Chapter XIII: Part 13

“Greater crowds than ever flock to hear Mr. Whitefield. Dear
Lady Frances Gardiner is very active in bringing people to hear
him, to some of whom, there is reason to believe, the word has
been blessed. There is a great awakening among all classes.
Truth is great, and will prevail, though all manner of evil is
spoken against it. The fields are more than white, and ready
unto harvest, in Scotland.”[286]

Having preached twenty times in Edinburgh, Whitefield, on the 19th of July, set out for Glasgow,[287] where, on the 23rd, he wrote:――

“Friends here received me most kindly, and the congregations,
I think, are larger than ever. Yesterday” (Sunday), “besides
preaching twice in the field, I preached in the College Kirk,
being forced by Mr. Gillies. It was a blessed season. I have met
and shaken hands with Mr. Ralph Erskine. Oh, when shall God’s
people learn war no more?”

On July 27, he returned to Edinburgh;[288] and, two days later, wrote to Lady Huntingdon:――

“No one can well describe the order, attention, and earnestness
of the Scotch congregations. They are unwearied in hearing
the gospel. I left thousands sorrowful at Glasgow; and here I
was again most gladly received last night. By preaching always
twice, and once thrice, and once four times in a day, I am quite
weakened; but I hope to recruit again, and get fresh strength to
work for Jesus.”

On August 3rd, Whitefield set out for London,[289] and, at Berwick, wrote again to the Countess:――

“BERWICK, _August 4, 1750_.

“I have taken a very sorrowful leave of Scotland. The longer
I continued there, the more the congregations, and the power
that attended the word, increased. I have reason to think that
many are under convictions, and am assured that hundreds have
received great benefit and consolation. I shall have reason to
bless God to all eternity for this last visit to Scotland. Not a
dog moved his tongue all the while I was there, and many enemies
were glad to be at peace with me. Preaching so frequently, and
paying so many religious visits, weakened me very much; but I am
already better for my riding thus far. One of the ministers here
has sent me an offer of his pulpit, and I hear of about ten more
round the town who would do the same. I came here this evening”
(Friday), “and purpose to set out for Newcastle on Monday
morning.”

Such extracts as these are fragments; but, put together, they form a sort of diary, and exhibit Whitefield’s enormous labours, and his marvellous popularity and success.

When Whitefield arrived in London, Hervey had become an inmate of his house, and wrote: “Great care is taken of me. The house is very open and airy, and has no bugs, a sort of city gentry for which I have no fondness.”[290] The two friends visited Lady Gertrude Hotham, one of whose daughters was dying; and, by their joint instrumentality, the sufferer was led to the Saviour. Hervey attended Whitefield’s ministry at the Tabernacle, and speaks of him as being “in labours more abundant,” “a pattern of zeal and ministerial fidelity.”[291]

Though Whitefield had been four months from home, the time had not come for him to settle in his “_winter quarters_.” First of all, he ran off to Portsmouth, and was there when Miss Hotham died. At his return to London, he wrote:――

“September 14. I was received with great joy, and our Lord has
manifested His glory in the great congregation. I have preached
in Mr. Wesley’s chapel several times. Mr. Wesley breakfasted and
prayed with me this morning; and Mr. Hervey was so kind as to
come up and be with me in my house. He is a dear man; and, I
trust, will yet be spared to write much for the Redeemer’s glory.”

On the same day, Charles Wesley wrote, in his Journal: “I met James Hervey at the Tabernacle, and in the fellowship of the spirit of love.”

Never since they had left Oxford had the four old friends met together till now. Fifteen years had elapsed since then,――years full of strange and unforeseen adventures.

Two other clergymen were now introduced into the circle of Whitefield’s friends.

Martin Madan,――tall in stature, robust in constitution, his countenance open and majestic, his voice musical and strong, his delivery graceful, and his language plain and nervous,――was the eldest son of Colonel Madan, and bred to the study of the law. While in a coffee-house, with some of his gay companions, he was requested to go and hear Wesley preach. He went, and, on his return to the coffee-room, was asked, “if he had taken off the old Methodist?” “No,” said the young barrister, “No, gentlemen, but he has taken me off.” From that time, he abandoned his old companions, formed an acquaintance with the Countess of Huntingdon, and embraced the truth as it is in Jesus. Possessed of a private fortune of £1800 a year, he renounced his legal profession, and was now an ordained clergyman of the Church of England. He soon became immensely popular; but ultimately died, in 1790, beneath the dark cloud of his chimerical and mischievous “Thelypthora.”

Moses Browne, afterwards well known as vicar of Olney, and chaplain of Morden College, Blackheath, had never been at either of the universities, had a large family, and a slender purse. For twenty years, he had been a constant contributor to the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, and had obtained some of the prizes offered by Mr. Cave for the best poems sent to that periodical. He had enjoyed the friendship of Dr. Watts, by whose kindness he was introduced to Lady Huntingdon; and, at her house, met many of the poets and _literati_ of the day. Moses was passionately fond of dancing and of theatrical amusements; but, under the preaching of the Methodists, he had been converted, and now wanted to be a clergyman. Testimonials were signed by Hervey, Hartley, and Baddiley. Lady Huntingdon asked Hoadley, Bishop of Winchester, to ordain him; but his lordship politely refused the application. She requested the same favour of the Bishop of Worcester; and ultimately, through the interest of the Hon. Welbore Ellis, then one of the Lords of the Admiralty, ordination was obtained, and the poor poet became a successful parish priest.[292]

Both of these gentlemen are mentioned in the following letter to the Countess of Huntingdon:――

“LONDON, _September 17, 1750_.

“EVER-HONOURED MADAM,――Yesterday afternoon, I returned from
Chatham, where, I think, there is as promising a work begun as
almost in any part of England. Last night, the Redeemer’s glory
was seen in the Tabernacle; and your ladyship’s letter revived
my heart, and gave me fresh hopes for ungrateful Ashby.

“I am glad Mr. Madan is ordained; and hope Mr. Browne will be
soon. I find your ladyship has acted in the affair like yourself.
Mr. Browne is much for embarking in the cause of Christ, and, if
the D―――― would help him at this juncture, he might be a useful
and happy man. Both he and Mr. Hervey have a grateful sense of
your ladyship’s great kindness. The latter, I believe, intends
to winter with me in London. If possible, I will prevail on Mr.
Hartley to come and pay him a visit. To-morrow morning, I set
out for Gloucester, and intend coming to Birmingham, and so to
your ladyship’s.”

Whitefield reached the Countess’s residence on October 4th, and remained there the next eleven days. His past and his present proceedings may be learnt by the following extracts from his letters:――

“Ashby, October 9, 1750. I am now at the house of her ladyship,
with four other clergymen, who, I believe, love and preach
Christ in sincerity; but Ashby people reject the kingdom of God
against themselves. At Portsmouth, Chatham, Gloucestershire,
Birmingham, Wednesbury, Evesham, Nottingham, etc., our infinite
High Priest has given us pleasant seasons. I am now waiting
every day for my wife’s being delivered of her present burden,
and hope, ere long, to rejoice that a child is born into the
world. O that it may be born again, and be made an heir of the
Redeemer’s kingdom!”

“Ashby, October 11.” (To the Countess Delitz.) “Good Lady
Huntingdon goes on acting the part of a mother in Israel more
and more. For a day or two, she has had five clergymen under her
roof, which makes her ladyship look like a good archbishop with
his chaplains around him. Her house is indeed a Bethel. To us
in the ministry, it looks like a college. We have the sacrament
every morning, heavenly consolation all day, and preaching at
night. This is to _live at court_ indeed. Your ladyship, and the
other elect ladies, are never forgotten by us.”

In reference to this memorable visit, the Countess of Huntingdon wrote to Lady Fanny Shirley, as follows:――

“It was a time of refreshing from the presence of our God.
Several of our little circle have been wonderfully filled with
the love of God, and have had joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Lady Frances” (Hastings) “is rejoicing in hope of the glory of
God. It is impossible to conceive a more real happiness than
she enjoys. Dear Mr. Whitefield’s sermons and exhortations were
close, searching, experimental, awful, and awakening. Surely
God was with him. He appeared to speak of spiritual and divine
things as awful realities. Many of us could witness to the truth
of what he uttered. His discourses in the neighbouring churches
were attended with power from on high, and the kingdom of
darkness trembled before the gospel of Christ.”[293]

On Monday, October 15, Whitefield set out for what he called his “winter quarters,” in London; but, a month afterwards, he was at Canterbury, preaching with his characteristic zest and power. Despite great opposition, one of Wesley’s Societies had been formed in this venerable city, and here Wesley himself had spent three days at the beginning of the year. Now Whitefield came, and wrote: “The work increases at Canterbury. I find several souls are awakened.”

The visit of two of the Methodist chieftains to this archiepiscopal city, in the same year, was too serious an effrontery to be allowed to pass unnoticed. The Rev. John Kirkby was rector of Blackmanstone, but a rector almost without a flock, Blackmanstone, in 1831, containing only five parishioners! Mr. Kirkby’s parochial work was――what? He had ample leisure to chastise the Methodists. Accordingly, he published an 8vo. pamphlet of fifty-five pages, with the elaborate title, “The Impostor Detected; or, the Counterfeit Saint turned inside out. Containing a full discovery of the horrid blasphemies and impieties taught by those diabolical seducers called Methodists, under colour of the only _real Christianity_. Particularly intended for the use of the city of Canterbury, where that ministry of iniquity has lately begun to work. By John Kirkby, Rector of Blackmanstone, in Kent. ‘By their fruits ye shall know them’ (Matt. vii. 20). London, 1750.”

Mr. Kirkby’s pamphlet was even more rancorous than its title. He could hardly have been more vulgarly abusive if, instead of Blackmanstone, he had been rector of Billingsgate.

While at Canterbury, Whitefield wrote a letter to Mr. S――――, in Ireland, which is too characteristic to be omitted.[294]

“CANTERBURY, _November 20, 1750_.

“MY DEAR MR. S――――, As far as I can judge of the circumstances
you related to me, settling, as you propose, would not hinder,
but rather further, you in your present work. Only beware of
nestling. If you do, and God loves you, you shall have thorns
enough put into your nest. O that I may be enabled, even to the
end, to evidence that nothing but a pure disinterested love to
Christ and souls caused me to begin, go on, and hold out, in
pursuing the present work of God! I have seen so many who once
bid exceedingly fair, and afterwards, Demas-like, preferred the
world to Christ, that I cannot be too jealous over myself, or
others whom I profess to love. This is my motive in writing to
you. O let no one take away your crown. If you marry, let it be
in the Lord, and for the Lord, and then the Lord will give it
His blessing. Only remember this, marry when or whom you will,
expect trouble in the flesh. But I spare you. Seven years hence,
if we should live and meet, we can talk better of these things.
Meanwhile, let us go on leaning on our Beloved. He, and He alone,
can keep us unspotted from the world.”

Shortly after this, Whitefield had a serious illness, which he called a “violent fever,” and which kept him confined to his room nearly a fortnight. As soon as he was able, he resumed his preaching, and also his correspondence. To one of his friends, he wrote: “December 17th. Yesterday, I entered upon my seven-and-thirtieth year. I am ashamed to think I have lived so long, and done so little.” To another: “December 21. I have been near the gates of death, which has hindered my answering your kind letter as soon as I proposed. I shall be glad to know your friend’s answer about Georgia. If the Lord raises up a solid, heavenly-minded, learned young man for a tutor, I shall be glad. Nothing, I believe, but sickness or death, will prevent my going over next year. Methinks the winter is long. I want to take the field again.”

Whitefield longed to be in America; and, notwithstanding past revivals, America was in need of him. Hence the following extract from a hitherto unpublished letter, kindly lent by Mr. Stampe, of Grimsby:――

“PHILADELPHIA, _December 15, 1750_.

“REVEREND AND DEAR BROTHER,――Religion, at present, is very low
in general in this country. A great deadness prevails, and few
appear to be converted; but the Church of Christ, I trust, is,
in some measure, edified by the word of God. We wish and hope
for better times. I am glad that you are able to continue your
itinerancy, and that with such encouragement and success. May
your life and labours be long continued, and be blessed to the
great increase of Christ’s kingdom on earth, and the brightening
of your own crown in heaven!

“I am much obliged to you, dear sir, for the hope you gave me,
in a letter I received from you, of doing something among your
friends to assist us in completing the new house of public
worship, which we are erecting. Some time ago, I told you of
the difficult and necessitous state of our case; and I may now
add, that we are likely to lose many hundreds of pounds that
were promised. This is very discouraging. However, we have got
the house covered, and hope to have the pleasure of hearing
you preach in it next fall. Dear sir, as I know your hearty
good-will towards the interests of religion in general, and
towards us in particular, I cannot but believe that you will
compassionate us, and will use your best endeavours for us,
I forbear incitements to a mind that needs them not. I salute
yourself and your consort with cordial respect; and remain yours
as formerly,

“GILBERT TENNENT.”

Whitefield was always ready to assist his friends, both at home and abroad. Just at this juncture, Moses Browne, with his large family, was in pecuniary embarrassment. Lady Fanny Shirley took great interest in his case, and applied to the Duchess of Somerset[295] and others to afford him help.[296] Whitefield refers to this in the following letter to Lady Fanny:――

“LONDON, _December 25, 1750_.

“HONOURED MADAM,――Poor Mr. Browne is much obliged to your
ladyship for speaking in his behalf. He happened to be with me
when your ladyship’s letter came. The reception your kind motion
met with, convinces me more and more that, ‘Be ye warmed, and be
ye filled,’ without giving anything to be warmed and filled with,
is the farthest that most professors go. Words are cheap, and
cost nothing. I often told the poor man that his dependence was
too strong, and that I was afraid help would not come from the
quarter where he most expected. He sends ten thousand thanks
for what your ladyship has done already. Surely he is worthy.
He is a lover of Christ, and his outward circumstances are very
pitiable. Your ladyship will not be offended at the liberty
I take. You love to help the distressed to the utmost of your
power; and your ladyship shall find that good measure, pressed
down and running over, shall be returned into your bosom.”

To Whitefield, the year 1751 opened sadly. It is true, he speaks of having had “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” in London, and of many being awakened to a consciousness of their sins and danger; but his own health was shaken, his wife was “expecting an hour of travail,” and death was entering the mansion of the Countess of Huntingdon. During the whole of December, the Countess had been dangerously ill; and, at the beginning of 1751, her health declined so rapidly, that Whitefield was requested to hasten to Ashby with all the speed he could. He obeyed the summons; but, before his arrival, death had claimed a victim,――not, however, Whitefield’s honoured patroness; she was spared to the Church and the world forty years longer; but Lady Frances Hastings, sister of her late husband, was taken to the rest of the righteous; and Lady Selina, the Countess’s daughter, was extremely ill, though slowly recovering from a fever. Extracts from two of Whitefield’s letters will tell all that it is needful to relate:――

“Ashby, January 29, 1751. I rode post to Ashby, not knowing
whether I should see good Lady Huntingdon alive. Blessed be God!
she is somewhat better. Entreat all our friends to pray for her.
Her sister-in-law, Lady Frances Hastings, lies dead in the house.
She was a retired Christian, lived silently, and died suddenly,
without a groan. May my exit be like hers! Whether right or not,
I cannot help wishing that I may go off in the same manner. To
me it is worse than death, to live to be nursed, and see friends
weeping about one. Sudden death is sudden glory. But all this
must be left to our heavenly Father.”

Strangely enough, Whitefield’s wish, so often uttered, was literally fulfilled. To Lady Mary Hamilton, Whitefield wrote:――

“Ashby, January 30, 1751. I found good Lady Huntingdon very sick,
though, I trust, not unto death. The death of Lady Frances was
a translation. Almost all the family have been sick. Lady Selina
has had a fever, but is better. Lady Betty is more affected than
ever I saw her. Lady Ann bears up pretty well, but Miss Wheeler
is inconsolable. It is a house of mourning; that is better than
a house of feasting. The corpse is to be interred on Friday”
(February 1) “evening. May all who follow it, look and learn!
I mean learn to live, and learn to die.”

Whitefield remained some days after the funeral, and then returned to London, where, to use his own expression, his wife was “exceeding bad.” Three weeks afterwards, he wrote the following to Lady Huntingdon; but makes no mention, in any of his letters, of the accouchement of his wife. It is probable, that, like her last, the present child was dead:――

“LONDON, _February 26, 1751_.

“EVER-HONOURED MADAM,――It would rejoice your ladyship to see
what has been doing here. I have not known a more considerable
awakening for a long time. The Lord comes down as in the days
of old, and the shout of a king is amongst us. Praise the Lord,
O my soul! To-morrow, I purpose to leave London; but whether
the rain and wind will permit me is uncertain. At present, I am
feverish, by my late hurry and fatigue.

“Underneath your ladyship are the everlasting arms. You cannot
sink with such a prop. He is faithful, who has promised, that we
shall not be tempted above what we are able to bear. This is my
daily support. To explain God’s providence by His promise, and
not His promise by His providence, I find is the only way both
to get and to keep our comforts.”

Whitefield was detained in London a few days longer; but, early in the month of March, set out for Bristol, where the Countess of Huntingdon was then staying for the benefit of her health.

Hervey’s health was such that he was unable to accompany his friend; and, hence, Whitefield applied to the Rev. Thomas Hartley, and, as a persuasion to come, told him that the Countess would be benefited by his visit, he would have access to some of the Bristol pulpits, and, perhaps, would “catch some great fish in the gospel net.”[297]

After about a fortnight’s stay in Bristol, he started for Plymouth, preaching at Taunton and Wellington on his way. On his return, he wrote to Hervey, dating his letter, “Exeter, April 11, 1751.” He tells the amiable invalid that he would count it “a great honour and privilege” to have him as his guest for the remainder of his life. During the last month, he had had “some trying exercises;” but he had “preached about forty times,” and, in several instances, had ridden forty miles a day. He had been among Hervey’s old friends at Bideford; and had been blessed with “sweet seasons at Plymouth.”

It is impossible to determine what were the “trying exercises,” which Whitefield mentions. One was the affliction of his wife. Perhaps, another was occasioned by the insertion of a letter in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, proposing that, because “Whitefield preached that man, the chief work of God in this lower world, _by nature is half brute and half devil_,” the following lines should be inscribed on the door of Whitefield’s house, and should not be removed until he “recanted his shocking account of human nature, and declared that man is the _offspring of God_, and formed _by nature_ to approve and love what is _just_ and _good_”:――

“Here lives one by nature half brute and half devil.
Avoid him, ye wise, though he speak kind and civil.
The devil can seem like an _angel of light_,
And _dogs_ look _demure_, the better to bite.”

It is rather surprising that a squib so paltry was admitted into Mr. Cave’s respectable magazine; and yet it gave birth to a controversy, in that periodical, which lasted until the month of October next ensuing, not fewer than six different articles, for and against, being published on the subject.

Probably, another cause of Whitefield’s “trying exercises” was the publication, about this period, of the third part of Lavington’s “Enthusiasm of Methodists and Papists compared,” an 8vo. volume of four hundred and twenty pages. This was the bishop’s big gun, pointed at Wesley almost altogether, but discharging a few stray shots at Whitefield. It was not pleasant, for instance, to find the author perverting Whitefield’s honest acknowledgment of the errors into which he had unwittingly fallen, by declaring, “Whitefield has _confessed_ that he has _imposed_ upon the world by many _untruths_” (p. 263). Whitefield never confessed anything of the sort; and Dr. Lavington, Bishop of Exeter, knew, when he wrote these words, that he himself was writing an _untruth_.

Lampoons, and episcopal mendacity like this, were, without doubt, annoying. It was also a matter of profound grief, that, in the bulky volume just mentioned, his friend Wesley should be made the butt of all the sneering sarcasm which Lavington could bring to bear against him. There were likewise other annoyances, as may be gathered from the title of a pamphlet of sixteen pages, which was at this time published: “A Vindication of the Methodists and Moravians from an Assertion in a Sermon lately printed. Also some Thoughts on the Latter Times.” The “Assertion” was, that, at least, some of the Methodists and Moravians were endeavouring “to encourage and increase the Romish religion;” that it was certain that Methodism and Moravianism would “at last issue in Popery;” and that some of the present preachers would be employed in spreading it “both here, and in all our colonies and plantations abroad.” The author of the pamphlet did his best to vindicate Whitefield and his friends; but he was so full of millenarianism, that his defence was worthless, and, instead of serving the Methodists, was likely to injure them.

In the midst of all this worry and vexation, Whitefield found comfort and cause of exultation in a fact which ought to have augmented the severity of his “trying exercises:” slavery was authorised in Georgia! Read in the light of the last hundred years, the following letter, addressed to a minister in America, is, to say the least, a curious production:――

“BRISTOL, _March 22, 1751_.

“REVEREND AND VERY DEAR SIR,――My wife has been in pitiable
circumstances for some time. The Lord only knows what will
be the issue of them. This is my comfort, ‘All things work
together for good to those that love God.’ He is the Father
of mercies, and the God of all consolation. He can bring light
out of darkness, and cause the barren wilderness to smile.

“This will be verified in Georgia. Thanks be to God! that the
time for favouring that colony seems to be come. Now is the
season for us to exert ourselves to the utmost for the good of
the poor Ethiopians. We are told, that, even they are soon to
stretch out their hands unto God. And who knows but that their
being settled in Georgia maybe over-ruled for this great end?

“As to the lawfulness of keeping slaves, I have no doubt, since
I hear of some that were bought with Abraham’s money, and some
that were born in his house. I, also, cannot help thinking,
that some of those servants mentioned by the apostles, in
their epistles, were or had been slaves. It is plain that the
Gibeonites were doomed to perpetual slavery; and, though liberty
is a sweet thing to such as are born free, yet to those who
never knew the sweets of it, slavery perhaps may not be so
irksome.

“However this be, it is plain to a demonstration, that
hot countries cannot be cultivated without negroes. What a
flourishing country might Georgia have been, had the use of
them been permitted years ago! How many white people have been
destroyed for want of them, and how many thousands of pounds
spent to no purpose at all! Had Mr. Henry been in America,
I believe he would have seen the lawfulness and necessity of
having negroes there. And, though it is true that they are
brought in a wrong way from their native country, and it is
a trade not to be approved of, yet, as it will be carried on
whether we will or not, I should think myself highly favoured
if I could purchase a good number of them, to make their
lives comfortable, and lay a foundation for breeding up their
posterity in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

“You know, dear sir, that I had no hand in bringing them into
Georgia. Though my judgment was for it, and so much money
was yearly spent to no purpose, and I was strongly importuned
thereto, yet I would have no negro upon my plantation, till
the use of them was publicly allowed in the colony. Now this
is done, let us reason no more about it, but diligently improve
the present opportunity for their instruction. The Trustees
favour it, and we may never have a like prospect. It rejoiced
my soul, to hear that one of my poor negroes in Carolina was
made a brother in Christ. How know we but we may have many
such instances in Georgia before long? By mixing with your
people, I trust many of them will be brought to Jesus; and this
consideration, as to us, swallows up all temporal inconveniences
whatsoever.”

Whitefield’s letter is a distracting compound of good and evil principles. Probably it will lower his character in the estimation of not a few who read it. Be it so. The letter exists, and it would not be honest to withhold it.

From April 11th, to May 24th, when he arrived in Dublin, nothing is known of Whitefield’s work, except that, on leaving Exeter, he passed through Wales, and that, “in about three weeks,” he “rode above five hundred miles, and generally preached twice a day, and that his congregations were as large as usual.”[298] At Dublin, he became the guest of Mr. Lunell, the banker. The following extracts from his letters will furnish an idea of his work in Ireland:――

“DUBLIN, _June 1, 1751_.

“After being about five days on the water, I arrived here on the
24th ult. I have now preached fourteen times. Congregations are
large, and hear as for eternity. Last Lord’s-day, upwards of ten
thousand attended. It much resembled a Moorfields auditory. I
lodge at a banker’s, a follower of Christ.”

On Monday, June 4th, Whitefield set out for Athlone, and thence proceeded to Limerick and Cork. To Lady Huntingdon he wrote as follows:――

“Athlone, June 10. As the weather grows warmer, my body grows
weaker, and my vomitings follow me continually. For this week
past, I have been preaching twice almost every day in country
towns; and yesterday, I sounded the gospel-trumpet here.
Everywhere there seems to be a stirring among the dry bones.
Through the many offences that have been lately given, matters
were brought to a low ebb; but the cry now is, ‘Methodism is
revived again.’”[299]

A week later he says:――

“Limerick, June 14. At Athlone, I preached four times, and last
night was gladly received here at Limerick. Everywhere, our
Lord has vouchsafed us His blessed presence. This supports me
under the heat of the weather, the weakness of my body, and the
various trials which exercise my mind.”

In other letters to Lady Huntingdon, he wrote:――

“Cork, June 19. Since my last from Athlone, I have been at
Limerick, where I preached seven times to large and affected
auditories. Yesterday, I came to Cork, the seat of the late
persecution. I have preached twice, to a great body of people,
with all quietness. Both the mayor and sheriff have forbidden
all mobbing. Now have the people of God rest. Next week, I shall
return to Dublin.

“Dublin, June 28. My last, from Cork, informed your ladyship of
my having preached twice in that city. From thence, I went to
Bandon and Kinsale, where a like blessing attended the word. At
my return to Cork, I preached five or six times more, and, every
time, the power of the word and the number of hearers increased.
On Sunday evening, there might be more than three thousand
people present. Hundreds prayed for me when I took my leave;
and many of the papists said, if I would stay, they would leave
their priests. After preaching twice in the way, I came here on
Wednesday evening, where I have again published the everlasting
gospel. Next Monday, I set out for Belfast.

“Belfast, July 7, Sunday. On Wednesday evening, I came hither,
and intended immediately to embark for Scotland, but the people
prevailed on me to stay. In about an hour’s time, thousands
were gathered to hear the word. I preached morning and evening;
and, since then, have preached at Lisburn, Lurgan, the Maize,
and Lambeg, towns and places adjacent. So many attend, and the
prospect of doing good is so promising, that I am grieved I did
not come to the north sooner. The country round about is like
Yorkshire in England, and quite different from the most southern
parts of Ireland. I am now waiting for a passage to Scotland.
From thence your ladyship shall hear from me again.”

This was enormous labour for a man in feeble health; but Whitefield loved his work, and that helped to make hard things easy.

It is only fair to add, that, except at Belfast and the adjacent towns, Whitefield was treading in the steps of his old friend Wesley. At Dublin, Wesley had had a Society since 1747. He had preached at Athlone with great success as early as 1748. He had a Society in Limerick in 1749. Methodism in Cork has been already noticed. At Bandon, Wesley speaks of having had “by far the largest congregations he had seen in Ireland.” And, at Kinsale, he had preached in the Exchange, “to a few gentry, many poor people, and abundance of soldiers.”[300]

The following hitherto unpublished letter,[301] by Whitefield’s wife, belongs to this period. It was addressed to the Countess of Huntingdon.

“LONDON, _July 13, 1751_.

“HONOURED MADAM,――I am almost ashamed to write to your ladyship
now; but have not been able to write sooner. I have been so ill
since I came home, that Dr. Lobb and Dr. Nisbett have attended
me, more or less, ever since. I was in bed when I received
your ladyship’s letter, and was not able to read it. I had a
pleuritic fever, and was so low that the doctor durst not bleed
me. I am glad to hear, by Mr. Smith, that your ladyship is so
well. God be praised! O may the good Lord give your ladyship
a prosperous soul in a healthy body, to His own glory, and the
good of very many poor souls!

“Your ladyship has heard of God’s goodness to my dear honoured
master in Ireland. A gentleman writes me thus: ‘Dear Mr.
Whitefield has left Dublin very sorrowful. His going away is
lamented by many of all denominations,’ etc., etc. My master
left Dublin on the 2nd inst.; but I have not heard from him
since the 22nd of June. Here are letters from Georgia, bringing
good and bad news; the good, they are all well; the bad, they
run him behind very much. But all is well. The Lord has been and
is exceedingly good to us at the poor Tabernacle, and lets it
often be filled with His glory. O, dear madam, what am I, and
what my father’s house, that I am so highly favoured to be
called a child of God! Oh, to be a _child!_ Dear, dear madam, I
am almost lost in thought. What! to have the great Jehovah, the
God of heaven and earth, to be my Father; to make my bed in my
sickness; to be afflicted in all my affliction; to support me in
and under all my trials and temptations, and to make His abode
with me! Thinking of this has sometimes been too much for my
weak nature to bear. Oh for the time when we shall be dissolved,
and be for ever with the Lord!

“I hope your ladyship will excuse the length of this; but I
could not help it. I have not been able to write to or see the
Countess Delitz, or any friend; but hope to get strength. I
beg a share in your ladyship’s prayers; and hope this will find
your ladyship, Lady Betty, and Lady Selina in health of body and
soul, rejoicing in the Lord. This is and shall be the prayer of,
honoured madam, your ladyship’s most obliged and dutiful servant,
in our dear Lord Jesus,

“E. WHITEFIELD.”

A beautiful letter, and worthy of the woman who had the honour to be the wife of Whitefield. Her husband arrived at Glasgow on Wednesday, July 10th;[302] and, two days afterwards, wrote as follows, to the Countess of Huntingdon:――

“GLASGOW, _July 12, 1751_.

“EVER-HONOURED MADAM,――My last was from Belfast, where I
preached twice on yesterday sevennight, and immediately after
took shipping, and arrived the next evening at Irvine. At the
desire of the magistrates, I preached to a great congregation.
Since then, I have been preaching twice a day in this city.
Thousands attend every morning and evening. Though I preached
near eighty times in Ireland, and God was pleased to bless His
word, yet Scotland seems to be a new world to me. To see the
people bring so many Bibles, and turn to every passage, when
I am expounding, is very encouraging. My body is kept pretty
healthy, and my voice greatly strengthened.”

Having reached Edinburgh on Thursday, July 18th, he wrote again to Lady Huntingdon:――

“EDINBURGH, _July 30, 1751_.

“EVER-HONOURED MADAM,――I think it a long time since I last wrote
your ladyship. Continual preaching twice a day, and paying and
receiving visits, quite prevented me putting pen to paper as
I would have done. The parting at Glasgow was very sorrowful.
Numbers set out from the country, to hear the word, by three
or four o’clock in the morning. Congregations here increase
greatly. I now preach twice daily to many thousands. Many of
the best rank attend. My body is almost worn out. I have been
to Musselburgh, to see Captain Galatin and his lady. They hold
on. Mr. Wesley has been there, and intends setting up Societies,
which I think imprudent.”

Whitefield left Edinburgh on August 6th, and at Kendal, on his way to London, wrote to her ladyship again:――

“KENDAL, _August 10, 1751_.

“EVER-HONOURED MADAM,――The longer I stayed at Edinburgh, the
more eagerly both rich and poor attended on the word preached.
For near twenty-eight days, in Glasgow and Edinburgh, I preached
to near ten thousand souls every day. Ninety-four pounds were
collected for the Edinburgh orphans, and I heard of seven or
eight students, awakened about ten years ago, who are likely to
turn out excellent preachers. To the Lord of all lords be all
the glory! I am now on my way to London, in order to embark for
America. I threw up much blood in Edinburgh, but riding recruits
me.”

For the present, Whitefield’s work in England was nearly ended. On August 29, he went on board the _Antelope_, bound for Georgia with Germans, and took several destitute children with him. “Parting seasons,” said he, “have been to me dying seasons. They have broken my very heart; but it is for Jesus, and, therefore, all is well.”

It was fortunate that he got away. Without this, he probably would have died. The man was fast becoming a sort of religious suicide. Humanly speaking, his voyage to America saved, or rather prolonged, his life. On August 30th, his intimate friend, Robert Cruttenden, in a letter to the wife of Dr. Doddridge, wrote: “Yesterday I took leave of Mr. Whitefield, who is embarked for America, with little prospect of my ever seeing him again. His constitution is quite worn out with labour.”[303]

_FOURTH VISIT TO AMERICA, AND RETURN TO ENGLAND._

SEPTEMBER 1751 TO MARCH 1754.

WHITEFIELD’S sojourn in America was of short duration. He landed in October, 1751, and seven months afterwards was again in England. His time on land seems to have been spent chiefly in Georgia and South Carolina. Very little, however, is known of his proceedings. There was urgent need to recruit his health. His business affairs, also, required attention. Still, he preached, at least, occasionally. With him, preaching was almost an element of life. His departure from England was abrupt; and his return was unexpected. All that is known of his brief visit is contained in half a dozen letters.

On October 6th, when within a few hundred miles of America, he wrote, almost impatiently:――

“O that I could do something to promote the glory of God! Alas!
alas! how little have I done! My sluggish soul, stir up, and
exert thyself for Jesus!”

In a letter, dated “Bethesda, in Georgia, November 20th, 1751,” he says:――

“Blessed be God! I found the children at the Orphan House much
improved in learning; and I hope a foundation is now laid for a
useful seminary.”

In another, dated “Charleston, December 26th,” he writes:――

“What mercies, signal mercies, has the Lord Jesus conferred
on you and me! What shall we render unto the Lord? Shall we
not give Him our whole hearts? O let His love constrain us to
a holy, universal, cheerful obedience to all His commands. I am
now returning to the Orphan House, which I trust will be like the
burning bush. My poor labours are accepted here. In the spring,
I purpose going to the Bermudas. Jesus is very good to me. Help
me to praise Him.”

To Mr. Lunell, of Dublin, he wrote:――

“BETHESDA, _January, 25, 1752_.

“VERY DEAR SIR,――Man appoints, but God disappoints. Though we
missed seeing each other on earth, yet, if Jesus Christ be our
life, we shall meet in the kingdom of heaven. Your kind letter
found me employed for the fatherless in this wilderness. I am
now almost ready to enter upon my spring campaign. The news from
Ireland does not at all surprise me. Weak minds soon grow giddy
with power; and then they become pests, instead of helps, to the
Church of God.”

To his friend Hervey, Whitefield addressed the following:――

“CHARLESTON, _February, 1, 1752_.

“The Orphan House is in a flourishing way; and, I hope, will
yet become a useful seminary. My poor labours, in this place,
meet with acceptance. After one more trip to Georgia, I purpose
setting out upon my spring campaign. I wish Lisbon may be
blessed to Dr. Doddridge. O, how I wish that dear Dr. Stonehouse
was fully employed in preaching the everlasting gospel! I hope
you both see our good Lady Huntingdon frequently. I was rejoiced
to hear, from my dear yoke-fellow, that her ladyship was bravely.”

Dr. Doddridge had embarked, for Lisbon, a month after Whitefield embarked for America. For three months past, he had been in heaven. Immediately after writing the foregoing letter, Whitefield became acquainted with the fact. Hence the following:――

“CHARLESTON, _February 5, 1752_.

“Part of your first letter――I mean that respecting the
Tabernacle House――gave me uneasiness; but your last removed
it, and made me thankful to our Redeemer, who, in spite of
all opposition, will cause His word to run and be glorified.
Poor Mr. Wesley is striving against the stream.[304] Strong
assertions will not go for proofs, with those who are sealed by
the Holy Spirit even to the day of redemption. They know that
the covenant of grace is not built upon the faithfulness of a
poor fallible, changeable creature, but upon the never-failing
faithfulness of an unchangeable God. This is the foundation
whereon I build. ‘Lord Jesus, I believe, help my unbelief!
Having once loved me, Thou wilt love me to the end. Thou wilt
keep that safe, which I have committed unto Thee. Establish
Thy people more and more in this glorious truth; and grant that
it may have this blessed effect upon us all, that we may love
Thee more, and serve Thee better!’ All truths, unless productive
of holiness and love, are of no avail. They may float upon the
surface of the understanding; but this is to no purpose, unless
they transform the heart. I trust, the dear Tabernacle preachers
will always have this deeply impressed upon their minds. Let us
not dispute, but love. Truth is great, and will prevail. I am
quite willing that all our hearers shall hear for themselves.
The spirit of Christ is a spirit of liberty. Let us look above
names and parties. Let Jesus, the ever-loving, the ever-lovely
Jesus, be our all in all. So that He be preached, and His Divine
image stamped more and more upon people’s souls, I care not who
is uppermost. I know my place, (Lord Jesus, enable me to keep
it!) even to be the servant of all. I want not to have a people
called after my name, and, therefore, I act as I do. The cause
is Christ’s, and He will take care of it. I rejoice that you go
on so well at the Tabernacle. May the shout of a king be always
in the midst of you! I am apt to believe you will pray me
over. But future things belong to Him, whose I am, and whom
I endeavour to serve. After one more trip to the Orphan House,
I purpose going northward.

“Thanks be to God! all is well at Bethesda. A most excellent
tract of land is granted to me, very near the house, which, in
a few years, I hope, will make a sufficient provision for it.
Dr. Doddridge, I find, is gone. Lord Jesus, prepare me to follow
after!”

Whitefield did not go to “the Bermudas,” nor yet “northward,” as he intended.[305] About two months after the date of the foregoing letter, he suddenly set sail for England. Why was this? Nothing has yet been published to explain it. The following letter, now for the first time printed, solves the difficulty. It was addressed, “To Mr. Blackwell, banker, in Lombard Street, London”:――

“PORTSMOUTH, _May 21, 1752_.

“MY DEAR MR. BLACKWELL,――I fully purposed to have written
to you when I was at Charleston, in South Carolina; but my
sudden resolution to embark for England prevented me. God has
vouchsafed to bless me, in respect to the Orphan House, in a
very unexpected manner. To put it upon a proper footing, and
to apply for some privileges, before the time of the Trustees’
Charter be expired, is what has called me home so speedily. Home,
did I say? I trust heaven is my home; and it is my comfort that
it is not far off. Surely this body will not hold out always.
Yet a little while, and our Lord will come, and take us to
Himself, that where He is, there we may be also.

‘There pain and sin and sorrow cease,
And all is calm and joy and peace.’

“I wish you and yours much of this heaven upon earth. Looking
unto Jesus is the only way of drawing it down into our souls.
Out of His fulness, we all receive grace for grace. We have an
open-handed, an open-hearted Redeemer. He giveth liberally, and
upbraideth not. O for power from on high to set forth the riches
of redeeming love! In a few days I hope to attempt a little of
this in London. I beg your prayers. I thank you heartily for
all favours; and, with cordial salutations to your _whole self_,
subscribe myself, dear sir, yours most affectionately in our
common Lord,

“G. WHITEFIELD.”

During his absence, Whitefield’s beloved mother had exchanged mortality for life; but this was not the reason of his sudden return to England. The affairs of his Orphan House brought him back――affairs which will often be introduced to the reader’s notice in succeeding letters.

On reaching London, one of his first efforts was to procure a minister for a Dissenting church at Charleston. On May 26th, he wrote:――

“People have received me with great affection; and I never saw
the work of God go on in a more promising way. Thousands and
thousands hear the word gladly.

“I wish I could send you good news about your minister; but,
alas! I now almost despair of procuring one. I waited upon
Dr. G―――― immediately after my arrival; but he gave me no hopes.
Several of the large congregations in London, besides many more
in the country, are without pastors; and are obliged to make use
of our preachers. O that the Lord of the harvest may thrust out
more labourers! Who can tell but some ministers may be raised up
at Bethesda?

“At midsummer, the king takes Georgia into his own hands.
Blessed be God! for sending me over at such a juncture. I
am come to a determination, if I can dispose of Providence
plantation, (in South Carolina,) to carry all my strength to
the Orphan House.”

Besides endeavouring to provide a minister for Charleston, Whitefield was requested to render another service; for which he had no adaptation. His friend Hervey, who was writing “Theron and Aspasio,” sent him some of the manuscripts for his revision, at the same time promising him £30 for the purchase of a negro slave! Whitefield replied:――

“_June 9, 1752._

“I have read your manuscripts; but for me to play the critic on
them, would be like holding up a candle to the sun. I think to
call your intended purchase _Weston_, and shall take care to
remind him by whose means he was brought under the everlasting
gospel.”

Having employed about a month in London, Whitefield, in the third week of June, set out for Portsmouth; and thence to Bath, where he spent about three weeks with the Countess of Huntingdon, and preached every evening to great numbers of the nobility. Here also he became acquainted with Mrs. Grinfield, a lady of high position, who attended on Queen Caroline. “The Court,” says Whitefield, “rings of her; and, if she stands, I trust she will make a glorious martyr for her blessed Lord.”[306]

Four days were employed at Bristol, where he preached nine times. He writes:――

“Very near as many as attended at Moorfields came out every
evening to hear the word. I have reason to believe much good was
done. Old times seemed to be revived again. The last evening, it
rained a little, but few moved. I was wet, and contracted a cold
and hoarseness; but I trust preaching will cure me. This is my
grand catholicon.”

On July 17, Whitefield went to Wales, where he spent a fortnight, preached twenty times, and travelled about three hundred miles.

Though Whitefield had resigned his office of moderator of the Calvinistic Methodists, and though he had often declared his determination not to form a sect, he still, occasionally, attended “Associations.” Howell Harris had recently seceded from his old friends, and, in the month of April of this selfsame year, had laid the foundation of his unique establishment at Trevecca. The schism had thrown affairs into great confusion; and, perhaps, this was the reason why Whitefield attended conferences, of which, strictly speaking, he was not a member. In a letter, dated “Bristol, August 1, 1752,” he writes:――

“In my way hither, we held an Association. There were present
about nine clergy, and near forty other labourers. I trust all
of them are born of God, and desirous to promote His glory, and
His people’s good. All was harmony and love.”

On his way back to London, he held another Association, in Gloucestershire.[307] After so many declarations that he would not attach himself to any party, Methodist or Moravian, there is considerable inconsistency in these proceedings, and the only way to explain the difficulty is to suppose, that, in the largeness of his heart, he was acting the part of a peacemaker among his old associates, and endeavouring to put an end to their hurtful strifes.

Benjamin Franklin was now acquiring a European reputation. He had satisfactorily explained the phenomena of the Leyden jar, and, in this year of 1752, had established the identity between lightning and the electric fluid. Up to the present, electricity was a science which could hardly be said to consist of more than a collection of unsystematized and ill-understood facts. Franklin’s discoveries led to remarkable results, and his fame was established. The long-continued friendship, existing between Whitefield and Franklin, was an odd incident in the great preacher’s life. In addressing Franklin, Whitefield never fawned; he was always faithful. Franklin disbelieved the chief doctrines Whitefield preached; but he respected the good intentions, the zeal, the benevolence, the honesty of the man. On his return from Wales, to London, Whitefield wrote to Franklin the following characteristic letter:――

“LONDON, _August 17, 1752_.

“DEAR MR. FRANKLIN,――I find that you grow more and more famous
in the learned world. As you have made a pretty considerable
progress in the mysteries of electricity, I would now humbly
recommend to your diligent unprejudiced pursuit and study the
mystery of the new birth. It is a most important, interesting
study, and, when mastered, will richly repay you for all your
pains. One, at whose bar we are shortly to appear, hath solemnly
declared, that, without it ‘we cannot enter into the kingdom
of heaven.’ You will excuse this freedom. I must have _aliquid
Christi_ in all my letters.

“I am yet a willing pilgrim for His great name’s sake, and I
trust a blessing attends my poor feeble labours. To the giver
of every good gift be all the glory! My respects await yourself
and all enquiring friends; and hoping to see you once more in
the land of the living, I subscribe myself, dear sir, your very
affectionate friend, and obliged servant,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”