XXIII. THE FIRST THREE MONTHS AFTER FLETCHER’S RETURN TO MADELEY.
1781.
FLETCHER recommenced his ministry at Madeley on Sunday, May 27, 1781.[502] During his absence of four years and a-half, religion, in his parish, had not prospered. In a letter to his hospitable friend, Charles Greenwood, at Stoke Newington, he wrote:—
“Madeley, June 12, 1781. I stayed longer at Brislington than I designed. Mr. Ireland was ill, and would nevertheless come hither with me; so that I was obliged to stay till he was better. And, indeed, it was well I did not come without him; for he has helped me to regulate my outward affairs, which were in great confusion. Mr. Greaves leaves me; and I will either leave Madeley, or have an assistant able to stir among the people: for I had much rather be gone than stay here, to see the dead bury their dead. A cloud is over my poor parish; but, alas! it is not the luminous cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night. Even the few remaining professors stared at me the other day, when I preached to them on these words, ‘Ye shall receive the Holy Ghost; for the promise is unto you.’ Well, the promise is unto us: if others despise it, still let us believe and hope. Nothing enlarges the heart and awakens the soul more than that believing, loving expectation.”[503]
Footnote 502:
Methodist Magazine, 1811, p. 312.
Footnote 503:
Fletcher’s “Life,” by Wesley.
The following, addressed to Wesley, refers to the same subject, and also to other matters:—
“MADELEY, June 6, 1781.
“REV. AND DEAR SIR,—I rejoice to hear that your spiritual bow abides in strength. I would have wished you joy about it since my arrival, if I knew where a letter could overtake you.[504] I heartily thank you for the directions you give me to hinder my bow, so far split, from breaking quite. Now I must imitate your prudence, or the opportunity of doing it will soon be lost for good.
“I would do something in the Lord’s vineyard, but I have not strength. I can hardly, without over-doing myself, visit the sick of my parish. I was better when I left Switzerland than I am now. I had a great pull back, in venturing to preach in the fields, in the Cevennes, to about two thousand French Protestants. I rode thirty miles to that place, from Montpelier, on horseback, but was obliged to be brought back in a carriage. And now that I am here, I can neither serve my church, nor get it properly served. Mr. Greaves owns, the place is not fit for him, nor he for it. He will go when I can get somebody to help me. Could you spare me Brother Bayley?[507] It would be a charity. Unless I can get a curate zealous enough to stir among the people, I will give up the place: it would be little comfort to me to stay here to see the dead bury the dead. I thank God, however, for resignation to His will. As soon as I shall discern it clearly, I shall follow it; for, I trust, I have learned in what state soever I am, therewith to be content.
“What a blessing is Christ to the soul, and health to the body! When you go to, or come from the Conference, be so good as to remember that you have now a pilgrim’s house in the way from Shrewsbury to Broseley; and do not climb our hills without baiting. At our first interview, I shall ask your thoughts about a French work or two I have upon the anvil; but which I fear I shall not have time to finish. Be that as it will, God needs not the hand of Uzzah, nor my finger, to keep up His ark.
“I read, with pleasure and edification, your Arminian Magazine.[506] Your storehouse is inexhaustible. The Lord strengthen you to Nestor’s years, or rather to the useful length of St. John’s life! It is worth living to serve the Church, and to teach Christians to love one another.
“I am, rev. and dear Sir, your affectionate, though unprofitable servant,
“J. FLETCHER.”[505]
Footnote 504:
The veteran evangelist was now visiting the Isle of Man, “east, south, north, and west,” and said, “I was thoroughly convinced that we have no such circuit as this, either in England, Scotland, or Ireland.” (Wesley’s Journal.)
Footnote 505:
The Rev. Cornelius Bayley, at this time one of the Masters of Wesley’s School at Kingswood. Cornelius Bailey was born near Whitchurch, in Shropshire, about the year 1752. He was an excellent Hebrew scholar, and published a Hebrew grammar, which procured him a doctor’s degree from a foreign university. Afterwards, when he took the same degree, D.D., at Cambridge, he delivered a Latin sermon, which was much applauded. As will soon be seen, he became Fletcher’s curate. On leaving Madeley, he went to Manchester, where he became the founder and the minister of St. James’s Church. This is not the place to give a detailed account of this remarkable man. Suffice it to say, he died, in Manchester, on April 2, 1812, his last words being, “O my Saviour! The Lord is with me!” His remains were interred in a vault of his own church; more than forty clergymen attended his funeral; the church was crowded, and more than a thousand of his friends had to stand outside. The Rev. John Crosse, afterwards so well-known in Bradford, preached the funeral sermon. (Christian Observer, 1812, p. 477.)
Footnote 506:
Wesley began to publish this magazine during Fletcher’s absence on the continent.
Footnote 507:
Arminian Magazine, 1782, p. 48.
Wesley’s approaching Conference was to be held at Leeds, and to Joseph Benson, who had recently been married, Fletcher wrote as follows:—
“I am, at present, without an assistant here, but hope soon to have Mr. Bayley, one of the masters of Kingswood School. If he come, I shall be at liberty to go to Leeds, and I hope God will strengthen me for the journey. A godly wife is a peculiar blessing from the Lord. I wish you joy for such a loan. Possess it with godly fear and holy joy; and the God who gave her you help you both to see your doubled piety take root in the heart of the child that crowns your union. So prays, my dear brother, your affectionate friend,
“J. FLETCHER.”[508]
Footnote 508:
Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”
Meanwhile, Fletcher had begun a correspondence with a lady hitherto unknown to him; or rather she had begun a correspondence with him. Miss Ann Loxdale, daughter of Joseph Loxdale, Esq., of Shrewsbury, was now about twenty-six years of age. Two years before the date of her letter to Fletcher, she had been converted. In reply to her communication, he said:—
“MADELEY, May 24, 1781.
“DEAR MADAM,—I embrace the first opportunity of thanking my unknown friend for her kind Christian letter. As I believe you are sincere, and mean what your pen has traced upon paper, I may rejoice over a greater treasure than that of the Indies—I mean, the treasure of a Christian friend; for nothing but Christianity could give you courage to express any degree of friendship for so contemptible a neighbour. I shall preach here next Sunday, please God. If you can, and if you are not afraid of dining upon a bit of cold meat, come and dine with your new and yet old friend, who, though he cannot converse long with his friends, on account of his weakness, will find a quarter of an hour to assure you, that, in the faith, hope, and love of the Gospel, he is,
“Madam, your obliged friend and obedient servant, “J. FLETCHER.”[509]
Footnote 509:
Methodist Magazine, 1811, p.312.
There cannot be a doubt respecting Miss Loxdale’s ardent piety; but she was in danger of falling into some of the errors of the mystics. She had written to Wesley, asking his advice respecting the works of Madam Bourignon, which she had been reading. Wesley, in his reply, dated “June 10, 1781,” told her that Madam Bourignon’s “new and peculiar expressions” were “only shadows,” not “an excellence, but a capital defect.” Wesley continued,—
“As I apprehend your mind must be a little confused by reading those uncommon treatises, I wish you would give another deliberate reading to the ‘Plain Account of Christian Perfection.’ You may be assured there is no religion under heaven higher or deeper than that which is there described. I desire nothing, I will accept of nothing, but the common faith and common salvation; and I want you to be only just such a common Christian as Jenny Cooper was.”[510]
Footnote 510:
Wesley’s Works, vol. xiii., p. 121.
Meantime, Miss Loxdale and Fletcher had met and conversed with each other; for, in a long letter to her, dated twelve days after Wesley’s, he gave her what he considered suitable advice, and said, “I never doubted your sincerity, my dear friend; and can, without wavering, confess you a member of my Lord, a child of my heavenly Father, and a fellow-heir of the kingdom of heaven, purchased for penitent believers.”[511]
Footnote 511:
Methodist Magazine, 1811, p. 312.
This epistolary and vivâ voce intercourse grew into a sincere friendship, but nothing more than that. Miss Loxdale became one of the most holy and devoted Methodists of the last century; and, in 1811, at the age of fifty-six, married the Rev. Dr. Coke. A year afterwards, she died at York, and was buried in Dr. Coke’s family vault at Brecon.[512]
Footnote 512:
Drew’s “Life of Coke,” p. 346.
Just at the time when Fletcher was writing his letters to Miss Loxdale, and giving her, most sincerely, the best advice he could, his heart was full of Miss Bosanquet, and, as will soon be seen, at the beginning of the month of June, he proposed to marry her. The reply was not unfavourable, and Fletcher at once decided to attend Wesley’s Conference at Leeds, in the neighbourhood of which Miss Bosanquet resided. The following letter, addressed to Wesley, announces this decision, and refers to the case of Miss Loxdale, and to an interesting incident in Switzerland:—
“MADELEY, June 24, 1781.
“REV. AND DEAR SIR,—As to Miss Loxdale, I believe her to be a simple, holy follower of the Lord. Nothing throws unscriptural mysticism down like holding out the promise of the Father, and the fulness of the Spirit, to be received now, by faith in the two Promisers, the Father and the Son. Ah! what is the penal fire of the mystics, to the burning love of the Spirit, revealing the glorious power of the Father and the Son, according to John xiv. 26, and filling us with all the fulness of God? Plain Scripture is better than all mystic refinements.
“When I was at Nyon, near Geneva, three ministers received the Word, and preached the Truth. When persecution arose because of the Word, the two pastors were afraid; but the curate of the first pastor, a burgess of the town, stood by me. This Timothy opened his house, when the pastors shut both their pulpits and houses; and I heard him preach a discourse before I came away, worthy of you, Sir, upon the heights and depths of holiness. He wrote an apology for me, which I sent to the head of the persecuting Clergy, and so stopped the torrent of wrath. He made observations upon the mischief done to Christianity by bad Clergy, such as George Fox and you, Sir, would not disown. When I told him of you and the Methodists, he expressed a great desire to come to England, to hear you, to see the English brethren, and to learn the English language, that he might read your works, and, perhaps, translate some of them. He can have no living in his own country, because he will not swear to prosecute all who propagate Arminian tenets; which is more honest than many of the Clergy, many of whom are Arians, Socinians, or Deists, and do not scruple to take the Calvinian Oaths.
“I shall endeavour to wait upon you at Leeds, at the time of the Conference: in the meantime, I am, Rev. and dear Sir, your obedient Servant, and affectionate Son in the Gospel,
“JOHN FLETCHER.”[513]
Footnote 513:
Arminian Magazine, 1782, p. 49.
Another of Fletcher’s letters, belonging to this period, is too valuable to be omitted. His interview with Thomas Rankin, at Brislington, has been related. He now wrote to Rankin, as follows:—
“MADELEY, June 25, 1781.
“MY DEAR BROTHER,—I thank you for your kind letter to me. I found myself of one heart with you, both as a preacher and believer, before I left Bristol, and I am glad you find freedom to speak to me as your friend in Christ.
“By what you mention of your experience, I am confirmed in the thought, 1. That it is often harder to keep in the way of faith and light than to get into it. 2. That speculation and reasoning hinder us to get into that way, and lead us out of it when we are in it. 3. The only business of those who come to God, as a Redeemer or Sanctifier, must be to feel their want of redemption and sanctifying ‘power from on high,’ and to come for it by simple, cordial, working faith. Easily, the heart gets into a false rest before our last enemy is overcome. Hence arises a relapsing, in an imperceptible degree, into indolence and carnal security; hence a dreaming that we are rich and increased in goods.
“This is one of the causes of the declension you perceive among some of the Methodists. Another is the outward rest they have. Another may be the judging of the greatness of the work by the numbers in Society. Be the consequence what it will, those who see the evil should honestly bear their testimony against it, first in their own souls, next by their life, and thirdly by their plain and constant reproofs and exhortations.
“The work of justification seems stopped, in some degree, because the glory and necessity of the pardon of sins, to be received and enjoyed now by faith, is not pressed enough upon sinners; and the need of retaining it upon believers. The work of sanctification is hindered, if I am not mistaken, by the same reason, and by holding out the being delivered from sin as the mark to be aimed at, instead of being rooted in Christ, and filled with the fulness of God, and with power from on high. The dispensation of the Spirit is confounded with that of the Son, and the former not being held forth clearly enough, formal and lukewarm believers in Jesus Christ suppose they have the gift of the Holy Ghost. Hence the increase of carnal professors, see Acts viii. 16. And hence so few spiritual men.
“Let us pray, hope, love, believe for ourselves, and call for the display of the Lord’s arm. My love to your dear fellow-labourer, Mr. Pawson. Pray for your affectionate brother,
“J. FLETCHER.”[514]
Footnote 514:
Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”
The sentiments expressed in this valuable letter were important a hundred years ago; and are far more important now. Methodists, and especially Methodist Preachers, ought to lay them seriously to heart. Holding them, Fletcher proceeded to the Methodist Conference of 1781, which began at Leeds on Tuesday, August 7, and concerning which Wesley writes as follows:—
“1781. Sunday, August 5. At the old church in Leeds, we had eighteen clergymen, and about eleven hundred communicants. I preached there at three; the church was thoroughly filled; and I believe most could hear, while I explained the ‘new covenant’ which God has now made with the Israel of God.
“Monday, 6th. I desired Mr. Fletcher, Dr. Coke, and four more of our brethren, to meet every evening, that we might consult together on any difficulty that occurred. On Tuesday our Conference began, at which were present about seventy preachers, whom I had severally invited to come and assist me with their advice, in carrying on the great work of God. Wednesday, 8th. I desired Mr. Fletcher to preach. I do not wonder he should be so popular; not only because he preaches with all his might, but because the power of God attends both his preaching and prayer. On Monday and Tuesday (August 13 and 14) we finished the remaining business of the Conference, and ended it with solemn prayer and thanksgiving.”[515]
Footnote 515:
Wesley’s Journal.
Notwithstanding the evils even then existing, and which were lamented by Fletcher in the foregoing letter, these were glorious days, and their conferences memorable “times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.” Mr. Gorham, of St. Neots, was at the Conference of 1781, and wrote:—
“Mr. Fletcher preached at five in the morning, from 2 Peter i. 4. Notwithstanding the earliness of the hour, at least two thousand persons were present, who appeared to listen to him with the deepest attention.”
Joseph Pescod, one of Wesley’s itinerant preachers, in a letter to his wife, remarked:—
“I arrived at Leeds on Saturday evening; and on Sunday morning, at five o’clock, I had the happiness to hear that venerable servant of God, Mr. Fletcher. Never did I see any man more like what I suppose the ancient Apostles to have been. His text was 2 Peter i. 4: ‘Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises.’ He spoke particularly of the three great promises of God to man. The leading promise of the Old Testament, he remarked, was, ‘The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head.’ On this promise, he observed, the saints lived four thousand years, and were saved through the Messiah to come. The other two, he said, were New Testament promises. First, the promise of the Holy Ghost, whom our Lord told His disciples He would send after His ascension. The dispensation of the Spirit is to renew us after the image of God; which implies light, and power, and love. The third promise, on which he dwelt, was that of the resurrection of the body. I think I never heard a sermon to be compared with it. I wish I could tell you every word. I had, also, the happiness to receive from his hand the bread in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. The ordinance was administered in the old church, by Mr. Wesley, Mr. Fletcher, and nine other clergymen. Mr. Wesley preached in the afternoon, in the church, from Hebrews viii. 10–12.”[516]
Footnote 516:
Wesleyan Methodist Magazine, 1829, p. 528.
Wesley’s Conference finished its business on August 14; but Fletcher, the happy guest of Miss Bosanquet, at Cross Hall, continued in the neighbourhood about three weeks longer, “preaching,” says his delighted hostess, “in different places, with much power.”[517] A record of one of the meetings that Fletcher attended fortunately exists, and is here given almost without abridgment.
Footnote 517:
Moore’s “Life of Mrs. Fletcher,” p. 141.
James Rogers was, at this time, stationed at Sheffield; but, no doubt, both he and his far-famed wife, “Hester Ann,” attended the Conference at Leeds. After its sittings were ended, she, like Fletcher, still remained. On August 24, Fletcher came with Miss Bosanquet, and Mrs. Crosby, to dine at Mr. Smith’s, in Park Row, and to meet the Select Society. Mrs. Rogers writes:—
“When I entered the room, where they were assembled, the heavenly man was giving out the following verses, with such animation as I have seldom witnessed—
“‘Near us, assisting Jesus, stand; Give us the op’ning heavens to see; Thee to behold at God’s right hand, And yield our parting souls to Thee.
“‘My Father, O my Father, hear, And send the fiery chariot down; Let Israel’s flaming steeds appear, And whirl us to the starry crown.
“‘We, we would die for Jesus too; Through tortures, fires, and seas of blood, All triumphantly break through, And plunge into the depths of God.’
“After this, Mr. Fletcher poured out his full soul in prayer to God. Indeed, his every breath seemed to be prayer, or praise, or spiritual instruction; and every word that fell from his lips appeared to be accompanied by unction from above.
“After dinner, I took an opportunity to beg him to explain an expression he had used in a letter to Miss Loxdale;[518] namely, that, on all who are renewed in love, God bestows the gift of prophecy. He called for the Bible; then read and explained Acts ii.; observing, that, to prophesy in the sense he meant, was, to magnify God with the new heart of love, and the new tongue of praise, as they did, who, on the day of Pentecost, were filled with the Holy Ghost. He insisted that believers now are called upon to prove the same baptismal fire; that the day of Pentecost was the opening of the dispensation of the Spirit,—the great promise of the Father; and that the latter day glory, which he believed was near at hand, should far exceed the first effusion of the Spirit. Seeing then that they, on the day of Pentecost, bore witness to the grace of our Lord, so should we; and, like them, spread the flame of love.
“After singing a hymn, he cried, ‘O to be filled with the Holy Ghost! I want to be filled! O, my friends, let us wrestle for a more abundant outpouring of the Spirit!’ To me, he said, ‘Come, my sister, will you covenant with me this day, to pray for the fulness of the Spirit? Will you be a witness for Jesus?’ I answered, with flowing tears, ‘In the strength of Jesus I will.’ He cried, ‘Glory, glory be to God! Lord, strengthen Thy handmaid to keep this covenant, even unto death!’
“He then said, ‘My dear brethren and sisters, God is here! I feel Him in this place; but I would hide my face in the dust, because I have been ashamed to declare what He has done for me. For many years, I have grieved His Spirit; I am deeply humbled; and He has again restored my soul.’ Last Wednesday evening, He spoke to me by these words, ‘Reckon yourselves, therefore, to be dead indeed unto sin; but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ I obeyed the voice of God: I now obey it; and tell you all, to the praise of His love,—I am freed from sin. Yes, I rejoice to declare it, and to be a witness to the glory of His grace, that I am dead unto sin, and alive unto God, through Jesus Christ, who is my Lord and King! I received this blessing four or five times before; but I lost it, by not observing the order of God; who has told us, With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. But the enemy offered his bait, under various colours, to keep me from a public declaration of what God had wrought.’
“‘When I first received this grace, Satan bid me wait awhile, till I saw more of the fruits: I resolved to do so; but I soon began to doubt of the witness, which, before, I had felt in my heart; and, in a little time, I was sensible I had lost both. A second time, after receiving this salvation, I was kept from being a witness for my Lord, by the suggestion, ‘Thou art a public character—the eyes of all are upon thee—and if, as before, by any means thou lose the blessing, it will be a dishonour to the doctrine of heart-holiness.’ I held my peace, and again forfeited the gift of God. At another time, I was prevailed upon to hide it, by reasoning, ‘How few, even of the children of God, will receive this testimony; many of them supposing every transgression of the Adamic law is sin; and, therefore, if I profess to be free from sin, all these will give my profession the lie; because I am not free in their sense: I am not free from ignorance, mistakes, and various infirmities; I will, therefore, enjoy what God has wrought in me; but I will not say, I am perfect in love. Alas! I soon found again, He that hideth his Lord’s talent, and improveth it not, from that unprofitable servant shall be taken away even that he hath.
“‘Now, my brethren, you see my folly. I have confessed it in your presence; and now I resolve before you all to confess my Master. I will confess Him to all the world. And I declare unto you, in the presence of God, the Holy Trinity, I am now dead indeed unto sin. I do not say, I am crucified with Christ, because some of our well-meaning brethren say, by this can only be meant a gradual dying; but I profess unto you, I am dead unto sin, and alive unto God: and, remember, all this is through Jesus Christ our Lord. He is my Prophet, Priest, and King—my indwelling Holiness—my all in all. I wait for the fulfilment of that prayer, That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: and that they may be one, even as we are one. O for that pure baptismal flame! O for the fulness of the dispensation of the Holy Ghost! Pray, pray, pray for this! This shall make us all of one heart, and of one soul. Pray for gifts—for the gift of utterance; and confess your royal Master. A man without gifts is like a king in disguise: he appears as a subject only. You are kings and priests unto God! Put on, therefore, your robes, and wear on your garter, holiness to the Lord.’
“A few days after this, I heard Mr. Fletcher preach upon the same subject; inviting all, who felt their need of full redemption, to believe now for this great salvation. He observed, ‘As when you reckon with your creditor, or with your host, and, as when you have paid all, you reckon yourselves free, so now reckon with God. Jesus has paid all: He has paid for thee!—has purchased thy pardon and holiness; therefore, it is now God’s command, Reckon thyself dead indeed unto sin; and thou art alive unto God from this hour! O, begin, begin to reckon now! Fear not: believe, believe, believe! and continue to believe every moment! So shalt thou continue free; for it is retained, as it is received, by faith alone. And, whosoever thou art that perseveringly believeth, it will be as fire in thy bosom, and constrain thee to confess with thy mouth thy Lord and King, Jesus. And, in spreading the sacred flame of love, thou shalt be saved to the uttermost.’
“He also dwelt largely on those words, ‘Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.’ He asked, ‘How did sin abound? Had it not overpowered your whole soul? Were not all your passions, tempers, propensities, and affections, inordinate and evil? Did not pride, anger, self-will, and unbelief, all reign over you? And, when the Spirit of God strove with you, did you not repel all His convictions, and put Him far from you? Well, my brethren, ye were then the servants of sin, and were free from righteousness; but now, being made free from sin, ye become servants to God; and holiness shall overspread your whole soul, so that all your tempers and passions shall be henceforth regulated and governed by Him who now sitteth upon the throne of your heart, making all things new. As you once resisted the Holy Spirit, so now you shall have power to resist all the subtle frauds or fierce attacks of Satan.’
“Mr. Fletcher then, with lifted hands, cried, ‘Who will thus be saved? Who will believe the report? You are only in an improper sense called believers who reject this. Who is a believer? One who believes a few things which his God has spoken? Nay, but one who believes all that ever proceeded out of His mouth. Here then is the word of the Lord: As sin abounded, grace shall much more abound! As no good thing was in you by nature, so now no evil thing shall remain. Do you believe this? Or are you a half believer only? Come! Jesus is offered to thee as a perfect Saviour. Take Him, and He will make thee a perfect saint. O ye half believers, will you still plead for the murderers of your Lord? Which of these will you hide as a serpent in your bosom? Shall it be anger, pride, self-will, or accursed unbelief? O be no longer befooled! Bring these enemies to thy Lord, and let Him slay them.’”[519]
Footnote 518:
The letter already referred to, and dated June 22, 1781. See it in Methodist Magazine, 1811, p. 312.
Footnote 519:
Dr. Coke’s funeral sermon on the death of Mrs. H. A. Rogers, 1795; and “Experience and Letters of Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers.”
Mrs. Rogers was not a shorthand writer. She wrote from memory; and though what she relates in the foregoing extracts is, no doubt, substantially correct, yet Fletcher must not be held accountable for every word she uses. The narrative, however, is very valuable, because it exhibits Fletcher at a most important epoch of his life, and exhibits him in his free-and-easy religious dishabille among his friends. Wesley says:—
“There is a peculiar difficulty in giving a full account of either the life or character of Mr. Fletcher, because we have scarce any light from himself. He was upon all occasions very uncommonly reserved in speaking of himself, whether in writing or conversation. He hardly ever said anything concerning himself, unless it slipped from him unawares. And, among the great number of papers which he has left, there is scarce a page (except the account of his conversion to God), relative either to his own inward experience, or the transactions of his life. So that the most of the information we have is gathered up, either from short hints scattered up and down in his letters, from what he had occasionally dropped among his friends, or from what one and another remembered concerning him.
“This defect was indeed, in some measure, supplied by the entire intimacy which subsisted between him and Mrs. Fletcher. He did not willingly, much less designedly, conceal anything from her. They had no secrets with regard to each other, but had indeed one house, one purse, and one heart. Before her, it was his invariable rule to think aloud; always to open the window in his breast. And to this we are indebted for the knowledge of many particulars which must otherwise have been buried in oblivion.”[520]
Footnote 520:
Wesley’s “Life of Fletcher.”
No doubt this statement is perfectly accurate. Fletcher, like Wesley himself, was never a talkative religious professor; and the outpourings of his heart, related by Hester Ann Rogers, may be regarded as exceptional.
Nothing more need be added to the present chapter except the incident that, both in going to Leeds and returning to Madeley, Fletcher preached at Sheffield, where the husband of Hester Ann Rogers was at that time Wesley’s “Assistant.” He was the guest of Mr. Thomas Holy. The following is taken from an unpublished memoir of Mr. Holy, written by the late Rev. James Everett:—
“The sainted Fletcher was twice an inmate of Mr. Holy’s house. This extraordinary man preached twice in Norfolk Street chapel, on going to and returning from the Conference at Leeds, in 1781. One of of his texts was, ‘The kingdom of God is within you;’ and the other, ‘Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.’ On both occasions, the chapel was crowded, and several clergymen were present. When he was introduced to Mr. Holy, his salutation was, ‘Peace be to thee, my brother;’ and, on crossing Mr. Holy’s threshold, he said, ‘Peace be to this house.’ Mrs. Brammah, the widow of an old itinerant preacher, and one of Mr. Holy’s pensioners, was present, and observed that Mr. Fletcher frequently repeated the latter text, as if desirous to impress the company with its importance and its blessedness. ‘Mr. Fletcher’s conversation,’ remarked Mr. Holy, ‘was always instructive and impressive; and I felt while I was with him as if I were in the presence of a superior being.’ During his stay in Sheffield, Mr. Fletcher bathed every morning in a river, about half a mile distant from Mr. Holy’s residence. His host always accompanied him, and was much struck with his excellent swimming.”
This is a trivial matter, but trifles concerning “mighty men, men of renown,” are worth preserving.
A journey from Madeley to Leeds, a hundred years ago, was a somewhat serious affair. In an unpublished letter, addressed to Mr. Ireland, Fletcher tells his friend that the journey occupied two days and a half, and that his new saddle was so hard that, to save himself from suffering, he was obliged to put the hair-skins, used for the protection of his chest, into his “breeches.” In the same letter, he gives an account of the suicide of his “atheistical nephew;” and concludes as follows:—
“If Mr. Romaine be still with you, please to remember me in much love to him. I went yesterday to Salop, saw Mr. De Courcy,[521] and invited Mr. Rowland Hill to preach here to cement love.”
Footnote 521:
At that time the incumbent of the parish of St. Alkmond, Shrewsbury. (“Life of Rev. R. Hill,” by Sidney, p. 137.)
XXIV. FLETCHER’S MARRIAGE.
1781.
FLETCHER spent a happy month among the “elect” ladies of Methodism in the North of England; to wit, Miss Bosanquet, Hester Ann Rogers, Sarah Crosby, and their friends; and, on his return to Madeley, he had to correspond with two others in the south, Miss Perronet and Lady Mary Fitzgerald. To the former he wrote as follows:—
“MADELEY, September 4, 1781.
“MY DEAR FRIEND,—You want ‘some thoughts on the love of God;’ and I want the warmest feelings of it. Let us believe His creating, feel His preserving, admire His redeeming, and triumph in His sanctifying love. Loving is the best way to grow in love. Let us then look at the love of our heavenly Father, shining in the face of our elder Brother, and we shall be changed into love—His image and nature—from one glorious and glorifying degree of love to another. Love always delights in the object loved. ‘Delight thou in the Lord,’ then, and ‘thou shalt have thy heart’s desire;’ for we can desire nothing more than the supreme good and infinite bliss; both are in God. When, therefore, we love God truly, we delight in what He is; we share in His infinite happiness; and, by divine sympathy, His throne of glory becomes ours; for true love rejoices in all the joy of the object to which it cleaves.
“Add to this, that when we love God we have always our hearts’ desire; for we love His will, His desires become ours, and ours are always perfectly resigned to His. Now as God does whatsoever He pleases, both in heaven and earth, His lovers have always their hearts’ desire, forasmuch as they always have His will, which is theirs. Submitting our private will to His is only preferring a greater good to a less, and we are called to do it in afflictions.
“Farewell, my dear friend, and excuse these reflections, which you could make much better than your humble servant,
“J. FLETCHER.”[522]
Footnote 522:
Letters, 1791, p. 277.
An excellent love-letter, from one who was now the declared lover of Mary Bosanquet.
Lady Mary Fitzgerald wished to visit Fletcher at Madeley, and to her he wrote the following:—
“MADELEY, September 3, 1781.
“MY MUCH-HONOURED LADY,—Two days ago I came here, after an absence of above a month; and yesterday I received your letter, without date, which has been, I am told, waiting here some time.
“What a pity I did not rejoice sooner in the good news you send me,—that you desire to be entirely devoted to God. Indeed, complaints follow; but heaven is in that holy desire. If you cultivate it, it will produce all that conformity to a holy God, which love can bring to a human soul. As for your complaints, they are the natural expressions of that repentance which precedes the coming of the Comforter, who is to abide with us for ever. I am ready to rejoice, or to mourn with my honoured friend; and I have abundant cause to do both with respect to myself, my ministrations, the Church, and my people.
“And will you, indeed, find it in your heart to honour my house with your presence, and perfume also with your prayers the plain apartment occupied by your friend Johnson?[523] I wonder at nothing on earth, when I consider the condescension with which Emmanuel came down from heaven and filled a stable with His glory. Your time, my condescending friend, will suit me best. You will be queen in my hermitage; the Lord will rule in our hearts; and you will command, under Him, within our walls. You smile, perhaps, at the vastness of your new empire; but if you can be content and happy in God in my homely solitude, you will make greater advances towards bliss than if you obtained the Principality of Wales. But if you cannot be happy with Jesus, prayer, praise, godly conversation, and retirement, expect a disappointment. However, my honoured friend, if you come, come as the serious Catholics go on a pilgrimage, as French noblemen go to the Carthusian Convent at La Trappe, as the French king’s aunts went to the Carmelites,—come and do evangelical penance. Our good friend Johnson will tell you of an upper room where we crucify our old man, and have had many a visit from the new. If you do not bring her with you, bring her faith, which brought Him down, and then you shall not pine for the company of earthly princes. The Prince of Peace Himself will keep His court in our cottage, and your heart shall be one of His favourite thrones.”[524]
Footnote 523:
Probably Ann Johnson, who was a member of the Methodist Society in London sixty years; a class-leader, thirty-seven; who died at the age of eighty in 1828, and whose remains were interred in the burial-ground of City Road Chapel. See Stevenson’s “City Road Chapel,” p. 458.
Footnote 524:
Letters, 1791, p. 276.
From these Christian ladies, the reader’s attention must now be directed to another.
Mary Bosanquet, oddly enough, was born in the same month, and on the same day of the month, as Fletcher; but there was this difference—she was ten years younger than he. Her birth took place in 1739, the year in which Methodism was cradled. Her father was “one of the chief merchants in London,”[525] and “lord of the manor of Leytonstone, in Essex.”[526] The place of her nativity was Forest House, a fine old mansion, three stories high, still standing in its own beautiful and spacious grounds, about a mile from Leyton, and still owned by a member of the Bosanquet family (S. R. Bosanquet, Esq.), who has recently given a plot of ground in the main street of the town on which to build the “Mary Fletcher Memorial Chapel.”
Footnote 525:
“Life of Rev. H. Venn,” p. 376.
Footnote 526:
“Sermon on the death of Mrs. Fletcher,” by John Hodson, p. 47.
By means of a Methodist servant, Mary Bosanquet found peace with God, through faith in Jesus Christ, when she was only eight years old. At the age of thirteen, she became acquainted with Mrs. Lefevre, whose admirable “Letters on Religious Subjects” used to be one of the favourite books of the early Methodists; and concerning which Wesley himself testified: “The ‘Letters’ are patterns of truly polite epistolary correspondence; expressing the noblest sentiments in the most elegant manner, in the purest, yea, and finest language.”[527] At the house of Mrs. Lefevre, Miss Bosanquet was introduced to a number of godly people, many of them Methodists. When fourteen years of age, she was confirmed in St. Paul’s Cathedral, and began to receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
Footnote 527:
Preface to the Letters.
Soon after this, her father and mother thought her “righteous over much,” and great uneasiness, on both sides, followed. The parents were members of the Church of England; but, like many other professedly Christian people, they loved gaiety and worldly pleasure. Their daughter grieved them, because she attired herself plainly, and objected to go to balls and theatres. In the midst of this unpleasantness, she became acquainted with Sarah Ryan and Sarah Crosby, and, at their humble dwelling, in Christopher Alley, Moorfields, was accustomed to meet companies of the Old Foundery Methodists. Meanwhile, the unhappiness at home increased.
At the age of twenty-one, Miss Bosanquet came into possession of “a small fortune;” and, for her own comfort and that of her family, she left the parental home, and rented two unfurnished rooms in the house of Mrs. Gold, in Hoxton Square. She “hired a sober girl;” her mother gave her two beds; and she was driven to her lodgings in her father’s coach. She reached her new home about eight o’clock at night. She had no candle. The people of the house she had never seen. She borrowed a table; and the window seat served her as a chair. Her supper consisted of bread, “rank salt butter, and water;” but she says, she “could truly say, ‘I eat my meat with gladness and singleness of heart.’ The bedstead was not, as yet, put up, and, therefore, she laid upon the floor; “and the windows” of the bedless bedroom “having no shutters, and it being a bright moonlight night,” she remarks, “the sweet solemnity thereof well agreed with the tranquillity of my spirit.”
Her “maid was dull and ignorant, though good;” and she herself “knew little more of the world than” did her maid, “having been used to so different a way of life.” Just at this juncture, ill-health obliged Sarah Ryan to leave Wesley’s meeting-house in Bristol, and to return to London, where she lodged with her sister. Here her illness became serious; and Miss Bosanquet served, as her nurse, “night and day.” “After a time,” writes Miss Bosanquet, “the Lord was pleased to restore her to health; and, having one heart, one mind, and one purse, we agreed that one habitation also would be most profitable;” and, accordingly, the two now resided together at Hoxton.
On March 24, 1763, Miss Bosanquet and Sarah Ryan removed from Hoxton to Leytonstone, and occupied a house belonging to the former. Miss Bosanquet told her father that she intended to have Methodist preaching in her house; her father made no objection, but remarked, “If a mob should pull your house about your ears, I cannot hinder them.” She and Sarah Ryan began to hold meetings, on Thursday nights, at which they “read a chapter, and sometimes spoke from it.” They also gathered a Methodist class, of twenty-five members; and, in due time, Wesley sent his Itinerant, John Murlin, to preach to them. Thus began Methodism at Leytonstone. “Sometimes on Sundays, when the nights were dark, a mob would collect at the gate” of Miss Bosanquet’s domestic cathedral, “and throw dirt at the people as they went out; after which, they used to come into the yard, and, putting their faces to a window, which was without shutters, would roar and howl like wild beasts.”
At the first, Miss Bosanquet’s family at Leytonstone consisted of herself, her maid, Sarah Ryan, and “Sally Lawrence,[528] a child about four years old, whom” she had “taken from the side of her mother’s coffin.” In a little while, five other orphans were admitted; and it became necessary to employ Ann Tripp[529] to serve as their governess. Miss Bosanquet writes: “Some serious women also were added to our household, and each had their duties and employments assigned them. In the whole, we received thirty-five children, and thirty-four grown persons, but not all at one time.” Thus did Miss Bosanquet turn her dwelling into a chapel, an orphanage, and a poor-house. All in the house, herself included, wore the same kind of dress, made of “a dark purple cotton;” and all dined at the same table, which was “five yards long,” and stood in the hall. Here also they all assembled “for morning and evening devotion, and on several other occasions.”
Footnote 528:
Sarah Lawrence was the niece of Sarah Ryan. She lived with her benefactress until her death, which occurred at Madeley, on December 3, 1800. Like Mrs. Fletcher, for several years, she was a preacheress, and very useful.
Footnote 529:
Ann Tripp was converted under the ministry of Wesley and Thomas Maxfield. After the marriage of Miss Bosanquet and her removal to Madeley, she settled at Leeds, and, at the time of her death, in 1823, was one of the oldest leaders of the Leeds Society. (Wesleyan Methodist Magazine, 1823, p. 706.)
Miss Bosanquet soon found that her family was larger than her income could maintain; but even this did not discourage her, as she was at perfect liberty to spend her capital.
Most of the children when admitted to her house “were naked, full of vermin, and some of them were afflicted with disagreeable distempers. The first thing was to clean and clothe them, and attend to their health; which usually was followed with much success.”
“The eldest of the children arose between four and five; the younger not much later. At half-an-hour after six,” says Miss Bosanquet, “we had family prayer; at seven, we breakfasted together on herb tea, or milk porridge. The small children then went into the garden till eight. At eight, the bell rang for school, which continued till twelve. Then, after a few minutes spent in prayer, the children came down to us, when we either walked out with them, or, if the weather did not permit, we found them some employment in the house, endeavouring, at the same time, to give them both instruction and recreation. At one, we dined; about two, the bell rang again for school; and, at five, they returned to us, and were employed as before till supper time. Then, after family prayer, they were washed, and were put to bed at eight. Four or five of the bigger girls were each week kept out of the school, by turns, and employed in house-work, cooking, etc., that they might be accustomed to every sort of business; and there was work enough in so large a family. Several of the children were very young, though I do not remember we had any under two years, except one of about a month old, which was laid, very neatly dressed, one night late at our door; but it lived only a fortnight, being full of humours, probably derived from its parents.
“We had, I think, never more than ten grown persons in the family at one time, who were not invalids; nor do I remember above five or six altogether in health. The children also, for the first few years, suffered under various disorders; for we did not refuse either old or young, on account of their being sick or helpless.”
Miss Bosanquet, as might be expected, was soon involved in pecuniary embarrassments. Just about this period, a young lady of fortune, Miss Lewen, came to board and lodge with her, and also brought two children of whom she had taken charge. After residing about half a year in this unique retreat at Leytonstone,—chapel, orphanage, school, poor-house, and infirmary all combined in one,—Miss Lewen wished to make a new will, and to bequeath her hostess “a large sum of money.” Miss Bosanquet objected, because Miss Lewen had already “left the bulk of her estate (which was large) to charitable uses.” In 1766, Miss Lewen became suddenly very ill; and, one night, while some of the inmates of the house were watching at her side, she cried, “Give me pen and paper; I cannot die easy, unless I write something of my mind concerning Sister Bosanquet having £2,000.” Pen and paper were supplied, and the writing was written; but, of course, it was illegal and worthless. Miss Lewen died; but Miss Bosanquet, instead of receiving the £2,000, which Miss Lewen wished her to have, received not a farthing, and was considerably out of pocket on her dead friend’s account.
About the beginning of 1765, Miss Bosanquet’s father died; and nine months afterwards her mother. By his will, her father bequeathed her £4,500, to be invested by her trustees for her benefit; and, when she married with their approval and consent, this amount of money was to be transferred to herself, and to be absolutely at her own disposal.[530]
Footnote 530:
“Probate of Mr. Bosanquet’s Will.”
From a letter, written by S. Bosanquet, Esq., and dated “Forest House, October 15, 1781,” it appears that Miss Bosanquet had altogether a fortune of not less than £10,500,—a large sum, when it is remembered that money then was about three or four times the value of money now. Mr. Bosanquet’s letter was addressed to his sister, and in it he says:—
£ “You had Leytonstone estate, valued at 3,000 You had from my grandmother 2,500 You had the savings of Leyton estate till you came 500 of age You had by my father’s will 4,500 —————— £10,500” [531] ——————
Footnote 531:
Unpublished letter.
With the exception of her father’s bequest, the whole of this money was at her own disposal, and, at the time of her marriage, was entirely spent, not on herself, but solely on behalf of others. Added to this, she was also, to a serious amount, in debt; but more of this anon.
About three years after the death of Miss Bosanquet’s father, Richard Taylor, a good and well-meaning man, “left his wife and young family” in Yorkshire, “and came to London in hope of settling with his creditors.” Sarah Crosby, who was now resident in Miss Bosanquet’s house, and John Murlin, one of the itinerant preachers stationed in the London Circuit, recommended Taylor, the improvident debtor, to Miss Bosanquet’s notice, and, for some time, he also became a member of her motley household. This unfortunate event created a world of trouble. By her father’s bequest, Miss Bosanquet’s income was increased; but her income was not equal to her expenses. Added to this, Sarah Ryan’s health entirely failed; and, partly on her account, and also for other reasons, Miss Bosanquet entertained the thought of removing her family to Yorkshire. Accordingly, on June 7, 1768, she and her two friends, Sarah Ryan and Sarah Crosby, set out, in a chaise, on this long and tiresome journey, Richard Taylor accompanying them on horseback. For seven weeks, they lived in the house of Taylor’s father-in-law, when they procured a house for themselves at Gildersome, a village in the parish of Batley, and about four miles and a half from Leeds. At the same time (on August 17, 1768), Sarah Ryan died; and this event augmented Miss Bosanquet’s anxieties, and affected her health. She writes:—
“My health began to fail. For three years, I had had much fatigue in nursing my dear friend. I grew large, and had dropsical symptoms. My soul, also, was in a low and cold state. My path was strewed with many perplexities. My family consisted of thirty persons, some of whom were rather unruly. I saw the need of taking the reins into my own hands, and supplying the place of my friend Ryan. But this determination was very difficult to execute; and I daily and hourly felt my insufficiency. While she was alive, I considered her as a mother, and desired her to allot me my employments, as she did in the case of the young women. These were, 1. An attention to the spiritual affairs of the family. 2. Taking care for their sustenance. 3. Instructing the children. 4. Meeting each member of the family, one by one, at fixed times. 5. Superintending, by turns, the more public meetings of the Society. 6. Attending my friend in her frequent illnesses; with the direction and management of the sick. But the care of the kitchen, buying stores, managing the needlework, and many other things belonging to housekeeping, I was quite unaccustomed to. While I lived in my father’s house, I saw very little of domestic affairs, because we lived rather high.
“Beside, the manner of life in Yorkshire was entirely different from what I had been used to about London. Here wheat was to be bought to be made into flour; bread to be made; cows to be managed; and men-servants to be directed. And when I had provided as well as I could, some persons in my family would despisingly say, my victuals were not worth eating, and that I knew not how to order anything. The house was large, and there was land to it; but, one day, Richard Taylor, whom I had employed in ordering the out-door affairs, brought me word of a farm very cheap, on which were malt-kilns, a small house, and many out-buildings. The farm was large, and he thought if, besides the farm-house, we were to build one big enough for our family, it would be cheaper than to rent a house. I went to Leeds to consult the most judicious of my friends; in particular Mr. R——, a man well acquainted with business, and the most intimate friend I had in Yorkshire. He replied, ‘Had you waited a dozen years, you might not have met with such an opportunity. Richard Taylor knows well how to manage, if you do not; and I have no doubt the farm will clear you £150 a year, which will be good interest for your money.
“I prayed for light, bought the estate, formed the plan for the house, and set about it. But I found building no cheaper in Yorkshire than in the south, or but little so. It cost a good deal more than was at first proposed. The farm took much money to stock it, and to bring it into order; and, as I had not sufficient for all the expenses, I was obliged to take up money on interest, which I hoped to pay off at the rate of £50 a year. The malt-kilns seemed to answer well, and cleared the first year £50, above all expenses.
“I found my mind much united to Brother and Sister Taylor. I strove to remove their burdens, and went in person to their creditors. After meeting with some opposition, I got their affairs settled, at the expense of between two and three hundred pounds.
“My perplexities increased. The farm had sunk a very large sum to bring it into order, and the kilns took much money to work them, a great deal of which lay scattered up and down in debts, owing to me from lesser maltsters. I also saw that Richard Taylor went too far; that he was inclined to venture much; that he kept too many men; and that he gave a great deal too much credit.
“I lessened my family all I could, by putting out some of the bigger children to trades, or servants’ places; but much expense attended it. Richard Taylor also had several children, while with me, so that the family still consisted of twenty-five persons; the majority of whom were grown persons. Losses continually occurred. I consulted Mr. ——, and other friends about my situation; but most of them were for some further exertion in trade. That I knew would not do. Some said, ‘Turn away all the members of your family: you have enough to live on alone with a servant or two;’ but I could not see how that could be done, for several of them were old, sickly, or helpless. Mr. —— said, ‘There is but one way for you; put the farm into the hands of Richard Taylor, entirely separate from yourself; let him have the stock just as it is, and work the kilns as he can raise the money. Let him pay you £60 a year, and take his family to the end of the house. I agreed to this, and Richard Taylor paid his rent regularly: but, as he was to have the farm free of debt, I found a good deal to pay which he had not brought to account; so that, before all was settled, I had again to take up money on interest, which was no small affliction to me. Could I have sold the place, I would have chosen it rather.
“We went on tolerably for three years. Mr. —— thought the farm increased in heart; the stock also improved, and all was cheerful, except in my own mind, which foreboded deep waters. This was soon realized. In the beginning of the fourth year, Taylor was £600 in debt. I thought, I am not obliged to pay his debt; let him break, and bear his own burden; but I soon saw that I must either give up the stock, which would be sold for half its value, or I must pay the money. Besides, I was now informed, that, when he ceased to act as my agent, I ought to have advertised it, that no one might trust him through confidence in me.”
Thus, through wretched Richard Taylor, Miss Bosanquet found herself in a most serious entanglement. At the first, she felt she was not bound to pay Taylor’s debt; but Taylor’s wife, big with child, came to her wringing her hands, and entreating her to save her husband from being sent to prison. The result was, Miss Bosanquet paid the debt, by accepting the offer of a loan of £600 from Mr. ——, who became a partner with her in the farm and malt-kilns, and took the management of the whole. This, however, did not end her anxieties. She writes:—
“In my deep troubles, a thought occurred to my mind. ‘Perhaps Mr. Fletcher is to be my deliverer;’ but I started from the idea, lest it should be a stratagem of Satan. We had not seen or heard from each other for more than fifteen years. Besides, I was now (in August, 1777), told that Mr. Fletcher was dying. As I was, one day, in prayer, offering him up to the Lord, these words occurred to me,—‘The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.’ I thought if the Lord should raise him up, and should bring him back from Switzerland to England, and he should propose to marry me, could I doubt its being of God? I felt an unaccountable liberty to ask,—1. That Mr. Fletcher might be raised up. 2. That he might be brought back to England. 3. That he might write to me on the subject before he saw me, though we had been so many years asunder, without so much as a message passing on any subject. 4. That he might tell me, in his letter, that (marrying me) had been the subject of his thoughts and prayers for years. It also occurred to me, that, should this take place in the end of 1781, it would be a still greater confirmation, as Providence seemed to point me to that season as a time of hope.”
Miss Bosanquet’s troubles were continued. Her new partnership was disastrous, and Mr. ——’s management a failure. He had told her she would receive £100 a-year towards paying off the debts she owed to himself and others; but the farm, instead of yielding a profit, was worked at a loss. The interest she had to pay so reduced her income, that it became impossible to keep more than half her family with what remained. She writes:—
“As to the kilns, I had neither money nor courage to work them. I strove, I worked hard, I prayed; and, at length, I proposed to the members of my family to disperse, and learn some little business; and I would allow to each of them what I could. It was a most painful thing; but I saw there was no way but first to sell the place, and then disperse.
“Just at this time, a gentleman proposed to buy the place, stock, lease, and everything. He was a man both of fortune and of honour, and really wished to help me out of my difficulties; and the price he offered would bring me through all, and leave me a good income. The bargain was in part made; but, alas! he took a fever, and, in a few days, died. I now saw but one way—to advertise Cross Hall, and sell it for what I could; and, paying the purchase money away as far as it would go, strive yearly to lessen the remaining part of the debt by my income, reserving only £50 per year to live on, and to help my friends. But I recollected that I might not live long enough thus to pay the debt by my income. I then proposed to myself to keep only £20 per year; nay, I thought, how can I have a right even to twenty? Justice is before mercy. One day, as I was standing at a window, musing on this subject, I saw a poor man driving asses laden with sand, by which he gained his bread. As I looked on him, I thought, I am perfectly willing to take up the business of that man. If I can preserve unsold one of the freehold cottages, the asses might graze on the common, and I could follow them with something to sell. There were but few trades which my conscience would suffer me to follow; and my abilities were equal to still fewer; but to anything in the world would I turn, that was not sinful, rather than remain in debt.”
“The 7th of June, 1781, was the day that began my fourteenth year in Yorkshire. I saw difficulties, as mountains, rise all around me; but the very next day, June the 8th, I received a letter from Mr. Fletcher, in which he told me, that he had, for twenty-five years, found a regard for me, which was still as sincere as ever; and, though it might appear odd that he should write on such a subject, when but just returned from abroad, and more so without seeing me first, he could only say, that his mind was so strongly drawn to do it, he believed it to be the order of Providence.”[532]
Footnote 532:
These statements are partly taken from “A Letter to the Rev. Mr. John Wesley. By a Gentlewoman, 1764” (Miss Bosanquet); and partly from the “Life of Mrs. Mary Fletcher. By Henry Moore, 1818.”
Thus began Fletcher’s courtship, which ended five months afterwards in his marrying Mary Bosanquet.
The foregoing is a strange story. Of set purpose, nothing has been said of Miss Bosanquet’s earnest piety, gospel labours, and spiritual successes, both in the south of England and in Yorkshire. The object has been to show to what straits a young lady of fortune was brought, by injudicious generosity, by foolish advisers, and, perhaps, it may be added, by crafty mendicants. Eighteen years before this, in a letter to Charles Wesley, Fletcher confessed that he regarded Miss Bosanquet with admiration;[533] and that Miss Bosanquet regarded Fletcher with equal admiration the foregoing extracts amply prove; as does also a letter, which she addressed to Wesley, nearly six years before her marriage, and from which the following is taken:—
“CROSS HALL, February 7, 1776.
“REV. SIR,—I thank you for your kind favour of January 27. It yielded us much satisfaction; for never before could we get any account to be depended on.
“I am exceedingly thankful Mr. Fletcher is with Mrs. Greenwood. She will tenderly care for him: and, having a spiritual mind, will be sensible of the honour God does her, in giving her such an opportunity.
“How wise are all the ways of God, in keeping His faithful servant in that retired spot” (Stoke Newington), “while those precious works are completed, by which he will yet speak to us, though in glory: and now to enable him to bring them out, while his exemplary life and conversation add a lustre to the truths he has so powerfully defended.
“We could have liked to have seen him once more; but the will of the Lord be done! Should it happen that this sickness is not unto death, we shall rejoice in having an opportunity of assisting him in anything which lies in our power. Should this favour be denied us, we must be content; and beseech God to reward those who may supply our lack of service.
“The blessed account you give of the state of his mind filled my soul with sacred joy, as also those of my friends. While I was reading it, it was a solemn season of faith and love, and we could not help saying, ‘Ah, Lord! Let not this shining light be so soon extinguished!’
“A few weeks ago, I once more read the ‘Equal Check’ and felt an unction in it above all I had ever found before. The ‘Essay on Truth,’ with the Appendix, is as marrow and fatness to my soul. O may all the height and depth of every Gospel promise be written on his heart!”[534]
Footnote 533:
Letters, 1791, p. 143.
Footnote 534:
Arminian Magazine, 1788, p. 48.
Did Fletcher ever see this loving, admiring letter? Perhaps he did. At all events, Wesley’s most intimate and confidential friendship with both Fletcher and Miss Bosanquet was such as to justify utterances, which, under other circumstances, would have been almost impertinent. In his sermon on the death of Fletcher, Wesley remarked, “Miss Bosanquet was the only person in England whom I judged to be worthy of Mr. Fletcher;” and again, in a letter to Hester Ann Rogers, written a month after the marriage took place, he observed, “I should not have been willing that Miss Bosanquet should have been joined to any other person than Mr. Fletcher.”[535] To some, such language may seem unusual, but, in reality, it was natural; for Wesley had long been regarded as their father in Christ, both by Fletcher and his wife; and, no doubt, both of them had consulted him with respect to the step they proposed to take.
Footnote 535:
Wesley’s Works, vol. xiii., p. 78.
After all, Fletcher’s matrimonial offer was a curious incident. He was now fifty-two years of age. For the last four years and a-half, he had been absent from his parish, and so seriously ill, that, again and again, his friends expected him to die. Some of his views, also, of ministers marrying at all were rather peculiar, though rational and sound. In his “Portrait of St. Paul,” composed in Switzerland, and revised and finished after his return to Madeley, Fletcher wrote:—
“When a man is perpetually called to travel from place to place, prudence requires that he should not encumber himself with those domestic cares, which must occasion many unavoidable delays in the prosecution of his business: or, if he derives his maintenance from the generosity of the poor, charity should constrain him to burden them as little as possible. St. Paul could not prevail upon himself to expose a woman and children to those innumerable dangers, which he was constantly obliged to encounter. The first peril, from which he made his escape, was that which compelled him to descend from the wall of Damascus in a basket: now if a family had shared with him in the same danger, what an addition would they have made to his affliction and his care! Is it not evident, that, in such circumstances, every man, who is not obliged to marry from reasons either physical or moral, is called to imitate the example of this disinterested Apostle, from the same motives of prudence and charity. This indefatigable preacher, always on a mission, judged it advisable to continue in a single state to the end of his days: but, had he been fixed in a particular church; had he there felt how much it concerns a minister neither to tempt others, nor to be tempted himself; and had he known how much assistance a modest, provident, and pious woman is capable of affording a pastor, by inspecting the women of his flock, he would then probably have advised every resident pastor to enter into the marriage state, provided they should fix upon regenerate persons, capable of edifying the Church.”
Probably, while writing this, Fletcher was thinking of Wesley and his itinerant preachers, and also of the difference between them and himself, as the Vicar of Madeley. Be that as it may, from the doctrine he has laid down, he deduces the following principles:—
“1. In times of great trouble and grievous persecutions, the followers of Christ should abstain from marriage, unless obliged thereto by particular and powerful reasons. 2. The faithful, who mean to embrace the nuptial state, should be careful, on no account, to connect themselves with any persons, except such as are remarkable for their seriousness and piety. 3. Missionaries ought not to marry, unless there is an absolute necessity. 4. A bishop, or resident pastor, is usually called to the marriage state. 5. A minister of the Gospel, who is able to live in a state of celibacy for the kingdom of heaven’s sake, that he may have no other care except that of preaching the Gospel and attending upon the members of Christ’s mystical body,—such a one is undoubtedly called to continue in a single state.”
Many will disapprove of some of Fletcher’s deductions; but it is easier to disapprove than to refute.
On the 8th of June, 1781, Miss Bosanquet received Fletcher’s offer of marriage. They had long admired each other, but, when they first became acquainted, Fletcher regarded Miss Bosanquet’s fortune as an insuperable barrier to their union; and Miss Bosanquet was too much occupied with her philanthropic schemes to think of being married. Now, Fletcher, to a great extent, was an invalid, and, as much as any man alive, needed a pious and loving nurse. Miss Bosanquet, also, was in a quagmire of financial embarrassments, and greatly needed a tender, judicious friend.
Fletcher’s letter, despatched early in the month of June, led to a correspondence which lasted till August 1, when Fletcher arrived in Yorkshire to attend Wesley’s Conference at Leeds. Miss Bosanquet writes:—
“Mr. Fletcher came to Cross Hall, and abode there a month; preaching in different places with much power. Having opened our whole hearts to each other, both on temporals and spirituals, we believed it to be the order of God that we should become one, when He should make our way plain.”[536]
Footnote 536:
“Mrs. Fletcher’s Life.”
Properly enough, Fletcher wished, before marrying Miss Bosanquet, to consult her family, and to obtain their approval. To this she consented; and, three weeks after his return to Madeley, Fletcher wrote the following, hitherto unpublished, letters. Some will condemn the printing of this private correspondence; but as it contains nothing but what is honourable to all the parties concerned, and as it exhibits the Vicar of Madeley in a new position, most readers will be thankful for it.
The first letter was addressed to Miss Bosanquet, and shows the ardour of her wooer:—
“MADELEY, September 22, 1781.
“MY DEAREST FRIEND,—I have received thy dear letter, with the one enclosed from thy brother. I shall send it back to thee by Mr. Brisco,[537] who will call here on his way to Birstal.
“O Polly! generous, faithful Polly! dost thou indeed permit me to write to thy friends, and to ask the invaluable gift of thy hand? That hand, that is half mine, shall be wholly mine. I have, to-day, written two letters,—one to thy uncle, the other to thy elder brother. Correct them, and, when thou hast, forward them with much prayer and love. Back them with some of thy sweet arguments. Thou knowest how to come at thy friends. I don’t: I have only followed my instinct for thee in this new business.
“Polly! I read thy letter, and wondered at the expression in it,—‘If you think me worth writing for.’ Ah! my holy, my loving, my lovely, my precious friend, I think thee worth writing for with my vital blood: I am only sorry that I had not thee beside me to write with thy wisdom. However, I write by the first post: direct the letters properly; and excuse my sending them by thee, as I don’t remember the names and streets.
“‘Difficulties!’ If thou hast any, I shall gladly share them with thee, and think myself well repaid with the pleasure of praying and praising with thee, and for thee. Therefore, do not talk of struggling through alone. I charge thee, by thy faithfulness, let me be alone as little time as thou canst.
“‘Three thousand pounds’ with thee! My dear, if thou art mine, and canst live in our cottage here, praising and blessing God, I shall rejoice more than Mephibosheth, when, through joy, he said, ‘Let Ziba take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come back in peace’ (2 Sam. xix. 30). Let not thy wisdom, Polly, make thee suspect and surmise evil. Let thy charity make thee hope all things for thy friends.
“I thank thee for that believing sentence,—‘But, all shall be right.’ The worst thy friends can do is to keep thy money, which I look upon as dung and dross in comparison of thee. Ah Polly! with the treasure of thy friendship, and the unsearchable riches of Christ, how rich thinkest thou I am? Count—cast up—but thou wilt never make out the amazing sum.
“So thou wilt keep ‘two years’ from me to bring me some money! Oh, Polly! that is a saying more worthy of Change Alley than of the paradise of love. Let me comfort thee a little. If thou lovest me half as much as I do thee, thou wilt think thyself rich. Thou art worth to me a million; and cannot I be worth thy £5,000?
“I embrace thee in spirit, and more than mix my soul with thine. Farewell!
“J. FLETCHER.”
Footnote 537:
Thomas Brisco, a fine old Methodist Itinerant Preacher, at that time the Superintendent of the Birstal Circuit.
The two letters referred to in this sweethearting epistle, and addressed to Miss Bosanquet’s uncle, Claudius Bosanquet, Esq., and to her brother, S. Bosanquet, Esq., were the following:—
“To Claudius Bosanquet, Esq.
“MADELEY, September 22, 1781.
“SIR,—Permit a stranger to claim some moments of the time you consecrate to your neighbours’ happiness and the welfare of your own family.
“I was born in the Pays de Vaud at Nyon, a town about fifteen miles north of Geneva, on the borders of the lake. My father, in his youth, was an officer in the French service, which he left to marry. He was afterwards a colonel in the militia of his country, and a judge or assessor to the lord-lieutenant of the town where he lived. I am the youngest of his eight children. Having some desires to be a clergyman, I was, for seven years, sent to Geneva to pursue my studies. But after I had stayed there seven years, a fear of being unfit for the Christian ministry, and the enticing offers of my father’s brother, who was a lieutenant-colonel in the Dutch service, made me for a time prefer the sword to the gown. I left the academy” [at Geneva] “and went to Flanders to join my eldest brother, who was an officer in the Dutch service; but, before I could enter the army, the peace was made, and my uncle, on whom my hopes depended, left the service.
“Seeing my way to military preferment blocked up by these two events, I came to England, to get more perfect in the English tongue, which I had begun to learn at Geneva. Some months after I was come over, Mr. Des Champs, a French minister, to whom I had been recommended, procured me the place of tutor to the son of Mr. Hill, member of Parliament for Shrewsbury. In his family I lived some years, and applied myself to the study of divinity; and, at his request, and by his interest, I got into Orders; a calling which now suited my more serious turn of mind.
“It was soon after my ordination that I saw Miss Mary Bosanquet, your pious niece. I had resolved not to marry, but the sweetness of her temper, and her devotedness to God, made me think that if ever I broke through my resolution, it would be to cast my lot with one like her.
“Not long after, at Mr. Hill’s request, his nephew, Mr. Kinaston, member for Montgomery, presented me to the living of Madeley, a little market-town in the county of Salop, worth about £100 per annum; and here I have chiefly lived, sequestered from the world, as your amiable niece has done at Leyton and at Cross Hall.
“After having corresponded some years with her on various subjects, last spring, on my return from a journey to the continent, I ventured to mention to her my first thoughts about a closer union with her,—thoughts which I had kept to myself for nearly twenty-five years. After maturely discussing the point, your pious niece has given me room to hope she will give me her hand, if you, Sir, whom she honours as a father, give your consent to our union. I earnestly ask it, Sir; and beg you will share the pleasure of uniting two persons who, from a remarkable agreement of taste, sentiments, and pursuits, as well as from a particular sympathy, seem formed for each other by the God of nature and of grace.
“I wish, Sir, I had a fortune equal to Miss Bosanquet’s deserts; but I hope I have one suitable to her piety, and to the moderate wishes of that godliness which, together with contentment, is a great gain. I have only about £1,500 worth of property in my native country, and about £400 or £500 more in my parish, besides the income of my living, and a house much better than those with which most country clergymen are obliged to put up.
“Whatever be your pious niece’s fortune, I assure you, Sir, I seek her person, not her property; and to convince you of it, I request that before she gives me her hand, her whole fortune may be secured to her by a proper settlement.
“With respect to my character, and the truth of what I have here advanced, I beg leave to refer you, Sir, to four creditable persons. With regard to my conduct, and what I affirm of myself as Vicar of Madeley, you may get proper informations from Thomas Hill, Esq., now in Salop, the old gentleman in whose house or neighbourhood I have lived very near thirty years; and from his son, Noel Hill, Esq., member for Shropshire, the gentleman to whom I was tutor. With respect to what I have mentioned of myself as a native of Switzerland, you may, Sir, procure proper informations from two clergymen now in that country, Mr. De Bons and Mr. Tavan, whom I saw last Christmas at Lausanne, and whom you have probably seen in London, when they served French churches there.
“I would, Sir, have waited upon you in person, in London, if some journeys which my curate must take did not oblige me to stay here to serve my own church.
“I shall have the honour to write upon the same subject to Miss Bosanquet’s brothers, and shall take the liberty of referring them to this letter, for some account of him who aspires to the hand of their pious sister; and who, with respect to temporal happiness, desires nothing so ardently as to have your leave to add the name of nephew to that of, Sir, your most humble and obedient servant,
“JOHN DELAFLECHERE.
“P.S.—Soon after I came to England, my English friends, complaining of the length of my Swiss name, began to contract it by dropping the French syllables of it. So they called me Fletcher; and by that name I have been known among the English ever since. If you favour me with an answer, Sir, it will find me if it is directed thus:—
“Mr. Fletcher, “Vicar of Madeley, “Near Shiffnal, “Shropshire.”
The letter addressed to Miss Bosanquet’s brother was as follows:—
“MADELEY, NEAR SHIFFNAL, SHROPSHIRE, “September 22, 1781.
“SIR,—Aspiring to the happiness of being united to your pious sister, Miss Bosanquet, and to the honour of being, by her means, connected with your family, I should be wanting both to my duty and my inclination if I proceeded in my addresses to her without informing you of my design, and asking your approbation of it.
“By this post I send to Claudius Bosanquet, Esq., some account of myself, which I hope he will communicate to you, Sir, and to your brother. I shall only add two things.
“Among the reasons which hindered me from making my addresses to your amiable sister, when first I felt that sympathy which binds my soul to hers, the superiority of her fortune was not the least. Since that time, debts, which unforeseen circumstances led her to contract, have considerably lessened that difficulty; and the prudent fear of contracting new ones seems to make it expedient for her to get into a state where she may, without difficulty and with propriety, bring her expensive housekeeping within narrower bounds. That end will at once be attained if she favours me with her hand.
“Further, in extricating herself from some difficulties, she will crown the wishes of the oldest and warmest of her friends; and contribute not to my happiness only, but to that of my numerous flock. You are too well acquainted with your pious sister’s turn of mind not to know that Providence designed her for a clergyman’s partner and fellow-helper. Her instructions, her employment, her very pleasures from her childhood, have led her to assist her neighbours in temporal as well as in spiritual matters. She has even been blamed for the warmth of her zeal. But what seemed rather awkward and improper in a single woman, will become highly expedient and highly commendable in a clergyman’s wife. The secondary inspection and care of the children and women of a flock of two thousand souls will then naturally devolve to her share, and in some sense become her duty.
“I hope that if you, Sir, your worthy uncle, your brother, and Mrs. Gassen[538] weigh these particulars you will consent to our union, and by that means contribute more than I can express to the happiness, Sir, of your most humble and most obedient servant,
“J. FLETCHER.”
Footnote 538:
Miss Bosanquet’s married sister. The two sisters began their religious life together at a very early age.
In due time, in a letter, dated “Forest House, October 2, 1781,” S. Bosanquet, Esq., informed Fletcher that he approved of the proposed marriage; but added:—
“My sister’s fortune is so encumbered, that nothing but the sale of all her landed estate can free her from her difficulties; and, if that portion of her fortune, which came to her by my father’s will, had not been tied up, she would have been ruined.”[539]
Footnote 539:
Unpublished letter.
A fortnight later, Mr. S. Bosanquet wrote to his sister, and gave her an account of her fortune, amounting in the aggregate to £10,500. He then told her that she had already squandered the whole of this amount, with the exception of £4,500 settled on trustees, for her benefit, by her father’s will. He continued:—
“One reason why my father secured this money, by leaving it on trust, was, lest, by your placing too great confidence in those with whom you were connected, and by your endeavouring to do more good than your circumstances would afford, you might be left destitute.”
He then added:—
“I cannot conclude without remarking that, although you are encumbered with debts, you must be, at least, an equal match for Mr. Fletcher. Your two estates[540] have always been considered as fully equal to your debts; but, suppose they should not turn out to be so, the difference cannot be very great; and, as the remainder of your income exceeds £200 a year, it at least equals Mr. Fletcher’s income, such as it has been stated to me; besides the consideration that the greater part of his income dies with him, and the capital of yours survives in case there should be children, for their benefit.”[541]
Footnote 540:
The Leytonstone estate, valued at £3,000; and that bequeathed by her grandmother, valued at £2,500.
Footnote 541:
Unpublished letter.
At the same time, Miss Bosanquet’s brother William, in a letter dated “Lime Street, London, October 16, 1781,” replied to her wail that she could “carry Mr. Fletcher nothing but debts,” and stated that he was in favour of her marrying Fletcher.[542]
Footnote 542:
Ibid.
Before taking leave of the Bosanquet family, it may be added, that Mr. S. Bosanquet sent his sister, as his wedding present, a pair of silver candlesticks;[543] and that her brother William, in a letter dated “November 27, 1781,” and addressed “Mrs. Fletcher, Cross Hall, Morley Common, near Leeds,” wrote:—
“I cannot but hope the greatest happiness will attend your union with a gentleman to whom, by general report, the highest praise is due. Permit me to wish you joy on this occasion, and to add my best respects to Mr. Fletcher, assuring him that I shall be happy to cultivate his acquaintance, and to show him every attention in my power.”[544]
Footnote 543:
Ibid.
Footnote 544:
Ibid.
With this loving letter, Mr. William Bosanquet forwarded to his sister a nuptial present of £100.
Another fact must be mentioned. William Bosanquet loved his sister, and, not only now, but in aftertime, he showed the genuineness of his affection by his deeds. The uncle, Claudius Bosanquet, in his last will and testament, bequeathed to Miss Bosanquet’s two brothers £18,000 each; but Miss Bosanquet and her sister Gassen were unnamed. At the uncle’s death, their brother William, ever generous and open-handed, gave them £500 each; when Fletcher died, he presented to the widow £40 a year to relieve the wants of the poor of Madeley; and when he himself died, in 1813, he bequeathed her the sum of £2,000.
These details have not been given without a reason. Some ill-informed Methodists have a sort of floating idea that Fletcher’s marriage was an unequal one—that is, they seem to think that the Bosanquet family was much more respectable than that of Fletcher; and that Miss Bosanquet’s fortune was much greater than the fortune of the man who became her loving and devoted husband. Enough has been said to show the inaccuracy of this. Fletcher’s family was quite equal, in point of respectability, to the Bosanquet family, and, perhaps, superior; and his yearly income was not less than that of the lady who rejoiced to become his wife. Never was there a marriage more free from mercenariness than that of John Fletcher, of Madeley, and Mary Bosanquet, of Cross Hall, Yorkshire. It was, in the highest and purest sense, a love-match. The letters, just given, exhibit Fletcher’s affection, disinterestedness, honour, and respect for others. Miss Bosanquet had still a remnant of her fortune; but he wished the whole of this to be settled upon herself. He wished to marry her, but, before carrying out his wish, as a courteous gentleman, he asked for the approbation of her family, thereby setting a good example to his inferiors and juniors. She wished to marry him; but, shrinking from the idea of involving him in her pecuniary embarrassments, she proposed to postpone the marriage till her affairs were in a more settled state. Her family were consulted by Fletcher; and they responded in the most kind and straightforward manner. In genius, talent, and learning, Fletcher was immensely Miss Bosanquet’s superior; but, for pure, ardent, disinterested, unselfish love, it is impossible to decide which of the two was entitled to bear the palm.
Consent to the marriage having been obtained from the Bosanquet family, Fletcher made an arrangement to spend the remainder of the year with his affianced in Yorkshire. The well-known Rev. John Crosse,[545] Vicar of Bradford, took Fletcher’s pulpit at Madeley, and Fletcher took Mr. Crosse’s at Bradford.[546] To some, this may seem somewhat strange; but it must be borne in mind that Miss Bosanquet’s temporal affairs were in a most entangled state, and that it was of great importance that her Cross Hall property should be sold, and all her business assets and debts in Yorkshire satisfactorily settled before her removal to Madeley. Fletcher went to help his intended bride, and did help her; for her brother William, in a letter, written to her a fortnight after her marriage, observed, “You have done very well in disposing of your place.”[547] For months past, she had been longing and trying to turn her troublesome property into money: now she succeeded in doing so. A week after Fletcher’s arrival, “a gentleman came quite unexpectedly, and bought” the Cross Hall[548] estate “for £1,620; and, three days afterwards, another took the stock, etc.” Arrangements were also made for the locating of her domestic dependants; and she was enabled to write:—
“All was now so far settled, that I did not need to sell Leytonstone estate. My income would afford to allow my dispersed family £55 per year; pay the interest of the money still owing; and yet leave me such an annual sum as was about equal to my dear Mr. Fletcher’s; and, in case of my death, there was in Leytonstone more than would pay all. So, on Monday, the 12th of November, 1781, in Batley Church, we covenanted in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, to bear each other’s burdens, and to become one for ever.”[549]
Footnote 545:
Mr. Crosse had been acquainted with Miss Bosanquet when she resided at Leytonstone, and, from that time to this, a warm friendship had existed between them. (“Life of Crosse,” by Morgan, p. 8.)
Footnote 546:
“Life of Rev. John Crosse,” by Morgan, p. 9.
Footnote 547:
Unpublished letter.
Footnote 548:
Cross Hall still exists; at all events, it did a few years ago, when the present writer visited it—a square, substantial, two-story edifice, built of stone, shaded with trees, and having a good garden behind it.
Footnote 549:
“Mrs. Fletcher’s Life,” by H. Moore, p. 142.
Fletcher reached Cross Hall towards the end of October, 1781, and continued there till January 2, 1782, when he and his bride set out for Madeley. A glimpse of this brief interval, and of his unique wedding, may interest the reader.
Of course, Fletcher had to preach every Sunday in Mr. Crosse’s church; but, in addition to this, he also preached in Methodist chapels. Samuel Bradburn, at that time Wesley’s “Assistant” in the Bradford Circuit, wrote:—
“Mr. Fletcher is married to Miss Bosanquet. Such a pair! I am inclined to think there never was a holier, or a happier, couple, since Adam ate the forbidden fruit. At all events, I can say, such a man and woman I never knew married before. He has preached in two of our houses at Halifax and Bradford; and I think that there never were two better sermons preached in England.”[550]
Footnote 550:
Unpublished letter.
This, from one of the greatest of Methodism’s pulpit orators, was no ordinary praise.
Mrs. Crosby was one of the members of Miss Bosanquet’s family, and wrote:—
“Mr. Fletcher’s general conversation, while at Cross Hall, was praising God, and speaking of the love of our dear Redeemer. He took opportunities of speaking to every one in the family, concerning the state of their souls, and of giving them suitable directions. At other times, he met us all together, and exhorted us. Our daily meals were like sacraments. When he drank to any one, it was, ‘Heavenly health!’ or ‘The cup of salvation!’ At, or after each meal, he generally began, or called upon us to begin, to sing—
“‘Still, O my soul, prolong The never-ceasing song! Christ my theme, my hope, my joy! His be all my happy days! Praise my every hour employ: Every breath be spent in praise!’
“Thus did he walk with God, filled with the Spirit: confirming his love to all the family, and caring for both their spiritual and temporal concerns. He preached in many places while in Yorkshire, and to numerous congregations. Many were blest thereby; some convinced of sin; others comforted. Whenever he either preached or conversed, the comforts of the Holy Ghost were multiplied.
“Monday, November 12, was the day appointed for the marriage. On the morning of this day, several friends met together. They reached Cross Hall before family prayers. Mr. Fletcher was dressed in his canonicals. After giving out one of Mr. Wesley’s marriage hymns, he read Rev. xix. 7, 8, 9, ‘Let us be glad, and rejoice, and give honour to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.’ Mr. Fletcher then spoke from these verses, in such a manner as greatly tended to spiritualize the solemnities of the day. He said, ‘We invite you to our wedding; but the Holy Ghost invites you to the marriage of the Lamb. The bride, the Lamb’s wife, represents the whole Church, triumphant and militant united together. You may all be the Bride, and Jesus will condescend to be the Bridegroom. Make yourselves ready by being filled with the Spirit.’ He then engaged in prayer, and said, ‘Lord, thou knowest we would not take this step, if we had not eternity in view, and if we were not as willing to be carried into the churchyard, as to go into the church.’ At breakfast, he remarked, ‘The postilions are now ready to carry us to the church; but death will soon be here to carry us to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’
“On the way to Batley Church, which was nearly two miles distant, he spoke much of the mystery represented by marriage, namely the union between Christ and His Church. They were married in the face of the congregation: the doors were opened, and everyone came in that would. We then returned home, and spent a considerable time in singing and prayer. There were nearly twenty of us. I then presented Mrs. Fletcher with some wedding hymns. She looked over them, and gave them to Mr. Fletcher. He read the Scripture text at the top, namely, ‘Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church.’ Then turning to the company, he said, ‘My God, what a task! Help me, my friends, by your prayers, to fulfil it. As Christ loved the Church! He laid aside His glory for the Church; He submitted to be born into our world; to be clothed with a human body, subject to all our sinless infirmities; He endured shame, contempt, pain, yea, death itself for His Church! O my God, none is able to fulfil this task, without Thine Almighty aid! Help me, O my God! Pray for me, O my friends!’
“He next read, ‘Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands.’ Mrs. Fletcher added, ‘As unto the Lord.’ ‘Well, my dear,’ returned Mr. Fletcher, ‘only in the Lord. And if ever I wish you to do anything otherwise, resist me with all your might.’
“From dinner, which was a spiritual meal as well as a natural one, until tea-time, our time was chiefly spent in prayer or singing. After singing the covenant hymn, Mr. Fletcher went to Mrs. Fletcher, and said to her, ‘Well, my dearest friend, will you unite with me in joining ourselves in a perpetual covenant to the Lord? Will you with me serve Him in His members? Will you help me to bring souls to the Blessed Redeemer? And, in every possible way, this day lay yourself under the strongest ties you can, to help me to glorify my gracious Lord? She answered, ‘May my God help me so to do!’
“In the evening, Mr. Valton[551] preached in the hall, from, ‘What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.’ His words did not fall to the ground; many were greatly refreshed. After the preaching, there was a sweet contest among us: every one thought, ‘I, in particular, owe the greatest debt of praise;’ at length we agreed to sing,—
“‘I’ll praise my Maker, while I’ve breath, And when my voice is lost in death, Praise shall employ my nobler powers: My days of praise shall ne’er be past, While life, and thought, and being last, Or immortality endures.’”[552]
Footnote 551:
John Valton, one of Wesley’s Preachers, then in the seventh year of his itinerancy, and labouring in the Birstal Circuit. He wrote: “On the 12th of November, 1781, Mr. Fletcher stole hallowed fire from my people, by taking away Miss Bosanquet. I and a few friends accompanied them to Batley Church. Surely, such a blessed wedding I never knew before. By request, I improved the occasion in the evening, from these words, ‘What shall we render to the Lord for all His benefits? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon His name.’ It was a refreshing time; and many prayers were offered that eternal blessings might crown the devoted pair.” (“Life of the Rev. John Valton,” p. 104.)
Footnote 552:
Wesley’s “Life of Fletcher.”
Is there on record another wedding day such as this? To criticise the account would spoil it. It may, however, interest the reader to give a verbatim copy of the marriage certificate:—
“No. 112. John William Fletcher, of the parish of Madeley, in the county of Salop, Clerk, and Mary Bosanquet, of this parish, were married in this church (Batley) by license, this twelfth day of November, in the year 1781, by me, John Deighton, Curate.
“This marriage was solemnized between us, John William Fletcher, or De la Flechere, and Mary Bosanquet, in the presence of William Smith and Ann Tripp.”
Twelve days after the marriage, Wesley wrote to Fletcher the following characteristic letter:—
“LONDON, November 24, 1781.
“DEAR SIR,—There is not a person to whom I would have wished Miss Bosanquet joined besides you. But this union, I am thoroughly persuaded, is of God; and so are all the children of God with whom I have spoken. Mr. Bosanquet’s being so agreeable to it, I look upon as a token for good; and so was the ready disposing of the house and stock, which otherwise would have been a great encumbrance.
“From the first day which you spend together at Madeley, I hope you will lay down an exactly regular plan of living; something like that of the happy family at Leytonstone. Let your light shine to all that are round about you. And let Sister Fletcher do as much as she can for God, and no more. To His care I commit you both, and am, my dear friends,
“Your very affectionate brother, “JOHN WESLEY.”[553]
Footnote 553:
Wesley’s Works, vol. xii., p. 154.
A curious letter to be written to a man on his being married; but Wesley and Fletcher were far too earnest, and were engaged in far too great a work, to permit them to write commonplace and empty congratulations.
One of the first acts of Fletcher, after his marriage, was to make a settlement of his own monetary matters. The following is an exact copy of his will, written by himself:—
“This is the last Will and Testament of John William Fletcher, Vicar of Madeley, in the County of Salop, whereby I give and bequeath to my dear wife, Mary Fletcher, all my personal estate, of what nature or kind soever, in the kingdom of Great Britain, for her own use and benefit.
“With regard to my personal estate in Switzerland, I give and bequeath it all to my second brother, Henry de la Fletcher, assessor to the Lord Bailie, at Nyon, in the Canton of Berne, on condition that he or his heirs will take care to pay to my said dear wife, Mary Fletcher, or order, the income or produce of that personal estate during the term of her natural life; and, in case my said brother or his heirs do not fulfil this condition, according to the tenour of this Will, then my said wife shall sell, or cause to be sold, that my said personal estate in Switzerland, for her own use and benefit; and get the money over to England, on condition that she shall pay one hundred crowns to the poor of Nyon, in the said Canton of Berne.[554]
“And I do hereby appoint my said dear wife sole executrix of this my last Will and Testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 24th of December, 1781.
“JOHN WILLIAM FLETCHER, OR DE LA FLECHERE.
“Signed and sealed by the Testator, and by him declared to be his last Will and Testament, in the presence of us,
“JOHN VALTON. “RICHARD TAYLOR. “THOMAS GARFORTH.”[555]
Footnote 554:
Fletcher’s relatives in Switzerland most faithfully fulfilled this part of Fletcher’s Will. In an unpublished letter to Mrs. Crosby, dated June 20, 1786, his widow wrote:—
“My brother Henry possesses so much of the spirit of my dear husband, that his care of me exceeds all imagination. The family have sent me a bond, laying in their own estates as security to forward me the whole produce every year. I do not yet know exactly what it will be; but it is far better than I thought; and so is everything in which my dearest Mr. Fletcher has been concerned.”
Footnote 555:
The Wesley Banner, 1850, p. 314.
Fletcher’s marriage was, in all respects, a happy one. He was thankful for his wife, and proud of her. Hence the following letter to “The Hon. Mrs. C——:”
“CROSS HALL, YORKSHIRE, December 26, 1781.
“MY VERY DEAR FRIEND,—Your favour of the 4th instant did not reach me until a considerable time after date, through my being still absent from Madeley; a clergyman of this neighbourhood having made an exchange with me, to facilitate my settling some temporal affairs in this county.
“The kind part you take in my happiness demands my warmest thanks; and I beg you will accept them, multiplied by those which my dear partner presents to you. Yes, my dear friend, I am married in my old age, and have a new opportunity of considering a great mystery, in the most perfect type of our Lord’s mystical union with His Church. I have now a new call to pray for a fulness of Christ’s holy, gentle, meek, loving Spirit, that I may love my wife, as He loved His spouse, the Church. But the emblem is greatly deficient: the Lamb is worthy of His spouse, and more than worthy; whereas I must acknowledge myself unworthy of the yoke-fellow, whom heaven has reserved for me. She is a person after my own heart; and, I make no doubt, we shall increase the number of the happy marriages in the Church militant.
“Indeed, they are not so many, but it may be worth a Christian’s while to add one more to the number. God declared it was not good that man, a social being, should live alone, and, therefore, He gave him a help-meet for him. For the same reason, our Lord sent forth His disciples two and two. Had I searched the three kingdoms, I could not have found one brother willing to share gratis my weal, woe, and labours, and complaisant enough to unite his fortunes to mine; but God has found me a partner, a sister, a wife, to use St. Paul’s language, who is not afraid to face with me the colliers and bargemen of my parish, until death part us.
“Buried together in our country village, we shall help one another to trim our lamps, and wait for the coming of the heavenly Bridegroom.”[556]
Footnote 556:
Letters, 1791, p. 281.
Before leaving this memorable year, 1781, it must be added that, twenty days after Fletcher’s marriage, his beloved friend and travelling companion, William Perronet, died, on his way to England, at Douay. Three months before this event took place, Fletcher remarked, in a letter to William Perronet’s venerable father:—
“Madeley, September 4, 1781. I have been for some weeks in Yorkshire, chiefly at the house of an old friend of mine, Miss Bosanquet, whose happy family put me in mind of yours. At my return home, I have found a letter from my brother, who informs me that my dear friend, your son, continues very weak. He is now at Gimel, a fine village between Lausanne and Geneva, where Miss Perronet’s sister is settled. There he rides, and drinks ass’s milk, and breathes the purest air. Mrs. Perronet is there with her two daughters, so that if the illness of my dear friend should grow more grievous, he will not want for good attendance and the most tender nursing.”[557]
Footnote 557:
Methodist Magazine, 1817, p. 864.
Now, in another letter to the father of William Perronet, Fletcher wrote:—
“I condole with you, Rev. and dear Sir, about the death of my dear friend and your dear son. We shall one day see why our heavenly Father made your sons go before you, and my kind physician before me. About the time he died, so far as I can find by your kind letter, a strong concern about him fell upon me by day and by night, insomuch that I could not help waking my wife to join me in praying for him; and at once that concern ceased, nor have I since had any such spiritual feeling, whence I concluded that the conflict I supposed my friend to be in was ended. But how surprised was I to find it was by death! Well, whether Paul or Apollos, or life or death, all things are ours through Jesus, who knows how to bring good out of evil, and how to blow us into the harbour by a cross wind, or even by a dreadful storm.”[558]
Footnote 558:
Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”
XXV. TWO YEARS OF MARRIED LIFE AT MADELEY.
1782 AND 1783.
IN a letter to an aristocratic friend in London, Fletcher began the year 1782 as follows:—
“January 1, 1782. I live, blessed be God, to devote myself again to His blessed service in this world or in the next, and to wish my dear friends all the blessings of a year of jubilee. Whatever this year brings forth, may it bring us the fullest measures of salvation attainable on earth, and the most complete preparation for heaven.
“I have a solemn call to gird my loins and keep my lamp burning. Strangely restored to health and strength (considering my years), I have ventured to preach of late as often as I did formerly; and after having read prayers and preached twice on Christmas-day, I did, last Sunday, what I had never done,—I continued doing duty from ten o’clock in the morning till after four in the afternoon. This was owing to christenings, churchings, and the sacrament, which I administered to a church full of people,[559] so that I was obliged to go from the communion table to begin the evening service, and then to visit some sick. This has brought back upon me one of my old, dangerous symptoms; so I have flattered myself in vain that I should be able to do the whole duty of my own parish. My dear wife is nursing me with the tenderest care; gives me up to God with the greatest resignation; and helps me to rejoice that life and death, health and sickness, work for our good, and are all ours, as blessed means to forward us in our journey to heaven.
“We intend to set out for Madeley to-morrow. The prospect of a winter’s journey is not sweet; but the prospect of meeting you, and your dear sister, and Lady Mary Fitzgerald, and all our other companions in tribulation in heaven, is delightful. If Lady Huntingdon is in London, I beg you to present my duty to her, with my best wishes.”[560]
Footnote 559:
No doubt this six hours’ continuous service took place in the parish church, Bradford.
Footnote 560:
Letters, 1791, p. 283.
Fletcher and his bride left Cross Hall on Wednesday, January 2, 1782. Mrs. Fletcher wrote:—
“1782, January 2. We set out for Madeley. Where shall I begin my song of praise? What a turn is there in all my affairs! From what a depth of sorrow, distress, and perplexity am I delivered! How shall I find language to express the goodness of the Lord! I know no want but that of more grace. I have a husband, in everything suited to me. He bears with all my faults and failings in a manner that continually reminds me of the text, ‘Love your wives, as Christ loved the Church.’ His constant endeavour is to make me happy; his strongest desire is for my spiritual growth. He is, in every sense of the word, the man my highest reason chooses to obey. I am also happy in a servant[561] whom I took from the side of her mother’s coffin when she was four years old. She loves us as if we were her parents, and is also truly devoted to God.”[562]
Footnote 561:
Sarah Lawrence.
Footnote 562:
Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”
On January 6, Fletcher and his wife spent their first Sunday at Madeley. Seventeen years afterwards, Mrs. Fletcher remarked:—
“The first Sabbath after I came to Madeley my dear husband took me into the kitchen, where his people were assembled to partake of refreshment between the times of worship. He introduced me to them, saying, ‘I have not married this wife for myself only, but for your sakes also.’”
And then the happy throng sang the hymn beginning with the verse—
“Blow ye the trumpet, blow The gladly solemn sound; Let all the nations know, To earth’s remotest bound; The year of jubilee is come! Return, ye ransomed sinners, home.”
A few weeks after this, Wesley paid his friends a visit of one day and two nights. He says:—
“1782. Saturday, March 23. It was with a good deal of difficulty that we got” [from Kidderminster] “to Bridgenorth, much of the road being blocked up with snow. In the afternoon, we had another kind of difficulty; the roads were so rough and so deep that we were in danger, every now and then, of leaving our wheels behind us. But, by adding two horses to my own, at length we got safe to Madeley.
“Both Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher complained that, after all the pains they had taken they could not prevail on the people to join in Society; no, nor even to meet in class. Resolved to try, I preached to a crowded audience on ‘I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.’ I followed the blow in the afternoon by strongly applying those words, ‘Awake, thou that sleepest;’ and then enforcing the necessity of Christian fellowship on all who desired either to awake or keep awake. I then desired those that were willing to join together for this purpose to call upon me and Mr. Fletcher after service. Ninety-four or ninety-five persons did so—about as many men as women. We explained to them the nature of a Christian Society, and they willingly joined therein.”[563]
Footnote 563:
Wesley’s Journal.
Methodist preachers, for some time past, had preached in Madeley Wood, Coalbrookdale, and other adjacent places, and here Society Classes seem to have been formed; but, up to the present, the Methodist people at Madeley had refused to meet in class. Henceforth, it was different. This altered state of things was owing partly to Wesley and to Fletcher, but chiefly to Fletcher’s devoted wife.
At the time of Wesley’s visit, there was living at Little Dawley, near Madeley, a child nearly four years old, who, nineteen years afterwards, became a Methodist Itinerant Preacher, and who, in 1879, died in the one hundred and first year of his age—the tall, stalwart, grand old William Tranter. Naturally, Mr. Tranter loved Madeley, and affectionately cherished the memory of Fletcher and his wife. In an article published forty-five years ago, he wrote:—
“When Mr. Wesley’s preachers came to the neighbourhood of Madeley, Mr. Fletcher hospitably received those laborious servants of God into his house; the vicarage kitchen, before consecrated by his prayers, was now further consecrated by their earnest and faithful preaching; the Vicar of Madeley himself being one of their humblest and most prayerful hearers. The kitchen becoming too small, a barn on the premises was neatly fitted up for a preaching room. In this place, the Methodist travelling preachers, and the curate of the parish, regularly preached the Word of God. Here, also, Mrs. Fletcher, after the removal of her holy husband to his heavenly rest, held her meetings for exposition of the Scriptures, religious experience, and prayer. Surviving her husband many years” (thirty), “she lived a widow indeed, doing good to all around her, and winning the veneration and love of rich and poor, not only in the village and parish of Madeley, and in the adjoining parishes, but in all places where she was known, and to which the fame of her piety and charity had extended. The rector not only allowed her to remain in the vicarage-house, undisturbed during life, but allowed her to choose the curate by whom the duties of the living were to be performed; assigning as his reason, that she knew better than himself what would suit and benefit the parishioners. Besides exercising publicly, at stated times, in the vicarage room, she occasionally visited Madeley Wood, Coalbrookdale, Coalport, and other places more distant, at which times the chapels were usually crowded with delighted and profited hearers. To her house, the Itinerant Preachers continued to come to the end of her earthly sojourn. Here they always found a hearty welcome, and a delightful home. Several lovely Societies were formed, others were augmented, hundreds of souls were converted, Christian believers were edified and blessed, the fruit of Mr. Fletcher’s ministry was preserved, and Madeley became the rendezvous for religious persons and purposes—a privileged, honoured place,—a sort of Christian Jerusalem. It was not uncommon to see two, three, or more clergymen, pious and able men, from neighbouring and even distant parishes, among the congregation at her week-night lectures. On the Sabbath, the pious people, living at the distance of from one to four miles from Madeley, usually arrived in time for her morning meeting, at nine o’clock; and, from there, they went to the parish church close at hand. At noon, respectable strangers, visiting Madeley for religious purposes, were usually invited to dine with her at the vicarage; the poor, living too far off to allow them to return from their own houses for the after services of the day, partook, if so disposed, of her hospitalities in the vicarage-kitchen; others, having brought their provisions with them, were seen, in fine weather, in little companies in the fields, engaged in heavenly conversation and prayer; and others of the respectable portion of these pious people, had, in an apartment to themselves, a cheap family dinner provided at the village inn. On the ringing of a bell, at one o’clock, all assembled at Mrs. Fletcher’s meeting, when she was accustomed to read the life of some eminently holy man, and make remarks upon it; then they adjourned to the church, for the afternoon service there, and sermon; after which they repaired to their respective homes, and attended their own meeting-houses, at one or other of which the Curate of Madeley officiated every Sabbath evening, as well as occasionally on the week-days, always announcing at the close of the afternoon service in the church, the chapel in which he would preach that evening. This plan was adopted by Mr. Fletcher, and was followed by his evangelical and pious successors, for upwards of forty years.”[564]
Footnote 564:
Wesleyan Methodist Magazine, 1837, p. 903.
The godly reader will easily forgive this rich digression, and will be inclined to sing, with Charles Wesley:—
“Meek, simple followers of the Lamb, They lived, and spake, and thought the same; They joyfully conspired to raise Their ceaseless sacrifice of praise.
“With grace abundantly endued, A pure, believing multitude, They all were of one heart and soul, And only love inspired the whole.
“O what an age of golden days! O what a choice, peculiar race! Washed in the Lamb’s all-cleansing blood, Anointed kings and priests to God!”[565]
Footnote 565:
Deep indentations in the stone pillars of the vicarage gate still exist, occasioned by the Sunday visitors to Madeley sharpening their knives to eat their dinners. (Randall’s “Lives and Usefulness of the Rev. J. and Mary Fletcher,” p. 33.)
Madeley will long continue to be a kind of Mecca to the Methodists. Many years ago, the present writer, in company with the late Rev. Dr. Jobson, visited it. They met with the utmost courtesy, the lady of the Vicar showing them everything likely to interest a Methodist. She had a lock of Fletcher’s silky hair, which she greatly prized. They were taken into Fletcher’s study, about nine feet by twelve in size, and had pointed out to them a portion of the wall, still stained with Fletcher’s breathings while engaged in prayer. The old barn-chapel was no longer in existence, but, near to its site, there was a small building, containing its pulpit, brass lamps, and prayer-book, together with the small oaken communion table at which Fletcher celebrated his last sacrament. The vicarage, a respectable old edifice, had beautiful gardens and grounds attached to it; and the parish church, built upon the site of the small old church, in which Fletcher ministered to crowded congregations, contained several mementoes to remind visitors of its memorable vicar. The steps leading both to the reading-desk and pulpit were those which Fletcher used to tread; and, in a small vestry, was preserved the register of all the baptisms, marriages, and deaths during his incumbency, and showing that his last baptism was on July 29, 1785, six weeks before his death. The old church, in which Fletcher preached, would hold five hundred; the present one, built in 1794, will seat about a thousand; and, since its erection, two others have been built in other parts of the parish. Besides these, the following Wesleyan Methodist chapels have been built: one in Court Street, Madeley, holding eight hundred; another, of the same size, in Madeley Wood; another, half the size, in Coalbrookdale; and a fourth at Coalport, capable of containing two hundred. And to these may be added two chapels, at Madeley and Madeley Wood, belonging to the Methodist New Connexion; and another belonging to the Primitive Methodists.
It is time to return to Fletcher. Among the first Methodists in Ireland were Henry and Robert Brooke, who, up to the year 1758, resided in the neighbourhood of Rantavan. Henry became the far-famed author of “The Fool of Quality; or, The History of Henry, Earl of Moreland;” published, in five volumes, 1766–1770; and of other ably-written books, which gained him the friendship of Pope, Swift, and several more of the literati of his age. He married a young lady, to whom he was guardian, when she was thirteen years of age, by whom he had seventeen children, only two of whom survived him, when he died in 1783. His brother Robert had three children: Henry, the eldest, who, for about forty years, was one of the leading Methodists in Dublin; Robert, the second, a colonel in the army; and Thomas Digby, the youngest, also connected with the Dublin Methodist Society. In the year 1772, Henry wrote to Fletcher; Fletcher mistook the nephew for the uncle, whose “Fool of Quality” had recently been completed; and this amusing mistake led Fletcher to address to the famous author the following valuable epistle:—
“MADELEY, September 6, 1772.
“DEAR SIR,—I cannot tell you how often I have thought of thanking you for your kind letter. My controversy made me put it off some time, and, when I was going one day to answer you, a clergyman called upon me, read your letter, said you were a sensible author, and, if I would let him have it, he would let me have your ‘Fool of Quality,’ of which I had never heard. I forgot to take your address; but, after some months, my friend has sent me back your unexpected and welcome favour; and I now know in what street you live. A thousand thanks for your letter. May this sheet convey them from my heart to yours; and thence may they fall, like a thousand drops, into that immense ocean of goodness, truth, and love, whence come all the streams, which gladden the universe of God!
“I thankfully accept the pleasure, profit, and honour of your correspondence. But I must not deceive you; I have not yet learned the blessed precept of our Lord in respect of writing and receiving letters. I still find it more blessed to receive, than to give; and, till I have got out of this selfishness, never depend on a letter from me till you see it, and be persuaded, nevertheless, that one from you will always be welcome.
“I see, by your works, that you love truth, and that you will force your way, through all the barriers of prejudice, to embrace it in its meanest dress. That makes me love you. I hope to improve by your example and your lessons. One thing I want truly to learn, that is, that creatures and visible things are but shadows, and that God is God, Jehovah, the true, eternal Substance. To live practically in this truth is to live in the suburbs of heaven. Really to believe that in God we live, move, and have our being, is to find and enjoy the root of our existence: it is to slide from self into our original principle; from the carnal into the spiritual; from the visible into the invisible; from time into eternity. Give me, at your leisure, some directions, how to cease from busying myself about the husks of things, and how to break through the shell, so that I may come to the kernel of resurrection, life, and power, that lies hidden from the unbeliever’s sight.
“About feelings. Pray, my dear Sir, are you possessed of all the feelings of your Clinton, Clement, and Harry? Are they natural to you, I mean, previous to what we generally call conversion? I have often thought that some of the feelings you describe depend a good deal upon the fineness of the nerves, and bodily organs; and, as I am rather of a Stoic turn, I have, sometimes, comforted myself in thinking, that my want of feelings might, in a degree, proceed from the dulness of Swiss nerves. If I am not mistaken, Providence directs me to you to have this important question solved. May not some persons have as much true faith, love, humanity, and pity, as others who are ten times more affected, at least for a season? And what directions would you give to a Christian Stoic, if these two ideas are not absolutely incompatible?
“My Stoicism helps me, I think, to weather out a storm of displeasure, which my little pamphlets have raised against me. You see, I at once consult you as an old friend and spiritual casuist; nor know I how to testify better to you how unreservedly I begin to be, my very dear friend,
“Yours in the Lord, “J. FLETCHER.”[566]
Footnote 566:
Letters, 1791, p. 214.
Probably “The Fool of Quality” was the only novel Fletcher ever read; but it taught him to respect its author. It is more than doubtful, however, whether Fletcher’s letter ever reached the gentleman for whom it was intended. At all events, there is no evidence whatever that any correspondence took place between Henry Brooke, senior, and the Vicar of Madeley. Of course, Fletcher’s communication reached the nephew of Brooke, and, nearly ten years afterwards, he and others wrote to Fletcher, requesting him and his newly-wedded wife to visit the Methodists in Dublin. Fletcher replied:—
“MADELEY, April 20, 1782.
“DEAR SIR,—Last Saturday, I received your kind invitation to take a journey to Dublin, with my wife; and we join in sincere thanks for the kind and generous offer which accompanies that invitation.
“Two reasons, at this time, concur to make me postpone the accepting of it. Not to mention my state of health, I have been so long absent from my parish, that my parishioners have a just claim to my stated labours for some time; and Mr. Bayley, my curate, being wanted at Kingswood School, I must serve my own church myself, and the duty is so continual that I dare not go twenty miles from home, much less to a neighbouring kingdom. Providence may, if it be for the glory of God, make a way for me to go, and return my thanks in person. In the meantime, I beg you, Sir, to present them to all our brethren, who set their hands to your kind letter.
“If I took you, Sir, for the author of ‘The Fool of Quality,’[567] I thought I saw his style in the style of your letter; however, I was not much mistaken. Your pen is nearly allied to his, as your blood is to his. May one Spirit, the humble, loving Spirit of Jesus, make us all of one heart and soul! May we, notwithstanding the channel which separates our bodies, rejoice that one truth unites our souls, and that the common faith and love make us join daily in Christ our Head! So prays, dear Sir, your affectionate and obliged brother and servant,
“JOHN FLETCHER.”[568]
Footnote 567:
Two years before this, Wesley had published his abridged edition of “The Fool of Quality,” in two volumes, 12mo.
Footnote 568:
Original Letter.
Fletcher and his wife remained at Madeley, and the latter wrote:—
“May 30, 1782. I have the kindest and tenderest of husbands; of so spiritual a man, and so spiritual a union, I had no adequate conception. He is every way suited to me, all I could wish. The work among souls increases.”[569]
Footnote 569:
“Mrs. Fletcher’s Life,” by H. Moore.
A few weeks later, in a letter to Wesley, she said:—
“MADELEY, July 7, 1782.
“VERY DEAR SIR,—I find a desire of informing you how we go on. The people you joined, when here, are, I trust, coming forward. I have not conversed with the men; but the women are more in number than at that time. Some have been clearly justified, I think five; and three or four are restored to that communion with God, which they had for some years lost. A few are athirst for a clean heart; and, on the whole, there is a good increase of freedom and liberty in our class-meetings. We have now also a band,[570] into which I gather the most lively; all that are newly blest, or that have any light into sanctification; and we have much of the presence of God with us.
“My dear Mr. Fletcher spares no pains. I know not which is greater, his earnest desire for souls, or his patience in bearing with their infirmities and dulness. His preaching is exceeding lively; and our sacraments are more like those in the chapels of London than any I have seen since I left it. Yet, I find a great difference between the people here and those in Yorkshire: however, the Lord has little ones here also.
“Last Friday, after riding two hours in the rain, we came to a good congregation, where there was neither house nor church to cover us; but I have not seen more of the Yorkshire attention since I left that county, nor had a more solemn time; though we were under a wet cloud all the while, and our poor servant waiting for us, who brought us safe home by ten o’clock the same night. This is one of the old congregations which my husband has visited for years; and where he joined (in Society) sixty persons. Next Friday, we are to see them again, and he purposes to enquire into the state of those which remain. There are, in many parts about here, some serious hearers, and we wish them all to be brought into a regular discipline. My husband has been at near £500 expense in building a small Preaching-house, that, if he should be removed, they may have a fold to prevent them from being scattered. But were they joined (in Society) now, it would be far more likely to answer the end. On this subject we wish to have a little conversation with you.
“I am your affectionate servant, “MARY FLETCHER.“[571]
Footnote 570:
A term well understood by Methodists: a meeting of the most spiritual people who met in class.
Footnote 571:
Arminian Magazine, 1790, p. 391.
Two months after this, Fletcher was temporarily disabled by an accident, mentioned in a long letter to Lady Mary Fitzgerald, from which the following is extracted:—
“MADELEY, August 28, 1782.
“MY HONOURED FRIEND,—The Lord has peculiar favours in store for your ladyship, and for me; the proof is, that we are afflicted. Have you been in a weak state of health? I have had the honour to drink of your cup. The influenza laid me down; and, when I was partly well, I broke my shin against a bench, in consequence of which I am confined by a bad leg to my bed, where I write this.
“You still complain of vile self. Let vile self be reduced to order, and, though he be a bad master, he will become an excellent servant. Do this, by letting the Lord, the Maker, the Preserver, the Redeemer, the Lover of your soul, ascend upon the throne of your thoughts, will, and affections. Who deserves to engross them better than He does? Is not He your first Lord, your best Husband, your most faithful Friend, and your greatest Benefactor? Oh! allow Jehovah, the Supreme Being, to be to you what He deserves to be, All in all. One lively act of faith, one assent and consent to this delightful truth, that your Father, who is in heaven, loves you a thousand times more than you love your idol (for God’s love is, like Himself, infinite and boundless), will set your heart at liberty, and even make it dance for joy. What, if to this ravishing consideration, you add the transporting truth, that the Son of God, fairer than the sons of men and brighter than the angels, has loved you unto death, to the death of the cross, and loves you still more than all your friends do, were their love collected into one heart, could you help thinking, with a degree of joyous gratitude, of such an instance of Divine condescension? No, your vile self would be ennobled, raised, expanded, and set at liberty by this evangelical thought. Self would be nobody; Emmanuel would be all in all. You would be so employed in praising your Father’s mercy, and your Saviour’s love and tenderness, that you would have but little time to speak either of good or bad self. When self is forgotten, as nothing before God, you put self in its proper place; and you make room for the heavenly Being, whose holy and happy existence you are to shadow out. If you have left off attending on the Princess,[572] attend on the Prince of Peace with double diligence.
“Shall we ever have the honour of seeing you, my lady? My wife, who joins in respectful love and thanks to your ladyship, for your remembrance of her, says, she will do her best to render our cold house safe for you, if not convenient. You would have had a repeated invitation from us, if a concern for your health, heightened by the bad weather, had not checked our desires to have an opportunity of assuring you how much we are devoted to your service. But the roads and weather beginning to mend, we venture to offer you the best apartment in our hermitage. I wish it were large enough to take in dear Mrs. G——,[573] and our dear friends in St. James’s Place; but we have only two small rooms; to which, however, you would be received with two enlarged hearts,—I mean those of your ladyship’s obedient, devoted servants,
“JOHN AND MARY FLETCHER.”[574]
Footnote 572:
Probably, Princess Elizabeth Caroline, the third daughter of George the Second, one of the most excellent of women. She died, in St. James’s Palace, in 1787.
Footnote 573:
Probably Mrs. Grinfield, “one of Cæsar’s household,” as Whitefield called her, an attendant at St. James’s Palace.
Footnote 574:
Letters, 1791, p. 287.
How long Fletcher was laid aside from his public work there is no evidence to show. His position was somewhat trying, for the work was heavy, and Mr. Bayley, his curate, had been obliged to return to Wesley’s school at Kingswood. This and other matters are referred to in the following letter to Charles Wesley:—
“MADELEY, December 19, 1782.
“REV. AND DEAR SIR,—I thank you for your hint about exemplifying the love of Christ and His Church. I hope we do. I was afraid, at first, to say much of the matter; but, having lived thirteen months in my new state, I can tell you, Providence has reserved a prize for me, and that my wife is far better to me than the Church to Christ, so that if the parallel fails, it will be on my side.
“Be so good as to peruse the enclosed sheets. Mr. De Luc, to whom they are addressed, is reader to the Queen, and the author of some volumes of Letters to her: he is a true philosopher. I flatter myself, he will present my letter to the Queen. Do you find anything improper in the addition I have made to my poem? I wish I were near you for your criticisms; you would direct me, both as a poet and a Frenchman.
“I have yet strength enough to do my parish duty without the help of a curate. O that the Lord would help me to do it acceptably and profitably! The colliers began to rise in this neighbourhood: happily the cockatrice’s egg was crushed, before the serpent came out. However, I got many a hearty curse from the colliers, for the plain words I spoke on that occasion. I want to see days of power both within and without; but, meantime, I would follow closely my light in the narrow path.
“My wife joins me in respectful love to Mrs. Wesley and yourself; and, requesting an interest in your prayers for us, I remain, my dear Sir, your affectionate, obliged brother, servant, and son in the Gospel,
“JOHN FLETCHER.”[575]
Footnote 575:
Letters, 1791, p. 288.
The “poem,” mentioned in this letter, was “La Grace et la Nature,” which Fletcher had composed in Switzerland, and published in Geneva. He had now enlarged it, and wished to publish a second edition of it, and to dedicate the book to the Queen of King George the Third. This was done a few months before he died; but, previous to committing his sheets to the press, he submitted them to the criticism of Charles Wesley, Methodism’s unequalled hymnologist.
This, however, was not the only poem on which Fletcher was now engaged. On November 30, 1782, the preliminaries of the peace with America were signed; and, on January 20, 1783, peace was concluded with France and Spain. The termination of the long and disastrous war gave no one greater joy than it did Fletcher. He celebrated it in another poem, written also in French, and dedicated to the Archbishop of Paris.[576] This was published, but is now extremely scarce. Fletcher enlarged it; and, in 1785, Mr. Gilpin translated it into English, and intended to dedicate his translation to the author; but, just as this English edition was being printed, Fletcher died, and the dedication, dated exactly a fortnight after Fletcher’s death, was, “To the Honoured Mrs. Mary de la Flechere, of Madeley, in Shropshire.” The title of the poem was, “An Essay upon the Peace of 1783. Dedicated to the Archbishop of Paris. Translated from the French of the Rev. J. Fletcher, late Vicar of Madeley. By the Rev. J. Gilpin, Vicar of Wrockwardine, Salop. London: Printed by R. Hindmarsh, 1785.” 4to, 79 pp.
Want of space renders it impossible to furnish extracts from this poetical production. In rhyme and rhythm, Fletcher, or, more probably, his translator, was far from perfect; but that the Vicar, bred among the inspiring scenery of Switzerland, was possessed of real poetic genius, there cannot be a doubt. His descriptions of a naval battle, and of a fight on land, and of the bombarding of Gibraltar, are very graphic. So also are his definitions of the passions which war too frequently evokes.
Though hardly worth mentioning, it may be stated, that the only thing published by Fletcher, in the year 1782, was the following: “A Race for Eternal Life: being an Extract from the Heavenly Footman. A Sermon on 1 Cor. ix. 24: written by the Author of the ‘Pilgrim’s Progress.’ By the Rev. Mr. Fletcher. London: printed by R. Hindmarsh.” 12mo, 16 pp. Fletcher says:—
“This extract is published,—1. To stir up lazy and inconsistent Arminian professors, who assert that we should work out our own salvation with all diligence, and yet neglect doing it. And, 2. To convince of partiality the contentious Calvinists, who quarrel with their brethren for preaching consistently the very same doctrine, which is inconsistently maintained by their orthodox teachers, among whom pious John Bunyan stands in the first rank.”
Footnote 576:
Fletcher’s dedication is dated, “Madeley, Salop, January 28, 1784.”
About this time, two young men were introduced to Fletcher, whom he helped to the utmost of his power, and who, soon afterwards, attained distinction, as clergymen of the Church of England.
One of these was Nathaniel Gilbert, the eldest son of Nathaniel Gilbert, Esq., Speaker of the House of Assembly in Antigua, and who formed the first Methodist Society in the West Indies. In 1759, he had requested Fletcher to accompany him to the Western Archipelago; but Fletcher had declined, on the ground that he had neither “sufficient zeal, nor grace, nor talents” for such missionary work. His son, Nathaniel, was sent to England at the age of seven (about the year 1761), and, three years later, was placed under the care of the Rev. Mr. Hatton, of Water’s Upton, in Shropshire, where he acquired a knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages. On returning to Antigua, he found that the estate of his father was overwhelmed with debt, and that the subsistence of the family depended on a small jointure belonging to his mother. He came back to England; settled in the parish of Madeley; enjoyed the advantages of Fletcher’s ministry and counsels; and devoted himself to God. On receiving episcopal ordination, the places of his ministerial labours were Bristol, London, Budworth, Sierra Leone, Aveley, and Bledlow. He was an eminently good and useful man; and peacefully fell asleep in Jesus, in 1807, in the forty-sixth year of his age.[577]
Footnote 577:
Christian Observer, 1807, pp. 768–772.
The other youth, who greatly benefited by Fletcher’s example and advice, was Melville Horne, who, for a few years, was one of Wesley’s Itinerant Preachers, and then was ordained for the ministry of the Church of England. Melville Horne was a remarkable man, of whom it would be an easy and pleasant task to write a more than ordinary biography. Suffice it to say here, that, a year after Fletcher’s death, he became the officiating minister in Fletcher’s church; that, in 1792, he and his friend Gilbert went as missionaries to Sierra Leone; that, on his return in 1794, he was appointed Chaplain of Magdalen Chapel, Bristol; and then became Vicar of Olney.[578] This is not the place to record his subsequent career of distinguished usefulness; but the testimony of such a man, concerning Fletcher, is worthy of being quoted. Many years after his first introduction to Fletcher, he wrote:—
“On all my visits to Mr. Fletcher, I derived the highest pleasure and edification. I not only had the opportunity of hearing many excellent sermons, but of seeing him in the privacies of life; and I know not which most to venerate,—his public or his private character. Grave and dignified in his deportment and manners, he yet excelled in all the courtesies of the accomplished gentleman. In every company, he appeared as the least, the last, and the servant of all. From head to foot, he was clothed with humility; while the heavenly-mindedness of an angel shone from his countenance, and sparkled in his eyes. His religion was without labour, and without effort; for Christianity was not only his great business, but his very element and nature. As a mortal man, he doubtless had his errors and failings; but what they were, they who knew him best would find it difficult to say; for he appeared as an instrument of heavenly minstrelsy always attuned to the Master’s touch.
“In every view, he was a great man, and entitled to rank in the very first class of ministers; but it was his goodness that raised him above all the ministers of his day.
“On my occasional visits to Madeley, I was struck with several things. Once, when preaching on Noah as a type of Christ, he was in the midst of a most animated description of the terrible day of the Lord, when he suddenly paused. Every feature of his expressive countenance was marked with painful feeling; and, striking his forehead with the palm of his hand, he exclaimed, ‘Wretched man that I am! Beloved brethren, it often cuts me to the soul, as it does at this moment, to reflect, that, while I have been endeavouring, by the force of truth, by the beauty of holiness, and even by the terrors of the Lord, to bring you to walk in the peaceable paths of righteousness, I am, with respect to many of you who reject the Gospel, only tying millstones round your necks, to sink you deeper in perdition!’ The whole congregation was electrified, and it was some time before he could resume his subject.
“On another occasion, after the morning service, he asked if any of the congregation could give him the address of a sick man whom he was desired to visit. He was answered, ‘He is dead, Sir.’ ‘Dead! dead!’ he exclaimed; ‘another soul launched into eternity! What can I do for him now? Why, my friends, will you so frequently serve me in this manner? I am not informed you are ill till I find you dying, or hear that you are dead.’ Then sitting down, he covered his head with his gown, and, when the congregation had retired, walked home crushed with sorrow.
“One New Year’s Day, Gilbert and myself dined with him, as did also a pious young man and his wife. After he had entertained us with much pious and instructive conversation, as we all stood around the fire and were ready to separate, he took Gilbert’s hand and mine and joined them together, and said, ‘You two young men are united by blood, by friendship, and by your destination to the blessed service of the sanctuary.’ Then, turning to the young man and his wife, he remarked, ‘Do you also, whom God has joined in the tenderest of earthly bonds, join hands, and I will take that of my beloved wife.’ This being done, he continued, ‘And now what shall we render unto the Lord for all His benefits? What blessings have we received! What mercies have followed us the last year! This is the first day of a new year. Let us give our whole soul to God. Let us start afresh on the road to immortality. Forgetting the things that are behind, let us press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’ And then, lifting his eyes to heaven, he prayed for the whole of us most fervently and affectionately.”[579]
Footnote 578:
Unpublished letters.
Footnote 579:
Cox’s “Life of Fletcher,” p. 147.
After this account of the covenant service in Fletcher’s vicarage, Mr. Horne proceeds to relate other anecdotes which came within his own personal knowledge. He writes:—
“In the contests of humility, kindness, and affection, it was impossible to surpass Mr. Fletcher. On one occasion, the Rev. Moseley Cheek had been preaching in his parish; and, on their way home to Madeley, in a dark night, and along a deep, dirty road, Mr. Fletcher carefully held the lantern to Mr. Cheek, while he himself walked through the mire. Mr. Cheek made fruitless attempts to take the lantern from him; Mr. Fletcher replying to his protests, ‘What, my brother, have you been holding up the glorious light of the Gospel, and will you not permit me to hold this dim taper to your feet?’
“At another time, the Rev. Mr. Gilpin perceiving a funeral waiting at the church gate, took the surplice and commenced the service; but he had hardly got into the desk when Mr. Fletcher, who had been visiting a sick person, came into the church, and gently drawing away a lad who was officiating in the absence of the clerk, took his place. After the service was ended, he observed that he could not bear to see the place of an inferior servant of the Church improperly filled up without attempting to supply it himself with a greater degree of decorum and reverence.
“Once, when my coat was dusty with riding, he insisted on brushing it, but objected to let me perform the same office for himself. Mrs. Fletcher, who perceived our contest, said, with a smile, ‘Then suffer me to do it; for I assure you, my dear, you need it as much as Mr. Horne.’ ‘If you please, my love,’ was the reply, ‘you shall do it, for you are a part of myself.’”[580]
“Some of these anecdotes,” says Mr. Cox, “may, at first sight, appear too trivial for publication; but they are highly descriptive of Mr. Fletcher’s general demeanour; and, as Rosseau observes, ‘The physiognomy does not show itself in great features, nor the character of a man in great actions. It is in trifles that the natural disposition discovers itself.’”[581]
Footnote 580:
Ibid., p. 149.
Footnote 581:
Cox’s “Life of Fletcher,” p. 150.
While Fletcher was forming new friendships with young Nathaniel Gilbert and Melville Horne, his old friends were rapidly dying. His generous host, Mr. Charles Greenwood, of Stoke Newington, triumphantly exchanged mortality for eternal life on February 21, 1783, on which occasion Fletcher wrote the following to Mrs. Thornton:—
“MADELEY, March 3, 1783.
“MY DEAR FRIEND,—Yesterday, I received your melancholy joyful letter as I came from the sacrament, where the grace of God had armed me to meet the news. And is my merciful host gone to reap the fruit of his mercy to me? I thought I should have been permitted to go first, and welcome him into everlasting habitations; but Providence has ordered it otherwise, and I am left behind to say, with you and dear Mrs. Greenwood, ‘The Lord gave and has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ The glory with which Mr. Greenwood’s setting sun was gilded, is the greatest comfort by which heaven could alleviate his loss. Let me die as he died, and let my last end be like his! I was so affected by your account that I could not help reading part of your letter at church in the afternoon, and desiring all the congregation to join me in thanksgiving for the late mercies God has vouchsafed to my generous benefactor. On such occasions, let sighs be lost in praise, and repining in humble submission and thankful acquiescence. I hope dear Mrs. Greenwood mixes tears of joy with tears of sorrow. Who would not be landed on the other side of the stream of time if he were sure of such a passage? Who would wish his best friend back on the shores of sorrow so triumphantly left by Mr. Greenwood?
“So Mr. and Mrs. Perronet are no more; and Lazarus is still alive! What scenes does this world afford! But the most amazing is that of Emmanuel crucified, and offering us pardons and crowns of glory!”[582]
Footnote 582:
Letters, 1791, p. 290.
Another letter, written three months after this, was addressed to John Valton, the Methodist itinerant, who preached at Cross Hall to the wedding party on the evening of Fletcher’s marriage.
“MADELEY, July, 1783.
“Our dear friend’s acceptable favour gave us much pleasure, though we have been so long in thanking him for it.
“Never did we imagine till lately how great your trial has been about the house at Birstal.[583] But how gracious is the Lord! How has He here paid you by the refreshing shower which has since distilled as the dew on the grass. O what comfortable accounts have reached us of the wonderful revival in your circuit.[584] In this my heart does indeed rejoice.
“God is good unto us also. He has not left us without encouragement. For some time past, we have scarcely had a week in which one or more has not been set at liberty. But we are called, I believe, to leave them for a little while, and to spend a few weeks in Dublin. They complain of this, but the will of the Lord must be done. When He calls, even life itself must not be esteemed too dear.
“You will be thankful to hear that my best earthly friend continues in tolerable health, though neither of us is strong. We are more and more sensible of the loving kindness of the Lord in casting our lot together. Every day helps us to praise Him more and more for His condescension and goodness to such unworthy worms. I speak thus freely to you because you were a witness of the beginning of our pilgrimage together. I see many professors, and many really in earnest; but, alas! very seldom any who can warm one’s heart with the deep things of God. O for a deeper baptism of the Spirit! I want that promise more fully accomplished, ‘I and my Father will come, and will make our abode with you.’
“Praying that the Lord may be with you all at the ensuing Conference, we remain, dear brother, your affectionate friends,
“JOHN AND MARY FLETCHER.”[585][586]
Footnote 583:
The Methodist meeting-house, erected, under the auspices of John Nelson, about the year 1751. The trouble, at this time, arose out of the demand of the trustees to elect, after Wesley’s death, their own preachers, and to order them to preach in Birstal chapel twice every Sunday, every Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and Good Friday, and also every Thursday night. (See “Life and Times of Wesley,” vol. iii., pp. 373–383.)
Footnote 584:
See an account of this remarkable work of God in the “Life and Labours of the Rev. John Valton, edited by Joseph Sutcliffe, A.M., 1830,” pp. 104–114.
Footnote 585:
Methodist Magazine, 1798, p. 598.
Footnote 586:
It is said that, after his marriage, Fletcher, when writing to his friends, always subscribed his letters “John and Mary Fletcher.” (See “Six Letters of the late Rev. J. Fletcher. Bath, 1788.” 12mo, 20 pp.)
The foregoing letter mentions an intended visit to Dublin. It has been already stated that Fletcher received an invitation from the Dublin Methodists to visit them in 1782; and that he was then obliged to decline their invitation. Now his way to Ireland seemed open. Mrs. Fletcher writes:—
“1783, August 5. Since May 22” [the date of the last entry in her journal], “a fever has been in the parish, which took off many whom we saw it our duty to attend. It brought eternity very near, and that always does me good. It came into our family, and Sally” [Lawrence] “was attacked with it; but God raised her up again in a wonderful manner. Soon after her recovery, Dr. Coke came, on his way from Dublin, and brought letters to each of us. We went to church, where the doctor preached. When we returned home, I followed my dear to his study, and told him if he saw it his call to go to Dublin, I saw it mine to go with him. Since that day, we have been preparing for our journey. My dear husband’s health is not very good. What the Lord will do with us I know not. We are, however, ready for setting off.”
Five weeks after this, Mrs. Fletcher wrote again in her journal as follows:—
“1783, September 12, William Street, Dublin. This day of our birth calls for solemn praise. I say OUR birth, because, as far as we can learn, my dear Mr. Fletcher was born on the same day ten years before me.
“With the prayers and blessings of many of our friends, we set off from Madeley on Tuesday, August 12. At night, we were affectionately received by Mrs. Glynne, of Shrewsbury, whose love to the children of God does not grow cold. My dear husband preached on the danger of being ashamed of the Gospel.
“The next day, we pursued our journey as far as Llangollen, in Wales, where we abode all night. Enquiring, as we walked about the town, whether they had any praying people among them, the poor things answered us in the best manner they could, and said, ‘Yes, Sir, there are some people who pray in houses at the other end of the town, but we know not what they be. This very night a man is to preach in their chapel.’ We went to the place, and found a few poor people gathered in a building which, I believe, was part of an old house. The preacher seemed very earnest, but we could not understand a word he said, except ogoniant and gwaed—glory and blood; which, with much emphasis, he often repeated. After we were returned to our inn, a few, who could understand English, came to us, and desired my dear to give them a sermon in the morning, which he did, on these words, ‘This is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He hath given us commandment.’ It was a good time, and several were present who understood English.
“We then sent off for Conway, and, on Friday afternoon, reached Holyhead. Mr. Fletcher was very poorly, and a swelling on his face now broke, which gave him much inconvenience; but, on Saturday morning, we embarked. Mr. Fletcher was not affected by the sea, but I was very ill. About one o’clock on Sunday morning, we cast anchor three miles from Dublin; and, at five, reached the Hotel on Dublin Quay.
“We now abide with our hospitable friends, Mr. and Mrs. Smyth, in William Street, and have seen much of the Lord’s hand in bringing us hither. My dear husband has been favoured with much unction in preaching the word. The present (Methodist) preachers in Dublin, brothers Rutherford and Jackson, are simple, pious men, and respect that command, ‘In honour preferring one another.’ They heartily rejoice in the message my dear husband delivers among them. I feel much liberty in meeting the classes. Here are a few truly athirst for full salvation. Our kind and generous host and hostess allow us all freedom in their house, for the glory of God, and the good of His people; and, as their servants also are pious, upright persons, we can here worship with them in calm and brotherly love.”
Before referring to the testimonies of other persons, it may be best to complete what Mrs. Fletcher has to say concerning this evangelistic visit to the sister island. She writes:—
“Madeley, October 30. On the 7th of this month, we left Dublin, and embarked for Holyhead. In the night, the wind grew high. My husband, myself, and also Sally, were so ill, we could scarce speak, or look towards each other. Since our return, I have closely examined what I have lost or got in these last three months. I praise the Lord that we went to Dublin, and that for various reasons. There are some there with whom I found much fellowship; at whose feet I sat, and, I trust, learned many useful lessons. My dear Mr. Fletcher preached in several places besides the (Methodist) Preaching-house in White-Friars-street, both to the French and English, and we had some remarkable proofs that he was called there by God.
“Since our return, my dear husband has taken another journey of about two hundred miles,[587] from which he has suffered a good deal. His face is not yet well; but the unwearied patience, wherewith he goes through all, is to me a continual lesson.
“November 12. We see another anniversary of our blessed union, and are yet more happy, and more tender towards each other; and, what is better, our souls get nearer God. We are more spiritual, and live more for eternity.”[588]
Footnote 587:
This was a journey to Bristol, whither he escorted his hostess, Mrs. Smyth, Lady Mary Fitzgerald, and the eldest daughter of the Rev. Edward Smyth. (“Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. ii., p. 195.)
Footnote 588:
“Mrs. Fletcher’s Life,” by H. Moore, p. 155.
Henry Moore, Wesley’s sturdy Itinerant, was appointed to the Dublin Circuit, three years after Fletcher’s visit, and, in 1818, wrote:—
“Never did I see such deep impressions made on the people of Dublin as by the truly evangelical labours of Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher, except, perhaps, in the very short visits of Mr. Wesley. A great revival of pure religion followed in the Dublin Society. That Society had usually consisted of about 500 persons, but it soon increased to upwards of 1000, and has never since fallen below that number. Such longing after entire conformity to the Son of God I never beheld. How wide this sacred influence might have extended, who can tell, if a poor sectarian spirit had not limited Mr. Fletcher’s labours. On his arrival in Dublin, his host, Mr. Smyth, a distinguished and most respectable gentleman, applied to the rector of St. Andrew’s Parish, in which he lived, to allow Mr. Fletcher to preach in his church, and this was immediately granted. The church was crowded to excess. Mr. Fletcher’s text was, ‘Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.’ His earnestness and power astonished the congregation, some of whom seemed to doubt if he were not more than human. But, alas! it was soon known that he preached on the evening of that same day at the Methodist Preaching-house; and the pulpits of the churches were immediately closed against him, with the exception of that of the French Church. The first time he preached there, his text was Hebrews x. 32, when he brought before the congregation the faith of their ancestors. When some of them were asked, ‘Why did you go to hear Mr. Fletcher, when you could not understand a word he said?’ they answered, ‘We went to look at him, for heaven seemed to beam from his countenance.’”[589]
Footnote 589:
“Mrs. Fletcher’s Life,” by H. Moore, p. 154.
Mr. Henry Brooke,[590] who took a leading part in inviting Fletcher to visit Dublin, wrote:—
“1783, September 6. The same grace and power which attend Mr. Fletcher’s pulpit lectures, and gather innumerable crowds of hungering, thirsting souls to flock to his ministry, also attend his conversation in private. He seems never—no, never—for a moment, to turn his eye from the one great object of our faith and love; and he continually stirs up all around him to love and praise. He appears to live and breathe nothing else.”
Footnote 590:
Mr. Brooke is described, in Wesley’s “Last Will and Testament,” as a “Painter.”
In another letter, to his father, Mr. Brooke observed:—
“I wish it were in my power to convey to you the substance and energy of those precious and excellent discourses, with which we are frequently favoured from Mr. Fletcher. His words are living sparks, rushing from the furnace of divine love glowing in his heart.”
Mr. Brooke, in a letter to the Rev. J. Gilpin, the translator of Fletcher’s “Portrait of St. Paul,” remarked:—
“When Mr. Fletcher was about to leave us, knowing the scanty pittance he received from his parish, we thought it but an act of common honesty to refund him the expense he had been at in coming to Dublin, and to bear his charges back again to Madeley. Accordingly, after he had preached on the last evening of his stay among us, the stewards and trustees united to press his acceptance of a small purse, not as a present, but as a debt justly due to him. But he firmly and absolutely refused it. At length, being very urgent with him and importunate to an excess, he took the purse in his hand, and said, ‘Do you really force it upon me? Must I accept it? Is it entirely mine? and may I do what I please with it?’ ‘Yes, yes,’ we all replied. ‘God be praised then! God be praised!’ cried he, raising his eyes towards heaven. ‘What a mercy is here! I heard some of you complaining that your Poor’s Fund was never so low before; take this purse; God has sent it to you; raised it among yourselves; and bestowed it upon your poor. You cannot deny me; it is sacred to them. God be praised! I thank you, I heartily thank you, my dear kind brethren.’”[591]
Footnote 591:
“Life of Mr. Henry Brooke,” by Isaac D’Olier, LL.D., pp. 102–121.
A number of other anecdotes respecting this memorable visit, all more or less authentic, might be inserted; but enough has been said to show that it must always be one of the great events in the history of Methodism in Dublin.
Soon after the return to Madeley of Fletcher and his wife, they received the following, hitherto unpublished letter, signed by one hundred and fifty-one members of the Dublin Methodist Society, the signature of “Henry Brooke” standing first.
“1783, October.
“REV. AND VERY DEAR SIR AND MADAM,—Your kindness in accepting our united invitation, your labour of love in crossing the sea to visit us, and your spending body and soul for our profit while among us, demand a return of acknowledgment and gratitude, which we find ourselves, jointly and severally, as unable to express as to repay.
“Confession of our debt is the utmost extent of our ability. As for reward, we must call upon Him to answer for us, who has already paid the mighty debt due by the whole world. May He, then, even that Master, the sound of whose feet was heard behind you, and the power of whose Spirit clothed your word in private and in public,—may He abundantly reward both your bodies and souls, and, according to the measure you have meted out, measure to you again a hundred-fold, pressed down, shaken together, and running over into your own bosoms in time and eternity.
“Your liberality to the sick poor, in the generous donation of twenty-five guineas, has gladdened the hearts of numbers, besides those who are partakers of your alms; for you have nobly honoured the Lord by your free ministry, and set your seal to His Word with your substance. May you be watered again and again abundantly for it!
“We can only pray for the prosperity of your labours where the adorable providence of God has cast your lot in His vineyard; and hope that the Lord may give the people to see and know (in mercy and not in judgment) that a prophet has been among them.
“Lastly, we entreat that, after the example of St. Paul, you will remember us all in your daily and nightly addresses to the throne of grace, that the precious seed, which has been sown, may bring forth its hundred-fold increase, to our joint happiness in the kingdom of God.”
In the month of November, a reply was sent to this, from which the following extract is taken:—
“MADELEY, November, 1783.
“To the Society in Dublin.
“To all the dear Brethren, who, after kindly inviting John and Mary Fletcher, patiently bearing with them and their infirmities, and entertaining them in the most hospitable manner, have added, to all their former favours, that of thanking them for their most pleasant and profitable journey.
“We had felt shame enough under the sense of your kindness and patience towards us, and of our unprofitableness towards you, when at Dublin. We owed you the letter of thanks you have gratuitously sent to us. But in all things, you will have the pre-eminence, and we are glad to drink the cup of humility at your feet. If your profuse liberality toward us abounded to the comfort of our poor brethren, we doubly rejoice on your account, and on theirs.
“When we see so many of your dear names, we rejoice in hope that they are enrolled on the list of the dear people, whom our great High Priest bears, not on the breastplate as Aaron, but on His bleeding hands, and in His very heart, which is the overflowing and ever-flowing fountain of divine and brotherly love. Let our worthless names still find a place in your memory, when you remember your brethren distant in the flesh, but near in the Spirit. Among such, vouchsafe to reckon your very affectionate and truly obliged servants in Christ,
“JOHN AND MARY FLETCHER.”
To their Irish host, William Smyth, Esq., Fletcher wrote as follows:—
“MADELEY, November, 1783.
“DEAR SIR,—The many and great favours with which you loaded us, during our long stay under your hospitable roof, have been, are now, and, we trust, ever shall be deeply engraven on our hearts. You united, for us, Irish hospitality, English cordiality, and French politeness. And now, Sir, what shall we say?
“You are our generous benefactor, and we are your affectionate, though unprofitable servants. In one sense, we are on a level with those to whom you show charity in the streets: we can do nothing but pray for you and yours. You kindly received us for Christ’s sake; may God receive you freely for His sake also! You bore with our infirmities; the Lord bear with yours! You let your servant serve us; the Lord give all His servants and His angels charge concerning you! You gave us a most comfortable apartment, next your own chamber; the Lord grant you eternal rest with Himself in His heavenly mansions! You fed us with the richest food; may the Giver of every perfect gift fit you for a place at His table, and may you rank there with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! You gave us wines; may you drink, with Christ Himself, the fruit of the vine, new in your Father’s kingdom!”[592]
Footnote 592:
Letters, 1791, p. 293.
It has been asserted, that, “towards the close of his life,” Fletcher “abstained entirely from wine and strong drink;”[593] but the evidence in favour of this is dubious, and, certainly, the last sentence of the foregoing letter seems to disprove it. Throughout the whole of his life, he was exceedingly temperate in eating and drinking; but it may fairly be doubted whether Fletcher was ever a “teetotaler.”[594] It is a curious fact, however, that in this very year, 1783, he wrote a pamphlet bearing upon the subject of drunkenness and other matters, which he intended to be published, but which, I believe, never was. It was sent to “Mr. Hindmarsh, printer, in Baker’s Court, Holborn Bars, London,” together with a letter of instructions as to the printing of it, dated, “Madeley, November 20, 1783.” When printed, Mr. Hindmarsh was requested to send, as soon as possible, a copy to every member of Parliament. The title was, “Three National Grievances,—the Increase of Taxes, the Hardships of Unequal Taxation, and the Continual Rise of the Poor’s Rates: with the Causes and Remedies of these Evils: Humbly Submitted to the Consideration of the Legislature, in a Letter to the Right Honorable Lord John Cavendish, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and one of the Lords of the Treasury. London: November, 1783.”
Footnote 593:
Local Preachers’ Magazine, 1853, p. 172.
Footnote 594:
Jonathan Crowther, President of the Methodist Conference in 1819, says, in his unpublished autobiography:—
“Mr. Yates, of Madeley, told me that, one cold, snowy, frosty day, when Mr. Fletcher called at his house, as he was sallying out to visit his parishioners, he asked him to take a little punch, which was then upon the table, after dinner. Mr. Fletcher consented, but said, ‘First, let us ask a blessing: it makes it twice as good.’”
The temptation is strong to insert this remarkable production in extenso; but to do so, in a chapter like the present, would be an inconvenient excrescence; besides, want of space makes it impossible. Suffice it to say, that, under the heading of the first “Grievance,” Fletcher argues, that, the decrease of the national revenue, and consequent increase of the national taxation, were occasioned by “the amazing progress of smuggling.” He says, “No one can deny that vast quantities of foreign brandy, rum, gin, tobacco, snuff, tea, wines of all sorts, and a variety of other articles, are fraudulently imported and that these, on the sea-coast, are sold at “half the price which they cost the conscientious merchant.” “Many thousands of lawless men are perpetually forming or executing schemes, to defraud the Government, and reduce us to beggary.” Fletcher says, it was once his opinion that “smuggling might be prevented, by the combined services of the army and navy; but,” he adds, “as most of the inferior Custom House officers on the coast, with £50 a year, live in splendour, and as the evil is deeply rooted, I am now convinced that the only way to check it is to take off the duties, to lessen the number of officers in both Customs and Excise, and to advance the salaries of those who are retained. If I prove that, by lessening the duties, the revenue will be increased and smuggling suppressed, there can be no objection to the adoption of the plan proposed.” Fletcher enters into many details to establish his theory; and thus, long before the days of Peel and Gladstone, took the part of free-traders.
His chapter on unequal taxation must be passed; but some of his statements, in the third, deserve notice. He insists that—
“The continual increase of the Poor Rates is occasioned by the corrupted morals of the lower classes of the people, who are seduced into idleness and neglect of their families, in the public-houses to be met with at every turn. There are also multitudes of private retailers of smuggled spirits, who, by enticing their neighbours into drunkenness, entail ruin on them and their families. In some parishes, the number of these lawless retailers far exceeds that of the publicans. But to speak only of licensed houses, what multitudes of these are found all over England! In some places, almost every fifth house is one of those nurseries of vice.”
Terrible is the picture which Fletcher draws, respecting the ruinous consequences of drunkenness; and his arguments would help Sir Wilfrid Lawson to make a most effective speech on “Local Option” in the House of Commons.
“If,” continues Fletcher, “these paltry public-houses are the bane of the nation, let the legislative power interfere in England, as it has done in Holland. Let two-thirds of these nuisances be suppressed; and by raising the licenses of the others, so as to indemnify the revenue, let the law put it out of the power of the idle poor to set up these petty schools of idleness and vice. Then people of character will no longer be afraid to become publicans.”
In a “postscript,” Fletcher refers to a pamphlet which states that—
“Sixty thousand of the ablest young men in the kingdom, and one hundred thousand horses, are employed in smuggling, whilst one hundred thousand women and children make it their business to hawk about the country the articles which the men have smuggled. If these one hundred and sixty thousand people were employed in fishing, agriculture, spinning, etc., their labour would amount annually to £2,464,000, to which must be added the sum of £1,820,000, the cost of keeping the one hundred thousand horses used by smugglers.... The Dutch catch fish, on our coasts, to the yearly amount of one million sterling.... Fishing and smuggling never flourish together.... In Scotland, there are upwards of ten thousand private stills,” etc., etc.
Thus Fletcher, the polemical divine, turned social reformer; and his efforts to correct the crying evils of the age were not confined to the employment of his pen. In his own parish, there were eighteen public houses,—all of them “nurseries for sin, particularly on Sunday evenings.” He had long desired to correct these abuses; but had seldom been favoured with the services of a churchwarden willing to second his endeavours. Now he had one, who was resolved to act according to the oath he had taken. Fletcher visited several of these dens of iniquity every Sunday, and all of them in their turn. In every one of them, he bore a faithful testimony against their wickedness; and, in some instances, his efforts were attended with much success.[595]
Footnote 595:
“Letter to Mons. H. L. De la Flechere,” 1786, p. 16.
At this period, trade was bad, taxes were crushing, and corn was dear. King George the Third, in his speech to “My Lords and Gentlemen,” the members of the two Houses of Parliament, remarked, “The scarcity, and consequent high price of corn, requires your instant interposition.” Corn was scarce, and, in many instances, it was bought and hoarded by execrable speculators, for the purpose of raising the price of it, and increasing their own blood-soaked profits. Fletcher was indignant, and proposed the formation of an association of persons of unblemished character:—
“1. To prosecute legally all engrossers and forestallers of the necessaries of life.
“2. If there be any laws against those who cause an artificial scarcity, by monopolizing the necessaries of life,—to apply to the magistrates to put such laws in force against the offenders,—and, if, through fear or favour, the magistrates refuse, to apply for redress to Quarter Sessions, or to the Court of King’s Bench.
“3. That the members of the Association subscribe, according to their ability, towards defraying the expense of detecting, and legally prosecuting the offenders.”
Fletcher added:—
“If such a plan is entered upon, and carried on in this county” (Salop), “I will gladly become a subscriber of a guinea, provided no illegal steps be taken by the associates.”
This is copied from an unpublished manuscript in Fletcher’s own handwriting. The following also is taken from another original manuscript, written by Fletcher:—
“It is proposed—
“1. That Sunday Schools be set up in this parish, for such children as are employed all the week, and for those whose education has been neglected.
“2. That, in those schools, children shall be taught to read and write, and shall be instructed in the principles of morality and piety.
“3. That, in the Dale, in Madeley, and in Madeley Wood, there shall be a school for boys, and another for girls,—six schools in all.
“4. That £20 be raised, by subscription, for this charity; namely, £14 for the salaries of six teachers; which, at the rate of one shilling, per time, for fifty-two Sunday afternoons, excepting Easter-Day and Whit-Sunday, will amount to fifty shillings each teacher. The remaining £6 shall be laid out in tables, benches, books, paper, pens, and ink.
“5. That, if the expenses incurred should run higher than is here supposed, the subscribers shall be acquainted with it, and their charity shall be again solicited.
“6. That, whosoever shall subscribe a guinea towards this charity shall be a director of it.
“7. That, at a parish meeting, two treasurers shall be appointed to ask and to receive the contributions of those who shall be willing to encourage this charity.
“8. That, three or four inspectors shall be appointed to visit these schools, to see that the children attend regularly, and that the masters do their duty by the children, and to make their report to the directors.
“9. That, a book shall be provided by the treasurers, in which they, or a secretary whom they shall appoint, shall yearly enter the sums subscribed, and the manner in which they are laid out; and that such book shall be laid before the subscribers when they shall desire it.
“10. That, another book shall be provided, in which the names of the masters and the scholars, belonging to each school, shall be entered.
“11. And lastly, that, to encourage emulation, at a solemn visitation of these schools, once or twice a year, some premium shall be given to the children who distinguish themselves by their assiduity and improvement.”
This was rather elaborate legislation for the administration of a charity fund of £20 a year; but money, in 1783, was scarce, and the Sunday School institution was then in its infancy.
For some years, Fletcher had had a school at Madeley, which he himself taught every day; and he had also established a similar school in Madeley Wood. Now he commenced his Sunday Schools, being, in this respect, almost contemporaneous with Raikes at Gloucester.
“Three hundred children were soon gathered, whom he took every opportunity of instructing, by regular meetings, for some time before the schools were opened; and these meetings he attended to the very last Thursday before his fatal illness. He gave the children little hymn-books; and pointed them to some friend or neighbour, who would teach them the hymns, and instruct them to sing. Many of the little creatures would scarcely allow themselves time to eat or sleep, for the desire they had of learning their lessons. In every meeting, after inquiring who had made the greatest proficiency, he never forgot to distinguish it by a little reward.”
“His proposals to the parish were received with the greatest unanimity. Many, both of the rich and trading people, lent their helping hand, not only to defray the expense of teachers, but to raise a very convenient school-house in Coalbrookdale.”[596]
Footnote 596:
“Letter to Mons. H. L. De la Flechere, 1786, pp. 17 and 18.
The “Proposals” were prefaced with a statement of “the advantages likely to arise from Sunday Schools,” which was as follows:—
“Our parochial and national depravity turns upon two hinges,—the profanation of the Lord’s day, and the immorality which flows from neglecting the education of children. Till these two great inlets of wickedness are stopped, we must expect to see our workhouses full of aged parents forsaken by their prodigal children; of wives deserted by their faithless husbands; or of the wretched offspring of lewd women, and idle and drunken men. Nay, we may expect to see the jails, and even the gallows, stocked with unhappy wretches, ready to fall a sacrifice to the safety of their neighbours, and the penal laws of their country.
“Persons concerned for the welfare of the next generation, and well-wishers to the Church and State, have already set us a fine example in Stroud, Gloucester, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, and in several country parishes. They have attempted to remedy these evils by setting up Sunday Schools, which, by keeping children from corrupting one another, by promoting their attendance on Divine worship, and by laying the first principles of useful knowledge in their minds, and of true piety in their hearts,—bid fair for a public reformation of manners; and seem well calculated to nip in the bud the vices of ignorance and impiety, so common among the lower and more numerous classes of the people.”[597]
Footnote 597:
“Letter to Mons. H. L. De la Flechere,” 1786, p. 20.
It may be added, that the last productions of Fletcher’s pen were an unfinished catechism, to be used in his Sunday Schools; prayers to be read by the children; and “Hints” to the teachers. Among the last mentioned, were instructions respecting the correction of any child “guilty of lying, swearing, Sabbath-breaking, stealing, fighting, or disobedience;” and recommendations that the teachers should “attend the scholars to Divine worship”; that they should “not break up too early in the evening, that being the time in which children are most likely to run into temptation;” and that “pious persons” should be induced to “visit and interrogate the children, in order that the whole might be carried on as a business sanctified by the Word of God, by prayer, and by Christian admonition.”[598]
Footnote 598:
Ibid., p. 63.
It would not be difficult to enlarge on facts and principles such as these; but the intelligent reader can do this himself.
Before leaving the year 1783, one more incident must be introduced. At the close of the year, the celebrated Rev. Henry Venn visited Fletcher, at Madeley, and wrote:—
“Mr. Fletcher is a genius, and a man of fire—all on the stretch to do good—to lose not a day, not an hour. He is married to a lady worthy of him, Miss Bosanquet, a lady with whom I was acquainted twenty-nine years ago. She was then sixteen, and bred up in all the pride of life; her father being one of the chief merchants of London. By the grace of God, she, at that time, renounced the world, and gave up herself to the Lord. Since then, she has bred up seventy-four destitute young girls for service, and seen them placed out to her satisfaction; and, instead of dressing, visiting, and conforming to all the vain and expensive customs of the world, she has been wholly employed in doing good. I left this happy house as Cecil, Secretary to Queen Elizabeth, left Bernard Gilpin’s, saying, ‘There dwells as much happiness as can be known on earth.’”[599]
Footnote 599:
“Life of Rev. Henry Venn,” p. 377.