Chapter VII: Trevecca College: Visit to Switzerland, Etc (2)

Walter Sellon occupies a rather unique position in Methodistic annals. He died in 1792, at the age of seventy-seven; and yet of the first thirty, and the last twenty-two years of his life, hardly anything is known. Dr. Abel Stevens, in his “History of Methodism,” says Sellon was originally a baker; but I know of no authority for this, except Toplady’s, whose hatred and abuse of Sellon were such as to justify a hesitancy in believing a statement concerning his stout antagonist, which he intended to be injurious to his fame. Sellon was born in the year 1715; but up to the year 1745 he had not been introduced to Wesley. In a letter to Wesley, dated December 31, 1744, he states, that, until recently, he had condemned him as “an innovator,” and had “pitied those who followed” him. But, having heard Wesley preach, and having read his sermon on “Scriptural Christianity,” delivered before the Oxford University on August 24, 1744, his opinions concerning him and his followers were entirely changed; and he now requested Wesley, when he had an opportunity, to preach at Maidenhead, “where drunkenness, adultery, profaneness, gaming, and almost every abominable vice, were not only committed with greediness, but gloried in, and boasted of.”[185] Whether Wesley went to Maidenhead, which seems to have been Sellon’s place of residence, is not known; but, three years and a half afterwards, when he opened his famous Kingswood School, Walter Sellon was appointed the Headmaster “for the Classics.”[186] About the year 1754, Sellon received episcopal ordination, and became curate of the churches of Smisby, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and of Breedon, where vast multitudes flocked to hear him, “not only from adjacent towns and villages, but frequently from places ten, fifteen, and twenty miles distant.” “He was a real Methodist,” wrote Jonathan Edmondson, “and hundreds were turned to God through his instrumentality.”[187] Sellon enjoyed the confidential friendship of Wesley, and especially of Wesley’s brother Charles; and, about the time of his appointment to his curacies, stood faithfully by them in their contentions with the most able and prominent of their itinerant preachers, concerning the separation of the Methodists from the Established Church. All his publications were controversial; and all, except his first, were written specially in defence of the anti-Calvinian doctrines Wesley taught. This is not the place to review Walter Sellon as an author. Suffice it to say, that he was always powerful, rather than polite; and that, after his first publication, in 1765, which was levelled at Socinianism, he prepared a second in 1768, which was entitled, “Arguments against the Doctrine of General Redemption considered.” Without noticing, at present, the subsequent writings of Sellon, it is enough to add, that, about the year 1770, he was presented by the Earl of Huntingdon to the Vicarage of Ledsham, in Yorkshire, where he lived and laboured until his death, on June 13, 1792.[188] In an unpublished manuscript, John Pawson says:—

“I do not believe Mr. Sellon was made the instrument of awakening a
single soul after he came to Ledsham. He was tutor to young Mr.
Medhurst, of Kippax, who lately murdered his wife, and would have
murdered his mother some years ago, if my brother Tarboton had not
rescued her at the hazard of his own life. While in that family, Mr.
Sellon seemed to lose all spirit and life, and, as far as I could
learn, had very little savour of godliness about him. He took not the
least notice of the Methodists, no more than if he had never known
them.”

Footnote 185:

_Arminian Magazine_, 1778, p. 327.

Footnote 186:

Myles’ “Chronological History of the Methodists.”

Footnote 187:

_Wesleyan Methodist Magazine_, 1856, p. 38.

Footnote 188:

_Wesleyan Methodist Magazine_, 1856, p. 41.

John Pawson was one of Wesley’s most honest and hardworking itinerants; but he sometimes was more severe in his strictures than was desirable. His remark, however, concerning Sellon’s abandonment of the Methodists was probably correct; for Wesley, in a letter dated June 10, 1784, wrote to him: “You used to meet me when I came near you; but you seem, of late, to have forgotten your old friend and brother.”[189]

Footnote 189:

Wesley’s Works, vol. xiii., p. 43.

To return to Fletcher. He and Sellon were well known to each other. Four years ago, they had exchanged pulpits for a season, Sellon preaching at Madeley, and Fletcher at Smisby and Breedon-on-the-Hill. Now Sellon was entering the arena of controversy. The expulsion of the Methodist students from Oxford University, in 1768, had been the means, incidentally, of bringing some of the chief doctrines of Calvinism into public notice. Sir Richard Hill, in defending the students, had warmly advocated Calvinistic predestination. Dr. Nowell, in answering Sir Richard, had clearly shown that this predestination was not the doctrine of the Church of England. Toplady had rushed to the rescue of his favourite dogma, and had published his translation of “Zauchius,” and also his “Letter to Dr. Nowell.” Sellon was the first of Wesley’s friends who entered the lists, by preparing and publishing his “Arguments against the Doctrine of General Redemption considered. London, 1769.” 12mo. 178 pp. Wesley encouraged him, and so did Fletcher. The former wrote as follows:—

“WAKEFIELD, _July 9, 1768_.

“MY DEAR BROTHER,—I am glad you have undertaken the ‘Redemption
Redeemed;’ but you must in no wise forget Dr. Owen’s answer to it:
otherwise you will leave a loop-hole for all the Calvinists to creep
out. The Doctor’s evasions you must needs cut in pieces, either
interweaving your answers with the body of the work, under each head,
or adding them in marginal notes.

“Your ever affectionate brother,
“J. WESLEY.”[190]

Footnote 190:

Wesley’s Works, vol. xiii. p. 41.

After the book was published, Fletcher wrote to Sellon the following letter, plainly showing that the great Calvinian controversy, though as yet in its incipient state, was causing considerable commotion:—

“MADELEY, _October 7, 1769_.

“MY DEAR BROTHER,—I thank you for your letter and books. They came
safe to hand, and I shall give you the amount at the first
opportunity. I have inquired what the Calvinists think; but they
choose to be silent,—a sign that they have not any great thing to
object. Mr. R——[191] looked at your book here in my house, and
objected to Ελεησω ον αν ελεω, Rom. ix. 15. He says, ελεω is, ‘I have
mercy,’ not ‘I should have mercy.’ I observed to Mr. Glascott, ‘It is
the subjunctive mood, and may take the sign should, would, or could,
according to the analogy of faith.’

“I long to see Coles[192] answered. My request to you is, that you
would answer him in the cool manner you have the Synod;[193] and my
prayer to God is, that you may be assisted for that important work.

“I know two strong Calvinist believers, who lately took their leave of
this world with, ‘I shall be damned.’ O, what did all their
professions of perseverance do for them? They left them in the lurch.
May we have the power of God in our souls, and we shall readily leave
unknown decrees to others.

“The Lord give you patience with your brethren! The best way to
confound them is, to preach that kingdom of God which they cast away,
with real righteousness, and present peace and joy in believing; that
is poison to the synodical kingdom.

“I despair of seeing you before I have seen Switzerland, which I
design to visit next winter. Mr. Ireland takes me as far as Lyons in
my way.

“There are some disputes in Lady Huntingdon’s College; but when the
power of God comes, they drop them. The Calvinists are three to one.
Your book I have sent them as a hard nut for them to crack.

“May the Lord spare you, and make you a free, joyful soldier of the
Lord Jesus; as tough against sin and unbelief as you are against
Calvin and the Synod! The Lord has overruled your leaving Smisby for
good. Let us trust in Him, and all will be well. Farewell.

“JOHN FLETCHER.”[194]

Footnote 191:

Probably Romaine, who was at Berwick, near Shrewsbury, on September 9,
1769, and wrote a letter full of his strongest Calvinism. (See
Romaine’s Works, vol. vi., p. 330. Edition 1813.)

Footnote 192:

Elisha Coles, a clerk to the East India Company, who died in 1688. His
“Practical Discourse of God’s Sovereignty,” here referred to, was
answered by Sellon a year or two afterwards.

Footnote 193:

The Synod of Dort, held at Dort in 1618 and 1619, and consisting of
thirty-eight Dutch and Walloon divines, five professors of the Dutch
Universities, and twenty-one Lay-elders; besides twenty-eight foreign
divines, from England and other countries. At this celebrated Synod,
the five points of difference between the Calvinists and Arminians
were decided in favour of the former. Sellon, in his able book,
controverts this decision, at all events so far as the doctrine of
predestination is concerned.

Footnote 194:

Fletcher’s Works, vol. viii., p. 205.

This episode respecting Walter Sellon is not irrelevant, and is of considerable importance, inasmuch as it relates, in part, to the rise of the great Calvinian controversy of the last century, in which Fletcher became one of the chief actors. Sellon’s book, in favour of the doctrine of “General Redemption,” was the first published by Wesley’s adherents, and is exceedingly able; but this is not the place to analyse and give an account of it.

Seventeen years had elapsed since Fletcher left his father’s house in Switzerland. He had now decided to pay a visit to the place of his nativity, and to travel as far as the south of France with his generous friend, Mr. Ireland, of Brislington, Bristol. The following letter to Mr. Ireland refers to this contemplated visit, and to another matter, which must be noticed:—

“MADELEY, _December 30, 1769_.

“MY DEAR FRIEND,—Last night, I received your obliging letter, and am
ready to accompany you to Montpelier, provided you will go with me to
Nyon. I shall raise about twenty guineas, and, with that sum, a
gracious Providence, and your purse, I hope we shall want for nothing.
If the Lord sends me, I should want nothing, though I had nothing, and
though my fellow-traveller were no richer than myself.

“I hope to be at Bristol soon, to offer you my services to pack up.
You desired to have a Swiss servant, and I offer myself to you in that
capacity; for I shall be no more ashamed of serving you, as far as I
am capable of doing, than I am of wearing your livery.

“Two reasons (to say nothing of the pleasure of your company) engage
me to go with you to Montpelier,—a desire to visit some poor Huguenots
in the south of France, and the need I have to recover a little French
before I go to converse with my compatriots.

“The priest at Madeley is going to open his mass-house, and I declared
war on that account last Sunday, and propose to strip the whore of
Babylon and expose her nakedness to-morrow. All the papists are in a
great ferment, and have held meetings to consult on the occasion. One
of their bloody bullies came ‘to pick up a quarrel’ with me, as he
said, and what would have been the consequence had I not had company
with me I know not. How far more rage may be kindled to-morrow I don’t
know; but I question whether it will be right for me to leave the
field in these circumstances. I forgot to mention that two of our poor
ignorant Churchmen are about to join the mass-house, which also is the
cause of my having taken up arms.”[195]

Footnote 195:

Letters, 1791, p. 208.

Fletcher preached his anti-popery sermon as he intended, taking as his text 1 Tim. iv. 1–3: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that, in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” An outline of the sermon may be found in Fletcher’s Collected Works, vol. vii., p. 490. As the people were leaving the church, a man, who acted as the spokesman of the papists present, cried, “There was not a word of truth in the whole sermon;” and then, turning to Fletcher, assured him that he would shortly produce a gentleman who would refute all that he had said. The threat was not fulfilled;[196] and Benson, in his “Life of Fletcher,” first published in 1804, remarks:—

“By Mr. Fletcher’s bold and prudent stand the designs of the papists
were in a great measure frustrated, and they were prevented making any
progress worth mentioning in Madeley. It is true there is even now a
mass-house and a priest at Madeley, but I find, upon inquiry, there
are not a dozen Popish families in the parish.”

Footnote 196:

Fletcher’s Works, vol. vii., p. 494.

Fletcher’s intended visit to Switzerland was, for a little while, deferred; because he deemed it his duty to await the threatened refutation of his anti-popish sermon. Hence, early in January 1770, he went to Trevecca; probably for the purpose of meeting Joseph Benson, who was about to become head master of the college.

Joseph Benson was now nearly twenty-two years of age, and for the last four years had been the classical master of Wesley’s school at Kingswood, and was at present keeping terms at Oxford. His acquaintance with Fletcher was slight, but his admiration of him great. He writes:—

“I had only had two or three interviews with Mr. Fletcher, which were,
I think, in the year 1768, when I was classical master at Kingswood
school. As he occasionally made an excursion from Madeley to Bristol
and Bath, in one of these excursions we invited him to preach at
Kingswood. He came, and took as his text, ‘Him that cometh unto Me I
will in no wise cast out.’ The people were exceedingly affected;
indeed quite melted down. The tears streamed so fast from the eyes of
the poor colliers that their black faces were washed by them. As to
himself, he was carried out so far beyond his strength that, when he
concluded, he put off his shirt, which was as wet as if it had been
dipped in water. But this was nothing strange; whenever he preached it
was generally the case. From this time, I conceived a particular
esteem for him, chiefly on account of his piety; and wished much for a
further acquaintance with him, a blessing which I soon after obtained;
for through his means, and in consequence of Mr. Wesley’s
recommendation to the Countess of Huntingdon, I was made head master
of the academy, or, as it was commonly called, the college, at
Trevecca, though I could ill be spared from Kingswood, where I had
acted in that capacity about four years. Being greatly wanted at
Kingswood, and having likewise a term to keep at Oxford, I could only
pay them a short visit for the present, which was in January 1770; but
in the spring following, I went to reside there, and for some time was
well satisfied with my situation.”[197]

Footnote 197:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

No record exists of what transpired between Fletcher and Benson at Trevecca; but the following letter, written there, and addressed to Mr. Ireland, deserves insertion:—

“TREVECCA, _January 13, 1770_.

“MY DEAR FRIEND,—I know not what to think of our journey. My heart
frequently recoils. I have lost all hope of being able to preach in
French, and I think if I could they would not permit me. I become more
stupid every day; my memory fails me in a surprising manner. I am good
for nothing, but to go and bury myself in my parish. I have those
touches of misanthropy which make solitude my element. Judge, then,
whether I am fit to go into the world. On the other hand, I fear that
your journey is undertaken partly from complaisance to me, and in
consequence of the engagement we made to go together. I acquit you of
your promise; and, if your business does not really demand your
presence in France, I beg you will not think of going there on my
account. The bare idea of giving you trouble would make the journey
ten times more disagreeable to me than the season of the year.

“The day after I wrote to you I preached the sermons against popery,
which I had promised to my people; and Mr. S—t—r called out several
times in the churchyard, as the people went out of church, that ‘there
was not one word of truth in the whole of my discourse, and that he
would prove it.’ He also told me that he would produce a gentleman who
should answer my sermon and the pamphlet I had distributed. I was,
therefore, obliged to declare in the church that I should not quit
England, and was only going into Wales, from whence I would return
soon to reply to the answer of Mr. S—t—r and the priest, if they
should offer any. I am thus obliged to return to Madeley by my word so
publicly pledged, as well as to raise a little money for my journey.
Were it not for these circumstances, I believe I should pay you a
visit at Bristol, notwithstanding my misanthropy.

“The hamper which you mention, and for which I thank you, provided it
be the last, arrived three days before my departure, but not knowing
what it was, nor for whom it was intended, I put it into my cellar
without opening it. I want the _living water_ rather than cider, and
righteousness more than clothes. I fear, however, lest my unbelief
should make me set aside the fountain whence it flows, as I did your
hamper. Be that as it may, it is high time to open the treasures of
Divine mercy, and to seek in the heart of Jesus for the springs of
love, righteousness, and life. The Lord give us grace so to seek that
we may find, and be enabled to say with the woman in the Gospel, ‘I
have found the piece of silver which I had lost.’

“If your affairs do not really call you to France I will wait until
Providence and grace shall open a way to me to the mountains of
Switzerland, if I am ever to see them again. Adieu! Give yourself
_wholly_ to God. A divided heart, like a divided kingdom, falls
naturally by its own gravity either into darkness or into sin. My
heart’s desire is that the love of Jesus may fill your soul, and that
of your unworthy and greatly obliged servant,

“JOHN FLETCHER.”[198]

Footnote 198:

Letters, 1791, p. 210.

The journey to Switzerland was deferred, but took place; though no one seems to know the exact date when it was begun or when it ended. In the month of July, however, Fletcher was again in England. Strangely enough, there is no letter of his that refers to the extensive tour made by him and his friend Ireland; but the latter sent the following account to Mr. Benson:—

“I was with Mr. Fletcher, day and night, nearly five months,
travelling all over Italy and France. At that time, a popish priest
resided in his parish, who attempted to mislead the poor people. Mr.
Fletcher, therefore, throughout this journey, attended the sermons of
the Roman Catholic clergy, visited their convents and monasteries, and
conversed with all the most serious among them whom he met with, in
order that he might know their sentiments concerning spiritual
religion. He was so very particular in making observations respecting
the gross and absurd practices of the priests and other clergy,
especially while we were in Italy, that we were frequently in no small
danger of our lives. He wished to attend the Pope’s chapel at Rome,
but I would not consent to accompany him till I had obtained a promise
from him that he would forbear to speak by way of censure or reproof
of what he saw or heard. He met with many men of science and learning,
with whom he conversed freely on Gospel truths, which most of them
opposed with violence. A few listened and were edified. His whole
life, as you well know, was a sermon; all his conversations were
sermons. Even his disputations with infidels were full of instruction.
We met with a gentleman of fortune, an excellent classical scholar,
with whom we continued near a fortnight at an hotel. He said he had
travelled all over Europe, and had passed through all the Societies in
England to find a person whose life corresponded with the Gospels and
with Paul’s Epistles. He asked me (for it was with me he first began
to converse) if I knew any clergyman or dissenting minister in
England, possessed of a stipend of £100 a year for the cure of souls,
who would not leave them all if he were offered double that amount. I
replied in the affirmative, and pointed to my friend Fletcher; when
disputations commenced, which continued for many days.”[199]

Footnote 199:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

Mr. Gilpin, in Fletcher’s “Portrait of St. Paul,” adds to this account. He says:—

“This debate was continued, by adjournment, for the space of a week.
Whatever had been said upon the subject by the most celebrated writers
was brought forward, and thoroughly discussed. Mr. Fletcher repeatedly
overcame his antagonist, who regularly lost his temper and his cause
together. Mr. Fletcher took a view of the Christian’s enviable life,
his consolation in trouble, and his tranquillity in danger; together
with his superiority to all the evils of life and the horrors of
death; interspersing his remarks with affectionate admonitions and
powerful persuasives to a rational dependence upon the truths of the
Gospel. At the conclusion of this memorable debate, the unsuccessful
disputant conceived so exalted an idea of his opponent’s character,
that he never afterwards mentioned his name but with peculiar
veneration and regard; and when they met again, eight years later, in
Provence, where the gentleman lived in affluence, he showed Mr.
Fletcher every possible civility, entertained him at his house in the
most hospitable manner, and listened to his conversation on spiritual
subjects with all imaginable attention and respect.”

Mr. Gilpin mentions another incident of the same kind. Fletcher, in his travels, met a young gentleman from Genoa, who had imbibed the infidel notions of the day. They had a debate, which lasted several days, from morning till night. The sceptic was vanquished, and was so struck with the masterly skill of Fletcher, and his more than parental concern, that, before they parted, he looked up to his instructor with reverence, listened to him with admiration, and desired to be present at morning and evening prayer.[200]

Footnote 200:

“Portrait of St. Paul.”

While at Marseilles, Mr. Ireland procured for Fletcher the use of a Protestant church in that neighbourhood; but the engagement to preach in it caused Fletcher great anxiety, probably because he had lost his facility in speaking the French language. He prayed about it earnestly all the week; and when Sunday morning came, he entreated Mr. Ireland to inform the minister of the church that he was unable to fulfil his engagement. Mr. Ireland refused; and Fletcher was compelled to ascend the pulpit, where he preached with such effect, that the whole congregation, among whom were many ministers, were in tears.[201]

He determined, while in the south of France, to visit the Protestants in the Cevennes mountains, whose fathers had suffered so severely in the cause of Christ; “the heretics of the Cevennes, those accursed remainders of the old Albigenses,” as the Bull of Clement XI., dated 1703, designated them. The journey was long and difficult, but no argument could prevail with him to abandon his resolution of attempting it on foot. “Shall I,” said he to his friend Ireland, “make a visit on horseback and at ease, to those poor cottagers, whose fathers were hunted along the rocks, like partridges upon the mountains? No: I will visit them under the plainest appearance, with my staff in my hand.” Accordingly, he set out alone, and, after travelling till it was nearly dark, he entered a small house, and begged the favour of being allowed to sit in a chair till morning. The master of the cottage, after some hesitation, consented. Conversation followed; the host and hostess were charmed; the best provisions in their humble dwelling were given to the traveller; and, before they retired to rest, prayer was proposed and offered. Early on the morrow, the strange visitant renewed his conversation and his prayers; father, mother, and children were melted into tears; and the poor man himself told his neighbours that he had nearly refused to admit a stranger into his house, who was more an angel than a man. The family were papists.

Continuing his journey, Fletcher reached a small town, where he was entertained by a pious minister, to whom he had been recommended. The Protestants received him with open arms. He conversed with their elders; admonished their youth; visited their sick; and preached with freedom and success. Many among them were comforted, and many built up in their most holy faith.

Footnote 201:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

As he travelled over the mountains, he, one day, put up in a small dwelling, whose master could hardly speak without uttering an oath. Of course, Fletcher, in his own peculiar way, reproved the swearer; and, with such effect, that the man confessed his sin; and ever afterwards, when in danger of falling into his old habit, nothing more was necessary to restrain him than to remember the saintly stranger who had once obtained a lodging beneath his humble roof.[202]

Footnote 202:

Gilpin’s “Notes to Portrait of St. Paul.”

Fletcher and Mr. Ireland proceeded from France to Italy, and traversed the celebrated Appian Way. As they approached it, Fletcher directed the driver to stop; for, said he to Mr. Ireland, “I cannot _ride_ over ground where the Apostle Paul once _walked_, chained to a soldier.” As soon as he set his foot upon the old Roman road, he took off his hat; and, walking on with his eyes lifted up to heaven, he gave God thanks for the glorious truths which Paul preached. He rejoiced that, in England, these truths were still published; and prayed that they might be revived in Italy. He reviewed the life, the travels, the labours, and the sufferings of the great Apostle, his remarks being intermixed with prayer and praise, and the man himself resembling an incarnation of devotion.[203]

Footnote 203:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

On arriving in Switzerland, he was at once solicited by the clergy at Nyon to occupy their pulpits. He complied with their requests; and, wherever he was announced to preach, multitudes from all quarters flocked to hear him. Even deists listened to him with admiration, and the crowds seemed to think him more than human. Despisers of revelation were overawed and confounded; formalists were roused; and careless sinners startled. One of his converts betook himself to sacred studies, and became a Protestant minister at Lyons. When the time for Fletcher’s departure came, a good old minister, of more than threescore years and ten, besought him, with indescribable earnestness, to stay a little longer, even were it only for a single week; and, when he found that this was impracticable, the old gentleman burst into tears, and, addressing Mr. Ireland, cried, “Oh, Sir, how unfortunate for my country! During my lifetime, it has produced but one angel of a man, and now it is our lot to lose him!” At length the carriage, that was to bear away the travellers, appeared; multitudes crowded round about it, anxious to receive a last word or look; and not a few followed it for above two miles, before they could summon sufficient resolution to bid farewell to their saintly compatriot whom they had learned to love so much.[204]

Footnote 204:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

Fletcher reached England about the time of midsummer 1770. His tour had done him good, and had prepared him for the more than ordinary trials that awaited him.