his crimes, and longed to ask my pardon, but was afraid to see me. Mr. P―――― encouraged him to venture. This morning, hearing some one knock at my parlour door, I arose, and, upon opening the door, by the paleness, pensiveness, and horror of his countenance, guessed who he was. He cried, ‘Sir, can you forgive me?’ I smiled, and said, ‘Yes, sir, very readily.’ He replied, ‘Indeed, sir, you cannot when I tell you all.’ I then asked him to sit down; and, judging that he had sufficiently felt the lashes of the law, I preached to him the gospel.”

The following refers to the paper warfare at that time raging, and which has been already noticed:――

“BOSTON, February 19, 1745.

“Tempora mutantur. A confederacy, a confederacy! The clergy, amongst whom are a few mistaken, misinformed good old men, are publishing halfpenny testimonials against me. Even the president, professors, and tutors, of Harvard College, where, some few years ago, I was received with such uncommon respect, have joined the confederacy. The testimonials have done me real service. I certainly did drop some unguarded expressions in the heat of less experienced youth; and was too precipitate in hearkening to, and publishing private information. Some good friends are publishing testimonials in my favour. Thus you see what a militant state we are in at present. Amidst all, the word runs, and is glorified. Many are so enraged at the treatment I meet with, that they came to me lately, assuring me that, if I will consent, they will erect, in a few weeks’ time, the outside of the largest place of worship in America; but, you know, ceiled houses were never my aim. I, therefore, thanked them for their kind offer; but begged leave to refuse accepting it. How or when the present storm will subside is uncertain. I can only, at present, beg the continuance of your prayers, that, I may be kept in good temper towards those, who, I believe, really think they do God’s service by opposing me.”

Whitefield was busy writing for the press; and, as soon as he had finished three of his pamphlets, he seems to have returned to Piscataqua. Why he deferred going to his Orphan House, it is impossible to determine; but he was happy, and hard at work. Hence the following:――

“PISCATAQUA, March 6, 1745.

“I have sent a letter to Dr. C――――, with my Answer to Harvard College, and my Answer to the Second Part of the Observations, and also my Remarks upon the Charge of the Bishop of Lichfield. May Jesus give them His blessing! I would have them printed so as to be sold cheap. You may collect, or print them severally, as you will. I cannot yet get time to prepare my sermons, or the other part of my life, for the press. I am writing another New England journal, which I will send, when I leave the country. When that will be, I know not.

“America, I am afraid, begins to be too dear to me. The Lord smiles upon me and mine, and makes us very happy in Himself, and happy in one another. Here is a very large field of action. My bodily strength is recovered; and my soul is more than ever in love with a crucified Jesus.”

On the same day, Whitefield wrote to John Cennick, as follows:――

“Our Saviour wonderfully smiles on us here. The Lord helps me to preach with the demonstration of the Spirit and with power. My wife and I go on like two happy pilgrims, leaning upon our Beloved. O help us to adore and praise free grace! We salute all the conference and trustees, and every particular choir, and the Societies in every place.”

For a season, Cennick succeeded Whitefield in the Tabernacle, Moorfields; and he and others introduced into some of the Societies “choirs,” or classes for singing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” after the manner of the Moravians. Indeed, Cennick already was more of a Moravian than a Whitefieldian; and, in December 1745, openly avowed his predilection. Thomas Adams, his colleague at the Tabernacle, as openly opposed the sentiments which Cennick had advanced. The result was, Cennick seceded, and joined the Unitas Fratrum. A large number of the people, both in London and the provinces, followed his example; and even those who remained behind wept at his departure, for he was greatly beloved by all. Cennick’s secession was a severe shock to the Connexion; but Whitefield and Cennick retained their friendship for each other, and kept up an affectionate correspondence until Cennick’s death, in 1755.[124][125]

Whitefield had been nearly five months in America, but had not visited his Orphanage in Georgia. He had arranged, however, for Mr. Habersham, the orphans’ chaplain, to visit him. Hence the following to a friend, in London:――

“PISCATAQUA (sixty miles from Boston),

“March 12, 1745.

“This comes by a young gentleman, who expects to return to South Carolina in August next. By him, I send you one of each of the pamphlets I have published here. I would have them sent to Scotland as soon as may be. America is pleasanter and pleasanter every day. The door for preaching opens wider and wider. I am preparing my sermons for the press,[126] and am also writing another journal. You shall have them the first opportunity. I wrote to you last week, and sent about fifty letters, by Captain Darling. I expect Mr. Habersham hourly.”

The editor of the Christian History adds: “Mr. Habersham arrived soon after the writing of the above letter; and wrote, from the same place, on March 18, and stated, that Mr. Whitefield had been as far eastward as was settled by the English (which is about a hundred and fifty miles), and had preached with much success. Mr. Whitefield was to go with him to Boston the next day, to consult friends there about the affairs of the Orphan House in Georgia, which was what Mr. Habersham came there about.”

Soon after this, Whitefield was in a new position. Up to the present, Cape Breton had been in the possession of the French. Besides being the key to Canada, the island was of great importance in a mercantile point of view. The soil was poor, but, in 1743, fish was exported to the amount of a million sterling. In return for this, the people received sugar and coffee, rum and molasses; part of which they used themselves, and the remainder of which they conveyed to Canada and New England, where they obtained, in exchange, fruits, vegetables, bricks, wood, and cattle. Cape Breton, also, was a formidable seminary of seamen, the French employing, in their enormous fishery, twenty thousand men, and at least a thousand sail of from two to four hundred tons each. English ships were terribly exposed to privateers and men of war issuing from the island. Possession of the place would not only cut off all communication between France and Quebec, but the harbour would likewise be a safer retreat for British vessels, than any other harbour in North America. In 1745, a plan for the invasion of Cape Breton was laid at Boston, and New England bore the expense of it. Colonel Pepperell, who has been already introduced to the reader’s notice, was entrusted with the command of an army of six thousand men, levied for the expedition; and these forces, convoyed by a squadron from Jamaica, brought the first news to Cape Breton of the danger that threatened it. The invaders had to encounter but six hundred regular troops, and eight hundred inhabitants armed in haste. Still, the success of the undertaking would have been precarious, if the soldiers on the island had fought with their accustomed spirit. It so happened, however, that, for the last six months, they had in fact, been in open rebellion. The construction and repairs of the fortifications of Louisbourg, sometimes called “the Gibraltar of America,” had always been left to the care of the garrison; but the troops had been so defrauded of the profit of their labours, that they had determined to assert their rights; and their indignation had risen to such a pitch, that they now despised all authority. The soldiers, indeed, made advances against the invaders; but, after a siege of seven weeks, the Governor of Cape Breton was obliged, on the 16th of June, to sign a capitulation, whereby the island, and its harbour of Louisbourg, became the possession of his Britannic Majesty. On the news reaching London, the conquest was celebrated by the firing of cannons, the illumination of the public offices, the ringing of bells, the lighting of bonfires, and all the other usual demonstrations of national thankfulness and joy.[127]

These remarks will help to explain the following letter:――

“BOSTON, July 29, 1745.

“You will be surprised that a messenger of the Prince of peace should beat up to arms. No doubt, you have judged me, as well you may; but Providence seemed to force me into it.

“The Cape Breton expedition was begun and finished before it could be scarcely known to you at home. Worthy Colonel Pepperell was fixed upon to command. The day before he accepted the commission, he purposed to dine with me, to ask my advice. I told him, I hoped, if he did undertake it, he would beg of the Lord God of armies to give him a single eye; that the means proposed to take Louisbourg, in the eye of human reason, were no more adequate to the end, than the sounding of rams’ horns to blow down Jericho; but that, if Providence really called him, he would return more than conqueror. He thanked me; and, his lady having given her free consent, he commenced general.

“The sound now was, ‘To arms! to arms!’ New recruits were eagerly sought after, and my worthy friend Mr. Sherburne was appointed one of the commissaries. Being at his house one evening, he told me that he was preparing the flag, and that I must give him a motto, and that the people must know I had given it. I absolutely refused, urging that it would be out of character. He replied, he believed the expedition was of God, and that if I did not encourage it, many of the serious people would not enlist. I still refused. He desired me to consider, and to sleep upon it, and to give him my answer in the morning. I retired, I prayed, I slept; and, upon his renewing his request in the morning, I told him he might take this motto, ‘Nil desperandum Christo duce.’

“Upon this, great numbers enlisted; and, before their embarkation, their officers desired me to preach them a sermon. I preached from these words: ‘As many as were distressed, as many as were discontented, as many as were in debt, came to David, and he became a captain over them.’ Officers, soldiers, and others attended. I spiritualized the subject, and told them how distressed sinners came to Jesus Christ, the Son of David; and, in my application, exhorted the soldiers to behave like the soldiers of David, and the officers to act like David’s worthies; then, I made no manner of doubt but we should receive good news from Cape Breton. After this, I preached to the general himself, who asked me if I would not be one of his chaplains. I told him, I should think it an honour; but believed, as I generally preached three times a day, in various places, to large congregations, I could do my king, my country, and my God more service, by stirring up the people to pray, and, thereby, strengthening his and his soldiers’ hands.

“Through Divine grace, I was enabled to persist in this practice for some weeks; but, at last, news arrived that the case was desperate. Letter upon letter came from the officers to those who planned the expedition, and did not know the strength of the fortress. I smiled, and told my friends, that I believed now we should have Louisbourg; for all having confessed their helplessness, God would now reveal His arm, and make our extremity His opportunity. I was not disappointed of my hope; for one day, having taken a weeping leave of dear Boston, and being about to preach a few miles out of town, news was brought that Louisbourg was taken. Numbers flocked with great joy from all quarters, and I immediately preached to them a thanksgiving sermon from these words, ‘By this I know that Thou favourest me, since Thou hast not permitted mine enemies to triumph over me.’

“Here ends, dear madam, my beating to arms. It is left to you to judge as you please of yours, etc.,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

To say the least, this is a curious episode in English history,――Whitefield, the despised Methodist preacher, associated with one of England’s conquests,――a conquest so important, that King George II. raised Colonel Pepperell to the dignity of a baronet of Great Britain; and London and other places went mad with joy.[128]

It is impossible, through want of materials, to trace the course of Whitefield during the next twelve months. Dr. Gillies says, “As his bodily strength increased, he began to move farther southward; and, after preaching eastward as far as Casco Bay and North Yarmouth, he went through Connecticut, Plymouth, and Rhode Island, preaching to thousands, generally twice a day.” Whitefield himself writes:――

“Though there was much smoke, yet every day I had convincing proof that a blessed gospel fire had been kindled in the hearts both of ministers and people. At New York, I found that the seed sown had sprung up abundantly; and also at the east end of Long Island. In my way to Philadelphia, I had the pleasure of preaching, by an interpreter, to some converted Indians, and of seeing near fifty young ones in a school near Freehold, learning the Assembly’s catechism. A blessed awakening had been begun among the Delaware Indians, by the instrumentality of Mr. David Brainerd.[129] Mr. William Tennent seemed to encourage his endeavours with all his heart. I found Mr. Gilbert Tennent, in Philadelphia, settled in the place” (building) “erected at the beginning of the awakening. The gentlemen offered me £800 per annum, only to preach among them six months in the year, leaving me at liberty to travel the other six months where I would.”

The offer here mentioned was made in the month of September, 1745.[130] Where and how he spent the remainder of the year cannot be ascertained.

On the 1st of January, 1746, he was at Bethesda, in Georgia, where he remained during the next three months.[131] It is a strange fact, that the most adverse rumours had been circulated respecting the Orphan House, and that, in New England, affidavits had been made that the institution did not exist.[132] To silence such calumnies, Whitefield and Habersham appeared before Henry Parker and William Spencer, bailiffs of Savannah, to whom they submitted the Orphan House ledger, and swore that the book contained “a just and true account of all the moneys collected by or given to them, or any other, for the use and benefit of the said House; and that the disbursements had been faithfully applied to and for the use of the same.” Whitefield further swore that “he had not converted or applied any part thereof to his own private use and property, neither had he charged the said House with any of his travelling, or any other private expenses whatever.”

Besides this, William Woodroofe, William Ewen, and William Russel, of Savannah, appeared before the same bailiffs, and swore that they had “carefully and strictly examined all and singular the accounts relating to the Orphan House, contained in forty-one pages, in a book entitled ‘Receipts and Disbursements for the Orphan House in Georgia;’ and had also carefully and strictly examined the original bills, receipts, and other vouchers, from the 15th of December, 1738, to the 1st of January, 1746;” and found “that the moneys received on account of the said Orphan House amounted to the sum of £4,982 12s. 8d. sterling, and that it did not appear that the Reverend Mr. Whitefield had converted any part thereof to his own private use and property, or charged the said House with any of his travelling or other private expenses; but, on the contrary, had contributed to the said House many valuable benefactions.” The three auditors further swore, “that the moneys disbursed on account of the said House amounted to the sum of £5,511 17s. 9¼d. sterling, all of which appeared to have been faithfully and justly applied to and for the use and benefit of the said House only.”

To the two affidavits, the substance of which is here given, the bailiffs appended the following:――

“Sworn this 16th day of April, 1746, before us bailiffs of Savannah; in justification whereof we have hereunto fixed our hands, and the common seal.

“HENRY PARKER. “WILLIAM SPENCER.”

Whitefield acted wisely in thus submitting his accounts to official auditors. It was the only way to silence the falsehoods of his enemies. His friends, also, were entitled to such an audit, and to such a magisterial declaration.

After all his efforts, Whitefield was still in debt to the amount of £529 5s. 1¼d.; and he now, with a confessedly honest front, appealed to his friends, in America and England, to defray the debt, and told them that any one wishing to contribute might send their gifts “to Mr. Branson, iron merchant, in Philadelphia; the Rev. Mr. Smith, in Charleston; Mr. John Smith, merchant, in Boston; the Rev. Mr. Shutlift, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; the Rev. Mr. Pemberton, in New York; Mr. James Habersham,[133] merchant, in Savannah; Gabriel Harris, Esq., in Gloucester; Mr. James Smith, at St. Philip’s Plain, in Bristol; Mr. John Kennedy, at Exon; Mr. Jonathan Houlliere, in Queen Street, Upper Moorfields; and Mr. William Strahan, printer, in Wine Office Court, Fleet Street.”

After all this, no one could reasonably dispute the existence of the Orphan House, or Whitefield’s honesty; but it might be asked, had the £5,511 17s. 9¼d. been well expended? An answer to this question will be found in the following testimony, given by one of Whitefield’s enemies,――a gentleman who had made a tour through most of America, and, in his travels, visited the Orphan House, in 1743. After describing a magnificent vista, of nearly three miles’ length, cut through the pine groves between Wormsloe and Bethesda, the gentleman observes:――

“It gave me much satisfaction to have an opportunity to see Mr. Whitefield’s Orphan House, as the design had made such a noise in Europe, and the very being of it was so much doubted everywhere, that, even no farther from it than New England, affidavits were made to the contrary.

“It is a square building of very large dimensions, the foundations of which are brick, with chimneys of the same; the rest of the superstructure is of wood. The whole is laid out in a neat and elegant manner. A kind of piazza surrounds it, which is a very pleasing retreat in the summer. The hall and all the apartments are very commodious, and prettily furnished. The garden, which is very extensive, and well kept, is one of the best I ever saw in America; and you may discover in it plants and fruits of almost every climate and kind. The outhouses are convenient; and the plantation will soon surpass almost anything in the country.

“We were received by Mr. Barber, a Dissenting minister, in a genteel and friendly manner. They were at dinner when we arrived, the whole family at one table; and never was there a more orderly, pretty sight. If I recollect aright, besides Mr. Barber, the schoolmaster, and some women, there were near forty young persons of both sexes, dressed very neatly and decently. After dinner, they retired, the boys to school, the girls to their spinning and knitting. I was told, their vacant hours were employed in the garden, and in plantation work.

“Prepossessed with a bad opinion of the institution, I made all the enquiries I could, and, in short, became a convert to the design, which seems very conducive to the good of the infant colony. Whatever opinion I may have of the absurdity of some of their religious notions, tenets, and practices, yet, so far as they conduce to inculcate sobriety, industry, and frugality, they deserve encouragement from all well-wishers of the country, I could not here perceive anything of that spirit of uncharitableness and enthusiastic bigotry, for which their leader is so famed, and of which I heard shocking instances all over America.”

The writer then proceeds to speak of the road which Whitefield made from the Orphan House to Savannah,――a “road cut through the woods, and which had a hundred curiosities to delight the attentive traveller.” He describes Savannah; speaks of the air as “pure and serene;” and concludes by deploring the ingratitude, ignorance, opposition to government, and the “cursed spirit of dissension amongst” the people, which had nearly ruined the colony.[134]

So much from an unfriendly visitor. What says the founder? In the “Further Account of God’s Dealings” with him, published in 1747, there is a long letter, written only five days after the date of the affidavits just mentioned. The following is an extract from it:――

“BETHESDA, IN GEORGIA, March 21st, 1746.

“MY VERY DEAR FRIEND,――It is now some months since I arrived here. Blessed be God! Bethesda has proved to be a house of mercy to many. Several of our labourers, as well as visitors, have been born of God here, and have given proofs of it, by bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit. Many boys have been put out to trades; and many girls put out to service. One boy, whom I brought from New England, is handsomely settled in Carolina; and another, from Philadelphia, is married, and lives very comfortably at Savannah. How so large a family has been supported, in such a colony, without any visible fund, is wonderful. I am surprised, when I look back, and see how, for these six years last past, God has spread a table in the wilderness for so many persons.

“I cannot yet say, that I have surmounted the first year’s expense, which indeed was very great; but, by the blessing of God, I doubt not, in a short time, to pay off my arrears; and then the family will be maintained at a small expense.

“My standing annual charges are now but trifling to what they have been; and my friends have raised an annual subscription sufficient for discharging them, till the family may be able to provide for itself. This, I hope, will be, in a good measure, speedily effected. We have lately begun to use the plough; and next year I hope to have many acres of good oats and barley. We have near twenty sheep and lambs, fifty head of cattle, and seven horses. We hope to kill a thousandweight of pork this season. Our garden, which is very beautiful, furnishes us with all sorts of greens. We have plenty of milk, eggs, and poultry; and make a good deal of butter weekly. A good quantity of wool and cotton has been given me, and we hope to have sufficient spun and woven for the next winter’s clothing. If the vines hit, we may expect two or three hogsheads of wine out of the vineyard.

“The family now consists of twenty-six persons. Two of the orphan boys are blind; one is little better than an idiot. But, notwithstanding, they are useful in the family; the one in the field, and the other in the kitchen. I have two women to take care of the household work, and three men and two boys employed about the plantation and cattle. A set of Dutch servants has lately been sent to Georgia; the magistrates were pleased to give me two of them. I took in a poor old widow, aged nearly seventy, whom nobody else cared to have. A valuable young man, from New England, is my schoolmaster; and, in my absence, performs duty in the family. On Sabbaths, the grown people attend on public worship at Savannah, or at Whitebluff, a village near Bethesda, where a Dutch minister officiates. My dear friends, who have hitherto been my assistants, being married and having each one or two children, thought it best to remove, and are now comfortably settled――some at Savannah, and some elsewhere.

“Many have applied to me to erect a public school, and to take their children as boarders; but I have not yet determined. If there should be peace, it is certain that such a school would be exceedingly useful, not only for these northern parts of the colony, but also for the more southern parts of Carolina, and for Parisburgh and Frederica, where are many fine youths. I have been prevailed on to take one from Frederica, and another from Purisburg, and it may be shall admit more. For the present, considering the situation of affairs,[135] I think it most prudent to go on in making what improvements I can on the plantation, and to bring a tutor with me, from the north, in the fall, to teach a few youths the languages, and enlarge the family when affairs are more settled. The house is a noble, commodious building, and everything is sweetly adapted for bringing up youth. Here is land to employ them and exercise their bodies, and keep them from idleness out of school hours. Here are none of the temptations, to debauch their tender minds, which are common to more populous countries, or in places where children must necessarily be brought up with negroes.

“What God intends to do with the colony is not for me to enquire; but it has hitherto been wonderfully preserved; and the Orphan House, like the burning bush, has flourished unconsumed. No doubt the government has its welfare much at heart; and I intend to carry on my design till I see the colony sink or swim. The money that has been expended on the Orphan House, and Orphan House family, has been of vast service to this part of the country.

“I have had a very comfortable winter. The people of Savannah, having no minister till lately, gladly accepted my labours; and, at Frederica, the gentlemen and soldiers of General Oglethorpe’s regiment, as well as the inhabitants of the town, received me very gladly. Major Horton[136] seems to behave well. He has a fine growing plantation. I saw barley in the ear on the 1st of March. Georgia is very healthy. Only a little child has died out of our family since it removed to Bethesda. If the inhabitants were sufficiently numerous, I think the colony is capable of as much improvement as any on the continent.”

Such then were the bold and benevolent schemes of the indigent young clergyman, who, for the last eight years, had been abused and lampooned by thousands of professing Christians, of all descriptions. While they reviled, Whitefield worked.

In England, Howell Harris faithfully did his utmost, as Whitefield’s locum tenens. He writes:――

“LONDON, February 18, 1746.

“Since I came here, the Lord has been very kind to us. He is returning apace to the despised Tabernacle. All disputing has quite ceased, and we go on harmoniously together. We are now settling the Society in classes; and re-settling all the scattered bands. I have been through every class. Many propose to join the bands and Society. We have had a letter from Mrs. Whitefield, giving an account of the progress of the gospel in America. The Indians and negroes are baptized, twelve or fourteen in a day; and many of them are filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit.”[137]

Harris was full of hope; but his hope was not realized. Whitefield’s presence among the Calvinistic Methodists was sorely needed. Cennick’s secession had been a peril and a disaster. Both people and preachers suffered loss. James Hutton, with more sourness than sanctity, observed: “Of all the crowds of the Tabernacle people that offered to come amongst us” (the Moravians), “we have found scarce two or three that are good for anything.”[138]

When Cennick seceded in 1745, the Association at the Tabernacle “gave up” to him and the Moravians the Societies in Wiltshire; but some of the Societies objected to this arrangement, and, since then, had requested Whitefield’s preachers to revisit them. At the Association held in Bristol, March 7, 1746, the matter was discussed; and Howell Harris wrote a letter “to the Brethren at Fetter Lane,” endeavouring to promote a common understanding with respect to the fields of labour to be occupied by the two Societies, and with respect to transferring members from one Society to the other. James Hutton’s answer to the Association, written on behalf of “the Brethren in Fetter Lane,” was as arrogant and scolding as Harris’s letter was meek and loving. The imperious printer and publisher wrote:――

“We cannot at all consent to any one going into Wiltshire that belongs to your Association. Your business would chiefly be to confound poor souls, by preaching strange doctrine, and spreading scandalous lies. Should any of you go thither, after receiving this, you will act contrary to all honesty. It is for the sake of Mr. Howell Harris that we answer you at all. For him we have regard; but with the rest of you we cannot have any kind of fellowship at all. You are vainly puffed up,――the enemies of Christ, and of His blood and atonement, which some of you blaspheme. To say that we believed you to be fellow-labourers in the vineyard of Christ, would be dissimulation in us. We look upon you as the destroyers of that vineyard; and we are much grieved to see Mr. Whitefield’s labours and blessings so spoiled and ruined by such evil-labourers. We are, however, sincerely, your well-wishers,

“THE BRETHREN IN FETTER LANE.”[139]

Was there any reason for the use of this strong and offensive language? It is to be feared there was. Howell Harris, in his autobiography, written in 1749, remarks:――

“About the year 1746, I saw a spirit creeping into the work different from that which had been before; namely, the spirit of levity, pride, foolish jesting, unwatchfulness, and carnal rejoicing. This took place immediately after extensive frames and transports, which many seemed to enjoy at the hearing of the word, and singing, etc.; but the real and serious spirit that began the work was at length almost extinguished. The spirit of awakening sinners in the ministry was also, in a great measure, lost; together with its real and solid fruits in the hearts of men. I beheld a tendency in the ministry to please men, and to appear wise and popular in the world; and the spirits of many of my nearest friends grew great and proud, and would not take the word of reproof or exhortation.”[140]

The work, however, was still prosecuted. At an Association, held in London, June 18, 1746, it was determined to retain the “room” at Lambeth; and an offer of “the playhouse, in the Haymarket, Westminster,” was prayerfully considered. It was also resolved that, “henceforth, the tickets should be delivered to every band and class by their visitors; who, after consulting the minister, should take care of the money” collected. The preachers, likewise, were stationed; some to Deptford and Lambeth; some to Essex, Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire; one to Portsmouth, and another to Bristol; and others to Chinnor, Tewkesbury, Hereford, Ludlow, Shrewsbury, and Wales.

At another Association, held in Bristol, January 22, 1747, Wesley and four of his assistants were present. It was enquired: “1. How we may remove any hindrances of brotherly love which have occurred? 2. How we may prevent any arising hereafter?” It was agreed that Wesley’s and Whitefield’s preachers should “endeavour to strengthen each other’s hands, and prevent separations in the several Societies.” Harris, also, was requested to go to Plymouth and the west, “to heal the breach there made, and to insist on a spirit of love and its fruits among the people.”

On July 1, 1747, at the Association, held in London, the Rev. Mr. Bateman, rector of St. Bartholomew, was present. Preaching arrangements were made for London, Portsmouth, Olney, Chatham, Bristol, Birmingham, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Staffordshire, Salop, Essex, and Wales. It was also determined that Syms, Whitefield’s agent, at Hoxton, should give up “his office of keeping the books and accounts into the hands of Harris.”[141]

In public labours, Harris was indefatigable, and generally joyous. On October 13, 1746, he writes:――

“Since I came home, I have discoursed in three counties; and the spirit of praise and thanksgiving has been so poured down upon us, in several places, that we could not cease praising, rejoicing, and crying, ‘Hallelujah!’”[142]

Again, on October 16, 1747:――

“Things in Wales have a lovely aspect. Fresh doors are opening; many are awakened and added to us; and a spirit of love, discipline, and subordination runs through the whole. We have settled Friday, November 6, as a day of prayer and humiliation, for our own, the churches’, and the nation’s sins; and if the Society in London joins us, we shall be glad. In two days, I begin a round through North Wales, where, if my work be done, I expect to be sent home, or, at least, imprisoned. For ten days, my life will be in continual danger.”[143]

Again, February 4, 1748:――

“This day, our Welsh Association broke up. Scores have been added since our last Association. Fresh doors have been opened, and several new Societies settled. At Builth, last Sunday, the new house we have built there was crowded, and a great number stood without. I am now going on my rounds to Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Glamorganshire, and Monmouthshire; and have to-night begun collecting for the Orphan House; but, as we have built a house in Builth, and are building two houses in Carmarthenshire, and as last year we raised £40 towards the law suit, I cannot expect such encouragement as I should otherwise have had.”

Whitefield’s other assistants were labouring with equal bravery and success. Thomas Adams tells of preaching in a barn at Gosport; and of a soldier gathering a society at a place seven miles from Portsmouth.[144] Another preacher writes: “We cannot get a peaceable meeting at Gosport. The rude men of the King’s Dock, Portsmouth, come into the barn, and make great disturbances, sometimes pelting us with eggs, and, at other times, with dirt and stones.”[145]

James Relly writes: “June, 1747. I examine the whole Society in Bristol once a week, the brethren on Sunday evening, and the sisters on Wednesday evening; and our Saviour has blessed it to the quickening of many. There seems also to be a good prospect at Bath.”[146] Again, “December 21, 1747. I formed twenty or more into a Society at Birmingham; and, on examining them, was quite satisfied of the spirit of grace working in all their hearts. Yesterday, many assembled to hear the word at Tewkesbury, but we were assaulted by such a furious mob, that all was turned into confusion. They flapped the tables, stamped on the floor, pushed the people, swore, cursed, laughed, pricked with pins, threw handfuls of snuff, and brickbats, and dirt. I discoursed about an hour; but the noise still increasing, I left off.”[147]

Herbert Jenkins relates, “August 9, 1747,” that he had been, “almost a month at Edinburgh, continually exercised in preaching, and visiting Societies with vast pleasure and delight.”[148]

John Edwards says: “July 21, 1747. Yesterday, I met the young children at Shrewsbury; and discoursed, sung, and prayed with them about two hours. The Saviour of little children was there: the Lamb smiling upon His lambs.”[149]

These extracts might easily be multiplied; but one more must suffice. It refers to a disgraceful scene at the Tabernacle in Plymouth, on Sunday, November 29, 1747.

“At five o’clock in the evening, when we were met together to worship the Lord God of our fathers, being in number about a thousand, after I had sung and prayed, and gone over the first head of my discourse, a strong party of sailors, belonging to the Windsor man of war, came in amongst us. They entered, and continued, with their hats on. Four of them came up and stood just under the pulpit, and betrayed, by their looks and sneers, that they had a mind to put me out of countenance; but I went on preaching the word of truth with boldness. In about fifteen minutes, those near the door began to stamp, and to swear most bitterly. Some of our friends very mildly entreated them, either to be still, or else to go out peaceably; but, so far from taking their advice, they laid the weight of their heavy bludgeons, with unspeakable fury, upon the poor people’s heads. The cries and groans of the poor women and children were fearful. There was but one door, and that was guarded by a company of resolute persons, who swore that the first who attempted to escape should have his brains blown out by a pistol. The sailors then beat down the candlesticks, and blew out the candles, to darken the place; but one of our friends had presence of mind to push up one of the chandeliers, suspended by a pully, so that we had a little light preserved. The fury of our foes increased. Many of the people were knocked down, and had their heads broken. The windows were dashed to pieces; and the benches taken up as weapons of warfare. I entreated our friends to march from every corner of the place, and arrest some of the rioters. This was done, and three of them being secured, the rest fled as fast as they could. We concluded the Sabbath with prayers and thanksgivings.”[150]

In these jottings, the reader has glimpses of the sunshine and shadows of the Calvinistic Methodists in England and Wales, during Whitefield’s absence in America. It is now time to turn again to their youthful moderator across the Atlantic.

For five months, from March to August in 1746, hardly anything is known of Whitefield’s wanderings. He seems, however, to have visited New York, and to have found favour among the people. The following is an extract from the New York Post-Boy, of April, 1746:――

“Mr. Whitefield’s excellent parts, fine elocution, and masterly address; his admirable talent of opening the Scriptures, and enforcing the most weighty subjects upon the conscience; his polite and serious behaviour; his unaffected and superior piety; his prudence, humility, and catholic spirit, are things which must silence and disarm prejudice itself. By these qualifications of the orator, the divine, and the Christian, he has not only fixed himself deeper in the affections of his former friends, but greatly increased the number wherever he has preached; and has made his way into the hearts of several, who, till this visit, had said all the severe things against him that enmity itself seemed capable of.”[151]

Soon after this, on his way to Philadelphia, Whitefield wrote to Howell Harris, as follows:――

“May 2, 1746.

“MY VERY DEAR, DEAR BROTHER HARRIS,――I am glad to hear the Welsh Brethren continue steady; and that, amongst our English friends, Antinomianism seems only to be speculative. This is a great evil, but not so great as when it affects the practice, and leads the people of God unwarily into licentiousness. The late outward troubles, I hope, will do good, and put a stop to the many disputes, and various sects, which always spring up when the Lord suffers false principles to abound. I expect to hear that Jesus has made thee immoveable like a wall of brass, as bold as a lion, but as meek as a lamb. Blessed be His name! He continues to be very kind to us. The Orphan House is in a promising way. My temporal affairs begin to be settled; and I am blessed to many souls. Jesus causes many of my professed and embittered enemies to be at peace with me. I know you will help me to praise Him, and beg Him to continue to stand by a poor unworthy creature, who simply desires to spend and be spent for the good of precious and immortal souls. You will remember me to your dear wife, and all our Welsh brethren, in the most endearing manner. We frequently pray for them, and do not despair of seeing them once more. My dear wife loves them exceedingly, and often warms her heart by reflecting on past times.

“Ever, ever thine in Jesus,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[152]

After this, nothing more is known of Whitefield until the month of August next ensuing. On the 16th of April, at the battle of Culloden, the Jacobites were utterly defeated, and the cause of the Pretender entirely ruined. When the news reached Pennsylvania, Whitefield’s loyalty gushed forth in a sermon, which was immediately printed, with the title, “Britain’s Mercies, and Britain’s Duty. Represented in a Sermon preached at Philadelphia, on Sunday, August 24, 1746; and occasioned by the Suppression of the late unnatural Rebellion. By George Whitefield, A.B., late of Pembroke College, Oxon. Printed at Philadelphia, 1746.”[153] The sermon was almost altogether political, and need not be further noticed. It was a sufficient answer, however, to those who doubted Whitefield’s loyalty.

Two days after preaching his thanksgiving sermon, Whitefield wrote to his mother, as follows:――

“God is exceeding good to me and mine. We have all things pertaining to life and godliness. Many offers are made me; but the Lord Jesus keeps me from catching at the golden bait. Favour is given to me in the sight of the rich and great, and the door for my usefulness opens wider and wider. I love to range in the American woods, and sometimes think I shall never return to England. I was never better in health. My dear wife would send you a few lines, but she is weak by reason of a miscarriage four days ago.”

Immediately after this, Whitefield went to Maryland, where he spent, at least, a month in preaching to large congregations, in seven different counties. Excepting its slavery, Maryland had great attractions. Its soil was rich, and its hospitality unique. The young traveller, who visited Whitefield’s Orphan House in 1743, writes concerning the province:――

“Mush,[154] milk, and molasses, homine,[155] wild fowl, and fish, are the principal diet of the meaner inhabitants, whilst the water presented to you, by one of the barefooted family, in a copious calabash,[156] with an innocent strain of good breeding and heartiness,――the cake baking upon the hearth, and the cleanliness of everything around you,――put you in mind of the golden age, the times of ancient frugality and purity. All over the colony, there are full tables and open doors; and the kind salute, and generous detention remind one of the roast-beef ages of our forefathers. Their breakfast-tables have generally the cold remains of the former day, hashed or fricasseed, together with coffee, tea, chocolate, venison, pastry, punch, rum, and cider. The dinner consists of good beef, veal, mutton, venison, turkeys and geese, wild and tame, fowls boiled and roasted, pies, and puddings. Suppers are the same as dinners, with small additions, and a good hearty cup to precede a bed of down. This is the constant life the planters lead, and to this fare every comer is welcome.”

More than one half of the population of Maryland were slaves, and to these oppressed and cruelly treated fellow-creatures the planters owed their riches and their luxuries. Details of Whitefield’s labours in the colony do not exist. He simply states: “Everywhere almost, the door is opened for preaching; great numbers flock to hear; and the power of an ascended Saviour attends the word. I have preached with abundant success.”[157]

And, again, in a letter to Wesley, dated, “Queen Ann’s County, Maryland, October 14, 1746,” full of buoyancy, he writes:――

“If you ask, how it is with me? I answer, ‘Happy in Jesus, the Lord my righteousness.’ If you ask, what I am doing? I answer, ‘Ranging and hunting in the American woods after poor sinners.’ If you ask, with what success? I would answer, ‘My labours were never more acceptable; and the door, for fifteen hundred miles together, is quite open for preaching the everlasting gospel.’ Congregations are large, and the work is going on, just as it began and went on in England.

“Notwithstanding the declining state of Georgia, the Orphan House is in a better situation than ever; and, in a year or two, I trust, it will support itself. I am going there to spend some part of the winter, and to begin a foundation for literature.”[158]

Soon after this, Whitefield sent off his wife and a young lady through “the woods,” to Georgia; and, on November 8, he himself started for Virginia.

The first settlers in Virginia were almost all members of the Church of England. Episcopacy was established by law.[159] A small number of Presbyterians from Scotland, and a smaller number of Dissenters from England, were scattered through the colony; but until about the time of Whitefield’s first visit, in 1740, there was no ecclesiastical organization different from the Established Church of the mother-country. The state of religion in the province was deplorable. The Rev. Samuel Davies,[160] so justly famed for his sermons and pulpit oratory, wrote, in 1751:――

“Religion, in most parts of the colony of Virginia, has been, and still is, in a very low state: a surprising negligence in attending public worship, and an equally surprising unconcernedness in those that attend; vices of various kinds triumphant, and even a form of godliness not common.”

Such a state of things was the natural result of an unfaithful ministry. Shortly before the year 1740, Samuel Morris began to read, to his neighbours, Luther on the Galatians, and several pieces of honest Bunyan, but the effects produced were not great. In 1743, a young Scotchman brought to Virginia a volume of Whitefield’s sermons, which Morris read to his cottage congregations on week-days, as well as Sundays. He writes:――

“The concern of some of the people now was so passionate and violent, that they could not avoid crying out and weeping bitterly. My dwelling-house became too small to contain the congregation, and we determined to build a meeting-house, merely for reading; for having never been used to extempore prayer, none of us durst attempt it. When the report was spread abroad, I was invited to read the sermons at several distant places; and, by this means, the concern was propagated. About this time, our absenting ourselves from the Established Church, contrary to the laws of the province, was taken notice of, and the court called upon us to assign our reasons, and to declare to what denomination we belonged. As we knew but little of any denomination of Dissenters, except Quakers, we were at a loss what name to assume. At length, recollecting that Luther was a noted Reformer, and that his books had been of special service to us, we called ourselves Lutherans.”[161]

The result of this movement was the introduction of Presbyterianism. Morris and his converts were visited in succession by the Rev. Messrs. Robinson, Blair, Roan, Tennent, Finley,[162] and other ministers, until, in the year 1747, Mr. Davies became their settled pastor. These were the people Whitefield visited in November, 1746; but, unlike himself, he has left no record of what he saw and did. All that is known is contained in the following sentence, written by Morris, the lay-revivalist: “Mr. Whitefield came and preached four or five days, which was the happy means of giving us further encouragement, and of engaging others to the Lord, especially among the Church people, who received the gospel more readily from him than from ministers of the Presbyterian denomination.”[163]

From Virginia, Whitefield wended his way to Georgia, where, having received an account of the backsliding and disturbances in London and elsewhere, which have been already mentioned, he wrote as follows, to Howell Harris:――

“HANOVER, VIRGINIA, November 16, 1746.

“About a week ago, I had the pleasure of receiving a long letter from you. I was glad to find, that, the Tabernacle was given up to your care. Whether its breaches are yet repaired, or whether it be entirely fallen down, I know not. I suppose, when I come to England, I shall have all to begin again.”[164]

In another letter, written at Bethesda, December 14th, he says:――

“The account you gave me made me mourn. You and all who attended on my preaching, and had opportunities to converse with me privately, know how many hints I gave of what has happened. It might be foreseen; and, consequently, it did not so much surprise me when I found it had come to pass. But I trust the storm is now blown over, and that the little flock will enjoy a calm. Oh that your eyes may be looking towards the blessed Jesus! From Him alone can come your salvation. He will be better to you than a thousand Whitefields. I am afraid you are too desirous of having me with you. Indeed, I long to see you all; but, for some time, America seems to be my place of action. The harvest is great in many places, and the labourers are very few.”[165]

In another letter to Howell Harris, dated “Bethesda, December, 1746,” he writes:――

“Blessed be God for the good effected by your ministry at the Tabernacle; of which I have been informed by letters from Herbert Jenkins and Thomas Adams. The good Countess of Huntingdon has been there frequently, and has been much pleased, I am told. She shines brighter and brighter every day; and will yet, I trust, be spared for a nursing mother to our Israel.[166] This revives me after the miserable divisions that have taken place among my English friends. I trust the storm is now blown over. Her ladyship’s example and conduct, in this trying affair, will be productive of much good. My poor prayers will be daily offered up to the God of all grace to keep her steadfast in the faith, and to make her a burning and shining light in our British Israel.”[167]

It is a curious fact that, though the Countess of Huntingdon became acquainted with Whitefield as early as the year 1739, and took a deep interest in his ordination,[168] there is no evidence of her becoming a frequent attendant at his Tabernacle, except in the winter of 1742, until nearly eight years afterwards. Just at the time when the Society there, and, indeed, when the Societies in general, with which Whitefield was connected, were in danger of being broken up, her ladyship allied herself with him, and, to the end of life, became his chief assistant. There is no proof of her being invited to this position. It would be uncharitable to suppose she was prompted by ambition. The incident was one of those providential interpositions, which so strikingly marked Methodism’s early history.

Whitefield remained at Bethesda till towards the end of January, 1747; and then, leaving his wife with the orphans, he again set out on a preaching tour. He wrote to Herbert Jenkins as follows:――

“CHARLESTON, January 23, 1747.

“I lately came from Bethesda, where I found my family well――happy in Jesus, and happy in one another. Our Lord bowed the heavens several times, and came down among us, in the power of His eternal Spirit. In the beginning of March, I purpose to set out northward. I am sorry to hear the leaven of Antinomianism is not yet purged, and that animosities are not yet ceased among you. I can say nothing at this distance; but I pray that the God of peace may direct and rule all your hearts.”[169]

The Orphan House was still a cause of great anxiety. Whitefield had there a family of twenty-six children. He had also opened a sort of boarding school, or, to use his own language, had begun “a foundation for literature.” He was, likewise, more than £500 in debt. To provide for such necessities, he now took one of the strangest steps in his chequered life. The people at Charleston gave him £300, which he expended in buying land and negroes! and thus the great preacher became a slave-owner and a planter! He shall tell his own story.

“CHARLESTON, March 15, 1747.

“Blessed be God! I hope I can say, that, Bethesda was never in better order than it is now. On my arrival there, this winter, I opened a Latin school, and have now several children of promising abilities who have begun to learn. One little orphan, who a year ago could not read his letters, has made considerable proficiency in his accidence. The blessed Spirit has been striving with several of the children, and I hope, ere long, to see some ministers sent forth from Georgia.

“The constitution of that colony is very bad, and it is impossible for the inhabitants to subsist without the use of slaves. But God has put it into the hearts of my South Carolina friends, to contribute liberally towards purchasing, in this province, a plantation and slaves, which I purpose to devote to the support of Bethesda. Blessed be God! the purchase is made. Last week, I bought, at a very cheap rate, a plantation of six hundred and forty acres of excellent land, with a good house, barn, and out-houses, and sixty acres of ground ready cleared, fenced, and fit for rice, corn, and everything that will be necessary for provisions. One negro has been given me. Some more I purpose to purchase this week. An overseer is put upon the plantation, and, I trust, a sufficient quantity of provisions will be raised this year. The family at Bethesda consists of twenty-six. When my arrears are discharged, I intend to increase the number. I hope that God will still stir up the friends of Zion to help me, not only to discharge the arrears, but also to bring the plantation, lately purchased, to such perfection, that, if I should die shortly, Bethesda may yet be provided for.

“As you have been such a benefactor, I thought it proper to give you this particular account.

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[170]

In all respects, this is a hateful letter. No doubt, it is injurious to Whitefield’s character and fame; but it could not be honestly withheld. Some people, perhaps, may be able to invent excuses for Whitefield’s odious act; but I am not disposed to help them. His motives might be good, but the transaction itself was bad. Let it pass, as one of the blots of a distinguished life.

A week after the letter was written, Whitefield and his wife set out for Maryland, and occupied about five weeks in reaching Bohemia. Here he spent a month, and wrote:――

“Glad would I be to come and offer myself once more to do New England service; but I am afraid many of the ministers and the heads of the people would not bear it. However, were this my only reason, it would soon be answered; but here are thousands in these southern parts who scarce ever heard of redeeming grace. Is it not my duty, as an itinerant, to go where the gospel has not been named? Those who think I want to make a party, or to disturb churches, do not know me. I am willing to hunt in the woods after sinners; and could be content that the name of George Whitefield shall die, if thereby the name of my dear Redeemer could be exalted.”

Here, as elsewhere, his labours were incessant. Under the date of “May 21, 1747,” he writes:――

“I have now been upon the stretch, preaching constantly, for almost three weeks. My body is often extremely weak, but the joy of the Lord is my strength; and, by the help of God, I intend going on till I drop. These southern colonies lie in darkness, and yet, as far as I find, are as willing to receive the gospel as others. I have been a three hundred mile circuit in Maryland; and everywhere the people have a hearing ear, and, I trust, some have an obedient heart.”

From Maryland, Whitefield proceeded to Pennsylvania. “We travelled,” says he, “very pleasantly through the woods; and purpose returning to South Carolina and Georgia in the fall. We lead a moving life; but I trust we move heavenward.”

On arriving at Philadelphia, Whitefield was in a fever; and no wonder, considering his outdoor preachings amid the burning sunshine of South America. The following is from a letter to Howell Harris:――

“PHILADELPHIA, May 30, 1747.

“MY DEAREST BROTHER,――Had I strength equal to my will, you should now receive from me a very long letter; but, at present, I have such a fever upon me that I can scarce send you a few lines.

“You are very dear to me,――all of you are very dear to me. I thank you ten thousand times for all expressions of your tender love, and your steadiness in the truths and cause of Christ. Sometimes I hope your prayers will draw me to England more speedily than I imagine. But what shall I say? Here are thousands and thousands, in these parts of America, who, as to spiritual things, know not their right hand from their left; and yet are ready to hear the gospel from my mouth. Within these four weeks, I have been a circuit of four hundred miles, and everywhere found the fields white already unto harvest. No one goes out scarcely but myself.

“I trust the power of religion will be kept up in England and Wales. Though my coming may be delayed, I hope, when I am sent, it will be with a greater blessing. I am daily finishing my outward affairs, and shall think my call to England clearer, when I have provided for the support of the Orphan House.

“My dear man, I could write all night, but I am so giddy by hard riding, and preaching daily in the heat, that I must defer being more particular till another opportunity. I hope my dear wife will supply my deficiencies. Remember me in the tenderest manner to all. Bid them pray me to England. Have you seen my last volume of five sermons? I hope the gates of hell will never prevail against the Tabernacle. Amen and amen!”[171]

The next is an extract from Mrs. Whitefield’s letter, also addressed to Harris, and written at the same date:――

“PHILADELPHIA, May 30, 1747.

“MY VERY DEAR FATHER AND FRIEND,――What shall I say to him I so much love and honour? My dear friends, in England, at the Tabernacle, and in Wales, can never be forgotten by me.

“The Lord has done great things for and by my dear master. Since last October, great numbers of precious souls have been brought from darkness to light, in the six provinces. Last night, my dear came here from a four hundred miles journey, during which he preached about thirty times. We left Charleston on March 21st, and came to Bohemia, in Maryland, on April 27th. He preached all the way, which has very much fatigued him, and now he has a great fever upon him.

“Yours in the best of bonds,

“ELIZABETH WHITEFIELD.

“P.S.――Since writing the above, the Lord has enabled my very dear master to preach, in the new building,[172] a most moving discourse upon growing in grace. I thought it would have been impossible for his strength to have held out.”[173]

A few days afterwards, Whitefield wrote as follows:――

“PHILADELPHIA, June 4, 1747.

“At present, my whole frame of nature seems to be shocked. I have had several returns of my convulsions, and have almost a continual burning fever. To oblige my friends, and with great regret, I have omitted preaching one night, and purpose to do so once more, that they may not charge me with murdering myself; but I hope yet to die in the pulpit, or soon after I come out of it. Dying is exceeding pleasant to me; for though my body is so weak, the Lord causes my soul to rejoice exceedingly. Letters from England have refreshed me. All of them call me home loudly. Congregations here are as large as ever. Next Monday-week, I purpose to set out for New York.”

Whitefield’s journey to New York had to be postponed. Hence the following:――

“PHILADELPHIA, June 23, 1747.

“I have been several times on the verge of eternity. To-morrow, God willing, I set out for New York, to see if I can gain strength. At present, I am so weak, that I cannot preach. It is hard work to be silent; but I must be tried every way. Friends are exceeding kind; but the best of all is, the Friend of sinners looks in upon me, and comforts my heart.”

On reaching New York, Whitefield wrote to Howell Harris:――

“NEW YORK, June 27, 1747.

“MY VERY DEAR, DEAR BROTHER,――It is with much pleasure I now sit down to answer your kind and welcome letters. They have had such an effect upon me, that, God willing, I am determined to embark for England, or Scotland, early next spring. Till Christmas, I am already under indissoluble engagements. I am making a strong effort to get free from my outward embarrassments; and hope, before the year is ended, to stock my new plantation in South Carolina, as a visible fund for the Orphan House.

“For some weeks past, I have been exceedingly indisposed. God has been pleased to bring me to the very brink of the grave, by convulsions, gravel, nervous colic, and a violent fever; but as afflictions abounded, consolations much more abounded, and my soul longed to take its flight to Jesus. I have not preached for a week past; but since my leaving Philadelphia, three days ago, I seem to have gathered strength, and hope once more, to-morrow, to proclaim amongst poor sinners the unsearchable riches of Christ. From hence, I purpose to go to Boston, and return by land, so as to reach Charleston in November.

“You will return my most humble and dutiful respects to good Lady Huntingdon, the Marquis, and Mrs. Edwin.[174] If possible, I will write to them. I leave my affairs to you, and depend on you, under God, to transact them all. The trouble is great, but Jesus will reward thee. Near £40 yearly were subscribed in England to the Orphan House; but I have received, I think, not above £5.”[175]

With the slightest improvement in his health, Whitefield resumed preaching. The following was addressed to Thomas Adams, one of his preachers in England:――

“NEW YORK, July 4, 1747.

“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER ADAMS,――Your kind letter has affected me much. It and the other letters have constrained me to set my face towards England. I hope to discharge what is due in America, for the Orphan House, this year. I am of your mind respecting the work in England; and, therefore, am willing so to settle my affairs, that, when I come, I may stay with you for a long season.

“At present, I am very weakly, and scarce able to preach above once or twice a week; but if our Saviour has further work for me to do, He can make me young and lusty as the eagle. If not, I shall go to Him whom my soul loveth, and whom I long to see.”[176]

In another letter, of the same date, Whitefield wrote:――

“I have recovered a little strength, and find my appetite restored. I have been here eight days; and, to-morrow, intend posting away to Boston; and then I shall take a long, if not a final, farewell of all my northward friends. I have preached twice with great freedom. People flock rather more than ever, and the Lord vouchsafes us solemn meetings. I have left my dear yoke-fellow at Philadelphia, and expect to meet her again, in New York, in six weeks. In these three northward provinces, I trust something considerable will be done towards paying off the Orphan-house arrears. When that is effected, I care not how soon I sing my Nunc dimittis.”

Another letter, written at New York, must be added. It was addressed to John Cennick, who had seceded from Whitefield’s connexion, and joined the Moravians:――

“NEW YORK, July 5, 1747.

“MY DEAR JOHN,――Though sick and weak in body, the love I owe thee, for Jesus’ sake, constrains me to answer thy last kind letter, dated February 5. The other, mentioned therein, never came to hand.

“I am sorry to hear there are yet disputings amongst us about brick walls. After our contests of that kind about seven years ago,[177] I hoped such a scene would never appear again; but I find fresh offences must come, to discover to us fresh corruptions, to try our faith, to teach us to cease from man, and to lean more upon God.

“It has been thy meat and drink to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. Mayest thou continue in this plan! I wish thee much success, and shall always pray that the work of the Lord may prosper in thy hands. Whether thou hast changed thy principles with thy situation, I know not. I would only caution thee against taking anything for gospel upon the mere authority of man. Go where thou wilt, though thou shouldest be in the purest society under heaven, thou wilt find that the best of men are but men at best, and wilt meet with stumbling-blocks enough, to teach thee the necessity of a continual dependence on the Lord Jesus, who alone is infallible, and will not give that glory to another.

“My dear man, thou wilt excuse me, as my heart, at present, is affected with the divisions that subsist between the servants and churches of Jesus Christ. May Jesus heal them, and hasten the blessed time, when we shall all see eye to eye, and there shall be no disputings about houses, doctrine, or discipline, in all God’s holy mountain!”

On July 20, Whitefield arrived at Boston, and next day wrote to Herbert Jenkins:――[178]

“I hear the glorious Emmanuel has prospered the work of your hands at Plymouth, and elsewhere. May He bless and prosper you, and the rest of my dear brethren, yet more and more! I hope you will live in unity, and let Satan get no advantage over you. ‘Divide and destroy,’ is the devil’s motto. ‘Force united,’ is the Christian’s. Oh that when I come to see you, I may see you walking in love!”[179]

On August 9th, he wrote as follows to Howell Harris:――

“I have been in New England nearly three weeks. The Lord is with me. Congregations are as great as ever. I could gladly stay in New England, but I must return to the southern provinces. Though faint, I am still pursuing, and, in the strength of Jesus, hope to die fighting.”[180]

Whitefield’s labours in the north were not confined to Boston. The following is taken from the New England Gazette:――

“Mr. Whitefield came, on Tuesday evening, July 21, to the seat of his friend, Isaac Royal, Esq., at Charlestown; where, on the next day, several gentlemen of note from Boston paid him a friendly visit. On Thursday, the 23rd, he set out for Portsmouth, where he arrived on Friday, and, that evening, preached there, to a crowded audience, with as great acceptance as ever. Thence, he was invited to dine with Sir William Pepperell and his lady at Kittery, who entertained him with their usual great politeness and generosity. Thence, he went and preached at York; the Rev. Mr. Moody and his people received him with the most hearty welcome. Thence, he returned to Portsmouth, where he preached again, all the people treating him with gentleman-like civility. On July 29, he preached at Newbury, and would have come on to Boston, but was so earnestly solicited to go back and preach at Exeter and Durham, that he could not resist the importunity.”

Returning southwards, Whitefield reached New York on August 27, where he wrote half a dozen letters, from which the following sentences are culled:――

“We were detained three or four days upon the water; but it was over-ruled for good. I recovered my appetite, and eat like a sailor. My health is considerably recruited. My obligations to my glorious Jesus are increased by my late excursion to Charlestown, Portsmouth, Boston, and other places in New England. I am of the same mind as when at Boston,――resolved to preach and work for Jesus, till I can preach and work no more. He is a good Master, and is worthy of all our time, and of everything that we possess. Is not one heart too little for Him? And, yet, He requires no more. Amazing love! I am lost when I think of it. I can only say, ‘Lord, I adore and worship!’”

On August 31, Whitefield set out for Philadelphia. At the risk of being tedious, further extracts from his letters must be given. To Howell Harris, he addressed the following:――

“PHILADELPHIA, September 11, 1747.

“MY VERY DEAR, DEAR BROTHER,――I have good news from Georgia, and from my new plantation in South Carolina. Many negroes are brought under conviction. We saw great things in New England. The flocking, and the power that attended the word, were like what we witnessed seven years ago. Weak as I was, I travelled eleven hundred miles, and preached daily. I am now going to Georgia, to settle all my affairs, and get ready to embark for England. My dear yoke-fellow is gone forwards. I find no inclination to settle. I am determined to die fighting. I am here travelling through a wilderness, but, I trust, leaning on my Beloved. Jesus is my rock, my stay, my God, my all. Various are the scenes I pass through; and various are the comforts and supports with which I meet. Sometimes, the Lord feeds me as it were by the ravens; and He daily teaches me that man’s extremity is His opportunity, to help and succour.”[181]

On the same day, Whitefield wrote letters to John and Charles Wesley. To the former, he says:――

“DEAR AND REVEREND SIR,――Not long ago, I received your kind letter, dated in February last. Your others, I believe, came to hand, and I hope ere now you have received my answer. My heart is really for an outward, as well as inward union. Nothing shall be wanting on my part to bring it about; but I cannot see how it can be effected, till we all think and speak the same things. I rejoice to hear, that you and your brother are more moderate with respect to sinless perfection. As for universal redemption, if we omit on each side the talking for or against reprobation, which we may do fairly, and agree, as we already do, in giving a universal offer to all poor sinners that will come and taste the water of life, I think we may manage very well. But it is difficult to manage such matters at a distance. Some time next year, I hope to see you face to face.”

So much concerning the amalgamation of their respective Societies. In reference to the battle of Culloden, and Whitefield’s Thanksgiving Sermon, on “Britain’s Mercies and Britain’s Duty,” he proceeds to say:――

“I rejoice to find that the Rebellion has been over-ruled for the awakening of many souls. Our Lord generally builds His temple in troublesome times. I cannot, upon the maturest deliberation, charge myself with a design to flatter in my sermon upon that occasion.[182] You know my attachment to the present Establishment. Out of the fulness of my heart, my pen wrote.”

Passing to his Orphan-house affairs, Whitefield continues:――

“I have news of the awakening of several negroes at my new plantation, lately purchased in South Carolina. I hope ere long to be delivered from my outward embarrassments. I long to owe no man anything but love. This is a debt, reverend sir, I shall never be able to discharge to you, or your brother. Jesus will pay you all. I love and honour you very much, and rejoice in your success as much as in my own. O for heaven! where we shall mistake, judge, and grieve one another no more. Lately, I thought myself sailing into the blessed harbour; but it seems I must put out to sea again. Forgive, reverend sir, the prolixity of this. Love indites. I salute you for my dear fellow-pilgrim, who is gone forwards. Continue to pray for us, and assure yourself that you are always remembered by,

“Reverend and very dear sir, yours, etc.,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Whitefield’s letter to Charles Wesley was equally affectionate. He writes:――

“PHILADELPHIA, September 11, 1747.

“VERY DEAR SIR,――Both your letters and your prayers, I trust, have reached me. May mine reach you also, and then it will not be long ere we shall be one fold under one Shepherd. However, if this be not on earth, it will certainly be in heaven. Thither, I trust, we are hastening apace. Blessed be God! that your spiritual children are increasing. May they increase more and more! Jesus can maintain them all. He wills that His house should be full. Some have written me things to your disadvantage. I do not believe them. Love thinks no evil of a friend. Such are you to me. I love you most dearly. You will see my letter to your dear brother. That you may be guided into all truth, turn thousands and tens of thousands more unto righteousness, and shine as stars for ever and ever, is the hearty prayer of,

“Very dear sir, yours most affectionately,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

In the foregoing extract from the New England Gazette, the Rev. Mr. Moody is mentioned. Samuel Moody was a memorable man. Having graduated in Harvard College, he was ordained in 1700, and, for forty-seven years, had been minister of York. He was eccentric, but eminent for piety and usefulness. In his younger years, he himself had been an itinerant, and had often preached beyond the limits of his own parish. Wherever he went, he was welcomed. Even the irreligious were impressed with the sanctity of his character, and were inspired with awe. He refused to have a fixed salary, as was usual, and elected to depend entirely on the free contributions of the people. He was frequently in straits, and almost dinnerless; but always felt confident that, in his extremity, a meal would be furnished by the providence of God. One day, he had no provisions and no money, but insisted upon having the cloth laid, saying to his wife, “The Lord will provide.” No sooner were the words uttered, than there was a rap at the door, and a person presented him with a dinner. He was now in the seventy-first year of his age; and, within four months after the date of Whitefield’s visit, peacefully expired. The following touching letter was addressed to this venerable man only eight weeks before his death:――

“BOHEMIA, MARYLAND, September 17, 1747.

“HONOURED SIR,――Will you permit a young soldier of Jesus Christ to write to an experienced veteran, before he goes hence and is no more seen? I am sorry that my visit to York was short, yet glad that our Lord gave me to see you once more ready to sing your ‘Nunc dimittis,’ with steadiness and composure, if not with joy unspeakable. Happy, thrice happy, reverend sir! You have gone through that wilderness, which, if hoary hairs should be my lot, awaits me, your younger son and servant. Well! this is my comfort: I have the same Beloved to lean upon, as you have had. The way, though narrow, is not long; the gate, though strait, opens into life eternal. O that I might pass through it when young! But, Father, not my will, but Thine be done!

“Honoured sir, be pleased to pray for me. I remember you and your dear flock. May He, who kissed away the soul of His beloved Moses, appoint a Joshua to succeed you, when He bids you come up to the mount and die! I hope my cordial respects will find acceptance with your dear yoke-fellow; and I beg leave to subscribe myself, honoured sir, your most affectionate, though unworthy, younger son and willing servant in Him who liveth for ever,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Little more remains to be recorded respecting the year 1747. After spending a few days in Maryland, Whitefield passed into Virginia, where he “preached once, and would have preached oftener, but the small-pox was spreading.” He then “posted” to Bath-Town, North Carolina. Writing to a friend, he says:――

“I am hunting after poor lost sinners in these ungospelized wilds. People are willing to hear, and I am willing to preach. My body is weak, and a little riding fatigues me. I long to be dissolved, and to be with Jesus, but cannot die. I would have you still pray for me as a dying man; but O pray that I may not go off as a snuff. I would fain die blazing, not with human glory, but, with the love of Jesus.”

After riding “on horseback through the woods a hundred and sixty miles,” and preaching as he went, Whitefield, on October 18, arrived at Wilmington, Cape Fear. He then proceeded to Charleston; and, on October 26, set out for Georgia.[183] He closed the year, however, at Charleston. Hence the following, addressed to John Edwards, one of his preachers:――

“CHARLESTON, December 28, 1747.

“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER EDWARDS,――I have but just time to inform you that I wait for answers, to my last letters, from dear brother Harris and you, in order to be determined about my coming to England. My affairs here are brought under foot. If friends at home exert themselves, I may be freed from all outward embarrassments. The Lord is yet with me. All is well at Bethesda, and at my new plantation. My dear yoke-fellow is at the Orphan House. We are always praying for you all. The Lord be with you! That we may keep an eternal new year in the New Jerusalem, is the hearty prayer of, my very dear man,

“Ever yours, whilst

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[184]

Early in the year 1748, Whitefield, instead of embarking for England, set sail for Bermudas. The following letters, to Howell Harris, will explain the reason:――

“CHARLESTON, February 28, 1748.

“By this time, I hoped to have been on my way to England; but, having received no answers to the letters I sent you from New York and elsewhere, and in consequence of other concurring providences, I have been induced to believe it my duty to go to Bermudas. My dear yoke-fellow will stay behind, in these parts; and I purpose to return to her early in the fall. Meanwhile, I expect to hear from you; and, if my way seems clear, I do not despair of seeing you before Christmas next. Think not hard of me, my dear man, for thus deferring to come to you.

“I hope I have now got very near a sufficiency for the future support of Bethesda. If my friends in England will help me, I hope my arrears will be paid, and my heart be freed from a load which has lain on me for years. If not, the Friend of all will help me. On Him, my eyes wait; and, in obedience to Him, I go once more upon the mighty waters. My dear wife will have a trial in my being absent so long.

“Yours most affectionately and eternally in Christ Jesus,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[185]

“ON BOARD THE ‘ANN,’ (Captain Tucker,) _bound from Charleston to Bermudas, March 6, 1748_.

“MY VERY DEAR, DEAR BROTHER,――Just as I was coming on board, yours, dated October 16, was put into my hands. I have read it, and now believe I shall see you sooner than I expected. I have a great mind to come to you from New England. But what will Sarah say? I have left her behind me in the tent; and, should I bring her to England, my two families, in America, must be left without a head. Should I go without her, I fear, the trial will be too hard for her; but, if the Lord calls, I can put both her and myself into His all-bountiful hands.

“I am now going, on a fresh embassage, to Bermudas, after having had a profitable winter in these southern parts. Congregations in Charleston have been greater than ever; and Jesus has helped me to deliver my soul. Had I ten thousand lives, He should have them all. Excuse this scribble; I am just come on board.

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[186]

As every one knows, the Bermudas are a cluster of small islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, nearly four hundred in number, but, for the greater part, diminutive and barren. They were discovered by Juan Bermudas, a Spaniard, about the year 1522; but were not inhabited till 1609, when Sir George Somers was cast away upon them, and established a small settlement. The length of the colony is less than thirty miles, and the population, even at the present day, is not more than ten thousand, one half of whom are black and coloured persons. The soil of the inhabited islands (about five in number) is exceedingly fertile; vegetation is rapid; spring may be said to be perpetual; and fields and forests are clad with unfading verdure. In these clustered islets Whitefield landed on March 15; and here he spent eleven weeks, generally preaching once, and often twice, a day. In England, it was reported that he was dead. The Gentleman’s Magazine, for the month of May, in its “List of Deaths,” had the following:――

“April.――Rev. Mr. Whitefield, the famous itinerant preacher, and founder of the Methodists in Georgia.”

Fortunately, the rumour had afterwards to be corrected.

Whitefield met with the greatest courtesy and kindness in Bermudas. The Rev. Mr. Holiday, clergyman of Spanish-Point, received him in the most affectionate manner, and begged him to become his guest. The governor and the council invited him to dine with them. The Rev. Mr. Paul, an aged Presbyterian minister, offered him his pulpit. Colonels Butterfield, Corbusiers, and Gilbert, Captain Dorrel, and Judge Bascombe, gave him hospitable entertainments. He preached in the churches, in the Presbyterian meeting-house, in mansions, in cottages, and in the open air. Colonel Gilbert lent him his horse during his stay; and the gentlemen of the islands subscribed more than £100 sterling for his Orphan House. Some of the negroes were offended at him, because he reproved “their cursing, thieving, and lying,” and said, “their hearts were as black as their faces;” but, as a rule, they flocked to hear him, and were powerfully affected by his discourses.

Gillies gives extracts from the Journal which Whitefield wrote in Bermudas,――extracts filling fifteen printed pages; but the substance of the whole is contained in the following letter, addressed to a minister at Boston:――

“BERMUDAS, May 17, 1748.

“REV. AND DEAR SIR,――Nine weeks ago, I arrived here from Charleston. We had a safe and pleasant passage. We were nine days on board; and I do not remember hearing one single oath, from land to land.

“Mr. Holiday, a clergyman of the Church of England, received me with open heart and arms. The first Lord’s-day, after my arrival, I read prayers and preached in two of his parish churches; and the longer I stayed, the more kindly he behaved to me. The two other Church clergy chose to keep at a distance; but Mr. Paul, an aged Presbyterian minister, was very free to let me have the use of his meeting-house, and, as it was pretty large and in a central part of the island, I preached in it for eight Lord’s-days successively.

“His excellency, the governor, was pleased to come and hear me, when I preached in town, with most of the council and the principal gentlemen in the island. He treated me with great respect, and invited me more than once to dine with him. I have preached nearly seventy times; on the week-days chiefly in private houses, but sometimes in the open air, to larger assemblies, they tell me, than were ever seen upon the island before. The word has frequently been attended with Divine power, and many have been brought under convictions. I have spent nine happy weeks among them, and was never so little opposed, during so long a stay in any place. In a few days, I hope to embark, in the brig Betsy, (Captain Eastern,) for England.”[187]

Respecting his farewell sermon, Whitefield wrote:――

“After the service, many came weeping bitterly around me. Abundance of prayers were put up for my safe passage to England, and speedy return to Bermudas. Thanks be to the Lord for sending me hither! I have been received in a manner I dared not expect, and have met with little, very little, opposition. The inhabitants seem to be plain and open-hearted. They have also been open-handed; for they have loaded me with provisions for my voyage, and, by a private voluntary contribution, have raised me upwards of £100 sterling. This will pay a little of Bethesda’s debt, and enable me to make such a remittance to my dear yoke-fellow, as may keep her from being embarrassed in my absence.”[188]

This was Whitefield’s only visit to Bermudas. He wrote: “An entrance is now made into the islands. The Lord, who has begun, can and will carry on His own work.” It was long before Whitefield’s hope was realized. Fifty-one years afterwards, Wesley’s Methodist Conference sent to the islands the Rev. John Stephenson. The white population hated the missionary, because he was the friend of the enslaved blacks; and, before long, he was apprehended, tried, condemned, and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, besides having to pay a fine of £50, and all the expenses of his trial. At the end of his imprisonment, Mr. Stephenson was expelled the colony, and the Methodist mission was abandoned. Eight years afterwards, it was resumed by the Rev. Joshua Marsden; in due time, it had the honour of giving to Methodism the well-known Rev. Edward Frazer; and, in this year, 1876, it has three missionaries, and between four and five hundred church members.

On the 2nd of June, Whitefield embarked for England, the wife of the governor of Bermudas being one of his fellow passengers. When approaching the end of his voyage, he wrote, as follows, to a friend:――

“ON BOARD THE ‘BETSY,’ June 24, 1748.

“REV. AND VERY DEAR SIR,――Though we are about two hundred leagues from land, yet, lest hurry of business should prevent me when we get ashore, I think proper to write you a few lines whilst I am on board.

“We sailed from Bermudas twenty-one days ago, and have lived, as to the conveniences of eating and drinking, like people from the continent, rather than from one of the islands; so bountiful were our friends, whom we left behind us. Hitherto, we have met with no storms or contrary winds. The first day we came out, we were chased; and, yesterday, a large French vessel shot thrice at us, and bore down upon us. We gave up all for lost; and I was dressing to receive our expected visitors; when our captain cried, ‘The danger is over;’ and the Frenchman turned about and left us. He was quite near, and we were almost defenceless. Now we are so near the Channel, we expect such alarms daily.

“The captain is exceedingly civil, and I have my passage free; but all I have been able to do, in respect to religious duties, is to read the Church prayers once every evening, and twice on Sundays. I have not preached yet. This may spare my lungs, but it grieves my heart. I long to be ashore, if it were for no other reason.

“Besides, I can do little in respect to writing. You may guess how it is, when I tell you we have four gentlewomen in the cabin. However, they have been very civil, and I believe my being on board has been serviceable. I have finished my abridgment of Mr. Law’s ‘Serious Call,’ which I have endeavoured to gospelize. Yesterday, I made an end of revising all my Journals. I purpose to have a new edition before I see America.

“Alas, alas! In how many things have I judged and acted wrong! I have been too rash and hasty in giving characters, both of places and persons. Being fond of Scripture language, I have often used a style too apostolical; and, at the same time, I have been too bitter in my zeal. Wild-fire has been mixed with it: and I frequently wrote and spoke in my own spirit, when I thought I was writing and speaking by the assistance of the Spirit of God. I have, likewise, too much made impressions my rule of acting; and have published too soon, and too explicitly, what had been better told after my death. By these things, I have hurt the blessed cause I would defend, and have stirred up needless opposition. This has much humbled me, since I have been on board, and has made me think of a saying of Mr. Henry’s, ‘Joseph had more honesty than he had policy, or he would never have told his dreams.’

“At the same time, I cannot but bless and praise that good and gracious God, who filled me with so much of His holy fire, and carried me, a poor weak youth, through such a torrent both of popularity and contempt, and set so many seals to my unworthy ministrations. I bless Him for ripening my judgment a little more, and for giving me to see and confess, and, I hope, in some degree, to correct and amend, some of my mistakes. If I have time before we land, I think to write a short account of what has happened for these seven years last past; and, when I get on shore, I purpose to revise and correct the first part of my Life.”

All must admire this ingenuous confession. Never was the Latin proverb better illustrated than in the case of Whitefield: “Fas est ab hoste doceri.” In both mild and savage language, Whitefield had often been accused of such faults and errors; and now, when he has time to think, he honestly confesses them.

Whitefield landed at Deal on June 30th, and six days afterwards arrived in London.[189] One of his first acts, when he stepped ashore, was to write the following hearty and loving letter “to the Rev. Mr. John or Charles Wesley.”

“DEAL, July, 1748.

“Will you not be glad to hear that the God of the seas and of the dry land has brought me to my native country once more? I came last from the Bermudas, where the Friend of sinners was pleased to own my poor labours abundantly. I hope, I come in the spirit of love, desiring to study and pursue those things which make for peace. This is the language of my heart:――

‘O let us find the ancient way, Our wondering foes to move; And force the heathen world to say, See how these Christians love.’

“I purpose to be in London in a few days. Meanwhile, I salute you and all the followers of the blessed Lamb of God most heartily. Be pleased to pray for, and give thanks in behalf of, reverend and dear brother, yours most affectionately in Christ,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Apart from his first visit to America, Whitefield had now spent about four years and a half in itinerant preaching throughout England’s transatlantic colonies. Except the religious movement, which began at Northampton in 1734, and declined in 1736, the time spent in Whitefield’s second and third visits to America covered the entire period of what has been termed “the great awakening.” What were the results of that remarkable work of God? In reference to the churches of New England only, it has been carefully estimated that from thirty to forty thousand persons were permanently added to their membership. With these also must be joined a large number who, after a time, “fell away;” and likewise the multitudes who were “melted” and made to weep by Whitefield’s eloquence, but were not converted. Further, it must be kept in mind, that, up to this period, the practice of admitting to the communion all persons, though unconverted, who were neither heretical nor scandalous, was general in the Presbyterian Church, and prevailed extensively among the Congregational churches; the result being, that a large proportion of the members of these churches, though orthodox and moral, were unregenerated. Multitudes of these were now, for the first time, made the subjects of a saving change. Indeed, in some cases, the revival seems to have been almost wholly within the Church, and to have resulted in the conversion of nearly all the members. These, at the best, had been dead weights to their respective communities; but now they became active and valuable workers.

Again: it is useless to deny that there were a large number of unconverted ministers, especially in New England. Young men, without even the appearance of piety, were received into the colleges to prepare for the ministry. Graduates, if found to possess competent knowledge, were ordained as a matter of course, quite irrespective of their being born again. The result was, that in New England and in all the colonies, an unconverted ministry, to a lamentable extent, was the bane of the churches. “The great awakening,” however, reached not only the pews, but the pulpits and the colleges of the Christian community. In the vicinity of Boston only, there were not fewer than twenty ministers who acknowledged Whitefield as the means of their conversion; and in other parts of the country, there were proportionate numbers. This was an incalculable gain. The great curse of the Church was turned into an equally great blessing. Yea, more than this, the revival fully and finally killed the doctrine that an unconverted ministry might be tolerated; and, henceforth, parents felt that they were not doing a worthy deed by consecrating their unregenerated sons to the office of the Christian ministry, and sending them to colleges to be prepared for it.[190]

Other immediate results of “the great awakening” might be mentioned, but these are sufficient to evoke the grateful exclamation, “What hath God wrought!”

THREE YEARS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

JULY 1, 1748, TO AUGUST 29, 1751.

TWO days after his arrival in London, Whitefield wrote to his much-loved friend, the gentle James Hervey, who was now completing his “Meditations”:――

“I am very pleased that you appear in print, and that such encouragement is given to you to print again. My bodily health is much impaired; but, through Divine assistance, I will go on working for Jesus, till I can work no more.”

And again, eight days later:――

“Blessed be God, for causing you to write so as to suit the taste of the polite world! O that they may be won over to admire Him who is altogether lovely! But what shall I say to your kind intended present? It is like my dear old friend. My health somewhat improves. Oh, when shall we get within the veil? Thanks be to God! it cannot be long. We are both sickly. Lord, give us patience to wait till our blessed change comes! Our Lord makes it exceedingly pleasant to me to preach His unsearchable riches. Multitudes flock to hear; and many seem to be quickened.”

The welcome given to Whitefield in the metropolis was marvellous. It is true that the only church in which he was allowed to preach was that of the Rev. Richard Thomas Bateman, who, only five years before, had been one of Whitefield’s enemies; but there was the wooden tabernacle, and, above all, his grand old open-air cathedral adjoining it. On Tuesday, July 12, he wrote:――

“I have preached twice in St. Bartholomew’s Church, and helped to administer the sacrament once. I believe, on Sunday last, we had a thousand communicants. Moorfields are as white as ever unto harvest, and multitudes flock to hear the word. The old spirit of love and power seems to be revived amongst us.”

In another letter, written eight days later, he says:――

“It is too much for one man to be received as I have been by thousands. The thoughts of it lay me low, but I cannot get low enough. I would willingly sink into nothing before the blessed Jesus, my All in all.”

Whitefield, however, was not exempt from anxieties. His Bethesda debt was still a burden. Besides this, he wrote:――

“Satan has been sifting all our poor Societies. This is no more than I expected. Antinomianism has made havoc here; but, I trust, the worst is over. Our scattered troops begin to unite again, and the shout of a king is amongst us.”

There can be no question, that Whitefield’s presence was greatly needed by the Societies, of which he was moderator. Howell Harris was one of the most devoted and laborious preachers that ever lived; but his influence was not equal to that of Whitefield. In a letter, dated March 3, 1748, he speaks of having travelled about a thousand miles, in the depth of winter, since he left London on December 20th, and of having preached two, three, or four times every day.[191] Still the people were clamorous to have Whitefield back.

The Countess of Huntingdon, also, had lately been associated with the Societies with which Whitefield was connected; and, within the last two months, had been present at a series of memorable services in Wales. In the month of May, her ladyship and her daughters, accompanied by Lady Anne and Lady Frances Hastings, were met, in Bristol, by Howell Harris, and the Revs. Griffith Jones, Daniel Rowlands, and Howell Davies, three Methodist clergymen of the Church of England; and, as a sort of evangelistic cavalcade, the whole set out for the neighbouring principality. For fifteen days successively, two of the ministers, who accompanied the Countess, preached in the Welsh towns and villages, through which they passed. On their arrival at Trevecca, they were joined by five other clergymen, also by several pious and laborious Dissenting ministers, and a number of Whitefield’s preachers. Here they had preaching four or five times every day, immense crowds flocking together from all the adjacent country. The scenes witnessed by the Countess and the ladies attending her, were, to them, new and startling. Numbers of the people, convinced of their guilt and misery, gave utterance to loud and bitter cries; whilst others, filled with “joy unspeakable,” magnified the Lord, and rejoiced in God their Saviour. No wonder, that, after this, the Countess of Huntingdon deeply sympathised with these earnest clergymen and powerful preachers.

“On a review,” she writes, “of all I have seen and heard, during the last few weeks, I am constrained to exclaim, ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!’ The sermons were, in general, lively and awakening, containing the most solemn and awful truths, such as the utter ruin of man by the fall, and his redemption and recovery by the Lord Jesus Christ, the energetic declaration of which produced great and visible effects in many. I enquired the meaning of the outcry which sometimes spread through the congregation; and, when informed that it arose from a deep conviction of sin, working powerfully on the awakened conscience, I could not but acknowledge, ‘This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.’ Many, on these solemn occasions, there is reason to believe, were brought out of nature’s deepest darkness into the marvellous light of the all-glorious gospel of Christ. My earnest prayer to God for them is, that they may continue in His grace and love.”[192]

Accompanied by Howell Harris and Howell Davies, the Countess of Huntingdon arrived in London on the 15th of June,[193] exactly three weeks before Whitefield’s arrival there. Her ladyship, through Howell Harris, invited Whitefield to her house at Chelsea, where he, at once, began to preach to crowded and fashionable congregations.[194] This, to Whitefield, was the beginning of a new career. Henceforth, Hervey by his writings, and Whitefield by his preaching, began to mould the character of not a few of the highest nobility in the land.

Howell Harris was a glorious evangelist; but, somehow, he hardly succeeded in keeping Whitefield’s preachers in proper order. The Countess of Huntingdon was a remarkable woman; but she could scarcely preside, as a female prelate, in the “Associations,” or conferences of the Calvinistic Methodists. Five years ago, the preachers had elected Whitefield to be their moderator at all times when he was resident in England, and had decided that, in his absence, Howell Harris should be his substitute. For nearly four years past, Whitefield had been in America, and Harris had done his best, in governing as well as preaching. Affairs, however, had got into confusion; and, hence, a fortnight after Whitefield’s arrival in London, he resumed his place as moderator. The following is taken from the “Life and Times of Howell Harris,” and is an abridgment of the minutes entered in the “Conference Book,” already mentioned:――

“Association held in London, July 20, 1748. Present, Whitefield, (moderator), Bateman, Harris, and others. Whitefield, after prayer and singing, opened his mind on several points.” He told the exhorters and preachers present, that, “he had seen so much confusion occasioned by young men going out rashly beyond their line, that, he was resolved not to labour with any who did not shew a teachable mind and a willingness to submit.” He admonished them “to use all means for improving their talents and abilities.” And added, that, “though he hated to affect headship, yet he must see every one acquainted with his own place, and that they must consider themselves as candidates on approbation.” The result of this faithful dealing was, “the Brethren viewed him as a father; and declared their willingness to use all possible means for their personal improvement.”

Thus began Whitefield’s ecclesiastical administration on his return from America. Like a wise man, he, first of all, tried to put the preachers right. Without this, it would have been useless to attempt to amend the people.

The effort was a temporary one. Having spent nearly a month in London, Whitefield set out to attend a quarterly “Association,” at Waterford, in Wales. A month later, he wrote a surprising letter to his friend Wesley.

“LONDON, September 1, 1748.

“REV. AND DEAR SIR,――My not meeting you in London has been a disappointment to me. What have you thought about a union? I am afraid an external one is impracticable. I find, by your sermons, that we differ in principles more than I thought; and I believe we are upon two different plans. My attachment to America will not permit me to abide very long in England; consequently, I should weave but a Penelope’s web, if I formed Societies; and, if I should form them, I have not proper assistants to take care of them. I intend, therefore, to go about preaching the gospel to every creature. You, I suppose, are for settling Societies everywhere; but more of this when we meet.”

This, on the part of Whitefield, was not an inconsiderate utterance. The present was really a turning-point in his eventful life. Strictly speaking, with perhaps a few exceptions, he had not “formed” Societies, as Wesley had; but, for five years past, he had been the “moderator” of all the Societies founded by Howell Harris, and by the preachers, who, in the title-page of the Christian History, were constantly designated Whitefield’s “fellow-labourers and assistants.” Many of Wesley’s Societies were “formed” not by Wesley himself, but by his “assistants;” and the same must be said respecting Whitefield and the Societies of which he was president. If Whitefield had not actually “settled” Societies, he had consented to this being done by his “fellow-labourers and assistants;” and, by accepting the office of moderator, he had encouraged the proceeding. Now, however, he declared his intention to take a new position; and, by degrees, his intention was carried out. At an Association, held in London, April 27, 1749, at which Whitefield, Harris, and others were present, it was agreed, that “Harris should take the oversight of the Tabernacle in London, and of the other English Societies and preachers; and that Whitefield should do all he could to strengthen the hands of Harris and others, consistent with his going out to preach the gospel at home and abroad.”[195] By this resolution, the office of moderator was practically transferred from Whitefield to Harris. Whitefield was no longer the head of the Calvinistic Methodists, but his friend Harris, who first founded them.

For the present, Whitefield did not abandon them. He simply ceased to be their chief officer. During the first week of September, 1749, he spent not fewer than five days in conference with them, at the Tabernacle, London; when, besides settling the “rounds” of the preachers, it was determined, not only “to preach the Lord Jesus in a catholic spirit to all the churches,” but “to continue in communion” with the Church of England.[196]

Harris, however, in his new office, was far from being happy. “In Wales,” he writes, “great jars and disputes arose amongst us.”[197] He became dissatisfied with some of the preachers and with many of the people; and, at an Association held at ♦Llanidloes in 1751, there was a rupture, and Harris seceded from them. In the year following, Harris founded his remarkable and well-known settlement at Trevecca; and here, in comparative seclusion, he continued to reside until his death, in 1773. For twenty years, he had a small community of his own; but, though separated from the Calvinistic Methodists, whom he had founded, he was not an opponent and an enemy. His heart was too warm and large to be vindictive. To the last, he was a sincere friend of Whitefield, and of his old companions in toil, tribulation, and success.

The incidents just enumerated deserve attention. It is impossible to conceive what would have been the result, if Whitefield and Harris had continued active chiefs of the Calvinistic Methodists; as it is equally impossible to conceive the probable consequences of Whitefield entering into an open union with Wesley; and of the Societies, “assistants, and fellow-labourers” of the two being amalgamated into one common body. Speculations on such matters would be fruitless. The plain facts are these: within two months after his return from America, in 1748, Whitefield determined to put an end to his official relationship to the Calvinistic Methodists; this determination was gradually carried out; and, during the last twenty years of his life, he occupied a new position, which must now be noticed.

The question naturally occurs, Why this change of situation? Was it because of the wild-fire of some of the preachers, and the consequent confusion of some of the Societies, with which Whitefield was officially connected? This is improbable; for, whatever might be Whitefield’s failings, shirking difficulties was not one of them. The only way to solve the propounded problem is to remember the close relationship which was now, unexpectedly, created between the Countess of Huntingdon and the great preacher. The Countess had recently been an eye-witness of some of the Societies in Wales, and had been filled with gratitude and praise for what she had seen and heard; but, now she seems to have entertained the idea, that both she and Whitefield might be more usefully employed, than by directly associating themselves with the Calvinistic Methodists, and by using their time, talents, and influence in the multiplication of such Societies. Instead of creating new sects out of the Church of England, was it not possible to reform and amend the Church of England itself? And was not the raising up of evangelical and converted ministers the most likely way to bring about such a reformation? Put the pulpits right, and the pews would certainly improve.

Though direct evidence may be wanting, there can be little doubt, that, this was the grand scheme now revolving in the mind of the illustrious Countess; and that this scheme, in less or greater detail, was revealed to Whitefield, and led to his separation from the Calvinistic Methodists. At all events, as will be seen hereafter, this was one of the chief objects to which Whitefield and her ladyship devoted their time and energies. Whitefield tried to raise up converted clergymen; and the Countess procured them ordination, and built them chapels. The idea was grand,――perhaps inspired,――and the working it out was unquestionably the principal means of effecting the marvellous change which has taken place, since then, in the Established Church. Wesley created a great Church outside the Church of England. Whitefield and the Countess of Huntingdon were pre-eminently employed in improving the Church of England itself. Where was evangelistic effort previous to the days of Wesley? And where were the converted clergymen of the Established Church previous to the year 1748? A few――a very few――might be mentioned; but even these were nicknamed Methodists. No one can estimate the service rendered to the cause of Christ, outside the Church, by Wesley and his “assistants;” and it is also equally impossible to estimate the service rendered to the Church by the despised Whitefield and his female prelate, the grand, stately, strong-minded, godly, and self-sacrificing Countess of Huntingdon. All this will be amply illustrated by the further details of Whitefield’s history.

To return. The following fragments, taken from letters written to Lady Huntingdon, during the month of August, 1748, will serve to shew the friendship that now existed between her ladyship and the great preacher:――

“August 21. I received your ladyship’s letter late last night. I am quite willing to comply with your invitation. As I am to preach at St. Bartholomew’s on Wednesday evening, I will wait upon your ladyship the next morning, and spend the whole day at Chelsea. Blessed be God, that the rich and great begin to have a hearing ear. Surely your ladyship and Madam Edwin are only the firstfruits. A word in the lesson, when I was last at your ladyship’s, struck me,――‘Paul preached privately to those who were of reputation.’ This must be the way, I presume, of dealing with the nobility who yet know not the Lord. O that I may be enabled so to preach as to win their souls to the blessed Jesus!

“August 22. As there seems to be a door opening for the nobility to hear the gospel, I will preach at your ladyship’s on Tuesday. Meanwhile, I will wait upon or send to the Count, the Danish Ambassador’s brother, who favours me with his company to dine on Monday. As I am to preach four times to-morrow, I thought it my duty to send these few lines to your ladyship to-night.”

The Countess made him her domestic chaplain,――the only ecclesiastical preferment, except the living at Savannah, he ever had; and, in acknowledgment of the honour, he wrote to her as follows:――

“LONDON, September 1, 1748.

“HONOURED MADAM,――Although it is time for me to be setting out” (for Scotland), “I dare not leave town without dropping a few lines, gratefully to acknowledge the many favours I have received from your ladyship, especially the honour you have done me in making me one of your ladyship’s chaplains. A sense of it humbles me, and makes me pray more intensely for grace to walk worthy of that God who has called me to His kingdom and glory. As your ladyship has been pleased to confer this honour upon me, I shall think it my duty to send you weekly accounts of what the Lord Jesus is pleased to do for me and by me.

“Glory be to His great name, the prospect is promising. My Lord Bath[198] received me yesterday morning very cordially, and would give me five guineas for the orphans. God’s peculiar providence has placed your ladyship at Chelsea. Upon the road, I propose writing you my thoughts of what scheme seems to be most practicable, in order to carry on the work of God, both here and in America.”

To a friend, on the same day, Whitefield wrote:――

“LONDON, September 1, 1748.

“I have been a mile or two upon the road to Scotland, but turned back because my chaise was not registered.

“My hands have been full of work, and I have been among great company. A privy counsellor of the King of Denmark, and others, with one of the Prince of Wales’s favourites, dined and drank tea with me on Monday. On Tuesday, I preached twice at Lady Huntingdon’s, to several of the nobility. In the morning, the Earl of Chesterfield[199] was present. In the evening, Lord Bolingbroke.[200] All behaved quite well, and were in some degree affected. Lord Chesterfield thanked me, and said, ‘Sir, I will not tell you what I shall tell others, how I approve of you,’ or words to this purpose. He conversed with me freely afterwards. Lord Bolingbroke was much moved, and desired I would come and see him next morning. I did; and his lordship behaved with great candour and frankness. All accepted of my sermons. Thus, my dear brother, the world turns round. ‘In all time of my wealth, good Lord, deliver me!’”

Before following Whitefield to Scotland, further extracts from his letters must be given.

The friendship between Whitefield and the celebrated Dr. Doddridge has been already noticed. He now commenced an important correspondence with one of the doctor’s converts. James Stonehouse was a year or two younger than Whitefield, and was practising as a physician at Northampton. For seven years, he had been an infidel; and had written a pamphlet against revealed religion, which reached three editions. The death of his young wife, at the age of twenty-five, caused reflection. He read Doddridge’s “Rise and Progress of Religion,” and was converted. He was now a sincere and ardent Christian; and Whitefield began to urge him to become a minister. After much hesitancy, he entered into holy orders, and obtained the lectureship of All Saints’, Bristol. In 1791, he succeeded to the title of baronet. He was a man of great ability, was no mean poet, published several religious pamphlets, and died, in 1795, full of years and honour. He was now living in terms of great intimacy with Doddridge and Hervey, and had written to Whitefield, giving him advice about his health. At present, Whitefield had no leisure to place himself in the hands of a physician. He was soon to start for Scotland; and he wished to publish a new and revised edition of his journals, and of some of his sermons. Hence the following, addressed to Dr. Stonehouse:――

“LONDON, August 22, 1748.

“VERY DEAR SIR,――I thank you for your concern about my health. If it should please God to bring me back from Scotland, to winter in town, I have thoughts of submitting to some regimen or other. At present, I think it impracticable.

“I heartily wish that you and Dr. Doddridge[201] and Mr. Hervey would be pleased to revise my journals and last five sermons. I intend publishing a new edition soon. I always do as you desire in respect to Mr. Wesley’s sermons. My prayer for him, for myself, and for my friends, is this,――‘Lord, give us clear heads and clean hearts!’

“I would recommend Bishop Beveridge’s sermons more, but they are too voluminous for the common people, and I have not read them all. I expect you will do this yourself, by-and-by, from the pulpit, and recommend his and your Master to the choice of poor sinners. By your excellent letter, you have publicly confessed Him. The eyes of all will be now upon you, to see whether the truths you have delivered to others are transcribed in your own heart, and copied in your life. Now indeed may you cry――

‘O for a strong, a lasting faith, To credit what the Almighty saith!’

“Dear sir, let me entreat you to keep from trimming, or so much as attempting to reconcile two irreconcilable differences,――God and the world, Christ and Belial. You know me too well to suppose I want you to turn cynic. No, live a social life; but beg of the Lord Jesus to free you from love of the world. Thence arises that fear of man, which now shackles and disturbs your soul. Dare, dear sir, to be singularly good. If Christ be your Saviour, make Him a present of your pretty character. Honour Him, and He will honour you. Never rest till you can give up children, name, life, and all into His hands, who gave His precious blood for you. I make you no apology for this: you say you are my friend.”

Whitefield left London on September 3, and, halting at Olney, wrote, as follows, to a friend in New England:――

“OLNEY, September 4, 1748.

“It is always darkest before daybreak. It has been so in England. Matters, as to religion, were come almost to an extremity. The enemy had broken in upon us like a flood. The Spirit of the Lord is now lifting up a standard. The prospect of the success of the gospel, I think, was never more promising. In the church, tabernacle, and fields, congregations have been great; and, perhaps, as great power as ever hath accompanied the word. A door is also opening for the mighty and noble. I have preached four times to several of the nobility at good Lady Huntingdon’s. All behaved exceeding well; and, I suppose, in the winter, opportunities of preaching to them will be frequent.

“As for returning to America, if I live, I believe there is no doubt of it. I intend keeping myself free from Societies, and hope to see you again next year.”

Whitefield arrived in Edinburgh on Wednesday, September 14, and continued in Scotland until October 27.[202] During his stay in London, he had preached regularly, at least once a week, in the Church of St. Bartholomew, of which his quondam enemy, but now ardent friend, the Rev. Richard T. Bateman, was rector. Though now patronized by the Countess of Huntingdon and several of the nobles of the land, Whitefield was not permitted to preach in any metropolitan church except this; and even for granting this permission, Mr. Bateman was likely to be involved in trouble. Dr. Gibson, Bishop of London, died three days after Whitefield set out for Scotland; and it was hoped that Bateman’s troubles would be buried in the bishop’s grave. Two days subsequent to his arrival at Edinburgh, Whitefield wrote to Mr. Bateman as follows:――

“EDINBURGH, September 16, 1748.

“REVEREND AND DEAR SIR,――I have met with a hearty welcome. Last night, I preached to a Moorfields congregation, for numbers; and the Lord, I believe, was pleased to give His blessing. I hope all is well in London. The bishop’s death, I suppose, will prevent any further stir about Bartholomew’s. I shall be glad to hear how you go on. Pray, dear sir, how are your circumstances? You will not be offended, if I say that more than one have informed me of your being in debt. I thought it my duty to apprize you of this, because I know what a burden it is to be in debt; not indeed for myself, but for others.”

Except about a dozen days spent at Glasgow and Cambuslang, Whitefield’s labours in Scotland seem to have been confined to Edinburgh. In various letters to the Countess of Huntingdon, he relates, that, at his first coming, he was rather discouraged; for “some of the ministers were shy,” many of his friends were dead, others were backsliders, the weather was boisterous, and he himself was hoarse. “I have met,” said he, on September 29, “with some unexpected rubs, but not one more than was necessary to humble my proud heart.” A fortnight later, he tells her ladyship that, in the Synod of Glasgow, there had been a long debate about him; and that the Presbytery of Perth had “made an act against employing” him. He adds:――

“Ill-nature shews itself in Edinburgh, but I feel the benefit of it. Congregations are large, and I am enabled to preach with greater power. My hoarseness is quite gone, and my bodily health much improved. If my enemies shew themselves, I am persuaded the blessed Jesus will bless me to His people more and more. Some give out that I am employed by the Government to preach against the Pretender; and the seceders are angry with me for not preaching up the Scotch Covenant. Blessed be God! I preach up the covenant of grace, and I trust many souls are taught to profit.”

When at Topcliff, on his way back to London, he wrote to the Countess:――

“Thanks be to the Lord of all lords for directing my way to Scotland! I have reason to believe some have been awakened, and many, many quickened and comforted. My old friends are more solidly so than ever; and, I trust, a foundation has been laid for doing much good, if the Lord should call me thither again. Two Synods and one Presbytery brought me upon the carpet; but all has worked for good. The more I was blackened, the more the Redeemer comforted me.”

This was the first time that Whitefield had been discussed in the Ecclesiastical Courts of Scotland. Though many of the clergy had been dissatisfied with the countenance given to Whitefield’s preaching, several circumstances had hitherto prevented them from uniting in any public measure to restrain it. The proceedings of “The Associate Presbytery” had been so intemperate, that the clergy of the Establishment naturally felt a reluctance to countenance their calumnies. The great body of the people, also, were so extremely attached to him, that a direct attack upon his ministry could scarcely have been made, without incurring public odium. Further, some of the most distinguished families in Scotland were his constant hearers, and were in the habit of admitting him to their private society. Among these, in particular, was his Majesty’s representative, as Lord High Commissioner, in the General Assembly, who not only attended his ministrations, and invited him to his house, but introduced him to his public table, during the session of the assembly. When these circumstances are added to the long-established practice of the Presbyterian Church, with regard to occasional communion with other churches, it is not surprising that the ministers of the Establishment were not forward to agitate a question on which unanimity was not to be expected, and in which principle and prudence were both involved.

It is difficult to conceive why the subject of Whitefield’s character and preaching were debated now. Perhaps the members of the Glasgow Synod were afraid of a repetition of the marvellous scenes which had been witnessed at Cambuslang and other places, in 1742. Or, perhaps, they were deeply offended, because, during his present visit, Whitefield had been employed to preach for Dr. Gillies in the College Church of Glasgow, and for Dr. Erskine in the Church of Kirkintilloch. Be that as it may, the Synod of Glasgow deemed it right to discuss the matter. The topics introduced were numerous, but stale. He was a priest of the Church of England; he had not subscribed the formula; he had been imprudent; his Orphan-house scheme was chimerical; there was want of evidence that the money he collected was rightly applied; he asserted that assurance was essential to faith; he encouraged a dependence on impulses and immediate revelations; he declared, on slender evidence, some people converted, and others carnal and unregenerated; he often pretended to repent of his blunders, but as often relapsed into them; and, finally, he was under a sentence of suspension by Commissary Garden.[203] These were the accusations. Keen debates occurred; and, at length, the following, almost neutral, proposition was submitted: “That no minister within the bounds of the Synod should employ ministers or preachers, not licensed or ordained in Scotland, till he had had sufficient evidence of their license and good character, and should be in readiness to give an account of his conduct to his own presbytery, when required.” Thirteen voted against the proposition, and twenty-seven for it.[204]

Similar resolutions were adopted by the Synod of Lothian and ♦Tweeddale, the Synod of Perth and Stirling, and by the Presbytery of Edinburgh; and, to complete the whole, six hundred of the followers of the Erskines, by whom Whitefield was first invited to visit Scotland, assembled in Edinburgh on November 16, and swore to observe the League and Covenant; and “solemnly engaged to strengthen one another’s hands, in the use of lawful means, to extirpate Popery, Prelacy, Arminianism, Arianism, Tritheism, Sabellianism, and George Whitefieldism.” The service “was conducted by the Rev. Adam Gibb and his helpers, with great solemnity, and the generality of the people evidenced an uncommon seriousness and concern.”[205]

Of course, all this created great commotion; but limited space will only permit the insertion of the following letter, which was printed in the Edinburgh Courant:――

“SIR,――On the 27th of October, the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield set out from this place” (Edinburgh) “to London. During the time of his stay here, he preached about twenty times in the Orphan Hospital Park, three times in the Tolbooth Church, and twice in that of the Cannongate, to very large congregations; and was much approven of, by the generality of serious Christians, as a well-accomplished gospel preacher. As his conversation in private, as well as public, gave entire satisfaction to those who were most intimate with him, it is not a little surprising to them to find him represented and asserted to be a person of suspicious character. He declared, upon his arrival here, that he was to make no public collections; and he did not. Neither did he ask money or anything else from any person.[206] As it is reported he will pay us a visit next summer, it is not doubted but it will be very acceptable to all who rejoice that Christ is preached, and sinners are saved through Him.”

Dr. Stonehouse, of Northampton, has been mentioned. Whitefield wished him to become a minister; but Stonehouse was timorous, and afraid of being called a Methodist. Whitefield desired to have an interview with him, on his return from Scotland, and hence the following letter:――

“GLASGOW, September 28, 1748.

“MY VERY DEAR SIR,――I purpose to preach at Oundle, in my way to London. Glad shall I be to see two such friends, as you and Mr. Hervey, though incog. I will endeavour to send you timely notice. I would have neither of you expose yourselves to needless contempt on my account. I think I can say that I am willing to be forgotten, even by my friends, if Jesus Christ may thereby be exalted. But then, I would not have my friends act an inconsistent part towards that Friend of all――that Friend of sinners, the glorious Emmanuel. Whilst you are afraid of men, you will expose yourself to a thousand inconveniences. Your polite company (unless you converse with them more as their physician than as their companion) will prevail on you to such compliances as will make you smart, when you retire into your closet and reflect on the part you have acted. Before I shook off the world, I often came out of company shorn of all my strength, like poor Samson when he had lost his locks. But this is a tender point.

“Go on, dear sir, and prove the strength of Jesus to be yours. Continue instant in prayer, and you shall see and feel infinitely greater things than you have yet seen or felt. I am of your opinion, that there is seed sown in England, which will grow up into a great tree. God’s giving some of the mighty and noble a hearing ear forebodes future good. I do not despair of seeing you a proclaimer of the unsearchable riches of Christ. God be praised! that Mr. Hervey is so bold an advocate for his blessed Lord.”

Whitefield was always in trouble, from one quarter or another. While the ecclesiastical courts of Scotland were interdicting his preaching, without mentioning his name, Lavington, the Bishop of Exeter, was lashed into an unchristian rage against him. His Lordship of Exeter had recently delivered a charge to the clergy of his diocese. Some unknown wag circulated what pretended to be a manuscript copy of the charge, but containing declarations of doctrine and Christian experience worthy of Whitefield and Wesley themselves. Without authority, the pretended charge was printed, and occasioned the publication of several pamphlets in reply and congratulation. Meanwhile, however, Lavington, the inveterate hater of Methodists and Moravians, was dubbed a Methodist. This, to his lordship, was intolerable, and drew forth from him an angry “declaration,” in which he charged the Methodist chiefs with being the authors of the fraud. The charge was utterly unfounded; the Countess of Huntingdon interfered; with great difficulty she obtained a recantation from the infuriated prelate; and this was published in the leading journals of the day. The following letter refers to this disreputable fracas.

“GLASGOW, October 5, 1748.

“VERY DEAR SIR,――I received yours this morning, and think it my duty to send you an immediate answer.

“You might well inform my Lord of Exeter that I knew nothing of the printing of his lordship’s pretended charge, or of the pamphlets occasioned by it. When the former was sent to me in manuscript, from London to Bristol, as his lordship’s production, I immediately said, it could not be his. When I found it printed, I spoke to the officious printer, who did it out of his own head, and blamed him very much. When I saw the pamphlet, I was still more offended. Repeatedly, in several companies, I urged the injustice as well as imprudence thereof, and said it would produce what it did,――I mean a ♦declaration from his lordship, that he was no Methodist. I am sorry his lordship had such an occasion given him to declare his aversion to what is called Methodism; and, though I think his lordship, in his declaration, has been somewhat severe concerning some of the Methodist leaders, I cannot blame him for saying, that he thought ‘some of them were worse than ignorant and misguided,’ supposing that his lordship had sufficient proof that they caused to be printed a charge which he had never owned nor published.

“If you think proper, you may let his lordship see the contents of this. I will only add, that, I wish a way could be found, whereby his lordship and other of the right reverend the bishops might converse with some of us. Many mistakes might thereby be rectified, and perhaps his lordship’s sentiments, in some degree, might be altered. If this cannot be effected, (I speak only for myself,) I am content to wait till we all appear before the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls. Meanwhile, I heartily pray, that their lordships may be blessed with all spiritual blessings, and wishing you the like mercies, I subscribe myself, very dear sir, your affectionate, obliged, humble servant,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

Whitefield reached London at the beginning of November, and immediately resumed preaching, twice a week, in the house of the Countess of Huntingdon, “to the great and noble.”[207] Here he had to encounter another trouble. In a letter, dated October 20th, 1748, Howell Harris gives an account of his labours, in South and North Wales, during the last nine weeks. He had visited thirteen counties, had travelled a hundred and fifty miles every week, and had preached two sermons every day, and sometimes three or four. During the last week of his tour, he had never taken off his clothes; and, in one instance, had travelled above a hundred miles, from morning to the evening of the ensuing day, without any rest, preaching on the mountains at midnight, in order to avoid the persecution of Sir Watkin William Wynn. Such was the malevolence of the Welsh baronet towards the poor Methodists, that, only a few days before, for simply meeting together to worship God, a number of them had had to pay fines, varying from five shillings to twenty pounds. Encouraged by those who ought to have known better, the mobs, in many places, were almost murderously violent; and, near to Bala, Harris received a blow on the head nearly sufficient to “split his skull in two.”[208] Whitefield was informed of these outrageous proceedings; he reported them to the Countess of Huntingdon; her ladyship laid the particulars before the Government; and, to the no small mortification of Sir Watkin Wynn, the fines he had exacted from the Methodists were ordered to be returned.[209]

Five years ago, Whitefield had formed an acquaintance with Dr. Doddridge, the great Dissenting tutor; he now visited the equally celebrated Dr. Watts, whom the Dissenters of the day might properly have regarded as their patriarch. Watts had looked upon Whitefield with disfavour, and had chidden Doddridge for lowering the dignity of the Dissenting minister and tutor, by preaching in Whitefield’s wooden meeting-house. For more than thirty years, Watts had been a beloved and honoured guest in the mansion of Sir Thomas Abney, Stoke Newington. He was now dying, and, on November 25th, away Whitefield went to see him. Being introduced, Whitefield tenderly enquired, “how he found himself?” “I am one of Christ’s waiting servants,” replied the dying Doctor. Whitefield assisted in raising him up in bed, that he might with more convenience take his medicine. Watts apologised for the trouble he occasioned. Whitefield answered, “Surely, I am not too good to wait on a waiting servant of Christ.” Whitefield took his leave; and half an hour afterwards Dr. Watts was dead.[210] Thus met and parted the great hymnist and the great preacher, until they met again in “the palace of angels and God.”[211]

A week after Watts’s death, Whitefield set out for Gloucester and Bristol. In the latter city, his preaching was the means of converting a Welsh shoemaker, who subsequently became one of Wesley’s best itinerant preachers, and who, in his wide wanderings, composed a few of the finest hymns ever sung in the Christian Church,――hymns not surpassed by the best of Dr. Watts’s, and which, after a century’s use, are as much in favour among the Methodists as ever.

Thomas Olivers was now twenty-three years of age. His life had been rambling and wicked. Getting into debt had been a regular practice, and profane swearing had become his habitual sin. The first night that he spent in Bristol he was literally penniless. Having obtained work, he went to lodge in the house of a man who had been a Methodist, but was now “a slave to drunkenness.” In the same house, there was “a lukewarm Moravian.” Olivers and the Moravian disputed “about election,” till they quarrelled. The Moravian, a tall, lusty fellow, struck the Welshman. Olivers says, “I knew I should have no chance in fighting him, and therefore, for a whole hour, I cursed and swore, with all the rage of a fiend, in such a manner as is seldom equalled on earth, or exceeded even in hell itself.” Soon after this, Olivers met a multitude of people in the streets of Bristol, and asked where they had been. One answered, “To hear Mr. Whitefield.” Olivers thought, “I have often heard of Mr. Whitefield, and have sung songs about him: I’ll go and hear him myself.” Accordingly, he went. Whitefield’s text was, “Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” Olivers was there and then convinced of sin, and resolved to give his heart to God. The next Sunday, he went to the cathedral at six in the morning; and, as the Te Deum was read, “felt as if he had done with earth, and was praising God before His throne.” At eight, he went to hear Whitefield preach; at ten, he went to Christchurch; at two in the afternoon, he again attended church; at five, he heard Whitefield, and concluded the day at a Baptist meeting. He writes: “The love I had for Mr. Whitefield was inexpressible. I used to follow him as he walked the streets, and could scarce refrain from kissing the very prints of his feet.”

Five years after this, Thomas Olivers had paid all his debts, and was one of Wesley’s itinerant preachers. His subsequent history was too remarkable to be condensed in a work like this.

Whitefield’s Orphan House was again causing him anxiety. He wrote to a friend in America: “I want to make it a seminary of learning. If some such thing be not done, I cannot see how the southern parts will be provided with ministers. All here are afraid to come over.”[212] He had also heard that his wife had lessened the Orphan-house family, and was about to return to England.[213] And, further, he had been informed that the trustees were about to allow the employment of slaves in Georgia.[214] These circumstances led him to write a long and remarkable letter to the trustees. The following is an extract:――

“GLOUCESTER, December 6, 1748.

“HONOURED GENTLEMEN,――Not want of respect, but a suspicion that my letters would not be acceptable, has been the occasion of my not writing to you these four years last past. I am sensible, that in some of my former letters, I expressed myself in too strong and sometimes in unbecoming terms. For this I desire to be humbled before God and man. I can assure you, however, that, to the best of my knowledge, I have acted a disinterested part. I have simply aimed at God’s glory, and the good of mankind. This principle drew me first to Georgia; this, and this alone, induced me to begin and carry on the Orphan House; and this, honoured gentlemen, excites me to trouble you with the present lines.

“I need not inform you, how the colony of Georgia has been declining, and at what great disadvantages I have maintained a large family in that wilderness. Upwards of £5000 have been expended in that undertaking; and yet, very little proficiency has been made in the cultivation of my tract of land; and that entirely owing to the necessity I lay under of making use of white hands. Had negroes been allowed, I should now have had a sufficiency to support a great many orphans, without expending above half the sum that has been laid out. An unwillingness to let so good a design drop induced me, two years ago, to purchase a plantation in South Carolina, where negroes are allowed. This plantation has succeeded; and, though I have only eight working hands, in all probability, there will be more raised in one year, and with a quarter of the expense, than has been produced at Bethesda for several years past. This confirms me in the opinion, I have long entertained, that, Georgia never can be a flourishing province, unless negroes are employed.

“But, notwithstanding my private judgment, I am determined, that, not one of mine shall ever be allowed to work at the Orphan House till it can be done in a legal manner, and with the approbation of the Honourable Trustees. My chief end in writing this, is to inform you, that, I am as willing as ever to do all I can for Georgia and the Orphan House, if either a limited use of negroes is approved of, or some more indentured servants be sent from England. If not, I cannot promise to keep any large family, or cultivate the plantation in any considerable manner.

“I would also further recommend to your consideration, whether, as the Orphan House is intended for a charitable purpose, it ought not to be exempted from all quit-rents and public taxes? And, as most of the land on which the Orphan House is built is good for little, I would humbly enquire, whether I may not have a grant of five hundred more acres, not taken up, somewhere near the Orphan House?

“If you, Honourable Gentlemen, are pleased to put the colony upon another footing,――I mean in respect to the permission of a limited use of negroes,――my intention is to make the Orphan House, not only a receptacle for fatherless children, but also a place of literature and academical studies. Such a place is much wanted in the southern parts of America, and, if conducted in a proper manner, must necessarily be of great service to any colony. I can easily procure proper persons to embark in such a cause.”

From such a pen, this is a strange production. Whitefield, with his large heart, urging the introduction of slavery into the province of Georgia, and almost threatening to abandon his Orphan House unless his proposal be granted! Whitefield’s honour is best cared for by saying as little about the incident as possible.

Having spent five days at Gloucester, during which he preached five times, and received the sacrament at the cathedral; and having similarly employed himself for a week at Bristol, Whitefield, at the request of the Countess of Huntingdon, returned to London on December 17th, and resumed his ministry in the Tabernacle, and in the mansion of her ladyship.

“I am now,” he wrote, “thirty-four years of age; and alas! how little have I done and suffered for Him, who has done and suffered so much for me! Thanks be to His great name for countenancing my poor ministrations so much.”[215]

A letter to Dr. Doddridge, to whom Whitefield had submitted his Journals for revision,[216] may properly close the year 1748,――a year, which, like all previous ones of his career, had been thronged with adventures and striking incidents.

“LONDON, December 21, 1748.

“REVEREND AND VERY DEAR SIR,――I was glad, very glad, to receive your letter, dated November 7th, though it did not reach me till last night. I thank you for it a thousand times. It has led me to the throne of grace, where I have been crying, ‘Lord, counsel my counsellors, and shew them what Thou wouldest have me to do!’ Alas! alas! how can I be too severe against myself, who, Peter-like, have cut off so many ears, and, by imprudences, mixed with my zeal, have dishonoured the cause of Jesus! I can only look up to Him, who healed the high-priest’s servant’s ear, and say, ‘Lord, heal all the wounds my misguided zeal has given!’ Assure yourself, dear sir, everything I print shall be revised. I always have submitted my poor performances to my friends’ corrections. Time and experience ripen men’s judgments, and make them more solid, rational, and consistent. O that this may be my case!

“I thank you, dear sir, for your solemn charge in respect to my health. Blessed be God! it is much improved since my return from Scotland, and I trust, by observing the rules you prescribe, I shall be enabled to declare the works of the Lord.

“But what shall I say concerning your present trial?[217] I most earnestly sympathise with you, having had the same trial from the same quarter long ago. The Moravians first divided my family; then my parish, in Georgia; and, after that, the Societies which I was an instrument of gathering. I suppose not less than four hundred, through their practices, have left the Tabernacle. But I have been forsaken in other ways. I have not had above a hundred to hear me, where I had twenty thousand; and hundreds now assemble within a quarter of a mile of me, who never come to see or speak to me, though they must own, at the great day, that I was their spiritual father. All this I find but little enough to teach me to cease from man, and to wean me from that too great fondness, which spiritual fathers are apt to have for their spiritual children. But I have generally observed, that, when one door of usefulness is shut, another opens. Our Lord blesses you, dear sir, in your writings;[218] nay, your people’s treating you as they are now permitted to do, perhaps, is one of the greatest blessings you ever received from heaven. I know no other way of dealing with the Moravians, than to go on preaching the truth as it is in Jesus, and resting upon the promise, ‘Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be plucked up.’ Seven years will make a great alteration. I believe their grand design is to extend their economy as far as possible. This is now kept up by dint of money, and, I am apt to think, the very thing, by which they think to establish, will destroy their scheme. God is a gracious Father, and will not always let His children proceed in a wrong way. Doubtless, there are many of His dear little ones in the Moravian flock; but many of their principles and practices are exceeding wrong, for which, I doubt not, our Lord will rebuke them in His own time.

“But I fear that I weary you. Love makes my pen to move too fast, and too long. Last Sunday evening, I preached at the other end of the town, to a most brilliant assembly. They expressed great approbation; and some, I think, begin to feel. Good Lady Huntingdon is a mother in Israel. She is all in a flame for Jesus.”

Whitefield’s remarks concerning the Moravians may, perhaps, seem somewhat harsh; but they were not untrue, and will prepare the reader for other critiques hereafter.

Whitefield mentions his “brilliant assembly” in the mansion of the Countess of Huntingdon. In a letter to the Countess of Bath, he wrote, “It would please you to see the assemblies at her ladyship’s house. They are brilliant ones indeed. The prospect of catching some of the rich, in the gospel net, is very promising. I know you will wish prosperity in the name of the Lord.”[219]

No wonder that, after one of his first services at Lady Huntingdon’s, Whitefield said, “I went home, never more surprised at any incident in my life.”[220] Such congregations were unique. Nothing like them had heretofore been witnessed. There were gatherings of England’s proud nobility, assembled to listen to a young preacher, whose boyhood had been spent in a public-house; whose youth, at the university, had been employed partly in study, and partly in attending to the wants of fellow-students, who declined to treat him as an equal; and whose manhood life, for the last thirteen years, had been a commingling of marvellous popularity and violent contempt,――a scene of infirmities and errors, and yet of unreserved and unceasing devotion to the cause of Christ and the welfare of his fellow-men. Such was the youthful preacher,――a man of slender learning, of mean origin, without Church preferment, hated by the clergy, and maligned by the public press. Who were his aristocratic hearers? The following list is supplied by the well-informed author of “The Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon”:――

Lady Fanny Shirley, who had long been one of the reigning beauties of the court of George the First; the Duchess of Argyll; Lady Betty Campbell; Lady Ferrers; Lady Sophia Thomas; the Duchess of Montagu, daughter of the great Duke of Marlborough; Lady Cardigan; Lady Lincoln; Mrs. Boscawen; Mrs. Pitt; Miss Rich; Lady Fitzwalter; Lady Caroline Petersham; the Duchess of Queensbury, daughter of the Earl of Clarendon, and celebrated for extraordinary beauty, wit, and sprightliness, by Pope, Swift, and Prior; the Duchess of Manchester; Lady Thanet, daughter of the Marquis of Halifax, and wife of Sackville, Earl of Thanet; Lady St. John, niece of Lady Huntingdon; Lady Luxborough, the friend and correspondent of Shenstone, the poet; Lady Monson, whose husband, in 1760, was created Baron Sondes; Lady Rockingham, the wife of the great statesman, a woman of immense wit and pleasant temper, often at court, and possessed of considerable influence in the higher circles of society; Lady Betty Germain, daughter of the Earl of Berkeley, and through her husband, Sir John Germain, the possessor of enormous wealth; Lady Eleanor Bertie, a member of the noble family of Abingdon; the Dowager-Duchess of Ancaster; the Dowager-Lady Hyndford; the Duchess of Somerset; the Countess Delitz, one of the daughters of the Duchess of Kendal, and the sister of Lady Chesterfield; Lady Hinchinbroke, granddaughter of the Duke of Montagu; and Lady Schaubs.

Besides these “honourable women not a few,” there were also the Earl of Burlington, so famed for his admiration of the works of Inigo Jones, and for his architectural expenditure; George Bubb Dodington, afterwards Lord Melcombe, a friend and favourite of the Prince of Wales, and whose costly mansion was often crowded with literary men; George Augustus Selwyn, an eccentric wit, to whom nearly all the current bon-mots of the day were attributed; the Earl of Holderness; Lord (afterwards Marquess) Townshend, named George, after his godfather, George the First, a distinguished general in the army, member of Parliament for Norfolk, and ultimately a field-marshal. Charles Townshend, now a young man of twenty-three, whom Burke described as “the delight and ornament of the House of Commons, and the charm of every private society he honoured with his presence;” Lord St. John, half-brother to Lord Bolingbroke; the Earl of Aberdeen; the Earl of Lauderdale; the Earl of Hyndford, Envoy Extraordinary to the King of Prussia; the Marquis of Tweeddale, Secretary of State for Scotland; George, afterwards, Lord Lyttelton, at one time member for Okehampton, and secretary of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and who had recently published his well-known book, “Observations on the Conversion of St. Paul;” William Pitt, the distinguished first Earl of Chatham; Lord North, in his twenty-first year, afterwards First Lord of the Treasury, and ultimately Earl of Guildford; Evelyn, Duke of Kingston; Viscount Trentham (a title borne by the Duke of Sutherland); the Earl of March (one of the titles of the Duke of Richmond); the Earl of Haddington; Edward Hussey, who married a daughter of the Duke of Montagu, and was created Earl of Beaulieu; Hume Campbell, afterwards created Baron Hume; the Earl of Sandwich, subsequently ambassador to the court of Spain, First Lord of the Admiralty, and Secretary of State for the Home Department; and Lord Bolingbroke, the friend of the Pretender, a man of great ability,――a statesman, a philosopher, and an infidel.

Gillies adds to this long list the name of David Hume, who had recently returned from Italy in great chagrin, because the people of England “entirely overlooked and neglected” his “Inquiry concerning Human Understanding.” It is said that Hume considered Whitefield the most ingenious preacher he ever listened to, and that twenty miles were not too far to go to hear him. “Once,” said the great infidel, “Whitefield addressed his audience thus: ‘The attendant angel is about to leave us, and ascend to heaven. Shall he ascend and not bear with him the news of one sinner reclaimed from the error of his way?’ And, then, stamping with his foot, and lifting up his hands and eyes to heaven, he cried aloud, ‘Stop, Gabriel, stop, ere you enter the sacred portals, and yet carry with you the tidings of one sinner being saved.’ This address surpassed anything I ever saw or heard in any other preacher.”

The Earl of Chesterfield and the Earl of Bath have been previously noticed as being among Whitefield’s hearers. One more name must be mentioned. Lady Townshend was one of Whitefield’s earliest admirers. Her wit and eccentricities were notorious. Of course she was a member of the Church of England; but Horace Walpole tells a story of George Selwyn detecting her crossing herself and praying before the altar of a popish chapel. Alternately, she liked and disliked Whitefield. “She certainly means,” said Walpole, “to go armed with every viaticum――the Church of England in one hand, Methodism in the other, and the Host in her mouth.”[221] Whitefield had the moral courage to tackle even this eccentric lady; and, towards the close of 1748, wrote to her as follows:――

“Yesterday, good Lady Huntingdon informed me that your ladyship was ill. Had I judged it proper, I would have waited upon your ladyship this morning; but I was cautious of intrusion. My heart’s desire and prayer to God is, that this sickness be not unto death, but to His glory, and the present and eternal good of your precious and immortal soul. O that from a spiritual abiding sense of the vanity of all created good, you may cry out,――

‘Begone, vain world, my heart resign, For I must be no longer thine: A nobler, a diviner guest Now claims possession of my breast.’

Then, and not till then, will your ladyship with cheerfulness wait for the approach of death. It is a true and living faith in the Son of God that can alone bring present peace, and lay a solid foundation for future and eternal comfort. I cannot wish your ladyship anything greater, anything more noble, than a large share of this precious faith. When, like Noah’s dove, we have been wandering about in a fruitless search after happiness, and have found no rest for the sole of our feet, the glorious Redeemer is ready to reach out His hand and receive us into His ark. This hand, honoured madam, He is reaching out to you. May you be constrained to give your heart entirely to Him, and thereby enter into that rest which remains for the happy, though despised, people of God.”

The foregoing were some, not all, of Whitefield’s aristocratic hearers. Others will be mentioned hereafter. The gatherings, in Chelsea and in North Audley Street, were profoundly interesting spectacles; and never, till the day of judgment, when all secrets will be unfolded, will it be ascertained to what extent the preaching of the youthful Whitefield affected the policy of some of England’s greatest statesmen, and moulded the character of some of its highest aristocratic families. Who will venture to deny that, in some of these families, the effects of Whitefield’s ministry is felt to the present day? Let us pursue his history.

Whitefield continued his correspondence with Hervey and Stonehouse. On January 13, 1749, he wrote to the former as follows:――

“The prospect of doing good to the rich, who attend the house of good Lady Huntingdon, is very encouraging. I preach there twice a week, and yesterday Lord Bolingbroke was one of my auditors. His lordship was pleased to express very great satisfaction. Who knows what God may do? He can never work by a meaner instrument. I want humility, I want thankfulness, I want a heart continually flaming with the love of God.

“I thank you for your kind invitation to your house and pulpit. I would not bring you or any of my friends into difficulties, for owning poor, unworthy, hell-deserving me; but, if Providence should give me a clear call, I shall be glad to come your way. I rejoice in the prospect of having some ministers in our church pulpits who dare own a crucified Redeemer. I hope the time will come when many of the priests will be obedient to the word.”

It is a humiliating fact, that Whitefield, an ordained clergyman, and under no official censure, was not able to avail himself of Hervey’s invitation without the probability of involving his gentle friend in trouble; and it is a beautiful trait in Whitefield’s character, that, however great the gratification of preaching in a church might be, he was unwilling to indulge himself in such a pleasure at the expense of any of his friends.

Dr. Stonehouse occasioned Whitefield sorrow and anxiety. The Doctor was a sincere, earnest, and devout Christian, but he was afraid of being branded as a Methodist; and, for the same reason, he was afraid of being known as one of Whitefield’s friends. Hence the following, written four days after the date of the letter just quoted:――

“The way of duty is the way of safety. Our Lord requires of us to confess Him in His gospel members and ministers. To be afraid of publicly owning, associating with, and strengthening the hearts and hands of the latter, especially when they are set for the defence of the gospel, is, in my opinion, very offensive in His sight, and can only proceed from a want of more love to Him and His people. You say, ‘We are most of us too warm;’ but I hope you do not think that being ashamed of any of your Lord’s ministers is an instance of it. Thanks be to God! that Mr. Hervey seems, as you express it, ‘to court the enmity of mankind.’ It is an error on the right side. Better so than to be afraid of it. The Lord never threatened to spew any church out of His mouth for being too hot; but, for being neither hot nor cold, He has. It is too true, my dear sir, ‘we have but few faithful ministers;’ but is keeping at a distance from one another the way to strengthen their interest? By no means. To tell you my whole mind, I do not believe God will bless either you or your friends, to any considerable degree, till you are more delivered from the fear of man. Alas! how were you bowed down with it, when I saw you last! And your letter bespeaks you yet a slave to it. O my brother, deal faithfully with yourself, and you will find a love of the world, and a fear of not providing for your children, have gotten too much hold of your heart. Do not mistake me. I would not have you throw yourself into flames. I would only have you act a consistent part, and not, for fear of a little contempt, be ashamed of owning the ministers of Christ. After all, think not, my dear sir, that I am pleading my own cause. You are not in danger of seeing me at Northampton. I only take this occasion of saying a word or two to your heart. You will not be offended, as it proceeds from love. I salute Mr. Hervey, and dear Doctor Doddridge, most cordially.”

Towards the end of January, Whitefield set out, from London, to the west of England, where he spent the next five weeks. By appointment, he and Howell Harris held an “Association” at Gloucester,[222] where, he says, “affairs turned out better than expectation.” From Gloucester, he proceeded to Bristol, where he employed the next ten days.

Whitefield was singularly devoid of envy. On leaving London, his place at Lady Huntingdon’s was occupied by his friend Wesley,[223] whose preaching secured her ladyship’s approval. Robert Cruttenden also introduced the Rev. Thomas Gibbons, D.D.,[224] a young man of twenty-eight, who, at this time, was the officiating minister of the Independent Church at Haberdashers’ Hall. Cruttenden, in a letter to Whitefield, told him that their two hours’ interview with the Countess had been exceedingly pleasant.[225] With his large heart, Whitefield was delighted by such intelligence as this, and wrote to her ladyship as follows:――

“BRISTOL, February 1, 1749.

“I am glad your ladyship approves of Mr. Wesley’s conduct, and that he has preached at your ladyship’s. The language of my heart is, ‘Lord, send by whom Thou wilt send, only convert some of the mighty and noble, for Thy mercy’s sake!’ Then I care not if I am heard of no more. I am, also, glad your ladyship approves of Mr. Gibbons. He is, I think, a worthy man. By taking this method, you will have an opportunity of conversing with the best of all parties, without being a bigot, and too strenuously attached to any. Surely, in this, your ladyship is directed from above. The blessed Jesus cares for His people of all denominations. He is gathering His elect out of all. Happy they who, with a disinterested view, take in the whole church militant, and, in spite of narrow-hearted bigots, breathe an undissembled catholic spirit towards all.”

In the same month, Lady Huntingdon wrote to Whitefield a cheering account of the death of one of his noble converts:――

“My last,” says she, “mentioned the sudden illness of my Lord St. John. A few days after, her ladyship wrote to me in great alarm, and begged me to send some pious clergyman to her lord. Mr. Bateman went. His lordship enquired for you, to whom he said he was deeply indebted. His last words to Mr. Bateman were: ‘To God I commit myself. I feel how unworthy I am; but Jesus Christ died to save sinners; and the prayer of my heart now is, God be merciful to me a sinner!’ His lordship breathed his last about an hour after Mr. Bateman left. This, my good friend, is the firstfruits of that plenteous harvest, which, I trust, the great Husbandman will yet reap amongst the nobility of our land. Thus the great Lord of the harvest has put honour on your ministry. My Lord Bolingbroke was much struck with his brother’s language in his last moments. O that the obdurate heart of this desperate infidel may yet be shaken to its very centre! May his eyes be opened by the illuminating influence of Divine truth! May the Lord Jesus be revealed to his heart as the hope of glory and immortal bliss hereafter! I tremble for his destiny. He is a singularly awful character.”[226]

Whitefield’s preaching in Bristol was again successful.

“The power of the Lord,” he writes, “attended the word, as in days of old, and several persons, who never heard me before, were brought under great awakenings.”[227]

On February 8th, he proceeded to Exeter, where he found the Society affairs in great confusion; but, winter though it was, and though his health was far from being vigorous, he began to preach in the open air. Large crowds assembled; and, he says, “I trust real good was done.”[228] He also preached at Bovey-Tracey, where he “found several poor simple souls;” and at Marychurch, where there were about a score of converted people who had been greatly persecuted. At Kingsbridge, at eight o’clock at night, he found a thousand people assembled in the street, and at once commenced preaching, from the words, “I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work.” He writes:――

“I preached in the street. The moon shone. All were quiet; and, I hope, some began to think of working out their salvation with fear and trembling. The next morning, I preached again. Four ministers attended. Our Lord was pleased to make it a fine season. I had the pleasure of hearing, that, by two or three discourses preached at this place about five years ago, many souls were awakened. One young man, then called, has become a preacher. He was in a tree, partly to ridicule me. I spoke to him to imitate Zaccheus, and come down and receive the Lord Jesus. The word was backed with power. He heard, came down, believed, and now adorns the gospel.”[229]

On February 15, Whitefield arrived at Plymouth,[230] being escorted, the last ten miles of his journey, by a cavalcade of his “spiritual children,” who had gone out to meet him. He found “many hundreds, in the tabernacle, waiting to hear the word;” and, though the hour was late, he immediately commenced preaching. Here he remained a week. The following was addressed to Lady Huntingdon:――

“About two thousand attend every night. Last Sunday evening, in the field, there were above five thousand hearers. Affairs bear a promising aspect. I hear much good has been done at Bristol. Everywhere, fresh doors are opening, and people flock from all quarters. Prejudices subside, and strong impressions are made on many souls. I have not been so well, for so long a season, for many years, as I have been since I left London: a proof, I think, that the Lord calls me into the fields.”

Whilst at Plymouth, Whitefield wrote several letters, full of interest, but too long for insertion here. To Lady Betty Germain, he said:――

“Of the honourable women, ere long, I trust there will be not a few who will dare to be singularly good, and will confess the blessed Jesus before men. O with what a holy contempt may the poor despised believer look down on those who are yet immersed in the pleasures of sense, and, amidst all the refinements of their unassisted, unenlightened reason, continue slaves to their own lusts and passions! Happy, thrice happy, they who begin to experience what it is to be redeemed from this present evil world! You, honoured madam, I trust, are one of this happy number.”

To the Countess of Delitz, he wrote:――

“Your ladyship’s answering my poor scrawl was an honour I did not expect. Welcome, thrice welcome, honoured madam, into the world of new creatures! O what a scene of happiness lies before you! Your frames, my lady, like the moon, will wax and wane; but the Lord Jesus will remain your faithful friend. You seem to have the right point in view, to get the constant witness and indwelling of the Spirit of God in your heart. This the Redeemer has purchased for you. Of this, He has given your ladyship a taste. O that your honoured sister may go hand in hand with you! Wherefore doth she doubt?”

It has been previously stated that, on Whitefield’s arrival at Bermudas, he was warmly welcomed by the Church clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Holiday. Unfortunately, Mr. Holiday’s friendship was shortlived. Hence the following:――

“PLYMOUTH, February 20, 1749.

“I did not think Mr. Holiday’s friendship would hold long. It will be time enough for me to speak to him, when I see Bermudas again, which I propose doing as soon as possible. Meanwhile, I would observe that, if I am a Roman Catholic, the pope must have given me a very large dispensation. Surely, Mr. Holiday has acted like one, to pretend so much friendship, and yet have nothing of it in his heart. But thus it must be. We must be tried in every way. As for any secrets that I told him, he is very welcome to reveal them. You know me too well to judge I have many secrets. May the secret of the Lord be with me! and then I care not if there was a window in my heart for all mankind to see the uprightness of my intentions.

“I am now in the west, and have begun to take the field. Great multitudes flock to hear. I find it is a trial, to be thus divided between the work on this and the other side of the water. I am convinced I have done right in coming over now; but I keep myself quite disengaged, that I may be free to leave England the latter end of the summer, if the Lord is pleased to make my way clear. I long to have Bethesda a foundation for the Lord Jesus. If I can procure a proper person, of good literature, who will be content to stay two or three years, something may be done.”

Before his departure from Plymouth, Whitefield preached at Tavistock; where, he says, “I was rudely treated; for, whilst I was praying, some of the baser sort brought a bull and dogs, and disturbed us much; but I hope good was done.”

On reaching Exeter, he wrote to his friend Robert Cruttenden, once a minister of Christ, then an infidel, and now re-converted:――

“EXETER, February 25, 1749.

“I suppose you will be pleased that I am thus far in my return to London. O my friend, my friend, I come with fear and trembling. To speak to the rich and great, so as to win them to the blessed Jesus, is indeed a task. But, wherefore do we fear? We can do all things through Christ strengthening us. But why does Mr. Cruttenden think it strange that no one can be found to help me in the country? Is it not more strange that you should lie supine, burying your talents in a napkin, complaining you have nothing to do, and yet souls everywhere are perishing about you for lack of knowledge? Why do you not preach or print? At least, why do you not help me, or somebody or another, in a more public way? You are in the decline of life, and if you do not soon reassume the place, you are now qualified for, you may lose the opportunity for ever. I write this in great seriousness. May the Lord give you no rest, till you lift up your voice like a trumpet! Up, and be doing; and the Lord will be with you.”

Whitefield arrived in London at the beginning of the month of March. On his way, at Bristol, he and Charles Wesley met. Charles was to be married to Miss Gwynne a month afterwards, and wrote: “March 3. I met George Whitefield, and made him quite happy by acquainting him with my design.”[231] Whitefield spent a month in London, and was fully occupied, not only with preaching in the Tabernacle, and in the house of Lady Huntingdon, but with work that was not at all congenial to him.

At the end of the year 1748, the Rev. George White, the notorious clergyman of Colne, in Lancashire, had published his infamous “Sermon against the Methodists.” In a footnote, the fuming author, speaking of Whitefield and Wesley, said:――

“These officious haranguers cozen a handsome subsistence out of their irregular expeditions. No satisfactory account has been given us of Mr. Whitefield’s disbursements in Georgia; and, I am afraid, by his late modest insinuations, in or about the Highlands of Scotland, of the want of £500 more, he thinks the nation is become more and more foolish, and within the reach of his further impositions. It appears, from many probable accounts, that Mr. Wesley has, in reality, a better income than most of our bishops, though, now and then, (no great wonder,) it costs him some little pains to escape certain rough compliments.”[232]

This was a false, libellous attack on Whitefield’s honesty; and Grimshaw, of Haworth, and Benjamin Ingham wished him to answer it. His reply to Grimshaw was as follows:――

“LONDON, March 17, 1749.

“MY DEAR BROTHER,――What a blessed thing it is that we can write to, when we cannot see one another! By this means we increase our joys, and lessen our sorrows, and, as it were, exchange hearts.

“Thanks be to the Lord Jesus, that the work flourishes with you! I am glad your children grow so fast; they become fathers too soon; I wish some may not prove dwarfs at last. A word to the wise is sufficient. I have always found awakening times like spring times; many blossoms, but not always so much fruit. But go on, my dear man, and, in the strength of the Lord, you shall do valiantly. I long to be your way; but I suppose it will be two months first.

“Pray tell my dear Mr. Ingham that I cannot now answer the Preston[233] letter, being engaged in answering a virulent pamphlet, entitled, ‘The Enthusiasm of the Methodists and Papists compared,’ supposed to be done by the Bishop of Exeter. Thus it must be. If we will be temple builders, we must have the temple builders’ lot; I mean, hold a sword in one hand, and a trowel in the other. The Lord make us faithful Nehemiahs, for we have many Sanballats to deal with! But, wherefore should we fear? If Christ be for us, who can be against us? ‘Nil desperandum, Christo duce,’ is the Christian’s motto. Remember me, in the kindest manner, to honest-hearted Mr. Ingham, and tell him that, in a post or two, I hope he will hear from me.”

What Whitefield, for want of time, could not undertake was accomplished by the redoubtable Grimshaw, who, in an 8vo. pamphlet of 98 pages, cudgelled White almost unmercifully.[234]

Whitefield was answering Lavington. Notwithstanding the recantation extorted from him by the Countess of Huntingdon, only six months before, the irritable prelate could neither forget nor forgive the publication of the fictitious charge that has been already mentioned; and now he vented his anger by issuing anonymously the first part of “The Enthusiasm of Methodists and Papists compared.” (8vo. 82 pp.) No good end would be served by lengthened quotations from this scolding pamphlet. The Bishop of Exeter was too angry to be polite. Suffice it to say, that, so far as Whitefield is concerned, Lavington’s attacks are founded upon incautious and improper expressions in Whitefield’s publications――expressions most of which Whitefield himself had publicly lamented and withdrawn, or modified. The pith of the bishop’s pamphlet is contained in his last paragraph but one. The italics in the following quotations are his lordship’s own:――

“This new dispensation is a composition of enthusiasm, superstition, and imposture. When the blood and spirits run high, inflaming the brain and imagination, it is most properly enthusiasm, which is religion run mad; when low and dejected, causing groundless terrors, or the placing of the great duty of man in little observances, it is superstition, which is religion scared out of its senses; when any fraudulent dealings are made use of, and any wrong projects carried on under the mask of piety, it is imposture, and may be termed religion turned hypocrite.”

The title of Whitefield’s answer was as follows: “Some Remarks on a Pamphlet, entitled, ‘The Enthusiasm of Methodists and Papists compared;’ wherein several mistakes in some parts of his past writings and conduct are acknowledged, and his present sentiments concerning the Methodists explained. In a letter to the Author. By George Whitefield, late of Pembroke College, Chaplain to the Right Honourable the Countess of Huntingdon. ‘Out of the eater came forth meat’ (Judges xiv. 4). London: printed by W. Strahan, 1749.” (8vo. 48 pp.)

The title-page indicates the contents of Whitefield’s pamphlet. He honestly acknowledges his errors by inserting the letter already given, under the date of “June 24, 1748,” and which, with very little alteration, had been published in Scotland, before Lavington’s malignant ridicule had been committed to the press. Three brief extracts, from Whitefield’s “Remarks,” will be enough. In reply to the accusation of claiming to be inspired and infallible, Whitefield says:――

“No, sir, my mistakes have been too many, and my blunders too frequent, to make me set up for infallibility. I came soon into the world; I have carried high sail, whilst running through a whole torrent of popularity and contempt; and, by this means, I have sometimes been in danger of oversetting; but many and frequent as my mistakes have been, or may be, as soon as I am made sensible of them, they shall be publicly acknowledged and retracted.”

Again, having stated what are the doctrines of the Methodists, Whitefield writes:――

“These are doctrines as diametrically opposite to the Church of Rome, as light to darkness. They are the very doctrines for which Ridley, Latimer, Cranmer, and so many of our first reformers burnt at the stake. And, I will venture to say, they are doctrines which, when attended with a divine energy, always have made, and, maugre all opposition, always will make, their way through the world, however weak the instruments, who deliver them, may be.”

Then, again, the object at which Whitefield and his friends were aiming is thus described:――

“To awaken a drowsy world; to rouse them out of their formality, as well as profaneness, and put them upon seeking after a present and great salvation; to point out to them a glorious rest, which not only remains for the people of God hereafter, but which, by a living faith, the very chief of sinners may enter into even here, and without which the most blazing profession is nothing worth――is, as far as I know, the one thing――the grand and common point, in which all the Methodists’ endeavours centre. This is what some of all denominations want to be reminded of; and to stir them up to seek after the life and power of godliness, that they may be Christians, not only in word and profession, but in spirit and in truth, is, and, through Jesus Christ strengthening me, shall be the one sole business of my life.”

Answers to Bishop Lavington were also written by Wesley, and by the Rev. Vincent Perronet. On the bishop’s side there was published, “A Letter to the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, occasioned by his ‘Remarks on a Pamphlet, entitled, The Enthusiasm of the Methodists and Papists compared.’” (8vo. 59 pp.) Among other railing accusations, the author charges the poor Methodists with making their followers mad; and broadly asserts that some of them have committed murders in Wales, and are now hanging in chains for their crimes. Whitefield was represented as having “a windmill in his head,” and going “up and down the world in search of somebody to beat out his brains.” It is a curious fact, however, that the pamphleteer attacked the Rev. Griffith Jones, who had recently published his Welsh Catechism, more virulently than he attacked Whitefield. The same gentleman (he calls himself a “Layman”) published a second pamphlet, with the title, “A Second Letter to the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, occasioned by his Remarks upon a Pamphlet, entitled, The Enthusiasm of Methodists and Papists compared. In this, Mr. Whitefield’s claim to the doctrine of the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Articles of the Church of England is examined; as also that of his great Mr. Griffith Jones, of Landowror, to the doctrine of the 17th Article; together with some further account of the fire kindled by them both in North and South Wales.” (8vo. 111 pp.) The writer was a man of learning, and, though a layman, was well acquainted with theology. The fault of his productions is their bitterness, and their publication of false and even obscene stories. He charges the Welsh Methodists with the practice of adultery, and with holding the doctrine that fornication among themselves was not a sin. He asserts that “Most of the Methodist teachers in Wales are become Father Confessors;” and that one of them, Will Richard, a cobbler, “when he forgives the sins of any person, delivers the party a paper, which, upon its being produced, will procure him or her admittance into heaven.” There are other stories too impure to be reproduced.

It may be added, that such was the public importance attached to the production of Lavington and the reply of Whitefield, that the Monthly Review, for 1749, devoted not fewer than twenty-eight of its pages to an examination of them.

Whitefield’s “Remarks” being finished, he wrote to his friend Hervey, as follows:――

“LONDON, April 5, 1749.

“REV. AND DEAR SIR,――I suppose you have seen my pamphlet advertised. I want to publicly confess my public mistakes. O how many, how great they have been! How much obliged I am to my enemies for telling me of them! I wish you could see my pamphlet before it comes out. O that it may be blessed to promote God’s glory and the good of souls!

“You will be glad to hear that our Lord has given us a good passover” (Easter), “and that the prospect is still encouraging among the rich. I intend to leave town in about a week, and to begin ranging after precious souls.

“You judge right when you say I do not want to make a sect, or set myself at the head of a party. No; let the name of Whitefield die, so that the cause of Jesus Christ may live. I have seen enough of popularity to be sick of it, and, did not the interest of my blessed Master require my appearing in public, the world should hear but little of me henceforward. But who can desert such a cause? Who, for fear of a little contempt and suffering, would decline the service of such a Master?”

Whitefield here mentions “the prospect among the rich,” but says nothing of the poor. It must not be inferred, however, that his labours and success among the latter were at all abated. The author of “The Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon” gives an instance, belonging to this period, which is worth relating. While the rich assembled in her ladyship’s drawing-room, the poor filled her kitchen. Certain ladies having called to pay a visit to the Countess, she asked them if they had heard Mr. Whitefield preach; and, upon being answered in the negative, she expressed a wish that they should attend his preaching on the day following. The ladies did so; and the Countess, when they next met, enquired how they liked him. “O my lady,” they answered, “of all the preachers we ever heard, he is the most strange and unaccountable. Among other preposterous things, he declared that Jesus Christ is so willing to receive sinners, that He does not object to receive even the devil’s castaways! My lady, did you ever hear of such a thing since you were born?” Her ladyship acknowledged that the language was a little singular, but, as Mr. Whitefield was in the house, she would send for him, and he should answer for himself. Whitefield came; the previous conversation was repeated; and he said: “My lady, I must plead guilty to the charge; whether I did right or otherwise, your ladyship shall judge from the following circumstance. Half an hour ago, a poor, miserable-looking, aged female requested to speak with me. I desired her to be shewn into your parlour. She said, ‘Oh, sir, I was accidentally passing the door of the chapel where you were preaching last night, and I went in, and one of the first things I heard you say was, that Jesus Christ was so willing to receive sinners, that He did not object to receiving the devil’s castaways. Now, sir, I have been on the town many years, and am so worn out in his service, that, I think, I may with truth be called one of the devil’s castaways. Do you think, sir, that Jesus Christ would receive me?’ I,” said Whitefield, “assured her there was not a doubt of it, if she was but willing to go to Him.” The sequel of the story was, the poor creature was converted, and died testifying that the blood of Christ can cleanse from all unrighteousness.

On leaving London, Whitefield proceeded to Gloucester and Bristol. Early in the month of May, he went to Portsmouth, where he spent near a fortnight, preaching with a success which was marvellous even to himself. Writing to Lady Huntingdon, on May 8th, he says:――

“The night after I came here” (Portsmouth), “I preached to many thousands, a great part of whom were attentive, but some of the baser sort made a little disturbance. On the Friday evening” (May 5th), “I preached at Gosport, where the mob has generally been very turbulent; but all was hushed and quiet. Every time I have preached, the word has seemed to sink deeper and deeper into the people’s hearts.”[235]

On May 11th, he wrote to the Rev. Mr. M’Culloch, Presbyterian minister, at Cambuslang:――

“I have been preaching at Portsmouth every day, for a week past, to very large and attentive auditories. I hear of many who are brought under convictions; prejudices seem to be universally removed; and a people who, but a week ago, were speaking all manner of evil against me, are now very desirous of my staying longer among them. What cannot God do?

“At London, real good has been done among the rich, and the poor receive the gospel with as much gladness as ever. Mr. Harris and some others have agreed to continue preaching at the Tabernacle, and elsewhere, as formerly. I should be glad to hear of a revival at Cambuslang; but you have already seen such things as are seldom seen above once in a century.”

On the day following, in a letter to the Countess Delitz, he says:――

“A wilderness is the best name this world deserves. Ceiled houses, gaudy attire, and rich furniture, do not make it appear less so to a mind enlightened to see the beauties of Jesus of Nazareth. The preaching of the cross has been much blessed here. Multitudes daily attend, and many are much affected. It would please your ladyship to see the alteration that has been made in a week.”

On the same day, he wrote to Lady Fanny Shirley:――

“What a glorious opportunity is now afforded you, to shew, even before kings, that we are made kings indeed, and priests unto God, and that it is our privilege, as Christians, to reign over sin, hell, the world, and ourselves. O the happiness of a life wholly devoted to the ever-blessed God, and spent in communion with Him! It is indeed heaven begun on earth. I trust, some in these parts, who a few days ago had never heard of this kingdom of God, now begin to look after it. I have not seen a more visible alteration made in a people for some time. Thousands have attended, in the greatest order; and numbers are affected.”

On Monday, May 15, Whitefield set out for Wales, taking Salisbury and Bristol on his way. In ten days, he reached his wife’s house at Abergavenny, where he spent forty-eight hours of “sweet, very sweet retirement,――so sweet,” says he, “that I should be glad never to be heard of again. But this must not be. A necessity is laid upon me; and woe is me, if I preach not the gospel of Christ.”

Whitefield’s was a warm heart. Distress in others always moved him. His sympathy was not restrained by bigotry. In the fullest sense, it made him a good Samaritan. While at Abergavenny, he wrote to a friend in London, who had charge of “the poor widows, and the other Tabernacle petitioners,” and laid before him a case of need, which he wished to be relieved out of the Tabernacle funds. “On Thursday,” says he, “I saw Mr. E―――― I――――, the Dissenting minister, and found him very meanly apparelled. He is a most worthy man. Some time ago, he sold £15 worth of his books, to finish a small meeting-house, in which he preaches. He has but £3 per annum from the fund, and about as much from his people. He lives very low, but enjoys much of God; and has as great understanding of the figurative parts of Scripture as any one I know. He is a Zacharias, and his wife an Elizabeth. Four or five guineas might be bestowed on them. What a scene will open at the great day! How many rich priests will stand confounded, whilst the poor despised faithful ministers of Christ shall enter, after all their tribulation, into the joy of their Lord!”

Whitefield spent a glorious month among the Welsh mountains. In a letter, dated “Carmarthen, June 5, 1749,” he writes: “I am still in suspense about my wife;[236] but, what is best, (glory be to God!) the gospel runs, and is glorified. I have preached fourteen times within the past eight days, and the word has everywhere fallen with weight and power. Yesterday was a great day here.”

From Carmarthen, Whitefield proceeded to Haverfordwest, where, on June 8th, he wrote to Lady Huntingdon:――

“Congregations grow larger and larger. All the towns hereabout are quite open for the word of God. Yesterday, I preached near Pembroke; to-day and next Lord’s-day, I am to preach here;[237] and to-morrow, at St. David’s. Not a dog stirs a tongue. The mayor and gentlemen at Pembroke were very civil; and the young men bred up at Carmarthen Academy were much taken. The congregations consist of many thousands, and their behaviour is very affecting. Indeed, we have blessed seasons. O free grace!”

Whitefield got back to Bristol on June 23. Hence the following, addressed to the Rev. James Hervey:――

“BRISTOL, June 24, 1749.

“Yesterday, God brought me here, after having carried me a circuit of about eight hundred miles, and enabled me to preach, I suppose, to upwards of a hundred thousand souls. I have been in eight Welsh counties; and, I think, we have not had one dry meeting. The work in Wales is much upon the advance, and is likely to increase daily. Had my dear Mr. Hervey been there to have seen the simplicity of the people, I am persuaded, he would have said, ‘Sit anima mea cum Methodistis!’ But every one to his post. On Monday or Tuesday next, I set out for London. Good Lady Huntingdon is here,[238] and goes on, in her usual way, doing good.”

The Honourable Jonathan Belcher has been mentioned as one of the early friends of Whitefield. For eleven years, from 1730 to 1741, this gentleman was the governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and performed his official duties with great ability. It so happened, however, that, just about the time when he shewed Whitefield so much honour, in 1740, an unprincipled cabal, by falsehood, forgery, and injustice, succeeded in depriving him of his office. Upon this, he repaired to the court of George II., where he vindicated his character and conduct, and exposed the baseness of his enemies. He was restored to the royal favour; and, in 1747, was appointed governor of New Jersey. In 1748, he obtained, from King George II., a charter for the founding of New Jersey College.[239] This was an institution in which Whitefield was greatly interested. As early as November 21, 1748, he wrote to the Rev. Ebenezer Pemberton: “I have been endeavouring, in Scotland, to do all the service I could to the New Jersey College; but I believe nothing will be done to purpose, unless you or some other popular minister come over, and make an application in person. In all probability, a collection might then be recommended by the General Assembly, and large contributions be raised among private persons who wish well to Zion.” And now again, in another letter to Mr. Pemberton, dated “London, July 10, 1749,” Whitefield writes: “Is there no prospect of your coming over? Your Mr. T―――― might do much for New Jersey College; but I have told you my mind in a former letter. May God direct for the best! I have a great mind to return to my beloved America this autumn, but am not yet determined. My wife arrived about a fortnight ago.”

It will be seen hereafter, in 1754, that Whitefield’s suggestion was adopted, and a deputation came to England for the purpose he had mentioned.

It is a curious coincidence, that, just at the time when Governor Belcher was obtaining a charter for the New Jersey College, Benjamin Franklin, then a member of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, was publishing his “Proposals relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania;” in other words, he was proposing to found an academy or college in Philadelphia. Franklin begged about £5000; the subscribers requested him and Mr. Francis, the Attorney-General, “to draw up constitutions for the government of the academy;” twenty-four trustees were chosen; a house was hired; masters engaged; and the schools opened. The scholars increasing fast, a larger building was found to be indispensable. The meeting-house, which had been built for Whitefield, in 1740, was burdened with an inconvenient debt; Franklin negotiated with the trustees to transfer it to the academy, on condition that the debt was paid, that the large hall should be kept open for occasional preachers, and that a free school should be maintained for the instruction of poor children. In due time, the trustees of the academy were incorporated by a royal charter; the funds were increased by contributions in Great Britain; and thus was established, in Whitefield’s meeting-house, by the celebrated Benjamin Franklin, the College of Philadelphia.[240]

The following letter, addressed to Whitefield, refers to these transactions; and, in other respects, is interesting:――

“PHILADELPHIA, July 6, 1749.

“DEAR SIR,――Since your being in England, I have received two of your favours, and a box of books to be disposed of. It gives me great pleasure to hear of your welfare, and that you purpose soon to return to America.

“We have no kind of news here worth writing to you. The affair of the building remains in statu quo, there having been no new application to the Assembly about it, or anything done, in consequence of the former.

“I have received no money on your account from Mr. Thanklin, or from Boston. Mrs. Read,[241] and your other friends here, in general, are well, and will rejoice to see you again.

“I am glad to hear that you have frequent opportunities of preaching among the great. If you can gain them to a good and exemplary life, wonderful changes will follow in the manners of the lower ranks; for ad exemplum regis, etc. On this principle, Confucius, the famous eastern reformer, proceeded. When he saw his country sunk in vice, and wickedness of all kinds triumphant, he applied himself first to the grandees; and, having, by his doctrine, won them to the cause of virtue, the commons followed in multitudes. The mode has a wonderful influence on mankind; and there are numbers, who, perhaps, fear less the being in hell, than out of the fashion. Our more western reformations began with the ignorant mob; and, when numbers of them were gained, interest and party-views drew in the wise and great. Where both methods can be used, reformations are likely to be more speedy. O that some method could be found to make them lasting! He who discovers that, will, in my opinion, deserve more, ten thousand times, than the inventor of the longitude.

“My wife and family join in the most cordial salutations to you and good Mrs. Whitefield.

“I am, dear sir, your very affectionate friend, and most obliged humble servant,

“BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.”[242]

Such was the moralizing of the famous Franklin concerning the marvellous movement of his friend Whitefield.

It was about this time that Whitefield’s ministry was blessed to the conversion of a youth, who, afterwards, rose to great eminence. Robert Robinson had recently been apprenticed to a hair-dresser, in Crutched Friars, London. The apprentice was attracted to hear Whitefield at the Tabernacle, and, ever after, called him his spiritual father.[243] In 1761, at the age of twenty-six, Robert Robinson became the pastor of a small Dissenting congregation, at Cambridge, whose members could scarcely afford him £20 a year. His ministry, however, was so successful, that, in the course of a few years, his church included above two hundred highly respectable families. Upon Robinson’s subsequent popularity as a preacher; his ability as an author; and his embracing, a few years before his death, the Unitarian creed, there is no necessity to dwell. These are well-known facts.

Having spent a few days in London, Whitefield returned, towards the end of July, to Lady Huntingdon, at Bristol,[244] where “many in high life” attended his ministry.[245] Here he had another battle with a bishop. Whitefield was told that the Bishop of W―――― had accused him of perjury; and wrote to his lordship to be informed upon what fact or facts his charge was founded. The bishop’s answer is not published, but its nature and substance may be inferred from the reply of Whitefield.

“BRISTOL, August 7, 1749.

“MY LORD,――I suppose the mistake has lain here; your lordship might have insinuated, that, by my present way of acting, I have broken the solemn engagement I entered into at my ordination; and that might have been interpreted to imply a charge of perjury.

“The relation in which I stand to the Countess of Huntingdon, made me desirous to clear myself from such an imputation, and to give your lordship an opportunity of vindicating yourself in the manner you have done.

“Were I not afraid of intruding too much upon your lordship’s time, I would endeavour to answer the other part of your letter, and give you a satisfactory account of whatever may seem irregular and exceptionable in my present conduct. This I would gladly do, not only before your lordship, but, before all the right reverend the bishops; for I highly honour them on account of the sacred character they sustain; and wish to make it my daily endeavour to obey all their godly admonitions. This, I presume, my lord, is the utmost extent of the promise I made at my ordination. If I deviate from this, in any respect, it is through ignorance and want of better information, and not out of obstinacy, or contempt of lawful authority.”

In the second week of August, Whitefield set out for Plymouth; and, on the way, preached twice at Wellington, once at Exeter, and twice at Kingsbridge.[246] At Plymouth, he wrote, to a friend, as follows:――

“PLYMOUTH, August, 19, 1749.

“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,――Last night, I heard that the bishop” (of Exeter) “has published a second pamphlet, with a preface addressed to me. Have you seen it? Or, do you think it worth answering? He told a clergyman, some time ago, that he might expect a second part. He said, my answer was honest, and that I recanted many things; but that I still went on in my usual way. God forbid I should do otherwise! I am informed, that, upon threatening to pull Mr. Thompson’s gown off, Mr. Thompson threw it off himself, and said, he could preach the gospel without a gown; and so withdrew. Upon which, the bishop sent for him, and soothed him. I hope to see Mr. Thompson, at Bideford, on Tuesday, and expect to hear particulars.”[247]

The second part of Bishop Lavington’s “Enthusiasm of Methodists and Papists compared,” was an 8vo. volume of two hundred pages, and quite as discreditable to his lordship’s character and position as that already published. In about equal parts, it was levelled against Whitefield and Wesley, with an occasional fling at the Moravians. It is somewhat difficult to reconcile its levity and buffoonery with Christian piety. At all events, its spirit, tone, and language, are not in harmony with St. Paul’s injunction, “A bishop must not soon be angry, but be sober, just, holy, temperate.” It is needless to give an outline of this episcopal production; but, from the preface of forty-four pages, wholly addressed to Whitefield, the following choice epithets and phrases are taken. “You are a most deceitful worker, grievously seducing your precious lambs.” “Your infallible instructions are so many mistakes, blunders, or lies.” “You have climbed up, and stolen the sacred fire from heaven; have even deified yourself, and put your own spirit in the seat of the Holy Ghost.” “You have owned yourself a cheat and impostor.” “You say, ‘After-experience and riper judgment have taught you to correct and amend all your performances; and for the future you are to come out in a more unexceptionable dress.’ What a desirable and delightful spectacle! I almost long to have a peep at you in your unexceptionable dress. I begin to be in an ecstasy. Now methinks I see you, like a player after he hath acted his part, stripping off the dazzling tinsel in which he strutted upon the stage. Now, like Presbyter John, tearing away points, tags, ribbands, fringe, lace, and embroidery. Now, again, (Paulo majora canamus,) methinks I see you divesting yourself of your celestial garments and ornaments; plucking off your appropriated blossoms of Aaron’s rod, slipping off the child Samuel’s linen ephod, throwing Elijah’s mantle from your shoulders; and modestly standing forth in the ordinary attire of a plain gown and cassock.”

It was as impossible as it was undesirable, for Whitefield to write an answer in a scurrilous and bantering style like this; and, therefore, he wisely determined not to write at all. Hence the following to Lady Huntingdon:――

“BIDEFORD, August 24, 1749.

“I have seen the bishop’s second pamphlet, in which he has served the Methodists, as the Bishop of Constance served John Huss, when he ordered some painted devils to be put round his head before he burned him. His preface to me is most virulent. Everything I wrote, in my answer, is turned into the vilest ridicule, and nothing will satisfy but giving up the glorious work of the ever-blessed God, as entirely cheat and imposture. I cannot see that it calls for any further answer from me. Mr. Wesley, I think, had best attack him now, as he is largely concerned in this second part. I think of leaving this place to-morrow, and of preaching at Exeter next Lord’s-day.”

Whitefield would not reply to the bishop’s pamphlet, but he would preach in his episcopal city. It was rather a bold step to take; and the following is Whitefield’s own account of it. This, like the former letter, was addressed to Lady Huntingdon:――

“LONDON, September 4, 1749.

“HONOURED MADAM,――I came to town on Thursday, the 31st ultimo, after having had a pleasant circuit in the west.

“The day after I wrote to your ladyship, I preached twice at Exeter, and, in the evening, I believe I had near ten thousand hearers. The bishop and several of his clergy stood very near me, as I am informed. A good season it was. All was quiet, and there was a great solemnity in the congregation; but a drunken man threw at me three great stones. One of them cut my head deeply, and was likely to knock me off the table; but, blessed be God! I was not at all discomposed. One of the other stones struck a poor man quite down.

“As I came from Exeter, I visited one John Haime, the soldier, who, under God, began the great awakening in Flanders. He is in Dorchester gaol for preaching at Shaftesbury, where there has been, and is now, a great awakening.[248]

“Everywhere the work is spreading; and, since I have been here, we have had some of the most awful, solemn, powerful meetings, I ever saw at the Tabernacle. Congregations have been very large, and I have had several meetings with the preachers.”[249]

Whitefield’s stay in London was of short duration. In a few days, he set out for Yorkshire and the North of England. On his way, in Hertfordshire, he wrote as follows to his friend Hervey:――

“BENNINGTON, September 17, 1749.

“REV. AND VERY DEAR SIR,――Perhaps I have heard from what corner your cross comes. It is a very near one indeed. A saying of Mr. B―――― has often comforted me: ‘I would often have nestled, but God always put a thorn in my nest.’ Is not this suffered, my dear brother, to prick you out, and to compel you to appear for the Lord Jesus Christ? Preaching is my grand catholicon, under all domestic, as well as other trials. I fear Dr. Stonehouse has done you hurt, and kept you in shackles too long. For Christ’s sake, my dear Mr. Hervey, exhort him, now that he has taken the gown, to play the man, and let the world see, that, not worldly motives, but God’s glory and a love for souls, have sent him into the ministry. I hope he will turn out a flamer at last. O when shall this once be! Who would lose a moment? Amazing! that the followers of a crucified Redeemer should be afraid of contempt! Rise, Hervey, rise, and see thy Jesus reaching out a crown with this motto, ‘Vincenti dabo.’ Excuse this freedom. I write out of the fulness of my heart, not to draw you over to me, or to a party, but to excite you to appear openly for God.

“A letter may be directed (if you write immediately) to be left at the Rev. Mr. Ingham’s, Yorkshire. Thither I am bound now, and, if the season of the year should permit, I would stretch to Scotland. We have had most delightful seasons in London. The glory of the Redeemer filled the Tabernacle. If any doubt whether the cause we are embarked in be the cause of God, I say, ‘Come and see.’ Are you free that I should call upon you in my return to town? I think to come by way of Northampton. You shall hear what is done in Yorkshire. God has blessed my preaching at Oundle.”

It is evident that Whitefield wished Hervey to itinerate like himself; but this was a work for which the gentle rector of Weston-Favell was physically and mentally unfit. No good end would have been answered by his attempting it. Besides, by his pen, he was doing a great work, which Whitefield, had he tried, could not have done; and which itinerancy would have set aside. The fact is, though Whitefield and Hervey were both Oxford Methodists, Whitefield had not seen his old acquaintance for many years, and seems to have had no idea of the extreme delicacy of his health.

Whitefield’s progress to Ingham’s, at Aberford; to Grimshaw’s, at Haworth; and to other places, will be seen in the following extracts from his letters:――

“NEWCASTLE, September 29, 1749.

“I have had many proofs that God’s providence directed my way into Yorkshire. I preached four times at Aberford, four times at Leeds, and thrice at Haworth, where lives one Mr. Grimshaw. At his church, I believe, we had above a thousand communicants, and, in the churchyard, about six thousand hearers. It was a great day of the Son of man. About Leeds are Mr. Wesley’s Societies. I was invited thither by them and one of their preachers; and Mr. Charles Wesley, coming thither, published me himself. I have preached here once, and am to preach again this evening. On Monday next, October 2nd, I propose to return to Yorkshire, and, from thence, to London. I have given over the immediate care of all my Societies to Mr. Harris; so that now I am a preacher at large. Everything is turning round strangely. O for simplicity and honesty to the end!”

To Lady Huntingdon, Whitefield wrote as follows:――

“NEWCASTLE, October 1, 1749.

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