Chapter L: Tyerman (7)

"Knowest thou, O worm, what blasphemy thou art guilty of in
charging God with injustice? Shall the thing formed say to Him
that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Wilt thou presume to
arraign the Almighty at the bar of thy shallow reason? Hath God
said it, and shall He not do it? He hath said it, and let God be
true, though every man be a liar. Shall not the Judge of all the
earth do right? Assuredly He will. And if sinners will not own
His justice in His threatenings here, they will be compelled,
ere long, to own and feel them when tormented by Him hereafter.
Would we now and then meditate a while by faith on the miseries
of the damned, I doubt not we should hear many an unhappy soul
venting his fruitless sorrows in some such piteous moans as
these: 'O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from
this body of death! O foolish mortal that I was, thus to bring
myself into these never-ceasing tortures for the transitory
enjoyment of a few short-lived pleasures, which scarcely
afforded me any satisfaction, even when I most indulged myself
in them! Alas! are these the wages, the effects of sin? Are all
the grand deceiver's promises come to this? O damned apostate!
First to delude me with pretended promises of happiness, and,
after years of drudgery in his service, thus to involve me in
eternal woe! Oh that I had never hearkened to his beguiling
insinuations! Oh that I had taken up my cross and followed
Christ! Oh that I had never ridiculed serious godliness, and
condemned the truly pious as too severe, enthusiastic, or
superstitious! Alas! these reflections come too late. I have in
effect denied the Lord that bought me, and therefore justly am I
now denied by Him. But must I live for ever tormented in these
flames? Must my body, which not long since lay in state, was
clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every
day--must this be here eternally confined and made the mockery
of insulting devils? Oh, eternity! That thought fills me with
despair--I _cannot, will not_, yet _I must be_ miserable for
ever!'

"But I can no more. These thoughts are too melancholy for me
to dwell upon, as well as for you to hear; and God knows, as
punishing is His strange work, so denouncing His threatenings is
mine. But if the bare mentioning the torments of the damned is
so shocking--good God! terrible must the enduring of them be!"

A sermon in such a strain would give offence in many of the costly churches and pretentious chapels of the present day; but it was devoutly listened to on board the _Whitaker_. Why? Perhaps, one reason may be found in the solemn fact that it is the sovereign prerogative of God, not only to raise up faithful preachers, but, to give ears to hear, and hearts to understand.

For more than a fortnight, Whitefield was detained at Gibraltar, where he received the greatest kindness. Major Sinclair, a gentleman whom he had never seen before, hearing of his arrival, provided him two handsome rooms in a merchant's house,[122] and ministered to his wants. General Columbine and many others treated him with the utmost courtesy. Governor Sabine gave him a general invitation to dine with him every day during his stay, an invitation which was frequently accepted. The governor was an exemplary man, and, except when prevented by ill-health, had not been absent from public prayers for seven years.[123] His table was sumptuous; but his guests, officers and others, indulged in no excesses. "We had," says Whitefield, the once Oxford ascetic, "what an Epicurean would call _coena dubia_; but the law at the governor's table was the same with that of Ahasuerus, 'No one was compelled;' and all the officers behaved in such a decent manner every time I dined there, that they pleased me very much."[124]

[122] Whitefield's Works, vol. i., pp. 37 and 39.

[123] Ibid. p. 38.

[124] In Cooper's edition of Whitefield's Journal, which was
published without his sanction, and which occasioned the publishing
of Hutton's edition, he writes under date of February 22: "We had
an elegant entertainment; but my thoughts were mostly employed in
pitying the unhappiness of great men who are in such a continual
danger of having their table become a snare to them." James Hutton
left this out.

While on this subject, it may be added, that there are many remarks
and reflections in Whitefield's "Journal of a Voyage from London
to Savannah" which it is probable, with all his impulsiveness, he
himself would not have published. The facts of the case are these:
1. Whitefield sent his Journal in manuscript for the private perusal
of his friends. 2. T. Cooper, "at the Globe in Paternoster Row,"
saw it, and printed it, without the writer's knowledge or consent.
3. James Hutton, himself a publisher, was wroth--denounced Cooper's
edition as surreptitious, and said the Journal was sent to him
(Hutton) to be communicated to Whitefield's friends; "but not to be
made public without the advice and correction of certain persons
particularly known to himself." 4. Hutton added that, "Whitefield
knew himself too well to obtrude his little private concerns upon
the world--especially when intermixed with such passages relating
to others as none but an unthinking person could judge proper
to divulge." 5. Nevertheless, Mr. Cooper having published his
surreptitious copy, he (Hutton) "at the earnest solicitation of
several of Mr. Whitefield's friends, now determined to print the
whole." 6. T. Cooper resented this, and, in the _Weekly Miscellany_
for August 11, 1738, there was an advertisement of Cooper's edition
with the following postscript: "Notwithstanding the clamour that
has been made about this copy being surreptitious, I can, with
the utmost veracity, assure the public that it is genuine to
a great degree of exactness; and the advertiser against it is
desired to point out, for the notice of the public, any _passage_,
_circumstance_, or even _any word_, that has been altered, or which
varies from the copy which (he says) he has in his hand, and which
he has owned he never designed to have published.--T. C."

It may be added that Hutton's publication went through four editions
in 1738. It was issued in 12mo., pp. 70.

Whitefield often went on board the _Whitaker_, where he read prayers, and expounded to his military flock. Such, however, had been the result of his labours among them, that, when he was detained on shore, the soldiers had meetings of their own, and read prayers and sang psalms by themselves. The Protestant ministers of Gibraltar received the youthful missionary with the greatest kindness; and, in compliance with their request, and that of the governor, he preached several times in their churches. He writes: "I was asked by Dr. C., in the name of the governor, to preach every Prayer Day whilst I stayed at Gibraltar, which I promised to do." In accordance with this, there are the following entries in his Journal:--

"Feb. 26. Preached in the morning at Gibraltar, before such a
congregation of officers and soldiers as I never before saw.
The church, though very large, was quite thronged; and God was
pleased to shew me that He had given extraordinary success to my
sermon.

"March 1. Preached, according to my promise, to a numerous and
affected audience of officers, soldiers, etc.

"March 3. About ten, I preached my sermon against _Swearing_,
and made a farewell application to the soldiers who were going
to Georgia out of the garrison. The governor had that morning
reviewed them; and, as I could not be in the same ship with
them, I desired that they might be ordered to come to church,
that I might have an opportunity of telling them how to behave
in that land which they were going to protect. The colonel and
governor most readily consented; there was a most thronged
audience, and God was pleased to set His seal to my sermon. Many
officers and soldiers wept sorely, and a visible alteration was
observed in the garrison for some days after.

"March 5. Went to the church belonging to the garrison; preached
to a most thronged audience, and received (what my soul longed
after) the sacrament of Christ's most blessed body and blood.
Both the generals were there, and near fifty communicants. The
weekly collection for the poor was larger than was ever known;
and ---- was so affected, that he wished himself a despised
Methodist. Dined at Governor Sabine's, and, at the request of
the inhabitants and gentlemen of the garrison, preached again in
the afternoon."

Such extracts are full of interest. The young Methodist chaplain of the Oxford prisoners was now, by request, preaching, with power and success, to crowded military congregations, assembled in the strongest fortress in the world.

These public sermons, however, were but a small part of Whitefield's efforts to benefit and bless the Gibraltar population. Six days after his arrival, he writes:--

"Saturday, Feb. 25. About six this morning, I went with friend
Habersham to the church to pray with some devout soldiers, who I
heard used to meet there at that time, and with whom my soul was
knit immediately. After we had finished our devotion, I found
that their Society had been subsisting about twelve years, and
that Sergeant B., now amongst them, was the beginner of it. At
first, they used to meet in dens, and mountains, and caves in
the rocks; but, afterwards, upon their applying for leave to
build a little place to retire in, Dr. C. and Governor Sabine
gave them the free use of the church, where they constantly met
three times a day to pray, read, and sing psalms, and at any
other season when they pleased. They have met with contempt, and
are now, in derision, called 'The New Lights.' A glorious light
they are indeed; for I conversed closely with several of them,
and they made me quite ashamed of my little proficiency in the
school of Christ. Governor Sabine countenances them much, and
has spoken of them to me with respect."

The circumstances which gave birth to this Society of praying soldiers are now unknown; but the existence of such a Society, and its unpretentious meetings, are facts of no ordinary interest and importance. God is not confined to pulpits to carry on His work. In all ages there have been devout fraternities, not recognised by men, but cheered by His countenance and blessing. When Elijah thought himself the only one "faithful among the faithless," God had seven thousand left in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Who, except God Himself, can tell the number of pious brotherhoods now existing in India, China, Japan, and all the world over, bearing a resemblance to the Society of "New Lights," with whom Whitefield so strangely met at the Rock of Gibraltar?

The "New Lights," indeed, were not the only Society of a religious kind in this famous garrison. These were evidently members of the Church of England; but there was another coterie, called, with equal derisiveness, "Dark Lanthorns," who belonged to the Church of Scotland. Whitefield "did not think it agreeable to visit these." Even in his eyes, they were a sort of tabooed Dissenters, with whom it would not be orthodox to mingle; but he "sent them some proper books, had religious talk with several of them, and endeavoured to unite both Societies together."

His relationship with the Episcopal "New Lights" was altogether different. During the nine days after he became acquainted with them, he met them every morning, to pray, to sing psalms, and to expound the daily Lessons. Some of the soldiers often came as early as two o'clock. Pure and precious were these morning meetings. No wonder that Whitefield's ardent "soul was knit" to such early worshippers; and no wonder that, having joined with them in their matin songs, he should also regularly unite in their vesper devotions. The numbers attending, especially at nights, grew into large congregations, including "officers, and honourable women not a few." On Thursday night, March 2, there were above three hundred present; "among whom were many officers, ladies, and Dr. C., the minister of the church himself," who wanted Whitefield, instead of praying and expounding on the floor, to mount the reading desk, where he could be better seen. The next evening, his congregation consisted of above five hundred; and the next after that, of about a thousand. On the last Sunday he spent at Gibraltar, at five o'clock, he had his "morning exposition in the church;" after that, he "went and saw the Roman Catholics at their high mass," and thought there "needed no other argument against Popery than to see the pageantry, superstition, and idolatry of their worship;" at ten, he preached in the church belonging to the garrison, and received the sacrament; in the afternoon, in the same place, he preached again; and "expounded in the evening to above a thousand hearers of all denominations; and went home full of unspeakable comfort," and remarking, "I am never better than when I am on the full stretch for God."

Next morning--his last at Gibraltar--many came to him weeping, telling him what God had done for their souls, and desiring his prayers. Others gave and sent him tokens of their love, as cakes, figs, wine, eggs, and other necessaries for his voyage. Nearly two hundred soldiers, women, and officers accompanied him to the seaside, sorrowing at his departure, and wishing him good luck in the name of the Lord. He was gladly received on board the _Whitaker_, and at once resumed his duties.

This was a strange episode in the life of the young evangelist. Like his Divine Redeemer, he "increased in favour with God and man." His heart was full of gratitude. In a letter, dated Gibraltar, February 25, 1738," he writes:--

"God has been with us of a truth. He has led us through the sea,
as through a wilderness, and brought us to a haven, where I am
honoured with many honours. About six o'clock this morning,
I went to the church, where was assembled a number of decent
soldiers, praying, and singing psalms to Christ as God. They
meet constantly three times a day, and I intend henceforward to
meet with them. They pray without ceasing, have overcome the
world, hate sin, love their enemies and one another. Oh, who
would not travel to see how the Spirit of God is moving poor
sinners' souls up and down the world! God, I find, has a people
everywhere; Christ has a flock, though but a little one, in all
places. God be praised that we are of this flock, and that it
will be our Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom."

On the 7th of March, the _Whitaker_ set sail for Savannah, and, on Sunday, the 7th of May, cast anchor near Tybee Island. During this two months' voyage, the duties of Whitefield's chaplaincy were performed with his usual regularity and zeal. He finished his exposition of the Creed, and then began to expound the Decalogue. Habersham taught the children; and several of the soldiers began learning to read and write. Occasionally, Whitefield visited the _Lightfoot_ and the _Amy_, two accompanying ships, dined with the officers, dispersed Bibles, Testaments, and Soldiers' Monitors among the men, and, on one occasion, threw overboard their cards. On board the _Amy_, he preached to above two hundred and twenty hearers; and says, "I married a couple, who did not behave so well as I could wish. The bridegroom laughed several times in the midst, of the solemnity, upon which I shut up my Prayer-book. He began to weep, and I then proceeded, and gave him and the bride a Bible, as the best present I could make them."[125]

[125] It might be added, that he also began to speak to his hearers,
"one by one," respecting the subjects on which he preached;
and, to aid him in this, he commenced, on March 12th, to write
his "Observations on Select Passages of Scripture turned into
Catechetical Questions." These were published in his collected works
(vol. iv., pp. 345-373); but, though carefully prepared, contain but
little deserving further notice.

On board both the _Whitaker_ and _Lightfoot_, he preached his sermon against _Drunkenness_, which was published, as soon as he returned to England, and from which the following extracts are taken. The text was Ephesians v. 6; and the divisions were,--Drunkenness is a heinous sin, because, 1. It is an abuse of God's creatures. 2. By it a man sinneth against his own body. 3. It robs a man of his reason. 4. It is an inlet to, and a forerunner of, many other sins. 5. It separates the Holy Spirit from us. 6. It absolutely unfits a man for the enjoyment of God in heaven, and exposes him to His eternal wrath.

The reader may easily imagine that, under such divisions, the bold and ardent preacher would find employment for strong and scathing language.

"Flee drunkenness!" he cried, "flee drunkenness, since he that
committeth that crime, sinneth against his own body. Who hath
pains in the head? Who hath rottenness in the bones? Who hath
redness of eyes? He that tarries long at the wine; he that rises
early to seek new wine. How many walking skeletons have you
seen, whose bodies were once exceeding fair to look upon; but,
by this sin of drinking, how has their beauty departed from
them, as though God intended to set them up, as He did Lot's
wife, for monuments of His justice?

"Think ye, O ye drunkards, that you shall be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in light? No: as by drunkenness you
have made your hearts cages of unclean birds, with unclean
spirits must you dwell. A burning _Tophet_, kindled by God's
wrath, is prepared for your reception, where you must suffer the
vengeance of an eternal fire, and in vain cry out for a drop
of water to cool your tongues. Indeed, you shall drink, but
it shall be the cup of God's fury. I call heaven and earth to
witness against you this day, that, as surely as the Lord rained
fire and brimstone upon Sodom, so surely will He cast you into a
lake of fire and brimstone, when He shall come to take vengeance
on them that know not God, and have not obeyed the Gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Behold, I have told you before. Remember
you were this day informed what the end of drunkenness would
be. And I summon you, in the name of that God whom I serve, to
meet me at the judgment-seat of Christ, that you may acquit both
my Master and me; and confess, with your own mouths, that your
damnation was of yourselves, and that we were freed from the
blood of you all."

This was hard hitting, and yet Whitefield seemed to make no enemies, but, by his fidelity, increased the number of his friends. "Colonel Cochrane was extremely civil; and such was the change upon Captain Mackay, that he desired Whitefield not to give himself the trouble of expounding and praying in the cabin and between decks; for he would order a drum to be beat morning and evening, and himself would attend with the soldiers on deck." Henceforward, Whitefield preached with a captain on each side of him, and soldiers round about him; the two other ships' companies often drawing near, and joining in the worship of the great Creator. Once, after the public sermon, Captain Mackay desired the soldiers to stop, whilst he informed them that, to his great shame, he had been a notorious swearer, but, by the instrumentality of that gentleman, pointing to Whitefield, he had abandoned the sin, and wished them all to copy his example.[126] After the sermon on drunkenness, also, the captain seconded the effort of the chaplain, and "exhorted the men to give good heed to the things that had been spoken." A fever breaking out, Whitefield, "for many days and nights, visited between twenty and thirty sick persons, crawling between decks upon his knees, administering medicines and cordials," and giving suitable advice. The result of the whole was a marvellous reformation. One of the sailors, who had been a notorious scoffer, sent for Whitefield in bitter agony, and loudly lamented his past wickedness. The cadet, who had received a university education, and who, the first Sunday after sailing from the Thames, amused himself and others by playing on the hautboy, told Whitefield the history of his life, and expressed his intention to devote himself to the service of the Church.[127] Concerning the soldiers, Whitefield says: "I have no reason to complain of them, for they come very regularly twice a day to prayer, and an oath seems to be a strange thing amongst most of them. Many marks of a sound conversion appear in several aboard, and we live in perfect harmony and peace, loving and beloved of one another. In the great cabin, we talk of little else but God and Christ."

[126] Gillies' "Life of Whitefield."

[127] Ibid.

The voyage was long, and not without its incidents, in some of which Whitefield himself was prominent. For instance, the captain's negro servant died, was wrapped in a hammock, and thrown into the sea; but, because the poor creature was not baptized, Whitefield was Churchman enough to say, "I could not read the office over him." On the other hand, a baptized soldier "killed himself by drinking," and Whitefield writes: "I buried him in time of public prayers, chose proper lessons, and gave the soldiers a suitable exhortation." A little boy, four years old, refused to repeat the Lord's Prayer. The young clergyman forced him upon his knees, and gave him "several blows." The urchin then went through the Prayer, and Whitefield rewarded him with figs. Another boy behaved improperly at public worship. Captain Mackay handed over the culprit to the chaplain to be punished. Whitefield ordered him to be tied with cords, and to be kept tied till he learned, and could repeat, the fifty-first Psalm from memory. The lad performed his penance, repeated the Psalm with great solemnity, "in the midst of the congregation," and was then released from his ignominious bonds.

Towards the end of the voyage, Whitefield was seized with the fever, from which all in the ship, except three or four, had suffered. Habersham and another friend sat up with him every night. He was bled thrice, was blistered, and had an emetic. Gradually recovering from this serious illness, he reached Savannah on Sunday evening, May 7th, more than four months after he had parted with his friends in London.

On the day before his arrival, he wrote:--

"God has been pleased graciously to visit me with a violent
fever, which He so sweetened by Divine consolations, that I
was enabled to rejoice and sing in the midst of it. I was, as
I thought, on the brink of eternity. I had heaven within me.
I thought of nothing in this world. I earnestly desired to be
dissolved and go to Christ; but God was pleased to order it
otherwise, and I am resigned, though I can scarce be reconciled,
to come back again into this vale of misery. I had the heavenly
Canaan in full view, and hoped I was going to take possession of
it; but God saw I was not yet ripe for glory, and, therefore, in
mercy spared me, that I may recover my spiritual strength before
I go hence, and am no more seen."

One more fact respecting Whitefield's voyage to Savannah must be added. Though extremely weak, and still suffering from his recent fever, the young missionary was unwilling to leave the ship, where he had spent four happy months, without preaching a farewell sermon. His text (Psalm cvii. 30, 31) was most appropriate, and so also was his sermon, which was published by James Hutton, a few months afterwards. (8vo., 19 pp.) "God forbid," cried the ardent preacher, standing within the shade of the outspread sails of the ship _Whitaker_, lying at anchor at the mouth of Savannah river, on Sunday, May 7, 1738:--

"God forbid that any of those should ever suffer the vengeance
of eternal fire, amongst whom I have for these four months been
preaching the Gospel of Christ; and yet thus must it be, if you
do not improve the Divine mercies; and, instead of your being my
crown of rejoicing in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, I must
appear as a swift witness against you.

"But, brethren, I am persuaded better things of you, and things
that accompany salvation, though I thus speak. Blessed be
God! some marks of a partial reformation, at least, have been
visible amongst all you that are soldiers. My weak, though
sincere, endeavours to build you up in the knowledge and fear
of God have not been altogether vain. Swearing, I hope, is in
a great measure abated with you; and God, I trust, has blessed
His late visitations by making them the means of awakening your
consciences to a more solicitous enquiry about the things which
belong to your everlasting peace. Consider, my good friends, you
are now, as it were, entering on a new world, where you will be
surrounded by multitudes of heathens; and, if you take not heed
to 'have your conversation honest among them, and to walk worthy
the holy vocation wherewith you are called,' you will act the
hellish part of Herod's soldiers, and cause Christ's religion,
as they did His person, to be had in derision of those who are
round about you. I cannot say I have discharged my duty to you
as I ought. No; I am sensible of many faults, for which I have
not failed to humble myself in secret before God. As for your
military affairs, I have nothing to do with them. Fear God, and
you must honour the king. Nor am I better acquainted with the
nature of that land which you are come to protect; only this
I may venture to affirm in general, that you must necessarily
expect, upon your arrival at a new colony, to meet with many
difficulties. But your very profession teaches you to endure
hardship. Be not, therefore, faint-hearted, but quit yourselves
like men, and be strong.

"As I have spoken to you, I hope your wives also will suffer the
word of exhortation. Your behaviour on shipboard, especially the
first part of the voyage, I choose to throw a cloak over; for,
to use the mildest term, it was not such as became the Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, of late, blessed be God! you
have taken more heed to your ways, and some of you have walked
all the while as became women professing godliness. Let those
accept my hearty thanks; and permit me to entreat you all in
general, as you are all now married, to remember the solemn vow
you made at your entrance into the marriage state; and see that
you be subject to your own husbands, in every lawful thing.
Beg of God to keep the door of your lips, that you offend not
with your tongues; and walk in love, that your prayers be not
hindered. You who have children, let it be your chief concern to
breed them up in the nurture and monition of the Lord. And live
all of you so holy and unblamable, that you may not so much as
be suspected to be unchaste; and, as some of you have imitated
Mary Magdalene in her sin, strive to imitate her also in her
repentance."

After this manly address to the soldiers and their wives, Whitefield proceeded, in the same strain, to speak to the sailors; and then thus addressed the two captains, naval and military, who were present:--

"I am positive neither you sailors nor the soldiers have wanted,
nor will want, any manner of encouragement to piety and holiness
of living from those two persons who have here the government
over you; for they have been such helps to me in my ministry,
and have so readily concurred in everything for your good, that
they may justly demand a public acknowledgment of thanks both
from you and me.

"Permit me, then, my honoured friends, in the name of both your
people, to return you hearty thanks for the care and tenderness
you have expressed for the welfare of their better parts. As for
the private favours you have shewn to myself, I hope so deep a
sense of them is imprinted on my heart, that I shall plead them
before God in prayer as long as I shall live. But I have still
stronger obligations to intercede on your behalf; for God--for
ever adored be His free grace in Christ Jesus!--has set His seal
to my ministry in your hearts. Some pangs of the new birth I
have observed to come upon you; and God forbid that I should sin
against the Lord, by ceasing to pray that the good work begun in
you may be carried on till the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"And now, brethren, into God's hands I commend your spirits.
Excuse my detaining you so long. Perhaps it is the last time I
shall speak to you. My heart is full, and, out of the abundance
of it, I could continue my discourse till midnight. But I must
away to your new world. May God give you new hearts, and enable
you to put in practice what you have heard from time to time to
be your duty. Then God will so bless you, that you will 'build
cities to dwell in;' then will you sow your lands and plant
vineyards, which will 'yield you fruits of increase.' Then your
'oxen shall be strong to labour, there shall be no leading into
captivity, and no complaining in your streets; then shall your
sons grow up as the young plants, and your daughters be as the
polished corners of the temple; then shall your garners be full
and plenteous with all manner of store, and your sheep bring
forth thousands and ten thousands in your streets.' In short,
then shall the Lord be your God; and, as surely as He hath now
brought us to His haven, so surely, after we have passed through
the storms and tempests of this troublesome world, will He bring
us to the haven of eternal rest, where we shall have nothing to
do but to praise Him for ever for His goodness, and declare, in
never-ceasing songs of praise, the wonders he has done for us,
and all the other sons of men."

This was a noble finish of Whitefield's shipboard ministry. No wonder that the juvenile preacher was loved and followed.

Whitefield, thousands of miles from home, now stood on the shores of the immense continent of America--a continent extending from the north pole to the fifty-seventh degree of south latitude,--upwards of eight thousand miles in length--washed on the east by the great Atlantic Ocean, which divides it from Europe and Africa, and on the west by the Pacific, by which it is disjoined from Asia,--in reality, two vast continents, the one north, the other south, united by Mexico.

At the time of Whitefield's arrival, the whole of South America (excepting Brazil, which belonged to Portugal) and all that part of North America which forms the isthmus of Mexico, and the country extending as far as Florida, was possessed by Spain. English territory reached from Hudson's Bay, all along the eastern shore to the thirtieth degree of north latitude. The French had Canada, and claimed the country lying between there and the Spanish settlements to the west. A description of this enormous region of mountains, prairies, swamps, forests, lakes and rivers, with every variety of climate and production that the earth affords, cannot be here attempted.

Many immense tracts of country could scarcely be said to have any population whatever; and yet there was an almost countless number of Indian tribes, differing but little from each other in their usages and manners, and forming a striking picture of human antiquity. Most of them were tall and strong, their countenances fierce, and their skins brown, and not improved by the constant use of rude cosmetics. The only occupations of the men were war and hunting. Agriculture was left to the women. Most of their time, however, was spent in sleeping, loitering, jesting among their friends, and eating and drinking enormously. Some held the existence of a Supreme Being; but none knew how to worship Him. They abounded in superstitions, observed omens and dreams, pryed into futurity with the utmost eagerness, and greatly relied on diviners, augurs, and magicians, in all affairs that concerned them, whether of health, war, or hunting.

But enough of this. For the present, Georgia only was Whitefield's sphere of labour. In the year 1732, the Government of England, observing that a large tract of land, between Carolina and the borders of the Spanish Florida, was uncultivated and unsettled, resolved to erect it into a separate province, and to found a colony. They were induced to do this, (1) because the land lay on the frontier of all the English provinces, naked and defenceless, and exposed Carolina especially to attacks from the Spaniards and Indians; and (2) because it was believed that the region might be utilised by the growth of wine, oil, and silk. This useless territory extended along the Atlantic coast for a distance of about sixty miles; and into the interior, from a hundred and fifty to three hundred miles, as far as the Alleghany mountains.

Carolina, the adjoining province, had been formed into an English settlement in 1663. One portion of the colonists were Churchmen; another, quite as large, were Dissenters, who had escaped, as refugees, from tyrannising governments. There were numerous quarrellings between the two classes of religionists. This was bad enough, but it was not the only evil. Eight English noblemen had obtained a charter for the property and jurisdiction of the country. John Locke, the great philosopher, had compiled its fundamental laws. The lordly proprietors stood in the place of the king, appointed all officers, and bestowed all titles of dignity. The people were dissatisfied with the proceedings of their governors, and violent disputes followed. Then there were two wars with the Indian tribes; and, as a consequence of the whole, the colony was almost torn to pieces. Ten years before Whitefield's embarkation, the Parliament of England put the province under the immediate care and inspection of the Crown. Peace was soon established with all the neighbouring Indian nations--the Cherokees, the Creeks, and the Catuabas; Carolina, north and south, was delivered from its internal quarrels; and now trade was advancing with astonishing rapidity.

The climate of Carolina and of the adjoining region, now called Georgia, was one of the finest in the world. The soil of both countries was marvellously rich. Where cultivated, oranges, olives, rice, indigo, wheat, peas, and Indian corn were grown in great abundance. Most of the land, however, was entirely untilled, and consisted of swamps of black fat earth, immense forests of oaks and pines, and, here and there, luxuriant glades, overrun with flowering shrubs and plants the most beautiful.[128]

[128] "An Account of the European Settlements in America," 2 vols.
London, 1761.

Though the Georgian colony was now only six years old, five companies of emigrants had already landed. 1. The motley band of released debtors, a hundred and twenty in number, who arrived with Oglethorpe, in February, 1733. 2. The Saltzburghers, who set sail from Dover on January 8, 1734. 3. A number of Scotch islanders, who founded New Inverness, in Darien. 4. Two different sets of Moravians, with one of whom Wesley and his brother sailed. These were Whitefield's parishioners, most of them foreign refugees, a few of them Presbyterian Highlanders, and the rest chiefly insolvent debtors, whom the hand of charity had rescued from London prisons. Wesley's life among them had been embittered by all kinds of vexations, to a great extent engendered by his endeavouring to enforce High-Church discipline. How did Whitefield succeed? His present sojourn was not of long continuance--only four months--but it comprised numerous incidents worthy of being noticed.

Weak as Whitefield was, from his late attack of fever, as soon as he reached Savannah, he "joined in prayer and a psalm of thanksgiving" with Charles Delamotte, whom Wesley had left behind, and with "some pious souls," who rejoiced at his arrival.

Next morning, May 8, as early as five o'clock, the ardent evangelist commenced his public labours by reading the Liturgy, and expounding the second lesson "to seventeen adults and twenty-five children." This was Whitefield's first congregation in America. During the day, he had an interview with the notorious Thomas Causton (the bitter enemy of Wesley), and with the other magistrates of this Liliputian kingdom of about five hundred souls. He says, they received him "with great civility;" and it was resolved by their magisterial highnesses that "he should have a house and tabernacle built at Frederica, and should serve at Savannah, when, and as long as he pleased." Whitefield adds: "I find there are many divisions amongst the inhabitants, but God, I hope, will make me an instrument of composing them."

Whitefield's ardour in commencing his public labours was greater than his prudence. There was an immediate return of fever, and, for the next few days, he was entirely disabled. On Sunday, May 14, he "_attempted_ to read prayers, but was so faint and weak that he was obliged to leave off before he began the second service."[129]

[129] At this period, Mr. William Stephens was the secretary of
the Trustees of Georgia, and resided at Savannah. He afterwards
published, in two octavo volumes, "A Journal of the Proceedings in
Georgia," from which the following extracts are taken:--

"1738. May 21. Mr. Whitefield officiated this day at the church, and
made a sermon very engaging to the most thronged congregation I had
ever seen there."

"May 28. Mr. Whitefield manifests great ability in the ministry, and
his sermons to-day were very moving."

"June 4. Mr. Whitefield's auditors increase daily, and the place
of worship is far too small to contain the people who seek his
doctrine."

"June 18. Mr. Whitefield went on moving the people with his
captivating discourses. A child being brought to church to be
baptized, he performed that office by _sprinkling_, which gave
great content to many who had taken great distaste at the form of
_dipping_, so strictly required and so obstinately withstood by some
parents that they have suffered their children to go without the
benefit of that sacrament, till a convenient opportunity could be
found of another minister to do that office."

"July 2. Mr. Whitefield gains more and more on the affections of the
people, by his labour and assiduity in the performance of divine
offices; to which an open and easy deportment, without show of
austerity, or singularity of behaviour in conversation, contribute
not a little, and open the way for him to inculcate good precepts,
with greater success, among his willing hearers." (Vol. i.)

Recovering a little strength, he set out, on May 19, to visit Hampstead and Highgate, two of his parochial villages, about five miles from Savannah. Hampstead consisted "of three families, making in all eleven souls." The component parts of this _Georgian village_ population were two men, one woman, and seven children--all from Switzerland; to whom, by some odd accident, was added another man, a Jew. Whitefield writes: "I was much delighted with seeing the improvements a few pair of hands had made in their respective plantations. Surely they speak not the truth, who say that the Georgia people have been idle, for I never saw more laborious people than are in these villages. I was at a loss, because I could not talk French; but I resolved to follow my worthy predecessor's (Wesley) example, and to visit them once a week, and read prayers to as many as could understand me. I also enquired into the state of their children, and found there were many who might prove useful members of the colony, if there was a proper place for their maintenance and education. Nothing can effect this but an orphan house, which might easily be erected, if some of those who are rich in this world's goods would contribute towards it."

The next day, May 20, Whitefield paid a visit to a memorable man who merits a brief notice.

When Oglethorpe first went to Georgia, in 1733, he found, between the coast and the Alleghany mountains, three considerable nations of Indians--the Uchees, consisting of two hundred men; the Upper Creek, having eleven hundred men; and the Lower Creek, who had nine towns, or rather cantons, and about a thousand men able to bear arms. The chief of the last-mentioned tribe was Tomo Chici, whose head-quarters was at a place called Yamacraw, a short distance from Savannah. Oglethorpe waited upon this Indian chief, and persuaded him to invite a deputation from the other tribes to hold a conference with him at Savannah. The conference took place in one of the newly built houses, about fifty Indian chiefs and leading warriors being present. Oglethorpe received them with his wonted courtesy, and told them that the English, in coming to settle there, did not intend either to dispossess or to annoy the natives; but desired above all things to live in friendship with them, and hoped, through those whom he now addressed, to obtain from them a concession of a portion of their territory, and to confirm a treaty of amity and commerce. Ouechachumpa, a warrior of great stature, replied, and, after describing the region which the natives wished to retain in their own possession, declared the English were welcome to all the rest. Tomo Chici then advanced, and, making a low obeisance, said: "When these white men came, I feared they would drive us away, for we were weak; but they promised not to molest us. We wanted corn and other things, and they have given us supplies; and now, of our small means, we make them presents in return. Here is a buffalo skin, adorned with the head and feathers of an eagle. The eagle signifies speed, and the buffalo strength. The English are swift as the eagle, and strong as the buffalo. Like the eagle, they flew over great waters; and, like the buffalo, nothing can withstand them. But the feathers of the eagle are soft, and signify kindness; and the skin of the buffalo is covering, and signifies protection. Let these, then, remind them to be kind, and to protect us." The terms of alliance were speedily agreed upon; and Oglethorpe presented to each chief, a laced coat, a hat, and a shirt; to each war captain, he gave a gun, and ammunition; and to the attendants, mantles of coarse cloth and smaller presents.

The friendship thus commenced with Tomo Chici was life-long. In 1734, when Oglethorpe returned to England, Tomo Chici, with his wife and nephew, Hillispilli, the war captain of his tribe, five chiefs of the Creeks, and Umpichi, a chief from Palachicolas, with their interpreter and attendants, accompanied him, because he thought it would promote the interests of Georgia if some of the principal natives were to see Great Britain, and become impressed with its power and dignity. Comfortable quarters were provided for the Indians at the Georgia office; and, after being suitably attired, and having their faces painted after their fashion, they were conveyed, in three of the royal carriages, to Kensington Palace, and presented to George II. and his Queen Caroline. Tomo Chici addressed to the king one of his flowery speeches; and the king returned an appropriate reply. They were then introduced to Queen Caroline, to the Prince of Wales, to the Duke of Cumberland, and to the Princesses. One of their party died of smallpox, and was interred in the churchyard of St. John's, Westminster. Oglethorpe took them to his country residence. They likewise visited Lambeth Palace, where they were agreeably entertained by the Archbishop of Canterbury. They were also taken to Eton College, Windsor Castle, St. George's Chapel, Hampton Court, the Tower of London, Greenwich Hospital, and, in short, to all the great sights in the metropolis and its vicinity.

After a four months' residence in England, they rode, in royal carriages, to Gravesend, and embarked for Georgia, where, with a company of Saltzburghers, they arrived in safety.

On February 14, 1736, Tomo Chici, his nephew and heir, and several others, as soon as they heard of the arrival of the ship, came to welcome Wesley to Georgia. "I am glad you are come," said the chief. "When I was in England, I desired that some would speak the great Word to me; and my nation then desired to hear it; but now we are all in confusion. Yet I am glad you are come. I will go up and speak to the wise men of our nation; and I hope they will hear. But we would not be made Christians as the Spaniards make Christians. We would be taught, before we are baptized."[130]

[130] Wesley's Journal.

A month after this, Tomo Chici and forty of his Indians set out with Oglethorpe on an expedition, in the course of which they reached a fine island hitherto called _Wissoo_, but which the chief on this occasion re-named Cumberland, in honour of the young Prince, who had been very gracious to the Indians when in England, particularly to the chief's nephew, to whom His Royal Highness had given a gold repeating watch.

Tomo Chici, on this and other occasions, shewed himself a sincere friend of Oglethorpe and the English settlers; but he hesitated to declare himself a Christian. When Wesley urged him to embrace the doctrines of Christianity, he significantly answered: "Why, these are Christians at Savannah! Those are Christians at Frederica! Christians get drunk! Christians beat men! Christians tell lies! Me no Christian!"

This was the man whom Whitefield visited a few days after his arrival in Georgia. The old chief was dangerously ill, and "lay on a blanket, thin and meagre--little else but skin and bones." His wife, Senauki, "sat by fanning him with Indian feathers." Tooanahowi, his nephew, was the only one present who understood the English language, and through him Whitefield asked the chief whether he thought he was about die? Tomo Chici answered, "I cannot tell." "I then asked," says Whitefield, "where he thought he would go after death? He replied, To heaven." To this brief dialogue, Whitefield adds: "But, alas! how can a drunkard enter there? I then exhorted Tooanahowi (who is a tall proper youth) not to get drunk, and asked him whether he believed a heaven? He answered, Yes. I then asked whether he believed a hell? and described it by pointing to the fire. He replied, No."

Tomo Chici partially recovered from his present illness; and when Oglethorpe arrived a few months afterwards, he, with several other chiefs, came to meet and welcome him, declaring that the coming of "The Great Man," as he called the governor, quite restored him, and made him "moult like the eagle."

In the following year, 1739, the venerable chief, who had nearly reached his hundredth year, tranquilly expired. Having expressed a wish to be buried at Savannah, his remains were brought by water from Yamacraw, and were received at the landing-place by Oglethorpe, the Savannah magistrates, and the people. The pall was borne by the general and five other gentlemen; and the body, followed by the Indian mourners, was interred with military honours. Tooanahowi, his nephew, succeeded to the chieftain dignities, and proved as faithful and firm a friend to the English settlers as his centenarian uncle had been.[131]

[131] See "Memoir of General Oglethorpe."

Four days after his visit to Tomo Chici, Whitefield and Charles Delamotte went to Thunderbolt, a village, as it was called, about six miles distant, "and consisting of three families, four men and two women, and ten servants." Here he "expounded a chapter, and used a few collects;" and returned to Savannah, saying, "Blessed be God for strengthening my weak body!"

On Friday, June 2, he had to part with "kind Captain Whiting," and his "dear friend Delamotte, who embarked for England."[132] Concerning the latter, he writes: "The poor people lamented the loss of him, and went to the water-side to take a last farewell. And good reason had they to do so; for he has been indefatigable in feeding Christ's lambs with the sincere milk of the word, and many of them have grown thereby. Surely I must labour most heartily, since I come after such worthy predecessors. The good which Mr. John Wesley has done in America, under God, is inexpressible. His name is very precious among the people; and he has laid a foundation that I hope neither men nor devils will ever be able to shake."

[132] Though the son of a Middlesex magistrate, Charles Delamotte
was found to be almost penniless. Hence the following item
in Whitefield's account of money received for the poor of
Georgia:--"1738. May 27. Gave to Mr. Charles Delamotte, the
catechist of Savannah, to pay his passage, etc., to England, £15."
In a foot note, however, Whitefield states that this money was
refunded by the Georgia trustees.

A week later, Whitefield appointed one of his friends,[133] who had accompanied him from England, to open a school at Highgate, for the purpose of teaching the children of the French, there and at Hampstead, the English language; so that he and his successors might be able to catechise them, and bring them to church to hear the word of God. He also opened a school for girls at Savannah; another friend, "whose heart God had touched," on board the _Whitaker_, having consented to teach them. "The work," writes the hopeful and penniless young preacher, "is for my Master, and, therefore, I doubt not of being supplied, some way or another, with a sufficient fund for the support of it."

[133] This was John Doble. In Whitefield's account of money
disbursed in Georgia, are the following items:--

1738. August 26. Laid out for Highgate School and the maintenance of
the master, John Doble, as follows:--

£ _s_ _d._
Paid Mr. Gilbert, the tailor, for Mr. Doble 0 5 6

1 pair of box hinges 0 0 6

50 lb. of beef, at 2d. 0 8 4

32 lb. of biscuit, at 2d. 0 5 4

Half a bushel of corn 0 1 6

Paid for 2 months' provisions, and a quarter's washing,
and other necessaries for John Doble 2 5 0

Left him for a year's provisions and other necessaries 11 0 0

Though Whitefield was an enormous letter-writer, it is a curious fact, that, of all the letters written during his present visit to America, only one has been preserved. It is as follows:--

"SAVANNAH, _June 10, 1738_.

"DEAREST SIR,--I have been about five weeks at Savannah, where
providence seems to intend me to abide for some time. God has
graciously visited me with a fit of sickness; but now I am
as lively as a young eagle. All things have happened better
than was expected. America is not so horrid a place as it is
represented to be. The heat of the weather, lying on the ground,
etc., are mere painted lions in the way, and, to a soul filled
with divine love, not worth mentioning.[134] The country,
mornings and evenings, is exceeding pleasant, and there are
uncommon improvements made in divers places. With a little
assistance, the country people would do very well. As for my
ministerial office, God (such is His goodness) sets His seal
to it here, as at other places. We have an excellent Christian
school, and near a hundred constantly attend at evening prayers.
The people receive me gladly into their houses, and seem to be
most kindly affected towards me. I have a pretty little family,
and find it possible to manage a house without distraction.
We have provisions to feed us, though we are cut off from all
occasions to pamper our bodies. I visit from house to house,
catechise, read prayers twice and expound the two second
lessons, every day; read to a house full of people three times a
week; expound two lessons at five in the morning, read prayers
and preach twice, and expound the catechism at seven in the
evening every Sunday. What I have most at heart is the building
an orphan house, which I trust will be effected at my return to
England. In the meanwhile, I am settling little schools in and
about Savannah, that the rising generation may be bred up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord. The Lord prosper my weak
endeavours for promoting His glory and His people's good!"

[134] In a MS., found after Whitefield's death, he wrote concerning
his present visit to Georgia:--"During my stay there, the weather
was most intensely hot, sometimes almost burning me through my
shoes. Seeing others do it, I determined to inure myself to
hardiness by lying constantly on the ground. Afterwards it became a
hardship to lie upon a bed."

Such was Whitefield's Sunday and week-day work,--upon an average two and a half public services every day, and four on Sundays.