1 
 
 I 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
THE 
 
 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 OF THE REVEREND 
 
 GEORGE WHITEFIELD, M.A. 
 
 BY 
 
 ROBERT PHILIP, 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE EXPERIMENTAL GUIDES, ETC. ETC. ETC. 
 
 lEUtU'on, 
 
 " Thou art permitted to speak for thyself." ACTS. 
 " That seraphic man !" REED. 
 
 LONDON : 
 GEORGE VIRTUE, IVY LANE. 
 
 ;~^ IT 7] 
 

 
PREFAC E. 
 
 THIS Work is chiefly from Whitefield's own pen. So 
 far as it is mine, it is in his own spirit. It will, there- 
 fore, help all that is good, and expose not a little of what 
 is wrong, in all churches ; and thus, like his actual life, 
 tell upon both. At least, if it fail to do this, my object 
 will be defeated. Should its honest catholicity commend 
 it, it may be followed by similar " Annals and Illus- 
 trations of Evangelical Preaching," from the dawn of 
 the Reformation to the close of the last century. 
 
 In regard to the style of this "Work I have nothing to 
 say ; except that it is my own way of telling the facts of 
 personal history. 
 
 R. P. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. PAGE 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S EARLY LIFE, EDUCATION, AND ORDINATION . . 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 WHITEFIELD'S INTRODUCTION TO LONDON . . . .47 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 WHITEFIELD'S FIRST VOYAGE AND VISIT TO GEORGIA . . 55 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 WHITEFIELD'S FIRST GREAT MEASURES IN LONDON, 1739 . 73 ^ 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 WHITEFIELD'S FIRST VISITS TO THE COTTNTPY . . .97 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 WHITEFIELD IN WALES . . . . . . .110 
 
 - . . 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD IN AMERICA . . . . . .136 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 WHITEFIELD'S BREACH WITH WESLEY ..... 195 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WHITEFIELD IN SCOTLAND, 1741 . . . . . 218 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 WHITEFIELD AND THE DISSENTERS ... . 2JW 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. PAGE 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S DOMESTIC LIFE ...... 264 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 VVH1TEFIELD AT CAMBUSLANG ...... 291 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 WH1TEFIELD ITINERATING ...... 306 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WHITEF1ELD ITINERATING IN AMERICA, 1/44 . . . .319 
 
 CHAPTER XV, 
 
 WH1TEFIELD IN BERMUDAS ...... 334 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 WHITEFIELD RANG 'Ml , 346 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD IN IRELAND ...... 3/1 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 WHITEFIELD'S CHARACTERISTIC SAYINGS, 1734 TO 1745 . . 378 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 WHJTEFIELD REVISITING ...... 398 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 WHITEFIELD IN LISBON, 1754 . . . . . .417 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 WHITEFIELD AND THE LONDON MORAVIANS .... 432 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 WHITEFIELD'S INFLUENCE IN AMERICA. FIRST PART . . . 441 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S PUBLIC SPIRIT . , 446 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. PAGE 
 
 WHITEFIEI.D'S INFLUENCE IN AMERICA. SECOND PART . . 467 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 WH1TEF1ELU AM) THE BISHOPS ..... 473 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 VVIUTEFIELD'S LAST LABOURS AT HOME .... 484 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 WHITEFJFJ.D AND EDMUND-HALL . . 491 
 
 CHAPTER XXV11I. 
 WHITEFIELD'S LAST VOYAGE ...... 497 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 WUITEFIELD AND THE NOBILITY . . 507 
 
 CHAPTER XX\. 
 WHITEFIELD'S LAST IVINERACY ..... 520 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 WHITEFIELD'S FUNERAL ...... 535 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 WHITEFIELD'S CHARACTERISTICS ...... 552 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD PREACHING . . . 573 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS . . . .589 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S EARLY LIFE, EDUCATION, AND ORDINATION. 
 
 " I WAS born in Gloucestershire, in the month of December, 
 1714. My father and mother kept the Sell Inn." In this un- 
 assuming manner Whitefield commences a brief memoir of 
 himself. It will not, however, be uninteresting to add some 
 particulars respecting his family. His great-grandfather, the 
 Rev. Samuel Whitefield, born at Wantage, in Berkshire, was 
 rector of North Ledyard, in Wiltshire, and afterwards of Rock- 
 hampton. In the latter charge he was succeeded by his son, 
 Samuel, who died without issue. Two of his daughters were 
 married to clergymen. Andrew, Whitefield's grandfather, was 
 a private gentleman, and lived retired upon his estate. He had 
 fourteen children ; Thomas, the eldest, was the father of the 
 Rev. George Whitefield. Mr. Thomas Whitefield was bred to 
 the business of a wine merchant, in Bristol, but afterwards kept 
 an inn in the city of Gloucester. While in Bristol he married 
 Miss Elizabeth Edwards, a lady related to the families of Black- 
 well and Dinmour, of that city. He had six sons, of whom 
 George was the youngest, and one daughter. 
 
 Concerning his father and mother, Whitefield writes : " The 
 former died when I was two years old ; the latter is now alive, 
 
 B 
 
2 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 (she died in December, 1751, in the 71st year of her age,) and 
 has often told me how she endured fourteen weeks' sickness, 
 after she brought me into the world ; but was used to say, even 
 when I was an infant, that she expected more comfort from me 
 than from any other of her children. This, with the circum- 
 stance of my being born in an inn, has been often of service to 
 me, in exciting my endeavours to make good my mother's ex- 
 pectations, and so follow the example of my dear Saviour, who 
 was born in a manger belonging to an inn." 
 
 This amiable solicitude to realize his mother's " expectations," 
 is the more worthy of notice, because, whatever she was as a 
 mother, she was not distinguished as a Christian. This seems 
 wore than implied in the following lamentation, extracted from 
 one of his letters : " Why is my honoured mother so solicitous 
 about a few paltry things, that will quickly perish ? Why will 
 she not come and see her youngest son, who will endeavour to 
 be a Joseph to her, before she dies ? " Such was his suspense in 
 regard to the spiritual state of his parent ; and yet he gratefully 
 owns the salutary influence of her maternal hopes upon his mind, 
 and, while afar off on the Atlantic, commemorates her tender- 
 ness. "My mother was very careful of my education, and 
 always kept me, in my tender years, (for which I never can suf- 
 ficiently thank her,) from intermeddling in the least with the 
 tavern business." (This paragraph was written on board the 
 Elizabeth, during the voyage to Philadelphia.) Now these ac- 
 knowledgments were penned during the heat of his zeal and the 
 height of his popularity ; at a period when recent converts are 
 prone to speak with harshness of their unconverted relatives, 
 and to sink the child in the champion towards them. This is 
 so common, and, to say nothing of its cruelty, so unwise, that I 
 could not record this pleasing exception, without holding it up 
 to general imitation. " The servant of the Lord must not 
 strive ; but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, patient ; in 
 meekness instructing those that oppose themselves ; if God, 
 peradventure, will give them repentance to the acknowledging 
 of the truth." 
 
 Whitefield's humiliating recollections of his own early and 
 inveterate opposition to " the truth," contributed, no doubt, to 
 
3 
 
 moderate his natural impatience towards others. The following 
 is his own narrative of that period. 
 
 " My infant years must necessarily not be mentioned ; yet I 
 can remember such early stirrings of corruption in my heart, as 
 abundantly convince me that I was conceived and born in sin ; 
 that in me dwelleth no good thing by nature ; and that, if God 
 had not freely prevented me by his grace, I must have been for 
 ever banished from his presence. I was so brutish as to hate 
 instruction ; and used, purposely, to shun all opportunities of 
 receiving it. I soon gave pregnant proofs of an impudent 
 temper. Lying, filthy talking, and foolish jesting, I was much 
 addicted to, even when very young. Sometimes I used to curse, 
 if not swear. Stealing from my mother I thought no theft at 
 all, and used to make no scruple of taking money out of her 
 pockets before she was up. I have frequently betrayed my 
 trust, and have more than once spent money I took in the house, 
 in buying fruit, tarts, &c. to satisfy my sensual appetite. 
 Numbers of sabbaths have I broken, and generally used to be- 
 have myself very irreverently in God's sanctuary. Much money 
 have I spent in plays, and in the common amusements of the 
 age. Cards, and reading romances, were my heart's delight. 
 Often have I joined with others in playing roguish tricks ; but 
 was generally, if not always, happily detected : for this I have 
 often since, and do now, bless and praise God." 
 
 This enumeration of youthful vices and follies, is certainly 
 minute, and, in one sense, gratuitous ; but, when the spirit and 
 design of the confessions are duly weighed, no man will venture 
 to laugh at them, except those who regard sin as a " light mat- 
 ter." Every candid mind must be conscious of seeing itself in 
 young Whitefield, " as in a glass ;" and every spiritual mind 
 will not fail to deplore these early exhibitions of depravity, nor 
 to mark this modern exemplification of an ancient truth, " Thou 
 makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth." (Job xiii. 26.) 
 Were these acknowledgments written in the spirit, or for the 
 same purpose, as Rousseau's unblushing " Confessions," I should 
 despise myself, as well as insult the public, were I inclined to 
 transcribe them. Were they even calculated to suggest the 
 bare idea of uncommon sins, I should not have hesitated to 
 
merge the particulars in some general charge of corruption : 
 but, besides carrying their antidote along with them, in their 
 penitential tone and spirit, they are but too common, however 
 melancholy. Bishop Lavington, indeed, affects great horror 
 and disgust at them, and compares them with the confessions 
 of " the wild and fanatical Theresa" in his treatise " On the En- 
 thusiasm of Methodists and Papists ;" a book, to which his own 
 description of Whitefield's confessions is far more applicable ; 
 " so ludicrous, filthy, and shameless, as quite defiles paper, and 
 is shocking to decency and modesty." Such a " perfect Jakes" 
 of ribaldry never issued from the episcopal bench ; and yet it 
 found an editor in the vicar of Manaccan, in 1820 ! 
 
 I shall have occasion, more than once, to refer to both the 
 bishop and the vicar. In the mean time, I cannot but allow 
 Whitefield to speak for himself, on the subject of his early life. 
 " It would be endless to recount the sins and offences of my 
 younger days. ( TJiey are more in number than the hairs of my 
 head. 9 My heart would fail me at the remembrance of them, 
 was I not assured that my Redeemer liveth to make interces- 
 sion for me ! However the young man in the gospel might 
 boast, that he had kept the commandments from his e youth 
 up,' with shame and confusion of face I confess that I have 
 broken them all from my youth. Whatever foreseen fitness for 
 salvation others may talk of and glory in, I disclaim any such 
 thing : if I trace myself from my cradle to my manhood, I can 
 see nothing in me but a fitness to be damned. f I speak the 
 truth in Christ : I lie not I ' If the Almighty had not prevented 
 me by his grace, and wrought most powerfully on my soul 
 quickening me by his free Spirit, when dead in trespasses and 
 sins, I had now either been sitting in darkness and in the 
 shadow of death, or condemned, as the due reward of my 
 crimes, to be for ever lifting up my eyes in torments. But such 
 was the free grace of God to me, that though corruption worked 
 so strongly in my soul, and produced such early and bitter 
 fruits, yet I can recollect, very early, movings of the blessed 
 Spirit upon my heart. I had, early, some convictions of sin. 
 Once, I remember, when some persons (as they frequently did) 
 made it their business to tease me, I immediately retired to 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TJMES. 5 
 
 my room, and kneeling down, with many tears, prayed over the 
 118th Psalm." 
 
 It appears from the narrative, that, on this occasion, the mind 
 of young Whitefield fastened chiefly upon the words, " In the 
 lid me of the Lord will I destroy them." This, of course, he ap- 
 plied to his teasing enemies, who had " compassed him about 
 like bees :" a coincidence likely to be noticed by an irritated 
 boy, of quick perceptions. Even men are but too prone, when 
 injured, to appropriate the Messiah's weapons to their own war- 
 fare ; as if revenge could be sanctified by the use of sacred 
 language. But what is pitiable in the boy, is contemptible in 
 the man. This happened when Whitefield was only ten years 
 old ; but the following hint will account for the facility with 
 which he turned to a psalm suited to his purpose. " I was 
 always fond of being a clergyman, and used frequently to imitate 
 the minister's reading prayers, &c." Such being his favourite 
 habit at the time, he was sure to be familiar with the impre- 
 catory psalms, of which so many occur in the book of Common 
 Prayer. 
 
 We have seen that he was addicted to petty thefts. The 
 manner in which he seems to have reconciled his conscience to 
 them, is not peculiar to boys. " Part of the money I used to 
 steal from my mother I gave to the poor, and some books I pri- 
 vately took from others (for which I have since restored four- 
 fold) I remember were books of devotion.'' 9 
 
 " When I was about twelve, I was placed at a school, called 
 St. Mary De Crypt, in Gloucester : the last grammar school I 
 ever went to. Having a good elocution and memory, I was 
 remarked for making speeches before the corporation, at their 
 annual visitation. During the time of my being at school, I 
 was very fond of reading plays, and have kept from school for 
 days together, to prepare myself for acting them. My master, 
 seeing how mine and my schoolfellows' vein ran, composed 
 something of this kind for us himself, and caused me to dress 
 myself in girls' clothes, (which I had often done,) to act a part 
 before the corporation." Thus he contracted that taste for 
 theatrical amusements, which gave rise to the well-known in- 
 sinuation, that he learned his peculiar style of oratory upon the 
 
 r TTVrtre*__J 
 
6 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 stage. This, however, is not the fact : his acting was confined 
 to the boards of St. Mary De Crypt, and to his own chamber. 
 But his fondness for this species of amusement was not left at 
 school. When seventeen years of age, he was not weaned from 
 this folly. Even while at college he says, "I was not fully 
 satisfied of the sin of reading plays, until God, upon a fast day, 
 was pleased to convince me. Taking a play, to read a passage 
 out of it to a friend, God struck my heart with such power, that 
 I was obliged to lay it down again." 
 
 How deeply he deplored the cause and consequences of this 
 habit, appears from the following remarks. "I cannot but 
 observe here, with much concern of mind, how this way of 
 training up youth has a natural tendency to debauch the mind, 
 to raise ill passions, and to stuff the memory with things as 
 contrary to the gospel of Christ, as darkness to light hell to 
 heaven." This fatal " tendency " was but too fully exempli- 
 fied when at school. " I got acquainted with such a set of de- 
 bauched, abandoned, atheistical youths, that if God, by his free, 
 unmerited, and special grace, had not delivered me out of their 
 hands, I should have sat in the scorners' chair, and made a 
 mock at sin. By keeping company with them, my thoughts of 
 religion grew more and more like theirs. I went to public 
 service only to make sport, and walk about. I took plea- 
 sure in their lewd conversation. I began to reason as they did, 
 and to ask, why God had given me passions, and not permitted 
 me to gratify them ? In short, I soon made great proficiency 
 in the school of the devil. I affected to look rakish, and was in 
 a fair way of being as infamous as the worst of them." This, 
 not oratory, was what young Whitefield learned from plays and 
 acting. He fell into sins, of which he says, " their dismal ef- 
 fects I have felt and groaned under ever since" 
 
 Of course, this progress in vice was gradual. During his 
 first two years at school, he bought, and read with much atten- 
 tion, Kens Manual for Winchester Scholars: a book com- 
 mended to him by the use made of it by his mother in her 
 afflictions. He was also a diligent scholar, and for some time 
 made considerable progress in the Latin classics. But the 
 amusements which alienated his heart from virtue, gradually 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 7 
 
 impaired his taste for education. " Before I was fifteen, hav- 
 ing, as I thought, made sufficient progress in the classics, and, 
 at the hottom, longing to be set at liberty from the confine- 
 ment of a school, I one day told my mother, that since her 
 circumstances would not permit her to give me a University 
 education, more learning, I thought, would spoil me for a 
 tradesman, and therefore I judged it best not to learn Latin 
 any longer. She at first refused to consent, but my corruptions 
 soon got the better of her good nature. Hereupon for some 
 time I went to learn to write only. But my mother's circum- 
 stances being much on the decline ; and, being tractable that 
 way, I began to assist her occasionally in the public-house, till 
 at length I put on my blue apron and my snuffers washed 
 mops cleaned rooms, and in one word, became professed and 
 common drawer for nigh a year and a half." 
 
 Thus he exchanged the confinement of a school for the im- 
 prisonment of an inn; and, as might be expected in such a 
 place, he was twice or thrice intoxicated. It does not appear, 
 however, that he was addicted to drinking. "He who was 
 with David when he was ' following the ewes big with young, 
 was with me here. For, notwithstanding I was thus employed 
 in a common inn, and had sometimes the care of the whole 
 house upon my hands, yet / composed two or three sermons, 
 and dedicated one of them, in particular, to my elder brother. 
 One time, I remember, I was much pressed to self-examination, 
 but found myself very unwilling to look into my heart. Fre- 
 quently I read the Bible, while sitting up at night. Seeing the 
 boys go by to school, has often cut me to the heart. Arid a 
 dear youth would often come, entreating me, whilst serving at 
 the bar, to go to Oxford. My general answer was, I wish T 
 could." 
 
 " After I had continued about a year in servile employment, 
 my mother was obliged to leave the inn. My brother, who had 
 been bred up for the business, married ; whereupon all was made 
 over to him ; and I being accustomed to the house, it was agreed 
 that I should continue there as an assistant. But God's thoughts 
 were not as our thoughts. By his good providence it happened, 
 that my sister-in-law and I could by no means agree ; and, at 
 
8 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 length, the resentment grew to such a height, that my proud 
 heart would scarce suffer me to speak to her for three weeks 
 together. But, notwithstanding I was much to blame, yet I 
 used to retire and weep before the Lord, as Hagar when flying 
 from Sarah : little thinking that God, by this means, was forcing 
 me out of the public business, and calling me from drawing wine 
 for drunkards, to draw water from the wells of salvation for the 
 refreshment of his spiritual Israel. After continuing for a long 
 time under this burden of mind, I at length resolved (thinking 
 my absence would make all things easy) to go away. Accord- 
 ingly, by the advice of my brother and consent of my mother, 
 I went to see my elder brother, then settled in Bristol." 
 
 During a residence of two months in Bristol, Whitefield ex- 
 perienced some awakenings of conscience. Once, in St. John's 
 church, he was so affected by the sermon, that he resolved to 
 prepare himself for the sacrament, and decided against returning 
 to the inn. This latter resolution he communicated by letter 
 to his mother ; and the former was so strong, that, during his 
 stay in Bristol, reading Thomas a Kempis was his chief delight. 
 " And I was always impatient till the bell rung to call me to 
 tread the courts of the Lord's house. But in the midst of these 
 illuminations, something surely whispered, this ivould not last. 
 And, indeed, it so happened. For (oh that I could write it in 
 tears of blood !) when I left Bristol and returned to Gloucester, 
 I changed my devotion with my place. Alas, all my fervour went 
 off. I had no inclination to go to church, or draw nigh to God. 
 In short, my heart was far from him. However, I had so much 
 religion left, as to persist in my resolution not to live in the inn ; 
 and, therefore, my mother gave me leave, though she had but a 
 little income, to have a bed on the ground, and live at her 
 house, till Providence should point out a place for me. 
 
 " Having now, as I thought, nothing to do, it was a proper 
 season for Satan to tempt me. Much of my time I spent in 
 reading plays, and in sauntering from place to place. I was 
 careful to adorn my body, but took little pains to deck and 
 beautify my soul. Evil communications with my old school- 
 fellows, soon corrupted my good manners. By seeing their evil 
 practices, the sense of the divine presence, I had vouchsafed 
 
9 
 
 unto me, insensibly wore off my mind. But God would let no- 
 thing pluck me out of his hands, though I was continually doing 
 despite to the Spirit of grace. He even gave me some foresight 
 of his providing for me. One morning as I was reading a play 
 to my sister, said I, ' Sister, God intends something for me, 
 which we know not of. As I have been diligent in business, I 
 believe many would gladly have me for an apprentice, but every 
 way seems to be barred up ; so that I think God will provide 
 for me some way or other, that we cannot apprehend.' 
 
 (C Having thus lived with my mother for some considerable 
 time, a young student, who was once my schoolfellow, and then 
 a servitor of Pembroke College, Oxford, came to pay my mother 
 a visit. Amongst other conversation, he told her, how he had 
 discharged all college expenses that quarter, and saved a penny. 
 Upon that my mother immediately cried out, ' This will do for 
 my son ! ' Then turning to me, she said, f Will you go to Ox- 
 ford, George?' I replied, * With all my heart. 9 Whereupon, 
 having the same friends that this young student had, my mother, 
 without delay, waited on them. They promised their interest, 
 to get me a servitor's place in the same college. She then 
 applied to my old master, who much approved of my coming to 
 school again. In about a week, I went and re-entered myself; 
 and being grown much in stature, my master addressed me thus : 
 ( I see, George, you are advanced in stature, but your better part 
 must needs have gone backward. 9 This made me blush. He 
 set me something to translate into Latin, and though I had 
 made no application to my classics for so long a time, yet I had 
 but one inconsiderable fault in my exercises. This, I believe, 
 somewhat surprised my master. 
 
 " Being re-settled at school, I spared no pains to go forward 
 in my book. I learned much faster than I did before." But, 
 whilst thus assiduously preparing himself for college, it does 
 not appear that he began to study, with an express view to the 
 ministry : if, however, this was his object at the time, and if he 
 never, altogether, relinquished the design, which the composition 
 of sermons betrayed, then the following events furnish a melan- 
 choly insight, not only into the presumption of his own heart, 
 but into the prevailing maxims of that age upon the subject of 
 
 c 
 
10 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 the Christian ministry. These must have been low and lax in 
 the extreme,, if they allowed such a young man to anticipate 
 office in the church. He was, indeed, diligent in studying the 
 classics, but he was, at the same time, living in the indulgence 
 of secret and open profligacy. ee I got acquainted with a set of 
 debauched, abandoned, and atheistical youths I took pleasure 
 in their lewd conversation I affected to look rakish, and was 
 in a fair way of being as infamous as the worst of them." It is 
 hardly possible to conceive that, while in this state, he should 
 have contemplated the ministry as his object ; and yet there is 
 reason to fear that the tone of public feeling, at the time, was 
 such as to impose little check upon the morals of ministerial 
 candidates. Even now holy character is not indispensable, 
 either in college halls, or at national altars ; and then, as we 
 shall see, it was still less so. Certain it is, that Whitefield's 
 reformation was neither suggested nor enforced, in the first in- 
 stance, by any thing moral or religious which the general prac- 
 tice of the church insisted upon. Whatever the letter of her 
 requirements calls for in candidates, the spirit of them was. in 
 a great measure, evaporated in that age. 
 
 I have, already, said that Whitefield is silent upon the subject 
 of his express design in preparing himself for the University ; 
 but, there being no evidence that he ever contemplated any 
 other profession than the ministerial, and it being the only one 
 for which he had evinced the shadow of a partiality, or was 
 likely to succeed in, under his circumstances, we must con- 
 clude, that he had it in view from the beginning. Such, in all 
 probability, being the fact, it might be expected, that the bare 
 idea of becoming a minister would, of itself, have imposed a 
 restraint upon his passions ; but neither its own solemnity, 
 nor the tone of ecclesiastical feeling at the time, had any moral 
 influence upon him. " I went," he says, " to public service only 
 to make sport and walk about." At this time he was nearly 
 seventeen years of age : a period of life when he must have been 
 capable of understanding what is expected from a clergyman. 
 And yet, nothing which he saw or heard on this subject seems 
 to have suggested the necessity of reformation. " God stopped 
 me when running on in a full career of vice. For, just as I 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 11 
 
 was upon the brink of ruin, He gave me such a, distaste of their 
 (his companions') principles and practices, that I discovered 
 them to my master, who soon put a stop to their proceedings." 
 
 I have been the more minute in recording this event, because 
 without clear and correct ideas of the prevailing tone of public 
 and ecclesiastical feeling, at the time, no fair estimate can be 
 formed of the spirit in which methodism originated at Oxford. 
 
 The breaking up of that vicious combination which existed 
 in the school of St. Mary de Crypt produced an important 
 change in the morals of Whitefield. "Being thus delivered 
 out of the snare of the devil, I began to be more and more 
 serious, and felt God at different times working powerfully and 
 convincingly upon my soul." This improvement of character 
 was so evident, that his friends did not fail to welcome it. It 
 was, however, but external at first. " One day as I was coming 
 down-stairs, and overheard my friends speaking well of me, God 
 deeply convicted me of hypocrisy." This timely discovery 
 fixed his attention upon the state of his heart, and gave to his 
 reformation a more religious character. 
 
 " Being now near the seventeenth year of my age, I was re- 
 solved to prepare myself for the holy sacrament ; which I receiv- 
 ed on Christmas day. I began now to be more watchful over 
 my thoughts, words, and actions. I kept the following Lent, 
 fasting Wednesday and Friday, thirty- six hours together. My 
 evenings, when I had done waiting upon my mother, were gene- 
 rally spent in acts of devotion, reading Drelincourt e upon Death/ 
 and other practical books, and I constantly went to public worship 
 twice a day. Being now upper boy, I made some reformation 
 amongst my schoolfellows. I was very diligent in reading and 
 learning the classics, and in studying my Greek Testament; 
 but I was not yet convinced of the absolute unlawfulness of play- 
 ing at cards, and of reading and seeing plays ; though I began 
 to have some scruples about it. Near this time, I dreamed 
 that I was to see God on mount Sinai ; but was afraid to meet 
 him. This made a great impression upon me, and a gentle- 
 woman to whom I told it, said, " George, this is a call from God" 
 
 Whatever may be thought of the dream, or of the interpretation, 
 such Mnts have more frequently determined the character and 
 
12 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 pursuits of young men, than more rational means. There is, to 
 a susceptible mind, a peculiar fascination in these mysterious 
 oracles ; and, after all that has been said of their folly and fal- 
 lacy, they continue to govern the choice of many, and are still 
 followed as leading stars, whilst sober advice is regarded as a 
 dull finger-post on the road of life. In the present instance 
 the imaginary omens were not useless. " I grew more serious 
 after my dream ; but yet hypocrisy crept into every action. 
 As once I affected to look more rakish, I now strove to look 
 more grave, than I really was. However, an uncommon con- 
 cern and alteration was visible in my behaviour, and I often 
 used to find fault with the lightness of others. One night as I 
 was going on an errand for my mother, an unaccountable but 
 very strong impression was made upon my heart, that I should 
 preach quickly. When I came home, I innocently told my 
 mother what had befallen me ; but she (like Joseph's parents, 
 when he told them his dream) turned short upon me, crying out, 
 ( What does the boy mean ? Prithee, hold thy tongue ! ' 
 
 il For a twelvemonth I went on in a round of duties, receiv- 
 ing the sacrament monthly, fasting frequently, attending con- 
 stantly on public worship, and praying, often more than twice 
 a day, in private. One of my brothers used to tell me, he fear- 
 ed this would not hold long, and that I should forget all when 
 I went to Oxford. This caution did me much service ; for it 
 set me on praying for perseverance. Being now near eighteen 
 years old, it was judged proper for me to go to the University. God 
 had sweetly prepared my way. The friends before applied to, 
 recommended me to the master of Pembroke College. An- 
 other friend took up ten pounds upon bond (which I have since 
 repaid) to defray the first expense of entering ; and the master, 
 contrary to all expectation, admitted me servitor immediately." 
 
 When Whitefield entered the University of Oxford, that seat 
 of learning had not shaken off the moral lethargy which followed 
 the ejectment of the 2000 nonconformists. The Bartholomew 
 Bushel, under which those burning and shining lights were 
 placed, proved an extinguisher to the zeal of the luminaries that 
 struck into the orbit of uniformity. Those of them who retain- 
 ed their light lost their heat. During the seventy years, which 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 13 
 
 had elapsed since the expulsion of the nonconformists, the Isis 
 had heen changing into a Dead sea, upon the banks of which 
 the tree of life shrivelled into a tree of mere human knowledge ; 
 and, in the adjacent halls, the doctrines of the Reformation were 
 superseded, in a great measure, by high church principles. 
 Even irreligion and infidelity were so prevalent at both Univer- 
 sities, that when the statue of the age was chiselled by that 
 moral Phidias, BUTLER, they seem to have furnished the model. 
 " It is come, I know not how, to be taken for granted by many 
 persons, that Christianity is not so much as a subject of inquiry, 
 but that it is now at length discovered to be fictitious ; and, ac- 
 cordingly, they treat it as if, in the present age, this were an 
 agreed point among all people of discernment ; and nothing re- 
 mained but to set it up as a principal subject of mirth and ridi- 
 cule, as it were by way of reprisals for its having so long inter- 
 rupted the pleasures of the world." Bishop Butler s Analogy. 
 
 So much was this the character of the after-dinner conversa- 
 tions at Oxford, that the recent change from gross ribaldry 
 to decorum, used to be appealed to with triumph, by Coleridge, 
 and other modern advocates : a fact, which betrays the former 
 state of things. Even the defences of Christianity, which issued 
 from the University press during that age, betray the fatal 
 secret, that they were as much wanted for the gownsmen, as for 
 the public. Bishop Butler says of this state of things, " It is 
 come, I know not how ;" but he might have known soon, if he 
 had studied the " analogy" between it and the discipline of the 
 colleges. What else could be expected from a nation or a uni- 
 versity, after seeing the brightest ornaments of the church sacri- 
 ficed to rites and ceremonies ; after seeing talents, learning, and 
 piety reckoned " as the small dust in the balance," when weigh- 
 ed against robes and forms ? After witnessing diocesan and 
 state patronage withdrawn, and exchanged for penalties on such 
 grounds, it was not likely that Christianity would be better 
 treated by the nation, than its faithful ministers were by the 
 government. From that time, down to the year 1734, when 
 Whitefield entered at Pembroke College, the motto of the Uni- 
 versity might have been, " We care less for character than for 
 conformity." 
 
14 
 
 " A dissolution of all bonds ensued ; 
 
 The curbs invented for the mulish mouth 
 
 Of headstrong youth were broken ; bolts and bars 
 
 Grew rusty by disuse ; and massy gates 
 
 Forgot their office, opening with a touch ; 
 
 Till gowns at length are found mere masquerade ; 
 
 The tasselled cap, and the spruce band, a jest, 
 
 A mockery of the world ! " Cowper. 
 
 Such Whitefield found the general character of the Oxford 
 students to be. " I was quickly solicited to join in their excess 
 of riot, by several who lay in the same room. Once in particu- 
 lar, it being cold, my limbs were so benumbed by sitting alone 
 in my study, because I would not go out amongst them, that I 
 could scarce sleep all night. I had no sooner received the sa- 
 crament publicly on a week day, at St. Mary's, but I was set up 
 as a mark for all the polite students, that knew me, to shoot at ; 
 for though there is a sacrament at the beginning of every term, 
 at which all, especially the seniors, are by statute obliged to be 
 present ; yet, so dreadfully has that once faithful city played 
 the harlot, that very few masters, no graduates, (but the me- 
 thodists,) attended upon it." 
 
 I quote the latter part of this extract, not to deplore the fall- 
 ing off in attendance, as Whitefield does : the sacrament was 
 
 " More honoured in the breach, than the observance " 
 
 of the statute, by such men ; but the breach illustrates both the 
 state of discipline and of religion at the time. There were, 
 however, some lilies among the rank thorns of Oxford. Of 
 these solitary exceptions, the Wesleys and their associates were 
 the most exemplary. This little band had then existed during 
 five years, and were called, in derision, methodists. Their re- 
 gular habits and rigid virtue, were proverbial throughout the 
 University and the city. They were the friends of the poor, 
 and the patrons of the serious. But, with all these excellences 
 of character, the Wesleys united much enthusiasm, and an 
 almost incredible degree of ignorance in regard to the gospel. 
 Their avowed object, in all their voluntary privations and zeal- 
 ous efforts, was, to save their souls, and to live wholly to the glory 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 15 
 
 of God : a noble enterprise, certainly ; but undertaken by them 
 from erroneous motives, and upon wrong principles. For any 
 relief which their consciences seem to have obtained from the 
 death of the Son of God, and the free salvation proclaimed in 
 virtue of it, the gospel might have been altogether untrue or 
 unknown ; so grossly ignorant were the whole band at one time. 
 And yet, at this period, Mr. John Wesley was a fellow of Lin- 
 coln College, and teaching others. Nine years before, he had 
 been ordained by Dr. Potter, who was afterwards archbishop of 
 Canterbury. 
 
 This fact reveals one of two things : either, that the young 
 men were very inattentive to the theological lectures delivered 
 from the divinity chair, or that the lectures themselves were 
 very unscriptural. Perhaps the fault lay partly on both sides ; 
 for it is highly probable, that such young men would underrate 
 the cold, systematic lectures of a professor. I am led to form 
 this opinion, because the celebrated mystic, William Law, was, 
 at the time, their oracle. They imitated his ascetic habits, and 
 imbibed his spirit of quietism. He had said to John Wesley, 
 who was likely to circulate the notion, " You would have a phi- 
 losophical religion, but there can be no such thing. Religion 
 is the most simple thing : it is only, We love Him because he 
 first loved us." Such indefinite maxims assimilated, but too 
 readily, with the mystic temper of the persons they were ad- 
 dressed to ; and silent contemplation, in solitude, being the 
 very spirit of LAW'S system, Wesley and his associates were not 
 likely to relish argumentative theology, however excellent. 
 
 The following account of their devotional habits, will illustrate 
 the true character of their religious sentiments, at the time of 
 Whitefield's arrival from Gloucester. " They interrogate them- 
 selves whether they have been simple and recollected ; whether 
 they have prayed with fervour, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 
 and on Saturday noon; if they have used a collect at nine, 
 twelve, and three o'clock ; duly meditated on Sunday, from 
 three to four, on Thomas a Kempis ; or mused on Wednesday 
 and Friday, from twelve to one, on the Passion." Thus were 
 they monks in almost every thing except the name. 
 
 It was necessary to delineate thus minutely the original cha- 
 
16 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 racter of methodism, that its natural influence upon the suscep- 
 tible mind of Whitefield may be anticipated. Suffering and 
 smarting, as he did, from vicious indulgence, and now seriously 
 bent upon the ministry, he was not likely to associate with the 
 profligate or the profane in the University. He did not. " God 
 gave me grace to withstand, when they solicited me to join in 
 their excess of riot. When they perceived they could not pre- 
 vail, they let me alone, as a singular, odd fellow." He did not, 
 however, join himself to the methodists at once. " The young 
 men, so called, were then much talked of at Oxford. I heard 
 of and loved them before I came to the University ; and so 
 strenuously defended them, when I heard them reviled by 
 the students, that they began to think that I also, in time, 
 should be one of them. For above a twelvemonth, my soul 
 longed to be acquainted with some of them, and I was strongly 
 pressed to follow their good example, when I saw them go 
 through a ridiculing crowd, to receive the holy eucharist at St. 
 Mary's." 
 
 How much he was prepared to enter into their peculiar spirit 
 when he did join them, will appear also from the following hint. 
 " Before I went to the University, I met with Mr. Laws ( Seri- 
 ous Call to Devout Life,' but had not money to purchase it. 
 Soon after my coming up to the University, seeing a small 
 edition of it in a friend's hand, I soon procured it. God worked 
 powerfully upon my soul by that excellent treatise." Thus, like 
 two drops of water, they were quite prepared to unite whenever 
 they came in contact. And this soon occurred. " It happened 
 that a poor woman, in one of the workhouses, had attempted to 
 cut her throat, but was happily prevented. Upon hearing of 
 this, and knowing that the two Mr. Wesleys were ready to every 
 good work, I sent a poor aged apple -woman of our college, to 
 inform Mr. Charles Wesley of it ; charging her not to discover 
 who sent her. She went ; but, contrary to my orders, told my 
 name. He having heard of my coming to the castle, and to a 
 parish church sacrament, and having met me frequently walking 
 by myself, followed the woman when she was gone away, and 
 sent an invitation to me by her, to come to breakfast with him 
 the next morning. I thankfully embraced the opportunity. My 
 
17 
 
 soul, at that time, was athirst for some spiritual friends to lift 
 up my hands when hung down, and to strengthen my feeble 
 knees. He soon discovered it, and, like a wise winner of souls, 
 made all his discourses tend that way. And when he put into 
 my hands Professor Frank's ' Treatise against the Fear of Man,' 
 and ' The Country Parson's Advice to his Parishioners,' I took 
 my leave. 
 
 " In a short time he let me have another book, entitled, ' The 
 Life of God in the Soul of Man ;' and though I had fasted, 
 watched, and prayed, and received the sacrament so long, yet I 
 never knew what true religion was, till God sent me that excel- 
 lent treatise, by the hands of my never-to-be-forgotten friend. 
 At my first reading it, I wondered what the author meant by 
 saying, f That some falsely placed religion in going to church, 
 doing hurt to no one, being constant in the duties of the closet, 
 and now and then reaching out their hands to give alms to their 
 poor neighbours.' Alas ! thought I, if this be not religion, what 
 is ? God soon showed me ; for in reading a few lines further, 
 ' that true religion was a union of the soul with God, and 
 Christ formed within us, 9 a ray of divine light was instanta- 
 neously darted in upon my soul, and from that moment, but not 
 till then, did I know that I must be a new creature." 
 
 This was an important era in Whitefield's experience ; and, 
 if he had been left to the guidance of the book that suggested 
 the necessity of regeneration, his feet might soon have stood 
 upon the Rock of ages. He was now in the right track to 
 Calvary ; and, with his anxiety to " be born again," would have 
 held on, until he had discovered that, " to as many as received 
 Him, Christ gave power to become the sons of God ; even to 
 them that believe on his name." But, unhappily, Whitefield 
 was not left to follow out his own convictions : Charles Wesley 
 " ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish 
 his own righteousness " interfered with the young convert, 
 and inoculated him with the virus of legality and quietism. 
 Before Whitefield had time to acquire from the gospel the 
 relief which his heavy-laden conscience longed for, he was 
 introduced to the methodists ; from kind motives on the part 
 of his zealous friend, no doubt ; but unhappily for himself. 
 
 JD 
 
18 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 The intimacy well nigh proved fatal to his life, and to his 
 reason. 
 
 " From time to time, Mr. Wesley permitted me to come unto 
 him, arid instructed me as I was able to bear it. By degrees he 
 introduced me to the rest of his Christian brethren. I now 
 began, like them, to live by rule, and to pick up every fragment 
 of my time, that not a moment of it might be lost. Like them, 
 having no weekly sacrament (although the Kubrick required it) 
 at our own college, I received every Sunday at Christ- Church. 
 I joined with them in keeping the stations, by fasting Wednes- 
 days and Fridays, and left no means unused which I thought 
 would lead me nearer to Jesus Christ. By degrees I began to 
 leave off eating fruits and such like, and gave the money I 
 usually spent in that way to the poor. Afterward I always 
 chose the worst sort of food, though my place furnished me with 
 variety. My apparel was mean. I thought it unbecoming a 
 penitent to have his hair powdered. I wore woollen gloves, a 
 patched gown, and dirty shoes ; and though I was then con- 
 vinced that the kingdom of God did not consist in meats and 
 drinks, yet I resolutely persisted in these voluntary acts of self- 
 denial, because I found them great promoters of the spiritual 
 life. It was now suggested to me, that Jesus Christ was 
 amongst the wild beasts when he was tempted, and that I ought 
 to follow his example ; and being willing, as I thought, to imi- 
 tate Jesus Christ, after supper I went into Christ- Church walk, 
 near our college, and continued in silent prayer nearly two 
 hours ; sometimes lying flat on my face, sometimes kneeling 
 upon my knees. The night being stormy, it gave me awful 
 thoughts of the day of judgment. The next night I repeated 
 the same exercise at the same place. Soon after this, the holy 
 season of Lent came on, which our friends kept very strictly ; 
 eating no flesh during the six weeks, except on Saturdays and 
 Sundays. I abstained frequently on Saturdays also, and ate 
 nothing on the other days (except Sunday) but sage-tea without 
 sugar, and coarse bread. I constantly walked out in the cold 
 mornings, till part of one of my hands was quite black. This, 
 with my continued abstinence, and inward conflicts, at length 
 so emaciated my body, that, at Passion-week, finding I could 
 
19 
 
 scarce creep up-stairs, I was obliged to inform my kind tutor of 
 my condition, who immediately sent for a physician to me." 
 
 While it is impossible to read this catalogue of extravagances, 
 without pitying the wretched sufferer and his superstitious 
 friends, it is equally impossible to refrain from smiling and 
 frowning, alternately, at the gross absurdities of quietism, and 
 the foolish requirements of the Kubrick. Many of both are 
 equal outrages upon common sense ; to say nothing of their 
 being unscriptural. But these were not the only baneful effects 
 of Whitefield's intimacy with the methodists. " The course of 
 my studies I soon entirely changed: whereas, before, I was 
 busied in studying the dry sciences, and books that went no 
 farther than the surface, I now resolved to read only such as 
 entered into the heart of religion. Meeting with Castanza's 
 ' Spiritual Combat,' in which he says, that e he that is employed 
 in mortifying his will, was as well employed as though he was 
 converting the Indians,' Satan so imposed upon my understand- 
 ing, that he persuaded me to shut myself up in my study, till I 
 could do good with a single eye ; lest in endeavouring to save 
 others, I should, at last, by pride and self-complacence, lose 
 myself. When Castanza advised to talk but little, Satan said, 
 I must not talk at all ; so that I, who used to be the most for- 
 ward in exhorting my companions, have sat whole nights with- 
 out speaking at all. Again, when Castanza advised to endea- 
 vour after a silent recollection, and waiting upon God, Satan told 
 me, I must leave all forms, and not use my voice in prayer at 
 all." These habits soon affected his college exercises also. 
 " Whenever I endeavoured to compose my theme, I had no 
 power to write a word, nor so much as to tell my Christian 
 friends of my inability to do it. All power of meditating, or 
 even thinking, was taken from me. My memory quite failed 
 me. And I could fancy myself to be like nothing so much as a 
 man locked up in iron armour." 
 
 Having twice neglected to produce the weekly theme, his 
 tutor called him into the common room, after fining him, and 
 kindly inquired whether any calamity had befallen him, or 
 what was the reason of his neglect ? "I burst into tears, and 
 assured him, that it was not out of contempt of authority, but 
 
20 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 that I could not act otherwise. Then, at length, he said, he 
 believed I could not ; and, when he left me, told a friend (as he 
 very well might) that he took me to be really mad. This friend, 
 hearing what had happened from my tutor, came to me, urging 
 the command in Scripture, f to be subject to the higher powers.' 
 I answered, Yes; but I had a new revelation. Lord, what is 
 man ! " 
 
 During the progress of this direful malady, the Wesleys were 
 not wanting, either in attention or tenderness, to their unhappy 
 friend ; and if, like Job's friends, they were miserable comfort- 
 ers, still, their motives claim the highest respect. They would 
 have brought him " water from the well of Bethlehem " at any 
 expense ; but, like Hagar weeping over her fainting child in the 
 wilderness, their own eyes were not then opened to see that well. 
 It is only bare justice to make this acknowledgment. I have 
 exposed and censured, freely, the ignorance, mysticism, and su- 
 perstition of the Wesleys ; I have deplored, in strong terms, the 
 intimacy which Whitefield formed with the Oxford methodists ; 
 and traced to their maxims and habits, as the direct cause, a 
 great part of his extravagances ; but, in all this, I have been 
 actuated by no prejudice against his friends, nor do my remarks 
 upon methodism embrace the system as it now exists : they are, 
 hitherto, entirely confined to its character at Oxford. Then, 
 its influence, according to Mr. John Wesley's own acknowledg- 
 ment, was that " of leading him into the desert to be tempted 
 and humbled, and shown what was in his heart." Even Dr. 
 Coke says of him, it is certain that he was then very little ac- 
 quainted with true experimental religion. This is very obvious 
 from the advice which he gave to Whitefield, when his case was 
 so pitiable, that Charles Wesley was afraid to prescribe. " He 
 advised me to resume all my externals, though not to depend on 
 them in the least." Now, however wise the latter clause of this 
 rule may be, the former part is pitiable : " all " Whitefield's 
 " externals " included many of the very habits which had un- 
 hinged his mind, and ruined his health. He did, however, 
 " resume " them, and the result was, " a fit of sickness which 
 continued during seven weeks." His tutor seems to have been 
 the only person about him who acted wisely. Charles Wesley 
 
21 
 
 referred him to chapters in A Kern-pis : John, to the maxims of 
 quietism. " My tutor lent me books, gave me money, visited 
 me, and furnished me with a physician : in short, he behaved in 
 all respects like a father." 
 
 The reader must not suppose, however, that Whitefield him- 
 self arraigns the imprudence of his young friends ; or that he 
 contrasts, as I have ventured to do, their measures with those of 
 his tutor : no, indeed ; he records both with equal gratitude, 
 and uniformly pronounces benedictions upon the authors. Even 
 when he became the opponent of John Wesley, on the subject 
 of " free grace," and might have pointed his arguments by an 
 appeal to the early errors of his rival, he does not so much as 
 hint at them, but prefaces his letter by declaring, " Was nature 
 to speak, I had rather die than write against you." I, however, 
 have no such scruples on this head : but, while I shall avoid 
 doing injustice to the Wesleys, I shall canvass as freely their 
 influence upon Whitefield, as that of any other persons with 
 whom he came in contact. The formation of his character 
 must be shown, without regard to the light in which it may 
 exhibit the forces that determined it. 
 
 The seven weeks of sickness, already mentioned, Whitefield 
 calls, " a glorious visitation." " The blessed Spirit was all this 
 time purifying my soul. All my former gross, notorious, and 
 even my heart sins also, were now set home upon me ; of which 
 I wrote down some remembrances immediately, and confessed 
 them before God morning and evening." This exercise, al- 
 though more humiliating and mortifying than even his fasts and 
 austerities, was infinitely more useful. While they led him only 
 to Castanza and A Kempis this led him direct to the gospel, 
 and to the throne of grace. Unable to sustain such views of the 
 evil of sin, and having failed, in all his former efforts, to remove 
 a sense of guilt by a series of observances, he was now shut up 
 to the faith. " Though weak, I often spent two hours in my 
 evening retirements, and prayed over my Greek Testament, and 
 Bishop Hall's most excellent ( Contemplations.' ' : While thus 
 engaged in searching the Scriptures, he discovered the true 
 grounds of a sinner's hope and justification. The testimony of 
 God concerning his Son became "power unto salvation." " I 
 
22 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 found and felt in myself, that I was delivered from the burden 
 that had so heavily oppressed me. The spirit of mourning was 
 taken from me, and I knew what it was truly to rejoice in God 
 my Saviour. For some time I could not avoid singing psalms 
 wherever I was; but my joy became gradually more settled. 
 Thus were the days of my mourning ended : after a long night 
 of desertion and temptation, the star, which I had seen at a dis- 
 tance before, began to appear again : the day-star arose in my 
 heart." 
 
 Such is the history of Whitefield's conversion. In this manner 
 was he led into and out of the fearful pit and miry clay of legal 
 fanaticism ; a worse gulf than Bunyan's Slough of Despond. 
 His Diary, whilst there, I have seen. Part of it is in iny 
 possession. But, in general, it is unintelligible, except that 
 it records by signs, the divisions and subdivisions of the 
 day into hours and minutes, and thus marks the time allot- 
 ted to every lesson, prayer, meditation, meal, and sleep. Such 
 a methodising of time is, perhaps, unparalleled. The only 
 thing obvious in it is, the influence of the Wesleys upon his 
 habits. 
 
 I duly appreciate the benevolence, the zeal, and the sincerity 
 of the Wesleys ; but in this instance, and at that time, these 
 virtues were not evangelical ; and therefore neither their sin- 
 cerity nor their amiableness must be allowed to screen them 
 from the charge of legality. Mr. Wesley himself did not screen 
 them when he understood them. " I have learned at the ends 
 of the earth," he wrote from Georgia, " that my own works, my 
 own sufferings, my own righteousness, so far from making an 
 atonement for the least of my sins, need, the most specious of 
 them, an atonement for themselves. I left my native country, 
 in order to teach the Georgian Indians the nature of Chris- 
 tianity. But what have I learnt myself meantime ? Why, 
 what I least of all suspected, that I who went to America to 
 convert others, was never myself converted to God. I am 
 not mad, though I thus speak ; but I speak the words of truth 
 and soberness, if haply some of those who still dream may 
 awake, and see that as I am, so are they." Such explanations are 
 
23 
 
 wanted, now that devotion apart from faith, and penitential feel- 
 ing apart from the knowledge of " the truth," are often hailed 
 as conversion to God. This is a sore evil under the sun ; and 
 one not easily touched, without seeming to slight symptoms of 
 piety. I must, however, attempt to unmask this plausible 
 "form of godliness," whatever suspicions my freedom may 
 awaken. 
 
 Whitefield, in the simplicity of his heart, calls the events of 
 this period "the dealings of. God" with him, and records 
 them as the gradual steps by which he was led to believe in 
 Christ for righteousness. And, so far as they were made in- 
 strumental in discovering to him his own weakness, and in 
 weaning him from sin and vanity, they were " the dealings of 
 God ;" but, so far as his maxims and habits were superstitious 
 and unscriptural, God must not be identified with them, nor 
 even implicated in the least. All the hand He had in this 
 part of the transaction was, that he made these austerities and 
 superstitions their own punishment, and prevented them from 
 ruining an ignorant young man. So far as their own natural 
 influence went, it increased the spirit of bondage, and diverted 
 the sinner from God's appointed remedy. We have seen from 
 Whitefield's own acknowledgments, and Wesley's too, that the 
 further such measures were pursued, the further the methodists 
 were from solid relief. Now, it cannot be supposed for a mo- 
 ment, that God's dealings with the soul divert it from the 
 Saviour ; nor that any thing is the work of His Spirit on the 
 heart, which leads to absurdities and extravagance. And if 
 this be granted, then a great part of those things in the expe- 
 rience of W^hitefield, which strike the mind so forcibly, lose all 
 their importance, except as facts. As feelings, motives, or 
 maxims in religion, they have no weight ; but were, while they 
 continued, the actual rivals of faith and evangelical repent- 
 ance. For any thing, therefore, which appears to the contrary, 
 his conversion would not have been less genuine, if he had 
 never gone through the exercise of mind produced by these 
 causes. The horror, the depression, the despair, which pre- 
 ceded his being born again, were neither elementary nor neces- 
 sary parts of regeneration. Humanly speaking, a clear exhi- 
 
24 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 bition of the plan of salvation, if presented to him when he 
 entered Oxford, would have relieved his mind at once, and in- 
 troduced him into the liberty of the sons of God. He was not, 
 indeed, so fully prepared to prize the gospel then, as when he 
 did believe it with the heart ; but, although less humble, less 
 in earnest, at the time of his arrival, even then he was 
 awakened to a sense of his guilt and danger. Now, the ques- 
 tion is, would not the gospel itself, if it had been preached to 
 him at this time, have effected a change of heart ? Would not 
 the glad tidings of a finished salvation, addressed to him, as 
 he was, have melted, humbled, and converted him, without 
 the preliminary process he went through? The only thing 
 valuable in that process is, the humbling effect of it ; but if 
 the same kind and degree of humility would result from believ- 
 ing the gospel, \hen, faith in Christ ought to be the first step 
 pressed upon an awakened sinner. 
 
 I have been induced to throw out these hints, because so 
 many persons imagine that they have no warrant for believing 
 in Christ, until they experience such convictions, and possess 
 such feelings, as converts like Whitefield did. The conse- 
 quence is, that they live on, looking for what they call " a day 
 of power," which shall qualify them for the exercise of faith. 
 This false and fatal maxim must not be allowed to shelter itself 
 in the example of Whitefield; and that it may not intrench 
 itself there, I have felt it my duty to expose the true character 
 of his preliminary experience. It was useful ; but how ? Not 
 by its own direct influence; that was injurious in every sense; 
 but its usefulness in humbling, and in emptying him of self- 
 dependence, arose from its being overruled for good by the 
 Spirit of God. This being the fact, let no one quote White- 
 field's experience in proof of the necessity of going through 
 such a process of awakening as he underwent. The gospel itself 
 is " power unto salvation to every one that believeth ;" and no- 
 thing is religion, which precedes the belief of it, except such 
 exercises as naturally lead to faith. 
 
 Although I have grouped, into one view, the mental aberra- 
 tions and bodily sufferings of Whitefield whilst at Oxford, there 
 were, during the period it embraces, calm and lucid intervals, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 25 
 
 in which he combined with his studies, efforts to do good in the 
 city. Like his friends, he was the friend of the poor ; but not 
 without giving offence to his superiors. 
 
 " I incurred the displeasure of the master of the college, who 
 frequently chid, and once threatened to expel me, if I ever 
 visited the poor again. Being surprised by this treatment, and 
 overawed by his authority, I spake unadvisedly with my lips, 
 and said, if it displeased him, I would not. My conscience 
 soon smote me for this sinful compliance. I immediately re- 
 pented, and visited the poor the first opportunity, and told my 
 companions, if ever I was called to a stake for Christ's sake, I 
 would serve my tongue as Archbishop Cranmer served his 
 hand, make that burn first." Nor were his efforts confined 
 to private houses : he constantly visited the town gaol to read 
 and pray with the prisoners. One instance of this is too re- 
 markable to be passed over. 
 
 " As I was walking along, I met with a poor woman whose 
 husband was then in locardo, Oxford town gaol. Seeing her 
 much discomposed, I inquired the cause. She told me, that not 
 being able to bear the crying, of her children, and having no- 
 thing to relieve them, she had been to drown herself; but was 
 mercifully prevented ; and said, she was coming to my room to 
 inform me of it. I gave her some immediate relief, and desired 
 her to meet me at the prison with her husband in the after- 
 noon. She came; and there God visited them both by his 
 free grace. She was powerfully quickened ; and when I had 
 done reading, he came to me like the trembling jailer, and 
 grasping my hand, cried out, ' I am upon the brink of hell J ' 
 From this time forward both of them grew in grace. God, by 
 his providence, soon delivered him from his confinement. 
 Though notorious offenders against God and one another before, 
 yet now they became helps meet for each other in the great 
 work of their salvation." 
 
 In the same spirit he also exerted himself on behalf of his 
 relations and friends at Gloucester. His discovery of the ne- 
 cessity of regeneration, like Melancthon's discovery of the 
 truth, led him to imagine, that no one could resist the evi- 
 dence which convinced his own mind. " Upon this, like the 
 
26 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 woman of Samaria when Christ revealed himself to her at the 
 well, I had no rest in my soul, till I wrote letters to my rela- 
 tions, telling them there was such a thing as the new birth. I 
 imagined they would have gladly received it ; but alas ! my 
 words seemed to them as idle tales. They thought I was 
 going beside myself." 
 
 I have not been able to obtain any of the letters on this sub- 
 ject, which he addressed to his own family ; but the following 
 extract from one to a friend, will be a sufficient specimen of 
 their character. 
 
 " Lest you should imagine that true religion consists in any 
 thing besides an entire renewal of our nature into the image of 
 God, I have sent you a book entitled, " The Life of God in the 
 Soul of Man," written by a young, but an eminent Christian ; 
 which will inform you what true religion is, and how you may 
 attain it ; as, likewise, how wretchedly most people err in their 
 sentiments about it, who suppose it to be nothing else (as he 
 tells us, page 3) but a mere model of outward performances ; 
 without ever considering, that all our corrupt passions must be 
 subdued, and a complex habit of virtues such as meekness, low- 
 liness, faith, hope, and the love of God and of man be implant- 
 ed in their room, before we can have the least title to enter into 
 the kingdom of God. Our divine Master having expressly 
 told us, that unless we " renounce ourselves, and take up our 
 cross daily, we cannot be his disciples." And again, "unless 
 we have the spirit of Christ, we are none of his." 
 
 This advice met, we are informed, " with a cold reception," 
 and was an ungrateful subject to his friend at first; and yet, even 
 while it was so, such were his own confused notions of religion, that 
 he urges his friend to receive " the holy communion" frequently ; 
 assuring him that " nothing so much bedwarfs us in religion, as 
 staying away from the heavenly banquet." As if a man who had 
 no relish for the doctrine of regeneration, could have any religion ! 
 
 Having thus noticed the line of conduct which, notwith- 
 standing all his crude notions, he pursued at Oxford, I pro- 
 ceed now to record the means by which he was supported 
 during his stay at the University. It will be recollected that 
 his chief dependence was upon the emoluments of servitorship. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 27 
 
 " Soon after my acceptance I went and resided, and found my 
 having been used to a public-house was now of service to me. 
 For, many of the servitors being sick, at my first coming up, 
 by my diligent and steady attendance, I ingratiated myself into 
 the gentlemen's favour so far, that many who had it in their 
 power chose me to be their servitor. This much lessened my 
 expense ; and, indeed, God was so gracious, that with the pro- 
 fits of my place, and some little presents made me by my kind 
 tutor, for almost the first three years I did not put all my rela- 
 tions together to above 24 expense." When he joined himself 
 to the methodists, the profits of his place were, as might be 
 expected, diminished : a number " took away their pay from 
 me ;" but other sources of supply were soon opened for him. 
 Some of the methodists having left Oxford about this time, and 
 being solicitous to keep up the society, wrote to Sir John 
 Philips of London, commending Whitefield to his patronage, 
 " as a proper person" to stay and encourage their friends in fight- 
 ing the good fight of faith. " Accordingly he immediately offered 
 me an annuity of twenty pounds. To show his disinterestedness, 
 he has promised me that, whether I continue here or not ; and 
 if I resolve to stay at Oxon, he'll give me thirty pounds a year. 
 If that will not do, I may have more." In this manner was he 
 provided for, when his original resources failed. 
 
 The state of his health, however, compelled him to quit, for 
 a time, his " sweet retirement" at Oxford. So long as he 
 could, he resisted all the persuasions of his tutor and physician, 
 and all the invitations of his mother to visit Gloucester. Their 
 urgency at length prevailed, and he returned home. " My 
 friends were surprised to see me look and behave so cheerfully, 
 after the many reports they had heard concerning me." 
 
 " However, I soon found myself to be as a sheep sent forth 
 amongst wolves in sheep's clothing ; for they immediately en- 
 deavoured to dissuade me from a constant use of the means of 
 grace ; especially from weekly abstinence, and receiving the 
 blessed sacrament. But God enabled me to resist them, sted- 
 fast in the faith ; and, by keeping close to him in his holy ordi- 
 nances, I was made to triumph over all." 
 
 " Being unaccustomed for some time to live without spiritual 
 
28 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 companions, and finding none that would heartily join me no, 
 not one I watched unto prayer all the day long ; beseeching 
 God to raise me some religious associates in his own way and 
 time. f I will endeavour either to find or make a friend* had 
 been my resolution now for some time, and therefore after im- 
 portunate prayer one day, I resolved to go to the house of one 
 
 Mrs. W , to whom I had formerly read plays, Spectators, 
 
 Pope's Homer, and such-like trifling books ; hoping the altera- 
 tion she now would find in my sentiments, might, under God, 
 influence her soul. God was pleased to bless the visit with the 
 desired effect : she received the word gladly : she wanted to 
 be taught the way of God more perfectly, and soon became ' a 
 fool for Christ's sake.' Not long after, God made me instru- 
 mental to awaken several young persons, who soon formed them- 
 selves into a little society, and had quickly the honour of being 
 despised at Gloucester, as we had been before them at Oxford. 
 Thus, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, must suffer perse- 
 cution." 
 
 As his efforts and usefulness, during the period of this visit 
 to Gloucester, may be viewed as the dawn of his future zeal and 
 success, it will be proper, before enumerating more instances, to 
 record, distinctly, the manner in which he prepared himself for 
 doing good to others. 
 
 " My mind being now more open and enlarged, I began to 
 read the holy Scriptures upon my knees \ laying aside all 
 other books, and praying over, if possible, every line and 
 word. This proved meat indeed, and drink indeed, to my soul. 
 I daily received fresh life, light, and power from above. I got 
 more true knowledge from reading the book of God, in one 
 month, than I could ever have acquired from all the writings of 
 men. In one word, I found it profitable for reproof, for cor- 
 rection, for instruction \ every way sufficient to make the man 
 of God perfect, throughly furnished for every good work and 
 word. About this time God was pleased to enlighten my soul, 
 and bring me into the knowledge of his free grace and the 
 necessity of being justified in His sight by faith only. This 
 was more extraordinary, because my friends at Oxford had 
 rather inclined to the mystic divinity. Burkitt's and Henry's 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 29 
 
 Expositions were of admirable use, to lead me into this and all 
 other gospel truths. // is the good old doctrine of the church 
 of England; it is what the holy martyrs, in Queen Mary's 
 time, sealed with their blood." To these habits of reading, 
 Whitefield added much secret prayer. " Oh, what sweet com- 
 munion had I daily vouchsafed with God in prayer after my 
 coming to Gloucester ! How often have I been carried out 
 beyond myself, when meditating in the fields ! How assuredly 
 I felt that Christ dwelt in me and I in Him, and how daily did 
 I walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and was edified and 
 refreshed in the multitude of peace ! " 
 
 Such were Whitefield's private habits while attempting to be 
 useful in public. His zeal and success will now be understood. 
 
 " I always observed that as my inward strength increased, so 
 my outward sphere of action increased proportionably. In a 
 short time, therefore, I began to read to some poor people twice 
 or thrice a week. I likewise visited two other little societies be- 
 sides my own. Occasionally as business and opportunity per- 
 mitted, I generally visited one or two sick persons every day ; 
 and though silver and gold I had little of my own, yet in imita- 
 tion of my Lord's disciples, who entreated in behalf of the 
 fainting multitude, I used to pray unto Him; and he, from 
 time to time, inclined several that were rich in this world, to 
 give me money ; so that I generally had a little stock for the 
 poor always in my hand. One of the poor, whom I visited in 
 this manner, was called effectually by God at the eleventh hour : 
 she was a woman above threescore years old ; and I really be- 
 lieve, died in the true faith of Jesus Christ." 
 
 " At my first coming to Gloucester, being used to visit the 
 prisoners at Oxford, I prayed most earnestly that God would 
 open a door for me to visit the prisoners here also. Quickly 
 after, I dreamed that one of the prisoners came to be instructed 
 by me : it was much impressed upon my heart. In the morn- 
 ing I went to the door of the county gaol ; I knocked, but 
 nobody came to open it. I waited still upon God in prayer ; 
 and in some months after, came a letter from a friend at Ox- 
 ford, desiring me to go to one Pebworth, who had broken out 
 of Oxford gaol, and was retaken at Gloucester. As soon as I 
 
30 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 read this letter, it appeared to me that my prayer was now 
 answered. Immediately I went to the prison : I met with the 
 person, and finding him and some others willing to hear the 
 word of God, (having gained leave of the keeper and two ordi- 
 naries,) I constantly read to and prayed with them, every day 
 I was in town. I also begged money for them, whereby I was 
 enabled to release some of them, and cause provision to be dis- 
 tributed weekly among them ; as also to put such books into 
 their hands as I judged most proper. I cannot say that any 
 one of the prisoners was effectually wrought upon ; however, 
 much evil was prevented, many were convinced, and my own 
 soul was much edified and strengthened in the love of God and 
 man." 
 
 " During my stay here, God enabled me to give a public tes- 
 timony of my repentance, as to seeing and acting plays ; for, 
 hearing the strollers had come to town, and knowing what an 
 egregious offender I had been, I was stirred up to extract Mr. 
 Law's excellent treatise, entitled ' The Absolute Unlawfulness 
 of the Stage Entertainment.' The printer at my request put 
 a little of it in the news, for six weeks successively ; and God 
 was pleased to give it his blessing." In this manner White- 
 field employed himself during nine months ; and one effect of 
 pursuing such plans was, that " the partition-wall of bigotry 
 and sect religion was soon broken down" in his heart. " I 
 loved all, of whatever denomination, that loved the Lord Jesus 
 in sincerity." This acknowledgment stands, in his diary, con- 
 nected with an account of the benefit he derived from studying 
 the works of the nonconformists. Baxter's " Call " and Allein's 
 " Alarm," accorded so with his own ideas of fidelity and unction, 
 that wherever he recognised their spirit he acknowledged " a 
 brother beloved." 
 
 Upon this portion of his history, the mind dwells with almost 
 unmixed delight : the only drawback is, the undue importance 
 attached by him to dreams ; and even those, considered as an 
 index to his waking thoughts, are interesting; revealing, as 
 they do, his deep solicitude on behalf of souls. His zeal was 
 now according to knowledge ; his object, at once, definite 
 and scriptural ; his measures direct and rational, and his mo- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 31 
 
 tives truly evangelical. Drawing his own hope and consolation 
 immediately from the oracles of God, he led others direct 
 to the same source ; shutting up to the faith those he asso- 
 ciated with. In this respect Whitefield presents a striking 
 contrast to Wesley, at the commencement of his public exer- 
 tions. The latter, although equally conscientious, was so 
 crazed with the crude notions of the mystics, that when he left 
 Oxford to visit Georgia, Law's " Christian Perfection" was 
 almost his text-book, while instructing his fellow-passengers. 
 Accordingly the success of the two, at the time, was as different 
 as the means which they severally adopted. While Whitefield 
 won souls by reading the Scriptures, Wesley, by inculcating 
 the austerities of the ascetics, laboured in vain : he was long 
 " esteemed an Ishmael ; for his hand was against every man, 
 and every man's hand was against him." 
 
 During the latter part of Whitefield's residence in Gloucester, 
 although " despised " by many, his friends multiplied in spite of 
 all the odium which his opinions and practice called forth. 
 They became urgent for his immediate ordination, and solicit- 
 ous to see him in a sphere worthy of his talents and zeal. But 
 such were, now, his views of the ministry, that he put a decided 
 negative upon all their applications ; intrenching his refusal in 
 a resolution of the diocesans, " not to ordain any under twenty- 
 three years of age." He was not yet twenty-one. This ap- 
 parently insurmountable objection was, however, soon removed. 
 He obtained, about this time, an introduction to Lady Selwyn, 
 who had marked her approbation of him by a handsome present 
 of money, and by an immediate application to the bishop on his 
 behalf. The character she seems to have given of him had its 
 due weight with Dr. Benson. "As I was coming from the 
 cathedral prayers, thinking of no such thing, one of the vergers 
 called after me, and said, the bishop desired to speak with me. 
 I immediately turned back, considering within myself, what I 
 had done to deserve his Lordship's displeasure. When I came 
 to the top of the palace stairs, the bishop took me by the hand, 
 told me he was glad to see me, and bid me wait a little, till he 
 had put oif his habit, and he would return to me again. This 
 gave me an opportunity of praying to God for his assistance, 
 
32 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 and adoring him for his providence over me. At his coming 
 again into the room, the bishop told me that he had heard of 
 my character, liked my behaviour at church ; and, inquiring my 
 age, said, c notwithstanding I have declared I would not ordain 
 any one under three and twenty, yet I shall think it my duty to 
 ordain you, whenever you come for holy orders. 9 He then made 
 me a present of five guineas to buy me a book." Thus was the 
 chief external hinderance removed at once ; and with it, his hesi- 
 tation vanished. " From the time I first entered the University, 
 especially from the time I knew what was true and undefiled 
 Christianity, I entertained high thoughts of the importance of 
 the ministerial office, and was not solicitous what place should be 
 prepared for me, but how I should be prepared for a place. That 
 saying of the apostle, ' Not a novice, lest being puffed up with 
 pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil;' and that first 
 question of our excellent ordination office, ' Do you trust that 
 you are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon you this 
 office and administration ? ' used even to make me tremble, 
 whenever I thought of entering into the ministry. The shyness 
 of Moses and some other prophets, when God sent them out in 
 a public capacity, I thought was sufficient to teach me, not to 
 run until I was called. He who knoweth the hearts of men, is 
 witness that I never prayed more earnestly against any thing, 
 than I did against entering into this service of the church, so 
 soon. Oftentimes I have been in an agony in prayer, when 
 under convictions of my insufficiency for so great a work ; with 
 strong cries and tears, I have frequently said, ' Lord, I am a 
 youth of uncircumcised lips : Lord, send me not into thy vineyard 
 yet I ' And sometimes I had reason to think God was angry 
 with me for resisting his will. However, I was resolved to pray 
 thus as long as I could. If God did not grant my request in 
 keeping me out of it, I knew his grace would be sufficient to 
 support and strengthen me whenever he sent me into the 
 ministry." 
 
 " To my prayers I added my endeavours, and wrote letters 
 to my friends at Oxford, beseeching them to pray to God to 
 disappoint my country friends, who were for my taking orders 
 as soon as possible. Their answer was, ' Pray we the Lord of 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 33 
 
 the harvest to send thee and many more labourers into his har- 
 vest.' Another old and worthy minister of Christ, when I 
 wrote to him about the meaning of the word novice, answered, 
 it meant a novice in grace, and not in years ; and he was pleased 
 to add if St. Paul were then at Gloucester, he believed St. 
 Paul would ordain me. All this did not satisfy me : I still con- 
 tinued instant in prayer against going into holy orders, and was 
 not thoroughly convinced it was the divine will, till God by his 
 providence brought me acquainted with the bishop of Glou- 
 cester." " Before I came home, the news had reached my 
 friends, who being fond of my having such a great man's favour, 
 were very solicitous to know the event of my visit. Many 
 things I hid from them ; but when they pressed me hard, I was 
 obliged to tell them how the bishop, of his own accord, had 
 offered to give me holy orders whenever I would. On which 
 they, knowing how I had depended on the declaration his Lord- 
 ship had made some time ago, said, and I then began to think 
 myself, that, if I held out any longer, I should fight against 
 God. At length I came to a resolution, by God's leave, to 
 offer myself for holy orders the next Ember-days." 
 
 Having thus surmounted his difficulties, he proceeded at 
 once to prepare himself for ordination. He had, before, satis- 
 fied himself of the truth of the Thirty -nine Articles, by com- 
 paring them with the Scriptures ; but it does not appear that 
 the Prayer Book, as a whole, was submitted to the same test : 
 he seems to have taken its truth for granted. This is the more 
 remarkable, because in every thing else he was conscientious. 
 
 " I strictly examined myself by the qualifications required 
 for a minister, in St. Paul's Epistle to Timothy, and also by 
 every question that I knew would be put to me at the time of 
 my ordination. This latter, I drew out in writing at large, and 
 sealed my approbation of it every Sunday at the blessed sacra- 
 ment. At length, Trinity Sunday being near at hand, and 
 having my testimonials from the college, I went, a fortnight 
 beforehand, to Gloucester, intending to compose some sermons, 
 and to give myself more particularly to prayer. When I came 
 to Gloucester, notwithstanding I strove and prayed for several 
 days, and had matter enough in my heart, yet I was so restrain- 
 
34 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 ed, that I could not compose any thing at all. I mentioned my 
 case to a clergyman : he said, I was an enthusiast. I wrote to 
 another, who was experienced in the divine life : he gave me 
 some reasons, why God might deal with me in that manner ; 
 and, withal, promised me his prayers. The remainder of the 
 fortnight I spent in reading the several missions of the pro- 
 phets and apostles, and wrestled with God to give me grace to 
 follow their good examples. 
 
 " About three days before the time appointed for ordination, 
 the bishop came to town. The next evening I sent his Lord- 
 ship an abstract of my private examination upon these two 
 questions : f Do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the 
 Holy Ghost, to take upon you this office and administration ? ' 
 And, ' Are you called according to the will of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ and the laws of this realm ? ' The next morning I waited 
 upon the bishop. He received me with much love ; telling me, 
 he was glad I was come, and that he was satisfied with the 
 preparation I had made. Upon this I took my leave ; abashed 
 with God's goodness to such a wretch, but, withal, exceedingly 
 rejoiced, that, in every circumstance, he made my way into the 
 ministry so very plain before my face ! This, I think, was on 
 Friday. The day following I continued in abstinence and 
 prayer. In the evening, I retired to a hill near the town, and 
 prayed fervently, for about two hours, on behalf of myself and 
 those that were to be ordained with me. On Sunday morning 
 I rose early, and prayed over St. Paul's Epistle to Timothy, and 
 more particularly over that precept, ( Let no one despise thy 
 youth' When I went up to the altar, I could think of nothing 
 but SamueVs standing a little child before the Lord, with a 
 linen ephod. When the bishop laid his hands upon my head, 
 my heart was melted down, and I offered up my whole spirit, 
 soul, and body, to the service of God's sanctuary. I read the 
 gospel, at the bishop's command, with power, and afterward 
 sealed the good confession I had made before many witnesses, 
 by partaking of the holy sacrament." 
 
 His feelings and views upon this solemn occasion, are re- 
 corded, still more forcibly, in two letters to a friend. The first is 
 so excellent, that no apology is required for inserting it here entire. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 35 
 
 " Gloucester, June 20th, 1736. 
 " My dear friend, 
 
 This is a day much to be remembered, O, my soul ! for, about 
 noon, I was solemnly admitted by good Bishop Benson, before 
 many witnesses, into holy orders ; and was, blessed be God ! 
 kept composed both before and after imposition of hands. I 
 endeavoured to behave with unaffected devotion ; but not suit- 
 able enough to the greatness of the office I was to undertake. 
 At the same time, I trust, I answered to every question from 
 the bottom of my heart, and heartily prayed that God might 
 say, Amen. I hope the good of souls will be my only principle 
 of action. Let come what will life or death, depth or height 
 I shall henceforward live like one who this day, in the presence 
 of men and angels, took the holy sacrament, upon the profession 
 of being inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon me 
 that ministration in the church. This I began with reading 
 prayers to the prisoners in the county gaol. Whether I myself 
 shall ever have the honour of styling myself c a prisoner of the 
 Lord,' I know not ; but indeed, my dear friend, I can call hea- 
 ven and earth to witness, that when the bishop laid his hand 
 upon me, I gave myself up to be a martyr for Him who hung 
 upon the cross for me. Known unto Him are all future events 
 and contingencies. I have thrown myself blindfold, and, I trust, 
 without reserve, into his almighty hands ; only I would have 
 you observe that till you hear of my dying for or in my work, 
 you will not be apprized of all the preferment that is expected by 
 
 G. W." 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 " June 23. 
 ee Dear friend, 
 
 Never a poor creature set up with so small a stock. * * 
 * * My intention was, to make at least a hundred sermons, 
 with which to begin the ministry ; but this is so far from being 
 the case, that I have not a single one by me, except that which 
 I made for a small Christian society, and which I sent to a 
 neighbouring clergyman, to convince him how unfit I was to 
 take upon me the important work of preaching. He kept it for 
 
36 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 a fortnight, and then sent it hack, with a guinea for the loan of 
 it ; telling me, he had divided it into two, and had preached it 
 morning and evening to his congregation. With this sermon I 
 intend to begin, God willing, next Sunday. * * * * Help, 
 help me, my dear friend, with your warmest addresses to the 
 throne of grace, that I may not only find mercy, but grace to 
 help in time of need. * * * * O, cease not ; for I must 
 again repeat it, cease not to pray for 
 
 G. W." 
 
 The intense energy of these appeals to God and man, forms 
 a striking contrast to his first views of the ministry, and leads 
 the mind to expect a corresponding energy in his preaching. 
 
 " Being restrained from writing, I could not preach in the 
 afternoon, though much solicited thereto. But I read prayers 
 to the poor prisoners ; being willing to let the first act of my 
 ministerial office be an act of charity. The next morning, 
 waiting upon God in prayer, to know what he would have me to 
 do, these words, ( Speak out, Paul,' came with great power to 
 my soul. Immediately my heart was enlarged ; and I preached 
 on the Sunday following to a very crowded audience, with as 
 much freedom as though I had been a preacher for some years." 
 
 The following letter illustrates the truth of this statement, 
 and excites curiosity about the sermon itself. 
 
 " My dear friend, 
 
 Glory ! glory ! glory ! be ascribed to an Almighty Triune 
 God. Last Sunday, in the afternoon, I preached my first ser- 
 mon in the church of St. Mary De Crypt, where I was baptized, 
 and also first received the sacrament of the Lord's supper. 
 Curiosity, as you may easily guess, drew a large congregation 
 together on the occasion. The sight, at first, a little awed me; 
 but I was comforted by a heartfelt sense of the divine presence, 
 and soon found the unspeakable advantage of having been accus- 
 tomed to public speaking when a boy at school ; and of exhort- 
 ing and teaching the prisoners, and poor people at their private 
 houses, whilst at the University. By these means I was kept 
 from being daunted overmuch. As I proceeded, I perceived the 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 37 
 
 fire kindled, till at last, though so young, and amidst a crowd 
 of those who knew me in my infant, childish days, I trust I was 
 enabled to speak with some degree of gospel authority. Some 
 few mocked, but most, for the present, seemed struck ; and I 
 have since heard, that a complaint had been made to the bishop, 
 that I drove fifteen mad by the first sermon. The worthy pre- 
 late, as I am informed, wished that the madness might not be 
 forgotten before next Sunday. Before then, I hope my sermon 
 upon ' He that is in Christ is a new creature/ will be completed. 
 Blessed be God, I now find freedom in writing. Glorious 
 Jesus ! 
 
 1 Unloose my stammering tongue to tell 
 Thy love immense, unsearchable ! ' 
 
 Being thus engaged, I must hasten to subscribe myself 
 
 G. W." 
 
 The sermon was on " The Necessity and Benefits of Religious 
 Society," from Eccles. iv. 9 12, " Two are better than one," 
 &c. That Whitefield should have chosen to commence his 
 public ministry with such a subject, can only be accounted for 
 by a reference to his peculiar circumstances. The social re- 
 ligion of the Oxford methodists, and of the society he had 
 formed in Gloucester, was a new thing, the principles of which 
 required to be explained and defended. He had to leave, that 
 week, the little flock collected during his visit. They were to 
 be as sheep without a shepherd ; and that they might not dis- 
 perse on his departure, he wisely vindicated the object of such 
 meetings, and removed some of the odium attached to them. 
 In this point of view, the subject was well chosen, and quite 
 consistent with his determination to know nothing among men, 
 save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. The sermon will be 
 found in the fifth volume of his works ; but as it is not printed 
 from his own manuscript, it would be unfair to quote from it 
 any specimens of his style. And yet, even in its present form, 
 it breathes, in no ordinary degree, that freshness and warmth 
 which characterize all his writings. It is not rolled from that 
 " secret place of thunder" which the foregoing letters disclose 
 
38 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 in his bosom, and which afterward pealed like the cloud on 
 Sinai ; but it contains earnests of his future energy. 
 
 It is not generally known, and this is not the place to explain 
 it, but it is the fact, that whilst Whitefield never lost sight of 
 his ordination vows, his views of the form of episcopal ordina- 
 tion underwent such a change, that he declared to Ralph Er- 
 skine, of his own accord, " I knew of no other way then ; but I 
 would not have it in that way again, for a thousand worlds." 
 The letter containing this acknowledgment, will be found in 
 the Scotch part of his history. 
 
 Perhaps no mind, since the apostolic age, has been more 
 deeply affected, or suitably exercised, by <e the laying on of 
 hands," than Whitefield's was. A supernatural unction from the 
 Holy One, could hardly have produced greater moral effects. 
 That high sense of responsibility, that singleness of heart, that 
 entire and intense devotedness of soul, body, and spirit, which 
 characterized the first ambassadors of Christ, seems revived in 
 him. Accordingly, after reading the narrative of his ordination, 
 we naturally expect from Whitefield a sort of apostolic career. 
 This would be anticipated, were we utterly ignorant of the re- 
 sult. After witnessing at the altar, a spirit wound up to the 
 highest pitch of ardour, throbbing and thrilling with strong 
 emotions, and, like a renovated eagle, impatient to burst off, we 
 naturally look for a corresponding swiftness of flight and width 
 of sweep ; and feel that we shall not be surprised by any thing 
 which follows. His unbosomings of himself disclose in his 
 heart a " secret place of thunder," and " a fountain of tears," 
 from which we expect alternate bursts of terror and tenderness 
 bolts of Sinai, and dew of Hermon ; and we shall not be dis- 
 appointed. Agreeably to his engagement with Sir John Philips, 
 Whitefield returned to Oxford, and took out his bachelor's de- 
 gree. During his residence, he resumed the care of the me- 
 thodist society, and of the poor. His stay at Oxford was, how- 
 ever, but short. He received and accepted an invitation to 
 officiate for a time in the chapel of the Tower of London. 
 His first sermon in the metropolis was, however, preached in 
 Bishopsgate church. On entering the pulpit, his juvenile aspect 
 excited a general sneer of contempt ; but he had not spoken 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 39 
 
 long, when the sneer gave place to universal symptoms of won- 
 der and pleasure. The sermon stamped his character at once ; 
 and from that time his popularity in London continued to in- 
 crease. During his stay, which only extended to two months, 
 he maintained his usual habits of visiting the prisoners and the 
 poor. 
 
 About this time, letters were received from the Wesleys and 
 Ingham, then in Georgia. Their descriptions of the moral con- 
 dition of the British colonies in America, affected his heart 
 powerfully, and awakened in him a strong desire to preach the 
 gospel abroad. It was an undertaking suited to his energetic and 
 enterprising character ; and therefore sunk deeply amongst his 
 thoughts. He could not, however, come to a final determination 
 then, and therefore he returned to Oxford again. There, 
 Whitefield devoted the chief part of his time to the study of 
 Henry's Commentary ; which seems to have been a favourite 
 book amongst his associates in the University. " God," says he, 
 " works by him (Henry) greatly here." How highly he prized 
 his own copy, may be judged from his gratitude when he was 
 able to pay for it. To the friend who furnished it, he writes, 
 " Herewith I send you seven pounds to pay for Mr. Henry's 
 Commentary. Dear Esqr. Thorold made me a present of ten 
 guineas, so that now (for ever blessed be divine goodness !) I 
 can send you more than I thought for." In a former letter he 
 had said, " I hope to send you, in a short time, two guineas to- 
 wards paying for Henry's Exposition." 
 
 The study of this invaluable work was soon interrupted, by 
 an invitation to officiate for a short time at Dummer in Hamp- 
 shire. This was a very different sphere to any he had been ac- 
 customed. The people were equally poor and illiterate ; but he 
 was soon reconciled to them, and acknowledged that during his 
 stay he had " reaped much spiritual benefit." While he con- 
 tinued at Dummer, he adhered rigidly to his system of econo- 
 mizing time ; dividing the day into three equal parts ; eight 
 hours for sleep and meals ; eight for public prayers, catechising, 
 and visiting ; and eight for study and devotional retirement. 
 
 While thus occupied in obscurity, he was not forgotten in 
 London : a profitable curacy in the metropolis was offered to 
 
40 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 him ; but the chord touched by the spiritual wants of Georgia, 
 had not ceased to vibrate in his inmost soul. From the moment 
 it was struck, Oxford had no magnet, Hampshire no charms, 
 the metropolis no fascination, for the young evangelist. He 
 promptly and decidedly declined the lucrative and attractive 
 curacy, being intent on going abroad. And an opportunity of 
 gratifying his truly missionary spirit soon presented itself. 
 " He received letters," says Dr. Gillies, " containing what he 
 thought to be an invitation to go to Georgia, from Mr. John 
 Wesley, whose brother came over about this time to procure 
 more labourers." The doctor might have said " letters containing 
 what was an invitation :" for although, at a future period, it 
 was insinuated that Whitefield had intruded himself upon the 
 sphere of the Wesleys in America, the imputation is unwarrant- 
 ed. Charles Wesley both urged and encouraged him to leave 
 England. The following extracts are from a poem addressed 
 to Whitefield by Charles Wesley, at the time. 
 
 1. 
 
 " Servant of God, the summons hear ; 
 Thy Master calls arise, obey ! 
 The tokens of his will appear, 
 His providence points out the way. 
 
 " Champion of God, thy Lord proclaim; 
 Jesus alone resolve to know ; 
 Tread down thy foes in Jesus' name ; 
 Go ! conquering and to conquer, go. 
 
 9. 
 
 " Through racks and fires pursue thy way ; 
 Be mindful of a dying God ; 
 Finish thy course, and win the day ; 
 Look up and seal the truth with blood ! " 
 
 This impassioned adjuration to proceed to America, proves 
 that Whitefield did not intrude himself on the mission, nor run 
 unsent. Had Dr. Southey observed those lines, he would not 
 have said, that " Charles did not invite him to the undertak- 
 ing." The truth is, both brothers appealed to him in the form 
 most likely to win his consent ; making the call appear to be 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 41 
 
 from God. " Only Mr. Delamotte is with me," says John, " un- 
 til God shall stir up the hearts of some of his servants to come 
 over and help us. What if thou art the man, Mr. Whitefield ? 
 Do you ask me what you shall have ? Food to eat, and raiment 
 to put on ; a house to lay your head in, such as your Lord had 
 not ; and a crown of glory that fadeth not away." This is a real 
 invitation, or mockery ; and precisely in that spirit which White- 
 field could not resist. Accordingly, on reading it, " his heart," 
 he says, " leaped within him, and, as it were, echoed to the call." 
 A concurrence of favourable circumstances at the time, enabled 
 him, thus promptly, to embrace the proposal, and embark in 
 the undertaking. Mr. Kinchin, the minister of Dummer, had 
 been chosen dean of Corpus Christi College, and was willing to 
 take upon him the charge of the prisoners at Oxford ; Harvey 
 undertook to supply his place in the curacy ; and in Georgia, 
 the novel sphere of usefulness, and the warm friendship of Wes- 
 ley, were equally attractive, as inducements to leave England. 
 The resolution thus formed, he solemnly confirmed by prayer ; 
 and, that it might not be shaken by his relations at Gloucester, 
 he wrote to assure them, that unless they would promise not to 
 dissuade him, he would embark without seeing them. This 
 promise they gave ; but they forgot it when he arrived. His 
 aged mother, as might be expected, wept sorely ; and others, 
 as Dr. Southey observes, who had no such cause to justify their 
 interference, represented to him what " pretty preferment " he 
 might have if he would stay at home. But, none of these things 
 moved him : their influence was defeated by his own prayers, 
 and by the weight of the bishop's opinion ; who, as usual, re- 
 ceived him like a father, approved of his determination, and 
 expressed his confidence that God would enable him to do much 
 good abroad. From Gloucester he went to take leave of his 
 friends at Bristol. During this visit, the mayor appointed him 
 to preach before the corporation : even the quakers thronged 
 to hear him. But the effect of his farewell sermons will be best 
 told in his own words. " What shall I say ? Methinks it 
 would be almost sinful to leave Bristol at this critical juncture. 
 The whole city seems to be alarmed. Churches are as full on 
 week-days, as they use to be on Sundays, and on Sundays so 
 
 G 
 
42 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 fall, that many, very many are obliged to go away because they 
 cannot come in. Oh that God would keep me always humble, 
 and fully convinced that I am nothing without him ; and that 
 all the good done upon earth, God himself doth it." " The word 
 was sharper than a two-edged sword ; the doctrine of the new 
 birth made its way like lightning into the hearers' consciences. 
 Sanctify it, Holy Father ! to thine own glory and thy people's 
 good." 
 
 Similar impressions were made in Bath and Gloucester, and 
 unprecedented collections obtained for charitable objects. His 
 stay was, however, short : he was called up to London to appear 
 before General Oglethorpe, and the trustees of Georgia. Hav- 
 ing been accepted by them, he was presented to the bishop and 
 primate, who both highly approved of his mission. But his 
 departure from England was delayed for some months, owing to 
 the vessel in which he was to sail not being ready at the time 
 expected. He therefore undertook to serve, for a while, the 
 church of one of his friends at Stonehouse. In this retirement 
 his communion with God was, at once, intimate and habitual. 
 Could the trees of the wood speak, he says, they would tell 
 what sweet communion he and his Christian brethren had, un- 
 der their shade, enjoyed with their God. " Sometimes as I 
 have been walking," he continues, " my soul would make such 
 sallies, that I thought it would go out of the body. At other 
 times I would be so overpowered with a sense of God's infinite 
 majesty, that I would be constrained to throw myself prostrate 
 on the ground, and offer my soul as a blank in his hands, to 
 write on it what he pleased. One night was a time never to be 
 forgotten. It happened to lighten exceedingly. I had been 
 expounding to many people, and some being afraid to go home, 
 I thought it my duty to accompany them, and improve the oc- 
 casion, to stir them up to prepare for the coming of the Son of 
 man. In my return to the parsonage, whilst others were rising 
 from their beds, and frightened almost to death to see the light- 
 ning run upon the ground, I and another, a poor but pious 
 countryman, were in the field, praising, praying to, and exulting 
 in our God, and longing for that time when Jesus shall be re- 
 vealed from heaven ' in flaming fire.' Oh that my soul may 
 
WIIITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 43 
 
 be in a like frame when he shall actually come to call me !" 
 He refers to this scene in one of his letters. " Honest James 
 and I were out in the midst of the lightning, and never were 
 more delighted in our lives. May we be as well pleased, when 
 the Son of God cometh to judgment." 
 
 He came glowing from this mount of communion to Bristol 
 again, prepared to preach the gospel with new energy ; and the 
 people were prepared to hear it with new interest ; for such was 
 the impatience for his return, that multitudes on foot, and some 
 in coaches, were waiting to meet him, a mile from the city ; and 
 a still greater number welcomed him, as he passed along the 
 streets. And if the city was alarmed during his former visit, it 
 was now electrified: persons of all ranks and denominations 
 crowded to hear him ; and such was the pressure in every church, 
 that he could hardly make his way to the reading desk. " Some 
 hung upon the rails of the organ loft, others climbed upon the 
 leads of the church, and altogether made the church so hot 
 with their breath, that the steam would fall from the pillars 
 like drops of rain." When he preached his farewell sermon, 
 and said to the people that perhaps they might " see his face no 
 more," high and low, young and old, burst into tears. Multi- 
 tudes followed him home with tears, and many with entreaties 
 that he would remain in England ; but he was firm to his pur- 
 pose, and merely consented to spend the next day in speaking 
 with those who had been awakened under his ministry. This 
 he did from seven in the morning until midnight, when he stole 
 away secretly to avoid the parade of a public escort. 
 
 After some brief intermediate visits, he arrived again in Lon- 
 don. Here invitations to preach and administer the sacrament 
 poured in upon him from so many churches, and were so promptly 
 accepted by him, that his friends were afraid for his health ; 
 the crowds at each church being so overwhelming. But his 
 answer was, " I find by experience that the more I do, the more 
 I may do, for God." This was said when he was in the habit 
 of preaching four times on the sabbath, and had often to walk 
 ten or twelve miles in going from one church to another, and 
 to preach five times in the week besides. Such unprecedented 
 labours might well be, as they were, called "mighty deeds" by 
 
44 
 
 the newspapers ; but, this kind of notice hurt his feelings. In 
 a letter to a friend he expresses himself on the subject thus : 
 " I suppose you have heard of my mighty deeds, falsely so called 
 by the newspapers ; for I find some back-friend has published 
 abroad my preaching four times in a day ; but I beseech Mr. 
 Raikes, the printer, never to put me in his news again upon any 
 such account, for it is quite contrary to my inclinations and 
 positive orders." To his friends, however, he was not reserved 
 in communicating either the extent of his labours, or the symp- 
 toms of their success. In another letter to the same person he 
 writes, " Last week, save one, I preached ten times in different 
 churches ; and the last week, seven ; and yesterday four times, 
 and read prayers twice, though I slept not an hour the night 
 before, which was spent in religious conversation, &c. God 
 still works more and more by my unworthy ministry. Many 
 youths here sincerely love our Lord Jesus Christ ; and thou- 
 sands, I hope, are quickened, strengthened, and confirmed by 
 the word preached. Last Sunday (in St. Dunstan's) at six in 
 the morning, when I gave my farewell, the whole church was 
 drowned in tears : they wept and cried aloud, as a mother weep- 
 eth for her first-born. Since that, there is no end of persons 
 coming and weeping, telling me what God has done for their 
 souls : others again beg little books, and desire me to write 
 their names in them. The time would fail me, were I to relate 
 how many have been awakened, and how many pray for me. 
 The great day will discover all ! " This will be more minutely 
 detailed in the next chapter. 
 
 Having thus traced the amazing effects of Whitefield's jfirst 
 sermons, it will now be interesting to examine their general 
 character, and to ascertain what were the truths which thus 
 arrested and aroused the public mind. Three of these success- 
 ful sermons can, happily, be identified with these " times of re- 
 freshing ;" and they may be depended on, as specimens of both the 
 letter and the spirit of his preaching, because they were printed 
 from his own manuscripts: that " On Early Piety" that "On 
 Regeneration ;" and that " On Intercession" Whoever will 
 read these appeals, realizing the circumstances under which they 
 were made, will hardly wonder at the effect produced by them ; 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 45 
 
 the topics of the second and third, and the tone of all the three, 
 are so different from the matter and manner of sermonizing, to 
 which the public had been long accustomed. They do not sur- 
 prise us at all ; because, happily, neither the topics nor the tone 
 of them are " strange things to our ears." Both were, however, 
 novelties, even in the metropolis, at that time. When where 
 had an appeal like the following been made in London ? "I 
 beseech you, in love and compassion, to come to Jesus. Indeed, 
 all I say is in love to your souls. And if I could be but an in- 
 strument of bringing you to Jesus, I should not envy but rejoice 
 in your happiness, however much you were exalted. If I was to 
 make up the last of the train of the companions of the blessed 
 Jesus, it would rejoice me to see you above me in glory. I 
 would willingly go to prison or to death for you, so I could but 
 bring one soul from the devil's strong holds, into the salvation 
 which is by Christ Jesus. Come then to Christ, every one that 
 hears me this night. Come, come, my guilty brethren : I be- 
 seech you for your immortal souls' sake, for Christ's sake, come 
 to Christ! Methinks I could speak till midnight unto you; 
 I am full of love towards you. Would you have me go and tell 
 my Master, that you will not come, and that I have spent my 
 strength in vain ? I cannot bear to carry such a message to 
 him ! I would not, indeed I would not, be a swift witness against 
 you at the great day of account : but if you will refuse these 
 gracious invitations, I must do it." 
 
 In this spirit (not very prevalent even now) Whitefield began 
 his ministry. And there is a fascination as well as fervour in 
 some of his early sermons. How bold and beautiful is the 
 peroration of that on Intercession ! Referring to the holy im- 
 patience of " the souls under the altar," for the coming of the 
 kingdom of God, he exclaims, " And shall not we who are on 
 earth, be often exercised in this divine employ with the glo- 
 rious company of the spirits of just men made perfect ? Since 
 our happiness is so much to consist in the communion of saints, 
 in the church triumphant above, shall we not frequently inter- 
 cede for the church militant below; and earnestly beg, that 
 we may be all one ? To provoke you to this work and labour 
 of love, remember, that it is the never-ceasing employment of 
 
46 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 the holy and highly exalted Jesus himself: so that he who is 
 constantly interceding for others, is doing that on earth, which 
 the eternal Son of God is always doing in heaven. Imagine, 
 therefore, when you are lifting up holy hands for one another, 
 that you see the heavens opened, and the Son of God in all his 
 glory, as the great High Priest of your salvation, pleading for 
 you the all-sufficient merit of his sacrifice before the throne. 
 Join your intercessions with His ! The imagination will 
 strengthen your faith, and excite a holy earnestness in your 
 prayers." 
 
CHAPTER IT. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S INTRODUCTION TO LONDON. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S ministry in London began at the Tower an un- 
 likely quarter for attraction or effect. The curate of the 
 Tower, who had been his friend at college, having occasion to 
 officiate in Hampshire for a season, invited him to supply 
 during his absence. Sir John Philips also sanctioned the re- 
 quest, and joined in it. Little did either of these good men, 
 and still less did Whitefield himself, foresee the remote, or 
 even the immediate, consequences of this invitation. And it is 
 well they did not ! For had they foreseen Whitefield's splen- 
 did irregularities in Moorfields and Blackheath, or his spacious 
 tabernacles in London, or even his moderate Calvinism, they 
 would not have countenanced him. He himself, notwithstand- 
 ing all his constitutional bravery and conscientious simplicity, 
 would not have hazarded the experiment, had he suspected the 
 result. 
 
 How little he did so, will be best told in his own words. 
 " On Wednesday, August 4th, 1737, with fear and trembling I 
 obeyed the summons, and went in the stage coach to London ; 
 and the Sunday following, in the afternoon, preached at Bi- 
 shopsgate church. As I went up the pulpit stairs, almost all 
 seemed to sneer at me, on account of my youth. But they 
 soon grew serious in the time of my preaching ; and after I 
 came down, showed me great tokens of respect, blessed me as 
 I passed, and made great inquiry who I was. The question no 
 one could answer ; for I was quite a stranger : and, by passing 
 speedily through the crowd, returned to the Tower without 
 having my name discovered." 
 
48 
 
 " Here (at the Tower) I continued for the space of two 
 months, reading prayers twice a week, catechising and preach- 
 ing once, besides visiting the soldiers in the infirmary and bar- 
 racks daily. I also read prayers every evening in Wapping 
 chapel." (It was, no doubt, in going between the Tower and 
 Wapping chapel, that his well known expression, " Wapping 
 sinners," was first forced upon him.) " I preached at Ludgate 
 prison every Tuesday." (This also, together with his visits to 
 the castle at Oxford, will account for the frequency of the forms 
 of judicial trial and condemnation, in his sermons to the un- 
 godly.) " God was pleased to give me favour in the eyes of 
 the inhabitants of the Tower. The chapel was crowded on 
 Lord's days. Religious friends from various parts of the town 
 attended the word, and several young men on Lord's-day morn- 
 ing, under serious impressions, came to converse with me on the 
 new birth." 
 
 So far all is pleasing; but there was nothing surprising 
 marked Whitefield's first visit to London. That it made no 
 great impression on himself, is evident from the perfect simpli- 
 city with which he records its close : " Having staid in London 
 until Mr. B. came out of the country, I returned to my little 
 charge at Oxford, and waited on my deaconship according to 
 the measure of grace imparted to me." Even when he was 
 invited to " a very profitable curacy " in London, and urged to 
 accept it, he says, " I had no inclination to accept it. At 
 Dummer I soon began to be as much delighted with the artless 
 conversation of the poor illiterate people, as I had been formerly 
 with the company of my Oxford friends ; and frequently learnt 
 as much by an afternoon's visit, as by a week's study." 
 
 It was therefore for the sake of Georgia, solely, that he came 
 back to London. The metropolis was to Whitefield, then, 
 merely the way to America. Accordingly, he did not seek for 
 engagements, nor volunteer his services, on his arrival from 
 Oxford. Indeed, he does not seem to have contemplated 
 preaching. " I followed my usual practice of reading and 
 praying over the word of God on my knees. Sweet was this 
 retirement to my soul but it was not of long continuance. In- 
 vitations were given me to preach at several places." Not, 
 
WHITKFIKI.n's LIFK AM) TIMES. 49 
 
 however, that he was unwilling to preach. All I want to show 
 is, that he had no designs upon London, and no idea of creating 
 a sensation in it. He could not, however, be hid long. His 
 former visit was not forgotten, and his fame in Bristol had 
 reached the metropolis. " The stewards and members of the 
 religious societies " found him out, and forced him out, on be- 
 half of their charity schools : a work which their successors 
 carry on, with great fidelity and perseverance, to this hour ! 
 I mean no reflection upon stewards. They thus oall out minis- 
 ters, who would otherwise shrink from publicity ; and extend 
 over London the influence of talents and piety, which must 
 otherwise have been confined to a corner. It is not their fault, 
 if another Whitefield has not been found out. Had there been 
 another in the empire since, the nets of religious societies would 
 have caught him : and, whenever there is another, they are sure 
 to bring him into full notice and employment 1 Whitefield says, 
 with great simplicity, " The stewards of religious societies were 
 very fond of hearing me." No wonder : he collected upwards of 
 a thousand pounds for the schools alone ; " in those days/' says 
 Dr. Southey, " a prodigious sum ; larger collections being made 
 than had ever before been known on like occasions." 
 
 Whitefield himself has drawn a distinction between the feel- 
 ings with which he accepted invitations from societies, and the 
 feelings with which he assisted clergymen on the sabbath. " I 
 embraced the invitations to preach and assist in administering 
 the sacrament." " With great reluctance I was prevailed on to 
 preach a charity sermon at Wapping chapel." On both occa- 
 sions he was, however, equally successful. " So many came" 
 to the sacrament at Cripplegate, St. Anne's, and Foster Lane, 
 " that sometimes we were obliged to consecrate fresh elements 
 twice or thrice, and the stewards found it somewhat difficult to 
 carry the offerings to the communion table." In like manner, 
 " more was collected at Wapping chapel, for the charity, than 
 had been for many years." At St. Swithin's also, instead of 
 ten shillings, as formerly, " eight pounds were collected." 
 
 This was too great a novelty then to be concealed. " Next 
 morning as I was at breakfast with a friend at the Tower, I read 
 in one of the newspapers, that there was a young gentleman going 
 
50 
 
 volunteer to Georgia, had preached at St. Swithin's, and col- 
 lected eight pounds, instead of ten shillings ; three pounds of 
 which were in halfpence ; and that he would preach next Wed- 
 nesday before the societies, at their general quarterly meeting. 
 This advertisement chagrined me very much. I immediately 
 sent to the printer, desiring he would put me in his paper no 
 more. His answer was, that he was paid for doing it, and 
 would not lose two shillings for any body. By this means peo- 
 ple's curiosity was stirred up more and more. On Wednesday 
 evening Bow church, in Cheapside, was crowded exceedingly. 
 I preached my sermon on Early Piety ; and at the request of 
 the societies printed it. Henceforward, for nearly three months 
 successively, there was no end of people's flocking to hear the 
 word of God. Sometimes constables were obliged to be 
 placed at the doors, without and within. One might, as it were, 
 walk upon the people's heads. Thousands went away from the 
 largest churches for want of room. I now preached generally 
 nine times a-week. The people were all attention, as hearing 
 for eternity ! The early sacraments were exceedingly awful ! 
 Oh how often at Cripplegate, St. Anne's, and Foster-lane, 
 have we seen Jesus Christ crucified and evidently set forth be- 
 fore us ! On Sunday mornings, long before day, you might see 
 streets filled with people going to church, with their lanthorns 
 in their hands ; and hear them conversing about the things of 
 God." 
 
 By thus specifying the spot where Whitefield preached his 
 first published sermon, Bow church will be reconsecrated, in the 
 estimation of many, and Bow bells sound more sweetly. Such 
 is the force of association. Its laws, like those of nature, can 
 neither be set aside nor weakened. Only hallowed men can 
 make hallowed ground ; and no minister becomes hallowed to 
 posterity, but "he that winneth souls." Accordingly, Bow 
 bells remind us of no one but Whitefield. His one sermon in- 
 vests that church with more sacredness than its consecration, 
 and with more interest than the whole series of its corporation 
 sermons. 
 
 There is neither venom nor vapouring in this remark. Visitors 
 from the country, and from America, pause even in Cheapside 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 51 
 
 to gaze at the spire under which George Whitefield preached. 
 They rememher no one else. Why ? Because no one else has 
 " so preached " there, " that many believed." Thus it is only 
 the salvation of immortal souls that stamps religious immor- 
 tality upon " solemn temples." Accordingly, not all the talent 
 and piety which graced the pulpit at Whitehall during the Pro- 
 tectorate, nor all the rank which has been in it and around it 
 since, can awaken one spiritual emotion or recollection. Even 
 Baxter, Owen, and Howe, can hardly be realized there, as 
 ministers of the glorious gospel. A barn, where either of them 
 had preached Christ to the poor and the perishing, would make 
 our hearts burn within us \ but in the chapel-royal, they are 
 remembered only as great men. Had Simeon of Cambridge, 
 that " Paul the aged," preached there but once, before singing 
 his Nu<nc dimittis,\iQ would have been more remembered by 
 posterity, than all his late predecessors put together. It is ut- 
 terly in vain to sneer or reason against this law of association. 
 Nothing gains or retains a hallowed hold upon the sympathies of 
 the pious, but usefulness. Mere talent and heartless orthodoxy 
 can no more endear or dignify a church now, than relics from 
 Rome or Jerusalem. 
 
 But, to return. Whitefield had soon to pay the usual price 
 of popularity. "As my popularity and usefulness increased, 
 opposition increased proportionably. At first, many of the 
 clergy were my hearers and admirers ; but some soon grew angry, 
 and complaints were made that there was no room for the 
 parishioners, and that the pews were spoiled. Some called me 
 a spiritual pickpocket ; and others thought I made use of a 
 charm to get the people's money. A report was spread abroad 
 that the bishop of London, upon the complaint of the clergy, 
 intended to silence me. I immediately waited upon his Lord- 
 ship, and inquired whether any complaint of this nature had 
 been lodged against me. He answered, No. I asked his Lord- 
 ship whether any objection could be made against my doc- 
 trine ? He said, f No : for he knew a clergyman who heard 
 me preach a plain scriptural sermon.' I asked his Lordship 
 whether he would grant me a license ? He said, ' I needed 
 none, as I was going to Georgia.' I replied * Then your Lord- 
 
52 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 ship would not forbid me.' He gave me a satisfactory answei 
 and I took my leave." 
 
 Why has Dr. Southey stripped the bishop's courtesy of all 
 its grace ? He says of the bishop, " Evidently he thought this 
 (Georgia) a happy destination for one whose fervent spirit was 
 likely to lead him into extravagances of doctrine as well as of 
 life." This is no compliment to his Lordship's wisdom, what- 
 ever it be to his policy. Even his policy was bad, if this be 
 true ; for what could be worse in principle or policy, than let- 
 ting loose upon an infant colony an extravagant chaplain ? 
 Thus Dr. Southey has imputed to the bishop, unwittingly, a 
 heartless, if not reckless, indifference to the religious interests 
 of Georgia ; for if Whitefield was dangerous even in London, 
 where he could easily be counteracted, if not controlled, how 
 much more dangerous he must have been in a distant colony ! 
 This inference is inevitable, if there was any real danger to be 
 apprehended from Whitefield's doctrine or example. It is easy 
 to say, that " the whole force of his enthusiasm might safely 
 expend itself" in Georgia ; but Dr. Southey should not have 
 said this ; for he had just said before, of the disorders raised in 
 the colony, that Charles Wesley had, " in truth, been the occa- 
 sion of them, by his injudicious zeal." But, enough of this. 
 Southey is no doubt right in saying, that the bishop was glad, 
 and that some of the clergy rejoiced "in Whitefield's de- 
 parture," as a happy riddance. He guessed well, although he 
 reasons ill, in this instance. Accordingly, the bishop's " satis- 
 factory answer" to Whitefield did not prevent some of the 
 London clergy from shutting their pulpits against him. " Soon 
 after this, two clergymen sent for me, and told me they would 
 not let me preach in their pulpits any more, unless I renounced 
 that part of the preface of my sermon on Regeneration, 
 wherein I wished, that my brethren would entertain their audi- 
 tories oftener with discourses on the new birth. This I had 
 not freedom to do and so they continued my opposers." 
 
 " What, I believe, irritated some of my enemies the more, 
 was my free conversation with many of the serious dissenters, 
 who invited me to their houses ; and told me repeatedly, ' that 
 if the doctrine of the new birth and justification by faith was 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 53 
 
 preached powerfully in the church, there would be but few dis- 
 senters in England.' Who the dissenters were that said this, 
 cannot now he ascertained : but, certainly, they were not serious 
 dissenters, nor sound reasoners, however serious they may have 
 been as Christians ; for wherever these doctrines are powerfully 
 preached in the church, there are many dissenters. The pro- 
 gress of both dissent and methodism keeps pace with the 
 progress of evangelical sentiment in the church, and ever must 
 do whilst they continue evangelical. Whitefield was, however, 
 simple enough to believe what he wished, and honest enough to 
 act accordingly, in this instance. " My practice in visiting and 
 associating with (these dissenters) I thought was quite agree- 
 able to the word of God. Their conversation was savoury ; and 
 I judged, (' rightly,' says Dr. Southey,) that the best way to 
 bring them over, was not by bigotry and railing, but by mo- 
 deration and love, and undissembled holiness of life." 
 
 " But these reasons were of no avail. One minister called 
 me a pragmatical rascal, and vehemently inveighed against me 
 and the whole body of dissenters together." Dr. Southey ex- 
 plains the " serious offence " thus taken by the clergy, by say- 
 ing, "for the evils which puritanism had brought on this 
 kingdom were at that time neither forgotten nor forgiven." 
 No thanks to the Doctor, if ever they should be so ! He has 
 done all he could to perpetuate their memory. It will not, 
 however, live long. The accidental evils of puritanism, like 
 those of the Reformation, will soon be forgiven, and forgotten 
 too, in the enjoyment of the truth and liberty which the puri- 
 tans bought and sealed with their blood. Wycliffe and Baxter, 
 Latimer and Owen, Cranmer and Howe, will be associated and 
 enshrined names in the temple of Christianity, when all who 
 have hindered their identification will be nameless, or named 
 only to be pitied and wondered at for ever. 
 
 Whitefield found pulpits in London, until he embarked for 
 America. Not many, indeed, seem to have been shut against 
 him. " I have been wearied almost to death," he says, " in 
 preaching." " The nearer the time of my embarkation ap- 
 proached, the more affectionate and eager people grew. All 
 ranks gave vent to their passion. Thousands and thousands of 
 
54 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 prayers were put up for me. The people would run and stop 
 me in the alleys of the churches, hug me in their arms, and fol- 
 low me with wishful looks. Such a sacrament I never saw be- 
 fore, as at St. Dunstan's. The tears of the communicants 
 mingled with the cup : and had not Jesus given us some of his 
 ' new wine/ our parting would have been insupportable. 
 
 " At length having preached in a good part of the London 
 churches, collected about a thousand pounds for the charity 
 schools, and got upwards of three hundred pounds for the poor 
 in Georgia, I left London on Dec. 28th, 1737, in the twenty- 
 third year of my age, and went in the strength of God, as a poor 
 pilgrim, on board the Whitaker." 
 
CHAPTER 111. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S FIRST VOYAGE AND VISIT TO GEORGIA. 
 
 THE settlement of Georgia was begun in 1733, by a number of 
 English people, who were brought over by General Oglethorpe. 
 On the first of February of that year, General Oglethorpe and 
 his colony entered the Savannah river, and the same night the 
 tents were first pitched where the city of Savannah now stands. 
 For several days the people were employed in erecting a fortifi- 
 cation, and in felling the woods, while the general marked out 
 the town. The first house was begun on the ninth ; and the 
 town, after the Indian name of the river which ran by it, was 
 called Savannah. The fort being completed, the guns mounted, 
 and the colony put into a state of safety, the next object of 
 Oglethorpe's attention was, to treat with the Indians for a share 
 of their possessions. 
 
 In his intercourse with the Indians, he was greatly assisted 
 by an Indian woman, whom he found in Savannah, of the 
 name of Mary Musgrove. She had resided among the English, 
 in another part of the country, and was well acquainted with 
 their language. She was of great use, therefore, to General 
 Oglethorpe, in interpreting what he said to the Indians, and 
 what they said to him. For this service he gave her a hundred 
 pounds a year. 
 
 " Among those who came over with General Oglethorpe was 
 a man named Thomas Bosomworth, who was the chaplain, or 
 minister, of the colony. Soon after his arrival he married the 
 above-mentioned Indian woman, Mary Musgrove. Unhappily, 
 Bosomworth was, at heart, a bad man, although by profession 
 he was a minister of the gospel. He was distinguished for his 
 
56 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 pride, and love of riches and influence. At the same time, he 
 was very artful. Yet, on account of his profession, he was, for 
 a time, much respected by the Indians. 
 
 " At one of the great councils of the Indians, this artful man 
 induced some of the chiefs to crown Malatche, one of the 
 greatest among them, and to declare him prince and emperor 
 of all the Creeks. After this, he made his wife call herself the 
 eldest sister of Malatche ; and she told the Indians that one of 
 her grandfathers had been made king, by the Great Spirit, over 
 all the Creeks. The Indians believed what Mary told them ; 
 for, since General Oglethorpe had been so kind to her, they had 
 become very proud of her. They called a great meeting of the 
 chiefs together, and Mary made them a long talk. She told 
 them that they had been injured by the whites that they were 
 getting away the lands of the Indians, and would soon drive 
 them from all their possessions. She said, ( We must assert 
 our rights we must arm ourselves against them we must 
 drive them from our territories. Let us call forth our warriors 
 I will head them. Stand by me, and the houses which they 
 have erected shall smoke in ruins.' 
 
 " The spirit of Queen Mary was contagious. Every chief 
 present declared himself ready to defend her to the last drop of 
 his blood. 
 
 " After due preparation, the warriors were called forth. They 
 had painted themselves afresh, and sharpened anew their toma- 
 hawks for the battle. The march was now commenced. Queen 
 Mary, attended by her infamous and wicked husband, the real 
 author of all their discontent, headed the savage throng. 
 
 " Before they reached Savannah, their approach was an- 
 nounced. The people were justly alarmed they were few in 
 number, and though they had a fortification and cannon, they 
 had no good reason to hope that they should be able to ward off 
 the deadly blow which was aimed against them. 
 
 " By this time the savages were in sight of Savannah. At 
 this critical moment an Englishman, by the name of Noble 
 Jones, a bold and daring man, rode forth, with a few spirited 
 men on horseback, to meet them. As he approached them, 
 he exclaimed in a voice like thunder : ' Ground your arms ! 
 
57 
 
 ground your arms ! not an armed Indian shall set his foot in 
 this town.' 
 
 " Awe-struck by his lofty tone, and perceiving him and his 
 companions ready to dash in among them, they paused, and 
 soon after laid down their arms. Bosomworth and his queen 
 were now summoned to march into the city, and it was per- 
 mitted the chiefs and other Indians to follow, but without their 
 arms. 
 
 " On reaching the parade ground, the thunder of fifteen can- 
 non fired at the same moment, told them what they might expect 
 should they persist in their hostile designs. The Indians were 
 now marched to the house of the president of the council, in 
 Savannah. Bosomworth was required to leave the Indians while 
 the president had a friendly talk with them. 
 
 " In his address to them he assured them of the kindness of 
 the English, and demanded what they meant by coming in this 
 warlike manner. 
 
 " In reply? they told the president ' that they heard that Mary 
 was to be sent over the great waters, and they had come to learn 
 why they were to lose their queen.' 
 
 " Finding that the Indians had been deceived, and that Bo- 
 somworth was the author of all the trouble that he had even 
 intended to get possession of the magazine, and to destroy the 
 whites, the council directed him to be seized, and to be thrown 
 into prison. 
 
 " This step Mary resented with great spirit. Rushing forth 
 among the Indians, she openly cursed General Oglethorpe, 
 although he had raised her from poverty and distress, and de- 
 clared that the whole world should know that the ground she 
 trod upon was her own. 
 
 " The warlike spirit of the Indians being thus likely to be re- 
 newed, it was thought advisable to imprison Mary also. This 
 was accordingly carried into effect. At the same time, to ap- 
 pease the Indians, a sumptuous feast was made for the chiefs 
 by the president, who during the better state of feeling, which 
 seemed to prevail, took occasion to explain to them the wicked- 
 ness of Bosomworth, and how by falsehood and cunning he had 
 led them to believe that Mary was really their queen a de- 
 
.58 WHITE-FIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 scendant of one of their great chiefs. ' Brothers/ said he, 
 ' it is no such thing. Queen Mary is no other than Mary 
 Musgrove, whom I found poor, and who has been made the 
 dupe of the artful Bosomworth ; and you, brothers, the dupes 
 of both.' 
 
 " The aspect of things was now pleasant. The Indians were 
 beginning to be satisfied of the villany of Bosomworth, and of 
 the real character of Mary. But at this moment the door was 
 thrown open, and, to the surprise of all, Mary burst into the 
 room. She had made her escape from prison ; and, learning 
 what was going on, she rushed forward with the fury of a 
 tigress, exclaiming as she entered, ( Seize your arms ! seize your 
 arms ! Remember your promise, and defend your queen.' 
 
 " The sight of their queen seemed, in a moment, to bring back 
 all the original ardour of the enterprise. In an instant, every 
 chief had seized his tomahawk, and sprung from the ground to 
 rally at the call of their queen. 
 
 " At this moment Captain Jones, who was present, perceiv- 
 ing the danger of the president, and the other whites, drew his 
 sword and demanded peace. The majesty of his countenance, 
 the fire of his eye, and the glittering of his sword, told Queen 
 Mary what she might expect, should she attempt to raise any 
 higher the feverish spirit of her subjects. 
 
 " The Indians cast an eye towards Mary, as if to inquire what 
 they should do. Her countenance fell. Perceiving his advan- 
 tage, Captain Jones stepped forward, and in the presence of 
 the Indians, standing round, again conducted Mary back to 
 prison. 
 
 " A short imprisonment so far humbled both Bosomworth 
 and Mary, that each wrote a letter, in which they confessed the 
 wrong they had done, and promised, if released, that they would 
 conduct themselves with more propriety in future. The people 
 kindly forgave both, and they left the city. 
 
 " But they did not perform their promise. Again Bosomworth 
 tried to make Mary queen, and to get possession of three large 
 islands, called Ossalaw, Sapelo, and St. Catharine's. He pre- 
 tended that they had been given to him by the Indians. Being, 
 however, unable to make himself master of them, he went over 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 59 
 
 to England with Mary, where he instituted a law-suit for their 
 recovery. At length, having obtained St. Catharine's island 
 by a judgment of the court, he returned with his wife, and 
 took up his residence upon that island. There Mary died. 
 Some time after, Bosom worth married one of his own servants, 
 who did not survive him. At length, he finished his own inglo- 
 rious life, and was buried between his two wives upon the island 
 which had given him so much trouble.:" 
 
 Such (it is said iu America) was the first specimen of a 
 chaplain, which the Indians and colonists at Savannah had be- 
 fore their eyes. No wonder Oglethorpe and the trustees of 
 Georgia turned their eyes upon another kind of men ! The 
 Oxford methodists were, accordingly, fixed upon, " as men who 
 appeared to possess the habits and qualities requisite" for 
 preaching the gospel to settlers and the Indians. Dr. Butler, 
 of Corpus Christ! College, sounded the Wesleys on the subject, 
 and introduced them to Oglethorpe. This was going to the 
 opposite extreme. Accordingly, on their arrival in the colony, 
 they soon proved their unfitness for the religious management 
 of an infant settlement. They certainly meant well, and were 
 shamefully treated : but it is equally true that they were both 
 very imprudent. Dr. Southey, however, implicates Charles 
 Wesley too deeply in the mutinies of the period : for he ought 
 to have known, that Oglethorpe acquitted him of this charge, 
 and offered to build him a house, and to allow him a deputy, if 
 he would return to the colony. This is just as true, and was 
 as easily ascertained, as that Oglethorpe, who had been " brutal 
 enough to give away from under " Charles the old bedstead on 
 which he lay in a fever, afterwards "embraced and kissed him 
 with cordial affection." The Doctor even says, " that the expla- 
 nation then given so satisfied the general, that his feelings 
 were entirely changed : all his old love and confidence return- 
 ed : " and yet he says that Charles " had in truth been the oc- 
 casion of the disorders by his injudicious zeal." On the other 
 hand, however, Watson has admitted into his answer to 
 Southey, a vindication of Charles Wesley, from the pen of his 
 daughter, somewhat inconsistent with the acknowledgment, that 
 the Wesleys " held the reins of ecclesiastical discipline with a 
 
60 
 
 tightness unsuitable to infant colonists especially, and which 
 tended to provoke resistance." 
 
 But the character of neither brother should be judged of 
 from their career in Georgia. I quite agree with Watson, that 
 " their integrity of heart, and the purity of their intentions, 
 came forth without a stain : " for although I have heard reports, 
 and been told of letters, which implicate John in more than 
 imprudence, I have found no one to authenticate the reports, 
 or to produce the letters. Besides, Whitefield returned from 
 Georgia unchanged in his love or esteem for Wesley : a con- 
 clusive proof that he found nothing to justify thefama clamosa. 
 Nothing in his journals, letters, or diary, indicates a suspicion. 
 (I have learnt, since I wrote this paragraph, that Wesley 's pri- 
 vate journals of the Causton affair have been discovered by 
 the Conference; and that they justify my argument.) 
 
 It was to this new colony, then in danger from the Spaniards, 
 and irritated by the Wesleyans, that Whitefield went forth so 
 cheerfully, although solemnly. He does not, indeed, say that 
 he knew the distracted state of the people : but it is quite evi- 
 dent from the way in which he prepared for his work, and from 
 the spirit in which he began his labours, that Oglethorpe, or 
 some of the trustees, had apprized him of the rocks on which 
 his predecessors had split. Both his hopes and his fears prove 
 that he was not ignorant of what he had to do, nor of what he 
 had to undo. All his conduct, and especially his utter disregard 
 of Wesley's oracular " Let him return to London" shows clearly 
 that his heart was set upon healing the breaches in the colony ; 
 that thus the benevolent and pure designs of its founders might 
 be carried into effect. 
 
 In this spirit, and for this purpose, Whitefield embarked for 
 Georgia, in the latter end of December, 1737. It was, how- 
 ever, the end of January, 1738, before the vessel was fairly on 
 her way ; owing to contrary winds. His reception on board 
 was, as might be expected from a motley group of soldiers and 
 sailors, of a mixed kind. The captains of both, with the sur- 
 geon and cadet, treated him, for a time, as an impostor; and, 
 to mark their contempt for him, turned the vessel into a gam- 
 bling-house, during the whole first sabbath. The fact is, he 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 61 
 
 had begun, the day before, to read prayers on deck : but he 
 added to this a short sermon on the text, " I am determined to 
 know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him cruci- 
 fied." This gave offence. The officers and soldiers " attended 
 with decency and reverence " to the prayers : but when he told 
 them in the sermon what his " future conduct would be," they 
 were indignant ; and, to prove it, began the sabbath with the 
 hautboy, and spent it in card-playing and blasphemy. 
 
 He seems to have foreseen this burst of opposition; and he 
 wisely escaped from it. " Sunday, Jan. 1. Rose early in the 
 morning, and retired to an adjacent hill with my friends to 
 prayer." That day, however, he also preached three times 
 (once extempore ; for he had only taken two sermons with him) 
 in the church at Gravesend. This was not cowardice. He 
 himself was unwilling to leave his " own flock in the ship," and 
 he did not leave them without reading prayers again on the 
 Saturday evening. He yielded, however, to the urgency of his 
 friends ; and very properly. 
 
 This does not appear from his journals, because he would not 
 leave a reflection upon a crew which afterwards treated him 
 respectfully : but it appears from his private diary. Dr. Gil- 
 lies says truly, " It is worth while to observe, with what pru- 
 dence he was helped to behave, and how God was pleased to 
 bless his patient and persevering endeavours to do good." 
 This retreat from a premeditated storm, was one of his pru- 
 dent steps. 
 
 In the same spirit, he began his usual work on board, on 
 Monday, without upbraiding. Wherever there was sickness in 
 the ship, he visited, counselled, and prayed. When he could 
 not assemble the crew to prayers on deck, he read prayers and 
 expounded any where between decks. When the soldiers could 
 not or would not attend, he devoted himself to the religious 
 education of their children. When he could say nothing to 
 "the swearing officers, he turned a look upon them which they 
 understood. Thus he was never idle, nor unamiable. 
 
 Whilst thus employed, a heavy gale sprung up at the Nore, 
 which created some alarm and more sickness. Even the offi- 
 cers felt thankful that the vessel was at the Nore, and not in 
 
62 
 
 the Downs, (for she had "dragged her anchor two miles,") 
 which they had been trying to reach. Accordingly, they re- 
 quested Whitefield to read prayers to them in the grand cabin 
 on Sunday, in addition to the service on deck. What a dif- 
 ferent aspect the ship wore on the preceding sabbath ! But he 
 had endeared himself during the week by courtesy and kind- 
 ness, and had spent the whole morning of this sabbath in going 
 from hammock to hammock amongst the sea-sick, administer- 
 ing sage-tea to them, as well as good advice. 
 
 He availed himself of this favourable turn of feeling, to ob- 
 tain for himself more accommodation in the ship ; for, hitherto, 
 he had no place of retirement for prayer or study. He seems, 
 however, to have been somewhat afraid of a refusal; for he 
 offered the captain money for the occasional use of his cabin. 
 This was not in good taste, but the captain overlooked that, and 
 politely granted his request. 
 
 The military captain also (whom Whitefield dreaded most) 
 sent him an invitation to take coffee in his cabin. He went ; 
 and took the opportunity of saying to him, " that he thought it 
 a little odd to pray and preach to the servants, and not to the 
 master ! " This good-humoured hint he followed up by pro- 
 posing to read " a collect now and then to him and the other 
 gentlemen, in the great cabin." At first the captain shook his 
 head; but, after a pause, he said, "I think we may, when we 
 have nothing else to do." 
 
 When the ship reached Margate, another storm arose at 
 midnight, accompanied by vivid lightning, which seemed to set 
 the sea on fire. The long-boat was lost, and many of the sol- 
 diers taken very ill. Whitefield became, literally, the nurse of 
 his " red-coated parishioners," as he called the soldiers. He 
 superintended the making of sage-tea and broth, and distri- 
 buted them amongst the sick with his own hands. 
 
 Whilst thus employed he gained the esteem of the surgeon ; 
 and so ingratiated himself with the wives of the soldiers, that 
 fifteen of them agreed to meet, to hear him explain the Cate- 
 chism. Even the captains again requested him to read prayers 
 in the state cabin, and expressed f * their approbation " of his 
 conduct. 
 
WMITKKIEI.D'S LIFE AND TIMKS. 63 
 
 Whilst the vessel was lying in the Downs, he ventured one 
 day to remove "The Independent Whig" from the captain's 
 pillow, and replace it with a book called " The Self -Deceiver.' 9 
 Next morning the captain came to him smiling, and asked who 
 had made the exchange ? Whitefield confessed the charge, 
 and begged his acceptance of the book. It produced a visible 
 change. The military captain also, without being again asked, 
 requested that " they might have public service and expounding 
 twice a day in the great cabin." 
 
 In this manner, with occasional preaching on shore, he spent 
 the month, during which the ship was waiting for a fair wind ; 
 and in that time, not a few of both the soldiers and sailors be- 
 came very serious, and the ship's company at large orderly. 
 At length the wind changed, and sailing orders were given. In 
 the hurry of this movement, Whitefield fell down the stairs of 
 the steerage ; but received " little or no hurt." In a few days 
 after, the vessel had a very narrow escape. " The men upon 
 deck not keeping a good look-out, an East Indiaman ran so 
 very near, that had not Captain Whiting been upon deck, and 
 beseeched them to tack about, the ships must inevitably have 
 split one against another." 
 
 Altogether it was a perilous voyage to Gibraltar : but al- 
 though the scene was new, and the labour trying, Whit efi eld's 
 patience never failed. The following sketch is very charac- 
 teristic. " Feb. 14th. May I never forget this day's mercies, 
 since the Lord has dealt so lovingly with me ! About twelve 
 at night a fresh gale arose, which increased so very much by 
 four in the morning, that the waves raged horribly indeed, and 
 broke in like a great river on many of the poor soldiers, who 
 lay near the main hatchway. Friend Habersham and I knew 
 nothing of it ; but perceived ourselves very restless, and could 
 not sleep at all. I arose, and called on God for myself and all 
 that sailed with me, absent friends, and all mankind. After 
 this I went on deck but surely a more noble and awful sight 
 my eyes never beheld ; for the waves rose more than mountain 
 high, and sometimes came on the quarter-deck. I endeavoured 
 all the while to magnify God for making his ' power to be 
 known ! ' And then, creeping on my knees for I knew not 
 
64 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 how else to go I went between decks, and sung psalms, and 
 comforted the poor wet people. After this I read prayers in 
 the great cabin. Then, I laid myself across a chair reading. 
 But God was so good, that though things were tumbling, the 
 ship rocking, persons falling down around me, I was never more 
 cheerful in my life. I also finished a sermon before I went to 
 bed, though in the midst of company." 
 
 On his arrival at Gibraltar, he was courteously received and 
 hospitably entertained by the governor first, and then by Major 
 Sabine and General Columbine. Gillies reverses the order of 
 this reception. Sabine did not seek out Whitefield, until some 
 days after he had visited the governor. But whilst all these 
 attentions gratified him, he was most interested by a little 
 group of pious soldiers, who, for twelve years, had been the 
 methodists of Gibraltar. At first, they had assembled secretly 
 in dens and caves of the rock, for prayer and conversation. 
 The character and spirit of the venerable governor, soon led 
 them, however, to apply for permission to build a house of 
 prayer for themselves. But instead of granting this, he gave 
 them the free use of the church ; and there they statedly met 
 for worship three times a day. They seem to have been non- 
 conformists ; and thus were called " new liyhts : " whilst another 
 society of the Scotch church were called "dark lanthorns." 
 
 Besides visiting the popish chapel, and preaching frequently 
 in the protestant church, he attended the Jewish synagogue, 
 and was agreeably surprised when one of the rulers showed 
 him into the chief seat. The rabbi had heard him preach the 
 day before against swearing, and now thanked him for his ser- 
 mon. Whitefield remained in the synagogue during the whole 
 service, engaged, he says, " in secret prayer, that the veil might 
 be taken from the heart of the Jews, and they graffed again 
 into their own olive tree." 
 
 His success at Gibraltar was remarkable. He says quaintly, 
 " Samson's riddle was fulfilled there : out of the strong came 
 forth sweetness. Who more unlikely to be wrought upon than 
 soldiers ! And yet, amongst any set of people I have not been 
 where God has made his power more known. Many that were 
 quite stark blind have received their sight ; many that had 
 
WHITBFIBLD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 65 
 
 fallen back, have repented and turned to the Lord again ; many 
 that were ashamed to own Christ openly, have waxen bold ; 
 and many saints had their hearts filled with joy unspeakable 
 and full of glory." 
 
 When the journal of this revival was first published in Eng- 
 land, it called forth an answer from some T. G. even more 
 foolish than any thing Tristram Land, M. A. had written. 
 Taking the words, " many that were quite stark blind have re- 
 ceived their sight," literally, he says with all gravity, " This 
 being a thing so seldom heard of, it seems likely to be a, falsity ; 
 and, that he inserted it here, to have the world think that God 
 worked this miracle on his account ! " Straws show how the 
 wind blows -, and, therefore, I will add a few specimens of this 
 first commentary on Whitefield's first journal. Because he 
 had lamented the want of the divine presence, on one occasion ; 
 and had rejoiced on its return ; T. G. says, " What he means 
 will puzzle any one ; for by God's being with him at one time, 
 and not at another, seems to infer as if he denied the omni- 
 presence of the Deity ! " When Whitefield says, that he " was 
 enlarged in intercession," T. G. remarks, " An odd expression 
 this, and inexplicable ; but it frequently occurs ! " Whitefield 
 says of a dying Christian, " His soul seems full of God ;" T. G. 
 observes, "An odd expression this, and needs explanation." 
 T. G. concludes by recommending, in the words of Sylvester, 
 " That we should go to our BAPTISM for the date of our rege- 
 neration." What must have been the state of popular senti- 
 ment and feeling, when such nonsense could obtain readers ? 
 And yet, the authorship of this anonymous pamphlet was 
 ascribed to an ex-fellow of a college ; who, although he dis- 
 claimed it, did not object to its principles or spirit. " Land's 
 Letter to the Religious Societies" 1739. 
 
 Early in March the vessels left Gibraltar, and proceeded on 
 their voyage : and being soon in the trade-winds, they often 
 joined at the hours of public worship. On one occasion, Cap- 
 tain Mackay, after Whitefield had preached against drunken- 
 ness, urged the men to attend to the things that had been 
 spoken ; telling them, that he had been a notorious swearer 
 until he had done so ; and beseeching them, for Christ's sake, 
 
 K 
 
G6 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 to give up their sins. On another occasion, whilst marrying a 
 couple on deck, Whitefield suddenly shut the prayer hook in 
 the midst of the ceremony, because the bridegroom had be- 
 haved with levity : and not until the laughter was turned into 
 weeping, would he proceed. At the close, he gave the bride 
 a Bible. 
 
 The ships were now almost as orderly as churches, when the 
 weather allowed of worship. The drum summoned them to 
 morning and evening prayers. The captains vied in kindness 
 and attention to the chaplain. Cards and profane books were 
 thrown overboard, in exchange for religious books. The women, 
 in the Whitaker, exclaimed, " What a change in our captain ! " 
 An oath became a strange thing. The soldiers began to learn 
 to read and write, and the children to repeat their prayers re- 
 gularly. This general impression was deepened by the preva- 
 lence of a fever on board ; during which, Captain Whiting 
 accompanied Whitefield in crawling between decks, to admi- 
 nister medicine and cordials to the sailors. 
 
 One of the sufferers, a negro boy, had never been baptized. 
 Whiting pledged Whitefield to instruct and baptize him, in the 
 event of his recovery. The poor lad, however, died, and was 
 buried without the service being read over him. The chaplain 
 was afraid to venture upon such a canonical irregularity, al- 
 though he was no believer in baptismal regeneration. The 
 drum, however, was beaten on the occasion, and an address 
 given to the whole ship's crew, calling on them to prepare for 
 the time when the sea shall give up its dead. 
 
 Many little traits of Whitefielrl's character may be traced 
 in his journals of this voyage. I only mention another ; his 
 tact in turning every incident into a lesson for himself or others. 
 When a shark was caught, with five pilot-fish clinging to its 
 fins, he says, " Go to the pilot-fish, thou that forsakest a friend in 
 adversity ; consider his ways, and be abashed." When a dol- 
 phin was caught, the change of its hues from lovely to livid, re- 
 minds him, that " just so is man ; he flourishes for a little, but 
 when death cometh, how quickly his beauty is gone ! A chris- 
 tian may learn instruction from every thing he meets with." 
 When darkness came on whilst he was preaching, on Gocd 
 
WHITEFIELD'B LIFE AND TIMES. 07 
 
 Friday, he says, " It put me in mind of that darkness which 
 overwhelmed the world, when the God of nature suffered." 
 
 The fever, which only three or four in the ship escaped, at 
 length laid hold upon Whitefield, and confined him to his bed 
 for a week. The attack, though short, must have been severe ; 
 for besides blisters and vomit, he was bled three times. During 
 his illness the captain gave up his own bed to him ; Habersham 
 watched him day and night ; and (which delighted him most) 
 the sick between decks, whom he had perilled his life to con- 
 sole, prayed fervently for him. He soon recovered, and repaid 
 the kindness of all. 
 
 At length, on May 5th, they came in sight of Savannah 
 river, and sent off for a pilot ; and such was the joy of all when 
 they came to anchor at Tyby island, that he could not help ex- 
 claiming, "How infinitely more joyful will the children of God 
 be, when, having passed through the waves of this troublesome 
 world, they arrive at the haven of everlasting rest ! " Though 
 si ill weak, he preached a farewell sermon to his "red-coated 
 and blue-jacketed parishioners," as he called his military and 
 naval congregation. It was heard with floods of tears. 
 
 " Upon this voyage," says Gillies, " he made the following 
 reflections many years after." " Even at this distance of time, 
 the remembrance of the happy hours I enjoyed in religious ex- 
 ercises on deck, is refreshing to my soul ; and although nature 
 sometimes relented at being taken from my friends, and I was 
 little accustomed to the inconvenience of a sea life, yet, a con- 
 sciousness that I had the glory of God and the good of souls in 
 view, afforded me, from time to time, unspeakable satisfaction." 
 Wlritefield was cordially welcomed at Savannah by Delamotte 
 and other friends of Wesley. The magistrates also offered to 
 wait upon him, to pay their respects. This he declined, and 
 waited on them ; when they agreed to build him a tabernacle 
 and house at Frederica, and to accept his services at Savannah 
 as long as he pleased. He was soon laid aside again, however, 
 by a return of his fever, which terminated in ague. This 
 attack brought him so low for a few days, and made such an 
 alteration in his person, that he says, " Had my friends seen 
 me at that hour, they might have learnt not to have any man's 
 
68 
 
 person in admiration, and not to think more highly of me than 
 they ought to think." 
 
 The first thing he did after his recovery was to visit Tomo- 
 Chichi, the Indian king, then on his death-bed. This was the 
 micoe, or king, whom Oglethorpe brought to England in 1734, 
 and introduced to George II. He was accompanied by his 
 wife and son, and seven other Indians of the Creek nation. His 
 eloquent speech to the king and queen is well known; and 
 was so well received at court, that he was loaded with presents, 
 and even sent in one of the royal carriages to Gravesend when 
 he had to embark again. 
 
 He now lay, says Whitefield, " on a blanket, thin and 
 meagre ; little else but skin and bones. Senanki, his wife, sat 
 by, fanning him with Indian feathers. There was no one could 
 talk English, so I could only shake hands with him and leave 
 him." A few days after Whitefield went again to visit Tomo- 
 Chichi, and found that his nephew, Tooanoowee, could speak 
 English. " I desired him to ask his uncle, whether he thought 
 he should die ; who answered, I cannot tell. I then asked, 
 where he thought he should go after death ? He replied, to 
 heaven. But, alas, how can a drunkard enter there ! I then 
 exhorted Tooanoowee (who is a tall, proper youth) not to get 
 drunk ; telling him, that he understood English, and therefore 
 would be punished the more, if he did not live better. I then 
 asked him, whether he believed a heaven ? He said, Yes. I 
 then asked, whether he believed a hell ? and described it by 
 pointing to the fire. He replied, No. From whence we may 
 easily gather, how natural it is to all mankind to believe there 
 is a place of happiness, because they wish it to be so ; and on 
 the contrary, how averse they are to believe a place of torment, 
 because they wish it may not be so. But God is just and true ; 
 and as surely as the righteous shall go away into everlasting 
 happiness, so the impenitently wicked shall go into everlasting 
 punishment." 
 
 Dr. Southey has quoted part of this paragraph in a note, and 
 prefaced it thus : " Whitefield was not so likely (as Wesley) to 
 have led these Indians into the right way, if we may judge from 
 his conference with poor Tomo- Chichi, when that chief was at 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 69 
 
 the point of death." If the Doctor mean, that Whitefield should 
 have shown a dying drunkard how pardon might he obtained, 
 instead of exclaiming, "Alas, how shall a drunkard enter 
 heaven ! " I quite agree with him. He mistakes, however, if he 
 supposes that this exclamation was addressed to the chief. It 
 is Whitefield's own private reflection on the case, when he wrote 
 an account of it ; and distinguished, like all his private reflec- 
 tions of a solemn kind, by italics. Besides, it is highly impro- 
 bable that Whitefield, the man who had just been teaching 
 soldiers and sailors the way to heaven, would have thus abrupt- 
 ly shut the door on a dying Indian ! He who warned the young 
 nephew, would not forget to woo the old uncle ; although the 
 result only, and not the process, appears in his journal. 
 
 When Whitefield was sufficiently recovered to survey the 
 colony, the state of the children affected him deeply. The idea 
 of an orphan-house in Georgia had been suggested to him by 
 Charles Wesley, " before he himself had any thought of going 
 abroad ;" and now that he saw the condition of the colonists, 
 he said, " nothing but an orphan-house can effect " the educa- 
 tion of the children. From this moment he set his heart upon 
 founding one, as soon as he could raise funds. In the mean 
 time, he did what he could : he opened a school for the villages 
 of Highgate and Hampstead ; and one for girls at Savannah. 
 He then visited the Saltzburghers' orphan school at Ebenezer ; 
 and if any thing was wanting to perfect his own design, or to 
 inflame his zeal, he found it there. The Saltzburghers them- 
 selves were exiles for conscience' sake, and eminent for piety 
 and industry. Their ministers, Grenaw and Boltzius, were 
 truly evangelical. Their asylum, which they had been enabled 
 to found by English benevolence, for widows and orphans, was 
 flourishing. Whitefield was so delighted with the order and 
 harmony of Ebenezer, that he gave a share of his own " poor's- 
 store" to Boltzius, for his orphans. Then came the scene 
 which completed Whitefield's purpose. Boltzius " called all 
 the children before him : catechised and exhorted them to give 
 God thanks for his good providence towards them : then pray- 
 ed with them, and made them pray after him : then sung a 
 psalm. Afterwards, the little lambs came and shook me by the 
 
70 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 hand one by one ; and so we parted! " From this moment 
 Whitefield made his purpose his fate. 
 
 After spending a few weeks at Savannah, labouring as hard 
 as his health would permit, he went to Frederica, where he was 
 gladly received ; the people having " had a famine of the word 
 for a long season." They had no sanctuary : arid therefore he 
 had to preach under a tree, or in Habersham's house. This 
 visit, although short, endeared him to all the people ; and he 
 had the satisfaction before he left, to see them " sawing timber 
 for a commodious place of worship, until a church could be 
 built." 
 
 His return to Savannah was hastened by a circumstance 
 which Gillies overlooked. One of his friends (he does not say 
 which) had lost himself in the woods, and was missing from 
 Tuesday to Friday. The great guns had been fired in vain to 
 direct the wanderer. Some of the people had searched day 
 and night for him, without success. This report was sent to 
 Whitefield, and it hurried him away from Freclerica. He had 
 the pleasure, however, on his arrival at Savannah, to find his 
 "lost sheep." 
 
 Here an instance of refusing to read the burial service oc- 
 curred, which is more creditable to him than its omission in 
 the case of the poor negro boy. It will be best told in his own 
 words. " I was obliged to-day to express my resentment 
 against infidelity, by refusing to read the Burial Office over the 
 most professed unbeliever I ever yet met with. God was 
 pleased to visit him with lingering illness ; during which I went 
 to see him frequently. About five weeks ago, I asked him, 
 what religion he was of? He answered, ' Religion was of so 
 many sects, he knew not which to choose.' Another time, I 
 offered to pray with him ; but he would not accept it. Upon 
 which I resolved to go to see him no more. But being told, 
 two days before he died, that he had an inclination to see me, I 
 went again, and after a little conversation, put the following 
 questions to him : ' Do you believe Jesus Christ to be God, 
 and the one Mediator between God and man ? ' He said, ( I 
 believe Jesus Christ was a good man.' ' Do you believe the 
 holy Scriptures ? ' ' I believe something of the Old Testa- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 71 
 
 ment : the New, I do not believe at all.' ' Do you believe, 
 sir, a judgment to come '{ ' He turned himself about, and re- 
 plied, ' I know not what to say to that.' ' Alas, sir,' said I 
 1 if all these things should be true, what ? ' which words, 
 I believe, gave him great concern ; for he seemed after to be 
 very uneasy, grew delirious, and in a day or two departed. Un- 
 happy man how quickly he was convinced ! The day after 
 his decease he was carried to the ground, and I refused to read 
 the office over him ; but I went to the grave, and told the 
 people what had passed between him and me : and, warning all 
 against infidelity, I asked them, whether I could safely say, 
 ' As our hope is, this our brother doth ? ' Upon which, I be- 
 lieve, they were thoroughly satisfied that I had done right." 
 This was equally creditable to the preacher and the people ! 
 
 A few days after this event, Whitefield preached his farewell 
 sermon at Savannah ; it being necessary for him to return to 
 England. How much he loved and was beloved, although only 
 " as a wayfaring man turning aside to tarry for a night," may 
 be judged from his own account. " I preached my farewell 
 sermon, to the great grief of my dear parishioners, whose hearts 
 were full as well as mine, which we all showed by many tears. 
 But a sensible alteration appeared in their countenances, when 
 I promised them solemnly, before God, to return as soon as 
 possible." 
 
 Next day he went to Charleston, in South Carolina, to em- 
 bark for England. Gillies says, that Commissary Garden en- 
 treated him to preach in the church. This is true : but Gar- 
 den was the ecclesiastical, not the civil, commissary. I mention 
 this, because his kindness to Whitefield was great at first. It 
 is thus recorded in the revised journals : " The bishop of Lon- 
 don's commissary, the Rev. Mr. G. received me very cour- 
 teously, and offered me a lodging. How does God raise up 
 friends wherever I go ! " Gillies's account will now be better 
 appreciated: "Mr. G. thanked him most cordially, (he had 
 preached twice in the church,) and assured him that he would 
 defend him with his life and property, should the same arbitrary 
 proceedings commence against him, which Mr. Wesley met 
 with in Georgia. He also said something about the colony 
 
72 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 of Georgia, which much encouraged Whitefield ; as if he 
 thought its flourishing not far oft ;" and instanced Charleston 
 " as now fifteen times bigger than when he came there." This 
 " life and fortune " friend put on a new face afterwards ! 
 
 Gillies sums up Whitefield's labours in Georgia thus : et It 
 had been his practice to read prayers and expound (besides 
 visiting the sick) twice a day. On Sunday, he expounded at 
 Jive in the morning ; at ten, read prayers and preached ; and at 
 three in the afternoon; and at seven in the evening, he expounded 
 the Church Catechism. How much easier it is for the clergy 
 in England, Scotland, and Ireland, to find fault with such a 
 faithful brother in the ministry, than to follow his example ! " 
 
 The following note from Whitefield's diary will explain, in 
 some measure, how he bore the hardships of his perilous voyage 
 home. " During my stay (in Georgia) the weather was most 
 intensely hot, burning me almost through my shoes. Seeing 
 others do it, who were as unable, I determined to inure myself 
 to hardships, by lying constantly on the ground ; which, by use, 
 I found to be so far from being a hardship, that afterwards it 
 became so to lie on a bed." It was well it did : for all the way 
 home, he had no bed, until he reached Ireland. Nor was this 
 his only privation on the voyage. At the outset they were 
 tossed from " bar to bar," for nearly a fortnight, by contrary 
 winds. Their provision began to fail before they had accom- 
 plished a third of the passage : and when they reached Ireland, 
 they were so worn out by famine and fatigue, that Whitefield 
 says, " they were weak and hollow-eyed," even in the great cabin. 
 On landing, however, he soon rallied, and preached with great 
 power, at Limerick and Dublin for some days. The account of 
 his reception and success will be found in the chapter, " White- 
 field in Ireland." 
 
CHAFFER IV. 
 
 WHITEFIELDS FIRST GREAT MEASURES IN LONDON, .. 
 
 THESE had so much influence upon his subsequent character and 
 career, that I shall not interrupt their narrative, by his occa- 
 sional excursions into the country, until his position in the me- 
 tropolis is fully understood. That was, indeed, influenced by 
 his proceedings in Bristol and Wales : but he would have be- 
 come a field preacher, even if he had not begun at Bristol. 
 
 He arrived in London again at the close of 1738, after a 
 perilous voyage. This sudden return was forced upon him ; 
 not sought by him. " I was really happy in my little foreign 
 cure, and could have cheerfully remained among them, had I 
 not been obliged to return to England, to receive priest's orders, 
 and make a beginning towards laying the foundation of the 
 orphan-house. And thus the place where I intended to hide 
 myself in, became, through my being obliged to return for these 
 purposes, a mean of increasing that popularity which was already 
 begun ; but which by me was absolutely unforeseen, and abso- 
 lutely undesigned." 
 
 His diary at sea, written amidst hurricanes and famine, illus- 
 trates the truth of this explanation. " Had I my own will, I 
 ould wish myself a speedy passage, that I might return the 
 sooner to those few sheep I have left in Savannah." It was thus 
 with a single eye and a simple purpose, that Whitefield returned 
 to London. 
 
 The first thing he did on his arrival, was, to wait on the 
 archbishop of Canterbury, and the bishop of London. Dr. Gil- 
 lies says, " he was coldly received by them :" Whitefield him- 
 self says, " I met with a favourable reception from both ; but 
 
 L 
 
74 VVHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 was not so civilly treated by some of the clergy ; for five churches 
 have been already (in two days) denied me. However, I had an 
 opportunity of preaching at St. Helen's and at Islington, to 
 large congregations indeed ; and in the evening (of that first 
 sabbath) I went to a society in Fetter Lane, where we had, 
 what might not be improperly called, a love feast ; eating a 
 little bread and water, and spending two hours in singing and 
 prayers." 
 
 It was now Christmas, and he spent almost every evening in 
 expounding to, and praying with, societies of this kind. On 
 Christmas eve, he continued the exercise until four in the morn- 
 ing. " At six," he says, with his characteristic simplicity, " I 
 went to another in Crutched Friars, and expounded as well as I 
 could ; but (no wonder !) perceived myself a little oppressed 
 with drowsiness" He had been from four till six o'clock that 
 morning in a large meeting in Red Cross Street ; which is me- 
 morable from the fact, that there, for the first time in his life, he 
 ventured to pray extempore, " before many witnesses." He 
 mentions this fact in a note of his diary. " Dec. 25. The first 
 time I ever prayed extempore, before such a number." Extem- 
 pore preaching soon followed this prayer ! 
 
 On new-year's day he writes thus : " Received the holy 
 sacrament, preached twice, and expounded twice ; and found 
 this the happiest new-year's day that I ever saw. Afterwards 
 spent the whole night in close prayer, psalms, and thanksgivings, 
 with the Fetter Lane society." Well might Dr. Gillies say, of 
 Whitefield and his friends, " religious exercises seemed to be 
 their meat and drink." 
 
 As might be expected, work of this kind offended many; It 
 was shared, however, for a time, by some of the clergy. " Jan. 
 5th. Held a conference at Islington, concerning many things of 
 importance, with seven ministers of Jesus Christ, despised me- 
 thodists, whom God in his providence brought together. We 
 continued in fasting and prayer till three o'clock ; and then 
 parted with a full conviction that God was about to do great 
 things amongst us. Oh that we may be in any way instrumental 
 to his glory ! Oh that he would make the vessels pure and holy ; 
 meet for such a dear Master's use ' " 
 
\\ -IIITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 75 
 
 Such were Whitefield's habits, and such tae state of his mind, 
 when he went to Oxford to be ordained a priest. " He was 
 ordained," says Gillies, " by his good friend Bishop Benson.'' 
 Benson deserved this epithet from Whitefield's biographer. It 
 is well known, however, that he afterwards repented, for a time, 
 of having " ever laid his hands upon George Whitefield :" but 
 he repented of this repentance ; and sent, from his dying bed to 
 Whitefield, a present, with a kind request to be remembered in 
 his prayers. 
 
 The ordinary explanation of all this seems to be warranted 
 by fact. Benson had been tutor to Lord Huntingdon, and was 
 thus naturally sent for to reason with the countess, when she 
 became a methodist. Her Ladyship, however, reasoned with the 
 bishop ; and so plied him with articles and homilies in favour of 
 her creed, and with the solemn responsibilities of his own office, 
 that she offended him. " He rose up in haste (says my autho- 
 rity) to depart, bitterly lamenting that he had ever laid hands 
 on George Whitefield ; to whom he imputed, though without 
 cause, the change wrought on her Ladyship. She called him 
 back : ' My Lord/ said she, f mark my words: when you come 
 to your dying bed, that will be one of the few ordinations you 
 will reflect upon with complacency.' " 
 
 As before, Whitefield was deeply affected by his ordination. 
 He went from the altar to the pulpit that very day, " to begin 
 to make proof "of his ministry; and preached twice in Oxford, 
 and expounded at Carfax in the evening, and attended a prayer- 
 meeting at night. 
 
 On his return to London, he was alternately in the pulpit, 
 and at these private meetings : and it is difficult to say which 
 of the two spheres of labour had most influence upon his mind 
 and movements at this time. It was certainly the crowding at 
 church, that first suggested to him the idea of preaching in the 
 open air. " When I was informed that nearly a thousand people 
 stood out in the churchyard, and that hundreds returned home, 
 this put me first upon thinking of preaching without-doors. I 
 mentioned it to some friends, who looked upon it as a mad 
 motion. However, we kneeled down and prayed, that nothing 
 might be done rashly. Hear and answer, O Lord, for thy 
 
76 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 name's sake." It is evident from this prayer, that Whitefield 
 himself did not think his design " a mad motion." But still, al- 
 though a crowded church suggested it, crowded prayer-meetings 
 produced the spirit of the enterprise. It was by expounding 
 and praying extempore, that he discovered his own power over 
 himself and others ; and found out that the divine presence 
 might be calculated upon, whenever the divine glory was con- 
 sulted. These Pentecostal seasons in private made him feel 
 through all his soul, that he ought to do every thing to win souls, 
 and that he could do any thing he might attempt. 
 
 The influence of these meetings upon Whitefield has never 
 been fully appreciated. They were to him, however, what the 
 wilderness was to John the Baptist ; the school of his spirit 
 There he caught the holy and heroic impulse, which prepared 
 him to challenge the scribes and Pharisees any where, and de- 
 termined him to warn them, in common with publicans and 
 sinners, every where, to " flee from the wrath to come." I might 
 go further, and without extravagance say, that prayer-meetings 
 were to Whitefield what the " third heavens " were to Paul; the 
 ^finishing school of his ministerial education. He was as much 
 indebted to them for his unction and enterprise, as to Pembroke 
 Hall for his learning ; or as to the Oxford methodists for his 
 piety ; or as to Benson for his ordination to the priesthood ; (for 
 what other bishop would have laid his hands on him then ?) 
 WESLEY also caught the primitive flame of evangelization, in one 
 of these private societies at Bristol : for until he saw how " the 
 Spirit moved on the face " of these meetings, he was so tena- 
 cious of every thing relating to clerical order and decorum, that 
 he would have counted it " almost a sin to save souls out of a 
 church." Watson, without seeming at all struck by the coinci- 
 dence, says, " Mr. Wesley fiist expounded to a little society in 
 Nicholas Street, and next day he overcame his scruples, and 
 preached abroad, on an eminence near Bristol, to more than two 
 thousand persons ! " In all this, indeed, he was only following 
 the example of Whitefield, who had just preceded him, as well 
 as proved both the safety and the success of the experiment : 
 but still if these things encouraged Wesley, it was the social 
 meeting that convinced and determined him. " I have since" 
 
77 
 
 he says, " seen abundant reason to adore the wise providence 
 of God herein, in thus making a way for myriads of people, who 
 never troubled any church, or were likely to do so, to hear that 
 word which they soon found the power of God unto salvation." 
 These facts are as instructive as they are interesting. Private 
 devotional meetings were thus the cradle of field preaching, as 
 surely as field preaching was the morning star of England's 
 second reformation ! How often, in grace as in nature, God 
 hangs the greatest weights on the smallest wires ! I mean, on 
 wires accounted the smallest by the wisdom of this world, and 
 by the folly of the church : for social prayer-meetings are the 
 strongest wires in all the machinery of the moral universe. God 
 hung upon them all the weighty gifts, and all the weightier 
 grace and glory, of PENTECOST ! God hung upon them all that 
 is great and good in the American revivals, and all that is 
 amazing in the success of foreign missions. It was when the 
 British churches were as the heart of one man in prayer, that 
 African slavery was abolished throughout the British domi- 
 nions. Luther ascribes both his firmness and success to concert 
 in prayer. D'Auligne. 
 
 It is not a misnomer to call the religious societies, which 
 Whitefield and Wesley found in London and Bristol, prayer- 
 meetings. Whitefield often mentions the prayers he united in 
 before he ventured to pray extempore. Bishop Hopkins and 
 Dr. Horneck were the authors of them. The members met, 
 however, for other purposes. They were bound by their rules 
 to meet weekly, " for good discourse ; for the promotion of 
 schools and catechising ; for the relief of the poor ; and to dis- 
 course only on subjects tending to practical holiness, and to 
 avoid all controversy." 
 
 These societies originated in 1667, in consequence of the suc- 
 cess of Dr. Horneck's ministry, and the morning lectures in 
 Cornhill ; which brought many young men to a very affecting 
 sense of their sins, and to a very serious way of treating religion. 
 The meetings were so well conducted, and their influence on 
 public morals so beneficial, that on the accession of William and 
 Mary, they were patronized by the queen and a few of the 
 bishops. They gradually, however, fell into decay. Instead of 
 
78 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 forty in London, which was their number at the beginning of 
 the eighteenth century, I can only trace about ten in White- 
 field's journals, in vigorous or healthy action. In these, how- 
 ever, there was evidently much vital godliness, when Whitefield 
 began to expound and pray in them. Even his devotional spirit 
 was improved by them, as well as appreciated in them. They 
 not only sympathized in all the fervency of his first love, but 
 also fanned it into the blaze of apostolic zeal. Could there be 
 better proof of their spiritual health or discernment? How 
 vividly and fondly he remembered the " times of refreshing from 
 the presence of the Lord," vouchsafed in these little sanctuaries, 
 may be judged from the following note in his diary : " Often 
 have we been filled as with new wine. Often have I seen them 
 overwhelmed with the divine presence ; and crying out, Will 
 God indeed dwell with men upon earth ? How dreadful is this 
 place ! This is no other than the house of God, and the gate of 
 heaven." He also published a letter to them. Whilst thus 
 engaged and affected in London, persecution began to assail 
 him. One clergyman attacked him by a scurrilous pamphlet, 
 (of which Whitefield merely says, " Thou shall answer for me, 
 my Lord and my God,") and others from the pulpit. Gillies 
 says, " Pulpits rung with invectives against him, and the parish 
 priests threatened some of their parishioners with prosecutions, 
 for letting him expound and pray in their houses." Whitefield 
 himself, however, records only one instance of threatened pro- 
 secution, in his corrected journals. " Jan. 30th. Expounded 
 twice on Dowgate Hill, where the people pressed mightily to 
 come in. The minister of the parish threatens the master of 
 the house with a prosecution. But, blessed be God, we breathe 
 in a free air ! " 
 
 I quote this memorandum for the sake of the closing excla- 
 mation. He had seen enough of bigotry and intolerance in the 
 course of one month in London, to turn his attention to the 
 shields of liberty. Besides, during that month, Whitefield had 
 visited " some dissenting Christian brethren ;" and only a week 
 before writing his thanksgiving for the " free air " of religious 
 liberty, he had enjoyed an interview with Dr. Watts, at Stoke 
 Newington. " Jan. 24. Went to Newington to see Dr. Watts, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIAIKS. 71) 
 
 who received me most cordially." This record does not, indeed, 
 imply that any thing passed between him and the dissenters, on 
 the subject of freedom ; but still the coincidence is remarkable, 
 because none of his former visits with dissenters drew forth any 
 apostrophe to liberty. Then, however, he was only personally 
 assailed ; but now that his converts were threatened with prose- 
 cutions, nothing was more likely to lead his thoughts to the 
 subject, than a visit to Dr. Watts, even if nothing was said on 
 the subject. For Whitefield could not but see that he must 
 soon need for himself and his adherents, the whole panoply of 
 toleration, if he preached in the open air : and that, he had 
 made up his mind to do, two days before he penned his apos- 
 trophe. " Jan. 28th, Sunday. Received the sacrament at 
 Crooked Lane church : afterwards went and preached at Iron- 
 monger's Alms-houses not doubting, but there would be hun- 
 dreds more than the chapel would hold. I took two written 
 sermons with me one for within and the other for without. 
 But to my surprise (he might have said disappointment, for he 
 wished to get out !) found no more than could conveniently hear 
 me from the pulpit." In the course of a few days, he also ex- 
 horted the society at Dowgate Hill, particularly, "not to forsake 
 the assembling of themselves together, notwithstanding the 
 people of the house had been threatened with a prosecution." 
 Thus, wherever Whitefield caught the love of religious liberty, 
 he soon both cherished and spread the sacred flame, when into- 
 lerance menaced his friends. 
 
 In the space of a fortnight from this time, Whitefield was 
 preaching to the Bristol colliers, on Hannam Mount, at Rose 
 Green ; and on the twenty-seventh of April, he preached in 
 Islington churchyard. The churchwarden of Islington had de- 
 manded him to produce his licence, although he went there by 
 the vicar's appointment, to officiate. " For peace' sake, I de- 
 clined preaching in the church; and after the communion, 
 preached in the churchyard; being assured my Master now 
 called me out here, as well as at Bristol." Next day he. writes 
 thus : " Preached again in Islington churchyard, to a congre- 
 gation nearly as large again as yesterday. The second lesson 
 was very applicable ; being Acts xxv. I can say with St. Paul, 
 
80 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 ' Neither against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I done any 
 thing ;' and yet I am cast out and reviled as an evil-doer : but 
 the Scriptures must be fulfilled f If they have persecuted Me, 
 they will also persecute you.' " The people must have been 
 struck by this coincidence : for they had given Whitefield a 
 collection for his orphan-house, amounting to 22, only a few 
 weeks before ; and nothing had happened in the interval to dis- 
 qualify him for the pulpit, but field preaching ; and that had 
 not startled the vicar. The fact is, Stonehome, the vicar, was 
 friendly to the methodists, and disliked by the heads of the 
 parish. I have seen some of his sermons, the fidelity of which 
 is almost ferocious. 
 
 At this time, too, all London was ringing with the announce- 
 ment, that Whitefield would preach next day (Sunday) in MOOR- 
 FIELDS. " The thing being new and singular," says Gillies, 
 " he found, on coming out of the coach, an incredible number 
 of people assembled. Many had told him that he should never 
 come out of that place alive. He went in, however, between 
 two friends, who by the pressure of the crowd were soon parted 
 from him entirely, and obliged to leave him to the mercy of the 
 rabble. But these, instead of hurting him, formed a lane for 
 him, and carried him along to the middle of the fields, where a 
 table had been placed, (which was broken in pieces by the 
 crowd,) and afterwards back again to the wall that then parted 
 the upper and lower Moorfields ; from which he preached with- 
 out molestation, to an exceeding great multitude, in the lower 
 fields." 
 
 This is not too oratorically told for the greatness of the occa- 
 sion. That was worthy of a more graphic and glowing pen, 
 than has yet tried to depict the scene. Whitefield himself, how- 
 ever, summed up the whole matter, in his corrected journals, 
 thus : " Sunday, April 29. Begun to be yet more vile this day ; 
 for I preached at Moorfields to an exceeding great multitude : 
 and, at five in the evening, went and preached at Kennington 
 Common, where upwards of twenty thousand people were sup- 
 posed to be present. The wind being for me, it carried my voice 
 to the extremest part of the audience. All stood attentive, and 
 joined in the psalm and the Lord's prayer so regularly, that I 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 81 
 
 scarce ever preached with more quietness in a church. Many 
 were much affected. 
 
 For this let men revile my name, 
 I'd shun no cross, I'd fear no shame, 
 All hail, reproach, and welcome, pain ! 
 Only thy terrors, Lord, restrain." 
 
 Such was his own bulletin of this " great field day," when he 
 wrote for posterity : for this is part of his autobiography. 
 When he wrote for his public journals, he merely said, " Preach- 
 ed in the morning at Moorfields to an exceeding great multi- 
 tude." Then, as if he had done no great thing, he adds, 
 " Went to Christ-Church, and heard Dr. Trapp preach most 
 virulently against me and my friends, from these words, 
 'Be not righteous over-much.' God gave me great serenity 
 of mind ; but, alas, the preacher was not so calm as I wished 
 him." 
 
 It is remarkable that none of his letters, at this time, refer to 
 the enterprise. Two days before it, he wrote to a friend, " To- 
 day my Master, by his providence and Spirit, compelled me to 
 preach in the churchyard of Islington. To-morrow I am to 
 repeat that mad trick, and on Sunday to go out into Moorfields. 
 I preach until I sweat through and through." Even his diary 
 contains nothing on the subject, but the following simple note : 
 "Words cannot well express the glorious displays of divine 
 grace, which we saw, and heard of, and felt," this day. He 
 had, however, a decided opinion upon both the measure and its 
 success. " All agreed," he says, " that it was never seen on 
 this ways before. I hope a good inroad has been made into the 
 devil's kingdom this day. Lord, not unto me, but unto thy 
 name be all the glory." Journals. 
 
 Even all this, with all the prospects which it must have 
 opened of London as a sphere for vast usefulness, did not divert 
 nor divide Whitefield's heart from his " poor orphans or his 
 little flock " in the colony ; for on the very day after, he refused 
 to preach at all, that he might devote himself to their interests. 
 " April 30. Received letters from Georgia this evening, telling 
 me of the affairs of the colony. They have a melancholy aspect 
 
 M 
 
82 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 at present ; but our extremity is God's opportunity. Lord, thou 
 callest me : lo, I come ! " 
 
 " For several months after this/' says Gillies, " Moorfields, 
 Kennington Common, and Blackheath, were the chief scenes of 
 action. At a moderate computation, the auditories often con- 
 sisted of above twenty thousand. It is said their singing could 
 be heard two miles off, and his voice nearly a mile. Sometimes 
 there were upwards of a hundred coaches, besides waggons, 
 scaffolds, and other contrivances, which persons let out for the 
 convenience of the audience." The rising ground on Black- 
 heath, from which Whitefield preached, is still known as 
 " Whiten" eld's Mount." After his death, one of his noble friends 
 (I believe) planted it with fir-trees. Many spots in the coun- 
 try, also, are thus hallowed by his name ; and of these, none is 
 more hallowed than a field at Gornal in Staffordshire. When 
 I visited that " hill of Zion," Whitefield's park was the first 
 object pointed out to me, although the hill of Gornal is crown- 
 ed with the most complete establishment for religious instruc- 
 tion I have ever seen in a rural district. The reason was ob- 
 vious : Whitefield had laid the foundation of that establishment. 
 And Gornal is just the spot that was sure to arrest him ! He 
 could not have looked down from that mount, into the vast cup 
 of the surrounding valley, without weeping over the population. 
 He must have wished his mighty voice mightier, that he might 
 cry down to them all ! He did what he could ; set a lamp upon 
 the hill. 
 
 But to return to the metropolis. He was much disappointed 
 and grieved to find that, notwithstanding all the money he had 
 formerly obtained for the London charities, he was not allowed 
 to collect for Georgia, except in a few churches. He had, 
 therefore, to carry his " begging case " into the fields with him. 
 Gillies says, " Having no other method to take, he was obliged 
 to collect for the orphan-house in the fields, or not at all, which 
 was humbling to himself, and to the friends who assisted him 
 in that work ; but the readiness with which the people gave, 
 and the prayers they put up while throwing in their mites, were 
 very encouraging." They were so : for he thus obtained up- 
 wards of a thousand pounds for his orphan-house. He himself 
 
S3 
 
 says, " The readiness with which the people gave is inexpressi- 
 ble : for I think they could not have expressed more earnest- 
 ness, or taken more pains, had they all been to have received 
 an alms. One sign this, I hope, that the word of God has 
 taken hold of their hearts." 
 
 On one occasion he collected in Moorfields, 52 19s. 6rf., 
 " of which, above twenty pounds was in halfpence." On an- 
 other, at Kennington, sixteen, of 47, was in copper. He 
 says, " I was one of the collectors ; and methinks it would 
 have delighted almost any one to have seen with what eager- 
 ness the people came up both sides of the eminence on which I 
 stood, and afterwards to the coach doors, to throw in their 
 mites ! " He saw, however, how all this would seem to the 
 Pharisees, and anticipated them thus, in his public journal : 
 "Preached to nearly sixty thousand people in Moorfields, and 
 collected 29 Us. tid. and came home deeply humbled with a 
 sense of what God had done for my soul. I doubt not but 
 many self-righteous bigots, when they see me spreading out my 
 hands to offer Jesus Christ freely to all, are ready to cry out, 
 ' How glorious did the Reverend Mr. Whitefield look to-day, 
 when, neglecting the dignity of a clergyman, he stood venting 
 his enthusiastic ravings in a gown and cassock, and collecting 
 mites from the poor people ! ' But if this be vile, Lord, grant 
 that I may be more vile ! Ye scoffers, mock on : I rejoice, yea, 
 and will "rejoice." (He calls them "Pharisees," in his public 
 journal ; but in his Life, he calls them bigots and scoffers.) 
 
 On this memorable day, he received the first letter from 
 Ralph Erskine, " a field preacher of the Scots church, and a 
 noble soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ," as he calls him then. 
 He had added to this record, in his public journal, " Oh that 
 all that are truly zealous knew one another ! It must greatly 
 strengthen each other's hands." Whitefield, however, did not 
 find all he expected from this mutual knowledge ; and therefore 
 excluded the whole record from his revised journals, in 175G. 
 By that time, he knew more about the Erskines ; and though 
 he still venerated their Christian character highly, he was too 
 honest- to compliment their spirit. 
 
 Amongst other coincidences in this memorable week, noue 
 
84 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 gratified him more than the grant of five hundred acres of land 
 to himself and his successors for ever, for the use of the orphan- 
 house, by the honourable trustees for Georgia. " They re- 
 ceived me with the utmost civility, and agreed to every thing I 
 asked." This, he it remembered, was done at the very time 
 when all the city was moved by his " mad trick " in the fields ; 
 and he returned the compliment to the Honourable Board, by 
 leaving them, to preach that evening to twenty thousand people 
 at Kennington, where (judging from the collection after the 
 sermon) he seems to have mentioned the grant made to him in 
 the morning. "At night," he says, "my heart was so full, 
 that I could not well speak. I could only pour it out in aufoil 
 silence. Oh the happiness of communion with God ! " 
 
 It was also at the height and heat of this crisis, that he en- 
 gaged a passage for himself and eleven others, on board the 
 Elizabeth, to Pennsylvania ; that he might preach the gospel 
 and provide for the orphan-house, on his way to Georgia : so 
 little was Whitefield's original purpose affected by his popu- 
 larity. In fact, he never lost sight of it for a moment ; for the 
 delay in sailing arose from an embargo. 
 
 A singular incident occurred at this time, which Whitefield 
 has recorded at considerable length in his journals. A young 
 man, Joseph Periam, who had read his sermon on Regenera- 
 tion, and been impressed by it, prayed so loud, and fasted so 
 long, and sold "all he had" so literally, that his family sent 
 him to Bethlehem mad-house. There he was treated as metho- 
 distically mad, and as " one of Whitefield's gang." The keepers 
 threw him down, and thrust a key into his mouth, that they 
 might drench him with medicine. He was then placed in a 
 cold room, without windows, and with a damp cellar under it. 
 
 Periam, however, found some way of conveying a letter to 
 Whitefield, requesting both advice and a visit. Both were 
 promptly given. Whitefield soon discovered that Periam was 
 not mad ; and, taking Mr. Seward and some other friends with 
 him, he went before the committee of the hospital to explain 
 the case. Seward seems to have been the chief speaker ; and 
 he so astounded the committee by quoting Scripture, that they 
 pronounced him as mad as the young man ! It must have been 
 
85 
 
 a ludicrous scene. The doctors told the whole deputation 
 frankly, that, in their opinion, Whitefield and his followers were 
 "really beside themselves." It was, however, agreed that if 
 Whitefield would take Periam out to Georgia, a release would 
 be granted. Thus the conference ended ; and the young man 
 went out as a schoolmaster at the orphan-house. There he 
 was useful and exemplary to the last ; and when he died, two of 
 his sons were received into the school. 
 
 Whilst the embargo continued, Whitefield made some run- 
 ning excursions into the country, with great success. Before 
 leaving London, however, he went to St. Paul's, with the Fet- 
 ter Lane society, and received the sacrament as " a testimony," 
 he says, " that we adhered to the church of England." He was 
 perfectly sincere in this ; but many churchmen thought it a 
 strange adherence, when he went from St. Paul's to Moorfields 
 and Kennington Common, and preached to 30,000 people ! This 
 was adherence to Christ and Paul only. 
 
 After spending a week about Northamptonshire, where Dod- 
 dridge received him " most courteously," he returned to London, 
 and added Hackney Fields to the list of his preaching stations. 
 There he made that tremendous attack upon " the impiety of 
 the letter-learned teachers, who count the doctrine of the new 
 birth enthusiasm," which drew upon him the wrath of the 
 clergy. " I could not help," he says, " exposing the impiety of 
 these vile teachers, who say we are not now to receive the Holy 
 Ghost. Out of your own mouths I will condemn you, ye blind 
 guides ! Did you not, at the time of ordination, tell the bishop 
 that you were inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost, to take 
 upon you the administration of the church ? Surely at that 
 time you acted the part of Ananias and Sapphira over again. 
 Surely, says Bishop Burnet, you lied not only unto man but 
 unto God." 
 
 This is the revised form of the charge. As he first published 
 it, he did not quote Burnet, nor use the word " vile." That 
 word he substituted for the epithet " letter-learned," because 
 Warburton and others represented him as a despiser of learning. 
 
 Thejirst answer given to his sermon on Regeneration, was 
 by Tristram Land, A. M. curate of St. James's, Garlickhithe. 
 
86 
 
 Whitefield deemed it unworthy of notice. I do not. It is a 
 fair specimen of trie general tone of sentiment and feeling at the 
 time. It was written in 1737, although not published (" for 
 private reasons") until 1739; by which time, Whitefield and 
 Wesley had compelled theologians, at least, to mask their bat- 
 tery somewhat, in assailing the doctrine of the new birth. 
 TRISTRAM, however, has nothing to conceal. With inimitable 
 inanity and frankness, he says to Whitefield, " I hope you'll 
 please to alter your practice, and no longer preach up the ne- 
 cessity of the new birth, until you better understand the nature 
 and commencement of it : for to tell Christians they must be 
 born again, who in the soundest sense were bcrn again in their 
 infancy, is, at least, a great impropriety. And besides, your 
 time would be much better spent, after having given so much 
 just occasion of offence to your brethren, if, instead of rege- 
 neration, you insist more upon repentance and amendment." 
 
 " You tell your readers, ( It is plain beyond all contradiction, 
 that comparatively but few of those that are born of water are 
 born of the Spirit likewise ; or, to use another Scriptural way of 
 speaking, many of those that are baptized with water, are 
 not effectually, at least, baptized with the Holy Ghost.' But 
 prithee, Sir, attend now to these few following places which I 
 set before you, to confront your ill-grounded assertion." Tris- 
 tram then quotes the Office of Baptism, and the Kubrick at the 
 end of it, and adds triumphantly, " All this, Sir, I take to be 
 direct evidence against you, not to be evaded by the word ' effec- 
 tually,' with which you thought proper to guard your assertion. 
 All the members of our church were baptized in infancy. She 
 declares them regenerate ; and gives hearty thanks to God, that 
 it has pleased him to regenerate such infants with his Holy 
 Spirit. The church supposes they have already been born again, 
 and so does not command them to be baptized or born again 
 a second time : for to be born more than once in a spiritual 
 sense, is just as impossible as to be born twice in a natural. 
 
 " Perhaps, Sir, at another opportunity, I may make it my 
 business to point out some more mistakes in your writings and 
 conduct ; but if I should not, I dare say you'll excuse your 
 humble servant, Tristram Land." 
 
WIIITF.FIEI.DS LIFE AND TIMI:S. 
 
 When Whitefield road this letter, he wrote in his diary, 
 " Thou shalt answer for me, O Lord." He saw that it was 
 unanswerable, if the Office of Baptism, and the Catechism, be 
 true ; and he was not prepared then to impeach them by name. 
 
 The clergy seem to have been ashamed of the bald defence 
 published by this honest" Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge :" 
 for Whitefield's next opponent, on this subject, was no less a 
 person than Dr. Stebbing, his Majesty's chaplain in ordinary, 
 and preacher to the honourable society of Gray's Inn. (At 
 both Gray's and Lincoln's Inn, sermons against Whitefield and 
 Wesley seem to have been popular amongst the lawyers, and 
 means of obtaining preferment at court. See Warburton's.) 
 Dr. Stebbing's sermon, entitled " A Caution against Religious 
 Delusion," went through two or three editions in 1739. It is 
 the production of a scholar and a gentleman ; and so far of a 
 divine too, that it is silent on the subject of baptismal regener- 
 ation. Indeed, it is a dexterous attempt to prove, that the 
 new birth is only another expression for " the new man," which 
 is, the Doctor says, the figurative name of " practical right- 
 eousness." This sermon the bishop of Gloucester sent to 
 Whitefield, with a kind letter of caution and advice. The let- 
 ter itself he answered with equal firmness and courtesy ; but 
 the Doctor, without ceremony. " Dr. Stebbing's sermon (for 
 which I thank your Lordship) confirms me more and more in 
 my opinion, that I ought to be instant in season and out of sea- 
 son. For to me, he seems to know no more of the true nature 
 of regeneration, than Nicodemus did, when he came to Jesus 
 by night. Your Lordship may observe, that he does not speak 
 a word of original sin, or the dreadful consequences of our fall 
 in Adam, upon which the doctrine of the new birth is entirely 
 founded. No ; like other polite preachers, he seems to think 
 that St. Paul's description of the wickedness of the heathen, is 
 only to be referred to past ages : whereas, I affirm, we are all 
 included under the guilt and consequences of sin, as much as 
 they were ; and if any man preach any other doctrine, he shall 
 bear his punishment, whosoever he be. 
 
 " Again, my Lord, the Doctor entirely mistakes us, when we 
 talk of the sensible manifestations of the Holy Ghost. In- 
 
 
88 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 deed, I know not that we use the word sensible : but, if we do, 
 we do not mean that God's Spirit does manifest itself to our 
 senses, but that it may be perceived by the soul, as really as any 
 sensible impression made upon the body. But to disprove this, 
 the Doctor brings our Lord's allusion to the wind ; which is 
 one of the best texts to prove it ; for if the analogy of our 
 Lord's discourse be carried on, it amounts to this much, that 
 although the operations of the Spirit can no more be accounted 
 for, than how the wind cometh, and whither it goeth, yet may 
 they as easily be felt by the soul, as the wind by the body. 
 But he understands us as the carnal Jews understood Christ, 
 when He talked of giving them that bread which came down 
 from heaven. But the Doctor, and the rest of my reverend 
 brethren, are welcome to judge of me as they please. Yet a 
 little while, and we shall all appear before the gre^at Shepherd of 
 our souls ! " 
 
 We can scarcely appreciate now the value of this solemn and 
 decided stand for the truth as it is in Jesus. Had Whitefield 
 conceded an iota to Stebbing, he would have stultified his 
 grand object. Regeneration by the Holy Spirit had to be 
 maintained by its champion then, as Luther fought for justifi- 
 cation by faith ; giving no quarter to the vulgar or the refined 
 opponents of it. Stebbing's sermon could do no injury now. 
 It is even calculated to do real good, wherever more stress is 
 laid upon strong emotions, than upon personal holiness ; but 
 then, it was as much a moral " go-by " to the question, as bap- 
 tism was a ceremonial one. Whitefield had, therefore, no alter- 
 native but to abandon the necessity of spiritual conversion, or to 
 refute Stebbing. 
 
 His next opponent, at this time, was the bishop of London, 
 who made him, he says, "the chief subject matter" of a pastoral 
 letter. That letter charges him with " professing to plant and 
 propagate a new gospel, unknown to the generality of ministers 
 and people, in a Christian country." Whitefield, very properly, 
 admits the charge. " Mine is a new gospel and will be always 
 unknown to the generality, if your Lordship's clergy follow 
 your Lordship's directions. Your Lordship exhorts your clergy 
 to preach justification by faith alone and quotes the llth Ar- 
 
89 
 
 tide of our church, which tells us, we are justified by faith only, 
 and not for our works or deservings :' at the same time, your 
 Lordship bids them 'explain it in such a manner, as to leave 
 no doubt upon their minds, whether good works are a necessary 
 condition, of their being justified in the sight of God.' Your 
 Lordship, in my opinion, could not well be guilty of a greater 
 inconsistency. This, my Lord, is truly a new gospel ! It is 
 as contrary to the doctrine of the church of England, as light is 
 contrary to darkness." 
 
 This reply, happily, committed Whitefield as fully upon the 
 question of justification, as his letter to the bishop of Glouces- 
 ter had upon the question of regeneration : for, until Gibson's 
 Letter appeared, Whitefield himself had but confused notions of 
 the subject. But the bishop's errors made him aware of his 
 own mistakes. In his early sermons, he had used such expres- 
 sions as, " washing away the guilt of sin, by the tears of a sin- 
 cere repentance, joined with faith in the blood of Christ ;" 
 <s depending on the righteousness of Christ imputed to and 
 inherent in" us; "things necessary to qualify us for being 
 savingly in Christ." The fact is, he had not " read a single 
 book on the doctrine of free justification," when he began to 
 preach. " No wonder, then," he says, " that I was not so clear 
 in some points, at my first setting out. I think it no dishonour 
 to retract some expressions that dropped from my pen, before 
 God gave me a more clear knowledge of the doctrines of grace 
 St. Austin, I think, did so before me." A Letter to some Church 
 Members of the Presbyterian Per suasion. New York, 1740. Both 
 American and Scotch presbyterians helped to teach him " the 
 way of God more perfectly," at this time. Dr. Watts also had 
 some influence upon him, about this time ; although less than 
 he wished. The Doctor did not, indeed, take any public part in 
 the controversy ; but he privately sustained Bishop Gibson, and 
 thus placed himself in a false position, which for ever after pre- 
 vented him from being more than the private friend of White- 
 field. The bishop had sent him a copy of his Pastoral Letter 
 against Whitefield : and, in answer to it, he says, " Your Lord- 
 ship's distinction of the ordinary and extraordinary influences 
 of the Holy Spirit is so very necessary, that I think the New 
 
90 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Testament cannot be understood without it : and I wish Mr. 
 Whitefield would not have risen above any pretence to the ordi- 
 nary influence, unless he could have given better evidences of it. 
 He has acknowledged to me in conversation, that it is such an 
 impression upon his own mind, that he knows to be divine, 
 though he cannot give me any convincing proof of it. 
 
 " I said many things to warn him of the danger of delusion, 
 and to guard him against the irregularities and imprudences 
 which youth and zeal might lead him into ; and told him plainly, 
 that though I believed him very sincere, and desiring to do good 
 to souls, yet I was not convinced of any extraordinary call he 
 had to some parts of his conduct : and he seemed to take this 
 free discourse in a very candid manner." Milner's Life of Watts, 
 p. 638. In an evil hour this was written ; for however true, it 
 was ill timed. No matter that the letter contains some faith- 
 ful remonstrances to the bishop, about his clergy : it contains 
 none against Gibson's " new gospel," as Whitefield well calls 
 it ; and it abets him (unintentionally, indeed) in confounding 
 regeneration with the extraordinary influences of the Spirit. 
 For that was the real point at issue between Gibson and White- 
 field. _ Accordingly, Gibson took the letter in good part. He 
 wrote thus : " Good Sir, it had been well for Mr. Whitefield, if 
 he had taken the wise advice and cautions you gave him : but 
 from the time that men imagine themselves singled out by God 
 for extraordinary purposes, and in consequence of that, to be 
 guided by extraordinary impulses and operations, all human 
 advice is lost upon them. I am, with great affection and esteem, 
 your very faithful servant, EDM. LOND." 
 
 Watts did not see the bearing of all this ; but it so committed 
 him upon the bishop's side of the question, that he could not 
 espouse Whitefield's side of it publicly, even when that was no 
 longer encumbered with crude notions of impulses and im- 
 pressions. 
 
 This incident deserves far more consideration than it has ever 
 received. It is often asked, with wonder, why the orthodox 
 dissenters of that time did not rally around Whitefield, and 
 open their pulpits to him, when he was excluded from the 
 churches ? The author of the " Life and Times of Watts " says, 
 
AVIIITICFIKLD'S LIVK AND TIMES. 01 
 
 " The co-operation of such men as Watts and Doddridge was 
 forfeited by the want of a conciliating spirit, and the good will 
 they tendered was lost by causeless and imprudent reflections " 
 (on the part of the methodists). " When their churches were 
 denounced as companies of banded formalists, when their min- 
 isters were proclaimed as feeding the flock with husks, instead 
 of salutary food, it is not surprising if the majority stood aloof, 
 or retired disgusted by the exhibition of such censoriousness." 
 
 But what has all this tirade against the methodists to do with 
 Whitefield ? He never spoke in this manner or spirit against 
 Watts or Doddridge. He revered and loved both from the first. 
 Milner surely does not mean, when he says that " Whitefield in 
 middle age saw his error," that this was the " youthful intem- 
 perance he acknowledged." He did acknowledge, with great 
 candour and self-condemnation, that he had spoken both hastily 
 and harshly of many ministers. For this he publicly asked 
 pardon of God and man. But it was never of such men as Watts 
 and Doddridge, and especially not of these men, he had ever 
 been an accuser. Indeed, both of them had said of him what 
 was not exactly kind or wise, however well meant. Doddridge 
 called him " a very weak man," though " very honest ;" and, 
 " a little intoxicated with popularity." He might also have 
 found " a more excellent way " of appeasing the brethren who 
 were " angry " with him for the respect he showed to Whitefield, 
 than by saying to Coward's trustees, " I am not so zealously 
 attached to him, as to be disposed to celebrate him as one of 
 the greatest men of the age, or to think that he is the pillar that 
 bears up the whole interest of religion among us." Letters to 
 Dr. Wood and Nath. Neal, Esq. vol. iv. This was playing too 
 far into the hands of Whitefield's dissenting opponents, just as 
 Watts conceded too much to Gibson. Watts went so far in his 
 courtesy to the bishop, as to tell him, not only how to " make 
 all the Whitefields less regarded, and less dangerous to the 
 church," but also how " to lessen separation " from the church : 
 " Induce the ministers under your care, to preach and converse 
 among their people with that evangelical spirit, that zeal for the 
 honour of God and the success of the gospel, and with that com- 
 passion for the souls of men, that your Lordship so much 
 
92 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 approves and advises in your pious and excellent charge." 
 Milner. p. 639. 
 
 All this may surprise some : but the fact is, that the dissenters 
 of these times were, in their own way, almost as great sticklers 
 for " order " as the bishops. Field preaching was as alarming to 
 the board as to the bench. The primate would have as soon 
 quitted his throne, as a leading nonconformist his desk, to 
 preach from a horse-block or a table, in the open air. Indeed, 
 aggression was no part of the character of dissent, in these days. 
 No wonder ! Dissenters had been so long persecuted even in 
 their secluded and obscure chapels, that they were glad to sit 
 still under their vine and their fig-tree ; thankful for their own 
 safety, and neither daring nor dreaming to go into the high- 
 ways or hedges. It was methodism made dissent aggressive 
 upon the strong holds of Satan. Indeed, until the chief of them 
 were carried by storm, by Whitefield and Wesley, dissenters 
 must have dreaded all co-operation with methodism, as perilous 
 to their own peace and safety. They did. Accordingly, all the 
 remonstrances addressed to Doddridge, by Coward's trustees 
 and the London ministers, harp chiefly upon the string, that the 
 church will not think so well of the dissenting interest, if she see 
 it countenancing Whitefield. Doddridge nobly despised this 
 fear ; but still, it was long and deeply felt by many of the non- 
 conformists. This was not, however, their only reason. They 
 did fear for their own standing with the church ; but they feared 
 more for the ark of God ; which, they thought, was in danger of 
 being " swallowed up in a sea of deism," if the enthusiasm of 
 methodism obtained countenance " from prudent Christians." 
 See Neal's Letters to Doddridge, vol. iv. 
 
 Do I then regret that Whitefield was not adopted by the 
 dissenters, when the church cast him out ? No, in nowise ! They 
 would have spoiled him by their orderliness ; and he might have 
 confused them by his splendid irregularities. Ralph Erskine 
 well said to Whitefield, " I see a beauty in the providence of 
 your being in communion with the English church : otherwise, 
 such great confluences from among them had not attended your 
 ministry; nor, consequently, reaped the advantage which so 
 many have done." Fraser's Life of R. Erskine. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 93 
 
 The Scotch dissenters, the Seceders, would, indeed, have 
 gladly adopted Whitefield, if they could have had a monopoly 
 of his labour : but they, too, were better without him. His re- 
 action upon the secession in Scotland, as upon the dissenters of 
 England, multiplied and strengthened both eventually, far more 
 than his exclusive services could have done. 
 
 This digression, though long, and somewhat out of place, will 
 be found useful in its bearings upon his future positions. At 
 this time, however, whilst doctors differed, he carried the great 
 questions at issue into the midst of " multitudes, multitudes in 
 the valley of DECISION ! " He also preached frequently in the 
 church at Bexley, and administered the sacrament. The vicar 
 of Bexley, Mr. Peers, was much attached to him ; but was com- 
 pelled at last, by the diocesan, to deny him the use of the pulpit. 
 But the good man went no further than the letter of the injunc- 
 tion : he employed Whitefield in the desk, and at the altar, when 
 he could no longer admit him into the pulpit. " Read prayers 
 and assisted in administering the sacrament at Bexley church. 
 Many came from far, and expected to hear me." The pulpit 
 being denied, " I preached in the afternoon, in Justice D.'s yard, 
 to about three hundred people ; and in the evening, at Black- 
 heath, to upwards of twenty thousand, on these words, ' And 
 they cast him out.' I recommended to the people the example 
 of the blind beggar, and reminded them to prepare for a gather- 
 ing storm I " 
 
 A few days before this expulsion from the pulpit at Bexley, 
 he had introduced Mr. Wesley to Blackheath. This afforded him 
 great pleasure. He regarded it " as another fresh inroad made 
 into Satan's kingdom," that his " honoured and reverend friend, 
 Mr. John Wesley," was- " following him in field preaching in 
 London, as well as in Bristol." " The Lord give him ten 
 thousand times more success than he has given me." 
 
 Next week, when he himself went to preach at Blackheath in 
 the evening, instead of twenty or thirty thousand people as usual, 
 there were not one thousand. This arose from a report that 
 Whitefield was dead. He does not explain the report in any 
 of his journals ; but merely says of it, " Wherever I came, I 
 found people much surprised and rejoiced to see me alive." 
 
94 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Next night, however, the heath was again swarming with 
 thousands. 
 
 On the following day he went on a tour into Gloucestershire, 
 for nearly a month. During his ahsence, the work was carried 
 on hy his " honoured friend and fellow-labourer, Charles Wes- 
 ley." On his return, he says, " The poor souls were ready to 
 leap for joy," at Kennington Common. At Moorfields, " A 
 greater power than ever was amongst us. I collected 24 17s. 
 for the school-house at Kingswood." 
 
 Whitefield little knew, whilst thus occupied, how narrowly 
 his life had escaped at Basingstoke, two days before. He had, 
 indeed, been told by one, as he went out to preach in a field, 
 that he " should not go alive out of Basingstoke ;" but he 
 heeded not the threat, as he had claimed protection from the 
 mayor. He would not, perhaps, have thought of it again, had 
 not a quaker, at whose house he slept, sent the following letter : 
 " I am truly glad that thou wert preserved out of the hands of 
 cruel and unreasonable men. Thou heardst of the threatenings 
 of many ; but the malice and blind zeal of some went further. 
 
 For hadst thou went to my friend H to bed, or elsewhere 
 
 towards that part of the town, (which I believe was expected,) 
 there were ten or twelve men lying in wait to do thee a private 
 mischief : which I know by the testimony of one of those very 
 men ; who boasted to me f We ivould have given him a secret 
 blow, and prevented him making disturbances' This confession 
 came out to me in the warmth of his zeal ; as thinking, perhaps, 
 that I could hate, at least, if not destroy, (like him,) all that 
 were not of my own party." Revised Journals. 
 
 Gillies has not mentioned this escape. He merely refers to 
 the " groundless fictions," then afloat, about Whitefield's mur- 
 der or wounds ; for report killed or wounded him, whenever he 
 left London for a few days. Gillies has, however, marked a 
 coincidence which, although I durst not have noticed in the 
 way he has done, I dare not altogether suppress. He says, 
 " The bishop of London laid hold of this occasion for publishing 
 a charge to his clergy, to avoid the extremes of enthusiasm and 
 lukewarmness." And that the charge was ill-timed, and cal- 
 culated to endanger Whitefield, cannot be doubted ; for he was 
 
95 
 
 made, as he himself says, " the chief subject matter " of it, 
 and thus held up to public odium ; but it certainly was not 
 intended to injure him, except in his reputation and influence. 
 Bishops, however, should take care how they bark, when curs 
 are inclined to bite. Well might Whitefield say at this crisis, 
 " People wonder at me, that I should talk of persecution, now 
 the world is become Christian : but, alas, were Jesus Christ to 
 come down from heaven at this time, he would be treated as 
 formerly. And whoever goes forth to preach the gospel in his 
 Spirit, must expect the same treatment as his first apostles 
 met with. Lord, prepare us for all events." 
 
 But if he saw danger, he did not shrink from it. In one 
 instance, at this time, he almost courted insult, as well as ex- 
 posed himself to it. Having heard that there was to be a 
 horse-race at Hackney Marsh, he says, "I appointed, pur- 
 posely, to preach there, because the race was to be in the same 
 field." He did preach to ten thousand people ; and " very few 
 left the sermon :" some who did, " returned back quickly," 
 and them he addressed personally. This was certainly im- 
 prudent. The whole affair, however, passed off quietly. 
 
 Marybone Fields and Stoke Newington Common then be- 
 came the chief scene of his labours, until his embarkation : and 
 they were scenes of triumph. Many scoffers were arrested and 
 overpowered by the gospel, and more formalists roused to flee 
 from the wrath to come. He himself has not hazarded any 
 computation of the precise number of avowed converts, won 
 by field preaching, in and around London ; but, judging from 
 the time he spent in speaking with the awakened, during the 
 intervals of preaching, and from the letters and notes he ac- 
 knowledges, the numbers must have been great. He says in 
 his revised journal, at the close of this grand campaign to win 
 souls, " Great things God has already done : for it is unknown 
 how many have come to me under strong convictions of their 
 fallen state ; desiring to be (more) awakened to a sense of sin, 
 and giving thanks for the benefits God has imparted to them 
 by the ministry of his word." His last sermon, before leaving 
 London to embark, brought so many of these amongst the 
 crowd at Kennington Common, and they were so " exceedingly 
 
96 
 
 affected/' that he was " almost prevented from making any ap- 
 plication " of the subject. But whatever was the number of his 
 converts then, To PL AD Y, who was not inclined to give an ex- 
 aggerated answer to the question, " Are there many that be 
 saved ? " gave Whitefield credit for having been, in the course 
 of his entire ministry, useful to " tens of thousands besides " 
 himself. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S FIRST VISITS TO THE COUNTRY. 
 
 WHATEVER disadvantages may attend the mode in which I 
 trace the first labours and influence of Whitefield, the divisions 
 I have adopted will enable the reader to follow him without 
 effort or confusion, and to judge fairly of each of his successive 
 spheres ; many of which were very dissimilar, however much 
 alike were the effects of his preaching in them. Besides, it is 
 much easier to realize the changes which passed upon his spirit 
 as he moved from country to country, and from spot to spot, in 
 the glory or gloom of circumstances, than to realize places, 
 however vividly characterized; for they seldom gave a cha- 
 racter to his preaching. I mean, that he did not exactly adapt 
 himself to localities ; but came into a new field in the spirit he 
 had left the old one. He preached " the common salvation " 
 every where, although with varied power. According to " the 
 brook in the way," he "lifted up the head." He came to 
 London under the Bristol impulse ; and he embarked for 
 America under the London impulse. This is evident from his 
 journals. He had no plans, but for winning souls; and these, 
 although they could never be set aside by circumstances, could 
 be inflamed by them. Accordingly, whilst the vessel was de- 
 tained in the river or on the coast, he was never idle. Wherever 
 he could land, he preached ; and when on board, he read prayers 
 and expounded daily ; just as might be expected from a man 
 fresh from the impulses of London. 
 
 His work in England, as distinguished from London and its 
 immediate vicinity, began on his return from Georgia; and 
 then, he was full of his orphan school : an ii stitution which, if 
 
 o 
 
P8 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 it did little for the colony, led him to do much for the mother 
 country ! Humanly speaking, hut for that school, and the col- 
 lege he intended to graft upon it, Whitefield would never have 
 traversed England as he did, nor visited Scotland so often. It 
 compelled him to travel, and inspired him to preach. It was 
 his hobby, certainly; hut hy riding it well, he made it like 
 " the white horse " of the Apocalypse, the means of going "forth 
 conquering and to conq'atr." 
 
 Having been ordained a priest at Oxford, and received a 
 " liberal benefaction " from the bishop of Gloucester for Georgia, 
 his first visit was to Windsor. There he could find only a 
 school-room to expound in ; but such was the impression made 
 by his address, that he exclaimed on leaving, " Not unto me, O 
 Lord, not unto me; but unto thy name be all the glory." 
 
 Next morning he went to Basingstoke, and expounded to 
 about a hundred very attentive hearers, in the dining-room of 
 the inn ; but on the evening of the next day, the crowd outside 
 was noisy, and threw stones at the windows. This roused 
 Whiteneld's zeal and the curiosity of the town. On the fol- 
 lowing day, he had three large rooms nearly filled ; and 
 although some interrupted him, many were so struck and over- 
 awed, that they said they would "never oppose again."* 
 
 At this time he visited and revisited Dummer, where he had 
 once been so useful and happy amongst the poor. " I found," 
 says he, that " they had not forgotten their former love. We 
 took exceeding sweet counsel, prayed, and sang psalms, and eat 
 our bread with gladness and singleness of heart. How did 
 Jesus comfort us by the way ! Monstrare nequeo sentio tan- 
 turn! Lord, melt down my frozen heart, with a sense of thy 
 unmerited love." 
 
 From Dummer he went to Salisbury, and there visited " an 
 old disciple, Mr. Wesley's mother ;" but found no opportunity 
 for preaching. He then went to Bath, with the hope of preach- 
 ing in the abbey church for the orphan-house, the trustees 
 having obtained leave of the bishop; but Dr. C. would not 
 permit him . " He was pleased " (so Whitefield expresses it) to 
 
 * See Letter 51. Works, vol. J. 
 
99 
 
 give me an absolute refusal to preach either on that or any 
 other occasion, without a positive order from the king or the 
 bishop. I asked him his reasons. He said he was not obliged 
 to give me any. I therefore withdrew, and reached Bristol." 
 There a welcome awaited him ; and he felt the difference. 
 " Who can express the joy with which I was received '{ " It 
 was not long, however, unmixed joy. He was refused the use 
 of Redcliffe church, although he had the promise of it. The 
 clergyman pretended that " he could not lend his church with- 
 out a special order from the chancellor." Whitefield, with his 
 usual promptitude, put this excuse to the test at once. " I im- 
 mediately waited on the chancellor, who told me frankly, that 
 he would neither give positive leave, nor would he prohibit any 
 one that should lend me a church ; but he would advise me to 
 withdraw to some other place, till he heard from the bishop, 
 and not to preach on any other occasion. I asked him his rea- 
 sons. He answered, ' Why will you press so hard upon me ? 
 The thing has given general dislike.' I replied, ' Not the orphan- 
 house ; even those that disagree with me in other particulars, 
 approve of that. And as for the gospel when was it preached 
 without dislike ? ' 
 
 " Soon after this I waited upon the reverend the dean, who 
 received me with great civility. When I had shown him my 
 Georgia accounts, and answered him a question or two about 
 the colony, I asked him, whether there could be any just ob- 
 jection against my preaching in churches for the orphan-house? 
 After a pause for a considerable time, he said, he could not 
 tell. Somebody knocking at the door, he replied, ' Mr. White- 
 field, I will give you an answer some other time : now I expect 
 company.' ' Will you be pleased to fix any time, Sir,' said I. 
 1 1 will send to you,' says the dean. O Christian simplicity, 
 whither art thou fled ? " 
 
 Whitefield himself jied, that afternoon, to the Newgate of 
 Bristol, and obtained the jailer's permission to preach there to 
 the prisoners. " I preached a sermon on the Penitent Thief, 
 and collected fifteen shillings for them." On the following 
 sabbath he preached at St. Werburgh's church to a large au- 
 dience. Even St. Mary Redcliffe was open to him soon, though 
 
100 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 not for a collection. " Blessed be God, I thought yesterday 
 I should not have the use of any pulpit j but God has the hearts 
 of all men in his hands." The old effects accompanied this 
 new visit to Bristol. " Great numbers were melted down* 
 Thousands could not find room." He thus verified a prediction 
 which had been sent from London to Bristol, by some raving 
 blasphemer ; " Whitefield has set the town on fire, and now he 
 is gone to kindle a flame in the country. I think the devil in 
 hell is in you all." 
 
 The flame was kindled in Bristol ; and the devil had cer- 
 tainly something to do with those who tried to extinguish it. 
 " The chancellor told me plainly, that he intended to stop my 
 proceedings. f I have sent for the registrar here, Sir, to take 
 down your answers.' He asked me, by what authority I 
 preached in the diocess of Bristol without a licence ? I an- 
 swered, ' I thought that custom was grown obsolete. Why, pray, 
 Sir, did not you ask the clergyman, who preached for you last 
 Thursday, this question ? ' He said, that was nothing to me ? " 
 Dr. Southey says, that Whitefield's reply to the chancellor was 
 given " without the slightest sense of its impropriety or its irre- 
 levance." But where is its irrelevance ? It is certainly quite 
 ad rem, whatever it may be as etiquette, when curates argue 
 with chancellors ; and in all respects, it is more gentlemanly 
 than the chancellor's "what is that to you" That is real 
 vulgarity. 
 
 The Doctor narrates the remainder of this high-church 
 scene, with more discrimination. " The chancellor then read 
 to him those canons which forbade any minister from preaching 
 in a private house. Whitefield answered, he apprehended they 
 did not apply to professed ministers of the church of England. 
 When he was informed of his mistake, he said, ' There is also 
 a canon forbidding all clergymen to frequent taverns and play 
 at cards : why is not that put in execution ? ' And he added, 
 that notwithstanding these canons, he could not but speak the 
 things he knew, and that he was resolved to proceed as usual." 
 Now, if the Doctor pleases, Whitefield is as impolite, as the 
 apostles were to the chancellor of the Jewish sanhedrim ! " His 
 answer was written down, and the chancellor then said, ' I am 
 
101 
 
 resolved, Sir, if you preach or expound any where in this diocess 
 till you have a licence, I will first suspend, and then excommu- 
 nicate you.' With this declaration of war they parted : but 
 the advantage was wholly on the side of Whitefield ; for the 
 day of ecclesiastical discipline was gone by." Southeys Wesley. 
 
 Whitefield says, they parted politely. " He waited upon me 
 very civilly to the door, and told me, ' What he did was in the 
 name of the clergy and laity (laity indeed !) of the city of Bris- 
 tol ;' and so we parted. Immediately I went and expounded 
 at Newgate as usual ! " 
 
 The unusual, as might be expected, soon followed this Bar- 
 tholomew day in Bristol. Ejected from the churches, White- 
 field betook himself to the fields at once. " All the churches 
 being now shut and if open, not able to contain half that came 
 to hear I went to Kingswood, amongst the colliers." There 
 he took his station upon Hannam Mount, on Rose Green, and 
 preached, not, as Dr. Gillies says, from the sermon on the 
 mount, but from John iii. 3, on regeneration, his favourite sub- 
 ject. The other text was on a subsequent occasion. " I thought " 
 (says he) " it would be doing the service of my Creator, who had 
 a mountain for his pulpit, and the heavens for his sounding- 
 board ; and who, when his gospel was refused by the Jews, sent 
 his servants into the highways and hedges." 
 
 In thus renewing a practice which, as Dr. Southey says, "had 
 not been seen in England since the dissolution of the monastic 
 orders," and by commencing it at Kingswood, Whitefield dared 
 not a little danger. The colliers were numerous and utterly 
 uncultivated. They had no place of worship. Few ventured 
 to walk even in their neighbourhood ; and when provoked, they 
 were the terror of Bristol. But " none of these things moved " 
 Whitefield, although he was told them all by his timid friends. 
 The fact is, the chancellor had told him something he dreaded 
 more than insult, that he must be silent ; and that, he could 
 not endure. Instead of insult or opposition at Kingswood, 
 however, " the barbarous people," although they had never 
 been in a church, " showed him no small kindness." His first 
 audience amounted to nearly two thousand, who heard him 
 with great attention and decorum for nearly an hour. His 
 
102 
 
 third audience increased to five thousand ; and thus they went 
 on increasing to ten, fourteen, and twenty thousand. On one 
 of these occasions he says, " The day was fine the sun shone 
 very bright and the people standing in such an awful manner 
 around the mount, in the profoundest silence, filled me with 
 holy admiration. Blessed be God for such a plentiful harvest. 
 Lord, do thou send forth more labourers into thy harvest." 
 
 Although Whitefield had thus drawn the sword against the 
 obsolete canons of the church, he had not " thrown away the 
 scabbard ;" for, on the morning of the very next day, he waited 
 again on the chancellor, and showed him a letter he had 
 received from the bishop of London. " After usual saluta- 
 tions, I asked why he did not write to the bishop, according to 
 his promise ? I think he answered, he was to blame. I then 
 insisted on his proving I had preached false doctrine, and re- 
 minded him of his threatening to excommunicate me in the 
 name of the clergy and laity of the city of Bristol. But he 
 would have me think that he had said no such thing ; and con- 
 fessed, that to this day he had neither heard me preach, nor 
 read any of my writings." Thus, it seems, Whitefield was 
 charged with heresy, and threatened with excommunication 
 and that by a chancellor on mere hearsay evidence ! This reply 
 to Whitefield was surely not given " without the slightest sense 
 of its impropriety or its irrelevance ! " Southeys Wesley. 
 
 He wrote an account of this shameful affair to the bishop of 
 Bristol. " To-day I showed your Lordship's letter to the chan- 
 cellor, who (notwithstanding he promised not to prohibit my 
 preaching for the orphan-house, if your Lordship was only neuter 
 in the affair) has influenced most of the clergy to deny me their 
 pulpits, either on that or any other occasion. Last week, he 
 charged me with false doctrine. To day, he is pleased to for- 
 get that he said so. He also threatened to excommunicate me 
 for preaching in your Lordship's diocess. I offered to take a 
 licence, but was denied. If your Lordship ask, what evil I have 
 done, I answer, none ; save that I visit the religious societies, 
 preach to the prisoners in Newgate, and to the poor col- 
 liers at Kingswood, who, they tell me, are little better than 
 heathens. I am charged with being a dissenter ! although 
 
103 
 
 many are brought to church by my preaching, and not one 
 takrn from it. 
 
 " I am sorry to give your Lordship this trouble, but I thought 
 proper to mention these particulars, that I might know of your 
 Lordship wherein my conduct is exceptionable." A copy of 
 this letter he sent to the chancellor, with the following note ; 
 " The enclosed I sent to the bishop of Bristol : be pleased to 
 peruse it, and see if any thing contrary to truth is there related." 
 
 How the matter ended, I know not ; except that there was 
 an end to Whitefield's preaching in the churches of Bristol. 
 That led, however, to what he calls, his " beginning to begin " 
 to be a preacher. " I hasted to Kingswood. At a moderate 
 computation, there were above ten thousand people. The trees 
 and hedges were full. All was hush when I began. The sun 
 shone bright, and God enabled me to preach with great power, 
 and so loud, that all (I was told) could hear me. Blessed be 
 
 God, Mr. spoke right the fire is kindled in the country. 
 
 May the gates of hell never be able to prevail against it ! To 
 behold such crowds standing together in such awful silence, and 
 to hear the echo of their singing run from one end of them to 
 the other, was very solemn and striking. How infinitely more 
 solemn and striking will the general assembly of the spirits of 
 just men made perfect be, when they join in singing the song 
 of Moses and the Lamb in heaven ! As the scene was new, and 
 I had just began to be an extempore preacher, it often occa- 
 sioned many inward conflicts. Sometimes when twenty thou- 
 sand people were before me, I had not, in my own apprehen- 
 sion, a word to say either to God or them ! But I was never 
 totally deserted ; and frequently (for to deny it would be to sin 
 against God) so assisted, that I knew by happy experience 
 what our Lord meant by saying, ' Out of his belly shall flow 
 rivers of living waters.' The gladness and eagerness with 
 which these poor despised outcasts, who had never been in a 
 church in their lives, received the truth, is beyond description ! 
 Having no righteousness of their own to renounce, they were 
 glad to hear of a Jesus, who was the friend of publicans, and 
 came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The 
 first discovery of their being affected, was to see the white 
 
104 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 gutters made by their tears, which plentifully fell down their 
 black faces ; black as they came out of the coal-pits. Hundreds 
 and hundreds of them were soon brought under deep conviction, 
 which, as the event proved, ended in a sound and thorough con- 
 version. The change was visible to all ; though numbers chose 
 to impute it to any thing rather than the finger of God." 
 
 Neither the bishop, nor the chancellor, threw any hinderance 
 in the way of this mighty work. Would they had helped it 
 on ! What an effect would have been produced, had the bishop 
 preached to the colliers in the cathedral ! They were in his 
 diocess, though without both a fold and a shepherd; and he 
 was more responsible to God for them, than for the dignity of 
 the episcopal throne, where " the traditions of men " had seated 
 him. Prelacy, if above " the work of an evangelist," is beneath 
 the acceptance of good men. 
 
 Though somewhat embarrassed at first by his novel situa- 
 tion, Whitefield soon found himself in his native element. In 
 churches, however large, there was not room for his mighty 
 voice ; and thus not full scope for his mightier feelings. Both 
 were cramped, although he knew it not, until the horizon was 
 their circle, and the firmament their roof. Immensity above 
 and around him, expanded his spirit to all its width, in all its 
 warmth ; whilst the scenery touched all his sensibilities. Then 
 he knew both his powder and his weakness. " The open firma- 
 ment above me," says he, " the prospect of the adjacent fields, 
 with the sight of thousands and thousands, some in coaches, 
 some on horseback, and some in the trees, and at times, all 
 affected and drenched in tears together ; to which sometimes 
 was added the solemnity of the approaching evening, was 
 almost too much for me, and quite overcame me." 
 
 In recording this impressive scene, Dr. Southey, notwith- 
 standing all his recollections of Bristol scenery, has not ascribed 
 to it any part of the impression made by Whitefield upon the 
 people. He does not say of him, as of Wesley, that " he him- 
 self perceived that natural influences operated upon the multi- 
 tude, like the pomp and circumstances of Romish worship :" 
 and yet, Whitefield, although less refined than Wesley, was 
 equally alive to the influence of scenery and seasons ; and often 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES 105 
 
 chose situations as bold as the amphitheatre of Gwenap, or as 
 beautiful as the groves of Heptenstal. Watson never wrote 
 with greater severity, nor with more truth, than when he ex- 
 posed the fallacy of ascribing the effect of Wesley's preaching 
 to picturesque scenery. " It is not upon uncultivated minds," 
 he justly says, " that such scenes operate strongly." Besides, 
 " we are not informed how similar effects were produced, when 
 no rocks reared their frowning heads, and when the sea was too 
 far off to mix its murmurs with the preacher's voice ; when no 
 ruined castle nodded over the scene, and when the birds were so 
 provokingly timid as to hasten away to an undisturbed solitude." 
 
 Whitefield could turn both scenery and circumstances, what- 
 ever they were, to good account. On one occasion, whilst 
 preaching at the Bristol glass-houses, he says, " I heard many 
 people behind me hallooing, and making a noise ; and supposed 
 they were set on to disturb me by somebody. I bless God, I 
 was not in the least moved, but rather increased more in strength. 
 When I was done, I inquired the cause of the noise : I found a 
 gentleman (?) being drunk, had taken the liberty to call me a 
 dog, and say, ' that I ought to be whipped at cart's tail ;' and 
 offered money to any that would pelt me. Instead of that, the 
 boys and people near began to cast stones and dirt at him." 
 This retaliation Whitefield reprobated in strong terms, before 
 he left the ground ; slyly reminding the people, however, of " the 
 sorry wages the devil gives his servants." Some days after he 
 visited this ungentlemanly disturber, to condole with him upon 
 his punishment. The visit was well received, and they parted 
 " very friendly." Journals. 
 
 After some hasty trips into Wales, from Bristol, he went to 
 his native city, where the congregations were so large, that the 
 clergyman refused him the church on week days. He, there- 
 fore, preached in his " brother's field" to the crowd. He felt 
 deeply for Gloucester, and threw all his soul into his sermons, 
 that he might te save some " where he was born. " To-day," 
 he says, " I felt such an intense love, that I could have almost 
 wished myself accursed (anathema) for my brethren according 
 to the flesh." Such was his zeal to win souls in this city, that 
 he preached alternately in the Boothall and the fields, almost 
 
106 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 every day, during his visit. This encroachment upon the time 
 of the people, drew upon him the charge of encouraging idle- 
 ness ; which, with his usual readiness, though not with his 
 usual prudence, he retorted hy saying, " Ye are idle, ye are idle, 
 say the Pharaohs of this generation ; therefore ye say, Let us 
 go and worship the Lord" He was, however, permitted by the 
 bishop to baptize an old quaker in the church of St. Mary De 
 Crypt, where he himself had been baptized : and there, he did not 
 confine himself to the book ; but, giving way to the emotions 
 awakened by the font where he himself had been presented be- 
 fore the Lord in infancy, he poured out his heart in a free and 
 fervent exhortation to the spectators ; " proving the necessity 
 of the new birth from the Office." 
 
 From Gloucester he went to Cheltenham, where his acquaint- 
 ance with the Seward family began, although they had to fol- 
 low him to the bowling-green and the market-cross, the churches 
 being all shut against him. And Oxford, to which he went 
 next, completed and sealed this expulsion. " The vice-chan- 
 cellor came in person to the house " where Whitefield was ex- 
 horting, and accosted him thus : " ' Have you, Sir, a name in 
 any book here ? ' { Yes, Sir,' said I ; ' but I intend to take it out 
 soon.' He replied, ' Yes, and you had best take yourself out too, 
 or otherwise I will lay you by the heels. What do you mean by 
 going about, and alienating the people's affections from their 
 proper pastors ? Your works are full of vanity and nonsense. 
 You pretend to inspiration. If ever you come again in this 
 manner among these people, I will lay you first by the heels, 
 and these shall follow.' ' It does not appear that Whitefield 
 returned any answer to this paltry threat. A few days after it, 
 he preached in Moorfields : and from that moment, he cared 
 nothing about chancellors or vice-chancellors, when they stood 
 in the way of the gospel. 
 
 In the course of his short excursions into the country, whilst 
 the embargo prevented him from sailing, he visited Olney, where 
 he was " not a little comforted," by meeting, as a field preacher, 
 ]\|r, R of Bedford, who had been both expelled and impri- 
 soned for preaching the Scriptural doctrines of justification and 
 regeneration. " I believe," says Whitefield, " we are the first 
 
\\ HITKKIKU/S LIKE AND TIMES. 107 
 
 professed ministers of the church of England, that were so soon, 
 and without cause, excluded every pulpit. Whether our bre- 
 thrrn can justify such conduct, the last day will determine." 
 An earlier day determined the question ! The people of Bedford 
 had made up their minds upon it at the time : for thousands 
 assembled regularly around tho windmill to hear their expelled 
 
 minister preach from the stairs ; " Mr. R 's pulpit," as 
 
 Whitefield calls it. Journals. 
 
 During this journey ho visited Northampton ; but, although 
 " courteously received by Dr. Doddridge," he had to preach 
 upon the common, " from the starting post." Indeed, he was 
 not welcome to the Doctor's pulpit, even when he did preach 
 there afterwards. Doddridge was so far from " seeking his 
 preaching," that he took " all the steps he could prudently venture 
 on to prevent it." Tlie Doddridge Diary and Correspondence. 
 
 The clergy having thus shut their pulpits against him, and the 
 dissenters not opened theirs to him, the country magistrates 
 followed in the train of his opponents, and even the inn-keepers 
 were afraid to admit him. At Tewkesbury he found four con- 
 stables waiting to apprehend him, and the whole town in alarm. 
 Happily, a lawyer in the crowd demanded a sight of the war- 
 rant ; and the constables having none, Whitefield determined 
 to preach at all hazards, though beyond the liberties of the town. 
 He did preach in the evening, in the field of a neighbouring 
 gentleman, and two or three thousand people attended. Next 
 morning he waited on one of the town-bailiffs, and meekly re- 
 monstrated against the attempted outrage. The bailiff told 
 him, that the whole council were against him ; and that a judge 
 had declared him a vagrant, whom he would apprehend. 
 
 It was now a crisis ; and Whitefield determined to bring the 
 question to an issue. He claimed the protection of the laws. 
 The bailiff's answer was equivocal : " If you preach here to- 
 morrow, you shall have the constables to attend you." Whether 
 this was a threat or a promise, he knew not, and cared not. He 
 did preach next day, in another field, to six thousand people ; 
 " but saw rlo constables to molest or attend " him. 
 
 The reports of this affair spread in all forms ; alarming his 
 friends for his safety, and preparing his enemies for his approach. 
 At Basingstoke, the mayor (a butcher) sent him a warning by 
 
108 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 the hands of a constable. This led to an amusing correspond- 
 ence, as well as to interviews, between the parties ; in which the 
 mayor boasted of what he would do, " although he was a 
 butcher ;" and Whitefield told him what he ought to do as a 
 magistrate. 
 
 It was the time of the revel at Basingstoke, and many of the 
 people were riotous. Whitefield, however, preached in a field, 
 although he was unprotected, and even told that he would not 
 come out alive. Indeed, it was confessed, some days after, by 
 one of the ringleaders, that a party were pledged to " give him 
 a secret blow, and prevent his disturbances." He was, however, 
 only grossly insulted. 
 
 The fact is, the magistrates and the booth-keepers were afraid 
 that he would spoil the revel : and he evidently intended to 
 preach at the fair, although he did not exactly say so ; for he 
 repeatedly urged the mayor to prevent the scenes of cudgelling 
 and wrestling, which were going forward. Failing in this, he 
 set out to go to London ; but when he saw the stage for the 
 cudgellers and wrestlers, he could not proceed. 
 
 The following account of his " mad prank," is too charac- 
 teristic of him to be suppressed, although he himself erased it 
 from his journals. " As I passed by on horseback, I saw a 
 stage ; and as I rode further, I met divers coming to the revel ; 
 which affected me so much, that I had no rest in my spirit. 
 And therefore having asked counsel of God, and perceiving an 
 unusual warmth and power enter my soul, though I was gone 
 above a mile, I could not bear to see so many dear souls, for 
 whom Christ had died, ready to perish, and no minister or ma- 
 gistrate interpose. Upon this I told my dear fellow-travellers, 
 that I was resolved to follow the example of Howel Harris in 
 Wales, (he had just come from a tour with him in Wales,) and 
 to bear my testimony against such lying vanities, let the con- 
 sequences, as to my own private person, be what they would. 
 They immediately consenting, I rode back to town, got upon 
 the stage erected for the wrestlers, and began to show them the 
 error of their ways. Many seemed ready to hear what I had 
 to say ; but one more zealous than the rest for his master, and 
 fearing conviction every time I attempted to speak, set the boys 
 on repeating their huzzahs. 
 
109 
 
 " My soul, I perceived, was in a sweet frame, willing to be 
 offered up, so that I might save some of those to whom I was 
 about to speak : but all in vain ! While I was on the stage, 
 one struck me with his cudgel, which I received with the utmost 
 love. At last, finding the devil would not permit them to give 
 me audience, I got off, and after much pushing and thronging 
 me I got on my horse, with unspeakable satisfaction within 
 myself, that I had now begun to attack the devil in his 
 strongest holds, and had borne my testimony against the detest- 
 able diversions of this generation." Original Journals. 
 
 The reason why Whitefield excluded this event from his re- 
 vised journals, was, perhaps, the tremendous severity of the 
 following reflections. " Ye masters in Israel, what are ye 
 doing ? Ye magistrates, that are gods in Scripture, why sleep 
 ye ? Why do ye bear the sword in vain ? Why count ye me a 
 troubler in Israel, and why say ye, I teach people to be idle, 
 when ye connive at, if not subscribe to, such hellish meetings 
 as these, which not only draw people from their bodily work, 
 but directly tend to destroy their precious and immortal souls ? 
 Surely I shall appear against you at the judgment-seat of 
 Christ ; for these diversions keep people from true Christianity, 
 as much as paganism itself. And I doubt not, but it will re- 
 quire as much courage and power to divert people from these 
 things, as the apostles had to exert in converting the heathen 
 from dumb idols. However, in the strength of my Master, I 
 will now enter the lists, and begin an offensive war with Satan 
 and all his host. If I perish, I perish ! I shall have the testi- 
 mony of a good conscience : I shall be free from the blood of 
 all men." It is easier to find fault with the severity of this in- 
 vective, than to prove that any lower tone of feeling could have 
 sustained any man, in grappling with such national enormities. 
 Whitefield struck the first blow at them, and thus led the way 
 to their abandonment ; an issue which may well excuse even the 
 wildfire of his zeal. 
 
 Such was his position in London and the country, when he 
 sailed for America the second time. He then left enough for 
 the nation to think about until his return. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 WHITEFIELD IN WALES. 
 
 THE following singular account of the commencement of method- 
 ism and dissent in Wales, is translated from the " Trysorva," by 
 Johnes. " In the reign of James I. a clergyman of the name of 
 Wroth was vicar of Llanvaches, in Monmouthshire. Being of a 
 joyous temper, and like most of his countrymen, passionately fond 
 of music, he was sometimes carried beyond the bounds of pro- 
 priety by this enthusiasm. On one occasion, a gentleman with 
 whom he was on terms of intimacy, having presented him with 
 a new harp, fixed a day on which, in company with some friends, 
 he would visit him, and hear him perform upon it. The day ap- 
 pointed came, and Wroth was anxiously expecting his visitor,when 
 a messenger appeared to inform him that his friend was no more 1 
 This incident affected him so deeply, that, repenting the levity 
 of his youth, from a gay clerical troubadour he became all at 
 once a sad but zealous divine. With these impressions, he de- 
 termined to commence preaching to his congregation, a practice 
 then almost unknown in the churches of the principality. As 
 a preacher, he soon distinguished himself so much, that the 
 Welch peasantry flocked from all the neighbouring counties to 
 hear him. His audience, being frequently too numerous for 
 his church to contain on such occasions, he was in the habit 
 of addressing them in the churchyard. It is said that Sir Lewis 
 Mansel, of Margam, a man illustrious for his exalted religious 
 and patriotic zeal, was often one of his congregation. 
 
 " The irregularity alluded to at last exposed him to the 
 censure of his diocesan, who, on one occasion, asked him, in 
 anger, how he could vindicate his infringement of the rules of 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. Ill 
 
 the church ? To this reprimand Wroth replied, hy appealing, 
 with tears in his eyes, to the religious ignorance which prevailed 
 throughout the country, and to the necessity of employing every 
 means to dissipate it : by which answer, the bishop is said to 
 have been deeply affected. Eventually, however, by refusing to 
 read the ( Book of Sports/ and by the general tenor of his con- 
 duct, he rendered himself so obnoxious to the dignitaries of the 
 church, that he was deprived of his benefice. After his expul- 
 sion, he continued to preach in secret to his old followers, and 
 at last he formed, from amongst them, a regular dissenting con- 
 gregation, on the independent model. From Llanvaches, the 
 opinions of its pastor soon spread themselves into the remotest 
 corners of Wales : during his life, this village was regarded as 
 the rallying point of the Welch nonconformists. Wroth, never- 
 theless, seems to have cherished to the last some feeling of affec- 
 tion towards the church, of which he had once been a minister ; 
 for, on his death, which occurred in 1640, he was buried, at his 
 own request, under the threshold of the church of Llanvaches. 
 During the civil wars, which broke out soon afterwards, the 
 independents were not only tolerated, but predominant. In 
 Cromwell's time, an attempt was made to get rid of every thing 
 like an establishment, and to substitute a few itinerant minis- 
 ters in its place. The modicum of preachers proposed to be 
 given by this plan of economical piety was six to a county ; it 
 was lost in the House of Commons, by a majority of two voices. 
 It was felt, however, that the bright thought was too precious 
 to be discarded without an experiment; and, 'accordingly, it 
 was partly carried into effect in Wales, under Hugh Peters and 
 Vavasor Powel, and a confiscation of church property in that 
 country ensued, to an enormous amount ; for, unhappily, under 
 all the various forms of civil and ecclesiastical polity which have 
 prevailed in England, the Welch church has been treated as a 
 fair field for experiments, no less injurious to the general cause 
 of religion than to Wales. 
 
 " In the times of the Stuarts, dissent from the episcopal 
 church became once more an object of persecution; but the 
 ministers of the Welch nonconformists still continued to traverse 
 the wild hills of the principality, braving all dangers for the sake 
 
112 
 
 of their few and scattered followers. Their congregations still 
 occasionally met, hut it was in fear and trembling, generally at 
 midnight, or in woods and caverns, amid the gloomy recesses of 
 the mountains. 
 
 " At the revolution, these dissenters exhausted their strength 
 hy controversies amongst themselves on the rite of baptism ; on 
 which subject a difference of opinion had long existed amongst 
 them, though persecution had prevented them from making it 
 a ground of disunion. Till the breaking out of methodism, 
 their cause continued to decline. 
 
 " In the year 1736, there were only six dissenting chapels 
 in all North Wales. In this year an incident occurred which 
 forms an interesting link between the history of the early 
 Welch dissenters (the followers of Wroth) and that of the me- 
 thodists, connecting together the darkening prospects of the 
 former and the first symptoms of that more powerful impulse 
 which was communicated by the latter. One Sunday, Mr. 
 Lewis Rees, a dissenting minister from South Wales, and father 
 of the celebrated author of the Cyclopedia, visited Pwllheli, a 
 town in the promontory of Lleyn, in Caernarvonshire, and one 
 of the few places in which the independents still possessed a 
 chapel. After the service, the congregation, collecting around 
 him, complained bitterly, that their numbers were rapidly di- 
 minishing, that the few who yet remained were for the most 
 part poor, and that every thing looked gloomy to their cause. 
 To which the minister replied, ' The dawn of true religion is 
 again breaking in South Wales, a great man, named Howel 
 Harris, has recently risen up, who goes about instructing the 
 people in the truths of the gospel.' Nor was he mistaken, either 
 in his anticipation that dissent was on the eve of bursting forth 
 with tenfold vigour in Wales, nor in the man from whom he 
 expected this result : the first elements of methodism were al- 
 ready at work ; Howel Harris was its founder, and one of its 
 most distinguished champions. Properly speaking, the history 
 of methodism is the history of dissent in Wales : before enter- 
 ing, however, upon this interesting subject, it will be necessary 
 to give a cursory view of the state of the church in Wales at the 
 time of its origin, as hardly a doubt can be entertained that the 
 
WHITK FIKLD'S LIFE AND TI.MKS 113 
 
 predisposing causes to methodism were to be found in the in- 
 efficiency of the establishment. 
 
 " The following is a translation of an * Account of the State of 
 Religion in Wales about the middle of the Eighteenth Century.' 
 It was taken from the mouth of a very old Welch methodist, 
 and published in 1799, in the ' Trysorva,' a Welch periodical, 
 edited by the Rev. Thomas Charles, of Bala ; and I have high 
 authority for asserting that the descriptions it affords are in no 
 respect exaggerated." Johnes. 
 
 " ( In those days,' says the narrator, ' the land was dark in- 
 deed ! Hardly any of the lower ranks could read at all. The 
 morals of the country were very corrupt ; and in this respect 
 there was no difference between gentle and simple, layman and 
 clergyman. Gluttony, drunkenness, and licentiousness, pre- 
 vailed through the whole country. Nor were the operations of 
 the church at all calculated to repress these evils. From the 
 pulpit the name of the Redeemer was hardly ever heard ; nor 
 was much mention made of the natural sinfulness of man, nor of 
 the influence of the Spirit. On Sunday mornings, the poor were 
 more constant in their attendance at church than the gentry ; 
 but the Sunday evenings were spent by all in idle amusements. 
 Every sabbath there was what was called l Achwaren-gamp,' 
 a sort of sport in which all the young men of the neighbourhood 
 had a trial of strength, and the people assembled from the 
 surrounding country to see their feats. On Saturday night, par- 
 ticularly in "the summer, the young men and maids held what 
 they called ' Singing eves ' (nosweithian cann) ; that is, they 
 met together and diverted themselves by singing in turns to the 
 harp, till the dawn of the sabbath. In this town they used to 
 employ the Sundays in dancing and singing to the harp, and in 
 playing tennis against the town-hall. In every corner of the 
 town some sport or other went on, till the light of the sabbath 
 day had faded away. In the summer, ' interludes ' (a kind of 
 rustic drama) were performed, gentlemen and peasants sharing 
 the diversion together. A set of vagabonds, called the ' bobl 
 gerdded,' (walking people,) used to traverse the country, begging 
 with impunity, to the disgrace of the law of the land.' 
 
 " Such, then, was the state of Welch society, and the Welch 
 
 Q 
 
114 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 church in the middle of the last century ; and it is a singular 
 instance of the impression left hy the vice and levity of this 
 period, that the sounds of our national instrument are still asso- 
 ciated, in the minds of many, with the extravagances of which 
 it was formerly an accompaniment, though, apart from adven- 
 titious associations, its simple and pensive tones are certainly far 
 more congenial with devotional feeling, than with levity or with 
 joy. I have frequently heard, that the late Mr. Charles, of 
 Bala, was so much under the sway of these recollections, that 
 it was quite painful to him to remain in a room in which any 
 one was playing upon the harp. 
 
 " At first sight, nothing would appear more improhahle than 
 that methodism should find proselytes among a people so gay 
 and thoughtless, as the Welch of that period ; or that the joy- 
 ous group which assembled at Bala on a Sunday evening, should 
 become, as was shortly afterwards the case, a leading congrega- 
 tion of modern puritans. But the religion of the Welch, and 
 their fondness for national music, arose from the same cause, 
 an earnest and imaginative frame of mind. A disposition to 
 melancholy, disguised by external gaiety of manner, is charac- 
 teristic of all Celtic nations. 
 
 ' As a beam o'er the face of the waters may glow, 
 Though the stream runs in darkness and coldness below.' 
 
 " With all their social sprightliness, the Welch were then a 
 superstitious and, consequently, a gloomy race. The influence 
 of the church had confessedly done little to civilize the people ; 
 they still retained many habits apparently derived from pagan- 
 ism, and not a few of the practices of popery. Their funerals, 
 like those of the Irish, were scenes of riot and wassail. W hen 
 the methodists first came into North Wales, the peasantry ex- 
 pressed their horror of them and their opinions, by the truly 
 popish gesture of crossing their foreheads ; they also paid great 
 veneration to a tale called ' Brenddwyd Mair,' (Mary's dream,) 
 obviously a popish legend. Children were taught, even within 
 my recollection, to repeat a rhyme like the following, as soon as 
 they had been put into bed at night : 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 115 
 
 ' There are four corners to my bed, 
 And four angels there are spread; 
 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John ; 
 God bless the bed that I lie on.' 
 
 " Some of their customs and notions were extremely fanciful. 
 On the Sunday after a funeral, each relation of the deceased 
 knelt on his grave, exclaiming, ' Nevoedd iddo,' (literally, Hea- 
 ven to him,) that is, ' May he soon reach heaven.' This is 
 plainly a relic of the popish custom of praying the soul out of 
 purgatory. If children died before their parents, the parents 
 regarded them as so many candles to light them to paradise. 
 When Wesley came into Wales, he found the ignorance of the 
 people so great, that he pronounced them ' as little versed in 
 the principles of Christianity, as a Creek or Cherokee Indian.' 
 To this declaration he adds the striking expression, that, notwith- 
 standing their superstition and ignorance, the people ' were ripe 
 for the gospel,' and most enthusiastically anxious to avail them- 
 selves of every opportunity of instruction ; an interesting proof, 
 that the necessary tendency of the corruptions of the Welch 
 church to produce the consequences which have since ensued, 
 was sufficiently obvious, even to the cursory view of a stranger. 
 " It was quite clear, then, to those who lived while methodism 
 was yet in its infancy in Wales, that the country was about to 
 become the scene of a great religious change. There was evi- 
 dently a movement in the minds of the people a longing for 
 the extension of their spiritual advantages, which would ulti- 
 mately lead them out from the establishment, unless provided 
 with food from within. In such a state of popular feeling to- 
 wards existing institutions, whether civil or ecclesiastical, it 
 often happens that the most trivial deviation from ordinary 
 routine becomes the basis of a series of innovations, and serves 
 to impart an impetus and a direction to the dormant elements 
 of disunion. It is only by keeping these considerations steadily 
 in view, that we can clearly comprehend the early history of 
 methodism in Whales, and avoid the confused ideas that are 
 sometimes entertained as to the conduct of those with whom it 
 commenced, and the exact date of its commencement. The 
 
110 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 real truth is, that the separation of the Welch methodists from 
 the church took place by insensible degrees. The first symp- 
 tom was an unusual and somewhat irregular zeal in a certain 
 body of clergy in the church itself; and these first faint traces 
 of irregularity (which probably at the time excited little 
 notice) gradually, and in the course of generations, widened 
 into a broad line of demarcation. It was in this manner that 
 the breaking out of methodism was undoubtedly hastened by 
 the exertions of two eminent divines, whose only intention was 
 to infuse new vigour into the established church, I mean the 
 Rev. Rhees Pritchard, and the Rev. Griffith Jones. 
 
 f ' The former, who is familiarly known to his countrymen under 
 the name of ' Vicar Pritchard,' was vicar of the parish of 
 Llanddyvri, in Caermarthenshire, in the time of James the 
 First and Charles the First. 
 
 " Of the particulars of his life, little is known, except that 
 whilst he stood high in the estimation of his countrymen, as a 
 preacher, he was at the same time an object of peculiar favour 
 with the ruling powers of the day, honours which his coun- 
 trymen in recent times have rarely seen enjoyed by the same 
 individual. Though, like Wroth, he is said to have attracted 
 numerous congregations, and to have occasionally preached in 
 his churchyard, still he had the good fortune to be made chap- 
 lain to the Earl of Essex, received from James the First the 
 living of Llanedi, and eventually became chancellor of the 
 diocess of St. David's. As a proof of his charitable disposi- 
 tion, and of his anxiety to enlighten his countrymen, we are 
 informed that he gave a donation of twenty pounds a year, 
 charged upon land, to establish a school in his parish of Lland- 
 dyvri, and also a house for the schoolmaster. This endowment 
 (no insignificant one in those days) went on prosperously for 
 some time, but on the death of the founder's son, Thomas 
 Manwaring, son of Dr. Manwaring, bishop of St. David's, who 
 had married ' the vicar's ' granddaughter, took possession of 
 tta land belonging to the school, undertaking to pay the school- 
 master himself, which he did for a year or two, and then with . 
 held from it. all support. His biographer adds, that in 1682, 
 the land was still in the possession of the Manwaring family, 
 
WUITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 117 
 
 and that the school-house had been swept away by an inunda- 
 tion of the river Tyrvi ! 
 
 " But the veneration still felt in Wales for the memory of 
 4 Vicar Pritchard, 1 is mainly attributable to a small volume of 
 poems, which are not a little remarkable, as a summary of 
 ciiristian doctrine and duty, at once simple, poetical, and con- 
 cise. No book, except the Bible, has been there so much and 
 so enthusiastically studied : its author may justly be styled the 
 Watts of his native country ; and, notwithstanding the unhappy 
 divisions that have since his day distracted her, the undiminish- 
 ed popularity of his little book proves that there is even yet no 
 schism in the principality as far as the ( Divine Poems ' of 
 ' Vicar Pritchard ' are concerned. 
 
 " After the poet's death, his works were collected and pub- 
 lished by Stephen Hughes, a worthy nonconformist, who zeal- 
 ously disseminated them through Caermarthenshire, and the 
 adjacent parts of South Wales. In almost every cottage where 
 the Scriptures were to be found, ' the vicar's ' little volume oc- 
 cupied a place beside them : it became a class-book in every 
 school, and its most striking passages passed into proverbs 
 among the peasantry. Hence, at the beginning of the last 
 century, a spirit had sprung up in certain districts of South 
 Wales, that formed a strong contrast to the general ignorance 
 which at that time pervaded the principality. The effect of 
 poetry on minds left unoccupied by other reading has in all 
 ages been remarked : thus, we are told that the great Bishop 
 Bull, when bishop of St. David's, was so much struck with the 
 impression made on the minds of the people by the writings of 
 ( Vicar Pritchard,' that he expressed a wish to be buried in the 
 same grave with him ! 
 
 " Griffith Jones was born at Kilrhedin, also in the county of 
 Caermarthen.* Even in his boyhood, he evinced a strong 
 sense of religion, which has sometimes, though erroneously, 
 been thought incompatible with the unformed views and elastic 
 .spirits of our earlier years. Like Bishop Heber, he might 
 justly be termed a ' religious child:' whilst yet a boy at Caei- 
 
 * Trysorva, vol. ii. p. 1. 
 
118 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 marthen school, he was in the habit of retiring from the pas- 
 times of his play-fellows for the purpose of secret prayer. In 
 the year 1709, he was ordained by Bishop Bull ; on which oc- 
 casion he experienced marks of peculiar kindness and approba- 
 tion from that illustrious prelate, the recollection of which con- 
 tinued ever after a source of gratitude and delight to him. In 
 1711, he was presented to the living of Llandeilo Abercowyn, 
 and in 1716, Llanddowror was added to it by the patron, Sir 
 John Phillips, of Picton Castle, in Pembrokeshire, with whom 
 he was connected by marriage. 
 
 " His constitution was naturally delicate, and he describes 
 himself as having been in early youth so much afflicted with 
 asthma, that he could not walk across a room without pain and 
 difficulty ; but his was a mind which seemed capable of impart- 
 ing a portion of its own energy, even to his debilitated frame ; 
 as he advanced in life, this infirmity, in a great measure, for- 
 sook him ; and of this we have ample proof in the various la- 
 bours he accomplished. 
 
 " The fame of Griffith Jones chiefly rests on an institution 
 he devised for the diffusion of education in Wales, still known 
 under the name of the ( Welch Circulating Schools.' The main 
 feature of this plan is the instruction of the people by means of 
 itinerant schoolmasters. It was first suggested to him by the 
 following train of circumstances : On the Saturday previous to 
 sacrament Sunday, it was his practice to assemble his flock to- 
 gether, and read to them the service of the church. 
 
 " At the conclusion of the second lesson, he would ask in a 
 mild and familiar tone, if any one present wished an explana- 
 tion of any part of the chapter they had just heard ; and on a 
 difficult verse be"ing mentioned, he would expound it in plain 
 and simple language, adapted to the capacities of his hearers. 
 On the day following, before admitting communicants to the 
 sacrament, he used to examine them on their ideas of Christian 
 doctrines, and as to their general moral conduct. On these 
 occasions, his church was generally crowded: numbers came 
 from the neighbouring districts, and it frequently happened that 
 twenty or thirty persons were publicly examined by him before 
 receiving the communion. But he found that those who were 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE A\D TIMES. 119 
 
 likely to derive most benefit from this plan of instruction men 
 who had grown up in ignorance were deterred from attending 
 hy a consciousness of their inability to answer the questions 
 that might be put to them. To remedy this, he made a prac- 
 tice of fixing the Saturday before the sacrament Sunday, for 
 the distribution among the poor of the bread purchased by the 
 money collected at the previous sacrament. Having by this 
 means brought them together, he arranged them in a class, 
 and proceeded to ask them a few easy questions, with an affa- 
 bility and kindness of manner that immediately removed all 
 embarrassment and reserve ; and pursuant to an arrangement 
 he had previously made, these questions were answered by some 
 of the more advanced scholars. In a little time the humbler 
 classes became willing and constant attendants at the altar. 
 And for the purpose of still further grounding his flock in reli- 
 gious knowledge, he was in the habit of requesting them to 
 commit to memory every month a certain portion of the Bible. 
 Thus it became a regular custom among his poor parishioners, 
 to repeat each a verse of Scripture on receiving the bread pur- 
 chased with the sacrament money. 
 
 " This system of examination had the effect of affording him \ 
 a very clear insight into the notions and attainments of the/ 
 peasantry, the result of which was an opinion that preaching was f 
 calculated to convey only vague and imperfect views to the 
 minds of the poorer classes, unless combined with catechising I 
 and other methods of instruction. Following up these im- ' 
 pressions, he was led to consider the incalculable benefit that 
 would result, were a well-organized system of schools extended 
 over the whole surface of his native country. These were the 
 steps by which he arrived at the first conception of that noble 
 machinery which he soon afterwards set in motion. At first, 
 it would seem that he looked upon his plan rather in the 
 light of a favourite day-dream, than as a project which had the 
 slightest chance of success. Nevertheless, he had too much 
 ' moral chivalry' to despair, too much of that imaginative 
 love of enterprise, without which no great impression has ever 
 been made on the people with whom he had to deal. Accord- 
 ingly, a beginning was made. In the year 1730, the first school 
 
120 
 
 was founded,, with the sacrament money of the parish of Lland- 
 dowror ; and it answered so well, that a second was established 
 shortly afterwards ; and this again was attended with such ad- 
 mirable effects, that several benevolent individuals, both in 
 Wales and England, were induced to support the scheme with 
 a liberality that enabled their founder to realize his fondest an- 
 ticipations. The Society for promoting Christian Knowledge 
 voted him a very generous donation of Bibles and other books. 
 Thus supported, the schools continued rapidly to increase : 
 from an account published in August, 1741, that is, about ten 
 years after their commencement, it appears, that the number of 
 schools in existence during the past year had amounted to 128, 
 and the number of persons instructed in them to 7595. The 
 plan on which Griffith Jones proceeded was simply this : he 
 first engaged a body of schoolmasters, and then distributed 
 them in different directions over the country. The duty of 
 these men was to teach the people to read the Scriptures in the 
 Welch language, to catechise them, to instruct them in psal- 
 mody, and to promote their religious advancement by every 
 means in their power. They were sent, in the first instance, to 
 the nearest town or village where their assistance had been re- 
 quested ; and then, having taught all who were desirous of 
 instruction, they were to pass on to the next district where a 
 similar feeling had been manifested. In the course of time, 
 they were to revisit the localities whence they had at first 
 started, and resume the work of education anew on the youth who 
 had sprung up in their absence ; and thus making a continual cir- 
 cuit of the whole country, to present to every generation as it arose 
 the means of knowledge, and the incentives to virtuous principle. 
 " Griffith Jones seems to have been in his day the most popu- 
 lar and indefatigable preacher in the principality. He was, in 
 consequence, often solicited by his clerical brethren with appli- 
 cations to preach in their pulpits, with which he was in the habit 
 of complying, by making a kind of tour through the neighbour- 
 ing districts of South Wales, and preaching in the churches as 
 he passed. Like Wroth and ' Vicar Pritchard,' he would some- 
 times forsake the pulpit for the tombstone or the green sward, 
 when he found the church too small for his audience. 
 
121 
 
 " He generally managed to make these excursions during the 
 Easter and Whitsun-week, as he had a greater chance, at these 
 seasons, of falling in with some of those scenes of pugnacious 
 uproar, and drunken frolic, which were at that time so much in 
 vogue in his native country, and which it was always his object 
 to discourage. When he met with one of these rustic carnivals, 
 he would attempt to disperse it with all the arguments he could 
 employ ; and we are told by an individual who frequently ac- 
 companied him on these occasions, that though the beginning 
 of his address was generally received with looks of anger and 
 churlish disdain, its conclusion was always marked by symptoms 
 of strong emotion, and by an expression of reverence and awe, 
 from the whole assembled multitude. The great number of 
 persons whose conversion (and I use the word in the sense of a 
 change, not of opinion, but of conduct a fundamental, moral 
 revolution of the motives of the heart) is traceable to him, fur- 
 nishes a strong additional proof, that there was something pe- 
 culiarly impressive in the eloquence of Griffith Jones. His 
 biographer has very forcibly described the distinctive excellence 
 of his pulpit oratory, by saying, it was ' gavaelgar ar y gydwy- 
 bod,' that is, it possessed a ' grasp on the conscience ;' and, he 
 adds, that the commencement of his discourses were generally 
 familiar and unadorned; but that, as he went on, his spirit 
 seemed to kindle and burn, ( gwresogi a thaniaw,' with his sub- 
 ject. Indeed, his merits, as a preacher, seem to have been held 
 in high estimation beyond the limits of his native country ; for 
 it is an interesting incident in his history, that at one period of 
 his life, he received an invitation from the Society for the Pro- 
 pagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, to become one of their 
 missionaries. Ultimately, as we have seen, he decided that his 
 path of duty lay in the humble land of his birth. 
 
 <( After accomplishing a variety of labours, which might have 
 seemed quite incompatible with his delicate health, and estab- 
 lishing his favourite schools in almost every parish of Wales, 
 this excellent man breathed his last in the month of April, 1761, 
 leaving behind him, in the religious regeneration and the reli- 
 gious gratitude of a nation of mountaineers, a memorial, which 
 will be envied most by those who are at once the greatest 
 
 R 
 
122 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 the humblest of mankind, and which will endure when the osten- 
 tatious monuments of worldly power shall melt away ' like the 
 baseless fabric of a vision.' 
 
 " It may now be asked/' says Johnes, " with what degree of 
 propriety the rise of dissent in Wales can be connected with 
 the name of Griffith Jones a man whose whole life was spent 
 in exertions to render the .establishment impregnable against 
 dissent on the one hand, and the more fearful encroachments of 
 sin, ignorance, and superstition, on the other ? One answer only 
 can be given : it is a melancholy truth a truth, nevertheless, 
 but too well sanctioned by experience, that a few pious minis- 
 ters are the weakness, and not the strength, of an establishment, 
 when the majority of its ministers are sunk in indifference to 
 their sacred duties ! The zeal of the few only serves to cast into 
 darker shade the apathy of the many ; and, by raising the moral 
 sentiment of the people, to make them more sensitively intole- 
 rant of the abuses that surround them. It is upon this principle 
 only, that we can explain whence it was, that methodism broke 
 out first, and most extensively, in that division of Wales where 
 the poems of Rhees Prit chard and the schools of Griffith Jones 
 had exerted the most powerful influence. And hence it was, 
 that so many of those clergymen, who had been connected with 
 the latter, became eventually the missionaries of methodism ; 
 and it may also be remarked, that the irregularities of the me- 
 thodist clergy, which led in the end to systematic itinerancy, 
 appear to have begun by the practice of preaching from church 
 to church, which they seem to have adopted in imitation of 
 Griffith Jones's ' Easter and Whitsun ' circuits." 
 
 Whitefield's connexion with Howel Harris of Trevecca led 
 to results which deserve to be traced step by step. It began 
 by a letter from Whitefield ; which has, happily, been preserved 
 at Trevecca. " London, Dec. 1738. My dear brother, Though 
 I am unknown to you in person, yet I have long been united to 
 you in spirit ; and have been rejoiced to hear how the good 
 pleasure of the Lord prospered in your hands." " Go on, go 
 on ; He that sent you will assist, comfort, and protect you, and 
 make you more than conqueror through his great love. I am a 
 living monument of this truth." " I love you, and wish you 
 
\\ IIITKMKLDS LIFE AND TIMKS. 
 
 may be the spiritual father of thousands, and shine as the sun in 
 the kingdom of your heavenly Father. Oh how I shall joy to 
 meet you at the judgment seat ! How you would honour me, 
 if you would send a line to your affectionate though unworthy 
 brother, G. W." 
 
 Harris's answer was prompt and cordial. I am happy to be 
 able to furnish extracts from it. " Glamorgan, Jan. Sth, 1730. 
 Dear brother, I was most agreeably surprised last night by a 
 letter from you. The character you bear, the spirit I see and 
 feel in your work, and the close union of my soul and spirit to 
 yours, will not allow me to use any apology in my return to you. 
 Though this is the first time of our correspondence, yet I can 
 assure you I am no stranger to you. When I first heard of you, 
 and your labours and success, my soul was united to you, and 
 engaged to send addresses to Heaven on your behalf. When I 
 read your diary, I had some uncommon influence of the divine 
 presence shining upon my poor soul, almost continually. And 
 my soul was, in an uncommon manner, drawn out on your ac- 
 count : but I little thought our good Lord and Master intended 
 I should ever see your hand- writing." (In his journal Harris 
 wrote, " About this time, I heard from a friend that came from 
 London, of a young clergyman, namely, Mr. Whitefield, that 
 preached four times a day, and was much blessed. In hearing 
 this, my heart was united to him in such a manner, that I never 
 felt the like connexion with any one before : but yet I had not 
 the least prospect of ever seeing him ; being informed that he 
 had gone beyond sea to America. I was agreeably surprised, 
 in the beginning of January, by a letter from him : he having 
 providentially heard of me, wrote to me to encourage me to go 
 on. I was at this time greatly distressed in respect to my itin- 
 erary way of preaching : yet I prosecuted my work with the 
 utmost activity.") " Sure, no person is under such obligations 
 to advance the glory of free goodness and grace, as this poor 
 prodigal," himself. " Oh how ravishing it is to hear of the 
 divine love and favour to London ! And to make your joy 
 greater still, I have some more good news to send you from 
 Wales. There is a great revival in Cardiganshire, through one 
 Mr. D. Rowlands, a church clergyman, who has been much 
 
124 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 owned and blessed in Caermarthenshire also. We have also a 
 sweet prospect in Breconshire, and part of Monmouthshire." 
 " I hint this in general, as I could not testify my love any 
 way more agreeably to your soul, than to let you know how the 
 interest of our good, gracious, and dear Saviour prospers here- 
 abouts." " Were you to come to Wales, it would not be labour 
 in vain. I hope the faithful account I have given you, will ex- 
 cite you to send again a line to him, that would be sincerely 
 yours, in Jesus Christ, whilst H. H." 
 
 In this way Whitefield and Howel Harris attracted each 
 other. How much they influenced each other also, will be best 
 told in their own words. In the mean time, however, I must 
 give some account of Howel ; for he is too little known. Dr. 
 Gillies knew him merely " as one Howel Harris, a layman ;." 
 and the Doctor's editors and annotators have not amplified this 
 account of him. 
 
 Howel Harris was born at Trevecca, Brecknockshire, in 1714. 
 He was intended for the church, by his family ; and had flat- 
 tering prospects of patronage. Up to the twenty-first year of 
 his age, he had, however, no serious views of his character, or 
 of his destined profession. His first thoughtfulness was awak- 
 ened in Talgarth church, by a sermon on the neglect of the 
 sacrament. He had been a very irregular attendant, and thus 
 was conscience-struck when the clergyman exclaimed, " If you 
 are unfit to visit the table of the Lord, you are unfit to visit the 
 church, you are unfit to live, you are unfit to die." 
 
 From this time, his vague convictions deepened and settled 
 into vital principles. On the very day, whilst going home after 
 the sermon, he met with a person whom he had ofFended, and 
 both confessed the oifence and begged forgiveness. For a time, 
 however, he was the victim of great mental anguish. Remorse 
 darkened and depressed his spirit, although he had abandoned 
 all his old sins, and solemnly resolved to make the service of 
 God " the key-stone of his conduct." Happily for himself, he 
 did not forget the souls of others, whilst brooding over his own 
 fears : but as soon as he caught a glimpse of his way to the 
 cross, he began to instruct and invite his neighbours to flee from 
 the wrath to come. In this work, he found so much comfort 
 
125 
 
 for himself, and saw so much good done by it, that it became 
 " the sole occupation of his life." 
 
 In November, 1735, he went to Oxford, to finish his studies, 
 with an express view to ordination : but he was so much dis- 
 gusted with the immorality of the University, that he staid 
 only one term. He returned home, and renewed his visits and 
 exhortations in the cottages of the poor, and commenced field 
 preaching. And such was the effect, that in the course of a 
 year, " so many had become embued with serious impressions," 
 that he began to form them into religious societies. " In the 
 formation of these associations," he says, " I followed the rules 
 of Dr. Woodward, in a work written by him on that subject. 
 Previously to this, no societies of the kind had been founded 
 either in Wales or England. The English methodists had not 
 become famous as yet, although, as I afterwards learnt, several 
 of them in Oxford were at that time under strong religious in- 
 fluences." Harris had organized thirty of these societies, before 
 Whitefield or Wesley visited Wales : not, however, as dissent- 
 ing or methodist congregations ; nor, indeed, with any view of 
 their ever separating from the church. The revival of religion 
 in the church was his avowed object from the first, and his pro- 
 fessed object through life. 
 
 Whitefield and Howel Harris met for the first time at Car- 
 diff, in 1739 ; just whilst the former was glowing with the re- 
 collections of what he had seen and felt amongst the colliers at 
 Bristol ; and whilst the latter was girding himself for a new 
 campaign in Wales. On his way from Bristol to Cardiff, 
 Whitefield was delayed, by contrary winds, at the New Passage. 
 " At the inn," he says, " there was an unhappy clergyman, who 
 would not go over in the passage boat, because I was in it. 
 Alas, thought I, this very temper would make heaven itself un- 
 pleasant to that man, if he saw me there. I was told, that he 
 charged me with being a dissenter. I saw him, soon after, 
 shaking his elbows over a gaming-table. I heartily wish those 
 who charge me causelessly with schism, and being righteous 
 over-much, would consider that the canon of our church forbids 
 the clergy to frequent taverns, to play at cards or dice, or any 
 other unlawful games. Their indulging themselves in these 
 things is a stumblingblock to thousands. 
 
126 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. . 
 
 At Cardiff, Whitefield preached in the town-hall, from the 
 judges' seat. Harris was there. " After I came from the seat," 
 he says, " I was much refreshed with the sight of Mr. Howel 
 Harris ; whom, though I knew not in person, I have long loved, 
 and have often felt my soul drawn out in prayer in his behalf. 
 
 " A burning and shining light has he been in those parts ; 
 a barrier against profaneness and immorality, and an indefati- 
 gable promoter of the gospel of Jesus Christ. About three or 
 four years, God has inclined him to go about doing good. He 
 is now about twenty-five years of age. Twice he has applied 
 (being in every way qualified) for holy orders ; but was refused. 
 About a month ago he offered himself again, but was put off. 
 Upon this, he was and is resolved to go on in his work ; and 
 indefatigable zeal has he shown in his Master's service ! For 
 these three years (as he told me with his own mouth) he has 
 discoursed almost twice every day, for three or four hours toge- 
 ther. He has been, I think, in seven counties, and has made 
 it his business to go to wakes, &c. to turn people from lying 
 vanities. Many alehouse people, fiddlers, and harpers, Deme- 
 trius-like, sadly cry out against him for spoiling their business. 
 He has been made the subject of many sermons, has been 
 threatened with public prosecutions, and had constables sent to 
 apprehend him. But God has blessed him with inflexible 
 courage ; and he still goes on from conquering to conquer. 
 Many call and own him as their spiritual father. He discourses 
 generally in a field ; but, at other times, in a house ; from a 
 wall, a table, or any thing else. He has established nearly 
 thirty societies in South Wales, and still his sphere of action is 
 enlarged daily. He is full of faith and the Holy Ghost. He is 
 of a most catholic spirit ; loves all who love the Lord Jesus 
 Christ ; and therefore he is styled, by bigots, a dissenter. He 
 is contemned by all that are lovers of pleasure more than lovers 
 of God ; but God has greatly blessed his pious endeavours. 
 
 " When I first saw him, my heart was knit closely to him. 
 I wanted to catch some of his fire, and gave him the right hand 
 of fellowship with my whole heart. After I had saluted him, 
 and given an exhortation to a great number of people, who fol- 
 lowed me to the inn, we spent the remainder of the evening in 
 taking sweet counsel together, and telling one another what God 
 
WttITEFIBIJ>'i L1FK AND TIMES. 1'27 
 
 had done for our souls. A divine and strong sympathy seemed 
 to be between us, and I was resolved to promote his interest 
 with all my might. Accordingly, we took an account of the 
 several societies, and agreed on such measures as seemed most 
 conducive to promote the common interest of our Lord. Blessed 
 be God ! there seems a noble spirit gone out into Wales; and 
 I believe that, ere long, there will be more visible fruits of it. 
 What inclines me strongly to think so is, that the partition 
 wall of bigotry and party spirit is broken down, and ministers 
 and teachers of different communions join with one heart and 
 one mind, to carry on the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The Lord 
 make all the Christian world thus minded ; for until this is done, 
 we must, I fear, despair of any great reformation in the church 
 of God." 
 
 Any thing that would lessen the impression of these conclud- 
 ing remarks, would be ill-timed, and in bad taste ; but still, it 
 would be improper, even if it were possible, to forget that this 
 fall of " the partition wall of bigotry and party spirit " has, like 
 the fall of popish Babylon, been too often celebrated before the 
 time, by sanguine and catholic men. It is now nearly a century 
 since Whitefield said that it was fallen. Good man ! he thought 
 the whole wall had surely given way, whenever he found an un- 
 expected breach in it, at which he could enter with the gospel, 
 even if he was pelted with the broken fragments. So other 
 good men thought and said, during the novelty of Bible and 
 Missionary Societies. Then, not only was the partition wall 
 declared to be fallen, but bigotry was registered in the bills of 
 mortality, and said to be buried for ever. And yet, even now 
 that there is a far nobler spirit of reformation gone forth in the 
 church, than ever Whitefield saw, or than the first friends of our 
 great societies anticipated, the wall is higher than ever, and has, 
 of late, had a copping of broken glass and rusty spikes laid upon 
 it. There is, indeed, a sense in which, like Babylon, it is some- 
 what fallen ; but the great and final " fall thereof " is yet to 
 come in the case of both. Neither will fall, however, like the 
 walls of Jericho, at one crash, nor by one crisis ; although both 
 will be overthrown by one process by bearing around them the 
 ark of the covenant, with the sound of its own trumpets. 
 
128 
 
 It is when such men as George Whitefield and Howel Harris 
 meet and blend their hallowed fires, to set a " whole princi- 
 pality in a blaze/' that the wall of bigotry is shaken, by the 
 numbers which climb over from both sides, to hear the gospel. 
 From the moment these champions of the cross joined issue in 
 Cardiff, Wales began to be evangelized. In 1715, the number 
 of dissenting chapels was only 35; in 1810, it amounted to 
 954; in 1832, to more than 1400. They are still multiplying; 
 and, lately, the debt upon them, so far as they are independent, 
 has been wiped off by a burst of " the voluntary principle." 
 What then must have been the spiritual state of Wales, at 
 the beginning of the last century ? In 1715, there were only 
 35 dissenting chapels, and about 850 churches, in all the 
 principality ! 
 
 Whitefield says of his first interview with Howel Harris, " 1 
 doubt not but Satan envied our happiness ; but I hope, by the 
 help of God, we shall make his kingdom shake. God loves to 
 do great things by weak instruments, that the power may be of 
 God, and not of man." 
 
 Before leaving Cardiff, Whitefield preached again in the 
 town-hall, to a large assembly. " My dear brother Harris sat 
 close by me. I did not observe any scoffers within ; but with- 
 out, some were pleased to honour me so far, as to trail a dead 
 fox, and hunt it about the hall. But blessed be God, my voice 
 prevailed. This being done, I went with many of my hearers, 
 amongst whom were two worthy dissenting ministers, to public 
 worship; and in the second lesson were these remarkable 
 words, ' The high priests, and the scribes, and the chief of the 
 people sought to destroy him ; but they could not find what 
 they might do to him ; for all the people were attentive to him.' 
 
 " In the afternoon, I preached again without any disturbance 
 or scoffing. In the evening, I talked for above an hour and a 
 half with the religious society, and never did I see a congrega- 
 tion more melted down. The love of Jesus touched them to 
 the quick. Most of them were dissolved in tears. They came 
 to me after, weeping, bidding me farewell, and wishing I could 
 continue with them longer. Thanks be to God, for such an 
 entrance into Wales ! I wrestled with God for them in prayer, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMKS. 129 
 
 and blessed His holy name for sending me into Wales. I hope 
 these are the first-fruits of a greater harvest, if ever it should 
 please God to bring me back from Georgia. Father, thy will 
 be done ! " 
 
 " Friday, March 9. Left Cardiff about six in the morning, 
 and reached Newport about ten, where many came from Ponty- 
 pool and other parts to hear me. The minister being asked, 
 and readily granting us the pulpit, I preached with great power 
 to about a thousand people. I think Wales is excellently well 
 prepared for the gospel of Christ. They have, I hear, many 
 burning and shining lights both among the dissenting and 
 church ministers ; amongst whom Mr. Griffith Jones shines in 
 particular. No less than fifty charity schools have been erect- 
 ed by his means, without any settled visible fund ; and fresh 
 ones are setting up every day. People make nothing of coming 
 twenty miles to hear a sermon. Even so, Lord Jesus. Amen ! " 
 
 On the following day Whitefield returned from this short ex- 
 cursion to Bristol again, " baptized with " Welch " fire," and 
 renewed his labours amongst the Kingswood colliers, with ex- 
 traordinary power and success. He could not, however, forget 
 the Welch tears, which had entreated him to stay longer. Ac- 
 cordingly, on the 4th of April he visited Husk and Pontypool, 
 and was met by Howel Harris again. At Husk, " The pulpit 
 being denied, I preached upon a table, under a large tree, to 
 some hundreds, and God was with us of a truth. On my way 
 to Pontypool, I was informed by a man that heard it, that 
 Counsellor H. did me the honour to make a public motion to 
 Judge P. to stop me and brother Howel Harris from going 
 about teaching the people. Poor man, he put me in mind of 
 Tertullus, in the Acts ; but my hour is not yet come. I have 
 scarce begun my testimony. For my finishing it, my enemies 
 must have power over me from above. Lord, prepare me for 
 that hour." 
 
 This report did not prevent the curate of Pontypool from 
 welcoming Whitefield to his pulpit. He also read prayers for 
 him. After the sermon, it, was found that so many had come 
 to hear, who could not find room in the church, that another 
 sermon was loudly called for. " I went," he says, " and preach- 
 
 s 
 
130 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 ed to all the people in the field. I always find I have most 
 power when I speak in the open air ; a proof to me that God 
 is pleased with this way of preaching. I betook myself to rest, 
 full of such unutterable peace as no one can conceive but those 
 who/6*?/ it ! " 
 
 " April 5th. All the way from Pontypool to Abergavenny, I 
 could think of nothing so much as Joshua going from city to 
 city, and subduing the devoted nations. Here I expected much 
 opposition, having been informed that many intended to disturb 
 me. But God impressed an awe upon all ; so that although 
 there were many opposers, no one dared to utter a word. I did 
 not spare the scoffers. Afterwards we retired and sung a 
 hymn ; and some ladies having the curiosity to hear us, I took 
 that opportunity of dissuading them against balls and assem- 
 blies. Afterwards I learnt that they were the mistresses of 
 the assemblies in Abergavenny. I hope God intended them 
 good." 
 
 " April 6th. Reached Carleon, a town famous for having 
 thirty British kings buried in it, and producing three martyrs. 
 I chose particularly to come hither, because when Howel Harris 
 was here last, some of the baser sort beat a drum, and huzzaed 
 around him, to disturb him. Many thousands came to hear ; 
 but God suffered them not to move a tongue, although from the 
 very same place, and I prayed for Howel Harris by name as I 
 do in every place where I have preached in Wales. I believe 
 the scoffers felt me, to some purpose. I was carried out 
 beyond myself. Oh that the love of Christ would melt them 
 down ! " 
 
 " In the afternoon we set out for Trelek, ten miles from Car- 
 leon ; but the Welch miles being very long, we could not reach 
 it till almost dark ; so that many of the people who had been 
 waiting for me were returned home. The church being denied, 
 I stood on a horse-block before the inn, and preached to those 
 who were left behind ; but I could not speak with such freedom 
 as usual ; for my body was weak, through the fatigue of the 
 past day." 
 
 At the close of this second short excursion into Wales, 
 Whitefield exclaims, " Oh how swiftly this week has glided 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 131 
 
 away ! To me, it has been but as one day. How do I pity 
 those who complain that time hangs on their hands ! Let them 
 but love Christ, and spend their whole time in his service, and 
 they will find but few melancholy hours." 
 
 Dr. Gillies says that in these tours Howel Harris preached 
 after Whitefield, in Welch. He does not mean, of course, in 
 the churches ; and Whitefield does not mention any Welch ser- 
 mons. Harris followed up, however, the labours of his new 
 friend with great power. " I thank God for his goodness to 
 brother Howel Harris. I thank you for informing me of it ; " 
 says Whitefield in a letter written whilst he was on his way to 
 America. In another, from Philadelphia, to Harris himself, he 
 writes thus : " I congratulate you on your success at Mon- 
 mouth. By divine permission, in about a twelvemonth, I hope 
 to make a second use of your field pulpits. Our principles 
 agree, as face answers to face in the water. Since I saw you, 
 God has been pleased to enlighten me more in that comfortable 
 doctrine of election. At my return, I hope to be more explicit 
 than I have been. God forbid that we should shun to declare 
 the whole counsel of God." 
 
 " The people of Wales are much upon my heart. I long to 
 hear how the gospel nourishes among you. How prospers your 
 ( inward man ? ' Being always doing no doubt you grow in 
 grace. May you increase with all the increase of God ! As 
 fast as I can, our Welch friends shall hear from me. Salute 
 them most affectionately in my name. Put them in mind of 
 the freeness and eternity of God's electing love, and be instant 
 with them to lay hold on the perfect righteousness of Christ by 
 faith. Talk to them, O talk to them, even till midnight, of 
 the riches of His all-sufficient grace. Tell them, O tell them, 
 what he has done for their souls, and how earnestly he is now 
 interceding for them in heaven. Show them, in the map of the 
 word, the kingdoms of the upper world and the transcendent 
 glories of them ; and assure them all shall be theirs, if they be- 
 lieve on Jesus Christ with their whole heart. Press them to 
 believe on Him immediately. Intersperse prayers with your 
 exhortations, and thereby call down fire from heaven, even the 
 fire of the Holy Ghost, 
 
132 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 To soften, sweeten, and refine, 
 And melt them into love ! 
 
 Speak every time, my dear brother, as if it were your last ; 
 weep out, if possible, every argument, and compel them to cry, 
 'Behold how he loveth us.' Remember me remember me 
 in your prayers, as being ever, ever yours." 
 
 Thus Whitefield fanned the "Welch fire" from time to 
 time. In another letter, from Boston, he says, " And is dear 
 brother Howel Harris yet alive in body and soul ? I rejoice 
 in your success. May you mount with wings like eagles ! You 
 shall not be taken nor hurt, till the appointed hour be come. I 
 hope your conversation was blessed to dear Mr. Wesley. Oh that 
 the Lord may batter down his free-will (scheme,) and compel 
 him to own His sovereignty and everlasting love. God is 
 working powerfully in America. He fills me with His presence. 
 Grace, grace ! Dear brother H. yours eternally." 
 
 In another, from Philadelphia, he says, " Your letter, written 
 nearly a twelvemonth ago, came to my hand this afternoon. 
 My soul is knit to you. We both speak and think the same 
 things. The Lord be with your spirit. Jesus manifests forth 
 his glory daily in these parts. His word is like a fire and a 
 hammer. Last week I saw many quite struck down. America, 
 ere long, will be famous for Christians. Little did I think that 
 I should preach in all the chief places of America ; but that is 
 now done ! Glory be to rich, free, and sovereign grace. The 
 Lord vouchsafe to us a happy meeting. O Wales, thou art 
 dear to my soul ! Expect another journal shortly. But wait 
 till we come to glory, fully to see and hear what God has done 
 for your affectionate brother." 
 
 When Whitefield returned to England, he continued to urge 
 on Howel Harris to " abound in the work of the Lord," by 
 every event that encouraged himself. " I want to see you face 
 to face. I wish you could come up to London immediately, and 
 stay whilst I am in the country. Or rather go and preach at 
 Bristol, Gloucester, and Wiltshire, for about a fortnight, and 
 then come up to London. Our congregations are large and so- 
 lemn. I never had greater freedom in preaching. I am glad 
 
WHITEFIKLI/S LIFE AND TIMES. 133 
 
 brother Rowland is with you. Go on in the strength of our 
 dear Lord, and you shall see Satan like lightning fall from 
 heaven. May the Lord hide your precious soul under the 
 shadow of his Almighty wings ! You need not fear my believing 
 any reports to your disadvantage. Cease not to pray for yours, 
 eternally." 
 
 In the same spirit, he wrote to him from Edinburgh, the mo- 
 ment that the fire began to kindle in Scotland. " My very 
 dear brother Harris, though my eyes be dim, and my body calls 
 for rest, I would fain send you a line before I go (to rest). I 
 hope God is beginning such a work here, as he is now carrying 
 on in New England. Night and day, Jesus fills me with his 
 love. I have preached twice, and talked and walked much to 
 day. My dear man, good night ! " 
 
 He did not conceal from his friend the results of his inter- 
 views with the Associate Presbytery, nor his opinion of their 
 spirit. " My heart is much united to you. I utterly disap- 
 prove of some persons' separating principles. Satan now turns 
 himself into an angel of light, and stirs up God's children to 
 tempt me to come over to some particular party. The Asso- 
 ciate Presbytery have been hard upon me : but I find no free- 
 dom any longer than I continue just as I am, and evangelize to 
 all. I know not that I differ from you in one thing. God is 
 doing great things here ! It would make your heart leap for 
 joy, to be now in Edinburgh. I question if there be not up- 
 wards of 300 in this city seeking after Jesus. Every morning, 
 I have a constant levee of wounded souls. I am quite amazed 
 when I think what God hath done here in a fortnight. I am 
 only afraid lest the people should idolize the instrument, and 
 not look enough to the glorious Jesus, in whom alone I desire 
 to glory. Congregations consist of many thousands. Never 
 did I see so many Bibles, nor people look into them with such 
 attention, when I am expounding. Plenty of tears flow from 
 the hearers' eyes. The love of Christ quite strikes me dumb. 
 O grace, grace ! Let that be my song. I must away (to preach)." 
 
 As might be expected, Whitefield did not fail to appeal 
 to Howel Harris from the vantage ground of Cambuslang. 
 Along with a copy of his journal of that memorable awakening, 
 
134 
 
 he wrote thus : " The account sent with this will show you how 
 often I have been enabled to preach ; but with what efficacy 
 and success pen cannot describe. The glorious Redeemer 
 seems advancing from congregation to congregation, carrying 
 all before him. The Messrs. Erskine's people have kept a fast 
 for me ; and give out that all the work, now in Scotland, is 
 only delusion, and by the agency of the devil. O my dear 
 brother, to what lengths in bigotry and prejudice may good 
 men run ! I bless God, I can see the differences between God's 
 children, and yet love them from my heart. What you say 
 about poor Wales, affected me. I am sorry to hear there have 
 been such divisions. But dividing times generally precede set- 
 tling times. I should be glad to help the brethren in Wales 
 My brother, my heart is full ! " 
 
 Whitefield's letters on these subjects were not confined to 
 Howel Harris. Both from America and Scotland, he wrote to 
 other Welch friends in the church and amongst the dissenters ; 
 and thus spread the tidings of the revivals, and of their reaction. 
 The following extract from a letter to a clergyman in Wales, is 
 highly characteristic of Whitefield. " God is on my side I will 
 not fear what men nor devils say of, or do unto, me. The dear 
 Erskiiies have dressed me in very black colours. Mr. Gibbs's 
 pamphlet will show you how black. Dear men, I pity them. 
 Writing, I fear, will be in vain. Oh for a mind divested of all 
 sects, names, and parties. I think it is my one simple aim, to 
 promote the kingdom of Jesus, without partiality or hypocrisy, 
 indefinitely amongst all. I care not if the name of George 
 Whitefield be banished out of the world, so that Jesus be ex- 
 alted in it. Glory to His great name, we have seen much of 
 his power and greatness in Scotland. Last sabbath and Mon- 
 day, great things greater than ever, were seen at Kilsyth ! I 
 preach twice every day with great power, and walk in liberty 
 and love. At the same time, I see and feel my vileness, and 
 take the blessed Jesus to be my righteousness and my all." 
 
 To another clergyman in Wales, he wrote from Philadelphia 
 thus : " When I first saw you at Cardiff, my heart rejoiced to 
 hear what God had done for your soul. You were then under 
 some displeasure from your rector (if I mistake not) for speak- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 135 
 
 ing the truth as it is in Jesus. Ere now I hope you have had 
 the honour of being quite thrust out. Rejoice, my dear bro- 
 ther, and be exceeding glad ; for thus was our Lord and Saviour 
 served before you. Naked, therefore follow a naked Christ. 
 Freely you have received, freely give. If you preach the gos- 
 pel, you shall live of the gospel. Though you go out without 
 scrip or shoe, yet shall you lack nothing. Rather than you shall 
 want, ravens, those birds of prey, shall be commanded to feed 
 you. If we go forth in the spirit of apostles, we shall meet with 
 apostolical success. Stir up, then, the gift of God which is 
 within you. Be instant in season and out of season. Debase 
 man, and exalt Jesus. Self-righteousness overturn overturn ! 
 The people of Wales (at least the common people) will receive 
 you gladly." 
 
 Whitefield not only stirred up labourers thus, in Wales ; he 
 also watched over their safety, when their labours brought them 
 into trouble. Accordingly, when some of the fellowship meet- 
 ings were indicted as conventicles, he appealed at once to the 
 candour and justice of the bishop of Bangor. " I assure your 
 Lordship, it is a critical time for Wales. Hundreds, if not 
 thousands, will go in a bo<Jy from the church, if such proceed- 
 ings are countenanced. I lately wrote. them a letter, dissuading 
 them from separating from the church ; and I write thus freely 
 to your Lordship, because of the excellent spirit of moderation 
 discernible in your Lordship." 
 
 Some of these details violate the order of time ; but they pre- 
 serve what is better a connected view of the impulses which 
 Whitefield got and gave in Wales ; and will enable the reader 
 to appreciate their influence upon future movements and events 
 in the principality 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD IN AMERICA. 
 
 WHEN this continent was discovered by the English, it lay 
 within the limits of that vast territory which the pope, although 
 himself ignorant of its existence, conferred on Spain : and, in 
 these times, papal grants were " holy ground." Accordingly, 
 Henry VII. was afraid to colonize it. Henry VIII. had not 
 time. Edward VI. had not power. Queen Mary had not in- 
 clination. Elizabeth had not spirit. She sanctioned, but never 
 seconded, the attempt of Raleigh in Virginia. The credit of 
 colonizing North America belongs to James I. He had before 
 tried the experiment of colonial towns in the highlands of Scot- 
 land, in order to improve the clans ; and although it did not 
 answer all his expectations, it confirmed him in the policy of 
 the system. Unhappily, his ecclesiastical policy was not equally 
 wise. He derided and denounced the puritans and noncon- 
 formists. And, alas, bishops ascribed this to inspiration ; and 
 even Lord Bacon justified it ! 
 
 Amongst many who fled from this tyranny to the continent, 
 for refuge, was the congregational church of the great and 
 good John Robinson. In 1609, they settled in Leyden, and 
 remained for some years. But the unhealthy climate, and espe- 
 cially the unhallowed sabbaths of the city, determined them to 
 emigrate to America. 
 
 This resolution was not adopted hastily, nor without much 
 prayer. The exiles felt for their children ; and shrunk from 
 the danger of their being absorbed in the mass, or assimilated 
 to the morals, of a foreign nation. And, what gave irresistible 
 effect to all their ordinary motives was, they felt it to be their 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 137 
 
 supreme duty to spread tin; gospel amongst the heathen, and to 
 perpetuate the Scriptural system of Christian churches. 
 
 It is not to the credit of Dr. Robertson, that he withheld the 
 fact of their missionary spirit. He says, with an ill-concealed 
 sneer, " They began to be afraid that all their high attain- 
 ments in spiritual knowledge would be lost ; and that the per- 
 fect fabric of policy which they had erected would dissolve, and 
 be consigned to oblivion, if they remained longer in a strange 
 land." The historian understood the character of Charles 
 V. ; but he was incapable of appreciating the character of John 
 Robinson and his church, even although the Scotch martyrs 
 furnished a clue to it. It requires, however, more than philo- 
 sophical discrimination, to discern mental or moral greatness in 
 the zeal of poor men for unpopular truth. The character of 
 the first nonconformists must remain a mystery to mere phi- 
 losophers, until the New Testament become " The Book of the 
 Church." 
 
 A brief sketch of the character and principles of the found- 
 ers of the first American churches, will justify this remark. 
 Now, that Hume, and writers of his stamp, should designate the 
 Plymouth pilgrims, weak or wild fanatics, is only what might 
 be expected. Nor is it at all surprising, that even Robertson 
 should call them enthusiasts and Brownists. It is, however, a 
 matter both of surprise and regret, that such an historian as 
 Grahame should have called them Broumists, in the face of a 
 solemn injunction which he himself transcribes, and in which 
 Robinson disavows the name, as " a brand for making religion 
 odious." Even Baylie, the bitter enemy of the first dissenters, 
 declares that " Robinson was the principal overthrower of the 
 Brownists, and became the father of independency." Hornius 
 also distinguishes the independents from the Brownists, and 
 calls them Robinsonians. Governor Winslow also, in his 
 " Grounds of planting New England," says, that "the Brownists 
 were settled in Amsterdam, and would hardly hold communion 
 with the people of Leyden." Besides, there is a work of 
 Robinson's, which bears the following title : " A Just and Ne- 
 cessary Apology for certain Christians, no less contumeliousty 
 than commonly called Brownists or Barrowists." 
 
138 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 The fact seems to be, that Robinson had been, at first, a 
 stricter dissenter than the generality of the nonconformists ; 
 and, by publishing his " Justification of Separation from the 
 Church of England," in answer to Bernard's " Separatists' 
 Schism," which was chiefly directed against the Brownists, he 
 thus subjected himself to the charge of being one of them. But 
 both his spirit and his system were of a far higher order. He 
 was, in the best sense of the name, an independent, or con- 
 gregationalist. 
 
 What he was as a scholar and a divine, may be judged from 
 his masterly answer to Bernard, and from his signal triumph 
 over the successor of Arminius at Leyden. The university of 
 Leyden prevailed on Robinson to accept the challenge of Epis- 
 copius ; and he silenced the impugner of Calvinism. In such 
 estimation was he held at Leyden, that all the rank and talent 
 of the city attended his funeral, and agreed to his interment in 
 the chancel of their principal church. 
 
 Such was the man who formed the sentiments and the cha- 
 racter of the men who formed the first church in New Eng- 
 land. He himself was prevented from joining them there, 
 by the intrigues of a faction in the Virginian company in this 
 country ; but his mantle and spirit were carried there by his 
 elder and members. And nobly did they exemplify the princi- 
 ples of their pastor ! 
 
 What these principles were, is not matter of conjecture. As 
 to faith, the pilgrims held the doctrinal articles of the reformed 
 churches ; and, accordingly, admitted to communion in their 
 own church the pious members, of all protestant churches who 
 chose to unite with them. 
 
 This open communion, and unshackled freedom of conscience, 
 were, however, peculiar to the independents. The puritans 
 who colonized Massachusetts Bay, availed themselves, at first, 
 of these privileges ; but they did not extend them so freely 
 when they settled their own churches. 
 
 Agreeably to the spirit of the church in which they were 
 educated, they soon began to govern religion, instead of sub- 
 mitting to he governed by it ; and thus practical intolerance was 
 grafted upon speculative liberty, as slavery still is, on American 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 139 
 
 republicanism. The puritans were much upbraided for this 
 by the church of England, whilst her own offsets in the southern 
 provinces of America could hardly subsist ; but, when they ob- 
 tained a legal settlement, she soon fenced them by a sacra- 
 mental test. 
 
 Even-handed justice, however, has not yet been rendered to 
 the American puritans. Both eulogy and censure are still too 
 unqualified. Their errors were the universal errors of their 
 age ; whereas their virtues were peculiar to themselves. God, 
 indeed, " sifted three nations, that he might sow New England 
 with the finest wheat." Magnolia. 
 
 A sketch of the rise and progress of religion in America will 
 illustrate this. Its origin, although of recent date, was coeval 
 with the discovery of the rock of Plymouth. The pilgrims had 
 formed themselves, by covenant, into a church and a state, 
 even before they landed ; and thus Plymouth became a settle- 
 ment and a sanctuary on the same day. The voice of praise 
 and prayer first awoke the echoes of its forests ; and before a 
 tree was cut for fuel, or climbed for food, tears of gratitude had 
 anointed the rock as an EBENEZER. 
 
 Webster, a member of congress, has depicted this scene with 
 great power and pathos. " The morning that beamed on the 
 first night of their repose, saw the pilgrims already established 
 in their country. There were political institutions, and civil 
 liberty, and religious worship. 
 
 " Poetry has fancied nothing in the wanderings of heroes, so 
 distinct and characteristic. Here was man, indeed, unprotect- 
 ed, and unprovided for, on the shore of a rude and fearful wil- 
 derness ; but it was politic, intelligent, and educated man. 
 Every thing was civilized but the physical world. Institutions, 
 containing in substance all that ages had done for human 
 government, were established in a forest. Cultivated mind was 
 to act on uncultivated nature ; and, more than all, a government 
 and a country were to commence, with the very first foundations 
 laid under the divine light of the Christian religion. Happy 
 auspices of a happy futurity ! Who could wish that his coun- 
 try's existence had otherwise begun ? Who would desire to go 
 back to the ages of fable ? Who would wish for an origin ob- 
 
140 
 
 scured in the darkness of antiquity ? Who would wish for other 
 emblazoning of his country's heraldry, or other ornaments of 
 her genealogy, than to be able to say, that her first existence 
 was with intelligence ; her first breath, the inspiration of liberty ; 
 her first principle, the truth of divine religion ? " 
 
 In a similar spirit, WHELPLEY, of New York, says, " On the 
 day they felt the firm earth, for weal or for woe, they adopted it 
 as their country; they looked off to the surrounding hills and 
 snow-clad ranges, and felt that these must henceforth be their 
 horizon ; they surveyed the deep and frowning forest, with its 
 savage tenantry, and resolved to subdue and make it the abode 
 of pure religion ; they looked along the far-sounding shore, and 
 resolved to explore its depths and islands, and point out to their 
 children the places of cities, and the marts of commerce ; they 
 looked up to the broad heavens, where dwelt their covenant 
 God, and, in prayer, resolved to build Him a house for his wor- 
 ship, wherever under these heavens, like Jacob, they rested on 
 their pilgrimage." 
 
 Vivid and touching as these pictures are, they are, perhaps, 
 surpassed, as to effect, by the simple journals of the pilgrims 
 themselves ; from which PRINCE drew the materials, and, in a 
 great measure, the language, of his " Annals ;" a book almost 
 unknown now in this country. 
 
 " 1620. Dec. 20. This morning, after calling on Heaven for 
 guidance, they go ashore again, to pitch on some place for im- 
 mediate settlement. After viewing the country, they conclude 
 to settle on the main, on a high ground facing the bay ; a sweet 
 brook running under the hill, with many delicate springs. On 
 a great hill they intend to fortify, which will command all 
 round ; whence they may see across from the bay to Cape Cod. 
 And here, being twenty in number, they rendezvous this even- 
 ing ; but a storm rising, it blows and rains hard all night ; con- 
 tinues so tempestuous for two days, that they cannot get aboard, 
 and have nothing to shelter them. 
 
 " 21st. Dies Richard Bretterige, the first who dies in this 
 harbour. 
 
 " 23d. As many go ashore as can ; cut and carry timber for 
 a common building. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 141 
 
 " 24th. Lord's day. Our people ashore are alarmed with 
 the cry of savages ; expect an assault, but continue quiet. 
 And this day, dies Solomon Martin, the sixth and last who dies 
 this month. 
 
 " 25th. Monday. They go ashore again, felling timber, sawing, 
 riving, carrying. Begin to erect their first house, about twenty 
 foot square, for their common use, to receive them and their 
 goods. Leaving twenty to keep a court of guard, the rest return 
 aboard at evening. But in the night and next day, another 
 sore storm of wind and rain. 
 
 " 28th. Thursday. They go to work on the hill ; reduce 
 themselves to nineteen families ; measure out their lots, and 
 draw for them. Many grow ill of grievous colds, from the 
 great and many hardships they had endured. They see great 
 smokes of fires made by Indians, about six or seven miles off. 
 
 " 31st. Lord's day. The generality remain aboard the ship, 
 almost a mile and a half off. Some keep the sabbath, for the 
 first time, in the place of their building. 
 
 " 1621. Jan. 9th. We labour in building our town in two 
 rows of houses for greater safety : divide by lot the ground we 
 build on : agree that every man builds his own house, that they 
 may make more haste. 
 
 " 13th. Saturday. Having the major part of our people 
 ashore, we purpose there to keep the public worship to-morrow. 
 
 " 14th. Lord's day morning at six o'clock, the wind being 
 very high, we, on shipboard, see our rendezvous in flames, and 
 fear the savages had fired it ; nor can we come to help, for want 
 of the tide, till -seven o'clock : at landing, find that the house 
 was fired by a spark in the thatch." 
 
 " 31st. The people aboard see two savages, but cannot come 
 to speak with them. 
 
 " Feb. 9th. This afternoon our house for sick people is set 
 on fire by a spark lighting on the roof. 
 
 " About this time the Indians get all the pawaws (magicians) 
 of the country together for three days, in a horrid and devilish 
 manner to curse and execrate us with their conjurations : which 
 assembly they hold in a dark and dismal swamp." 
 
 Such was their first winter ; and, before the return of spring, 
 
142 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 disease or famine had swept off one half of them. The sur- 
 vivors, too, instead of being able to devote themselves to plant- 
 ing and building, had to spend the greater part of their time 
 in defending their persons and property from the savages. 
 Still, the pilgrims neither repented nor repined. " Spring" 
 they say, "puts new life into us." "All the summer, no want. 
 We Jit our houses against winter; are in health, and have all 
 things in plenty." Prince's Annals. 
 
 At this time, they had no minister. Mr. Brewster, the elder 
 of the church, conducted their worship, until Mr. Robinson 
 should be able to join them. But, whilst they were looking 
 and longing for his arrival, a faction in the Plymouth company 
 at home were intriguing to prevent him from leaving Leyden. 
 This faction seem to have had for their object the introduction 
 of episcopal forms into the worship of the colony. Accordingly, 
 in 1624, they sent out, as their tool, Lyford, a minister who had 
 lost his character in Ireland. On his arrival, the pilgrims say, 
 " He appears exceedingly complaisant and humble ; sheds many 
 tears ; blesses God, that had brought him to see our faces. We 
 give hmi the best entertainment we can. We make him larger 
 allowance than any others. At his desire, we receive him into 
 our church ; when he blesses God for the opportunity and 
 freedom of enjoying his ordinances in purity." That purity 
 Lyford soon tampered with. He insisted upon administering 
 the sacrament in the episcopal form, and on using the liturgy 
 Nor was this the worst part of his conduct. He caballed with 
 some unprincipled adventurers, who had come out, to betray the 
 colony, and usurp its government. The plot was, however, de- 
 tected. The governor pursued the ship which brought Lyford 
 out, and arrested his letters. On his return, the governor sum- 
 moned a general court, and charged Lyford and his party with 
 the plot. They denied it. He then produced Lyford's letters, 
 and confounded the traitors before all the assembly. 
 
 Incredible as it may seem, such was the leniency of the court, 
 that Lyford was even restored to his office, upon a profession of 
 repentance, " made with tears," before the church. But these 
 tears, like the former, were hypocritical ; for, in less than a 
 month, he wrote another letter to betray the government ; and 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 143 
 
 was detected again. Cotton Mather says of Lyford, " On this 
 he was banished from the plantation, and went into Virginia, 
 where he shortly after ended his own life." Soon after this, 
 the pilgrims say, " We hear sad news ; our dear pastor, Mr. 
 Robinson, is dead; which strikes us with great sorrow. Tliese 
 things could not I tit cast us into great perplexity; yet, being 
 stript of all human hopes and help, when we are now at the 
 lowest, the Lord so helps us, as that we are not only upheld, but 
 begin to rise.' 9 This " rise " was not, however, great nor rapid; 
 for, at the end of ten years, the population of Plymouth was 
 only three hundred persons. 
 
 Such was the rise of religion in America. Its progress, at 
 this early period, was, of course, by the accession of pious set- 
 tlers from Europe, and by the influence of the first churches 
 upon the worldly settlers. In the former case, the progress was 
 great. Charles I. was then upon the throne, and Laud behind 
 it ; and their well-known measures compelled the puritans and 
 nonconformists to choose between exile and chains. Many of 
 them preferred the former. Aware of this, the Rev. Mr. White 
 of Dorchester organized a colony for Massachusetts Bay, which 
 obtained a royal charter. Neale, by a strange mistake, says, 
 that " free liberty of conscience was granted by this charter." 
 An improbable gift, from the iron hand of Charles ! The deed 
 itself contains no permission of the kind. Such as it was, how- 
 ever, it soon drew into the colony eighteen hundred persons ; 
 many of whom were wealthy, and most of them respectable. 
 Several eminent ministers also accompanied them. These emi- 
 grants laid the foundations of Boston, Charlestown, Dorchester, 
 and other towns ; in each of which a church was formed. And 
 such was their prosperity and peace, that crowds continued to 
 pour into the country. 
 
 Whilst this influx was proceeding, the small-pox broke out 
 amongst the Indians, and swept off such multitudes, that whole 
 tribes were annihilated. Providence, by thus evacuating the 
 country, was supposed to indicate his appropriation of it to the 
 English. The vacated space proved, however, a temptation ; 
 because its best districts being far asunder, they drew the set- 
 tlers too far off from each other. It was, however, this dispersion 
 
144 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 that led to the adoption of a representative system of govern- 
 ment in New England. 
 
 It cannot surprise any one to hear that, amongst so many 
 emigrants, so suddenly thrown together, and all passing at once 
 from bondage to full liberty of conscience, there should have 
 been some differences of religious opinion. There were, how- 
 ever, far fewer than could be expected ; and these were confined, 
 in every instance, to very few persons. The celebrated Roger 
 Williams was the chief disturber of the harmony of the infant 
 churches ; but, with all his singularities, he was a noble-minded 
 and right-hearted man. He understood religious liberty better 
 than the puritans ; and, to his spirit and firmness in resisting 
 the jurisdiction of magistrates in religion, New England is chiefly 
 indebted for her charter of conscience. 
 
 Whilst the Massachusetts' colony was thus advancing, similar 
 motives and causes led to the settlement of Connecticut and 
 Newhaven ; in both of which the Scriptures were adopted as 
 the sole code of law and religion. A colony was also planted 
 in New Hampshire and Main ; but by men of another spirit. 
 It made no progress for some years, until it came under the 
 jurisdiction of the Massachusetts' colony. Indeed, all the colo- 
 nies, about this time, retrograded during a disastrous war with 
 the Indians. Charles had also forbidden further emigration 
 from England, without permission. He had even decided on 
 taking away the Massachusetts' charter, and on remodelling the 
 government agreeably to his own mind. The meeting of the 
 long parliament, however, furnished him with other work. But, 
 whilst this event saved their charter at the time, it likewise put 
 a stop to emigration ; there being then no intolerable pressure 
 upon conscience. Whilst that pressure lasted, however, two 
 hundred thousand British subjects had settled in New England; 
 and 200,000 had been expended upon it : "a sum," says Ro- 
 bertson, " which no principles, inferior in force to those where- 
 with the puritans were animated, could have persuaded men to 
 lay out on the uncertain prospect of finding subsistence and 
 enjoying freedom." 
 
 During the Protectorate, although no great accession was 
 made to the population of New England, great favour was shown 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 145 
 
 to the colonies ; or rather, they were allowed to take great 
 liberties beyond their charter. They formed the confederacy of 
 the States, and struck a coinage of their own. Whether these 
 steps were approved, or overlooked amidst the crowd of nearer 
 events, is not known. Cromwell, however, formed a plan for the 
 colonists, which, happily, was plausible only to himself. When 
 he had conquered Jamaica, he offered to transport to it the 
 churches of New England, that they might resist popery in the 
 centre of the new world. In this enterprise, so characteristic 
 of its author, Cromwell pledged himself to support them with 
 the whole weight of his authority and influence. They had, 
 however, the wisdom to decline his proposals, without incurring 
 his displeasure. 
 
 About this time, a better direction was given to their zeal, 
 and new energy infused into their Indian missions, by the spirit 
 with which parliament incorporated the Society for propagating 
 the Gospel in New England ; and, especially, by the success of 
 Eliot. No great accession of numbers or strength was made to 
 the infant churches, however, until the restoration of Charles II. 
 restored the old system at home. Then the Act of Uniformity 
 threw into their arms another large group of pilgrims, in " the 
 spirit and power" of the Plymouth fathers. They knew, also, 
 how to avail themselves of the crisis created by the Bartholo- 
 mew bushel at home ; and promptly invited some of the brightest 
 stars which it had covered, to " arise and shine " in the western 
 hemisphere. And many of them obeyed the summons. Even 
 Dr. Owen was likely to have accepted a call to be pastor of the 
 first church in Boston, had not the king laid an embargo upon 
 him. 
 
 However much, therefore, we may deplore the Act of Unifor- 
 mity, it became the axe which cut down the principle of unifor- 
 mity in this country. What the cause of religious liberty lost 
 here for a time, it more than regained in America. 
 
 When these victims of the Act of Uniformity arrived in Ame- 
 rica, there were forty flourishing churches in New England. 
 The emigrants, however, had hardly time to become incorpo- 
 rated with them, or to taste the cup of their sweet fellowship, 
 when the fatal Indian war broke out. And such were its ra- 
 
146 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 vages, that nearly six hundred men, who were the strength both 
 of the churches and of the colony, were cut off. And even this 
 overwhelming loss was aggravated by a succession of harassing 
 measures from home, which almost ruined the trade of the colony, 
 until the Revolution. 
 
 The Revolution in England forms an epoch in the ecclesias- 
 tical, as well as the civil, history of America. From that time, 
 the churches of New England began to provide for the spiritual 
 wants of the southern provinces ; and thus stirred up the bishop 
 of London to send a commissary into Maryland, who obtained 
 an act of the provincial legislature for a legal establishment 
 of episcopacy there. 
 
 There was, however, at this time, a blot upon the character 
 of New England, which, if it had not been copied from Old 
 England, would call for severe animadversion. The imputation 
 of witchcraft was accompanied by the prevalent belief of its 
 reality ; and the lives of many weak persons were sacrificed to 
 a blind zeal and a superstitious credulity. Still, more persons 
 have been put to death for witchcraft in a single county of 
 England, than all who suffered in America. Besides, the chief 
 judge, Sewall,with more wisdom than our Hale, confessed, soon 
 after, the sin of these sentences, in a penitential paper, which 
 he gave in to his minister to be read publicly, on a fast day. 
 His diary also deplores and condemns them. 
 
 Nothing very memorable occurs in the history of religion, 
 from this time, until the revival at Northampton ; except its 
 steady progress amongst some of the Indian tribes, and the 
 noble, though abortive, effort of Berkley to provide for them all, 
 by his projected college at Bermuda. 
 
 The remarkable revival of religion under the ministry of 
 Jonathan Edwards, was as timely as it was signal. He himself, 
 in narrating it, has said as little as possible of the long and deep 
 decay of vital godliness, which preceded it. That sad decay 
 has, however, but too many vouchers. " It began to appear," 
 says Prince, " in 1660 : in 1670, it was visible and threatening : 
 in 1680, it was bewailed bitterly by the few of the first gener- 
 ation who remained." 
 
 Governor Stoughton, in a sermon which he preached at Bos- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 147 
 
 ton, "before he resigned the pulpit for the bench, proclaimed it 
 in the presence of the ministry and the magistracy, that, since 
 the death of the Massachusetts' fathers, many had become like 
 Joash after the death of Jehoiada, rotten, hypocritical and a 
 lie ! In 1683, the venerable Torrey, of Weymouth, also preach- 
 ed a sermon before the legislature, and which he entitled " A 
 Plea for the Life of dying Religion" " There is," says he, 
 " already a great death upon religion ; little more left than a 
 name to live. It is dying as to the BEING of it, by the general 
 failure of the work of conversion." In 1700, Mather published 
 his " Vindication of the Order of the Gospel in New England ;" 
 in which he solemnly affirms, "that if the begun apostasy 
 should proceed as fast the next thirty years, as it has done these 
 last, it will come to that in New England, (except the gospel 
 itself depart with the order of it,) that churches must be gather 
 ed out of churches." President Willard, also, (the eloquent de- 
 nouncer of the prosecutions for witchcraft,) published in the 
 same year his searching sermon, " The Perils of the Times dis- 
 played." " Whence," he asks, " is there such a prevalency of 
 so many immoralities amongst professors ? Why so little suc- 
 cess of the gospel ? How few thorough conversions to be ob- 
 served ; how scarce and seldom ! " " It hath been," he adds, 
 " a frequent observation, that if one generation begins to de- 
 cline, the next that follows usually grows worse; and so on, 
 until God pours out his Spirit again upon them." 
 
 Such was the melancholy state of things which followed the 
 death of the first puritans and nonconformists in New England. 
 The second generation grew up, not indeed in ignorance nor in 
 avowed unbelief, but in a heartless formality which, itself, re- 
 laxed more and more, as their fathers went down to the grave. 
 Nor was this falling off confined to the large towns. It took 
 place even in such remote and obscure towns as Northampton. 
 There, after the death of the celebrated Stoddard, who had, 
 during his ministry, five signal revivals, or, as he called them, 
 " five harvests," an extraordinary deadness in religion crept in. 
 Politics divided the people, and pleasure absorbed the yoang. 
 Family discipline was generally neglected, and licentiousness 
 
143 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 rapidly spreading. The sabbath evening became the chief sea- 
 son of mirth and dissipation. 
 
 This last circumstance led Edwards to preach a very solemn 
 sermon on the subject ; not, however, that he held the evening 
 of the Lord's day sacred. They began their sabbath on the 
 Saturday evening, and closed it with the afternoon of Sunday. 
 It was, therefore, the " evil tendency " of passing from the sanc- 
 tuary to the tavern and the dancing green, that led him to re- 
 monstrate. He saw how the custom was defeating all his own 
 labours, and defying parental authority to check it; and he 
 singled it out, and threw all his soul into the assault against it. 
 He had also planned with the better disposed parents of his 
 flock, to take private measures for suppressing the evil. But 
 such was the effect of the sermon on the young themselves, that 
 they anticipated the wish both of their parents and pastor, 
 and abandoned at once and entirely their amusements on the 
 sabbath evening. 
 
 This was the first step towards the great revival at North- 
 ampton. Edwards then persuaded the young people to spend 
 these evenings in little meetings for social prayer and reading. 
 In this also he succeeded. These meetings began too at a time, 
 when some sudden and awful deaths had made a deep and 
 solemn impression in the town. But still, he seems to have 
 expected nothing extraordinary to evolve from these symptoms. 
 The Arminian controversy was raging around him at the time, 
 and he, in common with his pious friends, was more afraid of 
 its influence, than encouraged by these "tokens for good." 
 Indeed, Edwards, instead of expecting or attempting to pro- 
 duce a signal revival of religion, seems to have thought only of 
 defending its great foundations. He began to preach boldly 
 the sovereignty and freeness of grace, more with a view to keep 
 error out of his church, than with the hope of " winning souls " 
 by the truth. Accordingly he himself was as much, if not 
 more surprised than any one, when the great awakening began. 
 He, however, preached the truth from lave to it, and not for 
 victory ; and the Eternal Spirit wrought mightily by it. 
 
 This series of simple facts has been too much overlooked in 
 various accounts of " The work of God in Northampton." It 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMKS. 149 
 
 was in nowise " got up," on the part of Edwards, as its enemies 
 have insinuated ; nor was it so separated from rational means, 
 as some of its rash friends pretended. It certainly well de- 
 serves to be called wonderful even miraculous, because the 
 same truth had never triumphed so gloriously in America be- 
 fore ; but the means which the Spirit thus blessed, were as na- 
 tural and orderly as philosophy herself could select or arrange, 
 whilst she kept the Bible open. Accordingly Dr. Watts and 
 Dr. Guyse did not hesitate to call it " The renewal of the mira- 
 cle of Gideons Jleece" 
 
 The chief characteristics of this work, at its commence- 
 ment, were, a melting down of all classes and ages in over- 
 whelming solicitude about salvation ; an absorbing sense of 
 eternal realities, which banished all vain and useless conversa- 
 tion ; a self-abasement and self-condemnation, which acquitted 
 God of all severity, whatever he might do ; a spirit of secret 
 and social prayer, which redeemed time for itself under all cir- 
 cumstances ; and a concern for the souls of others, which 
 watched for all opportunities of doing good. It can only sur- 
 prise sciolists, that this awakening, so sudden and solemn, 
 should have agitated the body, whilst thus agonizing the mind. 
 It produced in many instances loud outcries, and in some in- 
 stances convulsions. The loudest cries were not, however, so 
 loud as the shrieks of Voltaire or Volney, when the prospect of 
 eternity unmanned them. What Edwards said of those who, 
 in his time, resolved the physical effect into mental delusion, 
 may be applied to all who echo their opinion, " I question if 
 they would behave themselves letter, if they were equally 
 sensible of their guilt and danger, as sinners." Not that Ed- 
 wards was the advocate of these things ; but he was too good 
 a philosopher to consider them incompatible with sense or sin- 
 cerity ; and too honest, to allow them to be called " a distem- 
 per caught from Whitefield and Tennent," as some insinuated. 
 He candidly acknowledges they had appeared before White- 
 field arrived. Indeed, they did not appear under his minis- 
 try at all. 
 
 " But, what is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord ? " 
 Whatever were the accidental extravagances which marked this 
 
150 
 
 work at any period of its progress. i f .s permanent results were 
 " Holiness to the Lord." 
 
 Perhaps a better proof of the substantial character of tnese 
 conversions cannot be given, than the single fact that most of 
 them stood the severe test of Edwards's " Treatise on Religious 
 Affections :" a work which, if as generally read here as it was 
 there, would tempt a large portion of our acknowledged con- 
 verts to unchristianize themselves. There was noise in the 
 new stream of religious feeling, which broke out at Northamp- 
 ton ; and noisy streams are said to be shallow ; but this one must 
 have been an exception to the proverb, seeing it sustained that 
 weighty book upon its bosom. 
 
 Besides, whoever will duly examine Edwards's " Narrative," 
 will find, to his surprise and pleasure, all the usual varieties of 
 experience, which show themselves in our own churches, in the 
 succession of single converts. He was honoured to gather at 
 once, what we collect slowly. But with this exception, and its 
 natural consequences, the history of any hundred of true con- 
 verts, won at wide intervals, will present almost all the varieties 
 of case, which were crowded into the first year of the revival. 
 
 Wide and great as this revival was, however, it did not pene- 
 trate New England at large, until Whitefield and Tennent 
 spread it. In many leading places the necessity, or the genuine- 
 ness of such a work was doubted and denied. The churches, in 
 general, were still in a Sardian or Laodicean state. 
 
 Dr. Holmes says, in his " American Annals," that " the zeal 
 which had characterized the churches in New England at an 
 earlier period, had, previous to Whitefield's arrival, subsided, 
 a n(l a calm, perhaps lethargic, state ensued. The discourses 
 from the desk, though evangelical, were not impassioned." 
 Shurtleff, of New Hampshire, in his defence of Whitefield, says 
 of the state of the churches at this time, " No serious Christian 
 could behold it without a heavy heart, and scarce without a 
 weeping eye ; to see the solid, substantial piety, for which our 
 ancestors were justly renowned, having long languished under 
 sore decays, brought so low, and seemingly just ready to give 
 up the ghost." Edwards says of the colleges, " It certainly has 
 fcometimes been so with our colleges that, instead of being 
 
WHITE FIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 151 
 
 places of the greatest advantage for true piety, one cannot 
 send a child thither, without great danger of his being infected 
 as to his morals." Dr. Chauncy denies this charge, in unquali- 
 fied terms ; but when he proceeds to disprove it, the only 
 argument he adduces is, that, during twenty years, he had 
 never known Harvard College " under better circumstances, in 
 point of religion, good order, and learning, than at this day." 
 What it really was, may, perhaps, be gathered from the fact, 
 that Whitefield in his Letter to the students, when they became 
 serious, says, " It was no small grief to me, that I was obliged 
 to say of your college, that ( your light was darkness;' yet 
 are ye now become light in the Lord. Now we may expect a 
 reformation indeed, since it is beginning at the house of God." 
 
 In regard to the general state of the churches, even Dr. 
 Chauncy cannot effectually conceal the low ebb of spiritual reli- 
 gion at this time. In spite of all his special pleading, it betrays 
 itself throughout the whole series of his " Seasonable Thoughts 
 on the State of Religion in New England." At the close of 
 that strange book he acknowledges, " that disorderly walkers 
 have been suffered to take their course, without the administra- 
 tion of those censures which are proper to the kingdom of Jesus 
 Christ. Have they not been left to themselves to act as they 
 please, without public notice, any more than if they sustained 
 no relation to the church of God ? " 
 
 It is equally painful to review or record these melancholy 
 facts. It is, however, necessary to do both, in order to form a 
 just estimate of the spirit, the character, and effects, of White- 
 field's preaching in New England. He went there, not to spy 
 out the nakedness of the land, nor to search for declensions ; 
 but to be " refreshed amongst the descendants of the good old 
 puritans." It was, therefore, with as much surprise as regret, 
 that he found "the fine gold" of puritanism " dim." Indeed, 
 it was not until Dr. Chauncy and others began to caricature the 
 revivals, that Whitefield began to suspect the spirituality of the 
 ministry. His correspondence with Dr. Colman and Mr. Cooper 
 of Boston, and his recorded memorials of all the devoted minis- 
 ters he met with, prove that he was inclined, and even solicitous, 
 to be pleased with New England. 
 
152 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Whitefield had, however, seen enough, in Philadelphia, to 
 convince him, that hoth the matter and spirit of his preaching 
 in England were equally wanted in America. He accordingly 
 wielded in New York and Boston all the spiritual and splendid 
 weapons which he had employed at London and Bristol. The 
 effect at Boston was amazing. Old Mr. Walter, the successor 
 of Eliot, the apostle of the Indians, said, " It was puritanism 
 revived." Such was the interest excited by his preaching, that 
 his farewell sermon was attended by 20,000 persons. And, 
 during his visit, it was testified by the first authorities in the 
 city, that many of the careless were awakened, and more of the 
 lukewarm quickened. " Such a power and presence of God 
 with a preacher, and in religious assemblies," says Dr. Colman, 
 " I never saw before." " Every day gives me fresh proofs of 
 Christ speaking in him. A small set of gentlemen amongst us, 
 when they saw the affections of the people so moved under his 
 preaching, would attribute it only to the force of sound and ges- 
 tures. But the impressions on many were so lasting, and have 
 been so transforming, as to carry plain signatures of a divine 
 hand going along with him." All this was, if possible, exceed- 
 ed at Northampton, when Whitefield visited Jonathan Edwards, 
 and reminded his people of " the days of old." " It was," says 
 Gillies, " like putting fire to tinder." Similar success attended 
 his ministry in the town and college of Newhaven. In the lat- 
 ter, it overthrew the self-righteousness of the celebrated Hop- 
 kins, and fanned into a flame the zeal of DAVID BRAINERD a 
 name that needs no epithet. 
 
 In like manner, at Harvard College the effect was great. 
 The honourable Secretary Willard says, in a letter to White- 
 field, " That which forebodes the most lasting advantage is, the 
 new state of things in the college, where the impressions of reli- 
 gion have been, and still are, very general ; and many, in a 
 judgment of charity, brought home to Christ. Divers gentle- 
 men's sons, that were sent there only for a more polite educa- 
 tion, are now so full of zeal for the cause of Christ, and of love 
 to souls, as to devote themselves entirely to the studies of 
 divinity." Dr. Colman also informed Whitefield of this fact. 
 " At Cambridge, the college is entirely changed ; the students 
 
153 
 
 are full of God, and will, I hope, come out blessings in their 
 generation ; and, I trust, are so now to each other. Many of 
 them are now, we think, truly horn again, and several of them 
 happy instruments of conversion to their fellows. The voice of 
 prayer and praise fills their chambers ; and sincerity, fervency, 
 and joy, with seriousness of heart, sit visibly on their faces. I 
 was told yesterday, that not seven of a hundred remain unaf- 
 fected. I know how the good tidings will affect you. God 
 give you like joy every where in the fruit of your labours." Thus 
 Whitefield was then to the churches and colleges, what Wash- 
 ington was afterwards to the states. 
 
 Such were the results of his first visit to New England. 
 And it deserves special notice that they were accompanied with 
 none of the extravagances which marked the revival soon 
 after. Much has been written on the subject of the subsequent 
 effects of this mighty impulse ; but, after deliberately weighing 
 the works on both sides, I am fully persuaded that Whitefield 
 himself has given the most judicious view of the whole matter. 
 On his return to Boston, in 1745, he writes thus : " Some oc- 
 casions of offence had, undoubtedly, been given whilst I was 
 here, (before,) and preached up and down the country. No- 
 thing, however, appeared but a pure divine power, working 
 upon, converting, and transforming people's hearts, of all 
 ranks, without any extraordinary phenomena attending it. 
 Good Mr. Tennent succeeded me : numbers succeeded him. 
 Lecture upon lecture was set up in various places. One minis- 
 ter called to another to help to drag the gospel net. And, by 
 all the accounts I can have from private information, or good 
 Mr. Prince's weekly history, one would have imagined the mil- 
 lennium was coming indeed. But in this mixed state of things, 
 wildfire will necessarily blend itself with the pure fire that 
 comes from God's altar. This the enemy long waited for. At 
 last, it broke out and spread itself. And, it must be confess- 
 ed, by the instrumentality of many good souls, both among 
 clergy and laity ; who, mistaking fancy for faith, and ima- 
 gination for revelation, were guilty of great imprudence. All 
 is laid to me, as being the primum mobile; though there was 
 not so much as the appearance of any thing of this nature, when 
 
 x 
 
1.54 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 I left New England last. But, maugre all, my poor labours 
 are yet attended with the usual blessings." 
 
 That Whitefield has fairly characterized the first aspect of 
 this work, will be seen from the following public testimony, by 
 three of the principal ministers in Boston; Prince, Webb 
 Cooper. It came out the year after his first visit. 
 
 " The wondrous work of God, at this day, making its tri- 
 umphant progress through the land, has forced many men of 
 clear minds, strong powers, considerable knowledge, and firmly 
 rivetted in Arminian and Socinian tenets, to give them all up 
 at once, and yield to the adorable sovereignty and irresistibi- 
 lity of the divine Spirit, in his saving operations on the souls 
 of men. For, to see such men as these, some of them of 
 licentious lives, long inured in a course of vices, and of high 
 spirits, coming to the preaching of the word ; some only out of 
 curiosity, and mere design to get matter of cavilling and banter ; 
 all at once, in opposition to their inward enmity, resolutions, 
 and resistances, to fall under an unexpected and hated power ; 
 to have all the strength of their resolution and resistance taken 
 away ; to have such inward views of the horrid wickedness, not 
 only of their lives but of their hearts, with their exceeding great 
 and immediate danger of eternal misery, as has amazed their 
 souls, and thrown them into distress unutterable, yea, forced 
 them to cry out in the assemblies with the greatest agonies : 
 and then, in two or three days, and sometimes sooner, to have 
 such unexpected and raised views of the infinite grace and love 
 of God in Christ, as have enabled them to believe in him ; lifted 
 them at once out of their distresses ; filled their hearts with 
 admiration; and joy unspeakable and full of glory breaking 
 forth in their shining countenances and transporting voices, to 
 the surprise of those about them : and to see them kindling up 
 at once, into a flame of love to God, an utter detestation of their 
 former courses and vicious habits ; yea, by such a detestation, 
 that the very power of these habits receive at once a mortal 
 wound : in short, to see their high spirits, on a sudden, humbled ; 
 their hard hearts made tender ; their aversion to the Holy Ghost, 
 now turned into a powerful and prevailing bent to contemplate 
 Him as revealed in Christ ; to labour to be like Him in holi- 
 
155 
 
 ness ; to please and honour him by a universal and glad con- 
 formity to his will and nature ; and to promote his holy king- 
 dom in all ahout them loving them, forgiving them, asking 
 forgiveness of them ; abounding in acts of justice and charity, 
 in a meek and condescending carriage towards the meanest, and 
 aspiring after higher sanctity. 
 
 " And to see other gentlemen, of the like parts, knowledge, 
 and principles ; and of sober, just, and religious lives, as far as 
 mere reason, with outward revelation, is able to carry them ; 
 and prepossessed against this work as imagined enthusiasm ; 
 yet, at once, surprised to find themselves entirely destitute of 
 that inward sanctity, and supreme love to God, which the gos- 
 pel teaches as absolutely needful ; to find themselves no more 
 than conceited Pharisees, who had been working out a righteous- 
 ness for their own justification ; and to have a clear discovery 
 of their inward enmity to Christ, and to the nature and way of 
 redemption by him ; with the vileness of their hearts and lives, 
 which they had never seen before : in short, to find themselves 
 yet unrenewed in the spirit of their minds, and under the heavy 
 wrath and curse of God ; to lose all their former confidence ; 
 give up their beloved schemes ; to see themselves undone and 
 helpless, and sink into great distress : and then, condemning 
 themselves as guilty wretches, humbly lying at the foot of abso- 
 lute and sovereign grace, looking up to Christ, as the only Me- 
 diator, to reconcile them to God, to justify them wholly by his 
 own righteousness, and to enlighten, sanctify, and govern them 
 by his Holy Spirit ; and there to wait, till they find a new and 
 mighty life and power come into their souls, enabling them to 
 embrace, trust in, and love this divine Redeemer ; rejoice 
 with satisfaction in him ; and perform every kind of duty, both 
 to God and man, with pleasure, and with quite another spirit 
 than before." 
 
 Whilst such were the moral effects of this American Pente- 
 cost, well might the eloquent Parsons, of Byfield, say to the 
 mockers and opposers, " Whilst you stand amazed at the rings 
 of the wheel, as things too high and dreadful for you ; whilst you 
 know not what to make of the effusions of the Holy Spirit, but 
 are stumbling at every thing amiss ; beware, lest that come upon 
 
156 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 you, which is spoken of by the prophets, ' Behold, ye despisers, 
 and wonder, and perish.' Dear, immortal souls ! I beseech and 
 persuade you, by the mercies of God, and the astonishing love 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you would not sacrifice the oper- 
 ations of the blessed Spirit to your own prejudice, by means of 
 our imperfections." 
 
 When Whitefield saw the first-fruits of this harvest, he wisely 
 pressed into the field, as his successor, Gilbert Tennent. The 
 American Biographical Dictionary says of Tennent, "He was 
 born in Ireland, and brought to this country by his father ; by 
 whom also he was educated for the ministry. As a preacher, 
 he was, in his vigorous days, equalled by but few. His reason- 
 ing powers were strong ; his language forcible and often sublime ; 
 and his manner of address warm and earnest. His eloquence was, 
 however, rather bold and awful than soft and persuasive. He 
 was most pungent in his addresses to the conscience. When 
 he wished to alarm the sinner, he could represent in the most 
 awful manner the terrors of the Lord. With admirable dex- 
 terity he exposed the false hope of the hypocrite, and searched 
 the corrupt heart to the bottom." Such was the man whom 
 Whitefield chose to take his place in the American valley of 
 vision, when the " dry bones " began to shake. And he entered 
 on his new sphere with almost rustic simplicity ; wearing his 
 hair undressed, and a large great coat girt with a leathern gir- 
 dle. But his " lofty stature and grave aspect dignified " the 
 whole. He had been remarkably useful in his former station 
 in New Jersey ; and now, in New England, his ministry was 
 hardly less successful than Whitefield's had been. Much of the 
 happy change which we have just reviewed, is ascribed by 
 Whitefield himself to the instrumentality of Tennent. He 
 actually shook the country, as with an earthquake. Wherever 
 he came, hypocrisy and pharisaism either fell before him, or 
 gnashed their teeth against him. Cold orthodoxy also started 
 from her downy cushion to imitate or to denounce him. For, 
 like Elijah on Carmel, he made neutrality an impossibility. 
 Accordingly, the attack upon him soon began, in the true spirit 
 of mortified pride, by arraigning his motives. It commenced in 
 the Boston newspaper,, in the form of a letter ; of which Dr. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 157 
 
 Chauncy, who was then the American Sacheverell, was, no 
 doubt, the author. At least, he has made it his own, by repub- 
 lishing it, without note or comment. " Pray, Sir, let me put it 
 to your conscience ; was not the reason of your travelling so 
 many miles (300) to preach the gospel in this place, founded on 
 the insufficiency of the ministers here for their office ? Had you 
 not some suspicion, that they were not converted ? Perhaps you 
 only thought that you might do a deal more good ? Is not this 
 too near to vanity ? " This is a specimen of the letter to Ten- 
 nent ; and, in the same spirit, Chauncy assailed the character 
 and motives of Whitefield, and criticized the " Narrative and 
 Vindication of the Work of God," by Edwards. By his own 
 confession, he travelled farther to collect the materials of his 
 book against, what he called, " the new light," than Tennent 
 did to guard that light. The book itself was answered by vari- 
 ous writers ; but the best reproof it called forth, was adminis- 
 tered by a venerable lady, who had been converted under the 
 ministry of Flavel. " New light ! " she exclaimed ; " it may 
 be new to such as never saw it before ; but it is what I saw fifty 
 years ago, from good Mr. Flavel." 
 
 Chauncy's principal charge against Whitefield is, " that he 
 seldom preached without saying something against unconverted 
 ministers." " The first error I would take notice of," he says, 
 " is that which supposes ministers, if not converted, incapable of 
 being instruments of spiritual good to men's souls. Mr. White- 
 field very freely vented this error. He said, the reason \vhy 
 congregations have been so dead, is, because they have dead men 
 preaching to them." " But conversion," says Chauncy, " does 
 not appear to be alike necessary for ministers, in their public 
 capacity as officers of the church, as it is in their private ca- 
 pacity." If this was untenable ground, the Doctor was still 
 more unfortunate, when he attempted to vindicate his brethren 
 by quoting from Cotton Mather. Mather says, " No man be- 
 comes a minister, or a communicant, in our churches, until he 
 hath been severely examined about his regeneration, as well as 
 conversation." BACKUS, in his " History of the American Bap- 
 tists," answers this appeal in a few words. " When was it so ? 
 This testimony was given in 1696. How does it prove that their 
 practice remained the same in 1740 ?" 
 
158 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 These animadversions upon the conduct and writings of Dr. 
 Chauncy are necessary, because his influence was great, and 
 eventually beneficial. For, whilst his work on " The State of 
 Religion," is contemptible in many respects, and especially in 
 all that regards Whitefield and Tennent, it is invaluable as an 
 antidote to the extravagances of conduct and sentiment which, 
 in seasons of high and general excitement, the weak and the igno- 
 rant are so prone to fall into. It is only bare justice to make 
 this acknowledgment; for Dr. Chauncy has embodied in the 
 work the best sentiments of our best divines, upon the subject 
 of the operations and fruits of the Holy Spirit. And these well- 
 selected extracts are such an antidote to his own poison, that 
 they could not have failed to correct the rashness and folly of 
 others. 
 
 It was, however, the poison which operated first. The repre- 
 sentations of the party, of which the Doctor was the champion, 
 produced edicts of synod and assembly, which made the Say- 
 brook platform all but a scaifold. Ministers who should preach 
 out of their own parishes without permission, were subject to 
 be treated as " vagrants," and to be " banished from the co- 
 lony ;" and if they returned, to " pay the expenses of their 
 transportation ; besides being imprisoned until they should give 
 a bond of 100, not to offend again." BACKUS. The full force 
 of these sad measures was confined chiefly to Connecticut : and 
 there Dr. Finlay, the successor of President Davies, was thus 
 treated. 
 
 Such was the state of things in New England, on Whitefield's 
 second visit. But neither the acts of assembly, nor the example 
 of the leading ministers, could prevent the people from welcom- 
 ing him with acclamation. They voted him into some of the 
 churches, which would otherwise have been shut against him ; 
 and prevailed on him to preach early in the morning, as he had 
 done in Scotland. These morning lectures were soon so popu- 
 lar, that it became proverbial in Boston, that, between early 
 rising to hear Whitefield, and the use of tar-watery the physicians 
 would have no practice. During this visit, he made an exten- 
 sive tour in New England, with great success. At the close of 
 it, he says in his journal, " We saw great things. The flock- 
 ing and power that attended the word, was like unto that seven 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 159 
 
 years ago. Weak as I was and have been, I was enabled to 
 travel eleven hundred miles, and to preach daily. I am now 
 going to Georgia to winter." 
 
 This preliminary sketch of American ecclesiastical history, 
 although it anticipates not a few of Whitefield's movements in 
 the western world, will enable the reader to appreciate both 
 their wisdom and necessity, when they are recorded at length, 
 and in their order, from his journals. 
 
 The question, Why did Whitefield go to America in the first 
 instance ? has never been satisfactorily answered. I have re- 
 corded, in his early life, some of his views and feelings on the 
 subject, without attempting to account for them, or to explain 
 them. They are remarkable. He uniformly speaks of his 
 object as " a great work ;" and represents himself as " a strip- 
 ling going forth like David against Goliath." He prays most 
 fervently for " such a deep humility, well-guided zeal, and burn- 
 ing love," as should enable him to defy " men and devils," even 
 if they did " their worst." Now all this is rather too much to 
 be applied exclusively to the claims of an infant colony ; except, 
 indeed, he foresaw what it would become eventually. Foresight 
 of this kind, however, was not natural to him. Whitefield did 
 not " see afar off," into the progress of society, or the bearings 
 of colonization. He opened no long nor current accounts with 
 Time, but only with Eternity. How his doings would tell upon 
 future ages and generations he seems never to have calculated. 
 His immediate object was to win souls, and his final object, to 
 present them before the throne " with exceeding joy." 
 
 Such being the cast of Whitefield's mind, as well as of his 
 spirit, a new and destitute colony could absorb him, as fully as 
 the hope of being another " apostle of the Indians," or another 
 ELIOT, did Wesley. That brilliant hope does not seem to have 
 dazzled Whitefield at all. At least, I have searched in vain for 
 any distinct proof, that the example of Eliot inspired him, or 
 that the sanguine expectations of the Wesleys were shared by 
 him. No where does he express hopes of great success, nor 
 explain his errand (as they did) by a desire to " save his soul." 
 Whatever he anticipated or intended in reference to the Indians 
 on the banks of the Savannah, he said but little ; and that little 
 
160 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 only to an Indian trader in confidence. 182 Let. He may, how- 
 ever, have cherished fond expectations, although he did not 
 utter them as the Wesleys did. Not that he was more prudent 
 than his friends. In general, Whitefield thought aloud. It is 
 possible, however, that his reference to the prophecy, " I will 
 make thee the head of the heathen," may mean more than meets 
 the eye. I am not making a mystery of his silence. It is easily 
 explained by the single fact, that he went out, intending to 
 return to England in the course of the year, to " take priest's 
 orders." He could not, therefore, anticipate much success from 
 so short a visit to America. Besides, his silence is only too 
 easily accounted for, by the oracular summons to return imme- 
 diately, which Wesley addressed to him, as their vessels met 
 and passed in the Channel. What I mean to say, therefore, is, 
 that nothing but the future results of his American enterprise 
 can explain its origin. It was " the burden of the Lord " upon 
 his spirit ; deeply felt, but not fully understood by himself at 
 the time, nor ever perhaps in this world. Only He, who " seeth 
 the end from the beginning," foresaw the bearings of Whitefield's 
 mission to Georgia, upon America. We can now see many of 
 the reasons why ff the Spirit did not suffer " him to remain in 
 England : America needed him, in a sense he did not suppose, and 
 to an extent she herself did not suspect ; and the reasons of his 
 mission are not all unfolded yet. It had much influence upon 
 the recent revivals in that country, when they began ; and is 
 likely to have still more as they proceed. In the mean time, 
 by a curious coincidence, the new revivals in America are as- 
 sailed under the shelter of high-sounding compliments to the 
 old. What Dr. Chauncy denounced as wild extravagance, in 
 the times of Whitefield, Calvin Colton eulogizes as prudent 
 zeal, in his " Reasons for preferring Episcopacy." The truth 
 or the merits of Colton's parting charges against his former 
 connexions, I am unable to appreciate ; but it is pleasing to find, 
 that the episcopal church allows a new champion to compliment 
 old revivals. She ought not, however, to plume herself on the 
 compliments paid to her " ORDERS," at the expense of the Eng- 
 lish independents, by Colton. By what infatuation could he 
 have so forgotten all he saw and heard of us, as to tell Ame- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 161 
 
 rica that we prefer recognition to ordination ? It is the very 
 sacredness in which we hold the latter, that leads to the dis- 
 tinction. 
 
 Whitefield, as we have seen, arrived at Georgia in 1738. 
 " When able to look about him," says Dr. Gillies, " he found 
 every thing bore the aspect of an infant colony ; and, what was 
 more discouraging still, he saw it was likely to continue so, by 
 the nature of its constitution. The people were denied the use 
 of both rum and slaves ! " This Whitefield wrote, and this 
 Gillies recorded, without any comment. Indeed, Whitefield 
 considered the denial of rum and slaves, as more than a misfor- 
 tune to the colony. Hence he adds, (after stating that female 
 heirs were not allowed to inherit lands,) " so that, in reality, to 
 place a people there on such a footing, was little better than to 
 tie their legs and bid them walk. The scheme was well meant 
 at home ; but, as too many years' experience evidently proved, 
 it was absolutely impracticable in so hot a country abroad." 
 
 How differently would Whitefield write, if alive, now ! But 
 then, he was not wiser than his times, on the subject of slavery. 
 Indeed, he soon became a slave owner, when he founded his 
 orphan-house at Georgia. I have seen the inventory, in his 
 own hand-writing, of the dead and live stock belonging to that 
 establishment. In that document, carts, cattle, and slaves are 
 described and valued with equal formality and nonchalance ! 
 
 I might have concealed this fact, now that there are Americans 
 who may employ it in their own justification ; but I have not 
 hid it ; because even they cannot hide from themselves the fact, 
 that Whitefield ought never to have held a slave. It was not 
 like himself it was unworthy of him, to do so ! So it is of every 
 American Christian. " I wot that through ignorance " he did it, 
 as did their and our fathers. He would not do it now. Who does 
 not, instinctively, feel this ? How difficult it is to believe that 
 ever George Whitefield could have written the following words ! 
 tn his memorial to the governor of Georgia, for a grant of lands 
 to found a college, he urges his request by stating, that " a con- 
 siderable sum of money is intended speedily to be laid out in 
 purchasing a large number of negroes." In his memorial to 
 the king, praying for a charter to the intended college, he pledges 
 
WHITEFIELDS LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 himself to " give up his trust, and make a free gift of all lands, 
 negroes, goods, and chattels, which he now stands possessed of 
 in the province of Georgia, for the present founding, and to- 
 wards the future support, of a college, to he called Bethesda." 
 He makes a similar appeal to the archbishop of Canterbury ; 
 informing him that " the number of negroes, young and old, is 
 about thirty ;" and proving to him, that by " laying out only a 
 thousand pounds in purchasing an additional number of negroes," 
 the income of the college would be" easily and speedily aug- 
 mented." In his own printed account of the state of the orphan- 
 house in 1770, he thus classes the negroes ; men 24, women 11, 
 children 15. In the college rules, drawn up by himself, although 
 not unmindful of the coloured branches of his family, he makes 
 a strange distinction : " The young negro boys to be baptized 
 and taught to read. The young negro girls to be taught to 
 work with the needle." " Lord, what is man ! " 
 
 Whitefield did not, however, forget the negroes in his preach- 
 ing. It was not uncommon for him to close his sermons thus : 
 " I must not forget the poor negroes ; no, I must not ! Jesus 
 Christ died for them as well as for others. Nor do I mention 
 you last, because I despise your souls ; but because I would 
 have what I shall say make the deeper impression on your hearts. 
 Oh that you would seek the Lord to be your righteousness ! 
 Who knows but he may be found of you ? For in Christ Jesus 
 there is neither male nor female, bond nor free ; even you ma/ 
 be the children of God, if you believe in Jesus. Did you never 
 read of the eunuch belonging to the queen of Candace ? a negro 
 like yourselves. He believed. The Lord was his righteous- 
 aess. He was baptized. Do you also believe and you shall 
 be saved. Christ Jesus is the same now as he was yesterday, 
 and will wash you in his own blood. Go home, then and 
 turn the words into a prayer, and entreat the Lord to be 
 your righteousness. Even so, come, Lord Jesus, come quick- 
 ly, into all our souls ! Amen, Lord Jesus, Amen and Amen ! " 
 Serm. 14. 
 
 Whitefield embarked for Philadelphia, with a family consist- 
 ing of eight men, one boy, and two children, besides his zealous 
 and munificent friend Mr. Seward ; leaving the bishop of Lon- 
 
163 
 
 don, and whoever else it might concern, to digest as they could 
 the blunt and bold answer to the " Pastoral Letter ; " a Letter 
 which Gibson ought not to have written, and Watts never to 
 have sanctioned : for its moral excellences and just discrimina- 
 tions, however well meant, were mixed up with maxims sub- 
 versive of the gospel of the grace of God. This conviction 
 Whitefield proclaimed before 20,000 people at Blackheath, on 
 the day the letter appeared ; and he wrote in his diary that 
 night, after going on board, the following note : " I felt great 
 freedom in myself, and could not but take notice of a mistake 
 his Lordship of London was guilty of; for he exhorts his 
 clergy, so to explain the doctrine of justification by faith alone, 
 as to make our good works a necessary condition of it. St. Paul 
 pronounces a dreadful anathema against those who join faith 
 and works together, in order to their being justified in the sight 
 of God. I pray God, that all preachers may be freed from so 
 tremendous a sentence ! And let all the people say, Amen and 
 Amen." 
 
 I -mention this fact again, because it gave Whitefield a new 
 point to contend for, which much improved his views of the 
 point he began with ; for at first, he almost put regeneration 
 in the room of justification; as well as preached too little of the 
 truth, by which the Spirit regenerates the soul. 
 
 The delay of the vessel in the river enabled him to answer 
 the bishop before sailing ; and the new question absorbed him 
 in thought and reading, throughout the voyage. Not, how- 
 ever, so as to divert him from the duties of a ship chaplain. 
 These he discharged with the same fidelity as formerly ; but as 
 they did not make so much demand upon his time, he gave him- 
 self " to reading." 
 
 Amongst the books which helped him mightily at this time, 
 were Jonathan Warne's " Church of England Man turned Dis- 
 senter," and " Arminianism the lack-door to Popery " I have 
 not been able to obtain these two ; but as they are chiefly com- 
 posed of extracts from Dr. Edwards' Preacher, their character 
 is no secret ; and it loses nothing of its point in the hands of 
 Warne, if I may judge from his pamphlet entitled, "The 
 dreadful Degeneracy of the Clergy, the means to promote Irre- 
 
164 
 
 ligion, Atheism, and Popery," which he drew from Edwards, 
 and dedicated to Whitefield. 
 
 Warne was thus thejirst dissenter who wrote on Whitefield's 
 behalf. The compliment also was well timed, and well judged ; 
 for it sustained him against the bishop, by the testimony of the 
 fathers and martyrs of the church ; and brought the puritans 
 under his notice. Warne tells Whitefield, to " go on in the 
 name of the Lord;" for the truths submitted him (with 
 which his own preaching is delicately identified) "are to 
 be found sparkling up and down in the labours of our godly 
 reformers and holy martyrs, like so many diamonds of the 
 greatest lustre, and are the bases of all sound religion both in 
 heart and life." 
 
 It was well for Whitefield that he had studied Warne's spe- 
 cimens of the reformers and puritans, before he reached New 
 England : they enabled him to adjust his phraseology in the 
 pulpit to " the form of sound words " in the States ; and pre- 
 pared him to retract and explain expressions in his printed 
 sermons, which the descendants of the puritans were not slow, 
 nor ceremonious, nor wrong, in condemning. 
 
 Another thing which helped to clear and simplify his own 
 views of the gospel, during the voyage, was, the discussion he 
 carried on with a quaker, who preached occasionally in the 
 cabin, and always against the outward Christ. His doctrine of 
 the inward Christ, and his confounding of the inward light with 
 the Spirit, led Whitefield to confess and contend, that " the 
 outward righteousness of Christ imputed to us, is the sole foun- 
 tain and cause of all the inward communications received from 
 the Spirit." 
 
 In other respects his voyage had not much interest. It was, 
 however, so useful to himself, that he said on reviewing the 
 knowledge he had acquired during it, " I would not but have 
 come this voyage for a thousand worlds." One of the fruits of it 
 was his " Letter to the Religious Societies in England and 
 Wales, lately set on foot ;" a pamphlet which had no ordinary 
 influence upon their faith and patience. It is founded upon Heb. 
 x. 23, which he translates thus : " Having been washed in the 
 body with pure water, let us hold fast the mutual and uniform 
 
165 
 
 profession .of the hope, without wavering ; for He is faithful 
 that hath promised." 
 
 The letter bears date Sept. 22 ; and presents a remarkable 
 contrast to his own hopes on that day, as these appear in his 
 diary : not that he himself was in despair ; but he felt, he says, 
 " something of that which Adam felt when he was turned out of 
 Paradise, ate but little, and went mourning all the day long." 
 Accordingly, he does not mention the letter, nor intimate that 
 he had done any thing but " weep bitterly." 
 
 This arose from the overwhelming discoveries he had made 
 of the plagues of his own heart, and of the depths of Satan. 
 It happily reminded him, however, of Luther's experience, 
 " that he never undertook any fresh work, but he was visited 
 either with a fit of sickness, or with some strong temptation." 
 " May I follow him," he says, " as he did Christ." Thus hum- 
 bled, improved, and encouraged to persevere in his work, he 
 arrived at Philadelphia, after a passage of nine weeks ; and after 
 having had, he says, " a legion of devils cast out of his heart by 
 the power of Christ." 
 
 His welcome at Philadelphia was cordial. Both ministers 
 and laymen of all denominations visited him, and invited him 
 to preach. He was especially pleased to find that they pre- 
 ferred sermons when " not delivered within the church walls." 
 It was well they did ; for his fame had reached the city before 
 he arrived, and thus collected crowds which no church could 
 contain. " The court-steps " became his pulpit ; and neither 
 he nor the people wearied, although the cold winds of November 
 blew upon them night after night. 
 
 Old Mr. Tennent, of Neshaminy, (the father of the Ten- 
 nents,) came to visit and hear him ; and thus paved his way to 
 New Brunswick, where he became acquainted with Gilbert, the 
 oldest son " of the good old man," as Whitefield always called 
 him. Gilbert Tennent and George Whitefield were just the 
 men to meet at this time. Both were popular, and both had 
 been persecuted. Accordingly, they understood and appre- 
 ciated each other at once. Tennent readily entered into White- 
 field's views ; and Whitefield, nobly despising all the abomina- 
 ble imputations which the world cast upon Tennent, identified 
 
 V" OTTHE^^ 
 
 wiVEEsirrl 
 
166 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 himself with him in America ; and told England that he was 
 "a son of thunder, whose preaching must either convert or 
 enrage hypocrites." Journals. 
 
 This was no ordinary magnanimity; for/ at the time, Ten- 
 nent's name was loaded with reproach, and the grossest immo- 
 ralities were attributed to him. American Biog. Diet. He out- 
 lived them all, however, and closed a life of signal usefulness by 
 a death of signal peace. 
 
 How much Whitefield was both struck and humbled by his 
 preaching, will be seen from the following record : " Never 
 before heard I such a searching sermon. He went to the bot- 
 tom indeed, and did not daub with untempered mortar. He 
 convinced me more and more, that we can preach the gospel of 
 Christ no further than we have experienced the power of it in 
 our hearts. I found what a babe and novice I was in the things 
 of God." Diary. 
 
 After preaching together in various places, they went to 
 Neshaminy, to visit the good old patriarch ; and to see the 
 log-house, (so like (l the schools of the ancient prophets ! ") where 
 Mr. Tennent had by himself trained for the ministry, Rowland, 
 Campbell, Lawrence, Beatty, Robinson, and Samuel Blair, be- 
 sides his own four sons. Whitefield was delighted with the 
 scene, and predicted the result of the patriarch's enterprise : 
 " The devil will certainly rage against the work, but I am per- 
 suaded it will not come to nought." It did not. It became 
 Princetown College. 
 
 At New York Whitefield was refused the use of both the 
 church and the court-house. The commissary of the bishop, he 
 says, was " full of anger and resentment, and denied me the 
 use of his pulpit before I asked for it. He said, they did not 
 want my assistance. I replied, If they preach the gospel, I wish 
 them good luck : I will preach in the fields ; for all places are 
 alike to me." So they were : for in the afternoon he preached 
 in the fields, and in the evening in Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Pem- 
 berton's meeting-house. (Dr. Pemberton published a funeral 
 sermon on the death of Whitefield. He was then at Boston, 
 having been dismissed from New York by a cabal of ignorance 
 and bigotry.) 
 
167 
 
 Whitefield did not excite much public attention in New : 
 York, at this time, nor, indeed, on any subsequent visit, until 
 1764, when he preached there seven weeks, with great accept- 
 ance and success. Still, even his first labours were not in vain. 
 Pemberton wrote to him at Philadelphia, that " many were 
 deeply affected ; and some who had been loose and profligate, 
 were ashamed, and set upon thorough reformation." The 
 printers also, at both places, applied to him for sermons to pub- 
 lish ; assuring him that hundreds had called for them, and that 
 thousands would purchase them. This request he complied 
 with, and " gave out " (I use his own expression, without know- 
 ing its meaning) " two extempore discourses to be published." 
 
 His own opinions of this tour, of whiqh New York and Phi- 
 ladelphia were the centres, are expressed in stronger language 
 than I can illustrate from my documents, ample as they are. 
 " It is unknown," he says, " what deep impressions have been 
 wrought upon the hearts of hundreds. Many poor sinners 
 have, I trust, been called home, and great numbers are under 
 strong convictions. An opposer told me, I had unhinged many 
 good sort of people. I believe it." 
 
 One proof of the impression he made, was given in the pre- 
 sents he received for his orphan family. " They sent me but- 
 ter, sugar, chocolate, pickles, cheese, and flour, for my orphans ; 
 and, indeed, I could almost say, they would pluck out their own 
 eyes and give me. Oh that what God says of the church of 
 Philadelphia, may now be fulfilled in the city called after her 
 name ' I know thy works.' ' 
 
 This readiness to aid him in his favourite enterprise, de- 
 termined him to go to Georgia by land, that he might col- 
 lect by the way. Several entered heartily into this plan, and 
 purchased a sloop (which he called the Savannah) to send on 
 the family by sea. 
 
 On leaving Philadelphia, with Seward, nearly twenty gentle- 
 men on horseback accompanied him ; and before they reached 
 Chester, two hundred more had come to meet him. On his 
 arrival, the judges sent him word, that they would defer their 
 meeting until his sermon was over ; and the clergyman, finding 
 the church would be too small, (for nearly a thousand people had 
 
168 
 
 come from Philadelphia,) prepared a platform for him, from 
 which he addressed an immense assembly. 
 
 Amongst other places which he visited on this tour, was 
 Whitely Creek, where he became acquainted with William 
 Tennent ; and met with what hardly gratified him less, a 
 Welch family who had heard him at Cardiff and Kingswood, 
 before they emigrated. In vain any one else begged of him to 
 be their guest ; he would go no where but to the Howels. The 
 name accounts for their fascination ; it was associated with 
 Wales, Bristol, and Howel Harris. 
 
 Whitefield became much attached to William Tennent. It 
 was from him he received the well-known reproof against im- 
 patience for heaven. They were dining with Governor Living- 
 ston one day, and Whitefield being much exhausted by severe 
 labour, expressed a hope that he should soon enter into his 
 rest. He appealed also to Tennent, if that was not his com- 
 fort ? Tennent replied, " What do you think I should say, if I 
 were to send my man Tom into the field to plough, and at noon 
 should find him lounging under a tree, complaining of the heat, 
 and begging to be discharged from his hard service ? What 
 should I say? Why, that he was an idle, lazy fellow, and 
 that his business was to do the work I had appointed him." 
 This would have been a powerful rebuke from any one. It was 
 peculiar from William Tennent. In early life he had lain in a 
 trance, which was so like death, that his funeral was prepared, 
 and with difficulty prevented. The physician having heard that 
 the flesh under the arm had quivered, when the body was laid 
 out, insisted upon a delay of three days. At the close of that 
 time, no change had taken place; and, therefore, the family 
 resolved to inter the corpse. But still the physician hesitated. 
 He begged for another hour ; then for half an hour ; then for a 
 quarter of an hour : and just as this last period was expiring, 
 whilst he was moistening the swollen tongue, the eyes opened, 
 and a groan was uttered. He persevered ; and in the course of 
 a few hours, Tennent revived, but with the loss of all his former 
 ideas. His mind was a blank for nearly a year, in reference to 
 all his past life. He had, however, a vivid impression of having 
 been in heaven during his trance ; and, for three years after, 
 
109 
 
 the sounds he seemed to have heard in glory were never out of 
 his ears. Indeed, all through his future life he was a heavenly- 
 minded Christian. This was the man who reproved Whitefield ; 
 and the effect was increased by the fact, that Tennent was a 
 champion for civil and religious liberty, as well as a conscious 
 heir of glory. American Biog. Diet. 
 
 In the course of this tour towards Georgia, Whitefield had 
 to endure considerable privations and peril in riding through 
 the woods. On one occasion, he heard the wolves " howling 
 like a kennel of hounds," near to the road. On another, he 
 had a narrow escape in trying to cross the Potomac in a storm. 
 He had also to swim his horse once, owing to the floods ; for 
 it was now the depth of winter. One night Seward and he lost 
 themselves in the woods of South Carolina, and were much 
 alarmed at seeing groups of negroes dancing around great fires. 
 No real injury, however, was sustained from the journey, not- 
 withstanding all its hardships. 
 
 He arrived at Charleston in good health and high spirits. 
 " Here," says Gillies, " he soon found that, by field preaching, 
 he had lost his old friend the commissary, who once promised 
 to defend him with life and fortune." The commissary had 
 shame enough to keep out of the way, whilst Whitefield staid ; 
 and the curate said, he could not admit him into the pulpit 
 whilst Garden was absent. The people, however, had not for- 
 gotten him. All the town were clamorous for him to preach 
 some where. Accordingly, he accepted invitations to both the 
 French church and the independent chapel. 
 
 The congregations were large and polite ; but presented " an 
 affected finery and gaiety of dress and deportment, which," he 
 says, " I question if the court-end of London could exceed." 
 Before he left, however, there was what he calls " a glorious 
 alteration in the audience." Many wept ; and the light and 
 airy had a visible concern in their faces. Such was their urgency 
 to hear more, that they won him back from the boat, after he 
 had gone to the shore to sail for Georgia, and prevailed on him 
 to preach again. 
 
 Here he formed an intimate friendship with the independent 
 minister, Josiah Smith ; the first native of South Carolina, who 
 
170 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 received a literary degree. Miller's Retrospect. Smith pub- 
 lished a remarkable sermon soon after, entitled, " Tlie Cha- 
 racter and Preaching of Whitefield, impartially represented and 
 supported" Strange as this title is, both Dr. Colman and Mr. 
 Cooper of Boston united in writing a recommendatory preface 
 to it. And no wonder ; it was worthy of their sanction. I do 
 not know of any thing written since, which defines and defends 
 the character of Whitefield better. The text is, Job xxxii. 
 17, "I said, I will answer also my part, I also will show mine 
 opinion." He begins by saying, " My design from this text 
 is, to show my impartial opinion of that son of thunder, who 
 lately graced and warmed this desk ; and would have been an 
 ornament, I think, to the best pulpit in the province." (This was 
 a hit as well as a hint to Commissary Garden.) The plan of the 
 sermon is stated thus : " The scheme I propose is, First, To 
 give my opinion of the doctrines he insisted on, and so well 
 established. Second, To speak something of the manner of his 
 preaching. Third, To offer my sentiments upon his personal 
 character. Lastly, To give you my thoughts, what Providence 
 seems to have in its view, in raising up men of this STAMP in 
 our day ; almost every where spoken against, yet crowded after 
 and justly admired." 
 
 Smith's defence of Whitefield's doctrine is masterly. His 
 account of his manner is the best I have ever met with. " He 
 is certainly a finished preacher. A noble negligence ran through 
 his style. The passion and flame of his expressions will, I trust, 
 be long felt by many. My pen cannot describe his action and 
 gestures, in all their strength and decencies. 
 
 " He appeared to me, in all his discourses, very deeply affected 
 and impressed in his own heart. How did that burn and boil 
 within him, when he spake of the things he had made ' touch- 
 ing the King ! ' How was his tongue like the pen of a ready 
 writer, touched as with a coal from the altar ! With what a flow 
 of words what a ready profusion of language, did he speak to 
 us upon the great concerns of our souls ! In what a flaming light 
 did he set our eternity before us ! How earnestly he pressed 
 Christ upon us ! How did he move our passions with the con- 
 straining love of such a Redeemer ! The awe the silence the 
 
WIIITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TBII 171 
 
 attention which sat upon the face of the great audience, was an 
 argument how he could reign over all their powers. Many 
 thought he spake as never man spake hefore him. So charmed 
 were the people with his manner of address, that they shut up 
 their shops, forgot their secular husiness, and laid aside their 
 schemes for the world ; and the oftener he preached, the 
 keener edge he seemed to put upon their desires to hear him 
 again. 
 
 " How awfully with what thunder and sound did he dis- 
 charge the artillery of heaven upon us ! And yet, how could he 
 soften and melt even a soldier of Ulysses, with the mercy of God ! 
 How close, strong, and pungent were his application to the con- 
 science ; mingling light and heat ; pointing the arrows of the 
 Almighty at the hearts of sinners, while he poured in the balm 
 upon the wounds of the contrite, and made broken bones re- 
 joice. Eternal themes, the tremendous solemnities of our reli- 
 gion, were all alive upon his tongue ! So, methinks, (if you will 
 forgive the figure,) St. Paul would look and speak in a pulpit. 
 In some such manner, I am tempted to conceive of a seraph, were 
 he sent down to preach among us, and to tell us what things he 
 had seen and heard above. 
 
 " How bold and courageous did he look ! He was no flatterer ; 
 would not suffer men to settle on their lees ; did not prophesy 
 smooth things, nor sew pillows. He taught the way of God in 
 truth, and regarded not the person of men. He struck at the 
 politest and most modish of our vices, and at the most fashion- 
 able entertainments, regardless of everyone's presence, but His 
 in whose name he spake with this authority. And I dare war- 
 rant, if none should go to these diversions, until they have an- 
 swered the solemn questions he put to their consciences, our 
 theatre would soon sink and perish. I freely own he has taken 
 my heart ! " 
 
 In a note to this sermon, Smith states that 600 were con- 
 tributed in Charleston to the orphan-house, when Whitefield 
 returned. 
 
 He left Charleston in an open canoe, with five negro rowers, 
 and reached Savannah in safety. " In their way," says Gillies, 
 " they lay, for the first time, in the woods, upon the ground, 
 
172 
 
 near a large fire, which keeps off the wild beasts :" " An em- 
 blem," says Whitefield, " of the divine love and presence keep 
 ing off evils and corruptions from the soul." He found Georgia 
 much deserted and depressed ; but was much pleased with the 
 tract of land, which Habersham had selected as the site of the 
 orphan-house. It was about ten miles distant from Savannah, 
 and included five hundred acres. On the 24th of January, 1740, 
 he took formal " possession of his lot, and called it Bethesda, 
 the House of Mercy." Next week, he laid out the ground-plan 
 of the building ; and employed many workmen, who would other- 
 wise have left the colony. In the mean time, he hired a large 
 house, and took in twenty-four orphans. Thus he incurred at 
 once the heavy responsibility of a large family and a larger in- 
 stitution ; " encouraged," he says, " by the example of Professor 
 Franck." Many years after, on reverting to this undertaking, 
 he said, " I forgot to recollect, that Professor Franck built in 
 Glaucha, in a populous country, and that I was building at the 
 very tail of the world, where I could expect the least supply, 
 and which the badness of the constitution (of the colony) which 
 I expected every day to be altered, rendered it by far the most 
 expensive part of all his Majesty's dominions. But had I re- 
 ceived more and ventured less, I should have suffered less, and 
 others more." It was well for the colony, however, and better 
 for the world, that he did <f forget to recollect " all this. By 
 committing himself upon Bethesda, he was compelled^ like Paul 
 when he espoused the cause of the poor saints in Jerusalem, to 
 visit the churches every where. 
 
 Having laid the foundation of the orphan-house, he left Sa- 
 vannah, to provide as he could for forty orphans, and about 
 sixty servants and workmen ; for such was the number depend- 
 ent on him. He, however, had no fears nor misgivings of heart. 
 " Near a hundred mouths," he writes at the time, f( are daily to 
 be supplied with food ; the expense is great ; but our great and 
 good God will, I am persuaded, enable me to defray it. As yet, I 
 am kept from the least doubting. The more my family increases, 
 the more enlargement and comfort I feel. Set thy almighty 
 fiat to it, O gracious Father, and for thine own name's sake 
 convince us more and more, that thou never wilt forsake those 
 
173 
 
 who put their trust in thee." On reviewing this passage fifteen 
 years after, he wrote, " Hitherto, blessed be God, I have not 
 been disappointed of my hope." Rev. Journ. 
 
 Philadelphia was the first place where he pleaded the cause 
 of the orphan-house, after having commenced the work i and he 
 succeeded, although not in the churches. The commissary told 
 him, that he would lend the church no more to him. " Tlie 
 fields are open" was his laconic answer ; and eight thousand 
 people replied to his call that night, and ten thousand next day. 
 On the sabbath morning he collected 110 for his " poor or- 
 phans;" and then went to church, where the commissary 
 preached a sermon on justification by works. Whitefield had 
 been recognised at church ; and, accordingly, was expected to 
 answer the sermon in the evening. He did ; and collected 80 
 more for Bethesda. 
 
 Money was, however, the least part of his success. Many 
 souls were both awakened and won. Negroes came to him, 
 asking, " Have I a soul ? " Societies for prayer and mutual edi- 
 fication were set up in various parts of the city. Scoffers were 
 silent, or only muttered their curses over the punch-bowl in ta- 
 verns, " because," says he, " I did not preach up more morality ! " 
 Seward relates an anecdote in his journal, at this time, which 
 deserves to be extracted. " A drinking club, whereof a clergy- 
 man was a member, had a negro boy attending them, who used 
 to mimic people for their diversion. The gentlemen had him 
 mimic our brother Whitefield ; which he was very unwilling to 
 do (Whitefield had just published an appeal on behalf of the 
 negroes) ; but they insisting upon it, he stood up and said, f I 
 speak the truth in Christ, I lie not ; unless you repent, you will 
 all be damned.' This unexpected speech broke up the club, 
 which has never met since." SewarcTs Journal. 
 
 At this time Whitefield and Seward became acquainted with 
 Anthony Benezett, the philanthropist. He was a quaker : but 
 he confessed to them with tears, that the society, in general, 
 were in a state of carnal security. This led Whitefield to " be 
 very plain and powerful " in exposing their errors. The conse- 
 quence was, that many of them forsook him. Benezett evi- 
 dently caught something of Whitefield's spirit, if I may judge 
 
WHITEFIELD S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 from his subsequent history. It was at this amiable philan- 
 thropist's funeral, when hundreds of weeping negroes stood 
 round, that an American officer said, " I would rather be An- 
 thony Benezett in that coffin, than George Washington with all 
 his fame." Amer. Biog. 
 
 The simplicity of Seward, at this time, is amusing. He was 
 not only Whitefield's Boswell, but also his trumpeter. And he 
 makes no secret of his being the writer of the paragraphs 
 and advertisements which then appeared in the newspapers. 
 One of them, which he sent from Philadelphia to the New York 
 paper, is worth quoting, for the facts it contains. " We hear 
 from Philadelphia, that since Mr. Whitefield's preaching there, 
 the dancing school and concert room have been shut up, as 
 inconsistent with the doctrines of the gospel ; at which some 
 gentlemen were so enraged, that they broke open the door. It 
 is most extraordinary that such devilish diversions should be 
 supported in that city, and by some of that very sect, whose first 
 principles are an utter detestation of them ; as appears from 
 William Penn's ' No Cross, no Crown ;' in which he says, 
 { Every step in a dance is a step to hell.' r 
 
 It was Seward himself who had taken away the keys of the 
 assembly rooms, that all the people might come to hear White - 
 field. He obtained the keys from the keeper, on promising to 
 meet all consequences. Accordingly, he was threatened with 
 a caning, and got well abused; which quite delighted him. It 
 ought, however, to be known, that Seward was hurried away 
 into rash zeal on this occasion, by finding a son of PENN one of 
 the proprietors of the assembly house. This would have pro- 
 voked even an English quaker, as well as a methodist. Journal, 
 p. 6. He had, however, to provide for the dancing master's 
 family. He did also a better thing at this time : " Agreed 
 with Mr. Allen for five thousand acres of land, on the forks of 
 the Delaware ; the conveyance to be made to Mr. Whitefield, 
 and after that assigned to me as security for my money, 2200." 
 This purchase was chiefly made for the benevolent design of a 
 negro school, similar to the orphan-house. Seward, however, 
 did not live to carry his design into effect. He died before 
 Whitefield returned to England. 
 
WIIITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 175 
 
 After visiting various places, and producing every where a 
 great impression, Whitefield arrived at New York, where he 
 was met by William Tennent. He had, however, overtaxed 
 his strength by labour, and lost his appetite. He did not, there- 
 fore, create a great sensation there at this time ; at least, not 
 equal to that in other places. His audiences, however, were 
 never under seven or eight thousand persons, and he obtained 
 300 for Bethesda. 
 
 It is very affecting to read his diary at this time : he was so 
 unwilling to give way to his sufferings, and so unable to do jus- 
 tice to his burning zeal. He made a desperate effort at Long 
 Island to reach his usual pitch ; but almost sunk under it, as 
 he turned to the ministers, exclaiming, " Oh that we were all 
 ajiame of fire I " 
 
 On his way to Philadelphia again, he revived; having had 
 the assistance and society of the Tennents, and some refreshing 
 sleep, which, he says, " my body much wanted." This rally 
 was opportune ; for the whole city was moved at his coming. 
 He, too, was moved with indignation, on hearing that antino- 
 nuanism had been charged against the tendency of his doctrine. 
 Accordingly, he " cleared himself from the aspersion with great 
 spirit," in his first sermon. " I abhor the thoughts of it," he 
 said ; " and whosoever entertains the doctrines of free grace in 
 an honest heart, will find them cause him to be fruitful in every 
 good word and work." In this loathing abhorrence of antino- 
 mianism, Rowland Hill always appeared to me to inherit the 
 mantle and spirit of Whitefield, and to remember that he inhe- 
 rited them. His well-known sarcasm, " It is a nasty religion," 
 did more execution upon that monster of the mire, than any 
 weapon I have seen wielded. The look and the tone, in which 
 this was uttered, justified as they were by his own holy charac- 
 ter, were irresistible. The hit struck as wit, and stuck as wis- 
 dom. Whitefield having repelled the charge of antinomianism 
 in Philadelphia, had next to justify his zeal. That was attacked 
 on the following sabbath in church, whilst he himself was pre- 
 sent. The clergyman took for his text, " I bear them record, 
 they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge." It 
 was an unfortunate selection for the accuser ; and Whitefield 
 
176 
 
 turned the context upon him with tremendous point and power, 
 in the evening, before an audience of twenty thousand. " I 
 could have wished he had considered the next words ' for they 
 being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to estab- 
 lish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to 
 the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for 
 righteousness to every one that believeth,' " Rom. x. 3, 4. That 
 night fifty negroes, besides many other converts, came to tell 
 him " what God had done for their souls." 
 
 Next day he set out for Derby, and found, when he came to 
 the ferry, that " people had been crossing over, as fast as two 
 boats could carry them, ever since three o'clock in the morning." 
 Many of them followed him to Chester and Wellington also, and 
 almost wore him out by their claims upon his time and strength. 
 They were not, however, inconsiderate of his object : they gave 
 him much, and promised him more, for his orphans. 
 
 Whilst in " Chester county," a new feature was added to the 
 effects of his ministry. It had often been accompanied by the 
 deep silence of awe, and the silent tears of penitence, both in 
 England and America: but it never produced paroxysms of 
 crying or conviction. Something of this kind certainly hap- 
 pened at Bristol ; for Wesley appeals with triumph to " outward 
 signs," similar to those produced there by himself, although 
 Whitefield says nothing about them in his journals ; " which," 
 says Southey, (e assuredly he would have done, had he been con- 
 vinced, with Wesley, that these fits were the immediate work of 
 God." The only thing of the kind, however, which Whitefield 
 mentions before the scenes at Nottingham and Fog's Manor, 
 occurred at Philadelphia, whilst he was " settling " one of his 
 societies, but not preaching. It was a female society, composed 
 of many who had just been awakened by his preaching. When, 
 therefore, he met them, and proceeded to organize and exhort 
 them, their unexpected number and new position overcame them. 
 " Their cries might be heard at a great distance." Still this 
 was all. And it took only a devotional form : for he adds, 
 " When I had done prayer, I thought proper to leave them at 
 their devotions." But this was far exceeded at Nottingham. 
 " I had not spoke long, when I perceived numbers melting. As 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 177 
 
 I proceeded, the influence increased, till at last, both in the 
 morning and afternoon, thousands cried out so that they almost 
 drowned my voice. Oh what strong cryings and tears were shed 
 and poured forth after the dear Lord Jesus ! Some fainted ; and, 
 when they got a little strength, would hear and faint again. 
 Others cried out in a manner almost as if they were in the sharp- 
 est agonies of death. And after I had finished my last dis- 
 course, I myself was so overpowered with a sense of God's love 
 that it almost took away my life." 
 
 Next day, even this commotion was exceeded at Fog's Manor. 
 " Look where I would, most were drowned in tears. The word 
 was sharper than a two-edged sword. Their hitter cries and 
 tears were enough to pierce the hardest heart. Oh what dif- 
 ferent visages were then to be seen ! Some were struck pale as 
 death, others lying on the ground, others wringing their hands, 
 others sinking into the arms of their friends, and most lifting 
 up their eyes to heaven, and crying out to God for mercy. I 
 could think of nothing, when I looked at them, so much as the 
 great day ! They seemed like persons awakened by the last 
 trump, and coming out of their graves to judgment ! " 
 
 Remarkable as all this is, it admits of some explanation, al- 
 though Gillies passed it over. Now, in both instances, White- 
 field, accompanied by Tennent and Blair, rode away from the 
 scene, to the distance of twenty miles, immediately after these 
 sermons and sensations : a self-evident proof, that they appre- 
 hended no danger from the paroxysms. They rode, too, " sing- 
 ing psalms and hymns by the way." Now they were not men 
 who would have abandoned the conscience-struck, nor sung as 
 they left them, had there been any symptoms of bodily or men- 
 tal disease, at all ominous. Both W. Tennent and Blair were 
 emphatically "nursing fathers," and Whitefield's heart was made 
 of tenderness. It is thus evident, that he did not consider the 
 people to be unnaturally nor unduly excited. 
 
 Besides, they were not altogether unprepared for the appeals 
 of Whitefield. Blair, who was the minister at Fog's Manor, 
 was himself a powerful preacher, and had been creating a strong 
 impression throughout the county, for some time. The Ten- 
 nents also had co-operated in preparing the way of the Lord. 
 
 2 A 
 
178 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Whitefield went to their field of labour, because " a good work 
 had begun " in it by their labours. He had, therefore, " good 
 ground " to sow in : and he felt this, when he saw twelve 
 thousand people assembled " in a desert place," where he did 
 not expect so many hundreds. " I was surprised," he says, 
 " to see such a great multitude gathered together, at so short 
 warning." And they themselves must have been surprised 
 at their own numbers. These facts lessen the mystery of the 
 commotion, without diminishing its real interest. It was, as 
 at Pentecost, men who had come from all quarters " to wor- 
 ship" that were cut to the heart; and many of whom had 
 " smote on their breasts," before they heard the Peter of 
 England's Pentecost. 
 
 Whilst Whitefield was thus moving about from place to place, 
 he wrote the following letters, in order to obtain a wife ; and it 
 will not be wondered at now, that they defeated their own wise 
 purpose by their unwise form. 
 
 TO MR. AND MRS. D. 
 
 " On board the Savannah, bound to Philadelphia 
 
 from Georgia, April 4th, 1740. 
 " My dear Friends, 
 
 I find by experience, that a mistress is absolutely necessary 
 for the due management of my increasing family, and to take 
 off some of that care which at present lies upon me. Besides, 
 I shall in all probability, at my next return from England, 
 bring more women with me ; and I find, unless they are all 
 truly gracious, (or indeed if they are,) without a superior, mat- 
 ters cannot be carried on as becometh the gospel of Jesus 
 Christ. It hath been therefore much impressed upon my heart, 
 that I should marry, in order to have a help meet for me in the 
 work whereunto our dear Lord Jesus hath called me. This 
 comes (like Abrahams servant to Rebekah's relations) to know 
 whether you think your daughter, Miss E , is a proper per- 
 son to engage in such an undertaking ? If so ; whether you 
 will be pleased to give me leave to propose marriage unto her ? 
 You need not be afraid of sending me a refusal. For, I bless 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 171) 
 
 God, if I know any thing of my own heart, I am free from that 
 foolish passion which the world calls love. I write only because 
 I believe it is the will of God that I should alter my state ; but 
 your denial will fully convince me that your daughter is not 
 the person appointed by God for me. He knows my heart ; I 
 would not marry but for him, and in him, for ten thousand 
 
 worlds. But I have sometimes thought Miss E would be 
 
 my help-mate ; for she has often been impressed on my heart. 
 I should think myself safer in your family, because so many of 
 you love the Lord Jesus, and consequently would be more 
 watchful over my precious and immortal soul. After strong 
 crying and tears at the throne of grace for direction, and after 
 unspeakable troubles with my own heart, I write this. Be 
 pleased to spread the letter before the Lord ; and if you think 
 this motion to be of him, be pleased to deliver the enclosed to 
 your daughter ; if not, say nothing, only let me know you dis- 
 approve of it, and that shall satisfy, dear Sir and Madam, 
 Your obliged friend and servant in Christ, 
 
 G. W." 
 
 TO MISS E- 
 
 " On board the Savannah, April 4th, 1740. 
 
 " Be not surprised at the contents of this : the letter sent 
 to your honoured father and mother will acquaint you with the 
 reasons. Do you think you could undergo the fatigues that 
 must necessarily attend being joined to one, who is every day 
 liable to be called out to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ ? 
 Can you bear to leave your father and kindred's house, and to 
 trust on him (who feedeth the young ravens that call upon him) a 
 for your own and children's support, supposing it should please 
 him to bless you with any ? Can you bear the inclemencies of 
 the air, both as to cold and heat, in a foreign climate ? Can 
 you, when you have a husband, be as though you had none, and 
 willingly part with him, even for a long season, when his Lord 
 and Master shall call him forth to preach the gospel, and com- 
 mand him to leave you behind ? If after seeking to God for 
 direction, and searching your heart, you can say, 1 1 can do all 
 
180 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 those things through Christ strengthening me/ what if you 
 and I were joined together in the Lord, and you came with me 
 at my return from England, to be a help meet for me in the 
 management of the orphan-house ? I have great reason to be- 
 lieve it is the divine will that I should alter my condition, and 
 have often thought you were the person appointed for me. I 
 shall still wait on God for direction, and heartily entreat him, 
 that if this motion be not of him, it may come to nought. I 
 write thus plainly, because I trust I write not from any other 
 principles but the love of God. I shall make it my business to 
 call on the Lord Jesus, and would advise you to consult both 
 him and your friends for in order to attain a blessing, we 
 should call both the Lord Jesus and his disciples to the mar- 
 riage. I much like the manner of Isaac's marrying with Re- 
 bekah ; and think no marriage can succeed well, unless both 
 parties concerned are like-minded with Tobias and his wife. I 
 think I can call the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to wit- 
 ness, that I desire ' to take you my sister to wife, not for lust, 
 but uprightly ;' and therefore I hope he will mercifully ordain, 
 if it be his blessed will we should be joined together, that we 
 may walk as ZacJtary and Elisabeth did, in all the ordinances 
 of the Lord blameless. I make no great profession to you, be- 
 cause I believe you think me sincere. The passionate ex- 
 pressions which carnal courtiers use, I think ought to be avoid- 
 ed by those who marry in the Lord. I can only promise by the 
 help of God, c to keep my matrimonial vow, and to do what I 
 can towards helping you forward in the great work of your sal- 
 vation.' If you think marriage will be any way prejudicial to 
 your better part, be so kind as to send me a denial. I would 
 not be a snare to you for the world. You need not be afraid of 
 speaking your mind, I trust I love you only for God, and desire 
 to be joined to you only by his command and for his sake. 
 With fear and much trembling I write, and shall patiently tarry 
 the Lord's leisure, till he is pleased to incline you, dear Miss 
 
 E , to send an answer to, 
 
 Your affectionate brother, friend, 
 
 and servant in Christ, 
 
 G. W." 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 181 
 
 Whitefield returned to Savannah, with collections for Bethes- 
 da, to the amount of 500, in money and goods. On his way 
 he preached at Lewis Town, to what he calls " as unaffected a 
 congregation " as he had seen in America. Next day, however, 
 he compelled the politest of them to weep, whilst he pictured 
 the trial of Abraham's faith ; a favourite and efficient sermon 
 with him : but he adds, (what other ministers have found only 
 too true,) " Alas, when I came to turn from the creature to the 
 Creator, and to talk of God's love in sacrificing his only begot- 
 ten Son, their tears, I observed, dried up. I told them of it ; 
 and could not but hence infer the dreadful depravity of human 
 nature, that we can weep at the sufferings of a martyr, a mere 
 man like ourselves ; but when are we affected at the relation of 
 the sufferings of the Son of God ? " 
 
 His reception at Savannah, on this occasion, deserves parti- 
 cular attention. It engraved the orphan-house upon his heart, 
 as with the pen of a diamond ; and was for ever vividly present 
 to him, wherever he went afterwards. ee And no wonder ! " it 
 will be said, after reading his own account of this welcome. 
 " Oh what a sweet meeting I had with my dear friends ! What 
 God has prepared for me I know not : but surely I cannot 
 well expect a greater happiness, till I embrace the saints in 
 glory ! When I parted, my heart was ready to break with sor- 
 row ; but now it almost burst with joy. Oh how did each, in 
 turn, hang upon my neck, kiss and weep over me with tears of 
 joy ! And my own soul was so full of a sense of God's love, 
 when I embraced one friend in particular, that I thought I 
 should have expired in the place. I felt my soul so full of a 
 sense of the divine goodness, that I wanted words to express 
 myself. Why me, Lord why me ? 
 
 " When we came to public worship, young and old were all 
 dissolved in tears. After service, several of my parishioners, 
 all my family, and the little children, returned home, crying 
 along the street, and some could not avoid praying very loud. 
 
 " Being very weak in body, I laid myself upon a bed ; but 
 finding so many in weeping condition, I rose and betook my- 
 self to prayer again. But had I not lifted up my voice very 
 high the groans and cries of the children would have prevented 
 
182 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 my being heard. This continued for near an hour ; till at last, 
 finding their concern rather increase than abate, I desired all to 
 retire. Then some or other might be heard praying earnestly, 
 in every corner of the house. 
 
 " It happened at this time to thunder and lighten, which 
 added very much to the solemnity of the night. Next day the 
 concern still continued, especially among the girls. I mention 
 the orphans in particular, that their benefactors may rejoice in 
 what God is doing for their souls." 
 
 This was just the scene to inspire and determine Whiten eld 
 to live or die for the orphan-house. Accordingly, the memory 
 of it followed him like his shadow, wherever he went. 
 
 His family had now increased to a hundred and fifty persons. 
 He therefore visited Charleston again, to plead their cause 
 anew. But by this time Commissary Garden was ready to 
 stake his " fortune and life " against him. He began by abus- 
 ing Whitefield and the methodists, in their presence, by a ser- 
 mon " as virulent, unorthodox, and inconsistent as ever was de- 
 livered ; " and ended by refusing him the sacrament. 
 
 This insult had its natural effect. It so disgusted several of 
 Whitefield's friends, that they would not receive the sacrament 
 from Garden. This led to sacraments in a private house ; and 
 there, " Baptists, church folks, and presbyterians, all joined to- 
 gether, and received according to the church of England ; ex- 
 cepting two, who desired to have it sitting." Garden then 
 cited Whitefield to appear in an ecclesiastical court, for not 
 reading the Common Prayer in the presbyterian meeting-house, 
 at Charleston. He accordingly did appear, and appealed ac- 
 cording to law, to his Majesty's commissioners for reviewing 
 appeals. He wrote also to the bishop of London, inquiring 
 " Whether the commissary of South Carolina had power to 
 exercise any judicial authority over him or any other clergyman, 
 not belonging to the province." Garden had, in fact, suspend- 
 ed him from the ministry. He had, therefore, no alternative 
 but to submit, or to lay his case before the high court of chan- 
 cery ; which he did. Strange to say, this suspension, and his 
 appeal against it, were afterwards pleaded against him in the 
 synod of Glasgow, when they met st anent employing Mr. 
 
183 
 
 Whitefield" in the pulpits of the church of Scotland. One 
 member of the synod, however, (probably Dr. Erskine,) asked 
 indignantly, " For what was Whitefield suspended ? Why, for 
 no other crime than omit ting to use a form of prayer prescribed 
 in the communion-book, when officiating in a presbyter ian con- 
 gregation ! And shall a meeting of presbyterian ministers pay 
 any regard to a sentence which had such a foundation ? " 
 
 Notwithstanding this suspension, he continued preaching, 
 wherever he could, in the province, until the excessive heat of 
 the season compelled him to sail for New England. He em- 
 barked for Rhode Island, intending to go by land to Boston ; 
 and such was the spring of his constitution, that the short voy- 
 age completely restored him, although he had often been all but 
 dead before he left. 
 
 On his arrival at Newport, he met with a new friend, Mr. 
 Clap, whom he describes thus : " An aged dissenting minister ; 
 but the most venerable man I ever saw in my life. He looked 
 like a good old puritan, and gave me an idea of what stamp those 
 men were, who first settled in New England. His countenance 
 was very heavenly ! He rejoiced much to see me, and prayed 
 most affectionately for a blessing on my coming to Rhode 
 Island. Whilst at his table, I could not but think that I was 
 sitting with one of the patriarchs." Whitefield has not over- 
 rated nor over-coloured the patriarch of Rhode Island. Clap 
 " had some singularities ; but his zeal to promote the know- 
 ledge of Christ and the interests of the gospel, cast a lustre 
 over all his character." American Biog. Children, servants, 
 and slaves, were objects of his special care ; and, being a 
 bachelor, he gave away all his income to the poor and the 
 perishing. I mention this, to distinguish him (in this coun- 
 try) from Clap, the president of Yale College, who opposed 
 Whitefield. 
 
 After preaching with great success on Rhode Island, he rode 
 on to Boston, and was met by the governor's son, and other 
 gentlemen, four miles (not ten, as Gillies says) from the city. 
 At this time, Jonathan Belcher was governor of Massachusetts ; 
 a man equally distinguished for piety and polish. He owed his 
 honours to the favourable impression made by his high charac- 
 
184 
 
 ter and address, upon the Princess Sophia and her son, (after- 
 wards George II.) when in England ; and he regained them, 
 when they were lost through calumny, by vindicating himself 
 before the throne, where they had been conferred. Princetown 
 College owes much to Belcher ; and he was much indebted to 
 Whitefield for the impulse, which made him its " chief patron 
 and benefactor." His splendid hospitalities and style were in 
 their palmy state, when Whitefield first visited Boston. Wil- 
 lard, also, the secretary of Massachusetts, was a man of high and 
 holy character. He was the son of Vice-President Willard, of 
 Harvard College ; the author of the first theological folio print- 
 ed in America, and one of the chief opponents of trial for witch- 
 craft. The son inherited the father's spirit. 
 
 Such were the statesmen who welcomed Whitefield to Bos- 
 ton. Some of the ministers also were not less eminent. Dr. 
 Colman, his first friend, had been, when in England, the friend 
 of Howe, Calamy, Burkitt, and Mrs. Rowe, then Miss Singer. 
 Indeed, he had a caste of Howe in his demeanour and spirit. 
 Cooper, also, his colleague, was a man who wanted only the 
 visit of Whitefield, in order to be a Whitefield ; which, as a 
 revivalist, he soon became. Webb, too, was no ordinary man. 
 Dr. Eliot, who was his colleague for eight years, said of him, 
 that " he was one of the best of Christians, and one of the best 
 of ministers." Foxcroft, also, deserves a high place in the reli- 
 gious annals of Boston, and in the list of Whitefield's American 
 friends ; Dr. Chauncy, his colleague, being witness. He pub- 
 lished " An Apology for Whitefield," in 1745, as well as a ser- 
 mon on his " Labours," in 1740. Dr. Chauncy says of Fox- 
 croft, " His writings bear testimony to his unfeigned piety, and 
 evince clearness of conception, copiousness of invention, liveli- 
 ness of imagination, and soundness of judgment." Funeral 
 Sermon. 
 
 Prince, the annalist, was another of the Boston stars, which 
 " fought in their courses," for Whitefield and revivals : a some- 
 what eccentric star, indeed, when judged of by the plan of his 
 " Chronological History of New England," which begins at the 
 creation of the world, and ends with the arrival of Governor 
 Belcher ! Still, he was evidently a man of great research and 
 
WHITKFlKF.n's LIVE A.ND TIMES. 18.5 
 
 erudition, as well as of ardent piety. Dr. Chauncy (no mean 
 judge in the matter) regarded him as next to Cotton Mather 
 in learning. By the way, what became of the MSS. and books 
 which Prince left to the old south church, as " The New Eng- 
 land Library ? " The collection was great and valuable. Can 
 it be true, that the MSS. were destroyed by the British, 
 except by accident ? I ask this question, because I find " No," 
 in pencil-mark, on the margin of my copy of Amer. Biog, 
 
 Gee, also, deserves honourable mention amongst the friends 
 of Whitefield. He had been, in early life, the colleague of Dr. 
 Cotton Mather. After the Doctor's death, his son Samuel be- 
 came the colleague of Gee, and continued so until they differed 
 on the subject of revivals ; of which Gee was both a wise and 
 warm advocate. He seems to have had, with some of Cole- 
 ridge's genius, all his indolence and love of talking. The judi- 
 cious and cautious Dr. Sewall, also, was one of the first to wel- 
 come Whitefield to his pulpit and his confidence. 
 
 Thus Whitefield fell into the best hands at Boston. Nothing 
 gratified him more, however, than his interviews with old Mr. 
 Walter, the colleague and successor of the apostolic Eliot, at 
 Roxbury. The pastorship of that church had been confined to 
 these two patriarchs a hundred and six year.s at this time. 
 Whitefield says of Walter, " he was a good old puritan." He 
 returned Whitefield the compliment on hearing him preach at 
 the governor's table ; saying of the sermon, " It was puritanism 
 revived." Dr. Colman said of this interview, that " it was the 
 happiest day he ever saw in his life." One remark of Walter's 
 pleased Whitefield very much : " I am glad to hear," said the 
 old apostle, " that you call man half devil half beast." 
 
 Neither the governor nor the doctors of Boston, however, 
 could get Whitefield into the church. The commissary treated 
 him politely, and introduced him to his clergy, but would not 
 admit him into the pulpit; he therefore preached in all the 
 large chapels, and when they became too small for the audiences, 
 he betook himself to the Common, and there renewed the scenes 
 of Moorfields and Blackheath. 
 
 A melancholy catastrophe arose from fright, at one of the 
 chapels. The place was crowded to excess, but there had been 
 
186 
 
 nothing to create alarm : " yet, on a sudden, all the people were 
 in an uproar ; and so unaccountably surprised, that some threw 
 themselves out of the windows ; others out of the galleries ; 
 others trampled on one another : so that Jive were actually killed, 
 and many dangerously wounded." This awful uproar was at its 
 height when Whitefield reached the chapel : and although he 
 saw some the victims of it, he had presence of mind enough to 
 call off the people to hear him on the Common. This restored 
 confidence. Thousands followed him to the fields, and listened 
 with deep attention, whilst he improved this " humhling pro- 
 vidence." It did humble him. I have no doubt of its being 
 the chief consideration, which made him write in his journal, 
 on leaving Boston, " I had such a sense of my own vileness upon 
 my soul, that I wondered people did not stone me." Not that 
 he could blame himself at all for the catastrophe : but it made 
 him feel his own nothingness before God, and thus before man 
 also. Accordingly, in a letter to Howel Harris, at this time, 
 he predicted with great accuracy the reverses of his own popu- 
 larity in London : " My coming to England will try my fidelity 
 to my Master. Those that before, I suppose, would have plucked 
 out their eyes for me, now, I suspect, will be very shy, and avoid 
 me." This had no reference to the calamity at Boston ; but 
 that had opened his eyes to the precariousness of popularity. 
 He saw how any token of judgment, in connexion with his mi- 
 nistry, might be turned into an objection against his doctrines, 
 now that he had assailed Wesley. 
 
 The calamity did not affect his popularity at Boston. On the 
 day after, he preached twice in Mr. Gee's chapel, to immense 
 audiences. He then visited Cambridge College, and preached 
 before the professors and students, and a great number of the 
 neighbouring ministers. What was " the close application " he 
 made of the sermon to " the tutors and students," may be easily 
 judged from the horror he felt at an unconverted ministry. It 
 was, however, too unqualified, bad as the spiritual state of Cam- 
 bridge was at the time. Accordingly, he afterwards begged 
 pardon for his rashness in taking things upon " hearsay." But, 
 whilst some took offence, his Boston friends, including the 
 governor, seem to have taken the warning well. They all met 
 
is? 
 
 him next day at the governor's table. Before dinner, his Ex- 
 cellency thanked him privately with tears, and, after dinner, sent 
 him in the state-carriage through the city to the place where he 
 had to preach. On the following sabbath he collected, in two 
 of the chapels, upwards of 1000 currency for his orphan-house. 
 
 In the excursions he made through Massachusetts, White- 
 field met, at Ipswich, with a venerable descendant of Rogers of 
 Dedham, who himself was a descendant of Rogers the martyr. 
 The hallowed associations which enshrined this hoary head 
 were not lost upon him. " Happy lot !" he exclaimed, as he 
 looked back to the old man's ancestors, and around upon his 
 promising sons. Whitefield inherited the spirit of the Rogers's ; 
 but he felt that he had not their mantle. 
 
 On his return to Boston, the public interest was higher than 
 ever. A report that he had been poisoned, filled the city. 
 Twenty thousand people, therefore, attended his first sermon. 
 And both in the fields and in the chapels, all seemed melted, 
 and many acknowledged themselves won, by the gospel. One of 
 his most effectual sermons at Webb's chapel, was occasioned by 
 the touching remark of a dying boy, who had heard him the day 
 before. The boy was taken ill after the sermon, and said, " I 
 want to go to Mr. Whitefield's God;" and expired. This 
 touched " the secret place " of both the thunder and the tears of 
 Whitefield. " It encouraged me to speak to little ones : but 
 oh, how were the old people affected, when I said, ' Little chil- 
 dren, if your parents will not come to Christ, do you come, and 
 go to heaven without them.' 5: After this awful appeal, no 
 wonder that " there were but few dry eyes." Only a White- 
 field, however, could have drawn tears by it. In the generality 
 of lips, it w r ould harden, not soften, worldly parents ; and only 
 shock affectionate children. 
 
 In this state of mind W 7 hitefield set out to visit Jonathan 
 Edwards, at Northampton. He was not allowed to quit Boston 
 privately. The governor took him in the state-carriage to the 
 ferry ; and, as he entered the boat, embraced him, and bade him 
 farewell, with many tears. Belcher could not be satisfied with 
 even this courtesy. He crossed the country, and met him again 
 at Marlborough, Worcester, and Leicester. On parting finally, 
 
188 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 his Excellency said to him in private, " Mr. Whitefield, go on 
 in stirring up the ministers ; for reformation must begin at the 
 house of God. And do not spare rulers, no not the chief of 
 them, any more than ministers." 
 
 I have often thought, whilst reviewing the sweeping and 
 severe invectives, which Whitefield so bitterly repented, that no 
 small part of the blame lay at the governor's door. A charge 
 like this, uttered with tears and entreaties, was enough to mis- 
 lead a cooler man than George Whitefield. I must, therefore, 
 say of it, what he said of his own conduct, " It was well meant, 
 but it did hurt." To his credit for impartiality, however, he 
 did not spare the governor himself; but, before leaving INew 
 England, wrote to him thus faithfully : " I thought your Excel- 
 lency wanted a more clear view of your own vileness, and of the 
 all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ. I mean a more experimental 
 view : for what is all head-knowledge without that of the heart ? 
 It only settles people more upon their lees. May God give you 
 to see and to follow the simplicity of the blessed Jesus ! Ho- 
 noured Sir, I make no apology for this freedom ; your Excel- 
 lency bade me not spare rulers no not the chief of them." 
 Whitefield has often been charged with flattering himself upon 
 the attentions paid to him by the great : this is one instance in 
 which he did not flatter the great in return. 
 
 On his arrival at Northampton, that cradle of revivals, he 
 was at home at once with Jonathan Edwards. Their meeting, 
 as Gillies says, " was like putting fire to tinder." So it was, in 
 the best sense. Edwards's family and flock soon glowed with 
 the warmth of their first love, and melted to their first penitence. 
 But whilst these two eminent ministers esteemed, and even 
 loved each other, as servants of God, Edwards did not think 
 that Whitefield regarded him as a confidential friend exactly. 
 The fact is, Edwards had cautioned him upon the subject of 
 impulses, and guarded him against the practice of judging others 
 to be unconverted. This was touching sore places, at the time. 
 Whitefield seems to have winced a little, with impatience, under 
 the metaphysical probe of Edwards ; but to have conceded no- 
 thing then. They parted, however, with mutual love; and 
 whatever difference existed between their theories of impulses, 
 
189 
 
 both soon rejoiced equally in " a glorious progress of the work 
 of God," at Northampton, that year. Sereno Dwiyhfs Life of 
 Edwards. 
 
 On the way from Northampton to Windsor, Whitefield had a 
 narrow escape : his horse shrunk back at a broken bridge ; and 
 when urged forward, threw him over it. He fell upon his face ; 
 but providentially in the sand, not in the water. He was stunned 
 for a time, and bled a little ; but next day he preached twice. 
 His evening service was at East Windsor, where Jonathan 
 Edwards's venerable father was minister. He was much pleased 
 with this family. " Mr. Edwards's wife was as aged, I believe, 
 as himself; so that I fancied I was sitting in the house of Za- 
 charias and Elizabeth." 
 
 His visit to Newhaven, also, deserves to be recorded. It had 
 not a little to do with the conversion of the celebrated Dr. 
 Samuel Hopkins, then a student ; although not so much con- 
 nected with it as the subsequent appeals of Brainerd to him. 
 Hopkins says, that he was " somewhat impressed " by what 
 Whitefield said, both in public and private : and that he " jus- 
 tified him " in his own mind, whilst many " condemned him " 
 for his severe attacks upon the " mixed dancing and frolicking," 
 then so prevalent in New England. Hopkins s Memoirs. Would 
 that all the Hopkinsians in America were Hopkinsian in that 
 article of their father's creed, " that it is both the duty and in- 
 terest of the American State to emancipate all their African 
 slaves." 
 
 W T hilst at Newhaven, Whitefield dined at the college with 
 Principal Clap ; afterwards his opponent. Clap's dislike to 
 him seems to have begun with their first interview. At table, 
 Whitefield attacked the scheme of " an unconverted ministry," 
 and showed its " ill consequences," without ceremony. He ap- 
 pears also to have hinted at his own scheme of supplying " faith- 
 ful men " to the American churches, from Britain, to be or- 
 dained by the Tennents. 
 
 This was certainly the subject then discussed at Newhaven 
 Hall i and the spirit of the discussion, on the part of Whitefield, 
 may be conjectured from the evening note in his diary : " Oh 
 that God may quicken ministers ! Oh that the Lord may make 
 
190 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 us all flames of holy fire ! Come, Lord Jesus ; come quickly. 
 Amen and Amen." 
 
 In general, Whitefield's evening reflections embody the spirit 
 of the day : and on this day, his spirit was too warm for Clap's 
 temperament. Clap, although a good man, would have sympa- 
 thized more with a Newton or a Paley, than with a flaming 
 evangelist. He could construct an orrery for America ; hut he 
 could not elevate the stars of her churches. He could refute 
 infidels and heretics ; but he could not revive formalists. 
 
 The governor, although very old, sympathized, more than the 
 professor, with Whitefield's zeal. He said to him, after sermoM, 
 " I am glad, Sir, to see you, and heartily glad to hear you. 1 ' 
 " His heart was so full, that he could not speak much. The tears 
 trickled down his aged cheeks, like drops of rain." " He was 
 thankful to God," he said, " for such refreshings on the way to 
 our rest : food does us good, when we eat it with an appetite." 
 
 On leaving Newhaven, he thundered out at Stamford and 
 Rye, the opinions against unconverted ministers, which he had 
 broached at college : and the effect was tremendous. " All 
 hearers were ready to cry out." At dinner, two ministers, with 
 tears in their eyes, publicly confessed that they had laid hands 
 on two young men, without so much as asking whether they 
 were born again of God, or not ? " One aged minister confessed 
 in private, that he had " never felt the power of the doctrines 
 of grace on his soul, although he had preached them long.' ' 
 
 What Whitefield himself thought of the attacks he thus made 
 upon an unregenerate ministry, during his tour in New England, 
 is but too evident from a letter to his friend Habersham, dated 
 on the very day he was with Clap at Newhaven : " I am glad 
 God is scourging out the children of Belial. You often heard 
 me say, He would do so." All were not the children of Belial 
 whom Whitefield scourged at this time ; but still, it is as im- 
 possible to doubt the need of the scourge, as it is to approve of 
 its sweeping strokes. Those who did not deserve them, would 
 not have got them, had every converted minister been faithful 
 to his unconverted brother. Had all the spiritual men done 
 their duty to the formalists, Whitefield would have been the 
 first to honour them. 
 
WHITEFIELO'S LIFE AND TIMES. 101 
 
 Tlo now directed his steps again towards New York. His 
 former visit to that city disappointed him. He could not forget 
 this by the way. " My heart was somewhat dejected. I told 
 Mr. Noble (his companion) I expected but little movings in 
 New York ; but Mr. Noble bid me expect great things from 
 God ; and told me of several who were, as he hoped, savingly 
 wrought upon by my ministry, when there last." Accordingly, 
 the impression was great for New York then. It made him 
 cry out in his chamber, " Lord, why did I doubt ? " Under his 
 first sermon, a few cried out ; and even his friend Noble could 
 hardly refrain. 
 
 On the sabbath, however, he was much dejected, before 
 the evening sermon. " For near half an hour, I could only 
 lay before the Lord, saying, I was a miserable sinner, and 
 wondered that Christ would be gracious to such a wretch. 
 As I went to meeting, I grew weaker ; and when I came into 
 the pulpit, I could have chosen to be silent, rather than 
 speak." 
 
 As might be expected, this self-emptying was followed by a 
 rich unction from on high. " After I was begun, the whole 
 congregation was alarmed. Crying, weeping, and wailing, were 
 to be heard in every corner ; and many seen falling into the 
 arms of their friends. My own soul was carried out, till I could 
 scarce speak any more." Still, the Common was not needed at 
 New York. 
 
 Next day he went to Staten Island, on his way back to Phila- 
 delphia i preaching by turns with Gilbert Tennent. At Bas- 
 kerredge, a poor negro woman, who had been converted under 
 his sermon, somewhat embarrassed, as well as pleased him, by 
 her gratitude. She insisted upon going along with him, (to 
 Savannah, I suppose,) and told him that her master had con- 
 sented to let her go. He says, " I bid her go home, and with 
 a thankful heart serve her present master." 
 
 At New Brunswick he found, if not a warmer, a more influ- 
 ential, friend in Aaron Burr, afterwards the president of New 
 Jersey College ; one of the master-spirits of his age and country. 
 Whitefield owed much to this friendship, besides the degree of 
 A. M. in 1754. It was mainly through Burr's influence that 
 
192 
 
 Gilbert Tennent was induced to go to Boston, to water the seed 
 Whitefield had sown there. 
 
 As they drew nearer Philadelphia, they had a most providen- 
 tial escape. " There were two creeks in the way, much swollen 
 with rain. In one of them, two of my fellow-travellers, in all 
 probability, must have perished, had not a woman cried out, and 
 bid us stop. A man (as I afterwards found) who had been 
 touched by my ministry, hearing my voice, came and swam our 
 horses over the other creek, and conducted us safe over a very 
 narrow bridge." 
 
 On his arrival at Philadelphia, he found a house, 100 feet 
 long and 70 broad, building for him to preach in. He opened 
 it, although the roof was not on ; and continued to preach in it 
 every day, until the snow (it was now the middle of November) 
 drove him to the chapels again. One afternoon, whilst preach- 
 ing against " reasoning unbelievers," his sermon made but little 
 impression on the people. An infidel caught at this failure of 
 effect \ and said to one of Whitefield's friends, " What ! Mr. W. 
 could not make the people cry this afternoon ? " " A good 
 reason for it," (said his friend,) " he was preaching against deists, 
 and you know they are a hardened generation." He was not, 
 however; always so unsuccessful amongst the Philadelphian in- 
 fidels. Brockden, the recorder, who had long been almost an 
 atheist, was induced to steal into the crowd at night, to hear 
 him for once. The sermon was on Nicodemus's visit to Christ. 
 Brockden's visit to Whitefield had a similar motive. He saw, 
 as he afterwards confessed, that " the doctrine did people good." 
 When he came home, his wife (not knowing where he had been) 
 wished that he had heard what she had been hearing. He said 
 nothing. Another and another of his family came in, and made 
 the same remark. He burst into tears, and said, " I have been 
 hearing him, and approve of his sermon." Whitefield after- 
 wards knew him as a Christian with the spirit of a " martyr." 
 
 His tour was now closing. On reviewing it, before he sailed 
 for Charleston, he says, " Stop, O my soul, and look back 
 with gratitude on what the Lord hath done for thee, during this 
 excursion. It is now, I think, the seventy-fifth day since I 
 arrived at Rhode Island. My body was then weak ; but the 
 
.\\ IIITKFIKLD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 103 
 
 Lord has renewed its strength. I have been enabled to preach, 
 I think, a hundred and seventy-five times in public, besides 
 exhorting frequently in private. I have travelled upwards of 
 eight hundred miles, and gotten upwards of 700 sterling, in 
 money, &c. for the Georgia orphans. Never did God vouchsafe 
 me greater comforts. Never did I perform my journeys with so 
 little fatigue, nor see so much of the divine presence in the 
 congregations." 
 
 In this spirit he arrived at Bethesda, and found all his family 
 well. For some time he was much occupied with making his 
 arrangements for sailing to England; and having completed 
 them, and taken " a sorrowful and affectionate leave " of his 
 family, he went to Savannah to take leave there also. On the 
 way, he narrowly escaped being shot by a labourer, who was 
 walking with a gun under his arm, only two yards behind him. 
 The gun went off unawares ; but its mouth was towards the 
 ground. " Otherwise," he says, " in all probability, I and one 
 of my friends must have been killed." 
 
 Whilst at Charleston, waiting for a vessel, he received many 
 inspiring letters from his Boston friends, informing him of the 
 amazing progress of conversion in the city and throughout the 
 province. He received also a copy of the following letter. 
 
 " To all and singular, the constables of Charleston. WHEREAS 
 I have received information on oath, that George Whitefield, 
 clerk, hath made and composed a false, malicious, scandalous, 
 and infamous LIBEL against the clergy of this province, in con- 
 tempt of his Majesty and his laws, and against the king's 
 peace : THESE are therefore, in his Majesty's name, to charge 
 and command you and each of you forthwith, to apprehend the 
 said George Whitefield, and bring him before me, &c. &c. &c. 
 Given under my hand and seal, B. W." 
 
 This mandate referred to a Letter, which Whitefield had 
 only revised for the press. It was written by one of his friends, 
 and had just come out on his arrival at Charleston. The writer 
 was apprehended, and meanly (Whitefield says " frankly ") 
 confessed that " corrections and alterations " had been made 
 by Whitefif-.ld. 
 
 I have not seen the Letter. Whitefield's account of it is, 
 
 2c 
 
194 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 that " it hinted that the clergy break the canons." If this was 
 all, he might well write with emphasis in his diary, " I think 
 this may be called PERSECUTION ! I think it is for righteousness' 
 sake." 
 
 He went before the magistrate at once, and gave security for ap- 
 pearing by attorney, under a penalty of 100, proclamation money. 
 He became his own attorney, however, before he left. Even next 
 day, he preached in the morning upon Herod's stratagem to 
 kill Christ : in the afternoon on the murder of Naboth. That 
 he did not spare the persecutors, is evident. " My hearers," he 
 says, " as well as myself, made application. It was pretty close. 
 I especially directed my discourse to men in authority, and 
 showed them the heinous sin of abusing their power." Neither 
 the commissary, nor the magistrate, slept on a bed of roses that 
 night. Public opinion was against them. The people so over- 
 loaded him with sea-stores for his voyage, that he had to send 
 much of the stock to Savannah. Next day, January 15th, he 
 embarked for England, on board the Minerva, and arrived at 
 Falmouth early in March. On the sabbath following he was 
 again on Kennington Common but with "not above a hun- 
 dred " to hear him. 
 
CHAPTER Vlll. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S BREACH WITH WESLEY. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S absence from London extended from August, 
 1739, to March, 1741 ; during which, as we have seen, he 
 founded his orphan-house, traversed America with varied suc- 
 cess, and revived the revivalists of Northampton, as well as 
 caught the spirit of Jonathan Edwards and the old puritans of 
 New England. 
 
 On his return, he soon found occasion for all the faith and 
 patience he had acquired in America. They were both tried to 
 the utmost, for a time. His own account of the new and unex- 
 pected situation he found himself in, is very touching. " What 
 a trying scene appeared here ! In my zeal, during my journey 
 through America, I had written two well-meant, though ill- 
 judged, letters, against England's two great favourites, ' The 
 whole Duty of Man,' and Archbishop Tillotson, who, I said, 
 knew no more about religion than Mahomet. The Moravians 
 had made inroads on our societies. Mr. John Wesley, some 
 way or other, had been prevailed on to preach and print in 
 favour of perfection and universal redemption ; and against 
 election, a doctrine which, I then thought, and do now believe, 
 was taught me of God ; and therefore could not possibly recede 
 from. 
 
 " Thinking it my duty so to do, I had written an answer at 
 the orphan-house, which, though revised and much approved 
 by some good divines, had I think some too strong expressions 
 about absolute reprobation, which the apostle leaves rather to 
 be inferred than expressed. The world was angry at me for the 
 former, and numbers of my own spiritual children for the latter." 
 
" One that got some hundreds of pounds by my sermons, re- 
 fused to print for me any more. And others wrote to me, that 
 God would destroy me in a fortnight, and that my fall was as 
 great as Peter's. Instead of having thousands to attend me, 
 scarce one of my spiritual children came to see me from morn- 
 ing to night. Once on Kennington Common I had not above 
 a hundred to hear me. 
 
 " At the same time, !! -WJM much fcTrfeirassed in my outward 
 circumstances. A thousand pounds 1 owed for the orphan- 
 house. Two hundred and fifty pounds bills drawn on Mr. 
 Seward, were returned upon me. 1 was also threatened to be 
 arrested for two hundred pounds more. My travelling expenses 
 also to be defrayed. A family of a hundred to be daily main- 
 tained, four thousand miles off, in the dearest place of the king's 
 dominions. 
 
 " Ten thousand times would I rather have died than part 
 with my old friends. It would have melted any heart, to have 
 heard Mr. Charles Wesley and me weeping, after prayer, that, 
 if possible, the breach might be prevented. Once, but no 
 more, I preached in the FOUNDERY, a place which Mr. John 
 Wesley had procured in my absence. All my work was to begin 
 again. 
 
 " Never had I preached in Moorfields on a week day : but 
 in the strength of God, I began on Good Friday, and continued 
 twice a day, walking backward and forward from Leadenhall, 
 for some time preaching under one of the trees ; and had the 
 mortification to see numbers of my spiritual children, who but 
 a twelvemonth ago would have plucked out their eyes for me, 
 running by me whilst preaching, disdaining so much as to look 
 at me ; and some of them putting their fingers in their ears, 
 that they might not hear one word I said. 
 
 " A like scene opened at Bristol, where I was denied preach- 
 ing in the house I had founded. 
 
 " Busybodies on both sides blew up the coals. A breach 
 ensued. But as both sides differed in judgment, not in affec- 
 tion, and aimed at the glory of our common Lord, (though we 
 hearkened too much to tale-bearers on both sides,) we were kept 
 from anathematizing each other, and went on in our usual way ; 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 197 
 
 being agreed in one point, endeavouring to convert souls to the 
 ever-blessed Mediator." 
 
 Gillies records all tbis without comment or explanation. 
 Watson, in bis " Life of Wesley," sums up the whole history of 
 the breach in a single paragraph. Southey explains the real 
 grounds of the rupture, but with equal contempt for Wesley's 
 doctrine of perfection, and for Whitefield's doctrine of election. 
 The separation of Whitefield and Wesley led, however, to re- 
 sults too momentous to be thus treated. Whilst, therefore, I 
 have no inclination to revive controversies, which time has laid 
 asleep, nor to perpetuate painful recollections of good men, I 
 must register instructive facts, however offensive they may be 
 to the adherents of Calvinistic or Wesleyan methodism. The 
 breach between their founders may well teach a solemn lesson 
 to both. 
 
 Neither Whitefield nor Wesley appears to have understood 
 Calvinism, when they began to preach, the one for and the 
 other against it. Indeed, Whitefield assured Wesley, when 
 they began to differ, that he had never read a page of Calvin ; 
 and if Wesley read him through the same spectacles he wore 
 when reading the works of Calvmists, of whom he wrote thus 
 to Whitefield, " No baptist or presbyterian writer, I have read, 
 knew any thing of the liberties of Christ," his knowledge of 
 the question may well be doubted. Whitefield's retort on this 
 occasion, although sharp, was not uncourteous : " What ! nei- 
 ther Bunyan, Henry, Flavel, Halyburton, nor any of the New 
 England and Scots divines, (know any thing of the liberties of 
 Christ?) See, dear Sir, what narrow-spiritedness and want of 
 charity arise out of your principles ; and then do not cry out 
 against election any more, on account of its being destructive 
 of meekness and love," Answer to Wesley s Sermon on Free 
 Grace. 
 
 The sermon which led to this controversy, had a curious ori- 
 gin. The Wesleys had threatened (perhaps playfully at first) 
 to " drive John Calvin out of Bristol." This led some one to 
 charge Wesley, in a letter, with not preaching the gospel be- 
 cause he did not preach up election ; a charge which, at the 
 time, was equally applicable to Whitefield : for although his 
 
198 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 creed was somewhat Calvinistic from the first, he did not 
 preach up election, until Wesley began to preach it down. This 
 is no conjecture. He appeals to Wesley himself thus, " For 
 Christ's sake, if possible, dear Sir, never speak against election 
 in your sermons ; no one can say that I ever mentioned it in 
 public discourses, whatever my private sentiments may be. 
 For Christ's sake, let us not be divided amongst ourselves. 
 Nothing will so much prevent a division, as your being silent 
 on that head." 
 
 Wesley met this solemn adjuration, and many like it, by the 
 mock solemnity of " drawing lots," to determine the question 
 of silence or assault. The lot was, " preach and print ;" and 
 he did both forthwith. He did not publish, however, until 
 Whitefield had gone to America. So far he yielded to his 
 friend's remonstrances, contenting himself, for a time, with call- 
 ing election a " doctrine of devils." 
 
 This sortilege was practised at Bristol ; and it reminded 
 Whitefield of " the wrong lot," which Wesley had formerly 
 drawn, when their vessels were in sight in the Channel. Ac- 
 cordingly, in answering the lot-sermon, Whitefield told the 
 story of the lot-letter. He has been much blamed for publish- 
 ing this private transaction. Indeed, he blames himself heavily. 
 It was done with compunction at the time ; and afterwards, he 
 thus deplored it : " My mentioning Mr. Wesley's casting a lot 
 on a private occasion, known only to God and ourselves, has 
 put me to great pain. It was wrong in me to publish a private 
 transaction to the world ; and very ill-judged to think the glory 
 of God could be promoted by exposing my friend unnecessarily. 
 For this I have asked both God and him pardon, years ago. 
 And though I believe both have forgiven me, yet I believe I 
 shall never be able to forgive myself. As it was a public fault, 
 I think it should be publicly acknowledged ; and I thank a kind 
 Providence for giving me this opportunity of doing it." Answer 
 to Lavington. Dr. Southey says truly, that this manner of re- 
 ferring to the subject does Whitefield " honour." I feel this : 
 and yet, unless Wesley's feelings were very much wounded by 
 the disclosure, I do not see the necessity of so much self-con- 
 demnation and self-abasement. For my own part, at least, I 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 199 
 
 should have preferred either more, or less, confession on the oc- 
 casion. Whitefield played at sortilege as well as Wesley, 
 although in another way. His Letter was not like the sermon, 
 written in obedience to a drawn lot ; but still, it was deter- 
 mined by a mystic reason. He says, " I am apt to think one 
 reason why God should so suffer you to be deceived was, that 
 hereby a special obligation should be laid on me, faithfully to 
 declare the Scriptural doctrine of election." What is this, but 
 impulse versus lot ? For, at the time, Whitefield was incapable 
 of declaring that doctrine faithfully, if he mean by faithfully, 
 Scripturally. This he proved, by declaring in his Letter, that 
 tf without doubt, the doctrine of election and reprobation must 
 stand or fall together :" a fallacy he soon saw through. A 
 lot to preach against election could not be a greater fallacy, 
 than a "special" call to contend for reprobation. Well might 
 Wesley, if he had understood the sovereignty of grace, have 
 retorted on Whitefield : he contented himself, however, with 
 tearing the Letter before his congregation. " ' I will just do what 
 I believe Mr. Whitefield would, were he here himself :' he tore 
 it in pieces. Every person present followed his example." 
 Southetfs Wesley. 
 
 Who else believes that Whitefield would have thus torn his 
 own Letter ? None but those who believe that Wesley would 
 have torn his " lot," when he drew it. Whitefield might, in- 
 deed, have torn the printed copy, because it was printed without 
 his consent, and published in his absence, by officious friends ; 
 but, in the sense of retracting it, he would no more have torn it 
 than he would have torn the Thirty-nine Articles. It was a 
 pitiful pretence, although a dexterous shift, to say that he would 
 have been his own executioner. He was quite capable of tear- 
 ing Wesley's " lot," had that been surreptitiously thrust upon 
 his friends, to bias their judgment ', for he was as off-hand as 
 he was warm and honest, whenever he deemed the honour of 
 God at stake. 
 
 It is because I never heard that Wesley humbled himself at 
 all for this summary and insulting treatment of the Letter, that 
 I think Whitefield too humble for his treatment of the lot. I 
 think with Dr. Southey, that it " does him honour;" but as 
 
SCO 
 
 Wesley was evidently more mortified than hurt by the disclosure, 
 and as he amply retaliated, I do not see where the dishonour 
 would have been, had the humiliation been less. Whitefield 
 had not published the Letter, nor was he aware of its publica- 
 tion. Dr. Southey is quite correct in saying, that, although it 
 was certainly intended for publication, yet " there seems to 
 have been a hope in Whitefield's mind, that the effect which its 
 perusal would produce might render publication needless." 
 'Thus Wesley might have taken the sting out of it, by humbling 
 himself for drawing lots ; but as he did not tear his lot along 
 with the Letter, it was not very unfair to let the world know 
 something of the secret of his attack on Calvinism. Indeed, I 
 doubt if it would have been honest to the public, or fair to 
 the cause of truth, to have concealed this process of sortilege 
 altogether. I do not even see how Whitefield could have dealt 
 so gently with Wesley, as by simply stating the facts. He 
 could not forget, in answering the sermon, that the author of it 
 believed himself divinely warranted to publish it. That sup- 
 posed warrant had to be invalidated. By what? If not by 
 facts, who does not see that arguments would have implied 
 heavier reflections upon Wesley's judgment, and subjected him 
 to the suspicion of a presumption worse than that of the old 
 lottery ? 
 
 This transaction was made so much of at the time, that I 
 could not, as an historian, hush it up ; nor, as an umpire, treat it 
 as Whitefield has done. It roused, as may be supposed, the 
 partisans of the two creeds ; and created that alienation which 
 Whitefield has so feelingly described, in his account of the re- 
 ception he met with on his return from America. 
 
 Some of the Calvinistic party were very imprudent. Acourt, 
 of London, thrust himself and his high Calvinism upon the 
 Wesleys' meetings ; demanding the opportunity of setting them 
 right on the subject of election; and prophesying, when re- 
 fused, that his proclamation of them as false prophets, would 
 throw them all into confusion. At Kingswood also, Cennick 
 divided the society, and headed the Calvinists against the Wes- 
 leys. Dr. Southey calls him " a certain John Cennick," " who 
 had great talents for popular speaking ;" and gives only Charles 
 
201 
 
 Wesley's picture of him. Cennick was both a wiser and a bet- 
 ter man than the Wesleys painted him, when he withstood 
 them to the face at Kingswood. Until then, John Wesley held 
 him a friend, as his "own soul," and one who "lay in his 
 bosom." Charles Wesley confirms this by an appeal to Cen- 
 nick's knowledge of it : "I need not say how well he loved 
 you." It was not because this love was too hot, that it did not 
 last. Charles upbraided him for ingratitude and treachery, 
 and John excommunicated him, with others, for lying and slan- 
 dering, thus : " I, John Wesley, by the consent and approba- 
 tion of the Band Society in Kingswood, do declare the persons 
 above mentioned to be no longer members thereof. Neither 
 will they be so accounted until they shall openly confess their 
 fault," &c. &c. What was this tremendous fault ? " Dissem- 
 bling, lying, and slandering," says the excommunicator. " In- 
 gratitude and treachery," says his brother. Heavy charges, it 
 must be allowed ; and, if true, well deserving all the chastise- 
 ment they met with. 
 
 The truth of the charges, as they affect Cennick, the friend 
 and fellow-labourer of Whitefield, must be examined. Hap- 
 pily, this is easily done ; for Wesley rested the proof of " pri- 
 vate accusations" upon the copy of a letter from Cennick to 
 Whitefield. When Cennick denied that he had " ever privately 
 accused him," Wesley produced the letter in the society, and 
 said, " Judge, brethren ! " So say I. Here is the letter. " I 
 sit solitary like Eli, waiting what will become of the ark : and 
 while I wail and fear the carrying of it away from among my 
 people, my trouble increases daily. How glorious did the gos- 
 pel seem once to flourish at Kingswood ! I spake of the ever- 
 lasting love of Christ with sweet power. But now, brother 
 Charles is suffered to open his mouth against this truth, while 
 the frighted sheep gaze and fly, as if no shepherd was amongst 
 them. It is just as if Satan was now making war on the saints, 
 in a more than common way. O, pray for the distressed 
 lambs yet left in this place, that they faint not. Surely they 
 would, for they have nothing whereon to rest but their own 
 faithfulness, who now attend on sermons. With universal re- 
 demption, brother Charles now pleases the world. Brother 
 
 2 D 
 
202 
 
 John follows him in every thing. I believe no atheist can more 
 preach against predestination than they : and all who believe 
 election are counted enemies to God, and called so. Fly, dear 
 brother ! I am as alone. I am in the midst of the plague. 
 If God give thee leave make haste ! " 
 
 Now, where is the lie, or the slander, in all this ? No where, 
 except it be in the charge, that " all who believe election are 
 counted enemies to God, and called so." And even this charge, 
 although not literally, is substantially, true. For although nei- 
 ther John nor Charles would have called any good man, who let 
 them alone, an enemy of God, for believing election, both would 
 and must have counted the very best man such, so far as he 
 tried to spread the doctrine of election at the Foundery, or at 
 Kings wood. How could they reckon otherwise, whilst they 
 held themselves to be faefriendsof God, by enmity to Calvinism ? 
 Their forbearance with the silent Calvinists in the society, was 
 because they were silent. 
 
 I am no admirer of Cennick's letter. I think the style and 
 spirit of it quite as bad as Wesley's sermon ; which affirms, that 
 the doctrine in question " directly tends to destroy that holiness 
 which is the end of all the ordinances of God ;" and has " a 
 direct and manifest tendency to overthrow the whole Christian 
 religion." The only difference between this railing and that of 
 Cennick, is, that Cennick's is applied to two men by name, and 
 Wesley's is an attack upon all men who preached the doctrine. 
 
 This is not, however, the whole case. The chief charge 
 against Cennick is, that he " supplanted " Wesley " in his own 
 house ; stealing the hearts of the people " from him. This as- 
 serted betrayal of trust, Charles depicted in the darkest colours. 
 Now it is true, that Wesley placed Cennick as one of the mas- 
 ters in the Kingswood school ; and true, that the school was 
 Wesley's " own house," in the sense of its being chiefly built 
 and furnished by him. On the other hand, it is equally true, 
 that Whitefield originated the school ; obtained the gift of " a 
 piece of ground for it;" laid the foundation-stone of it ; and col- 
 lected so much money for it, that " the roof was ready to be 
 put up " before he left England. However truly, therefore, in 
 a legal sense, it was Wesley's " own house/' inasmuch as he 
 
203 
 
 alone was responsible for all the debt upon it, and thus the 
 possessor of the deeds ; it was morally Whitefield's own house 
 too. Accordingly, Wesley bequeathed it to his brother and 
 Whitefield by will, the moment the responsibility devolved the 
 property on him. 
 
 Cennick was not ignorant of these facts, and ought not to 
 have been uninfluenced by them. He was, indeed, Wesley's 
 servant ; but he was also a conscientious Calvinist. " Why, then, 
 did he not resign," says Charles, " rather than gainsay " his 
 employer ? Why, I ask, did his employer undertake the com- 
 pletion of Whitefield's school, and then turn it into an Arminian 
 nursery, in Whitefield's absence ? The servant did all he could 
 to sustain the views of its founder, in the absence of its finisher; 
 and the finisher did all he could to supplant the Calvinistic 
 views of its absent founder. Whitefield never would have left 
 it to Wesley to carry forward, had this design been avowed. 
 Cennick knew this ; and therefore he was just as conscientious 
 in opposing Arminianism in the place, as Wesley in opposing 
 Calvinism in it. In a word, if the one alienated some hearts 
 from Wesley, the other alienated many hearts from Whitefield. 
 " I was denied preaching in the house I had founded at Bristol," 
 says Whitefield. 
 
 These are, indeed, pitiful transactions on both sides : but they 
 were the transactions which brought on the rupture of the socie- 
 ties ; and are thus essential to its explanation. Cennick also, 
 as the chosen coadjutor of Whitefield afterwards, deserved vin- 
 dication from the bitter invectives and aspersions of Charles 
 Wesley's letter, and from the ecclesiastical ban of John Wesley 
 and the " Band Society in Kingswood." On reviewing his cha- 
 racter and career, the late Mr. Wilks, of the Tabernacle, ex- 
 claimed, " O my soul, come thou into his secret ; into his 
 assembly, mine honour, be thou united ! " He says of Cennick, 
 " As to success in his labours, perhaps there was not one in his 
 day, except Whitefield, more highly honoured in this particular. 
 His language was not with the enticing words of men's wisdom ; 
 yet his doctrine and address were powerful, and found access to 
 the hearts of thousands. His career was short ; but if life may 
 be estimated by the comparative quantity of good produced in it, 
 
204 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 then this truly active, spiritual, and useful man, may be said to 
 have lived to a good old age. A good understanding, an open 
 temper, and tender heart, characterized the man. His Christian 
 qualities were not less distinguishable. If unaffected humility, 
 deadness to the world, a life of communion with God, and a 
 cheerful reliance on a crucified Saviour, constitute the real 
 Christian, he was one in an eminent degree. He possessed a 
 sweet simplicity of spirit, with an ardent zeal in the cause of his 
 divine Master." Preface to Cennick's Sermons, 2 vols. ly 
 Matthew Wilks. 
 
 Cennick's own account of his expulsion by the Wesleys, is 
 highly creditable to his heart ; and as it palliates very much 
 the conduct of Mr. Wesley, and is not much known, (the pam- 
 phlet being rare,) I gladly insert it. It is the 44th Section of 
 a Life of Cennick, written by himself, 4th Edition. " About 
 Christmas, 1740, a difference in doctrine broke out between the 
 Mr. Wesleys and me ; they believed and taught many things 
 which I thought not according to the gospel, neither to mine 
 own experience : and in a very little time, while I was preach- 
 ing in several parts of Wiltshire, Mr. John Wesley tgpk the en- 
 tire possession of Kingswood school, and I was forbid to preach 
 there any more ; neither from that time did I. And not long 
 after, when I and some of the colliers had met apart to consider 
 on these things, and to lay them before the Lord, the rest of the 
 society, who held Mr. Wesley's doctrines, were so offended 
 that they would not let Mr. Wesley rest, till he put me, and 
 those few who believed my word, out of the society j though, 
 I believe, against his will. When we separated, we were in 
 number twelve men and twelve women. In a short time, we so 
 increased our company, that we were about a hundred and 
 twenty. In many villages of Wiltshire, the word was received 
 gladly." To them " the differences were never once known, 
 till Mr. Whitefield came from America, and joined the brethren 
 with me ; neither after they knew it, (the difference Jdid it make 
 any stir, as it were, in all that country." 
 
 The breach between Whitefield and Wesley led, soon, to the 
 erection of a new house at Kingswood, and of " a large tempo- 
 rary shed," called a Tabernacle, in London. The latter was 
 
20.5 
 
 built l>y " certain free-grace dissenters," as Gillies calls them. 
 This phrase does not enable us to identify them with any of the 
 three denominations. Perhaps it refers to Whitefield's defi- 
 nition of " free grace indeed," in his Letter to Wesley : 
 " free, because not free to all; but free, because God may with- 
 hold or give it to whom, and when, he pleases." But whoever 
 the dissenters thus characterized were, their timely help soon 
 enabled him to turn the tide, which had set in against him. It 
 realized for him, what had much refreshed him, when all his 
 work was to " begin again," Beza's hint in the life of Calvin ; 
 " Calvin is turned out of Geneva ; but, behold, a new church 
 arises ! " Dr. Gillies says, " A fresh awakening immediately 
 began. Congregations grew exceedingly large : and, at the 
 people's desire, he sent for Messrs. Cennick, Harris, Seagrave, 
 Humphries, &c. to assist." In the country also, and especially 
 in Essex, (first at Braintree,) the old scene of " multitudes, 
 multitudes in the valley of decision," brgan to be renewed. And 
 it was with no ordinary pleasure he then visited the many towns 
 in Essex and Suffolk, such as Dedham, Halstead, Ipswich, &c., 
 from which the pilgrim fathers of New England came ; and the 
 counterparts of which he had found in America, perpetuating 
 there the names and recollections of the mother country. 
 
 I know of few studies so fraught and fragrant with delight, 
 now that we know New England, as tracing in Mather's " Mag- 
 nalia," upon his old maps, the first American edition of Old 
 England. I shall never forget how sacred I felt that line of 
 English towns to be, when I visited them, as the antitypes of 
 the Magnalian maps ; nor the interest taken by the old families 
 of the district, whilst I pointed out to them the coincidences, 
 and congratulated them on the connexion. I myself, indeed, 
 would not pass over Runnymede, to visit the cradles of the pil- 
 grim fathers ; but no American Christian ought to visit Runny- 
 mede, until he has been at Dedham, if he love his country. 
 
 Whitefield's momentary reverses in London did not, as may 
 be supposed, at all lessen his fame in Scotland, nor prevent the 
 Erskines from urging upon him his promise to visit that coun- 
 try. There, the Wesleys were considered as sadly " left to 
 themselves," (E. Erskine,) if not as somewhat demented, when 
 
206 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 they quarrelled with Whitefield's Calvinism, and avowed them- 
 selves Arminians. There was also more than enough in Scot- 
 land then, of an Arminianism not redeemed, like that of the 
 Wesleys, by holy zeal or sterling piety, to render an eloquent 
 Calvinist a welcome visitor to the godly ministers of both the 
 kirk and the secession. Had Whitefield, therefore, wanted 
 other letters of commendation to them, than his own character 
 and fame ; or needed any thing to confirm the confidence he had 
 won by his own letters and journals ; his rejection at the Foun- 
 dery would have secured him a welcome both at Dunfermline and 
 in Edinburgh. 
 
 This he found on his arrival : but, lest his old and still dear 
 friend, Wesley, should suspect him of accepting any honour at 
 his expense, he renewed his correspondence with him, when his 
 honours in Scotland were at their height. The following letter 
 from Aberdeen is delightful : " Reverend and dear brother, I 
 have for a long time expected that you would have sent an an- 
 swer to my last ; but I suppose you are afraid to correspond 
 with me, because I revealed your secret about the lot. Though 
 much might be said for my doing it, yet I am sorry now, that 
 any such thing dropped from my pen, and I humbly ask pardon. 
 I find I love you as much as ever ; and pray God, if it be his 
 blessed will, that we may all be united together. 
 
 " It hath been for some days upon my heart to write to you. 
 May God remove all obstacles that now prevent our union ! 
 Though I hold particular election yet I offer Jesus freely to 
 every individual soul. You may carry sanctification to what- 
 ever degrees you will ; only I cannot agree, that the in-being of 
 sin is to be destroyed in this life. 
 
 " O my dear brother, the Lord has been much with me in 
 Scotland, In about three weeks I hope to be at Bristol. May 
 all disputings cease, and each of us talk of nothing but Jesus, 
 and Him crucified ! This is my resolution. The Lord be with 
 your spirit. I am, without dissimulation, ever yours." Lett. 363. 
 
 The only letter of Wesley's on this subject, that I know of, 
 is not like the above. It concludes thus : " The general tenor 
 both of my public and private exhortations, when I touch there- 
 on at all, as even my enemies know, if they would testify, is, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 207 
 
 ' Spare the young man, even Absalom, for my sake.'" Southey's 
 Wesley. This is David's language, but not David's spirit. It 
 is sarcasm, more than sympathy ; as the whole strain of the 
 letter shows. Dr. Southey justly says, " Wesley felt more re- 
 sentment than he here thought proper to express." Ibid. 
 Whitefield had, however, been as dictatorial in some of his 
 remonstrances, at the beginning of the controversy, as Wesley 
 was sarcastic at the close. On one occasion he wrote thus : 
 " Dear brother Wesley, what mean you by disputing in all your 
 letters ? May God give you to know yourself, and then you 
 will not plead for absolute perfection, nor call election a doc- 
 trine of devils. My dear brother, take heed ! See that you are 
 in Christ a new creature. Beware of a false peace. Remember 
 you are but a bale in Christ if so much. Be humble. Talk 
 little. Pray much. If you will dispute, stay till you are master 
 of the subject; otherwise you will hurt the cause you would 
 defend." Whatever truth there may be in this tirade, it is more 
 than defeated by its unhallowed form. Such an appeal could 
 only exasperate. Not, however, in this style generally, did 
 Whitefield appeal to his brother and friend. It was more usual 
 with him to write thus : " Why will you dispute ? I am willing 
 to go with you to prison arid death ; but I am not willing to 
 oppose you." " Do not oblige me to preach against you : I had 
 rather die." " Dear, dear Sir, O be not offended! For Christ's 
 sake be not rash. Give yourself to reading. Study the cove- 
 nant of grace. Down with your carnal reasoning. Be a little 
 child ; and then, instead of pawning your salvation, as you have 
 done, in a late Hymn Book, if the doctrine of universal redemp- 
 tion be not true, you will compose a hymn in praise of sovereign, 
 distinguishing love. 
 
 " I love and honour you for Christ's sake ; and when I come 
 to judgment will thank you before men and angels for what 
 you have, under God, done for my soul. There, I am persuaded, 
 ] shall see dear Mr. Wesley convinced of election and everlast- 
 ing love. And it often fills me with pleasure, to think how I 
 shall behold you casting your crown at the feet of the Lamb 
 and, as it were, filled with a holy blushing for opposing the 
 divine sovereignty as you have done. But I hope the Lord will 
 
208 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 show you this, before you go hence. Oh how do I long for that 
 day ! " . (It is somewhat amusing to find this passage, the first 
 one quoted by Dr. Southey, just after his declaration, that 
 Whitefield's " written compositions are nearly worthless.") 
 
 Having given these specimens of the spirit of both parties in 
 this breach, it is only bare justice to Whitefield, to state strongly 
 the trying circumstances he was in, when Wesley cut with him. 
 Southey truly and tenderly says, " Many things combined to sour 
 him at this time." Seward, on whose life and fortune he had 
 calculated for the sake of Georgia, was just dead, and had left 
 him nothing. He was deeply in debt for the orphan-house, and 
 more deeply pledged. He was in danger of being arrested every 
 day for 450, whilst he had not twenty pounds in the world, 
 and hardly a friend to help him. He was all but hissed by the 
 multitude, who formerly were almost ready to cry, " Hosanna," 
 when they saw him in the streets. His heart was torn by the 
 pressure of strife at home, and by the prospect of distress abroad. 
 
 Is it any wonder that he should have been betrayed into hasty, 
 and even some harsh, reflections upon Wesley ? Could he think 
 well of the doctrine of "perfection" whilst its champion and 
 adherents were so imperfect, as to leave him to sink or swim, as 
 it might happen ? True ; he had given his old friend great pro- 
 vocation, by turning the laugh against his lottery ; and all men 
 resent an exposure of their weakness, more than an injury to 
 their property : but still, Wesley could have afforded to wait, 
 whilst Whitefield was in danger of imprisonment for debt, and 
 well nigh overwhelmed with disappointments. This was just 
 the time for a perfectionist to " heap coals of fire " upon the 
 head of an enemy ; and to pawn something upon the truth of 
 universal love, as well as his " salvation upon the truth of uni- 
 versal redemption." Whitefield would have pawned the FOUN- 
 DERY, had it been his, to save and soothe Wesley, had he come 
 from America, embarrassed and bowed down with care. Who 
 does not see and feel this ? 
 
 It is painful, but it is very necessary, to place the matter in 
 this light ; for if the faults of such men are hushed up, such 
 faults will be repeated and perpetuated by men who have fewer 
 redeeming qualities. Future quarrels are not to be prevented 
 
209 
 
 by forgetting the past. It is by seeing how unseemly strife be- 
 tween great brethren is, that little brethren learn to dread its 
 l);\i^innings. He is throwing back the progress of brotherly love 
 in the church, who would bury in oblivion, or veil in vague ge- 
 neralities, the " sharp contention " between Whitefield and 
 Wesley. Like Paul and Barnabas, they can afford to have it 
 all told, without sustaining any material loss of fame or influ- 
 ence. They are just the men whose faults should be transmitted 
 to posterity, that posterity may not glory in men, nor think 
 more highly of them than they ought to think ; and that similar 
 men, of like passions, may not run into like extremes. He is 
 not, therefore, the best friend of " peace on earth," whatever be 
 his love for Whitefield or Wesley, who would throw a veil over 
 the rashness of the former, or over the selfishness of the latter, 
 on this occasion. 
 
 Whitefield was rash. He listened to tale-bearers, who put 
 the worst construction upon Wesley's hard words against Cal- 
 vinism, and harsh treatment of the Kingswood Calvinists. He 
 rashly promised not to preach against him, and as rashly threat- 
 ened to oppose him every where. He wept with Charles, and 
 scolded John. In a word, they were, as he says, only " kept 
 from anathematizing each other," for a time ; so divided were 
 they in judgment, although not exactly alienated in affection. 
 
 This is, indeed, a humiliating exhibition : but how full of 
 warning it is ! The oracle, " ye are brethren," which had so 
 often fallen upon their ear and their heart, like music from 
 heaven, fell unheeded on both for a time, although both were 
 absorbed with equal zeal for the glory of God and the salvation 
 of souls. But whilst the spirit of their breach was thus deplor- 
 able, it is impossible to deplore the breach itself. It fell out to 
 " the furtherance of the gospel." Wesley foresaw this, as well 
 as prayed for it : " The case is quite plain. There are bigots 
 both for and against predestination. God is sending a message 
 to those on either side : but neither will receive it, unless from 
 one who is of their own opinion. Therefore, for a time, you are 
 suffered to be of one opinion, and I of another." Whitefield's 
 heart responded to this, although his acuteness did not discern 
 it so fully : " The great day will discover, why the Lord per- 
 
210 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 mits dear Mr. Wesley and me to be of a different way of think- 
 ing. At present, I shall make no inquiry into that matter, be- 
 yond the account he has given of it. I heartily pray God to 
 hasten the time, when we shall be closely united in principle 
 and judgment, as well as in heart and affection : and then, 
 should the Lord call to it, I care not if I go with him to prison 
 or to death. For, like Paul and Silas, I hope we shall sing 
 praises to God, and count it our highest honour to suffer for 
 Christ's sake, and to lay down our lives for the brethren." 
 Preface to " A Letter to Wesley." 
 
 An earlier day than " the great day " discovered why White- 
 field and Wesley were permitted both to differ and divide. It 
 was a happy thing for the world and the church that they were 
 not of one opinion : for had they been united in either extreme, 
 truth would have made less progress. As joint Arminians, they 
 would have spread Pelagianism ; and as joint Calvinists, they 
 would have been hyper, though not antinomian. It was well, 
 therefore, that they modified each other : for they were " two 
 suns," which could not have fixed in 
 
 " one meridian," 
 
 without setting on fire the whole course of sound theology. In 
 their respective spheres, however, they were equally blessed, 
 notwithstanding the difference of their creeds on some points. 
 This is not inexplicable, when it is remembered that they agreed 
 thoroughly in exalting the Saviour, and in honouring the Eter- 
 nal Spirit. And their mode of honouring the Spirit deserves 
 particular attention. They sought and cherished His tmction 
 for themselves, as well as enforced the necessity of His opera- 
 tions upon others. And until preaching be, itself, a tf demon- 
 stration of the Spirit and of power," as well as in humble de- 
 pendence upon the Spirit, its effects will not be very great, nor 
 remarkably good. It will win but few souls to Christ, and even 
 their character will not, in general, rise high in the beauty of 
 holiness, nor in the zeal of love. They may just keep their name 
 and their place in the church of the living God ; but they will 
 not be to Him, nor to his church, " for a name and an everlast- 
 ing sign." 
 
\VIHTi:FlKU)'s LIFK AND TIMKS. -Ml 
 
 There is much more connexion between the piety of a church, 
 and the spirituality of its minister, than appears at first sight ; 
 and between his preaching, and the conversion of sinners, than 
 is usually kopt in view. A minister not spiritually-minded, 
 Loth " quenches the Spirit " on the altar of renewed hearts, and 
 prevents the sacred lire from reaching the altar of unregenerated 
 hearts. He who is not " a sweet savour of Christ," makes him- 
 self" a savour of death unto death," inevitably: of the second 
 death to the undecided; and of spiritual deadness to the church. 
 
 It was not in this sense, that Paul was a savour of both life 
 and death, during his ministry. The lost made him, what he 
 became to them ; by turning into death the very truth which 
 quickened the saved : for it was the same fragrance of " the 
 knowledge of Christ," which proved the savour of death unto 
 death to the former, that proved the savour of life unto life to 
 the latter. Paul did as much, and said as much, and prayed as 
 much, and all in the same spirit too, for the impenitent, as for 
 the considerate ; for despisers, as for penitents. Both saw and 
 heard in his preaching, the same " demonstration of the Spirit 
 and of power." He stood before each class, equally the ambas- 
 sador of Christ, and beseeching both alike to be reconciled unto 
 God. So did Baxter, Edwards, Whitefield, and the Wesleys. 
 Whenever they were the savour of death unto death, they were 
 made so by those who perished under their ministry. Such 
 men might, therefore, without presumption or imprudence, ap- 
 ply to themselves the apostolic maxim, " We are unto God a 
 sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that 
 perish." Such ministers would not, indeed, say this without 
 adding, " Who is sufficient for these things ?" nor without weep- 
 ing whilst they said, " to the other we are a savour of death 
 unto death;" but they could not blame themselves with the 
 blood of souls. It was not their fault, that any were lost, who 
 heard them ; for they extended the golden sceptre of mercy as 
 freely, and frequently, and fervently, to the heedless and the 
 hardened, as to the thoughtful or the timid. 
 
 This is a very different case from that of a minister, who 
 preaches the gospel without the demonstration of the Spirit, or 
 power. He makes himself the savour of death unto death to 
 
212 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 others, even when he teaches " the knowledge of Christ ;" be- 
 cause he breathes not the fragrance of that knowledge. He, 
 therefore, has no right to throw himself upon the apostolic 
 maxim, when his ministry is unsuccessful. It is unsuccessful, 
 because it is unsavoury. It brings no sinners to life, because it 
 is lifeless : for it is the " savour " of the knowledge of Christ, 
 that God " maketh manifest in every place," 2 Cor. ii. 14; 
 and that savour cannot breathe from the lips or looks of a 
 minister, unless his heart burn with love to Christ and immor- 
 tal souls. 
 
 It is high time that the church of Christ should consider, not 
 only the duty of depending on the Spirit, but also the import 
 and the importance of the " demonstration of the Spirit," in 
 preaching. That is more than the demonstration of orthodoxy. 
 It is more than the demonstration of either sound scholarship or 
 hard study. It is even more than the demonstration of mere 
 sincerity and fidelity. Sincerity may be cold, and fidelity harsh 
 Even zeal may be party rivalship, or personal vanity ; whilst 
 it seems holy fire searching only for incense to the glory of 
 God and the Lamb. To preach in demonstration of the Spirit, 
 is even more than bringing out " the mind of the Spirit," faith- 
 fully and fully. The real meaning of His oracles may be honestly 
 given, and yet their true spirit neither caught nor conveyed. 
 " What the Spirit saith unto the churches," may be repeated to 
 the churches without evasion or faltering ; but it will not be 
 heard as His counsel or consolation, unless it is spoken with 
 something of his own love and solemnity. He is the Spirit of 
 power, and of grace, and of love, as well as the Spirit of truth 
 and wisdom ; and therefore He is but half copied in preach- 
 ing, when only his meaning is given. That meaning lies in His 
 mind, not merely as truth, nor as law, nor as wisdom, but also 
 as sympathy, solicitude, and love for the souls it is addressed 
 unto. The words of the Spirit are spirit and life ; and there- 
 fore the soul, as well as the substance, of their meaning is essen- 
 tial to faithful preaching. They can hardly be said to be the 
 words of the Holy Ghost, when they are uttered in a spiritless 
 or lifeless mood. 
 
 This will be more obvious by looking at " the truth, as it is 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMKS. 213 
 
 in Jesus." In Him it is grace as well as truth. All his heart, 
 and soul, and strength, breathes and burns in his words. His 
 mot ires are part of his meaning. He explains the great salva- 
 tion, that he may endear and enforce its claims at the same 
 time. He makes us feel, that he feels more for our souls than 
 words can express. He compels us to see a beaming of earnest- 
 ness in his eye, and to hear a beating of intense solicitude in his 
 heart, and to recognise a fixedness of purpose in all his manner, 
 unspeakably beyond all he says. The real pleading of the 
 Saviour with sinners begins where his words end. His iveep- 
 i)i<j silence, after speaking as never man spake, tells more of his 
 love to souls than all his gracious words. We feel that he feels 
 he has gained nothing by his preaching, unless he has won 
 souls. He leaves upon every mind the conviction, that nothing 
 can please him but the heart ; and that nothing would please 
 him so much as giving him the heart. No man ever rose, or 
 can rise, from reading the entreaties of Christ, without feeling 
 that Christ is in earnest is intent is absorbed, to seek and 
 save the lost. 
 
 The apostles evidently marked this with great attention, and 
 copied it with much success, when they became ambassadors 
 "for Christ," by the ministry of reconciliation. Then, they 
 did more than deliver the truth He taught. They tried to 
 utter it with His solemnity, tenderness, and unction. They 
 tried to put themselves in " Christ's stead," when Christ was 
 no longer on earth to beseech men to be reconciled unto God. 
 This was " the demonstration of the Spirit ! " Saying what 
 Christ did, was not enough for them : they laboured to say it .<? 
 he did ; or in the spirit, and for the purpose, he had preached 
 the gospel. Thus the truth was in them as it was " in Jesus ;" 
 not merely as true, but also as impressive, persuasive, and ab- 
 sorbing. They spoke the truth, as he had done, " in the love 
 of it," and with love to the souls it was able to make wise unto 
 salvation. 
 
 An 1 this is not impossible even now, although apostolic in- 
 spiration be at an end. The best part of the Spirit's influ- 
 ences love to the gospel and immortal souls is yet attainable, 
 and as easily attained as any other ministerial qualification. A 
 
214 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 minister ought to be as much ashamed, and more afraid, of 
 being imbaptized with the Holy Ghost and fire, as of being ig- 
 norant of the original languages of the Holy Scriptures. Men 
 who can demonstrate the problems of Euclid, or the import of 
 Greek or Hebrew idioms, have 110 excuse if they are unable to 
 preach with the demonstration of the Spirit and power. The 
 same attention to the latter demonstration, which they gave to 
 the former, would fill them with the Holy Ghost, and fire them 
 with holy zeal. 
 
 Nothing is so simple, although nothing be so sublime, as 
 preaching " the gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from 
 heaven." Any prayerful and thoughtful minister may preach 
 in this spirit ; for it neither includes, nor excludes, great talents, 
 learning, or ingenuity. " An unction from the Holy One " can 
 subordinate the mightiest and wealthiest minds to the one 
 grand object watching for souls ; and it can render subser- 
 vient and successful the most ordinary powers of mind. The 
 acute reasonings of Wesley, and the warm-hearted remon- 
 strances and beseechings of Whitefield, were equally useful, be- 
 cause equally demonstrations of the Spirit. In like manner, 
 many of their uneducated colleagues " turned many to right- 
 eousness ;" and are themselves, now, turned into stars which 
 shall shine for ever in the firmament of the church in both 
 worlds. The secret of this success in winning souls was the 
 same in both classes of preachers ; their heart, their soul, 
 their all, was in their work. Truth had the force of divine 
 truth, the fire of eternal truth, and the glory of saving truth, 
 upon their minds. Their hearts were/w// (whether holding 
 much or little) of heavenly treasure ; and they held it as hea- 
 venly treasure, and poured it out as stewards who had to account 
 for it in heaven, and to review their stewardship of it through 
 eternity. Accordingly, both regular congregations and pro- 
 miscuous mobs, whatever they thought of the office or the 
 talents of these itinerants, felt that they were on fire to watch 
 for and win souls ; and were compelled to acknowledge, that 
 even men who had never been at the University, " had been 
 with Jesus," and were, indeed, " moved by the Holy Ghost." 
 Another way in which the apostles caught and kept up the de- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 21,5 
 
 monstration of the Spirit in their preaching, was, by trying to 
 beseech men to be reconciled unto God, just as God himself 
 might be supposed to plead with them, were He to bow the 
 heavens and come down as a minister of reconciliation. This 
 was a bold attempt ! Even its sublimity and benevolence can- 
 not hide its boldness, however they may excuse it. " As 
 though God did beseech you, we pray you in Christ's stead, be 
 ye reconciled unto God." Archangels would hardly have ven- 
 tured to go so far as the apostles, in thus trying to represent 
 both God and the Lamb, as reconcilers. It was, however, an 
 attempt to win souls, as wise and humble, as it was sublime or 
 bold. There was no presumption, nor ostentation, nor pretence 
 in it. They magnified their office, only that they might hum- 
 ble themselves the more deeply, and discharge its duties the 
 more faithfully. The attempt to copy God was, also, the best 
 way of relieving themselves from the fear of man, and their 
 best security against all trifling, temporizing, and display in the 
 work of God. As his representatives, there would, of course, 
 be no airs nor affectation in their manner of preaching ; no 
 parade of novelty or learning in their matter ; no taint of bit- 
 terness or harshness in their spirit. Thus, by adopting Him as 
 their model, they were sure to preach better than any other ex- 
 ample could have taught them ; for, whilst it bound them to 
 soberness and solemnity, it left them free to speak in thunder 
 when the conscience was to be roused ; and in metaphor when 
 attention was to be won or relieved ; and with all the forms of 
 eloquence whenever their subject inspired 
 
 " Thoughts which breathe, or words that burn." 
 
 Yes ; this divine standard, equally lofty and lovely, left them 
 at full liberty to ransack creation for figures ; time for facts ; 
 heaven for motives ; hell for warnings ; and eternity for argu- 
 ments : binding them only to make the whole bear directly, 
 consistently, and supremely, upon their one grand object re- 
 conciling the world unto God by the blood of the cross : for 
 whilst that was " all and all " as the final end of their ministry, 
 they might warrantably and legitimately employ in the pursuit 
 of it, every tone and term, image and emotion, in which God 
 
216 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 himself had ever appealed to the hopes or fears of man. Ac- 
 cordingly, there was much that was godlike in their preaching. 
 They could not, of course, realize fully, nor imitate far, the 
 manner or the spirit in which God would plead his own cause, 
 were He to preach his own gospel : but still, their reasonings 
 were not unlike His manifold wisdom ; nor their appeals un- 
 worthy of His paternal tenderness ; nor their remonstrances 
 inconsistent with His judicial authority. There was a fine de- 
 monstration of the Spirit in the boldness of Peter, in the 
 sublimity of Paul, and in the heavenliness of John. 
 
 It was to this beseeching as in the "stead of Christ and 
 God," that Paul referred, when he besought the Ephesians to 
 pray for him, " that utterance might be given him, to speak 
 boldly " as an ambassador, though in bonds, " ought to speak." 
 He meant more than not being silent or ashamed ; more than 
 rising superior to circumstances and danger. He meant also, 
 speaking with equal demonstration of the Spirit and power, in 
 peril as in peace ; in Rome as in Jerusalem ; before Caesar as 
 before the sanhedrim. 
 
 In nothing, perhaps, did Whitefield keep Paul more before 
 him, than in this strong solicitude to " speak as he ought to 
 speak." No phrase occurs so often in his journals as, " preach- 
 ed with much power ; with some power." He does not venture 
 to call even his greatest efforts a " demonstration of the Spirit ;" 
 but the word " power " occurs so uniformly, that it tells plainly 
 what he was thinking about, after all sermons which produced 
 a visible effect. His enemies said he was complimenting his 
 own sermons. They little knew his heart, and still less the 
 humility which springs from " an unction " of the Spirit! To 
 prevent unnecessary misunderstanding, however, he explained 
 his meaning thus, in a note to his revised journals : " By the 
 word power, I mean, all along, no more, nor no less, than en- 
 largement of heart, and a comfortable frame, given me from 
 above ; by which I was enabled to speak with freedom and 
 clearness, and the people were impressed and affected thereby." 
 This is only explaining not retracting nor qualifying. He 
 knew, and tens of thousands felt, that God was with him of a 
 truth, making the gospel rebound from his heart to their hearts ; 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 217 
 
 melting them by warming him ; winning their souls, by absorb- 
 ing his soul with the glories of salvation. 
 
 Happily, this spirit cannot be imitated in preaching. It may 
 be imbibed and breathed by any devotional and devoted minis- 
 ter ; but it cannot be copied. No tones, looks, nor tears, can 
 demonstrate the presence of the Spirit in a sermon, if the 
 preacher has not been " in the Spirit" before coming to the 
 pulpit. Neither the melting nor the kindling of men but half 
 devoted, or but half-hearted in devotion, can melt down or wield 
 an audience, by the gospel ; because the Holy Spirit will not 
 honour fits and starts of fidelity. The minister must be a holy 
 temple unto the Holy Ghost, who would have that Spirit speak 
 to the hearts of men by him. Never does a preacher dupe him- 
 self, or endanger others, more, than when he imagines that the 
 Spirit will give power to the gospel amongst his people, whilst it 
 has not power upon himself. God makes ministers a blessing 
 to others, by blessing themselves first. He works in them, in 
 order to work by them. 
 
 I throw out these hints, not to ministers, but to private 
 christians, who know what it is to pray in the Spirit, and what 
 it is to see divine things in the light of eternity. Preaching 
 with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, is just what pray- 
 ing in the Holy Ghost is ; not form, nor forcing, nor copying ; 
 but the outpouring of a heart penetrated with the greatness of 
 the great salvation, and absorbed with the solemn responsibili- 
 ties involved in the hope of salvation. Did such hearers sustain 
 such preachers, by prayer, and esteem, and co-operation, there 
 would be far more demonstration of the Spirit in the evangelical 
 pulpits of the land : and many who now content themselves with 
 depending on the Holy Spirit, would be compelled to cultivate 
 the fellowship of that Spirit, instead of merely complimenting his 
 power. 
 
 2 F 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WHITEFIELD IN SCOTLAND. 
 1741. 
 
 THE state of religion in Scotland at this time will be best un- 
 derstood, as well as most fairly represented, by a brief view of 
 the rise and progress of the Secession. That second Reforma- 
 tion in Scotland brought into full light and play all the good 
 and evil of the national church. I shall, therefore, state the 
 facts, just as they now challenge and defy investigation. I 
 have never seen ihe final appeals of the Associate Synod inva- 
 lidated ; and therefore I employ their own words. 
 
 " The Secession is regarded both by its friends and its ene- 
 mies as a highly important event in the history of the church 
 of Scotland. However slight and accidental the circumstances 
 by which it was immediately occasioned may appear, it un- 
 questionably arose from a general state of matters in the church, 
 naturally tending towards such a crisis. Divine Providence, 
 whose operations are often apparently slow, but always sure 
 and progressive, had been gradually paving the way for an open 
 division, calculated, notwithstanding all its accompanying evils, 
 to prevent the utter extinction of religious principle and free- 
 dom in the land, and to advance the interests of truth and 
 piety. A torrent of corruption, which threatened the over- 
 throw of every thing sacred in doctrine and valuable in privi- 
 lege, was proceeding to so great a height, that enlightened and 
 conscientious men were impressed with the necessity of bold 
 and decisive steps. 
 
 " The prevalence of those erroneous tenets and oppressive 
 
\\IUTF.KI KM)*S LIKK AND TIMES. 
 
 measures, which gave rise to the Secession, may be traced back 
 to the defects attending the settlement of ecclesiastical affairs 
 at the era of the Revolution 1688. That era was truly glo- 
 rious ; and in no quarter of the British empire were its blessings 
 more necessary, or more sensibly experienced, than in Scot- 
 land. Religious as well as civil rights and liberties were then 
 restored to a nation, which, under the tyrannical sway of 
 Charles II. and James VII. had been most cruelly degraded and 
 oppressed. Episcopacy was abolished ; the presbyterian wor- 
 ship and government re-established; pastors who had been 
 ejected from their churches in 1661, were replaced; and the 
 law of patronage, though not absolutely annulled, was so modi- 
 fied, and, in consequence, so gently administered, that it was 
 scarcely felt as a grievance. 
 
 "But while the Scottish presbyterians had much cause for 
 gratitude and joy, they had at the same time several sources of 
 regret. The omission of an act formally asserting Christ's sole 
 headship over the church, and expressly condemning the royal 
 supremacy which had Been assumed under the two preceding 
 reigns, was deeply lamented. Nor was it an inconsiderable evil, 
 that, in compliance with the wishes of the court, about three 
 hundred of the prelatical incumbents, some of whom had even 
 been active agents in the work of persecution, were, ( upon easy 
 terms,' permitted to retain their stations in the parishes of 
 Scotland, and to sit in the ecclesiastical courts. Attached, in 
 many instances, to unscriptural doctrines, no less than to epis- 
 copalian forms of worship and discipline, these men could not 
 fail to obstruct the efforts of those faithful ministers who at- 
 tempted to promote the cause of evangelical truth and practical 
 religion. Among those ministers themselves, there were com- 
 paratively few who displayed all that magnanimity and zeal 
 which the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom required; and 
 the exercise of which, on that momentous occasion, might have 
 proved incalculably advantageous to vital Christianity in their 
 own days, and in succeeding ages. Owing to the pusillanimity 
 of some clergymen, and the waywardness of others, lamentable 
 symptoms of degeneracy in principle and practice were dis- 
 cernible within a short period after the happy Revolution. The 
 
220 
 
 worthy Halyburton accordingly, amid the triumphant ex- 
 pressions of Christian faith and hope, which he uttered on his 
 death-bed, in 1712, deplored in the strongest terms "the grow- 
 ing apostasy ' of the times, and, in particular, that indifference 
 to the peculiarities of the gospel and to the power of godliness, 
 which prevailed among a great proportion of the clergy. He 
 exclaimed, for example, ' Oh that the ministry of Scotland 
 may he kept from destroying the church of Scotland. Oh that 
 I could obtain it of them with tears of blood, to be concerned 
 for the church ! Shall we be drawn away from the precious 
 gospel, and from Christ.' Frasers Erskines. 
 
 " The Secession did not originate in any dissatisfaction with 
 the professed principles of the church of Scotland, which 
 seceders venerate as a precious summary of divine truths 
 the most valuable inheritance they have received from their 
 fathers and which they are anxious to transmit in purity to 
 their children. But for some time before they were expelled 
 from the communion of the national church, a tide of defection 
 had been flowing in from the prevailing party in her judi- 
 catories, which, while it spared the erroneous in doctrine, and 
 the irregular in conduct, bore down the Christian people con- 
 tending for their religious privileges, and those ministers who 
 testified faithfully against ecclesiastical misconduct. 
 
 " A professor of divinity, in one of the Universities, taught 
 that the souls of children are as pure and holy as the soul of 
 Adam was in his original condition, being inferior to him only 
 as he was formed in a state of maturity ; and that the light of 
 nature, including tradition, is sufficient to teach men the way 
 of salvation. For these doctrines, subversive of the first prin- 
 ciples of Christianity, a process was instituted against him, in 
 which it was clearly proved that he was chargeable with teach- 
 ing publicly these and other errors. But so far from being sub- 
 jected to the censure he deserved, he was permitted to retain his 
 place in the University and the church ; and the General As- 
 sembly were satisfied with declaring that some of his opinions 
 were not evidently founded on the word of God, nor necessary 
 to be taught in divinity, and prohibiting him from publishing 
 such sentiments in future. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 " The ' Marrow of Modern Divinity ' teaches, ' that God in the 
 gospel makes a gift of the Saviour to mankind as sinners, war- 
 ranting every one who hears the gospel to believe in him for 
 salvation ; that believers are entirely freed from the law as a 
 covenant of works ; that good works are not to be performed 
 by believers that they may obtain salvation by them.' In the 
 unqualified condemnation of these principles, the General As- 
 sembly materially condemned some of the most important doc- 
 trines of the gospel, such as the unlimited extent of the gospel 
 call, and the free grace of God in the salvation of sinners. 
 
 " For a short time after the revival of the law of patronage, in 
 1712, such as received presentations were backward to accept 
 of them, and the church courts were unwilling to proceed to 
 their settlement, where opposition was made by the people of 
 the vacant charge. But presentees and judicatories became 
 gradually less scrupulous, and several settlements afterwards 
 took place in reclaiming congregations, which gave plain evi- 
 dence that the rights of the members of the church would be 
 no longer regarded. The little influence which might occa- 
 sionally be left to the people in the choice of their ministers, 
 was destroyed by an act of the General Assembly, passed im- 
 mediately before the commencement of the Secession. This 
 act, providing that where patrons might neglect, or decline to 
 exercise, their rights, the minister should be chosen by a ma- 
 jority of the elders and heritors, if protestant, was unconstitu- 
 tionally passed by the Assembly, as a great majority of the 
 presbyteries, who gave their opinions upon the subject, were 
 decidedly hostile to the measure. 
 
 " Many pious and faithful ministers were grieved by these 
 defections ; but being deprived, by the prevailing party in the 
 Assembly, of the liberty of marking their disapprobation in the 
 minutes of the court, no method of maintaining a good con- 
 science remained, except testifying against defection, in their 
 public ministrations. This method was adopted; and for a 
 public condemnation of these corruptions by the Rev. Ebenezer 
 Erskine, 1732, a process was instituted against him, which ter- 
 minated, 1733, in first suspending him and three of his brethren, 
 the Rev. Messrs. William Wilson, Alexander Moncrieff, and 
 
999 
 
 James Fisher, who had joined him, from the exercise of the 
 ministerial office, and afterwards, 1740, dissolving their relation 
 to their congregations and the national church." Dr. Wauglis 
 Life. 
 
 " The valuable order of husbandmen, who constituted a very 
 considerable portion " of the Secession, " were, at this period, of 
 the third generation in descent from the covenanters, who lived 
 towards the latter end of the seventeenth century ; to whom their 
 country owes a deep debt of gratitude, for their pious zeal, their 
 patient sufferings, and their severe, long-protracted, and ulti- 
 mately successful struggle with a despotic and persecuting go- 
 vernment. Like their ancestors, whose memory for the most 
 part they warmly cherished and venerated, besides being zeal- 
 ous presbyterians, they were distinguished by frugal habits, 
 simple manners, and an ardent regard for evangelical doctrines. 
 In addition to a regular and exemplary attendance on the pub- 
 lic ordinances of divine worship, they faithfully performed the 
 exercises of devotion in their families, and laboured, with patri- 
 archal diligence, to instil into the minds of their children and 
 domestics the principles of sound doctrine and a holy life. The 
 strict and regular observance of the duties of family religion, 
 appears to have been one chief cause of the high eminence in 
 Scriptural knowledge, in sobriety of manners, as well as in every 
 domestic virtue, for which the northern part of Great Britain 
 was then justly celebrated. The patriarchal simplicity of man- 
 ners which, about the middle of the last century, so especially 
 characterized Scottish husbandmen, was calculated, in a high 
 degree, to foster deep affections, and a sober but manly earnest- 
 ness both of principle and deportment ; and it may be fairly 
 stated, as one of the happy privileges of the Secession church, 
 that so large a number of its ministers have sprung from this 
 virtuous and valuable order of men. 
 
 " But the religious order of the family was the distinguishing 
 trait. The whole household assembled in the hall (or kitchen) 
 in the morning before breakfast, for family worship, and in the 
 evening before supper. The goodman, of course, led their 
 devotions, every one having his Bible in his hand. This was 
 the stated course even in seed-time and harvest : between five 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIKE AND TIMES. 
 
 and six in the morning was the hour of prayer in fliese busy 
 seasons. 
 
 " On sabbath all went to church, however great the distance, 
 except one person in turn, to take care of the house or younger 
 children, and others to tend the cattle. After a late dinner, on 
 their return, the family assembled around the master, who first 
 catechised the children and then the servants. Each was re- 
 quired to tell what he remembered of the religious services they 
 had joined in at the house of God ; each repeated a portion of 
 the Shorter Catechism ; and all were then examined on heads of 
 divinity, from the mouth of the master. Throughout the whole 
 of the sabbath, all worldly concerns, except such as necessity or 
 mercy required to be attended to, were strictly laid aside ; and 
 nothing was allowed to enter into conversation, save subjects of 
 religion." Dr. Wangles Life. Such were the principles and 
 character of the Seceders : and they were common in the kirks 
 which possessed evangelical ministers. 
 
 Amongst other steps taken by the Erskines, in order to 
 strengthen the Secession, was their overture to Whitefield. 
 Eraser's account of this negociation is, upon the whole, the most 
 candid and complete that we possess. It hardly shows, however, 
 all the urgency of the Erskines to secure a monopoly of White- 
 field's influence. Ralph's letter to him, of April 10, 1741, con- 
 tains more than Eraser has quoted. The following appeals are 
 omitted : " Come, if possible, dear Whitefield, come, and come 
 to us also. There is no face on earth I would desire more 
 earnestly to see. Yet I would desire it only in a way that, I 
 think, would tend most to the advancing of our Lord's kingdom, 
 and the reformation work, among our hands. Such is the situ- 
 ation of affairs among us, that unless you came with a design to 
 meet and abide with us, particularly of the Associate Presbytery, 
 and to make your public appearances in the places especially of 
 their concern, I would dread the consequences of your coming, 
 lest it should seem equally to countenance our persecutors. 
 Your fame would occasion a flocking to you, to whatever side 
 you turn ; and if it should be in their pulpits, as no doubt some 
 of them would urge, we know how it would be improven against 
 us. I know not with whom you could safely join yourself, if not 
 
224 
 
 with us." Oliphanf* Wldtejield, Edin. 1826. To all such 
 appeals, Whitefielcl's answer was, " I come only as an occasional 
 preacher, to preach the simple gospel to all that are willing to 
 hear me, of whatever denomination. I write this, that there 
 may be no misunderstanding between us." Letters. With this 
 key, the following documents from Fraser will be as intelligible 
 as they are interesting. 
 
 Mr. Erskine sustained a heavy disappointment when White- 
 field refused to co-operate with him in the manner asked and 
 expected. " Having received favourable accounts respecting 
 the character and doctrine of this celebrated man, and the ex- 
 traordinary success of his ministry in England and America, he 
 affectionately invited him to make a visit to Scotland, and to 
 unite his efforts with those of the Associate Presbytery, in pro- 
 moting the interests of truth and godliness. A letter from Mr. 
 Erskine to Mr. Whitefield, a short-hand copy of which we have 
 discovered in his 38th Note -book, throws some light on the views 
 and motives which influenced him and his brethren in giving 
 him that invitation. Several expressions are illegible. We 
 give the following extracts :". Eraser's Life of Erskine. 
 
 " Hilldown, near Dunbar, June, 1741. 
 
 " Rev. and very dear brother, 
 
 I inclined much to have written you as soon as I heard of 
 your return to England ; but I was at a loss for want of a direc- 
 tion, till I received yours from Bristol, of the 16th of May, which 
 was very acceptable. Though I have not yet seen your last 
 journal, yet I have heard of it, and of the great things God has 
 done for you and by you in the American world, and at home 
 also, in this island of the sea ; which brings that doxology to 
 mind ' Thanks be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph 
 in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by 
 us in every place.' May you be enabled more and more to be 
 joyful in his salvation, and in the name of your God to set up 
 your banner. The banner which God has given you to display, 
 because of truth, is far more glorious than that of (Admiral) Ver- 
 non. But I know that you are disposed to say, ' Not I, but the 
 
u HITKKIKLD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 22 
 
 grace of God in me ;' ' Not unto us, but unto thy name be the 
 glory.' 
 
 " How desirable would it be to all the sincere lovers of Jesus 
 Christ in Scotland, to see him ( travelling in the greatness of his 
 strength ' among us also in your ministrations ! Truth fails ii 
 our streets. Equity cannot enter into our ecclesiastical courts. 
 As our Assembly did last year eject us from our churches, and 
 exclude us from our ministry and legal maintenance, for lifting 
 up our reformation testimony ; so, from all I can hear, they have 
 this year, in May last, appointed several violent intrusions 
 to be made upon Christian congregations ; whereby the flock of 
 Christ is scattered more and more upon the mountains ; for a 
 stranger will they not follow, who know the Shepherd's voice. 
 The wandering sheep come with their bleatings to the Associate 
 Presbytery ; whereby our work is daily increasing, in feeding 
 and rallying our Master's flock, scattered and offended by the 
 established church. 
 
 " From this short glimpse of the state of matters among us, 
 you will easily see what reason the Associate Presbytery "have to 
 say, Come over to Scotland and help us ; come up to the help of 
 the Lord against the mighty ; for the enemy comes in like a 
 flood, but I hope the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard 
 against him. We hear that God is with you of a truth, and 
 therefore we wish for as intimate a connexion with you in the 
 Lord as possible, for building up the fallen tabernacle of David 
 in Britain ; and particularly in Scotland, when you shall be sent 
 to us. This, dear brother, and no party views, is at the bottom 
 of any proposal made by my brother Ralph, in his own name, 
 and in the name of his associate brethren. It would be very 
 unreasonable to propose or urge that you should incorporate as 
 a member of our Presbytery, and wholly embark in every branch 
 of our reformation, unless the Father of lights were clearing 
 your way thereunto ; which we pray he may enlighten in his 
 time, so as you and we may see eye to eye. All intended by us 
 at present is, that, when you come to Scotland, your way may 
 be such as not to strengthen the hands of our corrupt clergy ana 
 iudicatories, who are carrying on a course of defection, worrying 
 out a faithful ministry from the land, and the power of religion 
 
 2 G 
 
226 
 
 with it. * * * * Far be it from us to limit your great 
 Master's commission to preach the gospel to every creature. 
 We ourselves preach the gospel to all promiscuously who are 
 willing to hear us. But we preach not upon the call and invi- 
 tation of the ministers, but of the people, which, I suppose, is 
 your own practice now in England ; and should this also be 
 your way when you come to Scotland, it could do the Associate 
 Presbytery no manner of harm. But if, besides, you could find 
 freedom to company with us, to preach with us and for us, and 
 to accept of our advices in your work, while in this country, it 
 might contribute much to weaken the enemy's hand, and to 
 strengthen ours in the work of the Lord, when the strength of 
 the battle is against us. 
 
 " These things I only propose with all submission. The Lord 
 himself, I pray and hope, will direct you to such a course and 
 conduct as shall be for his own glory, and the edification of his 
 church every where, and particularly among us in Scotland. 
 We, in this country, are generally a lifeless, lukewarm, and up- 
 sitten generation. What a blessing would it be to us, if your 
 visit should be attended with such fruits and effects as at Bos- 
 ton ; an account of which I have read in your last to my brother 
 Ralph which yields great matter of thanksgiving. 
 
 " I am truly sorry for the Wesleyans to see them so far left 
 to themselves. I have seen your letter to them, and praise the 
 Lord on your behalf, who enables you to stand up so valiantly 
 for the truth, and with so much light and energy. May his 
 truth be more and more your shield and buckler. 
 
 I am, your unworthy and affectionate brother, 
 
 EBENEZER ERSKINE." 
 
 This letter had been preceded by one from Ralph Eiskine, 
 the brother and coadjutor of Ebenezer. 
 
 " Dunfermline, Aug. 21, 1739. 
 " Reverend and very dear Sir, 
 
 Yours, dated July 23rd, was most acceptable ; and I would 
 have answered it by the first post, as you propose, but that, as 
 it lay about eight days in my house before 1 was at home to 
 
221 
 
 receive it, so I delayed a few days thereafter, as I was to meet 
 with my brethren of the Associate Presbytery, to whom I com- 
 municated your line, and Mr. William Seward's, and at the 
 same time gave to each of them a copy of your last journal, as 
 a present from you. I received nine of them at Burntisland, 
 where we then were. I received also, much about the same 
 time, six of your last sermon, on John vii. 37 ; some of which, with 
 some of the former, I also gave to some of the brethren. And 
 as I return you hearty thanks for these presents, so my brethren 
 received them as tokens of that love and kindness which you 
 express in such affectionate terms, in the close of your letter to 
 me, as gave them very much pleasure and satisfaction, and 
 tended to increase and inflame their love more and more to you. 
 Your being opposed for owning us, and your maintaining such 
 a regard for us, give ground to hope and expect that you will 
 receive no information about us to our disadvantage, unless or 
 until you have account thereof from ourselves, since you have 
 laid such a foundation of kindly correspondence with us. 
 
 " I have some acquaintance with Mr. Davidson in Edinburgh, 
 whom you mention, and was glad to hear he had sent you Mr. 
 Boston's books. However, he has not had so much communi- 
 cation with us, as I hear he has with you, since he began to 
 sway towards the independent or congregational way, which he 
 has for some time been active to promote, though otherwise, I 
 hope, a good and well-disposed man. Meantime, by whatever 
 hand you please to send any print, (expecting, by the first occa- 
 sion, to see the appendix, if published,) it can scarce fail to come 
 safe, if but directed as your letters are. I have given orders to 
 send you the prints relating to our public affairs in the Asso- 
 ciate Presbytery ; and in case of your absence, they are to come 
 to Mr. Seward or Mr. John Wesley. 
 
 " I have now read your journals and sermons ; and I can assure 
 you, with reference to the whole work in general, and the main 
 scope of it, my soul has been made to magnify the Lord for the 
 very great things he has done for you and by you ; and I rejoice 
 to see you ascribe all to the free grace of God in Christ, and that 
 he has so remarkably raised you up to testify against the errors 
 and corruptions of the times, to rouse and awaken a secure gene- 
 
228 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 ration, and to bring such a number of sinners from darkness to 
 light, and from the power of Satan unto God. If I shall speak 
 of any particulars wherein we differ, it shall only be to show 
 the greatness of my love to you, by the greatness of the freedom 
 I use with you ; also to prevent after-mistakes, and to promote 
 unfeigned love, which can both cover a multitude of infirmities, 
 and overlook a number of differences not by quite concealing 
 them, which might bring love under a suspicion, but by a 
 friendly mentioning of them, which may prove it to be without 
 dissimulation. 
 
 " Though we desire to cover with the mantle of love all the 
 differences betwixt you and us that flow from your education in 
 the church of England, and adore the merciful providence of 
 God, who has so far enlightened and qualified you and your 
 brethren to be witnesses for him and instruments of reforma- 
 tion, yet we hope the more this work is of God, the more will 
 it tend to bring about a happy union in the Lord betwixt you 
 and us, not only in a private and personal, but even in a more 
 public and general way. My brethren and I, that have had 
 occasion here to confer about you, see a beauty in the provi- 
 dence of your being in communion with the English church. 
 Otherwise such great confluences from among them had not 
 attended your ministry, nor consequently received the benefit 
 or reaped the advantage which so many of them have done. 
 And though infinite wisdom has made, and may yet make, this 
 an alluring bait to draw them forth, yet as England's reforma- 
 tion at first, (from popery and its superstitious and ceremonial 
 services,) however great and glorious, was far from being so 
 full as that of some other protestant churches, particularly that 
 of Scotland ; so we would fain hope that when a new and general 
 reformation shall be set on foot, some more at least of the rags 
 of that Romish church shall be dropt, such as (abstracting at 
 present from the subject of church government) many useless 
 rites and customs relating to worship, which have no Scriptural 
 foundation. This is what some of the most pious and learned 
 divines of your communion have wished to see reformed, know- 
 ing that many of these were retained at first, only under the 
 view of reforming gradually and from some prudential consider- 
 
229 
 
 ations ; and knowing also that the continued retaining of these 
 things, which the reforming fathers designed gradually to cast 
 off, has been more stumbling to the friends, than ever it was 
 gaining to the enemies, of the Reformation. Therefore, though 
 Providence at present be making a good use of your being, ac- 
 cording to your light, of that way, yet when you are beginning, 
 as it were, to lay a new foundation, may the Lord, in due time, 
 enable you to guard against such things as may afterwards 
 prove a hinderance to a multitude of tender Christians, their 
 holding communion with you, as has been the case formerly. 
 PriHcipiis obsta, is a caution most necessary in many cases. 
 What the great and famous reformer Luther retained from his 
 original Romish education, proved a sad dividing snare among 
 the protestant churches ; and since, by the good hand of God 
 upon you, you are so well occupied in dashing down bigotry and 
 party zeal, I hope the hint I here give you on this head will 
 be the more agreeable. The first and main business, no doubt, 
 is to lay the foundation of saving faith by preaching the pure 
 truths and precious doctrines of the everlasting gospel, which 
 (glory to God) you are so busy about, and we, I hope, are join- 
 ing heart and hand with you. 
 
 " Very dear Sir, if you and your brethren, whom I honour and 
 esteem in the Lord as his eminent witnesses, shall judge the 
 freedom I have here used already to be rash or unseasonable, 
 the least challenge of this sort from you shall be to me as ex- 
 cellent oil which shall not break my head ; for I think I would 
 choose to suffer many miseries rather than choose to offend you. 
 But, hoping my freedom shall rather be taken as a mark of 
 that kindness of which my heart is full, I proceed to tell you 
 what may be reckoned exceptionable in the last journal, though, 
 at the same time, the wonders of divine grace therein recorded 
 were most savoury to me, and to all I have spoken with upon 
 it, and will, I hope, stir up many to prayer and praise. Your 
 opinion about the business of the attorney has I hear been 
 written of to you already, and therefore I shall say nothing of 
 it. The correction you gave to your opinion of its unlawfulness 
 by adding " at least exceedingly dangerous," satisfied me. 
 Some have thought your love and charity extended a little too 
 
230 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 far beyond the Scripture rule in some instances ; such as Jour- 
 nal last, page 59th, where you say the quakers' notions about 
 walking and being led by the Spirit, you think are right and 
 good. Unless they be quakers of another stamp than the rest, 
 whose dangerous tenets are inconsistent with the right notion 
 of being led by the Spirit, while, beside other things, they deny 
 justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ, or his 
 active and passive obedience received by faith, to be the only 
 ground of justification before God ; and while thus they cannot 
 receive Jesus Christ, they consequently cannot walk in him, 
 nor be led by his Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth, testifying of 
 Christ according to the revelation made of him in the word, 
 which they contradict. Whatever duties of love you perform 
 towards these men, I will never believe you mean or intend to 
 justify their principles and delusive notions. 
 
 " There is a passage in the same book, page 83d, that has 
 been improven against us and our secession from the judicato- 
 ries ', which yet, when I read it over again, seems to show to 
 me how much you are of our mind, and that you would take the 
 same course had you been in the same situation. You very 
 justly, I think, express your dissatisfaction with three of your 
 brethren that were driven to deny Christ's visible church upon 
 earth, and show that needless separation from the established 
 church would no doubt be attended with ill consequences; and 
 you judge of the state of a church, not from the practice of its 
 members, but from its primitive and public constitution. Hence 
 to me it would seem that if even the plurality of its members 
 meeting judicially should contradict its primitive and public 
 constitution, you would see fit to leave them and cleave to the 
 said constitution ; which is the case with us in our secession 
 from the present judicatories of the established church of Scot- 
 land. Such seem to be the defects, it is true, of your eccle- 
 siastical government in England, that, unless in the case of 
 a convocation, you can never boast of an ecclesiastical and ju- 
 dicial cleaving unto, nor complain of a judicial seceding from, 
 the primitive public constitution. But as I make no question 
 but, in that case, you would find (as matters are at present 
 stated in England) there would be defections of the same sort 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 231 
 
 with you as there are with us, and consequently that you would 
 see need to take the same course that we of the Associate Pres- 
 bytery do ; so while you want the same advantages for seeing 
 clearly when it is that defections are become national and judi- 
 cial, and when there is a universal practical departure from 
 the Scriptural principles of the church you profess yourselves to 
 be of, it is a question how far it is consonant with the word of 
 God to maintain close communion with those of that church 
 who are either subverting its primitive public constitution, or 
 openly and avowedly denying the foresaid principles. 
 
 " Since right communion is founded on union in the truth, 
 at least by some open profession of it, which most of your 
 clergy seem to have little of, while they excommunicate you 
 and your brethren from the use of their churches ; however well 
 ordered this also is in providence for good, yet it discovers 
 them to be what they are. You likewise add that so long as 
 the Articles of the church of England are agreeable to Scrip- 
 ture, you resolve to preach them up, without either bigotry or 
 party zeal. This I heartily approve of, and this is the case with 
 us also. We preach up and defend, doctrinally and judicially, 
 those articles of the church of Scotland agreeable to the Scrip- 
 tures, which the judicatories are letting go. Hence, I conclude, 
 you seem to be just of our mind as to separation from an 
 established church. We never declared a secession from the 
 church of Scotland, but, on the contrary, only a secession from 
 the judicatories, in their course of defection from the primitive 
 and covenanted constitution, to which we stood also bound by 
 our ordination engagements. And hence, to this day, we never 
 did quit our charges or congregations, to which we were ordain- 
 ed by the imposition of the hands of our several respective pres- 
 byteries, nor did we ever design, unless we were obliged by vio- 
 lence or compulsion, so to do. 
 
 " As to your sermons, dear Sir, I am ashamed you should 
 mention my approbation of them, as if it were of any signi- 
 ficancy. The general strain of your doctrine I love, admire, 
 and relish, with all my soul, and hope, through the blessing of 
 God, it will do much service. And, as to some particular ex- 
 pressions which I myself could not have used, my love to you, 
 
232 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 and my view of the countenance of Heaven with you, made me 
 to put such a favourable gloss upon them as to discern no odds 
 betwixt you and us. But since I am using all the kind freedom 
 I can, I shall give you some instances : 
 
 " ' Almost Christian/ penult page. ( We shall then look back 
 on our past sincere and hearty services which have procured us 
 so valuable a reward.' This I could by no means interpret, as 
 if you meant it to the detriment of the doctrine of heaven's 
 being a reward of grace in Christ Jesus, and not of debt to our 
 services, or of eternal life its being the gift of God through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 " ' Sermon on Justification by Christ,' at the close. ( Do but 
 labour to attain that holiness, without which no man shall see 
 the Lord, and then, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be 
 white as snow.' 1 could by no means think that this was in- 
 tended any way to thwart the doctrine of free remission of sins 
 by the blood and righteousness of Christ only, which is the sub- 
 ject of the preceding sermon; or to make sanctification or la- 
 bouring after holiness, which is the fruit and evidence, to be the 
 root, ground, cause, or condition of forgiveness. No ; I take 
 your view to be, that in this way of labouring to attain holiness, 
 people would evidence to themselves and others, that they were 
 pardoned persons in Christ, or that they could not maintain 
 the knowledge or assurance of it but in this way of holiness. 
 
 " f Sermon on Phil. iii. 10,' page 14. ' He has passed from 
 death to life, and shall never, if he stir up the gift of God that 
 is in him, fall into condemnation.' This ' if ' here, I did not 
 interpret as favouring the Arminian error against the certainty 
 of the perseverance of saints that are once savingly united to 
 Christ by faith of the operation of God, and passed from death 
 to life ; but rather viewed it as favouring the gospel doctrine 
 concerning the connexion betwixt the means and the end, and 
 the necessity of the one in order to the other, though both are 
 secured by promise to a believer in Christ. 
 
 " I was told by one, that in some part of your works you 
 speak of justification by the act of believing; but as. I noticed 
 nothing of this in the prints, so I affirmed that you had not so 
 learned Christ, as to put the Arminian TO credere, or any thing 
 
233 
 
 done by us, or wrought in us, in the room of Christ and his 
 righteousness, or of his obedience and satisfaction, which alone 
 received by faith, I was sure, from your writings, you would own 
 fo be the only matter and ground of justification. 
 
 " Again, though I could not use the English of your Bone 
 Deus, because profane persons here sometimes swear in these 
 terms, yet, as I know it is common among your writers, so I 
 judge nothing is intended by it but a note of astonishment. 
 
 " Though some of these remarks are perhaps but trifling, and 
 not so material as others of them, I have noted all down, that 
 I may keep nothing back from you that in the least occurred 
 to my mind of any seeming dissonancy betwixt us in words. 
 Yet I judged, that, under various ways of speaking, we meant 
 the same thing, and point at the same end ; and I can say be- 
 fore the Lord, I not only approve of your sermons and journals, 
 but see much matter of praise to God for them. I see much of 
 the glory and majesty of God, and many of the stately steps 
 and goings of our mighty King Jesus in them, and have at times, 
 with tears of joy, adored his name for what he is doing for you 
 and by you, and I pray for the continuance and advancement of 
 that work of God. I rejoice that the Lord's work is going on 
 with you, and that days of power continue. May it do so till all 
 the powers of darkness give way to it, and till every Dagon fall 
 before the ark of God ! 
 
 " Your way of arguing against the apostatizing clergy of your 
 church in your last sermon, even from the instances drawn out 
 of your service-book, may be to them, I think, arguments ad 
 hominem. May the Lord bless it for their conviction, and for 
 awakening them out of their spiritual lethargy. 
 
 " When I consider how you and your brethren are stirred up 
 of God to such a remarkable way of witnessing for him in, Eng- 
 land against the corruptions and defections of that church, and 
 when we of the Associate Presbytery have been called forth in 
 a judicial way to witness against the corruptions and defections 
 of the church of Scotland, and both at a juncture when popish 
 powers are combining together against us, and desolating judg- 
 ments are justly threatened from Heaven, there is perhaps 
 more in the womb of providence relating to our several situa- 
 
 2 H 
 
234 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE A.ND TIMES. 
 
 tions and successes therein than we are aware of. What he 
 uoth we know not now, but we may know hereafter. If ne ue 
 gathering his birds together before a storm, according to the 
 call, Zeph. i. 1 3, and Isa. xxvi. 20, 21, glory to him who doth 
 all things well. 
 
 " We have lately been attending several sacramental solem- 
 nities in our brethren's congregations, where vast multitudes of 
 people were assembled at the tents without doors as well as in 
 the church, and I never found more of the presence of God 
 than at some of these occasions. The Spirit of God was some- 
 times remarkably poured out, and I hope the power of the Lord 
 was present to heal many souls. Enemies gnash with their 
 teeth, as they do with you, but the Lord carries on his work. 
 My brethren salute you most affectionately, they love and respect 
 you in the Lord. Now, very dear Sir, I have in this long letter 
 opened my very heart unto you, and told you the very worst 
 thought that ever entered into it concerning you; which I 
 could not have done, if it were not filled with love to you. 
 And it loves you because you love Christ, and he loves you and 
 honours you ; and I hope he will spare and honour you more 
 and more, to be a happy instrument in his hand for advancing 
 his kingdom, and pulling down the throne of iniquity. May the 
 weapons of your warfare be more and more mighty through 
 God for that end. 
 
 I am, Rev. and dear Sir, 
 Yours, most affectionately in our blessed Immanuel, 
 
 RALPH ERSKINE. 
 
 " I salute the worthy Sewards and Wesleys in the Lord." 
 
 This long and open-hearted epistle afforded great satisfaction to 
 Whitefield ; as appears from the following extract of his reply : 
 
 REV. G. WHITEFIELD, TO MR. RALPH ERSKINE. 
 
 " Savannah, Jan. 16th, 1740 
 " Rev. and dear Sir, 
 
 With much pleasure, though not till last week, I received 
 your kind, affectionate letter. I thank you for it with all my 
 
WIIITEFIELD S LIFE AND TIMES. 'J:>,> 
 
 soul, and pray God to reward you for this, and all other your 
 works of faith and labours of love. You may depend on my 
 not being prejudiced against you or your brethren by any evil 
 report. They only endear you to me more and more; and 
 were your enemies to represent you as black as hell, I should 
 think you were the more glorious in the sight of Heaven. Your 
 sweet criticisms and remarks on my journal and sermons were 
 - exceedingly acceptable and very just. I assure you, dear Sir, 
 I am fully convinced of the doctrine of election, free justification, 
 and final perseverance. My observations on the quakers were 
 only intended for those particular persons with whom I then 
 conversed. The tenets of the quakers, in general, about justifi- 
 cation, I take to be false and unscriptural. Your adversaries 
 need take no advantage against you by any thing I have written, 
 for I think it every minister's duty to declare against the cor- 
 ruptions of that church to which they belong, and not to look 
 upon those as true members of their communion, who deny its 
 public constitutions. This is your case in Scotland and ours 
 in England. I see no other way for us to act at present than to 
 go on preaching the truth as it is in Jesus ; and then, if our 
 brethren cast us out, God will direct us to that course which is 
 most conducive to his glory and his people's good. I think I 
 have but one objection against your proceedings your in- 
 sisting only on presbyterian government, exclusive of all other 
 
 ways of worshipping God. Your welfare is much upon my 
 
 heart ; and, as I am enabled, I make mention of you in my 
 prayers. 
 
 Your weak unworthy brother, 
 
 and fellow-labourer in Christ, 
 
 GEORGE WHITEFIELD." 
 
 In a letter of nearly the same date, addressed to Mr. Gilbert 
 Tennent, Whitefield, alluding to the above communication, says, 
 " Since my arrival here, I have received a sweet, endearing, and 
 instructive letter from Mr. Ralph Erskine." 
 
 About two months, however, prior to the receipt of this " en- 
 dearing " letter, Whitefield had despatched three letters from 
 Philadelphia ; one to the Associate Presbytery, a second to 
 
236 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Ebenezer Erskine, and a third to Ralph ; in all of which he 
 solicits information about the constitution and covenants of the 
 Scotch kirk, and especially about the Cameronians : a bishop 
 having called the seceders by that name, and thus made him 
 somewhat jealous of their spirit. In subsequent letters, also, 
 he repeats his determination to be " quite neuter " on the sub- 
 ject of church government and reform in Scotland. 
 
 Thus, never were men more prepared to love and welcome 
 each other, than Whitefield and the Erskines. He thought the 
 Associate Presbytery " a little too hard upon " him, and Ralph 
 too much on their side, in pressing him to "join them wholly ;" 
 but, otherwise, he had great confidence in both brothers, and 
 they in him. On his arrival in Edinburgh, he accordingly resisted 
 all applications made to him to preach there before he went to 
 Dunfermline, although they were made to him by persons of the 
 first distinction in the city. In a letter to a friend, he says, " I 
 determined to give the Erskines the fast offer of my poor mi- 
 nistrations, as they gave me the first invitation to Scotland." 
 Lett. 337, vol. I. Ralph says of him, " he came to me over the 
 belly of vast opposition." Whitefield says, " I was received 
 very lovingly at Dunfermline." 
 
 So far the interview was mutually gratifying. Whitefield was 
 surprised and delighted when he preached in the meeting-house, 
 to an immense assembly, by the rustling of a host of Bibles all 
 at once, as he gave out his text : " a scene," he says, " I never 
 was witness to before!" and Ralph was equally pleased with 
 the sermon and the preacher. He wrote next day to Ebenezer 
 thus ; " The Lord is evidently with him ;" and to Adam Gibb, 
 (whose spirit seems to have been suspicious of Whitefield from 
 the first,) " I have many pleasant things to say of him :" " I see 
 the Lord is with him." 
 
 Indeed, Ralph did every thing, wise and kind, in order to bring 
 on a happy meeting between Whitefield and the Presbytery. 
 He prepared Ebenezer for this by informing him, that White- 
 field had " owned" to him, on the subject of his ordination," that 
 he would not have it again in that way for a thousand worlds ; 
 but, then, he knew no other way." Fraser's Life of R. Erskine, 
 p. 326. To Gibb he wrote, " He designs and desires to meet 
 
237 
 
 with the brethren. I expect he will call for you." Whilst Ralph 
 thus conciliated the brethren, he was equally candid in telling 
 them what they had to expect: " As to his preaching, he de- 
 clares he can refuse no call to preach, whoever gives it: were it 
 a Jesuit or a Mahometan, he would embrace it for testifying 
 against them." " I find" (to Gibb) "his light leads him to 
 preach, even at the call of those against whom he can freely tes- 
 tify. I hope you will inform Mair and Hutton." Frascr, 327. 
 
 Such were the preliminary steps to an interview and negocia- 
 tion, which Dr. Gillies (himself of the church party) has ab- 
 ruptly introduced, and hastily dismissed, " as a conference to 
 set Whitefield right about church government, and the solemn 
 league and covenant." It certainly was about these points; but 
 as certainly not for the sake of these points, apart from the spi- 
 ritual purposes they were intended to answer. Besides, neither 
 the church government, nor the solemn league and covenant, 
 were the inventions or the peculiarities of the Secession. Whe- 
 ther good, bad, or indifferent things, they were the platform of 
 the kirk of Scotland. Willison of Dundee, sustained by a num- 
 ber of the clergy, testified as loudly at the time against " de- 
 nying the lawfulness or obligation of our national covenant 
 engagements," as Erskine and his brethren. Strut hers 8 Hist. 
 Scotland. And who does not see, that Dr. Gillies and his party, 
 had they been negociating with Whitefield to join them, would 
 just have begun as the Associate Presbytery did, by setting him 
 " right, about the same points ? " Indeed, Willison of Dundee 
 did press the same points upon Whitefield, by letter ; and re- 
 ceived from him much the same answer he gave to the seceders : 
 " I wish you would not trouble yourself or me, in writing about 
 the corruptions of the church of England. You seem not satis- 
 fied, methinks, unless I openly renounce the church of England, 
 and declare myself a presbyterian. Your letter gave me some 
 little concern. I thought it breathed a sectarian spirit, to which 
 I hoped dear Mr. W. was quite averse. I have shown my free- 
 dom in communicating with the church of Scotland, and in bap- 
 tizing children in their own way. / can go no further" Lett. 
 p. 429. 
 
 Thus the Secession were not the only sticklers for presbyte- 
 
238 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 rianism. They made it, however, what the clergy did not, the 
 condition of employing Whitefield. His own account of the 
 negociation with the Presbytery, although graphic, is rather too 
 humoursome for the gravity of history, when the facts affect a 
 body of christians. Whilst, therefore, I admire the candour of 
 Fraser in giving Whitefield's half-playful letter first, I prefer to 
 give the Presbytery's own narrative first ; because the transac- 
 tion involves their character most, and because their subsequent 
 attacks on Whitefield were far more inexcusable than their treat- 
 ment of him at Dunfermline. 
 
 The official minutes of this conference are, I am afraid, irre- 
 coverably lost. That they did exist is, however, evident from 
 a letter to Gibb, from Ralph Erskine, requesting a copy of them. 
 " I expected before this time a copy of the conversation we had 
 with Mr. Whitefield in this place. I have some occasions that 
 require my having it. Therefore, please send me, if you can, a 
 copy with this post." Fraser s Life. 
 
 This letter makes it highly probable, that the following ori- 
 ginal memorandum, written about the time by Ebenezer Erskine, 
 is substantially correct, so far as it goes. It was copied verba- 
 tim from the short-hand characters of Erskine, in a note-book 
 recently discovered by Fraser. " Here follows an account of a 
 conversation held with Mr. Whitefield at Dunfermline, Wednes- 
 day, Aug. 5th, 1741. The ministers of the Presbytery present 
 were Messrs. Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine, Mr. Moncrieff, Mr. 
 Gibb, Messrs. Tlwmas and James Mair, Mr. Clarkson ; and two 
 elders, namely, Mr. James Wardlaiv, and Mr. John Mowbray" 
 
 " We, being advertised to be here this day, by a letter from 
 Mr. Ralph Erskine, who had formed the tryst with Mr. White- 
 field ; Mr. Ralph's letter bearing, that Mr. Whitefield desired 
 the conference, &c. and that he had yielded so far to him, as to 
 his episcopal ordination, that he would not take it again for a 
 thousand worlds ; but at the time he knew no better. 
 
 " Upon Tuesday night, when we arrived at the place, we 
 waited upon Mr. W. at Mr. Erskine's house ; where and when 
 we had some conversation about several things relating to the 
 state of affairs in the church. 
 
 " Wednesday forenoon, the ministers and elders above men- 
 
tioned.met with Mr. \Yhitefield, in consequence of a letter from 
 Mr. Ralph Krskine, desiring tli^y would have a conference wilh 
 him: and they having mot as above, a motion was made thai 
 Mr. Ebenezer Krskine pray before they entered upon conversa- 
 tion. As Mr. \Yhilelield showed an inclination to proceed to a 
 conference about toleration for a time, it was proposed, that, 
 seeing toleration of all sects by a church is an opinion of his, as 
 supported by some scriptures, it was thought fit to consider, 
 what is that form of government Christ has laid down in his 
 word .' And. agreeably to this, Mr. Whitefield put the question, 
 Whether preshyteriaii government be that which is agreeable to 
 the pattern shown in the mount? And supposing that it is, 
 if it excluded a toleration of such as independents, anabaptists, 
 and episcopalians, among whom are good men ? 
 
 " Mr. Kbenezer Erskine said to him, ' Sir, God has made you 
 an instrument of gathering a great multitude of souls to the 
 faith and profession of the gospel of Christ, throughout England 
 and in foreign parts : and now it is fit that you should be con- 
 sidering how that body is to be organized and preserved ; which 
 cannot be done without following the example of Paul and Bar- 
 nabas, who, when they had gathered churches by preaching the 
 gospel, visited them again, and ordained over them elders in 
 every city; which you cannot do alone, without some two or 
 three met together in a judicative capacity, in the name of the 
 Lord.' 
 
 " Unto all which Mr. Whitefield replied, (how like him !) 
 that he reckoned it his present duty to go on in preaching the 
 gospel, without proceeding to any such work. 
 
 " It was urged, that it might please the Lord to call him (by 
 death ) ; and in that case, there being none other, the flock might 
 be scattered, and fall into the hands of grievous wolves, without 
 any to care for them. He said, that he being of the communion 
 of the church of England, had none to join him in that work ; 
 and that he had no freedom to separate from the church of 
 England, until they did cast him out or excommunicate him." 1 
 
 Here, unhappily, Erskine's memorandum closes ; and, to his 
 honour, it contains no reflections upon the spirit of Whitefield, 
 although he said some sharp things, which must have been not 
 
240 
 
 a little trying to the patience of stanch presbyterians. Neither 
 Whitefield nor the Presbytery, however, were so calm as they 
 appear in this still-life picture ; Dr. Jamieson himself being the 
 judge. When he animadverted upon Rowland Hill's " Journal 
 of a Tour in Scotland," he said, " That, after a good deal of rea- 
 soning (there was some railing too) as to a particular form of 
 church government being prescribed in Scripture, Mr. White- 
 field, laying his hand on his heart, said, ' I do not find it here.' 
 Mr. A. Moncrieff, who was of a warm temper, giving a rap on 
 the Bible, which was lying on the table, said, ' But I find it 
 here.' " The Doctor adds, " On this, if I mistake not, the con- 
 versation terminated ; and it has still been asserted, that the 
 proper ground of their giving up any connexion with Mr. White- 
 field was his denial that any particular form of church govern- 
 ment was of divine authority ; and declaring his resolution to 
 maintain this in his public ministrations." So thought and 
 wrote Dr. Jamieson, who was not there : not so, however, did 
 Whitefield think or write. I keep out of the question still, his 
 playful letter, as it is called, because Fraser says, that " it has 
 been eagerly appealed to by writers, who wished to expose the 
 Associate Presbytery to ridicule and contempt." Besides, it 
 was a letter to Noble of New York, in answer to one about a new 
 synod by the Tennents ; and thus had a purpose to answer in 
 America, which warranted, what Fraser calls, " its indications " 
 of Whitefield's " constitutional vein for humour." None of 
 these objections, if they be such, lie against the following letters ; 
 which were written " weeping," and to men who knew the facts 
 of the Dunfermline conference. Now, on the eighth day after it, 
 Whitefield wrote thus to one of the sons of Ebenezer Erskine, 
 at Stirling : " The treatment I met with from the Associate 
 Presbytery was not altogether such as I expected. It grieved 
 me, as much as it did you. I could scarce refrain from bursting 
 into a flood of tears. I wish all were like-minded with your 
 honoured father and uncle : matters would not then be carried 
 on with so high a hand. Such violent methods such a narrow 
 way of acting can never be the way to promote and enlarge 
 the kingdom of our blessed Jesus. 
 
 " It surely must be wrong to forbid even our hearing those 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 241 
 
 who love our Lord Jesus in sincerity, and have also been owned 
 of him. Christ would not have done so. 
 
 " Supposing the scheme of government for which the Asso- 
 ciate Presbytery contend to be Scriptural ; yet, forbearance and 
 long-suffering is to be exercised towards such as may differ from 
 them. I am verily persuaded there is no such form of govern- 
 ment prescribed in the book of God, as excludes a toleration 
 of all other forms whatsoever. Were the Associate Presbytery 
 scheme to take effect, they must, out of conscience, if they acted 
 consistently, restrain and grieve, if not persecute, many of God's 
 children, who could not possibly come in to their measures ; and 
 I doubt not but their present violent methods, together with 
 the corruptions of the Assembly, will cause many to become 
 independents, and set up particular churches of their own. 
 This was the effect of Archbishop Laud's acting with so high a 
 hand : and whether it be presbytery or episcopacy, if managed 
 in the same manner, it will be productive of the same effects. 
 Blessed be God, I have not so learned Christ ! " Lett. 347. 
 Would any man in his senses have written thus to David Er- 
 skine, had there been nothing more violent at Dunfermline than 
 MoncriefPs rap on the table ; or had nothing been insisted upon 
 but the divine authority of presbytery ? This letter both im- 
 plies and asserts the avowal of intolerance, on the part of all but 
 the Erskines : and even they wanted to shackle Whitefield with 
 all the links of their own chain of exclusiveness. Ralph forgot 
 himself so far, as to suspect and insinuate, in a letter, that 
 Whitefield temporized for the sake of the orphans. This fact 
 does not appear in the " previous jottings, which show the scope 
 of that letter ;" (Fraser ;) but it appears in the dignified and in- 
 dignant answer : " Indeed, dear Sir, you mistake if you think I 
 temporize on account of the orphans. Be it far from me ! I 
 abhor the very thought of it. I proceed now, just as I have 
 done, ever since I came out in the ministry." Lett. 350. 
 
 Even the "jottings" charge Whitefield (in " sorrow " indeed) 
 with " coming harnessed with a resolution, to stand out against 
 
 every thing that might be said against ;" and with not 
 
 " lying open to light," but " declining conversation on that 
 head." Now, whatever this mean, the answer is unequivocal : 
 
242 
 
 " I thank you for your kind letter. I believe it proceeded from 
 love ; but, as yet, I cannot think the solemn league and cove- 
 nant any way binding upon me. You seem to think, I am not 
 open to light. That I may give you satisfaction on that head, 
 I am willing to confer with Mr. W at Perth, on Thurs- 
 day, Sept. 3rd." Ibid. Whitefield takes no notice of the charge 
 of " coming harnessed " to the conference. Perhaps Erskine 
 softened it in the letter. If this was not the case, then White- 
 field did not condescend to notice it. Something equivalent, 
 however, was in the letter. Erskine says of it, to Gibb, " I 
 have sent Mr. Whitefield this day a letter, wherein I used much 
 plainness with him, on account of his declining conversation 
 with us upon church government, and upon the influence I 
 dreaded he is now under ; although all my plainness was in the 
 most kindly way." Fraser, p. 335. 
 
 Fraser refers this " influence and harnessing " to " prejudices 
 infused into Whitefield's mind against the ministers of the Se- 
 cession, and the cause in which they had embarked, at the very 
 moment of his first landing in Scotland." In proof of this, he 
 quotes the fact, that Whitefield was " met and entertained at 
 Edinburgh, by Dr. Webster and some of his brethren ; from 
 whom he learned the state of church prejudices and parties in 
 Scotland." There can be no doubt of the truth of this. It is, 
 however, equally true, that he found the Associate Presbytery 
 to be as intolerant as their enemies had represented them : and 
 if any thing worse was said against them, in his hearing, it did 
 not prevent him from visiting them, nor from treating them as 
 brethren in Christ. Even in his playful letter (which I now 
 subjoin) there is as much kindliness as humour. 
 
 TO MR. THOMAS NOBLE, AT NEW YORK. 
 
 " Edinburgh, Aug. 8th, 1741. 
 " My dear brother, 
 
 I have written you several letters; and I rejoice to hear 
 that the work of the Lord prospers in the hands of Messrs. Ten- 
 nents, &c. ; am glad they intend to meet in a synod by them- 
 selves. Their catholic spirit will do good. The Associate 
 Presbytery here are so confined, that they will not so much as 
 
243 
 
 hear me preach, unless I only will join with them. Mr. Ralph 
 E , indeed, did hear me, and went up with me into the 
 pulpit of the Canongate church. The people were ready to 
 shout for joy ; hut, I believe, it gave offence to his associates. 
 I met most of them, according to appointment, on Wednesday 
 last a set of grave, venerahle men ! They soon agreed to form 
 themselves into a presbytery, and were proceeding to choose a 
 moderator. I asked them for what purpose ? They answered, 
 to discourse, and set me right, about the matter of church go- 
 vernment, and the solemn league and covenant. I replied, they 
 might save themselves that trouble, for I had no scruples about 
 it ; and that settling church government, and preaching about 
 the solemn league and covenant, was not my plan. I then told 
 them something of my experience, and how I was led out into 
 my present way of acting. One in particular said, he was deeply 
 
 affected ; and the dear Mr. E desired they would have 
 
 patience with me, for that, having been born and bred in Eng- 
 land, and never studied the point, I could not be supposed to be 
 so perfectly acquainted with the nature of their covenants. One, 
 much warmer than the rest, immediately replied, f that no in- 
 dulgence was to be shown me ; that England had revolted most 
 with respect to church government ; and that I, born and edu- 
 cated there, could not but be acquainted with the matter now 
 in debate.' I told him, I had never yet made the solemn league 
 and covenant the object of my study, being too busy about mat- 
 ters, as I judged, of greater importance. Several replied, that 
 every pin of the tabernacle was precious. I said, that in 
 every building there were outside and inside workmen ; that 
 the latter, at present, was my province ; that if they thought 
 themselves called to the former, they might proceed in their own 
 way, and I should proceed in mine. I then asked them seriously, 
 what they would have me to do ; the answer was, that I was not 
 desired to subscribe immediately to the solemn league and co- 
 venant ; but to preach only for them till I had further light. 
 
 I asked, why only for them ? Mr. Ralph E said, ' they 
 
 were the Lord's people.' I then asked, whether there were no 
 other Lord's people but themselves ? and supposing all others 
 were the devil's people, they certainly had more need to be 
 
244 
 
 preached to, and therefore I was more and more determined to 
 go out into the highways and hedges ; and that if the pope him- 
 self would lend me his pulpit, I would gladly proclaim the right- 
 eousness of Jesus Christ therein. Soon after this, the company 
 broke up ; and one of these, otherwise venerable men, immedi- 
 ately went into the meeting-house, and preached upon these 
 words, ( Watchman, what of the night ? Watchman, what of the 
 night ? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the 
 night, if ye will inquire, inquire ye ; return, come.' I attended ; 
 but the good man so spent himself in the former part of his ser- 
 mon, in talking against prelacy, the common-prayer book, the 
 surplice, the rose in the hat, and such like externals, that when 
 he came to the latter part of his text, to invite poor sinners to 
 Jesus Christ, his breath was so gone, that he could scarce be 
 heard. What a pity that the last was not first, and the first 
 last ! The consequence of all this was, an open breach. I re- 
 tired, I wept, I prayed, and after preaching in the fields, sat 
 down and dined with them, and then took a final leave. At 
 table, a gentlewoman said, she had heard that I had told some 
 people, that the Associate Presbytery were building a Babel. 
 I said, ( Madam, it is quite true ; and I believe the Babel will 
 soon fall down about their ears :' but enough of this. Lord, 
 what is man, what the best of men, but men at the best ? I 
 think I have now seen an end of all perfection. Our brethren 
 in America, blessed be God, have not so learned Christ. Be 
 pleased to inform them of this letter." 
 
 Now, certainly, had it not been for the use made of this letter 
 by the enemies of the Secession, who interpreted the prophecy, 
 and wielded the wit of it wantonly, it requires no apology. It 
 is as true as it is graphic ; not, perhaps, to the very letter of the 
 scene, but to the spirit of it. It just embodies, in lively forms, 
 the very ideas suggested by the preceding details. Even the 
 prophecy in it was sufficiently fulfilled, to accredit the foresight 
 of Whitefield. Enough of what was " Babel " in the synod, 
 soon fell down " about their ears." The division of the Seces- 
 sion, in 1747, into burghers and antiburghers, with the bitter 
 controversy it originated, was more than enough to justify the 
 
245 
 
 prediction. Even Fraser applies to that sharp contention fa- 
 ther Paul's proverb, that " In verbal contentions, the smallness 
 of the difference often nourishes the obstinacy of the parties." 
 It was not, therefore, necessary to rebut Whitefield's prophecy, 
 even if it was uttered with " oracular solemnity," by the fact, 
 that the edifice of the Secession " has now lasted for almost a 
 century," and was not " so obnoxious to the frowns of Heaven, 
 as that good man imagined." Fraser's E. Erskine. Had that 
 " good man " seen it as it now subsists, he would have been as 
 ready as Fraser or Jamieson to say, " the Secession church has 
 become a fair, strong, and extensive fabric, in no great danger 
 of soon tumbling into ruins." Ibid. 
 
 The bad use made of this far-famed letter, by Sir Harry Mon- 
 crieff and others, in order to ridicule the Secession, and carica- 
 ture its venerable founders, has tempted Fraser to find more 
 fault with the letter than it is really chargeable with, or than 
 he could justify. Hence he has quoted from a Review of Sir 
 Harry's Life in " The Christian Repository," the unchristian 
 assertion, that " no one, who knew any thing of Ralph Erskine, 
 will for a moment believe that he would have said of the Se- 
 ceders, ( we are the Lord's people.' ' It is believed by many 
 who know and believe that Ralph Erskine, a year before this 
 time, and many times in later years, said, " We are far from 
 thinking all are Christ's friends that join with us, or that all 
 are His enemies that do not. No, indeed ! This would be to 
 cast off all that have Christ's image unless they have our 
 image too." Fraser. 
 
 There is so much candour characterizes Eraser's version of 
 these transactions, that I am unwilling to criticize his narrative. 
 It is, however, impossible to agree with him in his conclusion 
 " that considerate and unbiassed judges will see cause, on the 
 whole, to conclude that Mr. Whitefield and the Associate Pres- 
 bytery parted in a manner, which has left no credit to either 
 party." Neither the manner nor the spirit of Whitefield's part- 
 ing reflects any discredit upon him. 
 
 In Edinburgh the issue of this iiegociation was waited for 
 with more than curiosity. The clergy welcomed Whitefield's 
 return to their pulpits in the city as a triumph to the kirk : and 
 
246 
 
 it was a triumph at the time. As such, however, he cared no- 
 thing about it. He forgot, equally, the joy of the kirk, and the 
 mortification of the chapel, in seeking the triumphs of the cross. 
 Whilst churchmen were pluming themselves on their gain, and 
 seceders trying to despise their loss, he was singing with Paul, 
 " Now thanks be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph 
 in Christ, and maketh manifest by us the savour of His know- 
 ledge in every place." It was manifested in Edinburgh, arid 
 became " the savour of life unto life " to very many in all ranks. 
 For some weeks he preached twice or thrice every day in the 
 churches, and renewed in the orphan-house park the scenes of 
 Moorfields and Blackheath. He obtained also 500 for his 
 orphans, in money or goods. 
 
 The latter was a timely help to him. How much he felt this 
 will be best told by himself. In a letter to Mr. Habersham, he 
 says, " O my dear friend, how faithful is the Lord Jesus ! He 
 has enabled me to pay my brother, and Mr. Noble's bill of 300. 
 I have sent you 70 worth of different sorts of goods to be dis- 
 posed of, and the money applied to the orphan-house. I have 
 sent also six hundred yards of cloth, a present of my own, to 
 make the boys and girls gowns and coats. You will find some 
 damask table cloths, which I desire you will sell, they being too 
 good, in my opinion, for our use." 
 
 Whitefield could not appreciate the moral value of this last 
 gift ; but all Scotchmen well understand the sacrifice made by 
 Scotchwomen, in thus contributing damask nappery ! It was 
 next to parting with their wedding ring. Had he known this, 
 he would not have sold the table cloths ! 
 
 Such presents in money or goods were new things in Edin- 
 burgh then, and, of course, misrepresented by many. Some 
 were alarmed, lest he should " impoverish the country ! " His 
 answer to all insinuations of this kind was, " I value them not 
 in the least. My largest donations are from the rich and sub- 
 stantial. The mites which the lower sort of the people have 
 given, will not prevent them from paying their debts, nor impo- 
 verish their families." When, however, it was proposed to make 
 a contribution in Edinburgh for himself, although privately, he 
 changed his tone, and said, " I know nothing of and will not 
 
247 
 
 admit of any such thing ! I make no purse. What I have I 
 give away. ' Poor, yet making many rich, shall be my motto 
 still." Letter. 
 
 Whitefield's own accounts of the success of the gospel in 
 Edinburgh at this time, alt hough Jlaming, are not exaggerated. 
 Dr. Muir, who witnessed the effect, says, " Upon the whole, we 
 hope there is such a flame kindled, as shall never be extin- 
 guished. The ministers are learning to speak with new 
 tongues." Edin. Memoir. The only drawback upon the fol- 
 lowing accounts is, an appearance of vanity, when the nobility 
 are mentioned ; and of flattery, when they are addressed. Dr. 
 Southey says truly, that " Wesley would not have written in this 
 strain :" but it is equally true, that Jeremy Taylor, and Dr. 
 Donne, wrote both letters and dedications quite as fulsome, and 
 more servile ; and which " might well provoke disgust and in- 
 dignation, were not the real genius and piety of the writers be- 
 yond all doubt." Southey s Wesley, p. 360, vol. 2. 
 
 To Habersham, Whitefield writes from Edinburgh thus, 
 " God is pleased to bless my ministrations here in an abundant 
 manner. The little children in the hospitals are much wrought 
 upon. Saints have been stirred up and edified, and many others, 
 I believe, translated from darkness to light. The good that 
 has been done is inexpressible. I am intimate with three no- 
 blemen, and several ladies of quality, who have a great liking 
 for the things of God. I am now writing in an earl's house, 
 (Melville,) surrounded by fine furniture ; but, glory be to free 
 grace, my soul is in love only with Jesus." 
 
 To Cennick he wrote, " This day Jesus enabled me to preach 
 seven times ; notwithstanding, I am as fresh as when I arose in 
 the morning. Both in the church and park the Lord was with 
 us. The girls in the hospital were exceedingly affected. One 
 of the mistresses told me, that she is now awakened in the 
 morning by the voice of prayer and praise ; and the master of 
 the boys says, that they meet together every night to sing and 
 pray. The presence of God at the old people's hospital was 
 really very wonderful. The Holy Spirit seemed to come down 
 like a rushing mighty wind. The mourning of the people was 
 like the weeping in the valley of Hadadrimmon. Every day I 
 
248 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 hear of some fresh good wrought by the power of God. I scarce 
 know how to leave Scotland." 
 
 Thus the rich and the poor, the young and the old, not only 
 heard him gladly, but melted down alike under his preaching ; 
 and that in Scotland, where the melting mood is not predo- 
 minant. And then, Whitefield's doctrine was not new to them 
 as a people, as it was to the English. Why, therefore, do we 
 see nothing of this kind now, upon a large scale, in either Eng- 
 land or Scotland ? The gospel is widely and faithfully preach- 
 ed in both ; but not with remarkable success in either. This 
 is not satisfactorily explained by saying, that a greater blessing 
 attended Whitefield's ministry than follows ours. The fact 
 is, that the outpouring of the Spirit on his audiences was pre- 
 ceded by an unction of the Spirit on his own soul, which we 
 hardly understand, and still less cultivate. What a heart he 
 had in Edinburgh ! He does not, indeed, always describe its 
 emotions in good taste ; but, alas for the man, and especially 
 the minister, who can read the bursts and outpourings of George 
 Whitefield's heart, without shame, or without feeling his own 
 heart burn to share them ! " Night and day Jesus fills me 
 with his love." " The love of Christ strikes me quite dumb." 
 " I walk continually in the comforts of the Holy Ghost." 
 " My heart is melted down with the love of Jesus." " I de- 
 spair not of seeing Scotland like New England." " I want a 
 thousand tongues to set off the great Redeemer's praise." " I 
 am daily waiting for the coming of the Son of God." " I every 
 morning feel my fellowship with Christ, and he gives me all joy 
 and peace in believing." " The sight I have of God by faith 
 ravishes my soul : how I shall be ravished when I see him face 
 to face ! " " I would leap my seventy years, and fly into His 
 presence." All this is as burning as abrupt. He lived, and 
 moved, and had his being, in this warm and pure element ; and 
 thus preached, not only in dependence on the Holy Spirit, but 
 " in demonstration of the Spirit and in power." Thus the holy 
 oil which anointed so many under him, had first been poured on 
 his own head. I have endeavoured to illustrate this fact in 
 another part of the volume. In the mean time, however, I can- 
 not quit this hint, without solemnly reminding myself and 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 others, that we can be Whitefields in unction^ although not in 
 energy or eloquence ; we can walk with God as he did, although 
 unable to "go about" doing good upon his scale. 
 
 The results of his first visit to Edinburgh are thus summed 
 up by himself : " Glory be to God; he is doing great things 
 here. I walk in the continual sunshine of his countenance. 
 Never did I see so many Bibles, nor people look into them with 
 such attention, when I am expounding. Plenty of tears flow 
 from hearers' eyes. I preach twice daily, and expound at pri- 
 vate houses at night ; and am employed in speaking to souls 
 under distress great part of the day. Every morning I have a 
 constant levee of wounded souls, many of whom are quite 
 slain by the law. I have a lecture in the fields, attended not 
 only by the common people, but persons of great rank. I have 
 reason to think some of the latter sort are coming to Jesus. I 
 am only afraid, lest people should idolize the instrument, and 
 not look enough to Jesus, in whom alone I desire to glory." 
 
 Scotland, and especially Edinburgh, owes much to this visit. 
 Any check it gave to the Secession for a time, was more than 
 counterbalanced by the impulse it gave to the establishment. 
 The evangelical clergy had as much need of a commanding 
 ally, as the Associate Presbytery ; and, in general, as well de- 
 served the weight and fame of Whitefield's name. That name 
 drew on their side some of the peerage, who would never have 
 followed him into a chapel ; and thus strengthened the hands 
 of " the wild men," (as the evangelical party were called,) when 
 they were but weak. Edinburgh should never forget this. 
 Next to Knox, Whitefield deserves a monument on the Calton 
 Hill, as the second reformer of the metropolis. But for him, 
 the moderate party would have held the ascendant in it. I do 
 therefore hope that, at least, no Scottish champion of the gos- 
 pel will imitate some in England, by trying to prove that White- 
 field had little or no influence upon the revival of evangelical 
 preaching in the establishment. If any do try there, I can only 
 say, as I do here, their fathers knew better, and posterity will 
 laugh at them. Venn's Life of Venn. 
 
 As a counterpart to the sermon against Whitefield in the 
 meeting-house, by one of the Associate Presbytery, the follow- 
 
250 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 ing scene in the kirk at Aberdeen may instruct as well as 
 amuse. Dr. Southey has told the story well ; but Whitefield 
 tells it better. "Aberdeen, Oct. 9, 1741. At my first coming 
 here, things looked a little gloomy ; for the magistrates had 
 been so prejudiced against me by one Mr. Bisset, that when ap- 
 plied to, they refused me the use of the kirk-yard to preach in. 
 This Mr. Bisset is colleague with one Mr. O. at whose repeated 
 invitation I came hither. Though colleagues of the same con- 
 gregation, they are very different in their natural tempers. 
 The one is, what they call in Scotland, of a sweet-blooded, the 
 other of a choleric, disposition. Mr. B. is neither a seceder, 
 nor quite a kirk-man ; having great fault to find with both. 
 
 " Soon after my arrival, dear Mr. O. took me to pay my re- 
 spects to him. He was prepared for it ; and immediately pull- 
 ed out a paper, containing a number of insignificant questions, 
 which I had neither time nor inclination to answer. The next 
 morning, it being Mr. O.'s turn, I lectured and preached. The 
 magistrates were present. The congregation was very large, 
 and light and lifejted all around. 
 
 " In the afternoon, Mr. B. officiated. I attended. He begun 
 his prayers as usual ; but in the midst of them, naming me by 
 name, he entreated the Lord to forgive the dishonour that had 
 been put upon him, by my being suffered to preach in that pul- 
 pit. And that all might know what reason he had to put up 
 such a petition, about the middle of his sermon, he not only 
 urged that I was a curate of the church of England, (had 
 Whitefield been an archbishop or bishop, Bisset would have 
 begun his prayers against him,) but also quoted a passage or two 
 out of my first printed sermons, which he said were grossly 
 Armmian. 
 
 " Most of the congregation seemed surprised and chagrined, 
 especially his good-natured colleague, Mr. O. ; who, immediately 
 after sermon, and without consulting me in the least, stood up, 
 and gave notice that Mr. Whitefield would preach in about half 
 an hour. The interval being so short, the magistrates returned 
 into the sessions-house, and the congregation patiently waited 
 big with expectation of hearing my resentment. 
 
 " At the time appointed I went up, and took no other notice 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 251 
 
 of the good man's ill-timed zeal, than to observe in some part 
 of my discourse, that if the good old gentleman had seen some 
 of my later writings, wherein I had corrected several of my 
 former mistakes, he would not have expressed himself in such 
 strong terms. 
 
 " The people being thus diverted from controversy with man, 
 were deeply impressed with what they heard from the word of 
 God. All was hushed, and more than solemn ! On the mor- 
 row, the magistrates sent for me, expressed themselves quite 
 concerned at the treatment I had met with, and begged me to 
 accept the freedom of the city. But of this enough." Dr. 
 Southey justly says, " this triumph Whitefield obtained, as 
 much by that perfect self-command which he always possessed 
 in public, as by his surpassing oratory." 
 
 Bisset's hostility did not end here, nor confine itself to White- 
 field. Next year he assailed the Scotch clergymen, who had 
 employed the English curate ; and charged them with caressing 
 Whitefield, " as it would seem, to break the seceders." Bisset's 
 Letter on Communion with a Priest of the Church of England. 
 Thus it was not the Associate Synod alone who attributed the 
 friendship of the kirk for Whitefield to selfish motives. 
 
 One thing occurred in Edinburgh which pleased Whitefield 
 very much. After preaching in the orphan-house park, a large 
 company came to salute him. Amongst the rest a fine portly 
 quaker took him by the hand, and said, " Friend George, I am 
 as thou art. I am for bringing all to the life and power of the 
 ever-living God ; and, therefore, if thou wilt not quarrel with 
 me about my /tat, I will not quarrel with thee about thy gown." 
 I know some ex-quakers who would say, that Whitefield would 
 not have been so much pleased, if he had known the mystery ot 
 the hat in quakerism. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 WHITEFIELD AND THE DISSENTERS. 
 
 NEITHER the revivals in Scotland, nor the riots in England, 
 won for Whitefield the sympathy of the London ministers. 
 Bradhury lampooned him ; Barker sneered at him ; Dr. Watts 
 was silent ; and Coward's trustees were insolent to Dr. Dod- 
 dridge, because he gave him some countenance at Northampton. 
 There was a deeper cause for all this than their dread of his 
 enthusiasm. They were then in treaty with some of the bishops, 
 in order to revive that scheme of COMPREHENSION, which Bates, 
 Manton, and Baxter tried to negociate with Stillingfleet ; but 
 which Clarendon, even whilst in banishment, had influence 
 enough at home to defeat, although the bill in favour of it was 
 drawn up by Lord Chief Baron Hale. Tillotson's Life. 
 
 The Clarendon party were not dead nor idle, when the sub- 
 ject of the comprehension was revived by Chandler and Dod- 
 dridge with Archbishop Herring. Warburton, who knew them 
 well, foretold the issue thus, even when the prospect was bright- 
 est before curtain ; " I can tell you of certain science, that not 
 the least alteration will be made in the ecclesiastical system." 
 Letter to Doddridge. The progress of this affair will explain 
 both the shyness and the sharpness of the London ministers 
 towards Whitefield. They could not have iiegociated with him 
 and the archbishop at the same time. Indeed, they had no 
 wish to be identified with any of his measures. 
 
 It belongs to history to tell this matter gravely : I prefer the 
 graphic sketch of its origin and progress, given in the following 
 letters. The first letter is from Barker to Doddridge. " As 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 253 
 
 for the comprehension, so much talked of in town and country, 
 the utmost of the matter is this : Mr. Chandler, while his 
 meeting-place was shut up, made a visit to his friends at Nor- 
 wich ; and there happened to hear the hishop give a charge to 
 his clergy, which he thought not very candid. One expression 
 appeared to him invidious, viz. that the heads of the rehellion 
 were presbyterians ; as appeared by those lords in the Tower 
 sending for presbyterian confessors. Upon Mr. Chandler's re- 
 turn to London, he wrote a letter to Dr. Gooch, complaining of 
 his charge, and particularly of that expression. This letter was 
 written very handsomely, and it brought a very civil, respectful 
 answer. After Gooch came to town, Chandler, at his desire, 
 made him a visit, in which they had much discourse ; and 
 amongst other things, there was talk of a comprehension. This 
 visit was followed, at Gooch's desire, with another, when the 
 bishop of Salisbury was present, who soon discovered his shrewd- 
 ness, but said, ' Our church, Mr. Chandler, consists of three 
 parts, doctrine, discipline, and ceremonies : as to the last, they 
 should be left indifferent, as they are agreed on all hands to be : 
 as to the second, our discipline,' said he, ' is so bad, that no one 
 knows how, or where, to mend it : and as to the first, what is 
 your objection ? ' He answered, ( Your Articles, my Lord, must 
 be expressed in Scripture words, and the Athanasian creed be 
 discarded.' Both the bishops answered, they wished they were 
 rid of that creed, and had no objection to restoring the Articles 
 into Scripture words ; ' but what shall we do about reordination ? " 
 To this Mr. Chandler made such a reply as he judged proper ; 
 but, I think, granted more than he ought : he said none of us 
 would renounce his presbyterian ordination ; but if their Lord- 
 ships meant only to impose their hands on us, and by that rite 
 recommend us to public service in their society or constitution, 
 that, perhaps, might be submitted to : but when he told me this, 
 I said, ' perhaps not no, by no means ; that being, in my opi- 
 nion, a virtual renunciation of our ordination, which I appre- 
 hend not only as good but better than theirs.' The two bishops, 
 at the conclusion of the visit, requested Mr. Chandler to wait on 
 the archbishop, which he did, and met Gooch there by accident. 
 The archbishop received him well, and being told by Gooch 
 
254 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 what Chandler and he had been talking on, viz. a comprehen- 
 sion, said, A very good thing ; he wished it with all his heart ; 
 and the rather, because this was a time which called upon all 
 good men to unite against infidelity and immorality, which 
 threatened universal ruin ; and added, he was encouraged to 
 hope, from the piety, learning, and moderation of many dissent- 
 ers, that this was a proper time to make the attempt. But, 
 may it please your Grace, said Gooch, Mr. Chandler says the 
 Articles must be altered into the words of Scripture. And why 
 not ? replied the archbishop ; it is the impertinences of men, 
 thrusting their words into articles instead of the words of God, 
 that have occasioned most of the divisions in the Christian 
 church, from the beginning of it to this day. The archbishop 
 added, that the bench of bishops seemed to be of his mind ; that 
 he should be glad to see Mr. Chandler again, but was then oblig- 
 ed to go to court. And this is all. I have smiled at some who 
 seem mightily frighted at this affair, are very angry with Mr. 
 Chandler, and cry out, ' We won't be comprehended we won't 
 be comprehended. 9 One would think, they imagined it was like 
 being electrified, or inoculated for the small pox. But most of 
 your fault-finders, I apprehend, are angry with Mr. Chandler, for 
 an expression he used in the second visit. When urging the ex- 
 pediency of expressing the Articles in Scripture words, he said, it 
 was for others, not himself, he suggested this, his conscience not 
 being disturbed by them as they now stood, for he freely owned 
 himself a moderate Calvinist" 
 
 Six months after this, Doddridge himself had an interview 
 with Herring, and found, at first, that although the archbishop 
 had " most candid sentiments of his dissenting brethren, he had 
 no great zeal for attempting any thing in order to introduce 
 them into the church ; wisely foreseeing the difficulties with 
 which it might be attended." Doddridge s Letters. He was not 
 likely to have zeal for it. He had not zeal even for the orthodox 
 of his own church. Jortin concludes his formal and inflated 
 sketch of him thus ; " he was willing to think the best of other 
 people's principles." What this means, may, perhaps, be guessed 
 from the primate's letters to Duncombe ; of which, the follow- 
 ing is one specimen : " I abhor every tendency to the TRINITY 
 
UIIITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 255 
 
 controversy. The manner in which it is always conducted is 
 the disgrace and ruin of Christianity." 
 
 When Doddridge saw that the comprehension scheme, as 
 proposed by Chandler, did not suit Herring, he suggested " a 
 sort of medium between our present state, and that of a perfect 
 coalition." " I mentioned," he says, " acknowledging our 
 churches as iinschismaticdl ; by permitting their clergy to offi- 
 ciate amongst us, if desired, and dissenting ministers to officiate 
 in churches. It struck him as a new and important thought. 
 He told me, more than once, that I had suggested what he 
 should lay up in his mind for further consideration." 
 
 Next year, however, Doddridge learned from Sir Thomas 
 Birch, that, although " several of the bishops endeavoured to 
 have White's Third Letter (see Towgood) suppressed, as un- 
 friendly to comprehension, Sherlock insisted upon having all 
 objections brought out at once." Good Doddridge, however, 
 still cherished hopes for his own plan ; and, accordingly, culti- 
 vated intimacy with the heads of the church so closely, that the 
 very men who censured him for risking the comprehension, at 
 first, by countenancing Whitefield, came at last to insinuate that 
 he paid more court " to eminent members of the establishment," 
 than was prudent. However this may be, he rejoiced with Lady 
 Huntingdon, at the same time, that (t the mighty, the noble, the 
 wise, and the rich," assembled at her house, " to hear White- 
 field." 
 
 How Doddridge acted and was censured, in reference to 
 Whitefield, when the vision of a comprehension dawned upon 
 some of the leading dissenters of 1743, will be best told by the 
 secretary of Coward's trustees, Nathaniel Neal, Esq. of Million 
 Bank. 
 
 " It was with the utmost concern that I received the inform- 
 ation of Mr. Whitefield's having preached last week in your 
 pulpit, and that I attended the meeting of Coward's trustees 
 this day, when that matter was canvassed, and that I now find 
 myself obliged to apprize you of the very great uneasiness which 
 your conduct herein has occasioned them. 
 
 " The many characters you sustain with so much honour, and 
 in which I reverence you so highly, make me ashamed, and the 
 
256 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 character I sustain, of your friend, makes it extremely irksome 
 for me, to express any sentiments as mine, which may seem to 
 arraign your conduct ; but when I reflect in how disadvantageous 
 a light your regard to the methodists has for some considerable 
 time placed you in the opinion of many, whom I have reason to 
 believe you esteem amongst your most judicious and hearty 
 friends, and what an advantage it has given against you to your 
 secret and avowed enemies, of either of which facts I believe 
 you are not in any just degree sensible, I could run any hazard of 
 your censure rather than that you should remain unapprized of 
 these facts. 
 
 " You cannot be ignorant, how obnoxious the imprudences 
 committed, or alleged to be committed, by some of the method- 
 ists, have rendered them to great numbers of people ; and 
 though, indeed, supposing they have a spirit of religion amongst 
 them to be found no where else, so that a man would, for his 
 own sake, and at any temporal hazard, take his lot amongst 
 them ; yet if, besides their reputation for a forward and indis- 
 creet zeal, and an unsettled, injudicious way of thinking and 
 behaving, they have nothing to distinguish them from other 
 serious and devout Christians, surely every man would choose to 
 have as little concern with them as possible. 
 
 " But in the case of such a public character, and so extensive 
 a province for the service of religion, as yours, it seems to me a 
 point well worth considering, whether, supposing even the ill 
 opinion the world entertains of them to be groundless, it is a 
 right thing to risk such a prospect as Providence has opened 
 before you, of eminent and distinguished usefulness, for the sake 
 of any good you are likely to do amongst these people. 
 
 (f For my own part, I have had the misfortune of observing, 
 and I must not conceal it from you, that wherever I have heard 
 it mentioned, that Dr. Doddridge countenanced the methodists, 
 and it has been the subject of conversation much oftener than I 
 could have wished, I have heard it constantly spoken of by his 
 friends with concern, as threatening a great diminution of his 
 usefulness, and by his adversaries with a sneer of triumph. 
 
 " The trustees are particularly in pain for it, with regard to 
 your academy ; as they know it is an objection made to it, by 
 
WHITRFIELD S LIFE AND TIMES. 257 
 
 some persons in all appearance seriously, and by others craftily ; 
 and yet they are almost afraid of giving their thoughts even in 
 the most private manner concerning it, lest it should be made 
 an occasion of drawing them into a public opposition to the 
 methodists, as they are likely to be in some measure by your 
 letter to Mr. Mason, (excusing your prefixing a recommendation 
 of a book of theirs, without the advice of the trustees,) which 
 letter they have desired me to inform you has given them great 
 offence. 
 
 " What weight these considerations will or ought to have with 
 you, I cannot determine ; as I have thrown them together in a 
 good deal of haste, I am afraid lest I should have said any thing 
 in such a manner as may justly give you offence : this, however, 
 I am sure of, that you will not read any such line with more 
 pain than that in which I wrote it. If I have used any assum- 
 ing language, my heart did not dictate it ; if I have betrayed 
 any earnestness or warmth unbecoming the deference due to 
 your superior judgment, impute it to the passionate regard I 
 bear to so great and so valuable a character : if, on the other 
 hand, I have said any thing worthy your consideration, I am 
 persuaded it will have its weight, notwithstanding any disadvan- 
 tage from the mode of saying it, and the person who says it, 
 especially when I assure you, that that alone which you may 
 find in it becoming the sincerity and affection of a friend, and 
 the respect and veneration due to a man of eminent learning 
 and piety, has the approbation of, 
 
 Reverend and dear Sir, 
 Your most affectionate and faithful, humble servant, 
 
 NATHANIEL NEAL." 
 
 The answer to this first letter from the Coward trust, Dod- 
 dridge himself did not trouble himself to preserve. A second 
 came. 
 
 " The candid reception you gave my last of the llth instant, 
 I impute principally to your own condescending and friendly 
 disposition, and next, to the credit you gave to that simplicity of 
 intention with which it was written, and wherein alone I can in 
 any way be sure that it was not defective. 
 
 2L 
 
258 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 " I am not insensible, Sir, that the respect many of your 
 people bore to Mr. Whitefield, and your own acquaintance with 
 him, must have made it a matter of difficulty for you entirely to 
 have avoided showing him some polite regards on his coming to 
 Northampton ; and I greatly rejoice in being furnished with so 
 particular an account of the circumstances attending his visit, 
 that may enable me to say, you were so far, at that time, from 
 seeking his preaching in your pulpit, that you took several steps, 
 and indeed all that you thought you could prudently venture on, 
 and such as might, if they had succeeded, have been sufficient to 
 have prevented it ; which I doubt not will, and I am sure ought, to 
 have some weight with those who censure this step on the ground 
 of imprudence. I could only wish that I were able to make 
 these circumstances known as far as that censure is likely to 
 extend. 
 
 I should be very sorry, Sir, if you had any just reason to 
 apprehend, that what has been written to you on this subject by 
 any of your friends was intended to have any weight on the 
 footing of authority. They ought to be ashamed of wishing for 
 any greater influence over you than what their arguments, backed 
 by the affection which all who deserve the name of your friends 
 so justly entertain, will give them. And it is in that confidence 
 that you will not think me vain, or so weak as to wish any greater 
 for myself, that I venture to write another word to you on this 
 subject. 
 
 " And there is one thing which your letter gives me an occasion 
 to suggest for your present consideration, with regard to your 
 apprehensions of the growth of infidelity, which I am abundantly 
 satisfied are too well founded ; and that is, whether the enthu- 
 siasm and extravagances of weak Christians have not furnished 
 out some of the most specious pleas, as well as splendid triumphs, 
 of infidelity ? The pamphlet of " Christianity not founded on 
 Argument " alone, sufficiently convinces me that they have ; 
 inasmuch as that pamphlet was calculated to serve the interests 
 both of enthusiasm and deism ; actually made both enthusiasts 
 and deists ; and raised a doubt, not yet, as I apprehend, fully 
 cleared, whether the world was obliged to the one or other of 
 these parties for that excellent performance. If enthusiasts, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 259 
 
 therefore, by their principles, are laying a foundation of deism, 
 however they may abhor it in their intentions, it surely behoves 
 us to see to it, that we give them no assistance in that work ; 
 and the rather, as deists are watching for every possible advan- 
 tage of this kind. A remarkable instance of which was acci- 
 dentally mentioned to me very lately. In a late conversation in 
 a mixed company of deists, the countenance which a certain 
 eminent divine had given to some reputed enthusiasts was men- 
 tioned by one of the deists in support of this position, that the 
 most learned and considerable among Christian divines, who 
 were really honest men, were enthusiasts. You may certainly 
 depend on the truth of this relation." 
 
 The answer to this also is not preserved. A third came. 
 
 " Million Bank, Dec. 10th, 1743. 
 
 " I am sorry you appear so apprehensive in your last letter, 
 lest I should interpret what you said in your first too unfavour- 
 ably of the methodists and Mr. Whiteneld, as it confirms me in 
 my fears of your attachment to them ; but, whatever my wishes 
 were in that respect, you may be assured I could never venture 
 to represent you as indifferent to them, when I read your com- 
 mendation of his sermon for its excellence and oratory, and re- 
 member the low, incoherent stuff I used to hear him utter at 
 Kennington Common. 
 
 " Whilst I continued oppressed and hurt with these reflec- 
 tions, your excellent sermon for the County Hospital came in to 
 my relief. The piety, the justness of the sentiments and argu- 
 ments, the manly, graceful diction, and the benevolent spirit 
 that runs through the whole of it, both amazed and charmed 
 me. It must have extorted from any heart less acquainted with 
 your disposition for public usefulness than I am, a devout eja- 
 culation, that God would never permit such talents to come 
 under a wrong direction, or suffer the disadvantages they must 
 necessarily submit to, if engaged amongst men of weak heads 
 and narrow, gloomy sentiments, who may and ought to be pitied 
 and prayed for, and better informed, as opportunity allows, but 
 whom no rules of piety or prudence will oblige us to make our 
 friends and confidants. 
 
260 
 
 " There are letters shown about town, from several ministers 
 in the west, which make heavy complaints of the disorders occa- 
 sioned by Whitefield and Wesley in those parts. One of them, 
 speaking of Mr. Whitefield, calls him ( honesty crazy, confident 
 Whitefield.' These letters likewise mention, that some minis- 
 ters there, who were your pupils, have given them countenance ; 
 and you can hardly conceive the disrespect this has occasioned 
 several ministers and other persons in town to speak of you with. 
 Whether you are aware of this I know not ; and I am sure, if I 
 did not esteem it a mark of sincere friendship, I would not give 
 you the uneasiness of hearing it." 
 
 The answer to this letter Doddridge preserved, and I would 
 perpetuate. 
 
 TO NATHANIEL NEAL, ESQ. 
 
 " I am truly sorry that the manner in which I spoke of Mr. 
 Whitefield in my last should give you uneasiness. I hope I did 
 not assert his sermon to have been free from its defects ; but I 
 must be extremely prejudiced indeed, if it were such ' wild, in- 
 coherent stuff,' as you heard on Kennington Common. Nor does 
 it seem at all difficult to account for this ; for that preached 
 here, which, I believe, was one of his more elaborate and, per- 
 haps, favourite discourses, might deserve to be spoken of in a 
 different manner. What I then said, proceeded from a princi- 
 ple which I am sure you will not despise : I mean a certain 
 frankness of heart, which would not allow me to seem to think 
 more meanly of a man to whom I once professed some friendship, 
 than I really did. I must, indeed, look upon it as an unhappy 
 circumstance, that he came to Northampton just when he did, 
 as I perceive, that, in concurrence with other circumstances, it 
 has filled town and country with astonishment and indignation. 
 Nor did I, indeed, imagine my character to have been of such 
 great importance in the world, as that this little incident should 
 have been taken so much notice of. I believe the true reason 
 is, that for no other fault than my not being able to go so far as 
 some of my brethren into the new ways of thinking and speak- 
 ing, I have long had a multitude of enemies, who have been 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 261 
 
 watching for some occasion against me ; and I thank God, that 
 they have hitherto, with all that malignity of heart which some 
 of them have expressed, been able to find no greater ! 
 
 " As for you, dear Sir, I must always number you among my 
 most affectionate and faithful friends ; and though the human 
 heart is not so formed that it is agreeable to hear ourselves 
 spoken of with disrespect, yet I am well assured that the writing 
 the information you gave me was among the instances of your 
 greatest kindness. You know, Sir, that a fear to offend God, 
 by doing as most ^//'-prudent people do, has generally been 
 esteemed a weakness : and my conscience testifies that those 
 actions of mine which have been most reproached, have pro- 
 ceeded from that principle. It is impossible to represent to you 
 the reason, at least the excuse, I have had, and esteemed a 
 reason, unless I could give you an account of the several cir- 
 cumstances in which I have successively been placed for these 
 few past years. If I could, I believe you would be less inclined 
 to blame me than you are ; though I am sensible your censures 
 are very moderate, when compared with those of many others. 
 
 " I had, indeed, great expectations from the methodists and 
 Moravians. I am grieved, from my very heart, that so many 
 things have occurred among them which have been quite unjus- 
 tifiable : and I assure you faithfully, they are such as would have 
 occasioned me to have dropped that intimacy of correspondence 
 which I once had with them. And I suppose they have also 
 produced the same sentiments in the archbishop of Canterbury, 
 who, to my certain knowledge, received Count Zinzendorf with 
 open arms, and wrote of his being chosen the Moravian bishop, 
 as what was done ' plaudente toto ccelesti choro.' I shall al- 
 ways be ready to weigh whatever can be said against Mr. 
 Whitefield, as well as against any of the rest : and, though I 
 must have actual demonstration before I can admit him to be a 
 dishonest man, and though I shall never be able to think all he 
 has written, and all I have heard from him, nonsense, yet I am 
 not so zealously attached to him as to be disposed to celebrate 
 him as one of the greatest men of the age, or to think that he 
 is the pillar that bears up the whole interest of religion among 
 us. And if this moderation of sentiment towards him will not 
 
262 
 
 appease my angry brethren, as I am sensible it will not abate 
 the enmity which some have, for many years, entertained to- 
 wards me, I must acquiesce, and be patient till the day of the 
 Lord, when the secrets of all hearts shall be made manifest ; in 
 which, I do from my heart believe, that with respect to the part 
 I have acted in this affair, I shall not be ashamed. 
 
 tf I had before heard from some of my worthy friends in the 
 west of the offence which had been taken at two of my pupils 
 there, for the respect they showed to Mr. Whitefield ; and yet 
 they are both persons of eminent piety. He whose name is 
 chiefly in question, I mean Mr. Darracott, is one of the most 
 devout and extraordinary men I ever sent out ; and a person 
 who has, within these few years, been highly useful to numbers 
 of his hearers. Some of these, who were the most abandoned 
 characters in the place, are now become serious and useful chris- 
 tians ; and he himself has honoured his profession, when to all 
 around him he seemed on the borders of eternity, by a behaviour 
 which, in such awful circumstances, the best of men might wish 
 to be their own. Mr. Fawcett labours likewise at Taunton ; 
 and his zeal, so far as I can judge, is inspired both with love 
 and prudence. Yet I hear these men are reproached because 
 they have treated Mr. Whitefield respectfully ; and that one of 
 them, after having had a correspondence with him for many years, 
 admitted him into his pulpit. I own I am very thoughtful when 
 these things will end : in the mean time, I am as silent as I can 
 be ! I commit the matter to God in prayer, and earnestly beg 
 his direction, that he would lead me in a plain path. Sometimes 
 I think the storm will soon blow over, and that things will re- 
 turn again to their natural course. I am sure I see no danger 
 that any of my pupils will prove methodists : I wish many of 
 them may not run into the contrary extreme. It is really, Sir, 
 with some confusion that I read your encomium upon my ser- 
 mon : I am sensible it is some consolation to me, amidst the 
 uneasiness which, as you conclude, other things must give me. 
 I hope our design will go on, though it has not at present the 
 success I could have wished. The dissenters do their part, but 
 I am sorry to say the neighbouring clergy are exceedingly defi- 
 cient in theirs." Doddridge. 
 
263 
 
 Neal was not the only person of influence amongst the dis- 
 senters who was alarmed at Doddridge's liberality. Dr. Jen- 
 nings assailed him for prefacing a book of Mason's ; by which 
 " his friends were given by name," he says, " to be baited by 
 the methodists, as their opposers." At the same time, also, 
 Mr. Blair wrote to him, begging his opinion of Whitefield " a 
 man," he says, " more railed at by some, and idolized by others, 
 than any person I ever knew in my life." His friend Barker 
 also told him, that he had thought it " needful to warn his hearers 
 to avoid the errors " of Whitefield and his followers. So little 
 did good men appreciate or understand Whitefield at this time ! 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S DOMESTIC LIFE. 
 
 IT is, indeed, almost a misnomer, to call Whitefield's conjugal 
 life, domestic. His engagements, like Wesley's, were incom- 
 patible with domestic happiness, as that is understood by do- 
 mestic men. Accordingly, their kind and degree of home 
 enjoyment he neither expected nor proposed to himself. All 
 that he wanted was, a help meet, who could sympathize in his 
 absorbing public enterprises, as well as in his personal joys and 
 sorrows ; and a home, where he might recruit after labour and 
 exhaustion. And such a wife and a home he deserved, as well 
 as needed. He mistook sadly, however, when he sought for 
 such a wife in the ranks of widowhood, then. There were no 
 missionaries' widows " in these days." A young female, of 
 eminent piety and zeal, might have fallen in with his habits and 
 plans, and even found her chief happiness in sustaining his 
 mighty and manifold undertakings, like Paul's Phoebe : but a 
 widow, who had been "a housekeeper" (her own) "many 
 years," and that in the retirement of Abergavenny, in Wales, 
 could hardly be expected to unlearn the domestic system of 
 the country, nor to become a heroine for the world. Both 
 Whitefield and Wesley forgot this obvious truth, and married 
 widows. 
 
 How much Wesley smarted for this oversight, is as proverbial 
 as it is painful. Mrs. Whitefield had none of Mrs. Wesley's 
 faults. She had, however, no commanding virtues, running in 
 grand parallel with any of the noble features of her husband's 
 character ; and thus, because she was not prominently a help to 
 him, she seems to have been reckoned a hinderance, by the 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 265 
 
 gossips and busybodies who watched Mrs. Wesley. These, in 
 their fears for their own " dear minister's comfort," watched 
 Mrs. Whitefield also, lest he should be made as unhappy as his 
 old friend ! 
 
 The tattle of such spies is beneath contempt. It has, how- 
 ever, found some countenance from a quarter which no impar- 
 tial judge can overlook or underrate. Cornelius Winter, in the 
 letters which form the substance of his " Life," by Jay of 
 Bath, has said expressly, that Whitefield " was not happy in 
 his wife ;" that " she certainly did not behave as she ought ;" 
 and that " her death set his mind much at rest." Now, what- 
 ever this sweeping charge means, it came from a man of the 
 highest character. Of Cornelius Winter, Matthew Wilks used 
 to say, " I am never in this man's company without being re- 
 minded of Paradisaical innocence." Rowland Hill also, al- 
 though he did not give Winter credit for all the candour Jay 
 has done, did not hesitate to say of him, that " he would make 
 the worst devil of any man in the world ;" meaning, that he 
 was the most unlike the devil. All this is so true, that Win- 
 ter's account of Mrs. Whitefield has acquired currency, although 
 it is neither confirmed nor illustrated by a single document or 
 line from any other writer, so far as I can learn. It will, no 
 doubt, surprise some, however, who have formed their opinion 
 of her from this single source, to be informed that Winter's 
 opportunity of knowing her, from personal observation, was 
 very short. Whitefield was married to her before Winter was 
 born. She died in 1768. Now Winter says, that Berridge in- 
 troduced him to Whitefield by letter, in February, 1767. Jay's 
 Life of Winter. And even then, he did not become " one of the 
 family " until his " fidelity was proved." Thus he had not two 
 years to judge ; and even this brief space occurred when Mrs. 
 Whitefield was breaking down. Unless, therefore, he received 
 his information from Whitefield himself, (and he does not say 
 so,) Winter must be deemed, for once, rash, at least. 
 
 This is a painful conclusion ; but it is inevitable, except on 
 the supposition that the sweeping charge was made against her 
 by her husband. But his first report of her is, that " Mrs. 
 James," although " once gay, is now a despised follower of the 
 
 2 M 
 
266 
 
 Lamb." Gillies. In like manner, throughout a long series of 
 his letters, he uniformly styles her his "dear partner/' or 
 " dear fellow-pilgrim," or " dear yoke-fellow," or " dear wife." 
 He also tells with evident delight, how she assisted the sailors 
 to make cartridges, when their vessel was preparing for battle, 
 on the voyage to America. He also praises her as his " ten- 
 der nurse," whilst he was ill at Toronto. He often joins her 
 name with his own, in sending salutations to Lady Huntingdon, 
 Mr. Hervey, and other dear friends. In July, 1768, he writes 
 thus from Edinburgh, " tender love to all, particularly to my 
 dear wife." In the same month (she died in August) he writes 
 to another friend, " My wife is as well as can be expected. Both 
 of us descending, in order to ascend, 
 
 { Where sin, and pain, and sorrow cease, 
 And all is calm, and joy, and peace.' " 
 
 Is it likely that the man who wrote thus of his wife, from first 
 to last, would have said of her afterwards to Winter, a com- 
 parative stranger, what would have warranted Winter to throw 
 so dark a cloud over her memory ? 
 
 I have given Winter credit for a longer opportunity of ob 
 serving her, than he himself pretends to have had. " Thrice," 
 he says, " it pleased the Lord to lay him upon a bed of sick- 
 ness," after he became one of the family. Then, " eight 
 months " of his short opportunity were spent in Bristol, for the 
 recovery of his health. This is not all the subtraction to be 
 made from the time. " A second visit to Bristol held four 
 months." Besides, when he returned to London, he had to 
 " bury the dead at Tottenham Court chapel." Jay's Life. 
 Now certainly, whatever may be thought of Winter's high cha- 
 racter, it is impossible to attach much importance to his facili- 
 ties for observation : they were both few and small ; and he 
 ought to have said so, instead of leaving the fact to be thus 
 found out by comparing scattered dates, and calculating long 
 intervals of absence. 
 
 A great deal, indeed, may be learnt in a short time, in any 
 family, where all is not right between husband and wife ; and if 
 Winter, whilst a bachelor, had all those delicate and noble per- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 'J(V7 
 
 ceptions of conjugal love, which he exemplified when he became 
 a husband, long observation was not necessary in order to en- 
 able his fine eye to see exactly how matters stood between Mr. 
 and Mrs. Whitefield. 
 
 I have felt it to be my duty to scrutinize this only recorded 
 stigma upon Mrs. Whitefield; not because I question the 
 general truth of it, so far as Winter was a witness, but be- 
 cause it passes for more than I think he ever intended. The 
 Whitefields, so far as I can judge, neither lived nor loved like 
 Mr. and Mrs. Winter. They were not unhappy in the sense 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wesley were so ; but still their communion of 
 spirit, or oneness of soul, was not what Cornelius Winter nor I 
 could conscientiously call domestic happiness. 
 
 I say this, because I cannot forget the strangeness, to say the 
 least, of Whitefield's text, when he preached his wife's funeral 
 sermon. It was, " For the creature was made subject to 
 vanity ; not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected 
 the same in hope," Rom. viii. 20. Gillies. Now, even if he 
 dwelt upon the context, there was still an implication, anything 
 but complimentary to her memory. In like manner, his letter 
 to Torial Joss on her death, is more pious than tender : " The 
 late very unexpected breach is a fresh proof that the night soon 
 cometh when no man can work. Pray, where may \Jind that 
 great promise made to Abraham, after Sarah's death ? May it 
 be fulfilled in you, whilst your Sarah is yet alive ! Sweet be- 
 reavements, when God himself fills up the void. I find it so." 
 Letters. There was no promise, great or small, given on that 
 occasion. 
 
 On the other hand, I find a letter a year after her death, in 
 which he says to a friend, " I feel the loss of my ' right hand ' 
 daily ; but right hands and right eyes must be parted with for 
 Him, who doeth all things well." Letter 1406. This acknow- 
 ledgment Winter had access to when he said that her death set 
 Whitefield's " mind much at rest." He might also have read, 
 as well as myself, the following references to the early and mid- 
 dle parts of their domestic history. Whitefield wrote thus 
 from on board the Wilmington, in 1744 : " All except myself 
 seem ready for fire and smoke. My wife, after having dressed 
 
268 
 
 herself to prepare for all events, set about making cartridges, 
 whilst the husband wanted to go into the holes of the ship, 
 hearing that was the chaplain's usual place." After recovering 
 from an attack of colic, which seemed likely to terminate in 
 mortal convulsions, at York, in the same year, he sang with 
 gratitude, 
 
 " My wife and friends stood weeping by, 
 In tears resolved to see me die." 
 
 In a subsequent letter, he bears testimony to her usefulness 
 and zeal : " My dear wife is fully employed in copying my let- 
 ters. We do not, however, forget our dear London and Eng- 
 lish friends. We pray for them often, and cannot help wishing 
 some may come over into this delightful wilderness (Pisca- 
 taqua) ; it is a fruitful field." In 1747, he wrote from Charles- 
 ton to Wales, " My dear yoke-fellow is in Georgia. Blessed be 
 God, she is well, and prospers in soul and body. We hope to 
 live and have our hearts warmed with our Welch friends ere 
 we go hence and be no more." In the same year he wrote thus 
 of her to a friend, " We lead a moving life, but I trust we move 
 heavenward." " We are more than happy." " We go on like 
 two happy pilgrims, leaning on our Beloved." In 1748, when 
 he sailed from Bermudas to England, he wrote, " I intend to 
 return to beloved America next year, which is one reason why 
 I leave my dear yoke-fellow behind. Oh that I knew how it was 
 with her ! But I see God will make those he loves to live by 
 faith and not by sense." In 1749 he says, " We are both well, 
 and surrounded with mercies 011 every side : only ungrateful, 
 ill, and hell-deserving I, want a grateful and humble heart ! " 
 
 At a later period, 1754, 1 find him writing from Lisbon thus : 
 " You will not forget to visit my widow-wife / Blessed be God, 
 her Maker is her Husband ; and ere long we shall sit down to- 
 gether, at the marriage -supper of the Lamb." In 1756, he 
 says, " I have no thoughts at present of her ever seeing the 
 orphan-house again. We shall ere long see heaven. Some ante- 
 pasts of it we are favoured with already." Letters. 
 
 But enough, more than enough, is now presented, to prove 
 that Winter's unqualified statements were unwarranted. I 
 
269 
 
 must, however, add, that they are to me unaccountable, unless 
 he meant only the period whilst he was a witness of the White- 
 field family, and unless he made his own experience the standard 
 by which he tried their conjugal love ; and this he has not said. 
 I must, therefore, leave the case of Whitefield versus Winter to 
 the verdict of time. 
 
 Whitefield's marriage did not interrupt his work, nor damp 
 his ardour. In a few days after, his success in Wales made 
 him exclaim, " God has been pleased to work by my hands 
 since I have been here. O stupendous love. O infinitely con- 
 descending God ! " He was married on the llth of November, 
 1741, and before the end of the month he was electrifying Bris- 
 tol, as in the days of old. " We have a growing church " here 
 again. It had been checked for a time by the breach between 
 Wesley and Cennick. "Yesterday, and several other times, 
 the Lord hath filled many as with new wine. Sometimes I have 
 scarce known whether I have been in the body or out of the 
 body. It is a good thing to know how to manage a manifesta- 
 tion aright ; nature so frequently and artfully blends with grace ! 
 The more grace I receive, the more I desire to lie as a poor, 
 very poor sinner at the feet of the wounded Lamb." 
 
 In this spirit he came to Gloucester, " where, by a particular 
 providence," one of the churches was again opened to him ; St. 
 John's. The old incumbent, who had been his "grand op- 
 poser " formerly, was dead ; and the new minister had not taken 
 possession of the pulpit ; and, therefore, the churchwardens paid 
 their townsman the compliment of a church to preach in, be- 
 cause he was newly married. He preached twice on the sab- 
 bath "with unspeakable power;" and then upon "a hill six 
 miles off," and at night at Stroud. There was, he says, " a new 
 awakening, and revival of the work of God." " We shall never 
 know," he exclaims, " what good field preaching has done, till 
 we come to judgment." 
 
 At Stroud and Painswick he flew as on eagles' wings, he says, 
 " with wondrous power, and every sermon was blessed." 
 Whilst thus darting off every now and then from his home, he 
 sent word to Gilbert Tennent, that Mrs. Whitefield, although 
 neither " rich in fortune, nor beautiful in person, was a true 
 
270 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 child of God/' who would not " for the world hinder him in 
 God's work." " The Lord hath given me a daughter of Abra- 
 ham," he says to another American friend. 
 
 In February, 1742, Whitefield returned to London, where 
 " life and power soon flew all around " him again ; " the Re- 
 deemer getting himself victory daily in many hearts." The 
 renewed progress of the gospel at this time in London, he calls 
 emphatically, " the Redeemer's stately steps " Well he might; 
 for during the Easter holidays, " Satan's booths" in Moor- 
 fields poured out their thousands to hear him. This deter- 
 mined him to dare all hazards on Whit-Monday, the great gala- 
 day of vanity and vice there. Gillies' account of this enterprise, 
 although not incorrect nor uninteresting, is very incomplete, 
 considering the fame of the feat at the time. The following 
 account is from the pen of Whitefield himself; and written 
 whilst he was reporting, at home and abroad, his marriage. 
 
 " For many years, from one end of Moorfields to the other, 
 booths of all kinds have been erected for mountebanks, players, 
 puppet-shows, and such like. With a heart bleeding with com- 
 passion for so many thousands led captive by the devil at his 
 will, on Whit-Monday, at six o'clock in the morning, attended 
 by a large congregation of praying people, I ventured to lift up 
 a standard amongst them in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 
 Perhaps there were about ten thousand in waiting, not for me, 
 but for Satan's instruments to amuse them. Glad was I to find, 
 that I had for once as it were got the start of the devil. I 
 mounted my field pulpit ; almost all flocked immediately around 
 it. I preached on these words, ( As Moses lifted up the serpent 
 in the wilderness, so shall the Son of man be lifted up,' &c. 
 They gazed, they listened, they wept ; and I believe that many 
 felt themselves stung with deep conviction for their past sins. 
 All was hushed and solemn. Being thus encouraged, I ven- 
 tured out again at noon ; but what a scene ! The fields, the 
 whole fields seemed, in a bad sense of the word, all white, ready 
 not for the Redeemer's, but Beelzebub's harvest. All his 
 agents were in full motion, drummers, trumpeters, merry-an- 
 drews, masters of puppet-shows, exhibiters of wild beasts, 
 players, &c. &c. all busy in entertaining their respective audi- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 271 
 
 tories. I suppose there could not be less than twenty or thirty 
 thousand people. My pulpit was fixed on the opposite side, 
 and immediately, to their great mortification, they found the 
 number of their attendants sadly lessened. Judging that, like 
 Saint Paul, I should now be called as it were to fight with 
 beasts at Ephesus, 1 preached from these words : ( Great is 
 Diana of the Ephesians* You may easily guess, that there 
 was some noise among the craftsmen, and that I was honoured 
 with having a few stones, dirt, rotten eggs, and pieces of dead 
 cats thrown at me, whilst engaged in calling them from their 
 favourite but lying vanities. My soul was indeed among lions ; 
 but far the greatest part of my congregation, which was very 
 large, seemed for a while to be turned into lambs. This en- 
 couraged me to give notice that I would preach again at six 
 o'clock in the evening. I came, I saw, but what thousands 
 and thousands more than before, if possible, still more deeply 
 engaged in their unhappy diversions ; but some thousands 
 amongst them waiting as earnestly to hear the gospel. 
 
 This Satan could not brook. One of his choicest servants 
 was exhibiting, trumpeting on a large stage ; but as soon as the 
 people saw me in my black robes and my pulpit, I think all to 
 a man left him and ran to me. For a while I was enabled to 
 lift up my voice like a trumpet, and many heard the joyful 
 sound. God's people kept praying, and the enemy's agents 
 made a kind of a roaring at some distance from our camp. At 
 length they approached nearer, and the merry-andrew (attend- 
 ed by others, who complained that they had taken many pounds 
 less that day on account of my preaching) got up upon a man's 
 shoulders, and advancing near the pulpit attempted to slash me 
 with a long heavy whip several times, but always with the vio- 
 lence of his motion tumbled down. Soon afterwards they got 
 a recruiting serjeant with his drum, &c. to pass through the 
 congregation. I gave the word of command, and ordered that 
 way might be made for the king's officer. The ranks opened, 
 while all marched quietly through, and then closed again. 
 Finding those efforts to fail, a large body quite on the opposite 
 side assembled together, and having got a large pole for their 
 standard, advanced towards us with steady and formidable steps, 
 
272 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 till they came very near the skirts of our hearing, praying, and 
 almost undaunted congregation. I saw, gave warning, and 
 prayed to the Captain of our salvation for present support and 
 deliverance. He heard and answered; for just as they ap- 
 proached us with looks full of resentment, I know not by what 
 accident, they quarrelled among themselves, threw down their 
 staff and went their way, leaving, however, many of their com- 
 pany behind, who, before we had done, I trust were brought 
 over to join the besieged party. I think I continued in praying, 
 preaching, and singing (for the noise was too great at times to 
 preach) about three hours. 
 
 " We then retired to the Tabernacle, with my pockets full of 
 notes from persons brought under concern, and read them amidst 
 the praises and spiritual acclamations of thousands, who joined 
 with the holy angels in rejoicing that so many sinners were 
 snatched, in such an unexpected, unlikely place and manner, out 
 of the very jaws of the devil. This was the beginning of the 
 Tabernacle society. Three hundred and fifty awakened souls 
 were received in one day, and I believe the number of notes ex- 
 ceeded a thousand ; but I must have done, believing you want- 
 to retire to join in mutual praise and thanksgiving to God and 
 the Lamb. 
 
 " Fresh matter of praise ; bless ye the Lord, for he hath 
 triumphed gloriously. The battle that was begun on Monday, 
 was not quite over till Wednesday evening, though the scene 
 of action was a little shifted. Being strongly invited, and a 
 pulpit being prepared for me by an honest quaker, a coal mer- 
 chant, I ventured on Tuesday evening to preach at Mary le Bow 
 Fields, a place almost as much frequented by boxers, gamesters, 
 and such like, as Moorfields. A vast concourse was assembled 
 together, and as soon as I got into the field pulpit, their coun- 
 tenances bespoke the enmity of their hearts against the preacher. 
 I opened with these words ( I am not ashamed of the gospel of 
 Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one 
 that believeth.' I preached in great jeopardy ; for the pulpit 
 being high, and the supports not well fixed in the ground, it 
 tottered every time I moved, and numbers of enemies strove to 
 push my friends against the supporters, in order to throw me 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMKS. 273 
 
 down. But the Redeemer stayed my soul on himself, therefor* 
 I was not much moved, unless with compassion for those to 
 whom I was delivering my Master's message, which I had reason 
 to think, hy the strong impressions that were made, was welcome 
 to many. But Satan did not like thus to he attacked in his 
 strong holds, and I narrowly escaped with my life : for as I was 
 passing from the pulpit to the coach, I felt my wig and hat to 
 he almost off. I turned ahout, and observed a sword just touch- 
 ing my temples. A young rake, as I afterwards found, was de- 
 termined to stab me, but a gentleman, seeing the sword thrust- 
 ing near me, struck it up with his cane, and so the destined 
 victim providentially escaped. Such an attempt excited abhor- 
 rence ; the enraged multitude soon seized him, and had it not 
 been for one of my friends, who received him into his house, he 
 must have undergone a severe discipline. The next day, I re- 
 newed my attack in Moorfields ; but, would you think it ? after 
 they found that pelting, noise, and threateniiigs would not do, 
 one of the merry -andrews got up into a tree very near the pulpit, 
 and shamefully exposed himself before all the people. Such a 
 beastly action quite abashed the serious part of my auditory ; 
 whilst hundreds of another stamp, instead of rising to pull down 
 the unhappy wretch, expressed their approbation by repeated 
 laughs. I must own that, at first, it gave me a shock. I 
 thought Satan had outdone himself. But, recovering my spirits, 
 I appealed to all, since they had now such a spectacle before 
 them, whether I had wronged human nature, in saying, after 
 pious Bishop Hall, ' that man, when left to himself, was half a 
 beast and half a devil;' or, as the great Mr. Law expressed 
 himself, ' a motley mixture of beast and devil.' 
 
 " Silence and attention being thus gained, I concluded with 
 a warm exhortation, and closed our festival enterprises in read- 
 ing fresh notes that were put up, praising and blessing God, 
 amidst thousands at the Tabernacle, for what he had done for 
 precious souls, and on account of the deliverances he had wrought 
 out for me and his people. I could enlarge ; but being about 
 to embark in the Mary and Ann for Scotland, I must hasten 
 to a close : but I cannot help adding, that several little boys and 
 girls who were fond of sitting round me on the pulpit, while I 
 
 2 N 
 
274 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 preached, and handing to me people's notes, though they were 
 often pelted with eggs, dirt, &c. thrown at me, never once gave 
 way; but, on the contrary, every time I was struck, turned up 
 their little weeping eyes, and seemed to wish they could receive 
 the Mows for me. God make them in their growing years great 
 and living martyrs for him, who out of the mouths of babes and 
 sucklings perfects praise ! " Letters. 
 
 In this way Whitefield signalized his marriage ; verifying to 
 his wife the assurance he had given her, that he would not 
 preach a sermon less, nor travel a mile fewer, than formerly. 
 And she had no occasion to regret, that he did not take her 
 with him in his short excursions around London ; for, however 
 good a rider he was, he was a bad driver. The first time he 
 took her out in a chaise, he drove into a ditch. " My wife," he 
 says to a friend, " has been in trying circumstances, partly 
 through the unskilfulness of a chaise-driver ; I mean myself. 
 Being advised to take her out into the air, I drove her, as well 
 as myself, through inadvertency, into a ditch. Finding that we 
 were falling she put her hand across the chaise, and thereby 
 preserved us both from being thrown out. The ditch might be 
 about fourteen feet deep ; but, blessed be God, though all that 
 saw us falling, cried out, They are killed, yet, through infinite 
 mercy, we received no great hurt. The place was very narrow 
 near the bottom, and yet the horse went down, as though let 
 down by a pulley. A stander-by ran down and catched hold of 
 its head, to prevent its going forwards. I got upon its back, 
 and was drawn out by a long whip, whilst my wife, hanging be- 
 tween the chaise and the bank, was pulled up on the other side 
 by two or three kind assistants. Being both in a comfortable 
 frame, I must own, to my shame, that I felt rather regret than 
 thankfulness in escaping what I thought would be a kind of a 
 translation to our wished-for haven. But, O amazing love ! we 
 were so strengthened, that the chaise and horse being taken up, 
 and our bruises being washed with vinegar in a neighbouring 
 house, we went on our intended way, and came home rejoicing 
 in God our Saviour. Not expecting my wife's confinement for 
 some time, I intend making a short excursion, and then you 
 may expect further news." 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. ^7/3 
 
 It must not be supposed that the chaise was his own. He 
 was so poor, at this time, that he had to borrow furniture for his 
 house. This may surprise some ; but it is only too true. " I 
 thank you a thousand times for your great generosity," he writes 
 to a friend, " in lending me some furniture ; having little of 
 my own. I know who will repay you." T^ctt. ,546. 
 
 Even this is not all the fact concerning his poverty. Almost 
 immediately after the baptism of his son, he wrote to the same 
 friend, " My dear wife and little one will come to Gloucester, 
 for I find it beyond my circumstances to maintain them here. 
 But why talk of wife and little one ? Let all be absorbed in 
 the thoughts of the love, sufferings, free and full salvation of 
 the infinitely great and glorious Emmanuel. In respect to 
 other things, at present, this is the habitual language of my 
 heart, 
 
 ' Thy gifts, if called for, I resign ; 
 Pleased to receive, pleased to restore. 
 Gifts are thy work. It shall be mine, 
 The Giver only to adore.' " 
 
 It was well he was thus minded ; for he had soon to give up 
 his Isaac. The journey to Gloucester proved fatal to the child: 
 and yet, how slightly he refers to the poverty which rendered 
 that journey necessary ! His narrative of the event is very 
 touching, in all respects. 
 
 " Who knows what a day may bring forth ? Last night I 
 was called to sacrifice my Isaac ; I mean to bury my only child 
 and son, about four months old. Many things occurred to 
 make me believe he was not only to be continued to me, but to 
 be a preacher of the everlasting gospel. Pleased with the 
 thought, and ambitious of having a son of my own so divinely 
 employed, Satan was permitted to give me some wrong im- 
 pressions, whereby, as I now find, I misapplied several texts of 
 Scripture. Upon these grounds I made no scruple of declaring 
 ' that I should have a son, and that his name was to be John. 9 
 I mentioned the very time of his birth, and fondly hoped that 
 he was to be great in the sight of the Lord. Every thing hap- 
 pened according to the predictions ; and my wife having had 
 
276 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 several narrow escapes while pregnant, especially by her falling 
 from a high horse,, and my driving her into a deep ditch in a 
 one-horse chaise a little before the time of her confinement, and 
 from which we received little or no hurt, confirmed me in my 
 expectation, that God would grant me my heart's desire. I 
 would observe to you, that the child was even born in a room, 
 which the master of the house had prepared as a prison for his 
 wife for coming to hear me. With joy would she often look 
 upon the bars, and staples, and chains which were fixed in 
 order to keep her in. About a week after his birth, I publicly 
 baptized him in the Tabernacle, and in the company of thousands 
 solemnly gave him up to that God who gave him to me. A 
 hymn, too fondly composed by an aged widow, as suitable to 
 the occasion, was sung, and all went away big with hopes of the 
 child's being hereafter to be employed in the work of God ; 
 but how soon, are all their fond, and, as the event hath proved, 
 their ill-grounded expectations blasted as well as mine ! House- 
 keeping being expensive in London, I thought it best to send 
 both parent and child to Abergavenny, where my wife had a lit- 
 tle house of my own, the furniture of which, as I thought of soon 
 embarking for Georgia, I had partly sold, and partly given 
 away. In their journey thither, they stopped at Gloucester, at 
 the Bell Inn, which my brother now keeps, and in which I was 
 born. There my beloved was cut off with a stroke. Upon my 
 coming here, without knowing what had happened, I inquired 
 concerning the welfare of parent and child ; and by the answer 
 found that the flower was cut down. I immediately called all to 
 join in prayer, in which I blessed the Father of mercies for 
 giving me a son, continuing it to me so long, and taking it from 
 me so soon. All joined in desiring that I would decline preach- 
 ing till the child was buried ; but I remembered a saying of 
 good Mr. Henry, ' that weeping must not hinder sowing,' and 
 therefore preached twice the next day, and also the day follow- 
 ing ; on the evening of which, just as I was closing my sermon, 
 the bell struck out for the funeral. At first, I must acknow- 
 ledge, it gave nature a little shake, but looking up I recovered 
 strength, and then concluded with saying, that this text on 
 which I had been preaching, namely, ' All things worked toge- 
 
WHITIFIELDS LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 ther for good to them that love God/ made me as willing to 
 go out to my son's funeral, as to hear of his birth. Our part- 
 ing from him was solemn. We kneeled down, prayed, and shed 
 many tears, but I hope tears of resignation : and then, as he 
 died in the house wherein I was born, he was taken and laid in 
 the church where I was baptized, first communicated, and first 
 preached. All this you may easily guess threw me into very 
 solemn and deep reflection, and I hope deep humiliation ; but I 
 was comforted from that passage in the book of Kings, where 
 is recorded the death of the Shunammite's child, which the pro 
 phet said, ' the Lord had hid from him ;' and the woman's 
 answer likewise to the prophet when he asked, ( Is it well with 
 thee ? Is it well with thy husband ? Is it well with thy child ? ' 
 And she answered, ( It is well.' This gave me no small satis- 
 faction. I immediately preached upon the text the day follow- 
 ing at Gloucester, and then hastened up to London, preached 
 upon the same there ; and though disappointed of a living 
 preacher by the death of my son, yet I hope what happened be- 
 fore his birth, and since at his death, hath taught me such les- 
 sons, as, if duly improved, may render his mistaken parent more 
 cautious, more sober-minded, more experienced in Satan's de- 
 vices, and consequently more useful in his future labours to the 
 church of God. Thus, ' out of the eater comes forth sweet- 
 ness.' Not doubting but our future life will be one continued 
 explanation of this blessed riddle, I commend myself and you 
 to the unerring guidance of God's word and Spirit." 
 
 Happily for himself, Whitefield had the prosecution of the 
 Hampton rioters to provide for at this time. This compelled 
 him to bestir himself in visiting and corresponding, in order to 
 obtain money to meet the expenses of the trial. He took a right 
 view of that outrage when he said, " much depends on our get- 
 ting the victory." Colonel Gardiner (now his friend) entered 
 into this view of the case, and sustained him. So did many 
 other influential men. A lady, also, in Wales, subscribed five 
 pounds towards the expenses. The Welch Association were 
 "very generous, according to their circumstances;" and the 
 Tabernacle friends had "a glorious fast, at which they collected 
 above sixty pounds " for the assistance of their suffering brethren 
 
278 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 at Hampton. The following is his own account of " The Oc- 
 casion, Process, and Issue of the Trial at Gloucester, March 
 3, 1743." 
 
 " On Thursday evening I came hither from the Gloucester 
 assizes, where I have been engaged in a trial between some of 
 those who are called methodists, and some violent rioters. 
 Perhaps this news may a little startle you, and put you upon 
 inquiry (as it hath done some others) ' How we came to go to 
 law with our adversaries, when it is our avowed principle tj 
 suffer patiently for the truth's sake ? ' I will tell you, my dear 
 friend : though perhaps there is nothing in the world more 
 abused than the law, and there are very few that go to law out 
 of a proper principle ; yet we hold that there is a proper use of 
 it, and the law is good when used lawfully. Whether or no we 
 have used it lawfully in the present case, I shall leave my 
 friend to judge, after I have told him the motives that induced 
 us to engage in it. The methodists, you know, are every where 
 accounted enthusiasts, in the worst sense of the word ; but 
 though they are accounted such, yet they would not be enthu- 
 siasts in reality. Now we look upon it to be one species of en- 
 thusiasm, to expect to attain an end without making use of 
 proper means. We also think that believers should be very 
 careful not to be fond of suffering persecution, when they may 
 avoid it by making application to the high powers. We are 
 likewise of opinion, that good christians will be good subjects, 
 and consequently it is their duty, as much as in them lies, to 
 put a stop to every thing in a rightful way, that may prove de- 
 structive to the king or the government under which they live. 
 Christian ministers, in particular, we think, ought to consider 
 the weakness of people's grace, and, in pity to precious souls, 
 do what they can to remove every thing out of the way that 
 may discourage or prevent poor people's hearing the everlasting 
 gospel. These considerations, my dear friend, for some time 
 past, have led me to examine whether the methodists in general 
 (and I myself in particular) have acted the part of good sub- 
 jects, and judicious Christian ministers, in so long neglecting to 
 make an application to the superior courts, and putting in exe- 
 cution the wholesome laws of the land, in order to prevent those 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFK AND TIMES. 
 
 many dreadful outrages which have been committed against us. 
 I need not descend to particulars. Our Weekly History is full of 
 thorn ; and before that came out, several of our brethren, both 
 in England and Wales, have received much damage from time 
 to time, and been frequently in great hazard of their lives. 
 Wiltshire has been very remarkable for mobbing and abusing 
 the methodists ; and, for about ten months last past, it has also 
 prevailed very much in Gloucestershire, especially at Hampton, 
 where our friend Mr. Adams has a dwelling-house, and has 
 been much blessed to many people. This displeased the grand 
 enemy of souls, who stirred up many of the baser sort, privately 
 encouraged by some of a higher rank, to come from time to 
 time, in great numbers, with a low-bell and horn, to beset the 
 house, and beat and abuse the people. 
 
 " About the beginning of July last, their opposition seemed 
 to rise to the highest. For several days they assembled in 
 great bodies, broke the windows, and mobbed the people to 
 such a degree, that many expected to be murdered, and hid 
 themselves in holes and corners, to avoid the rage of their ad- 
 versaries. Once, when I was there, they continued from four 
 in the afternoon till midnight, rioting, giving loud huzzas, cast- 
 ing dirt upon the hearers, and making proclamations, ' That no 
 anabaptists, presbyterians, &c. should preach there, upon pain 
 of being first put into a tan-pit, and afterwards into a brook.' 
 At another time they pulled one or two women down the stairs 
 by the hair of their heads. And on the 10th of July they came, 
 to the number of near a hundred, in their usual way, with a 
 low-bell and horn, about five in the afternoon, forced into Mr. 
 Adams's house, and demanded him down the stairs whereon he 
 was preaching, took him out of his house, and threw him into a 
 tan-pit full of noisome things and stagnated water. One of our 
 friends named Williams asking them, ( If they were not ashamed 
 to serve an innocent man so ? ' they put him into the same pit 
 twice, and afterwards beat him, and dragged him along the 
 kennel. Mr. Adams quietly returned home, and betook him- 
 self to prayer, and exhorted the people to rejoice in suffering 
 for the sake of the gospel. In about half an hour they came 
 to the house again, dragged him down the stairs, and led him 
 
280 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 away a mile and a half to a place called Bourn Brook, and then 
 threw him in. A stander-by, fearing he might be drowned, 
 jumped in and pulled him out ; whereupon another of the 
 rioters immediately pushed him into the pool a second time, 
 and cut his leg against a stone, so that he went lame for near 
 a fortnight. Both the constable and justices were applied to, 
 but refused to act, and seemed rather to countenance the mob- 
 bing, hoping thereby methodism (as they called it) would be put 
 a stop to, at least at Hampton. For a season they gained their 
 end. There was no preaching for some time, the people fear- 
 ing to assemble on account of the violence of the mob. 
 
 " Upon my return to town, I advised with my friends what to 
 do. We knew we wanted to exercise no revenge against the 
 rioters, and yet we thought it wrong that the gospel should be 
 stopped by such persons, when the government under which we 
 lived countenanced no such thing ; and also that it was absurd 
 to thank God for wholesome laws, if they were not to be made 
 use of. We knew very well, that an apostle had told us, that 
 magistrates were ordained for the punishment of evil-doers ; 
 and that they bear not the sword in vain. We were also fear- 
 ful that if any of our brethren should be murdered by future 
 riotings, (as in all probability they might,) we should be acces- 
 sary to their death, if we neglected to tie up the rioters' hands, 
 which was all we desired to do. Besides, we could not look 
 upon this as allowed persecution, since it was not countenanced 
 by the laws of the land, and we might have redress from these 
 rioters and inferior magistrates,by appealing to Caesar, whose real 
 friends and loyal subjects we judged ourselves not to be, if we 
 suffered his laws to be publicly trampled under foot by such 
 notorious rioting ; and which, though begun against the metho- 
 dists, might terminate in open rebellion against King George. 
 For these and such like reasons, we thought it our duty to 
 move for an information in the King's Bench against five of the 
 ringleaders, and fixed upon the riot which they made on Sun- 
 day, July 10th, when they put Mr. Adams and Williams into 
 the tan-pit and brook. But before this was done, I wrote a let- 
 ter to one whom they called Captain, desiring him to inform his 
 associates, ' That if they would acknowledge their fault, pay for 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 281 
 
 curing a boy's arm, which was broken the night I was there, 
 and mend the windows of Mr. Adams's house, we would readily 
 pass all by ; but if they persisted in their resolutions to riot, 
 we thought it our duty to prevent their doing, and others re- 
 ceiving, further damage, by moving for an information against 
 them in the King's Bench.' I also sent a copy of this letter to 
 a minister of the town, and to a justice of the peace, with a let- 
 ter to each from myself: but all in vain. The rioters sent me 
 a most insolent answer, wrote me word, ' They were in high 
 spirits, and were resolved there should be no more preaching in 
 Hampton.' Finding them irreclaimable, we moved the next 
 term for a rule of court in the King's Bench, to lodge an in- 
 formation against five of the ringleaders, for the outrage com- 
 mitted, violence offered, and damage done to Mr. Adams and 
 Williams, on Sunday, July 10th. The rioters were apprized of 
 it, appeared by their counsel, and prayed the rule might be en- 
 larged till the next term. It was granted. In the mean while 
 they continued mobbing, broke into Mr. Adams's house one 
 Saturday night at eleven o'clock, when there was no preaching, 
 made those that were in bed get up, and searched the oven, cel- 
 lar, and every corner of the house, to see whether they could 
 find any methodists. Some time after, they threw another 
 young man into a mud pit three times successively, and abused 
 the people in a dreadful manner. 
 
 " The next term came on. We proved our accusations by 
 twenty-six affidavits ; and the defendants making no reply, the 
 rule was made absolute, and an information filed against them. 
 To this they pleaded not guilty ; and, according to the method 
 in the Crown Office, the cause was referred to the assize held 
 at Gloucester, March 3d. Thither I went, and on Tuesday 
 morning last the trial came on. It was given out by some, 
 that the methodists were to lose the cause, whether right or 
 wrong. And I believe the defendants depended much on a 
 supposition that the gentlemen and jury would be prejudiced 
 against us. We were easy, knowing that our Saviour had the 
 hearts of all in his hands. Being aware of the great conse- 
 quences of gaining or losing this trial, both in respect to us and 
 the nation, we kept a day of fasting and prayer through all the 
 
 2o 
 
282 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 societies both in England and Wales. Our Scotch friends also 
 joined with us, and cheerfully committed our cause into His 
 hands by whom kings reign and princes decree justice. We 
 had about thirty witnesses to prove the riot and facts laid down 
 in the information. Our counsel opened the cause (as I heard, 
 being not present when the trial begun) with much solidity and 
 sound reasoning : they showed, that rioters were not to be 
 reformers ; and that his Majesty had no where put the reins of 
 government into the hands of mobbers, or made them judge or 
 jury. One of them in particular, with great gravity, reminded 
 the gentlemen on the jury of the advice of Gamaliel, a doctor 
 of the law, recorded Acts v. 38, 39, " Refrain from these men, 
 and let them alone ; for if this counsel, or this work, be of men, 
 it will come to nought ; but if it be of God, ye cannot over- 
 throw it, lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.' 
 Our witnesses were then called. I came into court when the 
 second witness was examining. Mr. Adams and four more 
 (three of which were not called methodists) so clearly proved both 
 the riot and the facts laid to the charge of the defendants, that 
 the judge was of opinion there needed no other evidence. The 
 counsel for the defendants then rose and exerted a good deal of 
 oratory, and I think said all that could well be said, to make 
 the best of a bad matter. One urged, that we were enthu- 
 siasts, and our principles and practices had such a tendency to 
 infect and hurt the people, that it was right, in his opinion, for 
 any private person to stand up and put a stop to us ; and who- 
 ever did so, was a friend to his country. He strove to influ- 
 ence the jury, by telling them, that if a verdict was given 
 against the defendants, it would cost them two hundred pounds ; 
 that the defendants' rioting was not premeditated ; but, that 
 coming to hear Mr. Adams, and being oifended at his doctrine, 
 a sudden quarrel arose, and thereby the unhappy men were led 
 into the present fray, which he could have wished had not hap- 
 pened ; but however it did not amount to a riot, but only an as- 
 sault. Their other counsel then informed the jury, that they 
 would undertake to prove that the methodists began the tumults 
 first. He was pleased also to mention me by name, and ac- 
 quainted the court, that Mr. Whitefield had been travelling 
 
283 
 
 from common to common, making the people cry, and then 
 picking their pockets, under pretence of collecting money for 
 the colony of Georgia ; and knowing that Gloucestershire was 
 a populous country, he at last came there. That he had now 
 several curates, of which Mr. Adams was one, who in his 
 preaching had found fault with the proceedings of the clergy, 
 and said if the people went to hear them, they would be 
 damned. He added, that there had lately been such a mobbing 
 in Staffordshire, that a regiment of soldiers was sent down to 
 suppress them ; insinuating that the methodists were the au- 
 thors ; that we had now another cause of a like nature de- 
 pending in Wiltshire ; and that we were not of that mild, pacific 
 spirit as we would pretend to be. This, and much more to the 
 same purpose, though foreign to the matter in hand, pleased 
 many of the auditors, who expressed their satisfaction in hear- 
 ing the methodists in general, and me in particular, thus lashed, 
 by frequent laughing. The eyes of all were upon me. Our 
 Saviour kept me quite easy. I thought of that verse of Horace, 
 
 1 Hie mums aheneus esto, 
 
 Nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa.' 
 
 Tertullus's accusing Paul came also to my mind, and I looked 
 upon myself as highly honoured in having such things spoken 
 against me falsely for Christ's great name's sake. To prove 
 what the defendants' counsel had insinuated, they called up a 
 young man, who was brother to one of the defendants, and one 
 of the mob. He swore point blank, that Mr. Adams said, 
 if people went to church they would be damned ; and if they 
 would come to him, he would carry them to Jesus Christ. He 
 swore also, that the pool into which Mr. Adams was thrown, 
 was no deeper than half way up his legs. He said first, that 
 there were about ten of them that came to the house of Mr. 
 Adams ; and then he swore that there were about threescore. 
 He said, there was a low-bell, and that one of the defendants 
 did ask Mr. Adams to come down off the stairs, but that none 
 of them went up to him ; upon which Mr. Adams willingly 
 obeyed, went with them briskly along the street, and, as he 
 would have represented it, put himself into the tan-pit and 
 
284 
 
 pool, and so came out again. He said also some other things ; 
 but throughout his whole evidence appeared so flagrantly false, 
 that one of the counsellors said, it was enough to make his 
 hair stand on end. The judge himself wished he had had 
 so much religion as to fear an oath. So he went down in dis- 
 grace. Their second evidence was an aged woman, mother to 
 one of the defendants. She swore that her son did go up 
 the stairs to Mr. Adams, and that Mr. Adams tore her son's 
 coat, and would have broken his neck down-stairs. But she 
 talked so fast, and her evidence was so palpably false, that she 
 was sent away in as much disgrace as the other. Their third 
 and last evidence was father to one who was in the mob, though 
 not one of the defendants. The chief he had to say was, that 
 when Mr. Adams was coming from the pool, one met him, and 
 said, ( Brother, how do you do ? ' Upon which he answered, 
 that he had received no damage, but had been in the pool, 
 and came out again. So that all their evidences, however con- 
 trary to one another, yet corroborated ours, and proved the riot 
 out of their own mouths. The book was then given to a justice 
 of the peace, who had formerly taken up Mr. Cennick for 
 preaching near Stroud, and had lately given many signal proofs 
 that he was no friend to the methodists. But he intending to 
 speak only about their characters, and the counsel and judge 
 looking upon that as quite impertinent to the matter in hand, 
 he was not admitted as an evidence. Upon this, his Lordship, 
 with great candour and impartiality, summed up the evidence, 
 and told the^ jury, that he thought they should bring all the 
 defendants in guilty ; for our evidences had sufficiently proved 
 the whole of the information, and also that the riot was preme- 
 ditated. He said, that, in his opinion, the chief of the de- 
 fendants' evidence was incredible ; and that, supposing the me- 
 thodists were heterodox, (as perhaps they might be,) it belonged 
 to the ecclesiastical government to call them to an account; 
 that they were subjects, and riotous men were not to be their 
 reformers. He also reminded them of the dreadful ill conse- 
 quences of rioting at any time, much more at such a critical 
 time as this ; that rioting was the forerunner of, and might end 
 in, rebellion ; that it was felony, without benefit of clergy, to 
 
285 
 
 pull clown a meeting-house ; and, for all he knew, it was high 
 treason to pull down even a brothel. That this information 
 came from the King's Bench ; that his Majesty's justices 
 there thought they had sufficient reason to grant it; that 
 the matters contained in it had been evidently proved before 
 them, and consequently they should bring all the defendants 
 in guilty. Upon this the jury were desired to consider of 
 their verdict. There seemed to be some little demur amongst 
 them. His Lordship perceiving it, informed them, They had 
 nothing to do with the damages, (that was to be referred to the 
 King's Bench,) they were only to consider whether the defend- 
 ants were guilty or not. 
 
 " Whereupon, in a few minutes, they gave a verdict for the pro- 
 secutors, and brought in all the defendants, ' guilty of the whole 
 information lodged against them.' I then retired to my lodg- 
 ings, kneeled down, and gave thanks with some friends to our 
 all- conquering Emmanuel. Afterwards I went to the inn, 
 prayed, and returned thanks with the witnesses, exhorted them 
 to behave with meekness and humility to their adversaries, and 
 after they had taken proper refreshment sent them home re- 
 joicing. In the evening I preached on those words of the 
 psalmist, ' By this I know that thou favourest me, since thou 
 hast not suffered mine enemy to triumph over me.' God was 
 pleased to enlarge my heart much. I was very happy with my 
 friends afterwards, and the next morning set out for London, 
 where we have had a blessed thanksgiving season, and from 
 whence I take the first opportunity of sending you as many par- 
 ticulars of the occasion, progress, and issue of our trial, as I can 
 well recollect. What report his Lordship will be pleased to 
 make of the case, and how the defendants will be dealt with, 
 cannot be known till next term ; when I know I shall apprize 
 you of it, as also of our behaviour towards them. In the mean 
 while let me entreat you to give thanks to the blessed Jesus in 
 our behalf, and to pray that his word may have free course, may 
 run and be glorified, and a stop be put to all such rebellious 
 proceedings." The Trial, in a Letter to a Friend. 
 
 Whitefield had also at this time to put some writers as well 
 as rioters upon their defence. An anonymous pamphlet, " On 
 
286 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 the Conduct and Behaviour of the Methodists," had obtained 
 no small sanction from the bishops. Indeed, the bishop of Lon- 
 don was reported to be the author of it. The object of it was, 
 to prove the methodists to be dangerous to both church and 
 state, and to obtain an Act of Parliament against them, which 
 would stop their field preaching and conventicles, or compel 
 them (( to secure themselves by turning dissenters." The Toler- 
 ation Act, it argued, did not permit their irregularities : and 
 besides, they were enthusiasts! Parts of this pamphlet seem 
 to have been printed and handed about secretly at first, as 
 feelers of the pulse of the religious societies. Strict injunctions 
 were given to every one who was intrusted with any of them, 
 " not to lend them, nor let them go out of his hands." White- 
 field, however, obtained a sight of them ; and finding that they 
 contained not only charges against himself, but a deep design 
 against religious liberty, he advertised in the newspapers, and 
 demanded their speedy publication, that he might answer them 
 before he went to America. He followed up this advertisement 
 by a private letter to the bishop of London. " My Lord, sim- 
 plicity becomes the followers of Jesus Christ, and therefore I 
 think it my duty to trouble your Lordship with a few lines, con- 
 cerning the anonymous papers which have been handed about 
 in the societies. As I think it my duty to answer them, I should 
 be glad to be informed whether the report be true, that your 
 Lordship composed them, that I may the better know how to an- 
 swer them. A sight also of one of the copies, if in your Lordship's 
 keeping, would much oblige." His Lordship sent word by the 
 bearer, that Whitefield should " hear from him ;" but he forgot 
 his promise. Whitefield heard from the printer, not from the 
 prelate. " Sir, my name is Owen. I am a printer in Amen 
 Corner. I have had orders from several of the bishops to print 
 for their use, such numbers of the ( Observations ' (with some few 
 additions) as they have respectively bespoken. I will not fail 
 to wait on you with one copy, as soon as the impression is 
 finished." Owen kept his word. He did not venture, how- 
 ever, to put his name on the title page of the pamphlet, " to let 
 the world know where, or by whom, it was printed." " It came 
 into the world," says Whitefield in a letter to the bishop, " like 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 287 
 
 a dropt child, that nobody cares to own. And, indeed, who can 
 be blamed for disowning such a libel ? A more notorious libel 
 has not been published." Lett. 
 
 Whitefield was fully justified in branding the pamphlet thus. 
 It charged the methodists with making " open inroads on the 
 national constitution ;" with pretending to be " members of the 
 national church ;" with being " open defiers of government," 
 as well as breakers of " the canons and rubrics." His answer 
 to this, Whitefield addressed, very properly, to " The bishop 
 of London, and the other bishops concerned in the publica- 
 tion" of such charges; taking for his motto the appropriate 
 words, " False tvitnesses did rise up : they laid to my charge 
 things I knew not." They did not sit down so easily as they 
 rose up ! They told the religious societies, clandestinely, that 
 methodism was unlawful ; and Whitefield told the world, openly, 
 that this mode of attack was " like Nero setting fire to Rome, 
 and then charging it on the Christians." " I cannot think," he 
 says, " that such a way of proceeding will gain your Lordships 
 any credit from the public or any thanks from the other 
 bishops who have not interested themselves in this affair, and 
 who, I believe, are more NOBLE than to countenance the publi- 
 cation of any such performance." 
 
 This bold retort upon anonymous slanderers, astounded both 
 the slaves and the sycophants of "superiors." Prebendary 
 Church, the vicar of Battersea, was horrified to find the heads 
 of the church made accountable for a libel they had adopted, 
 if not indorsed. This is the worthy to whom Bolingbroke said, 
 " Let me tell you seriously, that the greatest miracle in the 
 world is, the subsistence of Christianity, and its preservation as 
 a religion, when the preaching of it is committed to the care of 
 such unchristian wretches as you." This tremendous rebuke 
 does not, I think, imply all that the word toretch means. It 
 refers to principles, not to morals. I am led to this conclusion, 
 because Whitefield treats Church respectfully, in answering his 
 pamphlet, and because the following is the true account of the 
 prebendary's interview with the peer. Church found Boling- 
 broke reading Calvin's Institutes, one day, and was surprised. 
 " You have caught me," said the viscount, " reading John Cal- 
 
288 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 vin. He was, indeed, a man of great parts, profound sense, 
 and vast learning. He handles the doctrines of grace in a very 
 masterly manner." (Strange language from Bolingbroke ! But 
 he had been hearing Whitefield at Lady Huntingdon's the week 
 before.) " Doctrines of grace ! " exclaimed Church, " the doc- 
 trines of grace have set all mankind by the ears." " I am sur- 
 prised," said Bolingbroke, " to hear you say so, who profess to 
 believe and preach Christianity. Those doctrines are certainly 
 the doctrines of the Bible ; and if I believe the Bible I must 
 believe them." Then came the well known rebuke I have 
 quoted. This is the anecdote, as the Countess of Huntingdon 
 was wont to tell it ; and she had it from the lips of Bolingbroke. 
 Toplady. 
 
 I would not have referred to the prebendary or his pamphlet, 
 had he not become the scape-goat for the bishops he vindicated. 
 There is quite as much of the gospel in his letter to White- 
 field, as in their charges to their clergy. The only thing 
 amusing in Church's letter is its conclusion. He charges 
 Whitefield with glaring inconsistency, in blaming the clergy 
 for non-residence. " You have been more culpable than any of 
 them," he says, in reference to Whitefield's residence at Georgia. 
 He then proceeds to count the times, and the length of each 
 time, that Whitefield was at his post. This was pitiful ; know- 
 ing as he did why the chaplain of the colony travelled. Well 
 might Whitefield say, in answer to this charge, " I wish every 
 non-resident could give as good an account of his non-residence, 
 as I can give of mine. When I was absent from my parishioners, 
 I was not loitering nor living at ease, but begging for them and 
 theirs ; and when I returned, it was not to fleece my flock, and 
 then go and spend it upon my lusts, or to lay up a fortune for 
 myself and my relations." Letter to Church. 
 
 Whitefield's letter to the bishops called forth another cham- 
 pion of the clandestine papers ; a Pembroke College man, who 
 called himself " a gentleman," although he took a motto from 
 that vilest of all vulgar books, " The Scotch Presbyterian Elo- 
 quence." He did not fail in imitating his original. He finds 
 in Whitefield's letter, instead of " the arguing of the true saint, 
 the wheedling of the woman ; the daring of the rebel; the pert- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 289 
 
 ness of the coxcomb ; the evasions of the Jesuit; and the bitter 
 maliciousness of the bigot. He classes him with Bonner and 
 Gardiner, as " a fire-brand minister of wrath ;" and with Crom- 
 well, whom he calls " the Whitefield of the last century." 
 Why ? Because he " artfully compounded churchmen and dis- 
 senters." " It will be an eternal monument of your disgrace," 
 he says, " that dissenters lived peaceably, according to the na- 
 tional constitution, and preached in licensed places, until you 
 poisoned and corrupted them, by your evil communications." 
 Would he had! But unfortunately for the dissenters then, 
 Whitefield's influence had brougnt only two into the fields, as 
 fellow -helpers with him in the gospel. 
 
 He does not appear to have noticed this Pembroke gentle- 
 man; but he renewed his attack upon the bishops, when he 
 went to sea. On his voyage, he wrote a second letter to them. 
 They had made the anonymous pamphlet their own, by printing 
 and circulating it at their own expense ; and he held them ac- 
 countable for its doctrines, as well as its politics. It had im- 
 pugned justification by faith, and he stretched them on Luther's 
 rack ; and on what must have been more annoying to their 
 Lordships, the fact, that this doctrine was singled out by Ed- 
 ward VI. and Elizabeth, to be principally taught to the people; 
 " First, because it is the chiefest cause and means of our peace 
 with God; second, that ministers might go with a right-foot 
 (opfloTToSen/) to the gospel ; third, because it is the best way ' to 
 discover and suppress Romish antichrist ;' and fourth, because 
 f such bishops as do, by terms of error, schism, or heresy, hin- 
 der this main light of God's word from the people, are the 
 chiefest traitors in the land ; traitors to God, traitors to their 
 king, traitors to their own souls and bodies, and traitors to the 
 whole country." Homily. Gibson remembered this homily 
 when he said, " Justification by faith alone is asserted in the 
 strongest manner by our church :" but he forgot it when he 
 added, " I hope our clergy explain it in such a manner, as to 
 leave no doubt whether good works are a necessary condition oi 
 being justified in the sight of God." Pastoral Letter. 
 
 From this vantage ground, Whitefield assailed both Chil- 
 lingworth and the author of " The Whole Duty of Man," as 
 
 2 P 
 
290 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 traitors to this " articulus stantis aut caudentis ecclesia" The 
 latter, he said, had shown only " Half the Duty of Man;" and 
 the former had made " universal ohedience" a necessary con- 
 dition of justification. In like manner, whilst he begged par- 
 don of the public for saying that Tillotson knew no more of the 
 gospel than Mahomet, (a comparison, by the way, which he 
 had borrowed,) he repeated, that " the good archbishop, in turn- 
 ing people's minds to moral duties, without turning them to the 
 doctrine of justification by faith," erred from the faith. 
 
 " Incidit in Scyllam, qui vult vitare Charibdin." 
 
 He did not embarrass their Lordships less on the subject of re- 
 generation. Their adopted champion had said, " If there be 
 such a thing as a sudden, instantaneous change." " If there 
 be," says Whitefield ; " does he not lay an axe to the very root 
 of the baptismal office ? If the child be actually regenerated, 
 when the minister sprinkles it, the change must be instantaneous 
 and sudden. If there be any such thing ! Do your Lordships 
 assent thereto ? An instantaneous change is the very essence of 
 baptismal regeneration, that DIANA of the present clergy." 
 
 He concludes this bold appeal thus, (f If the whole bench of 
 bishops command us to speak no more of this doctrine, we take 
 it to be an ungodly admonition. Whether it be right in the 
 sight of God, to obey man rather than God, judge ye ! " 
 Second Letter. 
 
 These were the public affairs which diverted Whitefield from 
 his private sorrows. The off-hand and unceremonious style in 
 which they are told, can only offend those who venerate titles 
 more than truth. It may be vastly unpolite to treat bishops in 
 this straightforward way, when they pervert the gospel : it is, 
 however, apostolical to pay neither deference nor respect to an 
 angel, if he preach " another gospel " than Paul's. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD AT CAMBUSLANG. 
 
 WIIITEFIELD went in the power of the Spirit from the Pentecost 
 at Moorfields, to the Pentecost at Cambuslang and Kilsyth, in 
 Scotland. His return to the north was, however, wormwood 
 and gall to some of the Associate Presbytery. Adam Gibb, 
 especially, signalized himself on the first sabbath of Whitefield's 
 labours in Edinburgh, by publishing a " WARNING against coun- 
 tenancing his ministrations." This pamphlet is so strange, and 
 now so rare, that I must preserve some specimens of it, as me- 
 morials of the provocation as well as opposition given to White- 
 field by the seceders of that day. Most cheerfully, however, do 
 I preface them with Eraser's declaration, that " the violence then 
 discovered by individual members of the Presbytery, has not 
 only been sincerely deplored by their successors in office ; but 
 that they themselves lived to repent of the rancour into which 
 the heat of controversy had at first betrayed them." Even 
 Gibb, it is said, wished, on his death-bed, that no copies of his 
 pamphlet were on the face of the earth ; and said, if he could 
 recall every copy he would burn them. My copy was presented 
 by Dr. Erskine to Dr. Ryland, who wrote the following note 
 upon it, " A Bitter Warning against Mr. Whitefield, by Mr. 
 Gibbs, the Seceder. He became more moderate afterwards, 
 and spoke respectfully of Mr. Hervey's writings, and Mr. 
 Walker's of Truro." I am quite willing that these facts should 
 be borne in mind, whilst the following astounding charges are 
 read. 
 
 " This man (' Mr. George Whitefield') I have no scruple to 
 
292 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 look upon as one of the false Christs, of whom the church is 
 forewarned. Matt. xxiv. 24. It is no unusual thing with him, 
 in his journals, to apply unto himself things said of and by the 
 Christ of God." " I look upon him, in his public ministrations, 
 to be one of the most fatal rocks whereon many are now split- 
 ting." " That he is no minister of Christ, appears from the 
 manner wherein that office he bears is conveyed to him. He 
 derives it from a diocesan bishop, who derives his office from the 
 king, and the king professes not to be a church officer." " Mr. 
 Whitefield, in swearing the oath of supremacy, has sworn that 
 Christ is not supreme and sole Head of the church. He will not 
 allege that he hath yet vomited that spiritual poison." " His uni- 
 versal love proceeds on the erroneous and horrid principle, that 
 God is the lover of all souls, and the God of all churches." " The 
 horror of this is still more awful, because he hales in our Lord 
 and his apostles to patronize this catholic spirit." u He breaks 
 off a piece of the glass of truth, and turns his back on the re- 
 mainder : thus, though he hold up that piece of the glass, I say, 
 before his face, he cannot see the true Christ, because his back 
 is toward Him. So then, the doctrine of grace Mr. Whitefield 
 retains, cannot possibly discover the true Christ, because his 
 back is toward him, in flouting aw;ay the doctrine that discovers 
 Christ a King of a visible kingdom." " The doctrine of grace," 
 he publishes, (< is carried oif from its true posture, connexion, 
 and use, and applied to a diabolical purpose ; viz. to create a 
 Christ in people's imaginations, as a competition with the true 
 Christ." " The horror of this scene strikes me almost dumb. 
 I must halt, and give way to some awful ideas that I cannot 
 vent in language. 
 
 ' Obstupui, steteruntque comae, et 
 Vox faucibus hsesit ! ' " 
 
 " The proper and designing author of his scheme, is not Mr. 
 Whitefield, but Satan : and thus our contendings against Mr. W. 
 must be proportioned, not to his design, but Satan's ; while 
 hereof he is an effectual though blinded tool." " As for the 
 gentleman himself, while he is under a very ruinous delusion, 
 and thereby gathering upon him his own blood, and the blood 
 
293 
 
 of multitudes, this his condition loudly requires the pity of all 
 that know him. And I know of no way wherein this can be 
 rightly exercised, without avoiding company with him, that he 
 may he ashamed, 2 Thess. iii. 14. In this manner it is, that we 
 are called to exercise love to his person, and desire of his reco- 
 very : for as his unwarrantable and woeful ministrations must 
 be idolatrous, so idolaters ( Whitefield's !) slay their own chil- 
 dren." " The complex scheme of Mr. W.'s doctrine is diaboli- 
 cal, as proceeding through diabolical influence, and applied to a 
 diabolical use, against the Mediator's glory and the salvation of 
 men." " What shall be the procedure of God in such a dis- 
 mal case ? Can His justice sleep now ? No ! " " Forasmuch 
 as Mr. Whitefield's followers do, as such, seek after a Christ, 
 convictions, and conversions, that are really idols, it is therefore 
 to be fearfully expected, that God will, in judgment, answer them 
 accordingly, and send them an idol Christ, and idol conversions, 
 according to their lust. God's great executioner, Satan, must 
 be employed in the producing of such effects. He will ape the 
 work of God's Spirit." " The doctrine of impressions, which 
 Mr. W. is at pains to teach, is a very necessary part of Satan's 
 doctrine." " Hence Satan, while kindling men's fancies, must 
 carry them out under strong and blind impulses, frights, freaks, 
 raptures, visions, boastings, blunders, &c." 
 
 All this, as it stands here, seems mere rant and raving. In 
 the pamphlet, however, it is blended with much acute reasoning 
 upon the subject of the Kingship of Christ. Gibb's grave charge 
 against Whitefield was, that he preached Christ only as a Sa- 
 viour : not meaning, however, that he did not enforce holiness 
 of life ; but that he taught a latitudinarian scheme of church 
 polity, the tendency of which was, to " make men sceptics as to 
 the discipline and government of the house of God." And there 
 is some truth in this. Whitefield knew little and cared less 
 about the visible form of the kingdom of Christ in the world. 
 All his concern was, to see His spiritual kingdom set up in the 
 hearts of individuals. But whilst it is well that this was his 
 chief object, it was well too that others laid more stress than 
 himself upon church government. Gibb laid too much; but 
 Whitefield went to an equally unscriptural extreme. Accord- 
 
294 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 ingly, Whitefield's societies, in general, subsided into other 
 churches ; especially in America. 
 
 It must not be supposed, that Gibb predicted the scenes of 
 Cambuslang or Kilsyth. It was cheap prophesying on July 23rd, 
 1742, that a lying spirit, working by " the foreigner" (White- 
 field,) would produce " strong impulses, frights, freaks, and 
 visions." The effects, thus exaggerated, had begun at Cam- 
 buslang in the winter of 1741, under the ministry of M'Cullock, 
 the pastor of the parish. " His hearers, in considerable num- 
 bers, were on different occasions so violently agitated, while he 
 preached regeneration, as to fall down under visible paroxysms 
 of bodily agony. But nothing can be more certain, than that 
 the unusual events had been a subject of general observation 
 and inquiry, for many months before Whitefield had ever been 
 at Cambuslang. It is impossible to identify their commence- 
 ment with his labours, by any fair examination of the facts as 
 they occurred." Sir Henry Moncrieff Welwood's Life of Dr. 
 Erskine. 
 
 Whitefield did not lessen the effect, however, when he went ; 
 and thus Gibb's tirade, being well timed to Whitefield's visit, 
 seemed prophecy ; for the WARNING and the WORK came before 
 the public at large together. It was this coincidence that gave 
 so much point and currency amongst the seceders, to the prover- 
 bial maxim, that " the wark at Caummlang was a wark o 9 the 
 deevil." Seceders were not the only persons, however, that said 
 that Whitefield cast out devils by the power of Beelzebub. 
 Bishop Lavington concludes his examination of the enthusiasm 
 of methodists thus : " If there be any thing in it exceeding the 
 powers of nature ; any thing beyond the force of distemper, or 
 of imagination and enthusiasm artfully worked up ; any thing 
 beyond the reach of juggle and imposture ; (which I take not 
 upon me to affirm or deny ;) in that case, I see no reason against 
 concluding, that it is the work of some evil spirit ; a sort of ma- 
 gical operation, or other diabolical illusion." Lavington, p. 
 398. Polwheles Ed. Again : " We know that in the latter days, 
 demons should be the authors of many surprising things ; God 
 permitting Satan to work upon the affections of false prophets 
 and evil men." Ibid. 217. Thus prelate and presbyter were 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 295 
 
 equally vulgar and virulent upon this subject ; and, therefore, 
 ought to be placed together at the bar of posterity. 
 
 Thus caricatured and denounced, Whitefield came to Cam- 
 buslang ; a parish four miles distant from Glasgow. He came 
 by the special invitation of Mr. M'Cullock, the minister of the 
 parish, to " assist at the sacramental occasion, with several wor- 
 thy ministers of the church of Scotland." Gillies says, " he 
 preached no less than three times upon the very day of his 
 arrival, to a vast body of people, although he had preached that 
 same morning at Glasgow. The last of these exercises he began 
 at nine at night, continuing until eleven, when he said he had 
 observed such a commotion among the people, as he had never 
 seen in America. Mr. M'Cullock preached after him, till past 
 one in the morning ; and even then they could hardly persuade 
 the people to depart. All night in the fields might be heard the 
 voice of praise and prayer." 
 
 Whitefield said to a friend, before going to this sacramental 
 service, " I am persuaded I shall have more power since dear 
 Mr. Gibb hath printed such a bitter pamphlet." He did not 
 miscalculate. " On Saturday," he says, " I preached to above 
 twenty thousand people. In my prayer the power of God came 
 down and was greatly felt. In my two sermons, there was yet 
 more power. On sabbath, scarce ever was such a sight seen in 
 Scotland. There were undoubtedly upwards of twenty thousand 
 people. A brae, or hill, near the manse of Cambuslang, seemed 
 formed by Providence for containing a large congregation. 
 Two tents were set up, and the holy sacrament was administered 
 in the fields. The communion table was in the field. Many mi- 
 nisters attended to preach and assist, all enlivening and enlivened 
 by one another. 
 
 " When I began to serve a table, the power of God was felt 
 by numbers ; but the people crowded so upon me, that I was 
 obliged to desist, and go to preach at one of the tents, whilst 
 the ministers served the rest of the tables. God was with them 
 and with his people. On Monday morning I preached to near 
 as many as before : but such a universal stir I never saw before ! 
 The motion fled as swift as lightning, from one end of the audi- 
 tory to another. You might have seen thousands bathed in 
 
296 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 tears. Some at the same time wringing their hands, others 
 almost swooning, and others crying out, and mourning over a 
 pierced Saviour. 
 
 " But I must not attempt to describe it. In the afternoon 
 the concern again was very great. Much prayer had heen pre- 
 viously put up to the Lord. All night, in different companies, 
 you might have heard persons praying to and praising God. 
 The children of God came from all quarters. It was like the 
 passover in Josiah's time. We are to have another sacrament, 
 in imitation of Hezekiah's passover, in ahout two or three 
 months. The Messrs. Erskines and their adherents (would 
 you have thought it ?) have appointed a public fast, to humble 
 themselves, among other things, for my being received in Scot- 
 land, and for the delusion, as they term it, at Cambuslang and 
 other places ; and all this, because I would not consent to preach 
 only for them, till I had light into, and could take, the solemn 
 league and covenant. To what lengths may prejudice carry even 
 good men ! " Letters. 
 
 Before the next sacrament he was suddenly taken ill. The 
 efforts and the excitement overcame him for a short time. " My 
 friends thought I was going off : but how did Jesus fill my heart ! 
 To-day I am, as they call it, much better. In the pulpit, the 
 Lord out of weakness makes me wax strong, and causes me to 
 triumph more and more." " I feel the power of His precious, 
 live-giving, all-atoning blood more and more every day. I was 
 happy when in London. I am ten times happier now. The 
 Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad." 
 
 When the second sacrament came, the scenes of the first were 
 renewed. " Mr. Whitefield's sermons," says Mr. M'Cullock, 
 " were attended with much power ; particularly on sabbath night 
 about ten. A very great but decent weeping and mourning was 
 observable throughout the auditory. While serving some tables, 
 he appeared to be so filled with the love of God, as to be in a 
 kind of transport. This second occasion did, indeed, much excel 
 the former, not only in the number of ministers and people, but, 
 which is the main thing, in a much greater increase of the power 
 and special presence of God. The lowest estimate of numbers, 
 with which Mr. Whitefield agrees, and he has been used to great 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 297 
 
 multitudes, makes them upwards of thirty thousand. The 
 number of communicants appears to have been about three 
 thousand. Some worthy of credit, and that had opportunities to 
 know, give it as their opinion, that such a blessed frame fell upon 
 the people, that, had they possessed means to obtain tokens, 
 (tickets of admission to the sacrament,) there would have been 
 a thousand more." Robes Narrative. " Some who attended, 
 declared they would not for a world have been absent from this 
 solemnity. Others cried, ' Now let thy servants depart in peace, 
 since our eyes have seen salvation here.' Others wishing, if it 
 were the will of God, to die where they were attending God in 
 his ordinances, without ever returning to the world." Ibid. 
 
 It will be seen from these extracts that Whitefield did not ex- 
 aggerate the power under which he spoke, although he states it 
 in strong terms. Again, therefore, let him bear witness. " Such 
 a commotion, surely, was never heard of, especially at eleven at 
 night. For about an hour and a half, there was such weeping, 
 so many falling into deep distress, as is inexpressible. The 
 people seem to be slain by scores. They are carried off, and 
 come into the house, like soldiers wounded and carried off a field 
 of battle. Their cries and agonies are exceedingly affecting." 
 This occurred at the first sacrament. Of the second he says, 
 " People sat unwearied till two in the morning. You could 
 scarce walk a yard, without treading on some, either rejoicing 
 in God for mercies received, or crying out for more. Thousands 
 and thousands have I seen, before it was possible to catch it by 
 sympathy, melted down under the word and power of God." 
 Letters. 
 
 Sir Henry Moncrieff Welwood, in his Life of Dr. Erskine, 
 says, " From this time (Whitefield's visit) the multitudes who 
 assembled were more numerous than they ever had been, or 
 perhaps than any congregation ever before assembled in Scot- 
 land. The religious impressions made on the people were 
 apparently much greater, and more general." 
 
 These were engrossing scenes. They did not, however, divert 
 Whitefield from any of the ordinary duties of life or godliness 
 at the time. Some spy did, indeed, insinuate that he gave but 
 little time to secret devotion at night, after preaching. In an- 
 
 2Q 
 
298 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 swer to this charge, he said, " I think not my spirit in bondage, 
 if through weakness of body, or frequency of preaching, I can- 
 not go to God at my usual set times. It is not for me to tell 
 how often I use secret prayer. If I did not use it, if in one 
 sense I did not pray without ceasing, it would be difficult for 
 me to keep up that frame of mind, which by the divine blessing 
 I daily enjoy. God knows my heart : I would do every thing I 
 could to satisfy all men, and give a reason of the hope that is in 
 me with meekness and fear ; but I cannot satisfy all that are 
 waiting for an occasion to find fault. Let my Master speak for 
 me." Letters. 
 
 He redeemed time to write the following letter to his mother, 
 also, from Cambuslang : " Honoured mother, I rejoice to hear 
 that you have been so long under my roof. Blessed be God, 
 that I have a house for my honoured mother to come to ! You 
 are heartily welcome to any thing my house affords, as long as 
 you please. If need was, indeed, these hands should administer 
 to your necessities. I had rather want myself, than you should : 
 I shall be highly pleased when I come to Bristol, and find you 
 sitting in your youngest son's house. Oh may I sit with you in 
 the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ! Ere long 
 your doom, honoured mother, will be fixed. You must shortly 
 go hence and be no more. Your only daughter, I trust, is now 
 in the paradise of God. Methinks I hear her say, ' Come up 
 hither.' I am sure Jesus calls you by his word. May His Spirit 
 enable you to say, ' Lo, I come.' Oh that my dear mother may 
 be made an everlasting monument of free and sovereign grace ! 
 How does my heart burn with love and duty to you ? Gladly 
 would I wash your aged feet, and lean on your neck, and weep, 
 and pray until I could pray no more." 
 
 Besides this, and many other private letters, he wrote fre- 
 quently to his coadjutors at the Tabernacle, and to his managers 
 at Georgia. Indeed, at this time, his responsibilities for the 
 orphan-house pressed heavily upon his spirits. C( I yet owe 
 upwards of 250 in England, and have nothing towards it. How 
 is the world mistaken about my circumstances ! Worth nothing 
 myself, embarrassed for others, and yet looked upon to flow 
 in riches ! Our extremity is God's opportunity." So it was ! 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 299 
 
 Before he left Scotland he could say, " Blessed be God, I owe 
 nothing now in England on the orphan-house account. What 
 is due is abroad. At Edinburgh I collected 128 ; at Glasgow 
 128; in all about 300. Since I have been in England,^ we 
 have got near 1500. The Lord will raise up what we further 
 need." 
 
 Thus no relative duty was neglected, notwithstanding the 
 multiplicity of his public engagements. He even found time 
 at Cambuslang (just the spot for the task !) to write his letter, 
 entitled " A Vindication and Confirmation of the Remarkable 
 Work of God in New England; being remarks on a late 
 pamphlet, entitled, The State of Religion in New England, 
 since the Rev. G. Whitefield's arrival there ; in a Letter to a 
 Minister of the Church of Scotland." This pamphlet, like 
 Gibb's " Warning," was intended to depreciate both Whitefield 
 and his work in Scotland. In answering it, however, he wisely 
 left the work at Cambuslang to vindicate itself, and confined 
 his explanations to New England; that the revivals there might 
 in nowise depend upon those in Scotland for their justification. 
 He also proved pretty fully, although without bringing home 
 the fact to any one, that the pamphlet was altered in Scotland, 
 to suit a purpose. And there are dates of Scotch publications 
 in it, which could not have been known in Boston, when it was 
 written. Hence he asks, " How could that gentleman (the au- 
 thor) see at Boston on May 24th, that Edwards' Sermon was 
 reprinted in Scotland ; which was not done till June following ? 
 I myself was chiefly concerned in publishing it." 
 
 Besides the great awakening at Cambuslang at this time, 
 there was another similar at Kilsyth, which Whitefield visited 
 also. As might be expected, both were misrepresented by 
 formalists and bigots. The seceders, Whitefield says, " Taking 
 it for granted that God had left the Scotch established church 
 long ago, and that he would not work by the hands of a curate 
 of the church of England, condemned the whole work as the 
 work of the devil ; and kept a fast throughout all Scotland to 
 humble themselves, because the devil was come down in great 
 wrath ; and to pray that the Lord would rebuke the destroyer 
 for that was my title." Oliphant's Memoirs. 
 
300 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 The Associate Presbytery, in their hot zeal to depreciate the 
 conversions, confounded them, like Lavington, with the extra- 
 vagance of fanatics and impostors, Camizars, and the first 
 quakers. They issued from Dunfermline an Act of Presbytery 
 anent a public fast, of which Mr. Robe of Kilsyth says, " It is 
 the most heaven-daring paper that hath been published by any 
 set of men in Britain these three hundred years past." This is 
 a bold charge. It was not, however, advanced in a bad spirit ; 
 as the following appeals and explanations abundantly show, 
 " My dear brethren, (of the Secession,) my heart's desire and 
 prayer to God for you is, that he may open your eyes to see 
 the many mistakes you labour under. Whatever bitter names 
 you give us, and however you magnify yourselves against us, 
 we take all patiently ; and there are thousands of witnesses 
 that we return you blessing for cursing. We would lay our 
 bodies as the ground, and as the street, for you to go over, if it 
 could in the least contribute to remove your prejudices, and 
 advance the kingdom of our dear Redeemer." 
 
 This is humble and earnest pleading ; and so far as the word 
 "we" includes Mr. Robe and the leaders of the revival, the 
 pleading is honest. It must not, however, be considered as a 
 specimen of the spirit of the clergy, in general, towards the 
 seceders. This being understood, I proceed with the appeal. 
 " You declare the work of God to be a delusion, and the work 
 of the grand deceiver. Now, my dear brethren, for whom I 
 tremble, have you been at due pains to know the nature and 
 circumstances of this work?" (Their Act was issued whilst the 
 work was going on.) " Have you taken the trouble to go to any 
 of these places, where the Lord has appeared in his glory and 
 majesty ? Have you so much as written to any of the ministers 
 to receive information of it ? Is it not amazing rashness, with- 
 out inquiry or trial, to pronounce that a work of the devil, 
 which, for any thing you know, may be the work of the infinitely 
 good and holy Spirit ? " 
 
 " My dear brethren, can you find in your hearts, after all the 
 prayers you have put up in public and private for the outpour- 
 ing of the Spirit upon this poor church and land, to deny that it 
 is He, when he is come ? Will ye be so fearless, can you be 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 301 
 
 so cruel to thousands of perishing sinners, who begin to fly to 
 Jesus Christ as a cloud and as doves to their windows ; as in 
 the most solemn manner, with lifted up eyes and hands, to pray 
 that there may be a restraint upon the influences of the Holy 
 Spirit, and that this outpouring of His grace may be withdrawn, 
 and not spread over the length and breadth of the land?" 
 Robe's Preface. 
 
 It is impossible not to ask, and that with strong emotion too, 
 after reading such remonstrances, how could such good men 
 as the Erskines withstand these appeals ? Now it is not easy 
 to explain this anomaly, without seeming to palliate its enor- 
 mity. It admits, however, of some explanation. The Ers- 
 kines, on raising the standard of Reformation in Scotland, 
 planted it upon the mount of the solemn league and covenant ; 
 arguing, that God would carry on his work only " in a way of 
 solemn covenanting," as in the days of their " reforming fore- 
 fathers." R. Erskine, on Witnessing for God. With this prin- 
 ciple, Whitefield had no sympathy ; for, whether right or wrong, 
 he did not understand it. He would not therefore submit to it. 
 The reformers also laid it down as a maxim, " that little truths" 
 (at such a time) were " like the little pinnings of a wall, as ne- 
 cessary as the great stones ;" that it was " a false conversion," 
 which " draws men off from any of the ways of God ;" that 
 " aversion from, and opposition to, the testimony of the time" 
 was opposing God. Ralph Erskine's Sermons, 2nd vol. folio. 
 All this, as they understood it, Whitefield rejected ; and there- 
 fore they rejected him, and defamed his principles, in order to 
 defend their own. " I shall show you, in eight or ten particu- 
 lars," said Ralph in a sermon, " what another God, and what 
 another Christ, is appearing in the delusive spirit of this time, 
 brought in by the instrumentality of the foreigner (Whitefield); 
 of whom we had some grounds for very favourable thoughts 
 and expectations, till we understood him more fully, and found 
 him in several respects a stranger to our God, and setting up 
 another God." Sermons, folio. 
 
 The chief ground of this charge, however hollow, is plausible. 
 The Associate Presbytery were asserting the legislative su- 
 premacy of Christ, as King of Zion. The evils they were con- 
 
302 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 tending against in the kirk, had grown out of a long disregard 
 to this sacred principle. Now Whitefield sided with the minis- 
 ters who, however good in other respects, did not " testify " 
 against the violations of this principle ; but against the Seces- 
 sion who avowed and advocated it. Hence, he was identified 
 and denounced with the enemies of church reform. He had 
 joined their ranks, and therefore he had to share in their re- 
 buke, as well as to suffer for mortifying the Presbytery. It was 
 thus the Erskines were tempted to oppose and impugn the re- 
 vivals at Cambuslang and Kilsyth. These revivals checked 
 the kind of reformation, which the Erskines were chiefly plead- 
 ing for. They saw and felt this, and hence they said, " Satan 
 seems content that Christ should preach, providing He do not 
 reign nor rule ; knowing that his doctrine will not be long un- 
 corrupted, if His government can be overturned." Sermons. 
 " The power and policy of hell is at work, to bring any attempt 
 at reformation under contempt." Ibid. Thus the seceders 
 could not imagine that any thing could be another work of 
 God, which was visibly and virtually hindering that work of 
 God which they had so solemnly espoused, and which was so 
 much needed at the time. It became, therefore, a solemn duty, 
 as they supposed, to pour contempt and obloquy upon conver- 
 sions, which were pouring doubt upon the necessity and value 
 of church reform. " That must be a wrong conversion," says 
 Ralph, " that hath no tendency to the public good, but a ten- 
 dency to oppose a public reformation." Sermons. 
 
 The depicting power also of Whitefield's oratory, so unlike 
 Scotch reasonings, gave the Erskines another handle against 
 him. Cornelius Winter says of him, " It was not without great 
 pathos, you may be sure, he treated upon the sufferings of the 
 Saviour. He was very ready at that kind of painting, which 
 frequently answered the end of real scenery. As though Geth- 
 semane were within sight, he would say, stretching out his 
 hand, c Look yonder ! What is it I see ? It is my agonizing 
 Lord ! ' And, as though it were no difficult matter to catch 
 the sound of the Saviour praying, he would exclaim, f Hark, 
 hark ! do you not hear ? ' You may suppose that as this oc- 
 curred frequently, the efficacy of it was destroyed : but, no ; 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 303 
 
 though we often knew what was coming, it was as new to us as 
 though we had never heard it before." Jay's Life of Winter. 
 Such painting Ralph Erskine had witnessed, and the effect of it 
 upon the people led him to say, " They see a beautiful and glo- 
 rious person presented to their imagination, or to their bodily 
 eye. What a devil, instead of Christ, is this ! " " Never, I 
 think, did Satan appear as an angel of light, so evidently, as in 
 the delusive spirit now spreading." Sermons. 
 
 On the other hand, Robe and some of his brethren founded a 
 theory upon the vivid images thus produced ; and argued that 
 " imaginary ideas of Christ as man, belonged to saving faith ; 
 or at least, were helpful to the faith of His being God-man." 
 Fraser. Ralph Erskine replied to this theory, in a work, en- 
 titled, " Faith no Fancy, or a Treatise of Mental Images." 
 Well might Fraser say of this book, " it is not every where 
 level to mere ordinary capacities." It is not, indeed ! It proves, 
 however, that the author was a man of extraordinary capacity ; 
 and could be as much at home amongst the depths of metaphysics 
 as amongst the heights of poetry or devotion. It is said, that 
 Reid found in this work the principles on which he afterwards 
 built his System of the Philosophy of the Human Mind. If he 
 did, happily he did not draw the spirit of his philosophy from it. 
 The treatise certainly displays " an extraordinary degree of 
 metaphysical acuteness :" but if it prove any thing against such 
 mental images as Whitefield created, and Robe commended, it 
 stultifies the author's " GOSPEL SONNETS ;" for they are " cham- 
 bers of imagery." It is not necessary to illustrate this retort, 
 to those who have read both the poetry and the philosophy of 
 Ralph Erskine ; and the point of it could not be explained to 
 those who have not read both. Suffice it to say, that his son- 
 nets refute his system, and have survived it, although they are 
 often as fantastical as they are devotional. 
 
 It is amusing to read the charges and disclaimers of the parties 
 in Scotland, upon the subject of religious liberty. The Asso- 
 ciate Presbytery gravely charged the revivalists in the kirk 
 " with pleading for a boundless toleration and liberty of con- 
 science :" no great crime, as we now judge. Not so, however, 
 did the revivalists of that day deem it. The imputation roused 
 
304 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 then, however, the Scotch blood of even the kind-hearted and 
 liberal Robe. " Where and when did we that ? " he exclaims. 
 " I know none of my brethren ever did it : and I am so far con- 
 scious of my innocence, that I insist upon your making your 
 charge good. If you do not, as I am sure you cannot, it is no 
 pleasure to me, that you give reason to the world to reckon you 
 slanderers." How true it is, that nations are 
 
 " slowly wise, and meanly just ;" 
 
 and that even good men are seldom wiser than their times ! 
 Whitefield's visits would have been a blessing to Scotland, had 
 they led to nothing but a canvassing of the rights of con- 
 science ; for he was far ahead of both parties on the subject of 
 religious liberty. 
 
 Another handle against the Cambuslang and Kilsyth revivals, 
 was, the physical effects of the awakening. " We have convul- 
 sions instead of convictions," said Erskine. He might and 
 ought to have known, that this was not true of one in six of the 
 converts. " They are greatly mistaken, who imagine, that all 
 those who have been observably awakened, have come under 
 faintings, tremblings, or other bodily distresses. These have 
 been by far the fewest number." Robe. Notwithstanding this 
 assurance from the principal witness, the Erskines went on to 
 confound the exceptions with the rule, in these conversions. 
 Even in 1765, the editor of Ralph's Sermons kept up this mis- 
 representation, and said, in a note, " the subjects of the extra- 
 ordinary work" were " strangely agitated by strong convulsions, 
 fearful distortions, foamings, and faintings." This is caricature, 
 not history. In 1742, the instances of " conversion carried on 
 in a calm, silent, quiet manner, for six months, are the more 
 numerous and unquestionable." Robe. Whitefield's visit oc- 
 curred in this period. Besides, even Ralph Erskine himself 
 could not always prevent, though he reproved, " clamorous 
 noise," under his own ministry. FAITH NO FANCY. Appendix 
 to Preface. But these effects have been sufficiently explained 
 in the American department of this volume. 
 
 It would be wrong, after having quoted so often from Ralph 
 Erskine's Sermons, were I not to say even of the sermons which 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 305 
 
 are most disfigured with tirades against Whitefield and the re- 
 vivals, that they are full of evangelical truth, and flaming with 
 love to immortal souls, and as faithful to the conscience, as any 
 that Whitefield preached at Cambuslang. Indeed, had they 
 been preached on the brae-head, at the great sacrament there, 
 Erskine would as surely have " slain his hundreds," as White- 
 field did " his thousands." 
 
 Whitefield, it seems, was wont to preach at Cambuslang 
 under an ancient thorn-tree ; the shade and fragrance of which 
 he found refreshing. That tree exists still, and is well known 
 as " Whitefield's Thorn." There is a branch of it in my 
 garden, which was sent through the Post-Office in a letter a 
 foot and a half long ; but it is not likely to take root. Perhaps 
 the unknown donor intended it for my cabinet; and there the 
 dead twigs of it are deposited, along with some pieces of the 
 pillar of Bunyan's first pulpit, and of the beam of his dwelling- 
 house, waiting for a branch from Luther's Elm at Worms. 
 
 2 R 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD ITINERATING. 
 
 ON returning from Cambuslang to London, Whitefield found, 
 says Gillies, " the Tabernacle enlarged, and a new awakening " 
 begun. As might be expected, he was just in the right spirit 
 for turning both facilities to the best account. Remembering 
 the unction he enjoyed in Scotland, he wrote to a friend on 
 arriving at London, " I feel it I feel it now, and long to preach 
 again ! " When he did, he soon had occasion to inform one of 
 his Cambuslang companions, " Our glorious Emmanuel blesses 
 me in like manner, now he has brought me to England." 
 
 This flourishing state of the Tabernacle society, now equally 
 large and harmonious, enabled him to forget all his old griev- 
 ances, and to renew his wonted spirit towards the Wesleys. 
 They were then triumphing gloriously at Newcastle, and he 
 " heartily rejoiced" in their success. He wrote to one of their 
 friends thus : " I am dead to parties now, and freed from the 
 pain which, on that account, once disturbed the peace of my 
 soul. I redeem time from sleep rather than your letter should 
 not be answered." 
 
 His letters at this time are full of a holy impatience to get 
 out of his " winter-quarters," pleasant as they were, arid to en- 
 ter upon a " fresh campaign." His old friends in the country, 
 and especially in Wales, were crying out for him, to do there 
 what he had done in Scotland. He could not, however, gratify 
 them at once. Persecution had begun to harass some of his 
 coadjutors in Wales and Wiltshire ; and therefore he kept upon 
 his vantage ground in London, to expose and defeat it. Ac- 
 cordingly, he appealed thus to the bishop of Bangor, on behalf 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 307 
 
 of Cennick, who had been " shamefully used " in that diocese : 
 " In Wales they have little fellowship meetings, where some 
 well-meaning people meet together, simply to tell what God 
 hath done for their souls. In some of these meetings, I believe, 
 Mr. C. used to tell his experience, and to invite his companions 
 to come and be happy in Jesus Christ. He is, therefore, indicted 
 as holding a conventicle ; and this, I find, is the case of one if 
 not two more. Now, my Lord, these persons, thus indicted, 
 as far as I can judge, are loyal subjects to his Majesty, and true 
 friends to, and attendants upon, the church of England service. 
 You will see by the letters (I send with this) how unwilling 
 they are to leave her. And yet, if all those acts against per- 
 sons meeting to plot against church and state, were put in ex- 
 ecution against them, what must they do? They must be 
 obliged to declare themselves dissenters. I assure your Lord- 
 ship it is a critical time for Wales. Hundreds, if not thousands, 
 will go in a body from the church, if such proceedings are coun- 
 tenanced. I lately wrote them a letter, dissuading them from 
 separating from the church ; and I write thus freely to your 
 Lordship, because I would not have such a fire kindled in or 
 from your Lordship's diocese." To this letter the bishop re- 
 turned a prompt and polite answer, promising to hear both sides. 
 What he did eventually, I know not. However, six months 
 afterwards, Whitefield found some difficulty, though he carried 
 his point, in preventing a separation from the church in Wales ; 
 as we shall soon see. 
 
 The next case of persecution which he had to resist, came 
 to him from Wiltshire. It was of a kind not altogether cured 
 by another century of " the march of intellect." It was this : 
 " The ministers of Bramble, Segery, Langley, and many others, 
 have strictly forbidden the overseers and churchwardens to let 
 
 any of the C s (Cennickites ?) have any thing out of the 
 
 parish ; and they obey them, and tell the poor, if they cannot 
 stop them from following any other way (than the church !) 
 they will famish them. Several of the poor, having large fami- 
 lies, have already been denied any help. Some, out of fear, de- 
 nied they ever came, (to the conventicle,) and others have been 
 wade to promise they will come no more ; whilst the most part 
 
308 
 
 come at the loss of friends and all they have. When the offi- 
 cers threatened some to take away their pay, they answered, " If 
 you starve us we will go ; and rather than forbear, we will live 
 on grass like kine." 
 
 These facts, in this form, Whitefield submitted to the bishop 
 
 of Old Sarum ; telling his Lordship plainly, that if C left the 
 
 church, "hundreds would leave it with him." The effect, as 
 usual, is not known. The only thing certain is, that both per- 
 secution and petty annoyance went on in most quarters. 
 
 Whitefield having done what he could by letters, left Lon- 
 don to visit these disturbed districts, and attend the associa- 
 tions of the Welch methodists. On his way he preached at 
 Hampton Common, to about " twelve thousand." Gillies does 
 not mention the occasion. It was this. " A man was hung in 
 chains " there, that day. " A more miserable spectacle," says 
 Whitefield, " I have not seen. I preached in the morning to a 
 great auditory, about a mile off from the place of execution. I 
 intended doing the same after the criminal was turned off; but 
 the weather was very violent. Thousands and thousands came 
 and staid to hear ; but through misinformation, kept on the top 
 of the hill while I preached at the bottom." 
 
 From this he went to Dursley, one of the seats of persecu- 
 tion, to dare the consequences ; but although the mob had 
 taken down an itinerant on the sabbath before, " no one was 
 permitted to touch or molest " him. " The word came (upon 
 them) with a most gloriously convincing power." He then 
 went to his TUMP again at Hampton. " I cannot tell you," he 
 says, " what a solemn occasion that was ! They do, indeed, 
 hang on me to hear the word. It ran, and was glorified. 
 Preaching in Gloucestershire now, is like preaching at the 
 Tabernacle." 
 
 After preaching at Bristol and Bath, he went to Waterford 
 in South Wales, and there presided at the first Association of 
 the Welch Calvinistic Methodists. All who know how much 
 Wales owes to the meetings of this union, and how often and 
 signally they have been Pentecostal scenes, well accounting for, 
 if not excusing, the shouts of " Gogunnyant, bendyitti" will 
 learn with pleasure that Whitefield "opened the Association." 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 309 
 
 Gillies. "I opened, with a close and solemn discourse on 
 walking with God. Afterwards we betook ourselves to business ; 
 settling the affairs of the societies, till about two in the morn- 
 ing." Next day, they sat till midnight. " All acknowledged 
 God was with them." Thus began that which eventually im- 
 mortalized Bala (bach !) and sainted Charles. 
 
 In the spirit of this meeting he went to Cardiff, and again 
 made " the greatest scoffers quiet." But at Swansea, the effect 
 was so great, that he wrote off to a friend after preaching, 
 " Swansea is taken ! I never preached with a more convincing 
 power. Free grace for ever ! " From this he went to Caer- 
 marthen, and preached from " the top of the CROSS." The 
 great sessions were then sitting. " The justices," he says, " de- 
 sired I would stay till they rose, and they would come. Ac- 
 cordingly, they did, and many thousands more, and several 
 people of quality." He was still more pleased, however, with 
 an audience " of several thousand souls at Jefferson," because 
 they were " very like the Kingswood colliers ; and at Llassivran, 
 because he had, " as it were, a Moorfields congregation," and 
 chiefly, because "Jerusalem sinners bring most glory to Christ." 
 
 Whilst thus in what he calls " a new and very unthought-of 
 world," a clergyman in the neighbourhood of Larn preached 
 against him by name on the sabbath day, much and violently. 
 This defeated its own purpose. To his surprise, on crossing the 
 ferry at Larn, one vessel fired a salute, and several hoisted their 
 flags as tokens of respect and welcome. 
 
 During this itineracy in Wales he travelled, he says, " four 
 hundred miles in three weeks, spent three days in attending two 
 associations, preached about forty times, visited about thirteen 
 towns, and passed through seven counties." Lett. 514. At the 
 close of this tour, his first question to himself was, " Where shall 
 I go next ? " He was at a loss to determine. " A visit to York- 
 shire would be very agreeable. Perhaps Exeter and Cornwall 
 may be the next places. That is dry ground. I love to range in 
 such places." He determined, however, to make, first, one more 
 attack upon the prince of darkness in Moorfields. This he did ; 
 and one of its effects was, that he was enabled to remit 25 to 
 Georgia, in addition to 100 sent out by his brother's ship a lit- 
 
310 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 tie before. " Grace,, grace/' he exclaims in his letter to Haber- 
 sham, " I have paid all that is due in England, and have sent you 
 25 by the bearer. God willing, I will remit you more soon." 
 
 After a few weeks, he left London again for Gloucestershire, 
 to " strengthen the persecuted," or to share the brunt with Cen- 
 nick, of whom he was very fond. He thus describes him at this 
 time : " He is truly a great soul ! one of those weak things, 
 which God has chosen to confound the strong. Such a hardy 
 worker with his hands, and hearty preacher at the same time, I 
 have scarce known. All call him a second Bunyan." Having 
 countenanced and consoled Cennick, he went to Bristol. On 
 his arrival he learnt that the king had fought and conquered in 
 Germany. Whitefield did not know before, that GEORGE had 
 joined the army. He, therefore, said, with his characteristic 
 simplicity and loyalty, " I had observed for some time past, when 
 praying for him, that, whether I would or not, out came this 
 petition, Lord, cover thou his head in the day of battle. While 
 praying, I wondered why I prayed so ; not knowing he was gone 
 to fight. This gave me confidence." Lett. 124. He had need 
 of it ; for his own day of battle was at hand. A letter came to 
 him from his itinerant at Hampton, urging him to place himself 
 in the breach. The appeal, as will be seen, was not likely to be 
 lost on Whitefield. " On sabbath morning," says the writer, 
 " about twenty of the society met. In the afternoon, the mob 
 came to my house, demanding me to come down. I asked, by 
 what authority they did so ? They swore they would have me. 
 Then said I, you shall, so they took me to the lime-pit, (for 
 skins,) and threw me in. But oh, what a power of God was on 
 my soul ! I thought, with Stephen, the heavens opened to my 
 sight, and the Lord Jesus was ready to receive me. I believe 
 my undaunted courage shook some of them. I told them, I 
 should meet them at the judgment-seat, and then their faces 
 would gather paleness. They let me out, and I came home 
 and prayed with the people who were there. After that, I ex- 
 horted. And when I was concluding, the mob came again, and 
 took me to a brook to throw me in there. They told me, they 
 would let me go, if I would forbear preaching for a month. I 
 would make no such promise. So forward I went. One of them 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 311 
 
 threw me in, and I went to the bottom, but came up again, with 
 my hands clasped together. I did not desire to come out until 
 they fetched me. Accordingly, in jumped one or two of them, 
 and took me out. But then, one maliciously and cowardly pushed 
 me in again, and much cut and bruised one of my legs against 
 a stone. Some of the others were going to throw him in for 
 doing so. I came home talking with them. Many seemed to 
 repent of what they had done, and promised to molest me no 
 more. The chief says, he will in nowise touch me again. Many 
 advise us to prosecute them : but if they are quiet, I am con- 
 tent, and can say from the heart, ( Father, forgive them.' I 
 should be glad if you would be here next Sunday." Thomas 
 Adams. 
 
 Whitefield was soon on the spot ! " On Thursday I came 
 here, and expected to be attacked; because I had heard that 
 the mob had threatened that, if ever I came there again, they 
 would have a piece of my black gown to make aprons with. No 
 sooner had I entered the town, but I heard and saw the signals ; 
 such as blowing of horns, and ringing of bells, for gathering the 
 mob. My soul was kept quite easy. I preached on a large 
 glass-plat. I finished just as the ringleader of the mob broke 
 in upon us. One of them called me coward. I then went to the 
 house and preached on the stair-case, to a large number of seri- 
 ous souls : but the troublers in Israel soon came in to mock and 
 mob us. But, feeling what I never felt before, as I have very 
 little natural courage, strength and power from above, I leaped 
 down-stairs ; and all ran away before me. However, they con- 
 tinued making a noise about the house till midnight ; abusing 
 the poor people as they went home, and, as we hear, they broke 
 one young lady's arm in two places. 
 
 " Hearing that two or three clergymen were in the town, one 
 of whom was a justice of the peace, (query, of the war ?) I went 
 to them : but, alas, they laid the cause of all the grievance at 
 my door ; but, by the help of my God, I shall persist in preach- 
 ing, and in encouraging those to do so, who are moved by the 
 Holy Ghost. As I came out from the clergymen, two of the 
 unhappy mobbers were particularly insolent, and huzzaed us out 
 of town. Let us ( rejoice and be exceeding glad,' for now, I 
 
312 
 
 humbly hope, I begin to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, since to 
 suffer for Him is given unto me." 
 
 Whitefield had to " appeal unto Caesar " for justice, in this 
 case. The trial of the Hampton rioters came 011 very soon after 
 the sudden death of his only son ; and as the preparation and 
 bustle of the affair diverted him somewhat from brooding upon 
 his loss, I have connected the report with his domestic life. 
 
 About this time, a motion was made at one of the associations 
 in Wales, whilst Whitefield was present, to separate from the 
 established church. This grieved him much, although it was 
 made only by ff a few contracted spirits," as he calls them. 
 " By far the greater part most strenuously opposed it," and 
 agreed to go on as usual, because they enjoyed such " great 
 liberty under the mild and paternal government of his Majesty." 
 Thus, with all his attachment to the church, Whitefield was too 
 honest to ascribe any of his liberty to her government. His 
 definition of liberty, at this association, is characteristic of him- 
 self and his coadjutors ; " the privilege of ranging up and down, 
 preaching repentance to those multitudes, who come neither to 
 church nor meeting, but who are led from curiosity to follow us 
 into the fields ;" a privilege, which very few exercise now, how- 
 ever many would contend for it. The crushing of Sidmouth's 
 bill was not followed by much field preaching. 
 
 In the course of his itineracy this year, Whitefield visited 
 Exeter twice, and created a stir which turned the bishop into 
 a pamphleteer. Lavington had heard of the " enthusiasm of 
 the methodists," and now he saw it. It drew ten thousand of 
 his flock out to Southern Bay, and several of his clergy out of 
 their stalls into the fields, to hear Whitefield. Some of the 
 latter, however, " went off," when " the Lord made way for 
 himself into the hearts of the people." Having introduced this 
 leaven into the city, Whitefield left it to ferment for two months, 
 and then returned, determined to be " all heart and all humility, 
 at the same time." The result was, " the common people began 
 to feel, and even some of the polite were much affected," although 
 in the fields. This will account for Lavington's tirades against 
 itinerant preaching. The bishop had the insolence to insinuate, 
 though not the boldness to say, that the methodist preachers, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 313 
 
 Cf as well as St. Anthony, were attended with a sturdy set of fol- 
 lowers, as their guards, armed with clubs under their clothes, 
 menacing and threatening such as should dare to speak lightly 
 of their apostle. I have often heard it affirmed." In the same 
 mean spirit Lavington chose to forget, that itineracy had been 
 practised by other churches than St. Anthony's. Knox provided 
 for it in Scotland, in his " First Book of Discipline." Queen 
 Elizabeth appointed twelve, to travel continually. By the way, 
 who pockets the salary of the church-itineracy now ; for the 
 work is neglected ? Whitefield knew both the legitimacy of 
 his office and the need of it ; and therefore persisted in Exeter, 
 until the bishop saw nearly " a third part of the city " attending 
 on " the word preached " in the fields ; and until he himself 
 could say, " I am here, as in Scotland and New England. Praise 
 to free grace ! Here is work enough for months. The weather 
 is favourable : range, therefore, I must and will ! " Lett. 
 
 On the morning of the last day of his visit, he went to Ottery 
 to preach in the market-place : but just as he named his text, 
 the bells rang. He then went to the fields, and the people ran 
 after him " in droves." On his way, one of the clergymen, with 
 the same zeal as the bell-ringers, questioned his authority, and 
 denounced the meeting as illegal and as a riot. " I answered 
 him pertinently, as I thought, and showed my authority by 
 preaching from these words, ( GO ye into all the world, and 
 preach the gospel to every creature. 5 }: 
 
 Next day he went to Biddeford, and was much pleased to 
 find there a clergyman, nearly eighty years of age, who had lately 
 preached three times in one day, and rode forty miles : but says 
 Whitefield, " he is not above one year old in the school of Christ." 
 " Dear Hervey," he says, " laid the blessed foundation, whilst a 
 curate here." Such was the " Edinburgh -like " effect of a sermon 
 in the dissenting chapel, that he wrote off to the Tabernacle, 
 " I cannot think of nestling in London. I am more and more 
 convinced, that I should go from place to place." Accordingly, 
 instead of nestling, he flew into Cornwall, and alighted once again 
 in a churchy at St. Gennis. " Many, many prayers," it seems, 
 " had been put up by the good rector and others, for an out- 
 pouring of God's blessed Spirit." " They were answered. 
 
 2 s 
 
314 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Arrows of conviction fled so thick and fast, and such a universal 
 weeping prevailed from one end of the congregation to the other, 
 
 that good Mr. J could not help going from seat to seat 
 
 to comfort the wounded souls." After preaching some time in 
 Cornwall thus, he said, " But I must away to Biddeford, just to 
 give Satan another stroke, and then return the way I came to 
 the great metropolis." 
 
 It was now winter ; " but the Lord," he says, " warms my 
 heart." In this spirit he came to Birmingham. There he 
 heard of the mobs which had been stirred up at Wednesbury, 
 against the Wesleyans, by a sermon in the church ; of which 
 Wesley says, " I never heard so wicked a sermon, delivered with 
 such bitterness of voice and manner." Its effect, as is well 
 known, was almost murder. Ill as Adams was treated at Hamp- 
 ton, it was mercifully, compared with the fiend-like assault upon 
 Wesley. Whitefield went to Wednesbury, and was well received. 
 " I cannot tell you," he says, " what a sweet melting time there 
 was. Many were in tears." Next day, however, whilst preach- 
 ing at Mare Green, in the neighbourhood, " several clods were 
 thrown," one of which fell on his head, and another struck his 
 fingers, whilst he was praying. He then returned to Birming- 
 ham, and preached to many thousands on a common, with 
 great effect. When he went on the ground, a regiment of 
 soldiers were exercising ; but the officers, when they saw him, 
 dismissed them, and promised that there should be no dis- 
 turbance. 
 
 Whitefield closed this itineracy by a visit to his old friend 
 Mr. Williams of Kidderminster. In his house, he recognised 
 " a sweet savour," amongst the visitors, " of good Baxter's 
 doctrine, works, and discipline, remaining until this day." That 
 savour he did not find in Baxter's church ; its bells were rung 
 whilst he was preaching ; and that by men who " had promised 
 not to do so." 
 
 On his return to London, Whitefield had to sustain the loss 
 of his child, to prosecute the Hampton rioters, and to answer 
 some pamphlets, as well as to prepare for revisiting America. In 
 June, 1744, he engaged his passage from Portsmouth; but the 
 captain of the vessel refused to let him on board, when the time 
 
315 
 
 to sail came, lest he should " spoil the sailors." He had, there- 
 fore, to go to Plymouth for a vessel. 
 
 Whilst at Plymouth, he had a very narrow escape from heing 
 murdered. On the night of his arrival, a bear and drum were 
 paraded on the ground where he was expected to preach. He 
 did not, therefore, preach that night. Next night he did ; and 
 after returning to his inn, some ruffians, under the pretence of a 
 " hue-and-cry " warrant, broke into his room, and insulted him. 
 This led him to remove to private lodgings. Again he preached 
 and visited the French prisoners, without any thing happening 
 to awaken fear or suspicion. That night, however, his landlady 
 informed him, that " a well-dressed gentleman desired to speak 
 with him." " Imagining," he says, " that it was some Nicode- 
 mite, I desired him to be brought up. He came, and sat down 
 by my bedside ; told me he was a lieutenant of a man of war ; 
 congratulated me on the success of my ministry, and expressed 
 himself much concerned from being detained from hearing me. 
 He then asked me if I knew him ? I answered, no. He re- 
 plied, his name was Cadogan. I rejoined, I had seen one Mr. 
 Cadogan, formerly an officer at Georgia, about a fortnight ago 
 at Bristol. Upon this, he immediately rose up, uttering the 
 most abusive language ; calling me dog, rogue, villain ; and beat 
 me most unmercifully with his gold-headed cane. As you know 
 I have not much natural courage, guess how surprised I was ! 
 Being apprehensive that he intended to shoot or stab me, I 
 underwent all the fears of a sudden, violent death. 
 
 " It providentially happened, that my hostess and her daughter, 
 hearing me cry ' murder,' rushed into the room, and seized him 
 by the collar. However, he immediately disengaged himself 
 from them, and repeated his blows upon me. The cry of ' mur- 
 der' was repeated; which putting him in some terror, he made 
 towards the chamber-door, from whence the good woman pushed 
 him down-stairs. 
 
 " At the bottom, a second cried out, ' Take courage, I am 
 ready to help you.' Accordingly, whilst the other was escaping, 
 he rushed up ; and, finding one of the women coming down, he 
 took her by the heels, and threw her upon the stairs, by which 
 her back was almost broken. By this time, the neighbourhood 
 
316 
 
 was alarmed. Unwilling to add to it, I desired the doors to be 
 shut, and retired to rest." 
 
 This mysterious affair Whitefield did not prosecute for, al- 
 though much urged to do so. " I am better employed," he says, 
 " being greatly blessed in preaching the gospel. I was well 
 paid for what I had suffered ; curiosity having led, perhaps, 
 two thousand more than ordinary to see and hear a man that 
 had like to have been murdered in his bed. Thus- all things 
 work for the furtherance of the gospel. 
 
 4 Thus Satan thwarts, and men object, 
 And yet the thing they thwart, effect.' " 
 
 The only explanation of this outrage that I know of, only 
 rendered it more mysterious. " I had," he says, " some parti- 
 cular information about the late odd adventure. It seems, four 
 gentlemen came to the house of one of my friends, kindly in- 
 quiring for me ; and desiring to know where I lodged, that they 
 might come and pay their respects. He directed them. Some 
 time afterwards, I received a letter, informing me that the writer 
 
 was a nephew to Mr. S , an eminent attorney at New York ; 
 
 that he had the pleasure of supping with me at his uncle's house ; 
 and desired my company to sup with him and a few more friends 
 at a tavern. I sent him word, that it was not customary for me 
 to sup out at taverns ; but should be glad of his company, out 
 of respect to his uncle, to eat a morsel with him at my lodgings. 
 He came. We supped; and I observed that he looked around 
 him frequently, and seemed very absent. But having no sus- 
 picion, I continued in conversation with him and my other 
 friends, until we parted. 
 
 " THIS, I now find, was to have been the assassin. On being 
 interrogated by his companions, on his return to the tavern, 
 about what he had done, he answered, that being so civilly used 
 he had not the heart to touch me. Upon which, as I am in- 
 formed, the person who assaulted me laid a wager of ten guineas 
 that he would do my business for me. Some say, that they took 
 his sword from him ; which I suppose they did, for I saw and 
 felt only the weight of his cane." 
 
 The deserved odium of this dastardly attack must be equally 
 
317 
 
 divided between England and America. That the volunteer 
 assassin was an American, there can be no more doubt, than 
 that the bravo was an Englishman. Whitefield could not have 
 mistaken the former. Indeed, it was " out of respect " to the 
 uncle in New York, that he welcomed the nephew without 
 hesitation. 
 
 He availed himself adroitly of the notoriety thus given to 
 him in Plymouth, to divide public attention with the bishop of 
 the diocese, who was there at the time confirming. " Could 
 you think it," he says, " I have been preaching a confirmation 
 sermon ? Do you ask me where ? In a quakers field. As I saw 
 thousands flocked to the church to have the bishop's hand im- 
 posed upon them, I thought it not improper to let them have a 
 word of exhortation suitable to the occasion." 
 
 This confirmation sermon produced one good effect, equal at 
 least to any that resulted from the confirmation itself. The 
 late Rev. Henry Tanner, then a young man, and a ship-builder, 
 had just come to Plymouth, in search of employment at the 
 dock. Whitefield's powerful voice from the field arrested his 
 attention, and that of his fellow-workmen. They deemed him 
 mad, and determined to capsize him from his block. Nor was 
 this all : they went, not only to throw him down from his stand, 
 but with their pockets full of stones, " to injure the mad parson." 
 Dr. Hawker's Life of Tanner. 
 
 Tanner's resolution failed him, when he saw Whitefield with 
 open arms and gushing tears, entreating " poor, lost sinners " to 
 come to Christ. He went home much impressed, and resolved 
 to hear the preacher again next evening. He did. The text 
 was, " Beginning at Jerusalem." Whitefield " depicted the 
 cruel murder of the Lord of life " there. Then, turning to the 
 spot where Tanner stood, he said, " You are reflecting on the 
 cruelty of these inhuman butchers, who imbrued their hands in 
 innocent blood." At this moment his eye fell upon Tanner, and 
 his lips said, " Thou art the man." The convicted sinner was 
 forced to cry, " God be merciful to me." Whitefield saw the 
 effect, and met the emotion with a burst of tenderness which 
 cheered the penitent. Another sermon, on Jacob's vision of 
 the Bethel ladder, led Tanner up to the Lamb slain in the 
 
318 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 midst of the throne, and thus gave him both joy and peace in 
 believing. 
 
 The advances he made, from this time, in religious knowledge 
 and experience, were great and rapid. They eventually en- 
 couraged and enabled him to preach the everlasting gospel to 
 others. This he did with such success, that even Dr. Hawker 
 (that strange compound of spirituality and absurdity) acknow- 
 ledges, that Tanner seldom preached " one sermon in vain." 
 Tanner's frequent prayer was, that he might die in his Master's 
 work. His petition was granted. He broke down in the pulpit, 
 before he could finish his sermon ; and soon fell asleep in Jesus. 
 Life by Hawker. 
 
 This was not the only good effect of Whitefield's detention at 
 Plymouth. Some of the very persons who opposed him at first, 
 offered him " a piece of ground, surrounded with walls, for a 
 society house." No wonder : for he came from the docks every 
 evening, " with great companies, singing and praising God." 
 Letters. As he was now about to leave for America, he com- 
 municated the glad tidings of this new opening to Cennick ; and 
 wrote to those who had most influence over him " Brother 
 Cennick must come to these parts soon." One thing he wrote 
 for his encouragement was, that the ferrymen, who were like 
 Levi at the receipt of custom, would take nothing of the multi- 
 tude who came to hear him preach. They said, " God forbid 
 that we should sell the word of God." Thus preserved and 
 blessed, he embarked for America with two New England 
 friends 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WHITEFIELD ITINERATING IN AMERICA. 
 1744. 
 
 " IN the beginning of August, 1744, Whitefield embarked, 
 though in a poor state of health ; and after a tedious passage of 
 eleven weeks, arrived at York." Gillies. He sailed from Ply- 
 mouth, with nearly a hundred and fifty ships, under several con- 
 voys. It was, however, " full six weeks " before they reached 
 the Western islands. This was owing to the want of wind. 
 When the wind did spring up, one of the vessels, which missed 
 stays, drove right upon his ship ; striking her mainsail upon the 
 bowsprit. Whitefield's vessel, being large, sustained little dam- 
 age ; but the other received a blow, which disabled and well 
 nigh sunk her. The cries and groans of her crew, he says, 
 " were awful ! " 
 
 He had been singing a hymn on deck when the concus- 
 sion took place. This fact, with the news of the concussion, 
 was communicated to the convoy. It drew out, he says, the 
 remark, " This is your praying, and be damned ! with many 
 sayings of the like nature." He adds, " this, I must own, shocked 
 me more than the striking of the ship." It did not, however, 
 stop nor intimidate him. " I called my friends together, and 
 broke out into these words in prayer ; God of the sea, and God 
 of the dry land, this is a night of rebuke and blasphemy. Show 
 thyself, O God, and take us under thine own immediate protec- 
 tion. Be thou our Convoy, and make a difference between 
 those who fear thee, and those that fear thee not." 
 
 Providence soon made a difference ! Next day, a " violent 
 
 
320 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Euroclydon arose," which " battered and sent away our convoy, 
 so that we saw him no more all the voyage." Letters. White- 
 field, at first, thought this " no loss :" but when two strange sail 
 appeared in the distance, and preparation was made for action, 
 by mounting guns, slinging hammocks on the sides of the ship, 
 and encircling the masts with chains, he (being " naturally a 
 coward," as he says) found it " formidable " to have no convoy. 
 The vessels were, however, only part of their own fleet. This 
 was a pleasant discovery to more than the skulking chaplain in 
 the holes of the ship. " The captain, on clearing the cabin, said, 
 ' After all, this is the best fighting.' You may be sure I con- 
 curred, praying that all our conflicts with spiritual enemies 
 might, at last, terminate in a thorough cleansing, and an eternal 
 purification of the defiled cabin of our hearts." Letters. 
 
 No other accident occurred during the voyage. Its tedious- 
 ness overcame his patience, however, when he saw the port. In 
 order to land a few hours sooner than the vessel, he went on 
 board a smack in the bay ; but darkness coming on, she missed 
 her course, and was tossed about all night. Unfortunately, too, 
 she had no provisions, and he was so hungry that he <f could 
 have gnawed the very boards." Besides this, he was suffering 
 from (f nervous cholic." Altogether he was thoroughly morti- 
 fied, until a man, lying at his elbow in the cabin, began to talk 
 of "one Mr. Whitefield, for whose arrival the new lights in New 
 England " were watching and praying. " This," he says, 
 (< made me take courage. I continued undiscovered ; and in a 
 few hours, in answer, I trust, to new-light prayers, we arrived 
 safe." 
 
 He was received at York by a physician, once a notorious 
 deist, who had been converted under his ministry. This was a 
 signal providence : for in about half an hour after he entered the 
 doctor's house, he became racked with cholic, and convulsed 
 from the " waist to the toes." A " total convulsion " was appre- 
 hended by the physician. He himself dreaded delirium, and 
 implored his weeping wife and friends not to be " surprised if 
 he uttered any thing wrong." Both fears, however, were soon 
 allayed : but he was brought so low, that he could not " bear 
 the sound of the tread of a foot, or the voice of friends." Four 
 
\YFIITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 321 
 
 days elapsed before nature could be relieved ; and for weeks he 
 had to be carried like a child. The fact is, he had eaten 
 " eagerly " of some potatoes, during his gnawing hunger on 
 board the smack, and they had remained on the stomach undi- 
 gested. They were not even " discoloured " when they were 
 removed. 
 
 When Whitefield recovered, the excellent though eccentric 
 Moody, the minister of York, called upon him, and accosted him 
 thus : " Sir, you are first welcome to America ; secondly, to 
 New England ; thirdly, to all faithful ministers in New Eng- 
 land ; fourthly, to all the good people in New England ; fifthly, 
 to all the good people of York ; and sixthly and lastly, to me, 
 dear Sir, less than the least of all." This welcome was followed 
 by an urgent request for a sermon. Whitefield hesitated for a 
 time ; but " good old Mr. Moody " did not give him the benefit 
 of his own favourite maxim, " When you know not what to do, 
 you must not do you know not what." This, however, he 
 did. He preached, and immediately after went over the ferry 
 to Portsmouth. As might be expected, he caught cold, and was 
 again brought to the gates of death. Three physicians attended 
 him during the night. 
 
 With his usual simplicity, he says, " My pains returned ; but 
 what gave me most concern was, that notice had been given of 
 my being to preach next evening. I felt a divine life distinct 
 from my animal life, which made me, as it were, laugh at my 
 pains, though every one thought I was ( taken with death. 
 My dear York physician was then about to administer a me- 
 dicine. I, on a sudden, cried out, Doctor, my pains are sus- 
 pended : by the help of God, I '11 go and preach, and then come 
 home and die ! With some difficulty I reached the pulpit. All 
 looked quite surprised, as though they saw one risen from the 
 dead. Indeed, I was as pale as death, and told them they must 
 look upon me as a dying man, come to bear my dying testimony 
 to the truths I had formerly preached to them. AH seemed 
 melted, and were drowned in tears. The cry after me, when I 
 left the pulpit, was like the cry of sincere mourners when attend- 
 ing the funeral of a dear departed friend. Upon my coming 
 nome, i was laid on a bed upon the ground, near the fire,, and 
 
 2T 
 
322 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 I heard them say/ He is gone I ' But God was pleased to order 
 it otherwise. I gradually recovered." 
 
 Gillies has added to this account an interesting anecdote, 
 from some of Whitefield's papers. " A poor negro woman insisted 
 upon seeing the invalid, when he hegan to recover. She came 
 in, and sat down on the ground, and looked earnestly in his face. 
 She then said, in broken accents, f Massa^ you just go to 
 heaven's gate. But Jesus Christ said, Get you down, get you 
 down, you must not come here yet : go first, and call some more 
 poor negroes.' I prayed to the Lord that, if I was to live, this 
 might be the event." Gillies. 
 
 He thought himself " dying indeed," when he was laid near 
 the fire, after preaching. But when he recollected " the life and 
 power which spread all around," whilst " expecting to stretch 
 into eternity," he said, " I thought it was worth dying for a 
 thousand times ! " In three weeks after, he was able to go to 
 Boston, though still very weak. His arrival was announced 
 thus in Prince's Christian History : " The Rev. George White- 
 field was so far revived, as to be able to set out from Portsmouth 
 to Boston, whither he came in a very feeble state, the Monday 
 evening after : since which he has been able to preach in several 
 of our largest houses of public worship, with great and growing 
 success. He comes with the same extraordinary spirit of meek- 
 ness, sweetness, and universal benevolence, as before. In oppo- 
 sition to the spirit of separation and bigotry, he is still for hold- 
 ing communion with all protestant churches. In opposition to 
 enthusiasm, he preaches a close adherence to the Scriptures, and 
 the necessity of trying all impressions by them, and of rejecting 
 as delusions whatever is not agreeable to them. In opposition to 
 antinomianism, he preaches up all kinds of relative and religious 
 duties though to be performed in the strength of Christ ; and 
 in short, the doctrines of the church of England, and of the first 
 fathers of this country. As before, he applies himself to the 
 understanding of his hearers, and then to their affections. And 
 the more he preaches, the more he convinces people of their 
 mistakes about him, and increases their satisfaction." Prince. 
 
 This defence was not needless at the time. Both calumny and 
 caricature had been busy at Boston against Whitefieid. Har- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 323 
 
 vard College, and half-penny squibs, called " testimonies," 
 united against him. A good old puritan of the city said of the 
 testimonies, " they do not weigh much :" this was equally true 
 of the more learned charges from the college. Accordingly 
 neither weighed with the public. They soon offered to build 
 for Whitefield " the largest place of worship that was ever seen 
 in America." This he declined. He did not decline, however, 
 when the people voted him into the pulpits of their " shy pas- 
 tors." This led him to say, in reference to the old joke, " that 
 the lord brethren of New England could tyrannize as well as the 
 lord bishops of Old England," " Well is it at present, that the 
 people are lord brethren ; for they have passed votes of invita- 
 tion to me to preach in the pulpits !" Had he been himself at 
 the time, however, he would have gone into the fields. 
 
 The coolness and shyness of many ministers did not surprise 
 him now. When he was the guest of Governor Belcher, on his 
 former visit to Boston, he quite understood the " civil nod " of 
 the clergy, at table ; and said, at the time, " many who are now 
 extremely civil, will turn out my open and avowed enemies." 
 They did ; and he said now, " I have been no false prophet." 
 Still he felt the difference, when the clergy, " freed from re- 
 straints, appeared in puris naturalibiis" Letters. He found 
 that " the good old man (Moody) judged too much by his own 
 honest feelings," when he welcomed him "to all the faithful 
 ministers of New England." But Whitefield soon forgot all 
 who forgot him at Boston, when the high sheriff, who was once 
 the leader of the persecution, began to hear him, and especially 
 when his " spiritual levees," for the awakened, became crowded. 
 At one of them, a very singular Bostonian visited him ; a man 
 of ready wit and racy humour, who delighted in preaching over 
 a bottle to his boon companions. He had gone to hear White- 
 field, in order to get up a new te tavern harangue :" but when he 
 had caught enough of the sermon for his purpose, and thus 
 wanted to quit the church for the inn, " he found his endeavours 
 to get out fruitless, he was so pent up." Whilst thus fixed, and 
 waiting for " fresh matter of ridicule," he was arrested by the 
 gospel. That night he went to Prince, full of horror, and longing 
 to beg pardon of Whitefield. Prince encouraged him to visit 
 
324 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 the preacher. Whitefield says of him, " by the paleness, pen- 
 siveness, and horror of his countenance, I guessed he was the 
 man of whom I had been apprized. ' Sir, can you forgive me ? ' 
 he cried, in a low but plaintive voice. I smiled, and said, ' Yes, 
 Sir, very readily.' ' Indeed you cannot,' he said, ' when I tell 
 you all.' I then asked him to sit down ; and judging that he 
 had sufficiently felt the lash of the law, I preached the gospel 
 unto him." This, with other remarkable conversions, gave in- 
 creased energy and influence to his preaching in Boston. " My 
 bodily strength," he says, " is recovered, and my soul more than 
 ever in love with a crucified Jesus ! " 
 
 At this time, the Cape Breton expedition was committed to 
 his friend Colonel Pepperell ; the first and last native of New 
 England created a baronet of Great Britain. For his success 
 at the siege of Louisburgh, which led to this unusual honour, 
 Pepperell was not a little indebted to Whitefield. He gave him 
 a rallying motto for his flag, and preached to his soldiers before 
 they embarked. It is painful to recollect this patronage of war 
 by a minister of peace ! He himself did not easily get over his 
 scruples of conscience. His friend Sherbourne, the commissary 
 of the war, had to tell him, that if he refused men would not 
 enlist. This made him " sleep and pray " on the subject. It 
 was, however, Lady Pepperell who vanquished him, by assuring 
 him, that " God enabled her to give up the general to the ex- 
 pedition, for His glory, and the good of the country." He 
 preached on the surrender of Louisburgh. So also did Mr. 
 Prince. The latter published his sermon. Alas, both have had 
 too many imitators ! 
 
 Whitefield was now himself again, and began to move south- 
 ward, hunting for souls. On his way to Philadelphia, he had 
 the privilege (to him unspeakable !) of preaching by an inter- 
 preter " to some converted Indians, and of seeing nearly fifty 
 young ones in one school, learning the Assembly's Catechism." 
 This was at one of Brainerd's stations ; and thus doubly inter- 
 esting to him. 
 
 His reception at Philadelphia was very flattering. The place 
 erected for him on his former visit was flourishing, and its ma- 
 nagers offered him 800 a year, with liberty to travel six months 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 a year wherever he chose, if he would become their pastor. 
 This pleased him, although he declined the offer at once. He 
 was more pleased, however, to learn, that after his former visit 
 there were so many under " soul-sickness," that even Gilbert 
 Tennent's feet were blistered with walking from place to place 
 to see them. 
 
 When he went into Virginia, he was agreeably surprised to 
 find " a fire kindled " there, by a volume of his sermons, which 
 had been brought from Glasgow to Hanover. " It fell into the 
 hands of Samuel Morris," says Whitefield : " he read and found 
 benefit. He then read them to others. They were awakened 
 and convinced. Other labourers were sent for, and many, both 
 whites and negroes, were converted to the Lord." Gillies. 
 Whitefield's version of this event is too brief. The following 
 version is from the lips of Morris himself, in 1751 . It was taken 
 down by Mr. Davies of Hanover, his minister. " In 1740, 
 Whitefield preached at Williamsburgh j but, we being sixty 
 miles distant, he left the colony before we could hear him. I 
 invited my neighbours, in forty -three, to hear a book of his ser- 
 mons. A considerable number met to hear, every sabbath, and 
 on week days. My dwelling-house soon became too small to 
 contain the people ; whereupon we determined to build a meet- 
 ing-house, merely for reading ; for, having never been accus- 
 tomed to social extempore prayer, none of us durst attempt it. 
 Many were convinced of their undone condition, and could not 
 help crying out and weeping bitterly. 
 
 " When the report was spread abroad, I was invited to several 
 places, at a distance, to read these sermons ; and by this means 
 the concern was propagated. About this time, our absenting 
 ourselves from the established church, contrary, it was said, to 
 the laws of the land, was taken notice of, and we were called 
 upon to say what denomination we belonged to ? We knew but 
 little of any, except quakers, and were at a loss what name to 
 assume. At length, recollecting that Luther was a noted re- 
 former, and that his books had been of special service to us, we 
 called ourselves Lutherans; and thus we continued till Provi- 
 dence sent us that zealous and laborious minister, Mr. Robinson. 
 Afterwards Mr. Roan came, speaking pretty freely about the 
 
326 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 degeneracy of the clergy. I was tried for letting him preach in 
 my house. Afterwards, I was repeatedly fined in court for ab- 
 senting myself from church. Messrs. Tennent and Blair then 
 visited us. When they were gone, Mr. Whitefield came and 
 preached four or five days, which was the happy means of giving 
 us further encouragement, and of engaging others to the Lord, 
 especially among church people, who received the gospel more 
 readily from him, than from ministers of the presbyterian deno- 
 mination." Morris's Narrative. In 1747, there were four 
 chapels in and around Hanover, which had sprung from the 
 " mustard seed " of sermons taken in short-hand from White- 
 field's lips at Glasgow. 
 
 Amongst the converts in this quarter, who saw Whitefield, 
 was deaf and dumb Isaac Oliver. He had been so from his 
 birth. And yet he could represent the crucifixion with such sig- 
 nificant signs, that any one could understand his meaning. He 
 could also converse in signs at home, about the love of Christ, 
 until he was transported to rapture, and dissolved in tears. 
 Many incredible things are told of Oliver. It is evident, how- 
 ever, that he was, what he was called, "a miraculous monument 
 of Almighty grace." It is enough to say, in proof of this, that 
 Blair, of Fog's Manor, thought him (( truly gracious." Robin- 
 son, the first minister of the Hanover Lutherans, (as they called 
 themselves,) seems unknown by American biography. And yet 
 his success in Kent county, and Queen Anne's, was astonishing. 
 " Oh, he did much in a little time," says Davies to Bellamy ; 
 " and who would not choose such an expeditious pilgrimage 
 through the world ?" In Maryland also, about Somerset coun- 
 ty, there was " a most glorious display of grace " under his 
 ministry. 
 
 Many instances of his former usefulness came under White- 
 field's notice in New England. He was much pleased with a 
 negro, who had been his chaise-driver, when he first visited 
 Cambridge. The negro had been allotted to hear him in the 
 college ! The sermon was an invitation to the " weary and 
 heavy laden." It took such a hold upon poor Sambo, that he 
 repeated it in the kitchen, when he came home. Cooper, of 
 Boston, was so satisfied with his conversion, and Whitefield so 
 
WHITEKIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 327 
 
 pleased with it, that Sambo was soon admitted to the Lord's 
 table. 
 
 Another " brand plucked from the burning " ought not to be 
 forgotten. A son of Mackintosh, the rebel consigned to per- 
 petual imprisonment by George I. had settled in New England. 
 One of his daughters, a lady of fortune, heard Whitefield at 
 Prince's meeting in Boston. She was arrested and won. She was 
 soon ripe for heaven. On her death-bed, she cried out for her 
 soul -friend, Mr. Whitefield ; but soon stopped, saying, " Why 
 should I do so ? He is gone about his Master's work, and in a 
 little time we shall meet to part no more." Whitefield had a 
 high opinion of her piety ; and his interest in her was enhanced 
 by a signal escape from some bribed ruffians, who attempted to 
 transport her and her sister to Scotland, that their uncle might 
 seize on an estate of a thousand a year. Hist. Coll. 
 
 There were at this time not less than twenty ministers, in the 
 neighbourhood of Boston, who did not hesitate to call White- 
 field their spiritual father; thus tracing their conversion to his 
 ministry. One of them, who went merely to " pick a hole in 
 his coat," (to find fault,) said, " God picked a hole in my heart, 
 and afterwards healed it by the blood of sprinkling." 
 
 Although Whitefield travelled eleven hundred miles during 
 this itineracy in America, I have found it impossible to trace 
 him much, except by letters, which merely state his health or 
 his happiness : and even his letters, at this time, are both few 
 and brief. They leave, however, a conviction, that he was in- 
 clined, as Gillies says, " to return no more to his native coun- 
 try." New England had evidently won his heart, and for a time 
 almost weaned him from Old England and Scotland too. When 
 he left it for North Carolina, he said, " God only knows what a 
 cross it was to me to leave dear New England so soon. I hope 
 death will not be so bitter to me, as was parting with my friends 
 Glad shall I be to be prayed thither again, before I see my 
 native land ! But future things belong to God. I would just 
 be where He would have me, although in the uttermost parts of 
 the earth. I am now hunting for poor lost sinners in these 
 ungospelized wilds." 
 
 This expression, " hunting for souls," occurs so often in 
 
328 
 
 Whitefield's American letters, that I long thought it was his 
 own, from his fondness of it. I am now inclined to think that 
 he borrowed it from Brainerd's converted Indians ; some of 
 whom were very zealous to win the souls of other red men. 
 But however this may be, the expression is common still amongst 
 the Indians. An old hunter once said to me, " When my 
 soul was caught by Jesus Christ, I gave up the chase of beasts 
 to hunt for more souls to Jesus. The old traders called me an 
 idle fellow ; but I knew better, and hunted for my new Master." 
 This was Whitefield's favourite work. " I would not but be 
 thus employed," he says, " for millions of worlds ! " 
 
 He did not, however, forget Bethesda. When he had pleaded 
 its cause over New England, he visited it, and added a Latin 
 school to the orphan-house. His South Carolina friends also 
 enabled him to purchase a plantation in aid of it, " of six hun- 
 dred and forty acres of excellent land, with a good house, barn 
 and out -houses, and sixty acres of ground ready cleared, fenced, 
 and fit for corn, rice, and every thing necessary for provisions," 
 except slaves ! They gave him only one. 
 
 Having found Bethesda prosperous, he started for Maryland, 
 where he found " thousands who had never heard of redeeming 
 grace." This roused him anew. " The heat tries my wasting 
 tabernacle," he said, " but, through Christ strengthening me, I 
 intend persisting until I drop." He did persist, although some 
 discouraged him ; and he had soon to say, in answer to their 
 question, " Have Marylanders also received the grace of God ?" 
 te Amazing love, Maryland is yielding converts to Jesus. The 
 gospel is moving southward. The harvest is promising. The 
 time of singing of birds is come." His circuit in this quarter 
 extended over three hundred miles, besides some visits in Penn- 
 sylvania. The secret of this mighty effort was this " thousands 
 and thousands are ready to hear the gospel, and nobody goes 
 out scarcely but myself. Now is the time for stirring. The 
 time for sitting is coming ; in no meaner place (O amazing love !) 
 than at the right hand of the Lamb of God. Let us see what 
 we can do for precious and immortal souls." It was such con- 
 siderations as these, that inspired Whitefield, and determined 
 him " to die fighting." 
 
329 
 
 After this tour he went to Philadelphia, much exhausted. 
 But still he preached, although his convulsions returned, and 
 the "whole frame" of his "nature seemed to be shocked." 
 " I have," he says, " almost always a continual burning fever. 
 With great regret I have omitted preaching one night, (to 
 oblige my friends,) and purpose to do so once more, that they 
 may not charge me with murdering myself. But I hope yet to 
 die in the pulpit, or soon after I come out of it. Next Monday 
 I purpose to set out for New York, to see if I can gain strength. 
 It is hard work to be silent : but I must be tried every way." 
 
 On his arrival at New York, he said, " I am as willing to 
 hunt for souls as ever. I am not weary of my work." Next 
 day he was at his work again ! " I have preached to a very 
 large auditory, and do not find myself much worse for it." He 
 did so again with success. Then he said, " I shall go to Bos- 
 ton like an arrow out of a bow, if Jesus strengthen me. I am 
 resolved to preach and work for Him until I can preach and 
 work no more. I have been upon the water three or four days, 
 and now eat like a sailor." He went to Boston, and there con- 
 gregations were larger than ever ; and what was better, " ar- 
 rows of conviction fled and stuck fast, and opposers' mouths 
 were stopped." This good news he sent to Tennent, in order 
 to tempt him to make " another trip " there ; adding, " I am 
 determined to die fighting, though it be on my stumps." He 
 had just heard of the sudden, but happy, death of his aged and 
 excellent friend Dr. Colman. 
 
 In these journeyings and vicissitudes, Whitefield never forgot 
 the Wesleys. They had sent him word, that they were " more 
 moderate with respect to sinless perfection," than when he left 
 England ; and he returned the compliment by assuring them, 
 that he would "never preach for or against reprobation." 
 Some one had written to him charges against Charles Wesley. 
 He immediately sent word to him of them ; adding, " I do not 
 believe them. Love thinks no evil of a friend. Such are you 
 to me. I love you most dearly." 
 
 He returned again to Maryland ; and as his New York friends 
 were anxious about his health, he wrote to them from Bohe- 
 mia. In one of these letters, to an aged veteran whom he 
 
 2 u 
 
330 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 could not expect to see again, he says, (referring to the Jewish 
 tradition,) " Honoured Sir, may He who kissed away the soul 
 of his beloved Moses, appoint a Joshua to succeed you, when 
 He calls you up into the mount to die." His own health was 
 still very fluctuating, even when he reached North Carolina. 
 " I am here," he says, " hunting in the woods, these ungospel- 
 ized wilds, for sinners. It is pleasant work, though my hody is 
 weak and crazy. But after a short fermentation in the grave, 
 it will be fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body. The 
 thought of this rejoices my soul, and makes me long to leap 
 my seventy years ! I sometimes think all will go to heaven be- 
 fore me. Pray for me as a dying man ; but oh pray that I 
 may not go off as a snuff. I would fain die blazing not with 
 human glory, but with the love of Jesus." At this time, a very 
 little riding fatigued him much, and thus his progress was both 
 slow and painful. He preached, however, with great power ; 
 cheered from stage to stage by the hope that the conversion of 
 " North Carolina sinners would be glad news in heaven." 
 
 In the autumn of 1747, he sailed again for Georgia. From 
 this time, until he went to Bermudas for a change of climate, in 
 1748, I am unable to trace him. 
 
 The only thing melancholy in this sketch of Whitefi eld's his- 
 tory in New England, during his visit, is, the conduct of the 
 president and professors of Harvard College ; and that was 
 worse than it appears from the anecdotes I have told. They 
 published a testimony against him, in which they said, "We 
 look upon Mr. Whitefield as an uncharitable, censorious, and 
 slanderous man." In proof of this, they refer to his monstrous 
 reflections on Archbishop Tillotson ; whom, they say, Dr. In- 
 crease Mather called " great and good." They forgot to say, 
 that Mather, whilst he spoke highly of Tillotson's character 
 and spirit, " constantly warned the students against his books." 
 They testified against his extempore preaching also, " because 
 it is impossible any man can manage an argument instructive to 
 the mind, or cogent to the reasonable powers," thus. He 
 meekly said, " Indeed, gentlemen, I love study, and delight to 
 meditate. Preaching without notes costs as much, if not more, 
 close and solemn thought, as well as confidence in. God, than 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFK AND TIMES. 331 
 
 with notes." They had also the audacity to say, " that it is 
 not unlikely, indeed to be suspected, that he is an antinomian ;" 
 yea, " stronger in the antinomian scheme than most of the pro- 
 fessors of that heresy." In answer to this charge he appealed, 
 as he well might, to the tenor and tendency of his preaching, 
 and reminded them that the lapsus linguce from which they 
 argued had been retracted publicly before they wrote. 
 
 His " itinerant way of preaching " comes in, as might be ex- 
 pected, to be testified against in the " strongest " language of 
 the learned doctors. They define an itinerant to be " one that 
 stands ready to preach the gospel to any congregation that may 
 call him." Whitefield says at once, " I own the charge. Were 
 not Knox, Welch, Wishart, and several of the good old puri- 
 tans, itinerant preachers ? " 
 
 They also repeated the charge of Clap, of Yale College, that 
 he came into New England " to turn out the generality of their 
 ministers, and to replace them with ministers from England, 
 Ireland, and Scotland." " Such a thought," Whitefield says, 
 " never entered my heart ; neither, as I know of, has my 
 preaching any such tendency." This solemn denial ought to be 
 held decisive on this point. I did not know of it when I wrote 
 the account of his interviews with Jonathan Edwards. 
 
 Their closing charge against Whitefield was, that "the 
 coming in of hot men, disturbing the churches, was wholly 
 owing to his influence and example." This refers, of course, to 
 the Tennents, and the heat of their memory is not yet ex- 
 hausted in America ! Gilbert Tennent will be remembered 
 and revered, long after all the cold men of Harvard are forgot- 
 ten. As Whitefield said, " thousands will thank him for coming 
 into New England, through all the ages of eternity." Having 
 said this, he left the cold men in his own way : " if pulpits 
 should be shut, the fields are open, and I can go without the 
 camp. This I am used to, and glory in. If I have done your 
 society any wrong in my journal, I ask forgiveness. If you 
 have injured me in the testimony you published against me, (as 
 I really think you have,) it is forgiven already, without asking." 
 Letter to Harvard College, Cambridge. 
 
 Whilst in New England, Whitefield wrote his letter on the 
 
332 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 bishop of Litchfield's charge to his clergy. This charge was 
 delivered in 1741, but not published until 1744. It was, there- 
 fore, a deliberate attack on methodism. Indeed, in a subse- 
 quent charge, printed in 1746, now before me, his Lordship re- 
 fers his clergy to it ; assuring them, that " if the false doctrines 
 of the methodists prevail, they must unavoidably create a 
 general disorder in our constitution ; and if so, favour the re- 
 turn of popery itself." The bishop, Dr. Smalbroke, was a bet- 
 ter scholar than this prophecy indicates. He had grappled with 
 Whiston, on Arianism ; with Bentley, on the authority of the 
 primitive Complutensian ; and with Woolston, on miracles. It 
 was not, however, a very formidable matter to grapple with him, 
 when the subject was the grace of the Holy Spirit. Smalbroke 
 certainly believed that there is a Holy Ghost ; but no one could 
 well believe less about His work and witness. 
 
 It will hardly be credited now, but it is only too true, that a 
 bishop preached, and his clergy called for, the publication of 
 the following sentiments : " The indwelling and inward wit- 
 nessing of the Spirit, are all extraordinary gifts, belonging only 
 to apostolical and primitive times ; and consequently all preten- 
 sions to such favours in these last days, are vain and enthu- 
 siastical." The Spirit spoken of as helping our infirmities in 
 prayer, " was the Spirit acting in the inspired person, who had 
 the gift of prayer, and who in that capacity prayed for the whole 
 assembly. It is he (not the Holy Spirit) that maketh inter- 
 cession with God for private Christians " with groanings which 
 cannot be uttered ! The Searcher of hearts " knowing the 
 mind of the Spirit," means that " God knows the intentions of 
 the inspired " prayer-leader ! Preaching in " the demonstration 
 of the Spirit," means no more than proving " Jesus to be the 
 Messiah, by proofs out of the Old Testament," and by miracles ! 
 
 No wonder Whitefield could not forget these perversions of 
 truth and soberness in America. They haunted him on his 
 voyages, and whilst he was hunting in the woods. He sent 
 over an answer to the charge, addressed to the clergy who call- 
 ed for its publication ; not to the bishop, " because I hear," he 
 says, " that he is very aged." 
 
 I wish I could say, that either the episcopal bench, or the 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 333 
 
 dissenting board, had answered it also. They knew better than 
 Whitefield, that Smalbroke, although an old man, was a sturdy 
 polemic, and in no danger of death or illness from hard blows. 
 But the bench slumbered. They could worry Whitefield or 
 Wesley for an extravagant word ; but they would not even bark 
 when a bishop sapped the very vitals of Christianity. Pope cer- 
 tainly knew his men when he said, 
 
 " A saint in crape, is twice a saint in lawn." 
 
 A man in lawn then, might say almost any tiling with impunity, 
 if it was only well said, or argued with a show of learning. 
 Happily, it is not so now. Such a theologian as Smalbroke 
 would not be left to the lash of methodists or dissenters ; he 
 would be chastised by some of his own clergy, or rebuked by 
 some of the bench. It is needless to analyze or characterize 
 Whitefield's answer to the bishop. It is enough to say, that it 
 is full of the great doctrines of the Reformation. Even where 
 it pleads for too much of the direct witness of the Spirit, it js 
 more than excusable ; for had not Whitefield and the Wesleys 
 said both strong and startling things on this subject, when both 
 the work and witness of the Spirit were denied and denounced 
 from " high places," those in low places would not have listened, 
 or not brought " a pressure from without " upon the hierarchy. 
 This cardinal point was attacked then, as other first principles 
 of the Reformation are now, without ceremony, and with a 
 parade of learning. Would we had a Whitefield or a Wesley to 
 rebut the assaults made by the Oxford Tracts ; for the Bench 
 seems afraid to denounce them ; but either of these men, were 
 he on earth, would move heaven and earth against Puseyism. 
 the beast " with horns like a lamb" 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 WHITEFIELD IN BERMUDAS. 
 
 THE isles of Bermuda are more associated in the public mind 
 with the memory of good Bishop Berkeley, and the poetry of 
 Waller, than with Whitefield. They were probably indebted to 
 Berkeley's example for Whitefield's visit. 
 
 In 1721, the " Vanessa" of Swift bequeathed her fortune to 
 Berkeley. This was soon followed by his deserved elevation to 
 the deanery of Derry worth eleven hundred pounds per an- 
 num. Never was preferment better bestowed. He had long 
 cherished the design of evangelizing the American Indians, by 
 means of a college in the Bermudas. Now, he issued proposals 
 for it in London ; offering to resign his preferment, and to de- 
 vote his life to the instruction of young Americans, and stipu- 
 lating for only a hundred a year to himself. This noble disin- 
 terestedness won patronage at first. Government gave him a 
 grant of 10,000; and he sailed to carry his plans into effect. 
 He was not sustained by the ministry, however, in the way he 
 expected. He, therefore, made presents of his library to the 
 clergy of Rhode Island, and to Yale College. To the latter, 
 although not at all episcopalian, he gave a thousand volumes, 
 besides his estate at Newport, where he wrote his " Minute 
 Philosopher." 
 
 Berkeley then returned to Ireland, and in 1773 was made 
 bishop of Cloyne. It is almost impossible, in the presence of 
 these facts, to remember either his Platonism or his idealism. 
 He was a great and a good man. Atterbury might well say of 
 him, " So much understanding, so much knowledge, so much 
 innocence, and such humility, I did not think had been the 
 portion of any but angels, till I saw this gentleman." 
 
335 
 
 These facts, as well as the climate, drew Whitefield to Ber- 
 mudas, where he met with the kindest reception, and for about 
 a month preached generally twice a day, traversing the island 
 from one end to the other. His activity, treatment, and success, 
 will best appear from the following extracts from his manuscript 
 journal of that period. 
 
 " The simplicity and plainness of the people, together with 
 the pleasant situation of the island, much delighted me. The 
 Rev. Mr. Holiday, minister of Spanish Point, received me in a 
 most affectionate Christian manner ; and begged I would make 
 his house my home. In the evening I expounded at the house 
 of Mr. Savage, at Port Royal, which was very commodious ; 
 and which also he would have me make my home. I went with 
 
 Mr. Savage, in a boat lent us by Captain , to the town of 
 
 St. George, in order to pay our respects to the governor. All 
 along we had a most pleasant prospect of the other part of the 
 island, but a more pleasant one I never saw. One Mrs. Smith, 
 of St. George's, for whom I had a letter of recommendation 
 from my dear old friend, Mr. Smith of Charlestown, received 
 me into her house. About noon, with one of the council, and 
 Mr. Savage, I waited upon the governor. He received us cour- 
 teously, and invited us to dine with him and the council at a 
 tavern. We accepted the invitation, and all behaved with great 
 civility and respect. After the governor rose from table, he 
 desired, if I stayed in town on the Sunday, that I would dine 
 with him at his own house. 
 
 " Sunday, March 20. Read prayers and preached twice this 
 day, to what were esteemed here large auditories, in the morn- 
 ing at Spanish Point church, and in the evening at Brackish 
 Pond church, about two miles distant from each other. In the 
 afternoon I spoke with greater freedom than in the morning ; and 
 I trust not altogether in vain. All were attentive some wept. I 
 dined with Colonel Butterfield, one of the council ; and received 
 several invitations to other gentlemen's houses. May God bless 
 and reward them, and incline them to open their hearts to re- 
 ceive the Lord Jesus ! Amen and Amen ! 
 
 " Wednesday, March 23. Dined with Captain Gibbs, and 
 went from thence and expounded at the house of Captain 
 
336 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 F le, at Hunbay, about two miles distant. The company 
 
 was here also large, attentive, and affected. Our Lord gave me 
 utterance. I expounded on the first part of the 8th chapter of 
 Jeremiah. After lecture, Mr. Riddle, a counsellor, invited me 
 to his house ; as did Mr. Paul, an aged presbyterian minister, to 
 his pulpit ; which I complied with, upon condition the report was 
 true, that the governor had served the ministers with an injunc- 
 tion that I should not preach in the churches. 
 
 " Friday, March 25. Was prevented preaching yesterday by 
 the rain, which continued from morning till night ; but this af- 
 ternoon, God gave me another opportunity of declaring his eter- 
 nal truths to a large company at the house of one Mr. B s, 
 
 who last night sent me a letter of invitation. 
 
 " Sunday, March 27. Glory be to God ! I hope this has 
 been a profitable sabbath to many souls ; it has been a pleasant 
 one to mine. Both morning and afternoon I preached to a large 
 auditory, for Bermudas, in Mr. Paul's meeting-house, which I 
 suppose contains about four hundred. Abundance of negroes, 
 and many others, were in the vestry, porch, and about the 
 house. The word seemed to be clothed with a convicting power, 
 and to make its way into the hearts of the hearers. Between 
 sermons, I was entertained very civilly in a neighbouring house. 
 Judge Bascom, and three more of the council, came thither, and 
 each gave me an invitation to his house. How does the Lord 
 make way for a poor stranger in a strange land ! After the 
 second sermon, I dined with Mr. Paul ; and in the evening ex- 
 pounded to a very large company at Counsellor Riddle's. My 
 body was somewhat weak ; but the Lord carried me through, and 
 caused me to go to rest rejoicing. May I thus go to my grave, 
 when my ceaseless, uninterrupted rest shall begin ! 
 
 " Monday, March 28. Dined this day at Mrs. Dorrel's, 
 mother-in-law to my dear friend the Rev. Mr. Smith ; and 
 afterwards preached to more than a large house full of people, 
 on Matthew ix. 12. Towards the conclusion of the sermon, the 
 hearers began to be more affected than I have yet seen them. 
 Surely the Lord Jesus will give me some seals in this island ! 
 Grant this, O Redeemer, for thy infinite mercy sake ! 
 
 " Thursday, March 31. Dined on Tuesday, at Colonel Cor- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 337 
 
 busiers, and on Wednesday, at Colonel Gilbert's, both of the 
 council ; and found, by what I could hear, that some good had 
 been done, and many prejudices removed. Who shall hinder, 
 if God will work ? Went to an island this afternoon, called 
 Ireland, upon which live a few families ; and to my surprise, 
 found a great many gentlemen, and other people, with my 
 friend Mr. Holiday, who came from different quarters to hear 
 mo. Before I began preaching, I went round to see a most re- 
 markable cave, which very much displayed the exquisite work- 
 manship of Him, who in his strength setteth fast the mountains, 
 and is girded about with power. Whilst I was in the cave, 
 quite unexpectedly I turned and saw Counsellor Riddle, who, 
 with his son, came to hear me ; and whilst we were in the boat, 
 told me that he had been with the governor ^ who declared he 
 had no personal prejudices against me and wondered I did not 
 come to town, and preach there, for it was the desire of the 
 people ; and that any house in the town, the court-house not 
 excepted, should be at my service. Thanks be to God for so 
 much favour ! If his cause requires it, I shall have more. He 
 knows my heart ; I value the favour of man no further than as 
 it makes room for the gospel, and gives me a larger scope to 
 promote the glory of God. There being no capacious house 
 upon the island, I preached for the first time here in the open 
 air. All heard very attentive ; and it was very pleasant after 
 sermon to see so many boats full of people returning from the 
 worship of God. I talked seriously to some in our own boat, 
 and sung a psalm, in which they readily joined. 
 
 " Sunday, April 3. Preached twice this day at Mr. Paul's 
 meeting-house, as on the sabbath, but with greater freedom 
 and power, especially in the morning ; and I think to as great, 
 if not greater, auditories. Dined with Colonel Harry, another 
 of the council visited a sick woman, where many came to 
 hear and expounded afterwards to a great company, at Cap- 
 tain John Dorrel's, Mrs. Dorrel's son, who, with his wife, cour- 
 teously entertained me, and desired me to make his house my 
 home. So true is that promise of our Lord's, * that whosoever 
 leaves father and mother, house or lands, shall have in this life 
 a hundredfold, with persecution, and in the world to come, life 
 
 2x 
 
338 
 
 everlasting.' Lord, I have experienced the one : in thy good 
 time grant that I may experience the other also ! 
 
 " Wednesday, April 6. Preached yesterday at the house of 
 Mr. Anthony Smith, of Baylis Bay, with a considerable degree 
 of warmth ; and rode afterwards to St. George's, the only town 
 on the island. The gentlemen of the town had sent me an in- 
 vitation by Judge Bascom ; and he, with several others, came 
 to visit me at my lodgings, and informed me that the governor 
 desired to see me. About ten I waited upon his Excellency, 
 who received me with great civility, and told me he had no ob- 
 jection against my person, or my principles, having never yet 
 heard me ; and he knew nothing in respect to my conduct in 
 moral life, that might prejudice him against me ; but his in- 
 structions were, to let none preach in the island, unless he had 
 a written license to preach some where in America, or the West 
 Indies ; at the same time he acknowledged that it was but a 
 matter of mere form. I informed his Excellency that I had 
 been regularly inducted to the parish of Savannah ; that I was 
 ordained priest by letters dimissory from my lord of London, 
 and under no church censure from his Lordship; and would 
 always read the church prayers, if the clergy would give me the 
 use of their churches. I added further, that a minister's pulpit 
 was looked upon as his freehold, and that I knew one clergy- 
 man who had denied his own diocesan the use of his pulpit. 
 But I told his Excellency, I was satisfied with the liberty he 
 allowed me, and would not act contrary to his injunction. I 
 then begged leave to be dismissed, because I was obliged to 
 preach at eleven o'clock. His Excellency said he intended to 
 do himself the pleasure to hear me. At eleven the church bell 
 rung. The church Bible, prayer book, and cushion, were sent 
 to the town-house. The governor, several of the council, the 
 minister of the parish, and assembly-men, with a great number 
 of the town's people, assembled in great order. I was very 
 sick, through a cold I caught last night ; but read the church 
 prayers. The first lesson was the 15th chapter of the 1st book 
 of Samuel. I preached on those words, " Righteousness ex- 
 alteth a nation." Being weak and faint, and afflicted much 
 with the head-ache, I did not do that justice to my subject I 
 
WIIITEF1 ELD'S UI'-K AND TIMKS. 339 
 
 sometimes am enabled to do ; but the Lord so helped me, that, 
 as I found afterwards, the governor and the other gentlemen 
 expressed their approbation, and acknowledged they did not ex- 
 pect to be so well entertained. Not unto me, Lord ! not unto 
 me, but unto thy free grace be all the glory ! 
 
 " After sermon, Dr. F - bs, and Mr. P - 1, the collector, 
 came to me, and desired me to favour them and the gentlemen 
 of the town with my company to dinner. I accepted the invi- 
 tation. The governor, and the president, and Judge Bascom 
 were there. All wondered at my speaking so freely and fluently, 
 without notes. The governor asked, whether I used minutes ? 
 I answered, No. He said it was a great gift. At table, his Ex- 
 cellency introduced something of religion, by asking me the 
 meaning of the word HADES ? Several other things were started 
 about free will, Adam's fall, predestination, &c. to all which 
 God enabled me to answer so pertinently, and taught me to 
 mix the utile and dulce so together, that all at table seemed 
 highly pleased, shook me by the hand, and invited me to their 
 respective houses. The governor, in particular, asked me to 
 dine with him on the morrow ; and Dr. F - bs, one of his 
 particular intimates, invited me to drink tea in the afternoon. 
 I thanked all, returned proper respects, and went to my lodgings 
 with some degree of thankfulness for the assistance vouchsafed 
 me, and abased before God at the consideration of my unspeak- 
 able unworthiness. In the afternoon, about five o'clock, I ex- 
 pounded the parable of the prodigal son to many people at a 
 private house ; and in the evening had liberty to speak freely 
 and closely to those that supped with me. Oh that this may 
 be the beginning of good gospel times to the inhabitants of this 
 town ! Lord, teach me to deal prudently with them, and cause 
 them to melt under thy word ! 
 
 " Friday, April 8. Preached yesterday with great clearness 
 and freedom, to about fourscore people, at a house on David's 
 Island, over against St. George's Town went and lay at Mr. 
 Holiday's, who came in a boat to fetch me and this day I 
 heard him preach and read prayers ; after which I took the sa- 
 crament from him. Honest man ! he would have made me ad- 
 minister and officiate ; but I chose not to do it, lest I should 
 
340 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 bring him into trouble after my departure. However, in the 
 afternoon,, I preached at Mr. Todd's, in the same parish, to a 
 very large company indeed. The Lord was with me. My heart 
 was warm and what went from the heart, I trust went to the 
 heart; for many were affected. Oh that they may be converted 
 also ! Then will it be a good Friday, indeed, to their souls. 
 
 " Sunday, April 10. Dined and conversed yesterday very 
 agreeably with Judge Bascom, who seems to have the greatest 
 insight into the difference between Arminian and Calvinistical 
 schemes, of any one I have met with upon the island. In the 
 afternoon, I visited a paralytic ; and this day preached twice 
 again at Mr. Paul's meeting-house. The congregations were 
 rather larger than ever, and the power of God seemed to be 
 more amongst them. I think I see a visible alteration for the 
 better every Lord's day. Blessed be God ! In the evening I 
 expounded at Mr. Joseph DorrelPs, where I dined, to a very 
 large company ; then went to his kinsman's, my usual lodging 
 on Saturday and Sunday evenings ; who with his wife and other 
 friends, seemed kinder and kinder daily. Good measure, press- 
 ed down, and running over, may the Lord, both as to spirituals 
 and temporals, return into all their bosoms ! 
 
 " Saturday, April 16. Preached since Lord's day at five 
 different houses, to concerned and affected congregations, at 
 different parts of the island ; but was more indisposed one night 
 after going to bed, than I had been for some time. On two of 
 the days of this week, I dined with the president, and Captain 
 Spafford, one of the council, both of whom entertained me with 
 the utmost civility. 
 
 " Sunday, April 17. Still God magnifies his power and 
 goodness more and more. This morning we had a pleasing sight 
 at Mr. Paul's meeting-house. I began to preach, and the peo- 
 ple to hear and be affected as in days of old at home. Indeed, 
 the prospect is encouraging. Praise the Lord, O my soul ! 
 After preaching twice to a large congregation in the meeting- 
 house, I, at the desire of the parents, preached in the evening a 
 sermon at the funeral of a little boy, about five years of age. 
 A great number of people attended, and the Lord enabled me 
 so to speak, as to affect many of the hearers. Blessed be the 
 
WIUTKFIELD'S LIKE AND TIMES. 341 
 
 Lord for this day's work ! Not unto me, O Lord ! not unto me, 
 but unto thy free grace be all the glory ! 
 
 " Sunday, April 24. The last week being rainy, I. preached 
 only five times in private houses ; and this day but once in the 
 meeting-house ; but I hope neither times without effect. This 
 evening expounded at Counsellor Riddle's, who, with the other 
 gentlemen, treat me with greater respect every day. Colonel 
 Gilbert, one of the council, has lent me his horse, during my 
 stay ; and Mr. Dorrell, this morning, informed me of a design 
 the gentlemen had, to raise a contribution to help me to dis- 
 charge my arrears, and support my orphan family. Thanks be 
 given to thy name, O God ! Thou knowest all things ; thou 
 knowest that I want to owe no man any thing, but love ; and 
 provide for Bethesda, after my decease. Thou hast promised 
 thou wilt fulfil the desire of them that fear thee. I believe, 
 Lord, help my unbelief, that thou wilt fulfil this desire of my soul. 
 Even so. Amen. 
 
 " Saturday, April 30. Preached since Lord's day two funeral 
 sermons, and at five different houses in different parts of the 
 island, to still larger and larger auditories, and perceived the 
 people to be affected more and more. Twice or thrice I preach- 
 ed without doors. Riding in the sun, and preaching very ear- 
 nestly, a little fatigued one ; so that this evening I was obliged 
 to lie down for some time. Faint, yet pursuing, must be my 
 motto still. 
 
 " Sunday, May 1 . This morning, was a little sick ; but I 
 trust God gave us a happy beginning of the new month. I 
 preached twice with power, especially in the morning, to a very 
 great congregation in the meeting-house ; and in the evening, 
 having given previous notice, I preached about four miles dis- 
 tant, in the fields, to a large company of negroes, and a number 
 of white people who came to hear what I had to say to them. 
 I believe, in all, near fifteen hundred people. As the sermon 
 was intended for the negroes, I gave the auditory warning, that 
 my discourse would be chiefly directed to them, and that I 
 should endeavour to imitate the example of Elijah, who, when 
 he was about to raise the child, contracted himself to its length. 
 The negroes seemed very sensible and attentive. When I 
 
342 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 asked, if they all did not desire to go to heaven ? one of them, 
 with a very audible voice, said, f Yes, sir.' This caused a little 
 smiling ; but, in general, every thing was carried on with great 
 decency ; and I believe the Lord enabled me so to discourse, as 
 to touch the negroes, and yet not to give them the least um- 
 brage to slight or behave imperiously to their masters. If ever 
 a minister, in preaching, need the wisdom of the serpent to be 
 joined with the harmlessness of the dove, it must be when dis- 
 coursing to negroes. Vouchsafe me this favour, O God, for thy 
 dear Son's sake ! 
 
 " Monday, May 2. Upon inquiry, I found that some of the 
 negroes did not like my preaching, because I told them of their 
 cursing, swearing, thieving, and lying. One or two of the 
 worst of them, as I was informed, went away. Some said, they 
 
 would not go any more. They liked Mr. M r better, for 
 
 he never told them of these things ; and I said, their hearts 
 were as black as their faces. They expected, they said, to hear 
 me speak against their masters. Blessed be God, that I was 
 directed not to say any thing, this first time, to the masters at 
 all, though my text led me to it. It might have been of bad 
 consequences, to tell them their duty, or 'charge them too 
 roundly with the neglect of it, before their slaves. They would 
 mind all I said to their masters, and, perhaps, nothing that I 
 said to them. Every thing is beautiful in its season. Lord, 
 teach me always that due season, wherever I am called, to give 
 either black or white a portion of thy word ! However, others 
 of the poor creatures, I hear, were very thankful, and came home 
 to their masters' houses, saying, that they would strive to sin 
 no more. Poor hearts ! These different accounts affected me ; 
 and upon the whole, I could not help rejoicing, to find that their 
 consciences were so far awake. 
 
 " Saturday, May 7. In my conversation these two days, with 
 some of my friends, I was diverted much, in hearing several 
 things that passed among the poor negroes, since my preaching 
 to them last Sunday. One of the women, it seems, said, ' that 
 if the book I preached out of was the best book that was ever 
 bought at London, she was sure it had never all that in it 
 which I spoke to the negroes.' The old man, who spoke out 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 343 
 
 loud last Sunday, and said, ' yes,' when I asked them whether 
 all the negroes would not go to heaven ? being questioned by 
 somebody, why he spoke out so ? answered, < That the gentle- 
 mnn put the question once or twice to them, and the other fools 
 had not the manners to make me any answer ; till, at last, I 
 seemed to point at him, and he was ashamed that nobody should 
 answer me, and therefore he did.' Another, wondering why I 
 said negroes had black hearts ; was answered by his black 
 brother thus ; ( Ah, thou fool ! dost thou not understand it ? 
 He means black with sin.' Two more girls were overheard by 
 their mistress talking about religion : arid they said, ' They 
 knew, if they did not repent, they must be damned.' From all 
 which I infer, that these Bermudas negroes are more knowing 
 than I supposed ; that their consciences are awake, and conse- 
 quently prepared, in a good measure, for hearing the gospel 
 preached unto them. 
 
 " Sunday, May 8. This also, I trust, has been a good sab- 
 bath. In the morning I was helped to preach powerfully to a 
 melting, and rather a larger congregation than ever, in Mr. 
 Paul's meeting-house ; and in the evening, to almost as large a 
 congregation of black and white as last Sunday in the fields, 
 near my hearty friend, Mr. Holiday's house. To see so many 
 black faces was affecting. They heard very attentively, and 
 some of them now began to weep. May God grant them a 
 godly sorrow, that worketh repentance not to be repented of ! 
 
 " Friday, May 13. This afternoon preached over the corpse 
 of Mr. Paul's eldest son, about twenty-four years of age ; and 
 by all I could hear, and judge of by conversing with him, he 
 did indeed die in the Lord. I visited him twice last Lord's 
 day, and was quite satisfied with what he said, though he had 
 not much of the sensible presence of God. I find he was a 
 preacher upon his death-bed : for he exhorted all his companions 
 to love Christ in sincerity ; and blessed his brother and sister, 
 and, I think, his father and mother, just before his departure. 
 A great many people attended the funeral. I preached on 
 Luke viii. 13, ' And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion 
 on her, and said unto her, Weep not.' Many were affected in 
 the application of my discourse ; and, I trust, some will be in- 
 
344 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 duced, by this young man's good example, to remember their 
 Redeemer in the days of their youth. Grant it, O Lord, for 
 thy dear Son's sake. 
 
 " Sunday, May 15. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and all that 
 is within me, praise his holy name ! This morning I preached 
 my farewell sermon at Mr. Paul's meeting-house it was quite 
 full ; and, as the president said, above one hundred and fifty 
 whites, besides blacks, were round the house. Attention sat 
 on every face ; and when I came to take my leave, oh ! what a 
 sweet, unaffected weeping was there to be seen every where ! I 
 believe there were few dry eyes. The negroes, likewise, without 
 doors, I heard weep plentifully. My own heart was affected ; 
 and though I have parted with friends so often, yet I find every 
 fresh parting almost unmans me, and very much affects my 
 heart. Surely, a great work is begun in some souls at Bermudas. 
 Carry it on, O Lord ! and if it be thy will, send me to this dear 
 people again. Even so. Lord Jesus. Amen ! 
 
 " After sermon, I dined with three of the council, and other 
 gentlemen and ladies, at Captain Bascom's ; and from thence 
 
 we went to a funeral, at which Mr. M r preached ; and after 
 
 that, I expounded on our Lord's transfiguration, at the house of 
 one Mrs. Harvey, sister to dear Mr. Smith, of Chaiiestown. 
 The house was exceeding full, and it was supposed above three 
 hundred stood in the yard. The Lord enabled me to lift 
 up my voice like a trumpet. Many wept. Mr. M r re- 
 turned from the funeral with me, and attended the lecture ; as 
 did the three councillors, with whom I conversed freely. May 
 God reward them, and all the dear people of the island, for those 
 many favours conferred on me, who am the chief of sinners, and 
 less than the least of all saints ! 
 
 " Sunday, May 22. Blessed be God ! the little leaven thrown 
 into the three measures of meal, begins to ferment, and work 
 almost every day for the week past. I have conversed with 
 souls loaded with a sense of their sins ; and, as far as I can judge, 
 really pricked to the heart. I preached only three times, but 
 to almost three times larger auditories than usual. Indeed the 
 fields are white ready unto harvest. God has been pleased to 
 bless private visits. Go where I will, upon the least notice, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 345 
 
 houses are crowded, and the poor souls that follow, are soon 
 drenched in tears. This day I took, as it were, another fare- 
 well. As the ship did not sail, I preached at Somerset in the 
 morning to a large congregation in the fields ; and expounded 
 in the evening at Mr. Harvey's house, round which stood many 
 hundreds of people. But in the morning and evening, how did 
 the poor souls weep ! Abundance of prayers and blessings were 
 put up for my safe passage to England, and speedy return to 
 Bermudas again. May they enter into the ears of the Lord of 
 Sabaoth ! With all humility and thankfulness of heart, will I 
 here, O Lord, set up my Ebenezer ; for hitherto surely thou hast 
 helped me ! Thanks be to the Lord for sending me hither. I 
 have been received in a manner I dared not expect ; and have 
 met with little, very little opposition, indeed. The inhabitants 
 seem to be plain and open-hearted. They have loaded me with 
 provisions for my sea-store ; and in the several parishes, by a 
 private voluntary contribution, have raised me upwards of ONE 
 HUNDRED POUNDS sterling. This will pay a little of Bethesda's 
 debt, and enable me to make such a remittance to my dear 
 yoke-fellow, as may keep her from being embarrassed, or too 
 much beholden, in my absence. Blessed be God, for bringing 
 me out of my embarrassment by degrees ! May the Lord reward 
 all my benefactors a thousandfold ! I hear that what was given, 
 was given exceedingly heartily ; and people only lamented that 
 they could do no more." 
 
 Transmitting to Georgia the contributions he had received, 
 and fearing a relapse if he had returned to America in the heat 
 of the summer ; and also being much pressed to return to Eng- 
 land, Mr. Whitefield took his passage in a brig, and arrived safe 
 in twenty-eight days at Deal ; and the next evening, July 6, he 
 came to London, having been absent near four years. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 WHITEFIELD RANGING. 
 
 IN 1748, after an absence of four years, Whitefield returned to 
 his native land ; not exactly from choice, but because he was 
 afraid to risk his restored health in America again, during the 
 heat of July. He embarked at Bermudas in June, on board 
 the Betsey ; and lived, as he expresses it, " like people that 
 came from the continent, not from an island so bountiful were 
 his friends." His appetite was, however, somewhat spoiled one 
 day. The Betsey was chased by a large French vessel, and 
 shot at thrice. " We gave up all for lost ! We were almost 
 defenceless. I was dressing myself to receive our visitors. In 
 the mean time our captain cried, f The danger is over.' The 
 Frenchman turned about and left us. In the Channel we expect 
 such alarms daily." 
 
 During the voyage he abridged, and endeavoured to gospelize, 
 Law's " Serious Call ;" and finished a revisal of his own jour- 
 nals : but he was not allowed to preach on board. This, he 
 says, " may spare my lungs, but it grieves my heart." It seems 
 he could not write with much composure. The reason he 
 assigns for this is, " We have four gentlewomen on board ; so you 
 may guess how it is ! " 
 
 His own private review of his sayings, doings, and writings, 
 up to this time, I have recorded in " The Specimens of White- 
 field," at the close of this volume. It is equally humble and 
 honest ; and it led to many improvements in his conduct and 
 spirit towards the opponents of truth and godliness. 
 
 The prospect of home led him naturally to anticipate the 
 pleasure of seeing his aged and beloved mother. He had been 
 
347 
 
 so long absent, and she was so poor, that he did not know, when 
 he wrote, where she resided. He added to the prayer for her, 
 " Oh that I may see you laden with holiness, and bearing fruit 
 in old age," the request, " Let me know whether you stand in 
 need of any thing." There was a contemporary clergyman of 
 notoriety, Sterne, who could weep over a dead ass, and a caged 
 starling, who neither prayed nor felt for his aged mother, al- 
 though she was in distress : but Sterne was a wit, not a 
 methodist ! 
 
 On his arrival in London, Whitefield was welcomed by thou- 
 sands, with a joy which well nigh overcame them and himself 
 too. One cause of this joy was, that a large church was open to 
 him on his return. It was St. Bartholomew's, where he had a 
 thousand communicants on the first sabbath, besides "multitudes 
 flocking to hear." How different from the reception he met 
 with on his former return from America. The fact is, both he 
 and the Wesleys were now wiser men. 
 
 He was not, however, without his cares on this occasion. 
 His outward affairs were " far behindhand." Antinomianism had 
 <( made sad havoc " in the religious societies, during his absence. 
 " I came," he says, " at a critical juncture." One of the hyper par- 
 ty threatened to rival him in Moorfields a sphere which these 
 zealots have seldom coveted. Whitefield sent him word, " The 
 fields are no doubt as free to you as to another. God send you 
 a clear head and a clean heart. I intend preaching there on 
 Sunday evening." He did ; and found " Moorfields as white to 
 harvest as ever." In other respects, also, he had soon the satis- 
 faction of seeing " things take a good turn " in London. 
 
 At this time he renewed his intimacy with Hervey, who was 
 now popular as a writer ; and that not undeservedly. It has 
 been fashionable, of late, to denounce his florid style : and, so 
 far as this prevents Hervey from becoming a model to young 
 preachers or imaginative writers, it is a good fashion. It is, 
 however, bad, so far as it prevents the young from reading his 
 works, or from yielding to their inspiration. They cannot be 
 read without interest by the young. Both the " Meditations " 
 and " Theron and Aspasio " have an irresistible charm to them. 
 They lay hold upon the heart at once, and are never forgotten. 
 
348 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 The secret of this fascination is, their sympathy with visible 
 nature, as young eyes see it, and young hearts enjoy it. Hervey 
 reflects the heavens and the earth to them, in the hroad and 
 brilliant forms which haunt their own dreams. Who does not 
 remember this ? True ; we cease to read Hervey, and learn to 
 find fault with his style : but, which of us would have relished 
 or read, in early life, the chaster works on piety, which now 
 charm us ? Even our taste for the simple, is the reaction of the 
 gorgeous. I owe this passing tribute to Hervey. My love of 
 nature was made religious by him. And, had I never tried to 
 imitate him, I should never have formed a puritanical style for 
 myself. 
 
 The second reformation in this country owes much to Hervey. 
 He was the Melancthon of it, by his writings. They suited, as 
 Whitefield says of them, " the taste of the polite world." They 
 refined the taste of the methodists also. The former read them, 
 because they were flowery ; the latter, because they were savoury. 
 The one looked at grace, through their medium, with less pre- 
 judice; the other at nature, with more delight than formerly. 
 Whitefield saw this twofold influence of Hervey's works, and 
 wisely said nothing against their style, when they were submitted 
 to his revision. 
 
 Amongst all Whitefield's converts, no one has been more 
 useful than Hervey, as a writer. That he was one of them is 
 certain, although seldom remembered. In a letter to White- 
 field, he says, " Your journals and sermons, and especially that 
 sweet sermon, on ' What think ye of Christ? ' were a mean of 
 bringing me to the knowledge of the truth." Brown's Memoirs 
 of Hervey. This will account for the deference he paid to his spi- 
 ritual father, and for the eulogium he pronounced on him at Dod- 
 dridge's : " I never beheld," he said, " so fair a copy of our Lord ; 
 such a living image of the Saviour; such exalted delight in God; 
 such unbounded benevolence to man ; such steady faith in the 
 divine promises ; such fervent zeal for the divine glory ; and all 
 this, without the least moroseness of humour, or extravagances 
 of behaviour ; but sweetened with the most engaging cheerful- 
 ness of temper, and regulated by all the sobriety of reason and 
 wisdom of Scripture : insomuch, that I cannot forbear applying 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 349 
 
 the wise man's encomium on an illustrious woman, to this emi- 
 nent minister of the everlasting gospel ( Many sons have done 
 virtuously, but thou excellest them all.' " 
 
 It was not in return for this compliment, but before it, that 
 Whitefield introduced Hervey's works into America, and re- 
 joiced in their popularity. " The author," he said, " is my old 
 friend ; a most heavenly-minded creature ; one of the first me- 
 thodists, who is contented with a small cure, and gives all he 
 has to the poor. We correspond with, though we cannot see, 
 each other." Gillies says, that Whitefield left a blank in his 
 manuscripts thus, " Here a character of Hervey ;" and adds, 
 " What a pity he did not write it down ! " Doddridge also was 
 not ashamed to preface a work of Hervey's, although Warburton 
 called it a weak rhapsody, and said it would degrade the 
 Doctor. 
 
 At this time his acquaintance with the Countess of Hunting- 
 don commenced. She had engaged Howel Harris to bring him 
 to Chelsea, " as soon as he came ashore." He went and preached 
 twice in her drawing-room, in a manner that determined her to 
 invite some of the nobility to hear him. 
 
 As she had, from this time, much influence upon his future 
 movements, the following masterly sketch of her history and 
 character will tell best here. It is by a descendant of Dod- 
 dridge, who hates Calvinism. 
 
 " The Right Honourable Selina Countess Dowager of Hunt- 
 ingdon, second daughter, and one of the coheiresses of Wash- 
 ington, second Earl of Ferrars, was born August 13th, 1707, and 
 married in the year 1728, to Theophilus Earl of Huntingdon, by 
 whom she had issue four sons and three daughters : of these, 
 only one, the Countess of Moira, survived their mother, whose 
 death occurred in 1791, at the age of eighty-four, and after a 
 widowhood of forty-five years. 
 
 " Upon the decease of her mother, the Countess of Moira 
 received an accession to her income of fifteen hundred pounds 
 per annum, and her son, Lord Rawden, a bequest of two thou- 
 sand two hundred pounds. Lady Huntingdon also left an an- 
 nuity of a hundred a year to her friend Lady Ann Erskine, and 
 the sum of four thousand pounds to be disposed of in charitable 
 
350 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 gifts, at the direction of the Earl of Dartmouth, Sir Richard 
 Hill, and her chaplain, Mr. Haws. The residue of her fortune 
 was bequeathed for the support of sixty-four chapels, which she 
 had contributed to establish throughout the kingdom. 
 
 f( Few characters have been more erroneously estimated by 
 the world than that of Lady Huntingdon. She was, in fact, 
 neither the gloomy fanatic, the weak visionary, nor the abstracted 
 devotee, which different parties have delighted to paint her. 
 
 ft The circumstance of her having forbade the publication of 
 her papers, and her retired mode of life, for even her charities 
 were principally distributed through the medium of her chap- 
 lains, were the causes which baffled the curiosity of those who 
 felt desirous of discovering the motives which could tempt a 
 woman to resign the allurements of station, and to devote, in 
 addition to what is mentioned in her will, at least a hundred 
 thousand pounds, given during her life, for the extension of pe- 
 culiar religious opinions, without any view towards that personal 
 distinction which has been too often a leading inducement with 
 the founders of new sects. 
 
 " In the absence of circumstantial detail, all that remains is to 
 collect the few personal traits which are here and there acci- 
 dentally mentioned, and to unite them with facts of public noto- 
 riety. Having thus combined these scattered rays, their con- 
 densed light at once reveals the actual character of this remark- 
 able woman ; and we perceive her peculiarities to have arisen 
 from the blight of domestic sorrow, acting upon a mind swayed 
 to a great extent by the imagination, and, therefore, highly 
 susceptible of religious impressions. 
 
 " In the spring day of her life, there was little to distinguish 
 Lady Huntingdon from the many charming and intelligent young 
 women who ever grace the courtly circle in which she moved. 
 She was naturally gay, and the quickness of her disposition ren- 
 dered her sprightly and amusing; but it does not appear that 
 her gaiety tended towards dissipation, or that her conversational 
 talents amounted to wit. How far her religious education had 
 been attended to is not indicated, but there is no reason to sur- 
 mise that it was defective ; and had not her maternal and con- 
 jugal aifections suffered from the shock of family bereavements, 
 
351 
 
 her character would probably have remained not less worthy, 
 but far less remarkable, than it is at present. 
 
 " The loss of children, and the death of her lord, which occurred 
 before the charms of existence had with her been subdued by 
 the lapse of time, gave a blow to the elasticity of her mind from 
 which it never recovered. When the first paroxysm of grief had 
 subsided, her exhausted feelings naturally sought a refuge in 
 devotion ; and it is only to be regretted that under the melan- 
 choly impressions of the period, her mind the more deeply im- 
 bibed the Calvinistic tenets." (Not exactly !) 
 
 " An affecting incident shows that at this time she still re- 
 tained the fond recollections of human regard in all their wonted 
 intensity. Lady Huntingdon had a fine bust of herself placed 
 upon the tomb of her deceased husband ; and it is but justice to 
 observe, that the widowed bosom in which his memory was en- 
 shrined ever remained as cold to earthly passion, as the insen- 
 sible marble, whose gentle smile, amid the symbols of death, 
 seemed eloquent with immortality. 
 
 " For some years the religious views of Lady Huntingdon 
 were those of the church of England; she was pious and bene- 
 volent in an eminent degree, as her letters in this work evince, 
 but her sentiments were unmarked by peculiarity. As might, 
 however, have been expected, the spirit-stirring eloquence of 
 Whitefield caught her attention, and she became one of his most 
 determined proselytes ; and, doubtless, felt delighted to obtain 
 so important a witness to a reality of her election. Be this as it 
 may, under his influence, although she never renounced the doc- 
 trines of episcopacy, yet she embraced sectarian views incompa- 
 tible with its practice and well-being ; she endowed chapels, and 
 sanctioned an independent form of worship. 
 
 " Of the results to which her conduct, in such respects, was 
 likely to lead, she was doubtless unconscious, and, in fact, acted 
 from the impressions produced upon her mind by the interested 
 parties around her. She was, indeed, so much the child of 
 emotion, that she is related to have described herself ' as like a 
 ship before the wind, carried on by an impulse she could not 
 resist or describe.' 
 
 " The influence of Whitefield and his friends over the mind 
 
352 
 
 of Lady Huntingdon, was most apparent from the year 1748, 
 when he became her chaplain. That influence was, however, 
 so guardedly employed, that the natural vigilance of her charac- 
 ter was fully exercised in plans for the propagation of the highly 
 Calvinistic ideas she had espoused. It was not until the year 
 1768, that she opened her ' college' near Talgarth, in South 
 Wales, ' for the education of serious and godly young men, and 
 such as she believed had a divine call. 9 Besides this academy, 
 the whole expense of which she defrayed, she was deeply inter- 
 ested in the missionary schemes then in motion ; and that she 
 might the better uphold the cause, reduced her style of living far 
 below what her station in society demanded; arid even exhausted 
 her income to such an extent, that she was not able to afford 
 charitable relief in some cases of the utmost necessity, that were 
 brought under her notice. 
 
 " Her death occurred on the 17th of June, 1791, and was 
 marked with the serenity of the Christian, and the humble con- 
 fidence of a saint. As the awful moment was approaching, she 
 said, ' My work is done ; and I have nothing to do but to go to 
 my Father.' (This was her Calvinism !) 
 
 " The romantic turn of her feelings was as strongly marked 
 during her last illness, as in any former period of her life. She 
 desirod that her remains might be dressed in the suit of white 
 silk which she wore at the opening of the chapel in Goodman's 
 Fields ; and in speaking of death, said, ( It was like putting off 
 her cloak.' When the blood-vessel burst, which was the com- 
 mencement of her illness, on being asked how she did, by Lady 
 Ann Erskine, she observed, ( I am well all is well well for ever ! 
 I see, wherever I turn my eyes, whether I live or die, nothing 
 but victory.' And a day or so before her decease, she remarked, 
 ' The Lord has been present with my spirit this morning in a 
 remarkable manner : what He means to convey to my mind, I 
 know not ; it may be my approaching departure. My soul is 
 filled with glory ; I am in the element of heaven.' " Humphries. 
 
 Such was Lady Huntingdon. She soon brought around 
 Whitefield some of the stars of the court. Chesterfield and 
 a whole circle of them attended, and having heard once, desired 
 they might hear him again. " I, therefore, preached again," he 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFK AND TIMES. 353 
 
 says, " in the evening, and went home, never more surprised at 
 any thing in my life. All behaved quite well, and were in some 
 degree affected. The Earl of Chesterfield thanked me, and said, 
 ' Sir, I shall not tell you what I shall tell others, how I approve 
 of you ;' or words to this purpose. At last Lord Bolingbroke 
 came to hear ; sat like an archbishop, and was pleased to say, 
 I had done great justice to the divine attributes in my dis- 
 course. (Hume also was present.) Soon afterwards, her Lady- 
 ship removed to town, where I generally preached twice a week, 
 to very brilliant auditories. Blessed be God, not without effec- 
 tual success on some." Gillies. Bolingbroke invited White- 
 field to visit him ; which he did, and found him both candid 
 and frank. And the impression made upon him, may be judged 
 by his saying to the Countess, " You may command my pen 
 when you will. It shall be drawn in your service. For, admit- 
 ting the Bible to be true, I shall have little apprehension of 
 maintaining the doctrines of predestination and grace, against 
 all your revilers." All the nobility also accepted, with pleasure 
 and surprise, copies of Whitefield's sermons. On recording this, 
 he says, " Thus the world turns round ! In all time of wealth, 
 good Lord, deliver me." Lord Bath and others had given him 
 money for the orphan-house. One of the Prince of Wales's 
 favourites, a privy counsellor of the king of Denmark, and seve- 
 ral persons of rank, dined and drank tea with him. 
 
 The manner in which he refers to this introduction amongst 
 the great, has been quoted against him as a proof of vanity. 
 Why should it ? True ; he says in his letters to Wesley, and 
 other private friends, " the noble, the mighty, the wise, have 
 been to hear me." These are also the very words which 
 Lady Huntingdon employed in her letters to Doddridge, at the 
 time. Was she vain or flattered, because she rejoiced that a 
 door was opening for " the nobility to hear the gospel ? " Be- 
 sides, this new sphere did not divert him from any of his old 
 work, nor at all change his spirit or purposes. At the very 
 crisis of this elevation, he said to Wesley, " My attachment 
 to America will not permit me to abide long in England. 
 If I formed societies, I should but weave a Penelope's web. I 
 intend, therefore, to go about preaching the gospel to every 
 
 2z 
 
354 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 creature." Accordingly, he was off to Scotland in a few 
 days. 
 
 On his arrival at Edinburgh, he found a Moorfields congre- 
 gation, as to numbers, to welcome him. At Glasgow also, the 
 prospects were still more encouraging. Many at both places 
 came to inform him of their conversion, on his former visits. 
 Cambuslang also kindled again. All this was too much for 
 some of the kirk folks, now that the Seceders were quarrelling 
 amongst themselves. The synod of Glasgow and Ayr debated 
 a motion, " tending to prohibit ministers from employing White- 
 field ;" because he was a priest of the church of England ; 
 because he had not subscribed the formula ; because the scheme 
 of the orphan-house was chimerical, and the money collected for 
 it not fully accounted for ! The first count in the indictment is 
 not so heavy now. Dr. Chalmers is the champion of the Eng- 
 lish priesthood. The charge was better met, however, by the 
 clergyman who said at the synod, " If Bishop Butler, Sherlock, 
 or Seeker, were in Scotland, I should welcome them to my pul- 
 pit ; and in this, I should imitate Rutherford, as firm a presby- 
 terian as any of us, who employed Usher. There is no law of 
 Christ, and no act of assembly, prohibiting me to give my pul- 
 pit to any episcopal, or anabaptist, or independent minister, if 
 of sound principles in the fundamentals of religion. Our church 
 expressly enjoins, Art. 13, that great tenderness is to be used to 
 foreign protestants." Gillies. 
 
 Whitefield's personal character was nobly and indignantly vin- 
 dicated by Dr. Erskine. He appealed to the affidavit of the magis- 
 trates of Georgia, in the Philadelphia Gazette, in proof of the ho- 
 nest application of the money collected for the orphan-house ; and 
 cried shame upon presbyterians, who could object to Whitefield 
 as a " suspended minister," whilst his only fault was, refusing to 
 " use the communion-book in a presbyterian chapel." The result 
 of the debate was, " the decent burial of the motion." It 
 was, however, supported by thirteen. Twenty-seven voted for 
 employing Whitefield in the pulpits of the kirk. Gillies says 
 truly, " Upon the whole, the attacks informed the synod of the 
 falsehood of many aspersions thrown out against him : and thus 
 what was intended for his reproach, turned out to his honour." 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 355 
 
 Whitefield himself says of these conclaves, " Two synods and 
 one presbytery brought me upon the carpet ; but all has worked 
 for good. The more I was blackened, the more the Redeemer 
 comforted me. If my enemies show themselves, I am persuaded 
 Jesus will bless me to his people more and more." Amongst 
 the charges then advanced against him, in order to injure him 
 in the estimation of the poor, one was, that he was sent and paid 
 by government to preach against the Pretender / This charge 
 came with an ill grace from both the Kirk and the Secession. 
 Both preached against the Pretender, as much as he did ; with 
 only this difference, that the former had pay and the latter 
 thanks, while he had neither. 
 
 It was, I think, about this time, that Whitefield had another 
 interview with Ralph Erskine. Their last was in 1750. It was 
 short, but affecting. On parting, Erskine embraced him and 
 said, " We have seen strange things." They had both seen strange 
 things ! Whitefield had seen himself traduced by ministers 
 of a kirk, which had gladly played him off against the Secession : 
 and Erskine had seen himself excluded by the presbytery of 
 Dunfermline, whilst his own son, John, sat in judgment upon 
 him. It is not true that John pronounced the sentence of ex- 
 communication on his father. Gibb did that. It is, however, 
 true, that the good old man said, " It was a sword piercing 
 my heart, to see Johnny sitting with them." Erskine and 
 Whitefield might well embrace as brethren after these strange 
 things. Erskine 9 s Life. This reconciliation went no further. 
 The other Seceders kept up the old clamour against him, be- 
 cause he did not " preach up the covenant ;" and he gave his 
 old answer, " I preach up the covenant of grace." 
 
 Notwithstanding all these attempts to lower him in public 
 estimation, his old friends in Scotland stood by him. The godly 
 ministers not only encouraged his attempts to serve the New 
 Jersey college ; but also entered into his spirited (though im- 
 prudent) design of turning the orphan-house into a college. 
 
 On his return to London, he resumed his lectures at Lady 
 Huntingdon's to the " great ones," as he calls them. Thirty, 
 and sometimes sixty, persons of rank attended, although the 
 newspapers were full of " strange lying accounts " of his recep- 
 
356 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 tion in Scotland. He availed himself of this influence, to for- 
 ward his intended college : for which his plea was, " If some 
 such thing be not done, I cannot see how the southern parts will 
 be provided with ministers ; for all are afraid to go over." On 
 this ground he appealed to the trustees of Georgia ; reminding 
 them that he had expended 5000 upon the orphan-house ; beg- 
 ging them to relieve it, as a charitable institution, from all quit- 
 rent and taxes ; and especially to allow him slaves. " While 
 hands" he said, had left his tract of land uncultivated. 
 
 Whilst thus pleading for his own seminary, he did not forget 
 New Jersey. He wrote to Mr. Pemberton, " If you or some 
 other popular minister come over, and make an application in 
 person, a collection might be recommended by the general as- 
 sembly, and large contributions be raised from private persons. 
 If one of the Indians was brought over, and a proposal made to 
 educate some of the converted Indians in the college, it would 
 certainly be of service." Thus he had our best missionary plans, 
 as well as spirit, a century ago. 
 
 Having set these schemes on foot, he went to Bristol ; and 
 attended the sacrament at the cathedral next day. The bishop, 
 he says, " behaved respectfully " to him. He visited also his 
 old tutor, now one of the prebendaries, and met with the old 
 kindness of Oxford. Those who have had a kind tutor will quite 
 understand the following account of the interview. " I told him, 
 that my judgment (as I trust) was a little more ripened than it 
 was some years ago ; and that as fast as I found out my faults, 
 I should be glad to acknowledge them. He said, the offence of 
 the governors of the church would lessen and wear off, as I grew 
 moderate." Whitefield did not tell the Doctor how little he 
 cared for such moderation as the governors of that day required : 
 but he wrote to Lady Huntingdon, on the subject of their fa- 
 vour, " I am pretty easy about that 1 If I can but act an honest 
 part, and be kept from trimming, I leave all consequences to 
 Him who orders all things well." 
 
 On his return to London, he found his assemblies at the 
 Countess's " brilliant indeed," and Bolingbroke still one in 
 them. It was now winter, and some of his noble friends from 
 Scotland joined them. He felt not only deep interest in Boling- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 3,57 
 
 broke, but had much hope of him at one time ; owing to his 
 declared satisfaction with the doctrines of grace. " Who knows," 
 he says, " what God may do?" If Bolingbroke was hoaxing 
 Whitefield, it is to his everlasting disgrace. If he was not, it 
 was no small item in his advantages, that God gave him a place 
 in Whitefield's heart and prayers. The place he held there, 
 had proved the means of salvation to many. Two or three of 
 the nobility were won to Christ at this time. 
 
 Still, they could not keep him from itinerating. In a few 
 weeks he was at Bristol again. " I long to take the field," he 
 said to the Countess ; and he did not take it in vain. " There 
 was a great stirring among the dry bones at Kingswood and 
 Bristol. Many new converts were won. One of them was a 
 counsellor, who was so much affected, that his style of counsel- 
 ling others to hear Whitefield, led his wife to suspect him of 
 madness. 
 
 At Plymouth also, where he had so many enemies formerly, 
 he found a Tabernacle had been built in his absence, to which 
 he was welcomed. He became the guest of a married couple, 
 who claimed him as their spiritual father. Plymouth, he says, 
 " seems quite a new place to me." He was much amused there 
 to learn, that he had been called a Roman catholic. " If I am 
 a Roman catholic," he said, " the pope must have given me a 
 large dispensation." 
 
 The " married couple" were the Kinsmans; soon the useful, 
 as well as the intimate, friends of Whitefield. Mr. Kinsman 
 became a popular preacher at the Tabernacle in London. He 
 preached the first sermon in the present Tabernacle. His fame 
 and success at Bristol were such that Whitefield was in the 
 habit of calling Bristol, "Kinsman's America;" in allusion to 
 his own foreign labours. His eloquence also must have been 
 considerable ; for Shuter, the comedian, was fond of hearing 
 him. Poor Shuter once told Kinsman a sad story. He had 
 been acting Falstaff in London so often, that the physicians 
 ordered him to Plymouth for change of air. Kinsman too had 
 been sent home, after a hard campaign at the Tabernacle. Both 
 had been wrought out. " Had you died," said Shuter, " it 
 would have been in the service of the best of masters ; but had 
 
358 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 I, it would have been in the service of the devil. O Sir, do 
 you think I shall ever be called again ? I certainly was whilst 
 studying my part in the park ; and had Mr. Whitefield let me 
 come to the sacrament with him, I never should have gone back 
 again. But the caresses of the great are insnaring. Poor 
 things ! they are unhappy, and they want Shuter to make them 
 laugh. O Sir, for such a life as yours ! But when I have you 
 I shall be Richard the Third again. That is what they call a 
 good play; as good as some sermons. And there are some 
 striking moral things in it. But, after it, I shall come in again 
 with my farce, f A Dish of all Sorts/ and knock all that on the 
 head. Fine reformers we are ! " 
 
 It was on Shuter, as Ramble, that Whitefield fixed his eye 
 one morning at Tottenham Court, while inviting sinners of all 
 classes to Christ, and said, " And thou, poor Ramble, who 
 hast long rambled from Him, come thou also. Oh, end thy 
 ramblings, and come to Jesus." Cornelius Winter says, 
 " Shuter was exceedingly struck, and coming unto Whitefield 
 said, ' I thought I should have fainted ; how could you serve 
 me so ? ' : At Plymouth also, when asked if he was a methodist, 
 he said, " Mine is a fine method, is it not ? A methodist ! no ; 
 I wish I was. If any are right, they are." 
 
 Whitefield found in Plymouth and its neighbourhood many 
 proofs, that his former visit had been very useful. Next to the 
 conversion of Kinsman, no case pleased him so much as that of 
 a young man, "now a preacher," who had then ascended a tree, 
 to hear and mock. His levity had drawn the notice of White- 
 field, who exclaimed, " Come down, Zaccheus, come down, and 
 receive the Lord Jesus Christ. The word was backed with 
 power. He heard, came down, believed, and now adorns the 
 gospel." Letter to Lady Huntingdon. 
 
 He had also the pleasure, at this time, to administer the sa- 
 crament to a whole family, " who had no pastor." " It was an 
 affecting sight," he says ; " two parents presenting two daugh- 
 ters and a son, in the most solemn manner, for the first time, 
 to be communicants. I received them with all joy." 
 
 It was not all sunshine, however, in Devonshire. He was 
 rudely treated at Tavistock. The rabble brought a bull and 
 
359 
 
 dogs, and created much disturbance whilst he was praying. 
 He managed, however, to preach down the uproar. At Exeter, 
 also, a man came prepared to knock him on the head with a 
 stone, whenever the sermon should furnish an offensive ex- 
 pression. He stood with the stone in his hand. He could find 
 no fault. The sermon soon interested him so, that the stone 
 dropped from his hand. Then his heart melted. After the 
 service he went to Whitefield, and said with tears, " Sir, I 
 came to break your head; but God has given me a broken 
 heart." 
 
 Whitefield now returned to London in high health, after an 
 itineracy in the west of 600 miles. He came back, however, 
 " with a kind of fear and trembling," lest his health should 
 break down in the city, and thus unfit him tf to speak to the 
 great and the noble, so as to win them to Jesus." But he soon 
 rid himself of this fear, by his old maxim, " I throw myself 
 blindfold into my Master's hands." The bishop of Exeter's 
 pamphlet also, " The Enthusiasm of the Methodists and Papists 
 compared," came out at this time, and created a stir, which 
 helped him to forget his fears. He began immediately to an- 
 swer it, and made greater efforts than ever to ingratiate the 
 truth with the aristocracy. But this kind of work did not 
 suit him. 
 
 He was equally out of his element at his own desk, and in 
 Lady Huntingdon's drawing-room. Accordingly, in a month, 
 he was too ill to hold a pen. He therefore started off on a new 
 itineracy ; and by the time he reached Portsmouth, he was him- 
 self again. The night after his arrival, he preached to many 
 thousands ; and with such power, in spite of disturbance, that 
 the chief opposer was conquered, and received him into his 
 house with tears of shame and joy. Indeed, many who, a few 
 days before, had been speaking all manner of evil of him, were 
 soon urgent with him to prolong his visit. But Wales was wait- 
 ing for him, and he could not stay long. 
 
 In the Principality he had soon the pleasure, as in the days of 
 old, to see "Jesus riding an in the chariot of the everlasting gos- 
 pel." He now found all towns open, and all justices and magis- 
 trates civil. On some occasions his audience amounted to twenty 
 
360 VVHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 thousand persons. He himself computed the whole number he 
 addressed, in eight Welch counties, at more than a hundred 
 thousand ; and adds, " I think we have not had one dry meet- 
 ing." So complete was his ascendancy in Wales now, that 
 " not a dog stirred a tongue," during his circuit of eight hun- 
 dred miles. From this vantage ground, he made a powerful 
 appeal to Hervey, in the hope of drawing him into the fields. 
 " Had you seen the simplicity of so many dear souls, I am per- 
 suaded you would have said, Sit anima mea cum methodistis" . 
 But Hervey was too weak for field work. Whitefield himself 
 broke down after this mighty effort, and was for some days at 
 " the gates of the grave." 
 
 He returned to London to welcome his wife home from Ber- 
 mudas. On her arrival he learned that his character had been 
 aspersed in the island by one of the clergy. But whilst he did 
 not overlook this calumny altogether, he merely sent out the 
 following answer ; " I am content to wait until the day of judg- 
 ment for the clearing up of my character ; and after I am dead, 
 I desire no other epitaph than this, Here lies George White- 
 field. What sort of a man he was, the great day will discover" 
 He then arranged his London affairs, and started again for the 
 fields. 
 
 On his arrival at Bristol, he was told that the bishop of W. 
 (Wells ?) had charged him with perjury at the pump-rooms. 
 The bishop had not, however, used the word perjury. He had 
 only left others to give a name to his picture of violated ordi- 
 nation vows. Indeed, the question had a parliamentary settle- 
 ment on both sides. Whitefield said, that he vowed to obey 
 only "godly admonitions." And the bishop meant " nothing 
 personal." 
 
 In a few days after, Whitefield set out for Exeter, by way of 
 Wellington. At this time he does not appear to have known 
 Darracott, whom he afterward designated, " The Star of the 
 West; 99 transferring the title from its first owner, Hieron. In- 
 deed, he would have rode through Wellington without stopping, 
 had not a woman recognised him in the street. She implored 
 him to alight, and give the people a sermon. When he com- 
 plied, she soon spread the news, and " a great company " came 
 
361 
 
 to hear him. He was so pleased, that he preached next day to 
 a still larger audience. It does not appear that Darracott at- 
 tended either sermon. He made ample amends, however, af- 
 terwards. 
 
 One reason of Whitefield's visit to the west, at this time, was 
 (although perhaps he hardly acknowledged it to himself) to see 
 how his letter to the bishop of Exeter had been received. He 
 found, in his own circle there, that it had been " much blest." 
 He learnt, also, that " my lord of Exeter had said, he wrote 
 like an honest man, and has recanted several things;" but, 
 added Lavington, " he goes on in the same way yet." He did. 
 He went to Exeter, and appeared in the fields again. The 
 bishop, therefore, threatened another pamphlet. Lavington 
 could do more against methodists than write. About this time, 
 he threatened to strip the gown from one of his own clergy, who 
 was methodistical, and countenanced Whitefield. The bishop 
 was saved the trouble. That moment the clergyman stripped 
 himself, saying, " I can preach the gospel without a gown ;" 
 and retired. Lavington was then glad to " send for him, and 
 soothe him :" but he indemnified himself for this condescension, 
 by publishing immediately the second part of his " Enthusiasm 
 compared." Whitefield had good reason, as well as great pro- 
 vocation, to say of both parts, " The bishop has served the me- 
 thodists, as the bishop of Constance served John Huss, when he 
 ordered painted devils to be put round his head, before burning 
 him." He did not answer him. He did better. He went to 
 Exeter, accompanied by a rural dean, to preach the gospel as 
 usual ; and divine influence accompanied the word. " This," 
 he says, " is, I think, the best way to answer those who oppose 
 themselves." He preached there twice on the same day. In 
 the evening, the bishop and several of his clergy stood near to 
 him, and saw ten thousand people awe-struck by his appeals. 
 They saw also three large stones thrown at his head in suc- 
 cession, by a ftirious drunkard, one of which cut him deeply ; 
 but neither the high priest nor his Levites interfered, although 
 one of their own parishioners also was felled to the ground at 
 the same time. Letter to Lady H. 
 
 Next week he returned to London, and found some of the 
 
 3* 
 
362 
 
 pious peeresses waiting to receive the sacrament from him. He 
 spent a few days at home, and then started off for Yorkshire. 
 There he visited Grimshaw, at Haworth, and administered the 
 sacrament to above a thousand communicants in the church. 
 When he preached, the churchyard was crowded. On a future 
 occasion, when preaching in the church, he had such a high 
 opinion of the pastor, that he took for granted the piety of the 
 flock. " No, no, Sir," said good Grimshaw aloud, " the half of 
 them are not converted by the grace of God. Speak to them 
 faithfully." It is easy to conceive the effect of such an appeal 
 on Whitefield. It was just the kind and manner of appeal, to 
 set him on fire. It would have disconcerted almost any other 
 man ; but it was vantage ground to him. 
 
 He went from Haworth to Leeds, at the invitation, he says, 
 " of one of Mr. Wesley's preachers, and by all his people." He 
 was also introduced into their pulpit at Newcastle, by Charles 
 Wesley, who, meeting him by the way, turned back to accom- 
 pany him. This gratified him so much, that he preached four 
 times in their rooms at Newcastle ; but he was obliged, at last, 
 to go into the open air, to meet the crowds. At Leeds both 
 the crowds and the commotion were immense. So much so, 
 that he returned back upon it, after visiting some other parts of 
 Yorkshire and Lancashire. 
 
 During this tour, he won to Christ many of the men, who 
 laid the foundations of not a few of the flourishing churches in 
 these counties. He met, however, with as much " rude treat- 
 ment," here and there in both, as sent him home praying, " Lord, 
 give me a pilgrim heart, for my pilgrim life." 
 
 On his arrival in London, he found many urgent invitations 
 awaiting him from Ireland ; and the Cork riots had awakened 
 his sympathies for the sufferers ; but although he used his influ- 
 ence on their behalf with the great, and sent them word of this, 
 he was afraid lest a visit might be deemed an intrusion upon the 
 Wesleyan sphere. Besides, the PRIMATE of Ireland wished to 
 give him preferment ; a thing he did not wish for. 
 
 He was now ee in winter quarters ;" but he w r as not idle nor 
 useless. To use his own words, " the glory of the Lord filled 
 the tabernacle, and the shout of a King was in the camp," from 
 
363 
 
 week to week. " Thousands, thousands crowded to hear." 
 Every day, also, he heard of instances of conversion. One in- 
 stance pleased him very much. It was that of a boatswain, who 
 before hearing him, knew no more about divine truth, " than the 
 whistle he blew on board." He particularizes also a boy of eleven 
 years of age, a woman of eighty, and a baker, who had been " a 
 Jerusalem sinner." 
 
 At this time, his intended college occupied much of his atten- 
 tion. He wrote in all directions, in order to make friends to 
 the plan. His usual appeal was, " We propose having an aca- 
 demy or college at the orphan-house. The house is large ; it 
 will hold a hundred. My heart, I trust, is larger, and will hold 
 ten thousand." 
 
 Still, his heart was in America. London did not, he says, 
 " agree with his outward man." " RANGING seems my pro- 
 vince ; and methinks I hear a voice behind me saying, This is 
 the way, walk in it. My heart echoes back, Lord, let thy pre- 
 sence go along with me, and then send me where thou pleasest." 
 That America would have pleased himself best, is evident from 
 the following apostrophe, " In the midst of all, America, dear 
 America ! is not forgotten. I begin to count the days, and to 
 say to the months, ' Fly fast away, that I may spread the gospel 
 net once more in dear America ! ' ' This is delightful. It must 
 be gratifying to American Christians to be thus reminded of the 
 place which their country held in Whitefield's heart a century 
 ago. It is gratifying to me to tell them, that we did not learn 
 from Whitefield, but from the revivals and missionary spirit in 
 their own churches, to say, " America, dear America." When 
 will they fulfil our joy, and be likeminded with us on the subject 
 of slavery ? Surely no one will quote Whitefield against us ! 
 
 Another object lay near to Whitefield's heart. It was during 
 this winter's quarters, that he formed the design of identifying 
 Lady Huntingdon with his societies the only plan he ever laid 
 for perpetuating them. He saw her a Dorcas, at " that dead 
 place" Ashby Place, and felt that she might and ought to be 
 a Phoebe. She had used her influence, at his solicitation, with 
 the court and the government, on behalf of the sufferers in the 
 Cork riots ; and had readily patronized such poor or persecuted 
 
364 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 ministers, as he brought under her notice. All this, and the 
 want of a leader, led him to seek her patronage, especially for 
 his societies in the west end of the town. 
 
 How he opened the subject to her, I have been unable to dis- 
 cover. It does not seem, however, to have been ill received : 
 for she desired the public prayers of the Tabernacle for herself 
 at the time ; (not, of course, in reference to this matter ;) and 
 Whitefield read that part of her letter to the people, and in- 
 formed her, that " thousands heartily joined in singing the fol- 
 lowing verses for her Ladyship : " 
 
 " Gladly we join to pray for those 
 Who rich with worldly honour shine, 
 Who dare to own a Saviour's cause, 
 And in that hated cause to join : 
 Yes, we would praise Thee, that a few 
 Love Thee, though rich and noble too. 
 
 " Uphold this star in thy right hand, 
 Crown her endeavours with success ; 
 Among the great ones may she stand, 
 A witness of thy righteousness, 
 Till many nobles join thy train, 
 And triumph in the Lamb that 's slain." 
 
 All this was in bad taste on both sides, however well meant 
 or meekly taken. In the same letter, he said to her, " A leader 
 is wanting. This honour hath been put upon your Ladyship 
 by the great Head of the church : an honour conferred on few ; 
 but an earnest of one to be put on your Ladyship before men 
 and angels, when time shall be no more. That you may every 
 day add to the splendour of your future crown, by always abound- 
 ing in the work of the Lord, is the fervent prayer of ." 
 
 How much " leader " means, in this document, or how far, if 
 at all, it refers to the Tabernacle, I cannot judge. 
 
 In the midst of all these attentions from and to nobility, 
 Whitefield did not forget nor overlook his aged mother. A 
 woman had neglected to procure for him some things he had 
 ordered for her. A week's delay was thus occasioned. The 
 moment he discovered this, he wrote, " I should never forgive 
 
365 
 
 myself, was I, by negligence or any wrong conduct, to give you 
 a moment's needless pain. Alas, how little I have done for you ! 
 Christ's care for his mother excites me to wish I could do any 
 thing for you. If you would have any thing more brought, pray 
 write, honoured mother ! " 
 
 On this occasion he reminded her of his age. " To-morrow, it 
 will be thirty-five years since you brought unworthy me into 
 the world. Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes foun- 
 tains of tears, that I might bewail my barrenness and unfruitful- 
 ness in the church of God." About the same time he wrote 
 thus to Lady Huntingdon, " Next Saturday I am thirty-five 
 years old: I am ashamed to think how little I do or suffer 
 for Christ. Fye upon me, fye upon me ! " 
 
 These anecdotes are, I know, little ; but they reveal much of 
 Whitefield's real character : and surely his deep self-abasement 
 before God, may be allowed to balance his self-complacency in 
 the patronage of the countess and her " elect ladies." His 
 compliments to them admit of no excuse. They are almost as 
 many and fulsome, as the flatteries which used to be addressed 
 to the royal and noble patrons of Bible Societies. Those who 
 remember that incense, and the assemblies which offered it, will 
 hardly wonder, however much they deplore, that a poor method- 
 ist burnt more incense to rank, than was wise or seemly. 
 Whitefield was not constitutionally humble, bold, or unam- 
 bitious. It took " twice seven years " of " pretty close intimacy 
 with contempt," he says, to make contempt an " agreeable com- 
 panion " to him. Like Paul, he had to learn contentment. " I 
 did not like to part with my pretty character at first. It was 
 death to be despised ; and worse than death to think of being 
 laughed at by all. God knows how to train us up gradually for 
 the war. He often makes me bold as a lion ; but I believe 
 there is not a person living more timorous by nature. I find, 
 a love of power sometimes intoxicates even God's dear children. 
 It is much easier for me to obey than govern. This makes me 
 fly from that which, at our first setting out, we are too apt to 
 court. I cannot well buy humility at too dear a rate." Letters. 
 
 At this time, Whitefield was not unknown at court, nor his 
 elect ladies unnoticed by the king. On one occasion, Lady 
 
366 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Chesterfield appeared in a dress, <f with a brown ground and sil- 
 ver flowers/ 5 of foreign manufacture. The king came up to her, 
 smiling significantly. He then laughed aloud, and said, <s I 
 know who chose that gown for you, Mr. Whitefield : I hear 
 you have attended on him for a year .and a half." Her Lady- 
 ship confessed she had, and avowed her approbation of him. 
 She also regretted deeply afterwards, that she had not said more 
 whilst she had such an opportunity. The secretary of state 
 also assured him, that " no hurt was designed by the state " to 
 the methodists. He had gone to the secretary, accompanied 
 by a dissenting minister, Mr. G. (query Dr. Gifford ?) to " open 
 the case " of the Irish brethren. The outrages committed upon 
 them, brought him nearer to the dissenters and the Wesleyans. 
 They had now a common cause. Accordingly, he was invited 
 to preach in the Wesleyan chapel. Mr. Wesley read the prayers 
 for him ; and next time Whitefield read them, before Mr. Wes- 
 ley preached, and then united with him in administering the 
 sacrament. This delighted him much. " Oh for love and gra- 
 titude ! " he exclaims, ff I have now preached thrice in Mr. 
 Wesley's chapel, and God was with us of a truth." 
 
 He was now tired of London, and relapsing into his old com- 
 plaints. The fact is, he had giovmjield-sick ; for that was Ms 
 home-sickness. Accordingly, he started for the west of Eng- 
 land again, and although rain and hail pelted him in his field 
 pulpits, he preached " about twenty times in eight or nine days." 
 The moment he was in his own element, he saw every thing in 
 his old lights. Hence he says, " Every thing I meet with seems 
 to carry this voice with it, c Go thou and preach the gospel ; 
 be a pilgrim on earth ; have no party or certain dwelling-place.' 
 My heart echoes back, Lord Jesus, help me to do or suffer thy 
 will. When thou seest me in danger of nestling, in pity in 
 tender pity, put a thorn in my nest, to prevent me from it." 
 
 Whilst at Bristol, Charles Wesley talked with him about 
 preaching in the new Wesleyan room ; but it does not appear to 
 have been much desired. Accordingly, Whitefield says, " / 
 said but little." He found, however, a larger sphere. He was 
 allowed to preach from the window of Smith's Hall, and thus 
 many thousands heard him. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES 367 
 
 From Bristol he went to Wellington, and became the welcome 
 guest of Darracott, whom he calls " a flaming and successful 
 preacher of the gospel." Good Darracott had just lost three 
 lovely children. Two of them had died on " the Saturday even- 
 ing before the sacrament : but," says Whitefield, " weeping did 
 not prevent sowing. He preached the next day, and administered 
 as usual. Our Lord strengthened him ; and, for his three natural, 
 gave him above thirty spiritual, children; and he is likely to 
 have many more. He has ventured his little all for Christ : 
 and, last week, a saint died who left him and his heirs 200 in 
 land. Did ever any one trust in God, and was forsaken ? " 
 
 This interview with Darracott, who had also suffered much 
 reproach in the service of Christ, and an interview with Pearsall 
 of Taunton, who had been a preacher of righteousness before 
 Whitefield was born, had an inspiring influence upon him. " I 
 began to take the field again at his dwelling," he says, " for the 
 spring ! I begin to legin to spend and be spent for Him who 
 shed his own dear heart's blood for me. He makes ranging 
 exceedingly pleasant. I want more tongues, more bodies, more 
 souls, for the Lord Jesus. Had I ten thousand, He should 
 have them all." In this state of mind he visited many parts of 
 Devonshire and Cornwall. At Gwinnop, he preached to a large 
 audience, although the clergyman had preached a virulent ser- 
 mon against him in the morning. This worthy had said on 
 Saturday, " Now Whitefield is coming I must put on my old 
 armour." He did. Whitefield says, " It did but little execu- 
 tion, because not Scripture-proof ; consequently, not out of 
 God's armoury. I preached to many thousands. The rain drop- 
 ped gently upon our bodies, and the grace of God seemed to fall 
 like a gentle dew, sprinkling rain upon our souls." Thus in 
 Cornwall, " an unthought-of and unexpectedly wide door " was 
 opened. He preached in many churches, and the power of God 
 came down so, that even the ministers were overcome. Such 
 was the flying of doves to their windows there, that he ceased 
 for a time to long for the wings of a dove to flee away to America. 
 
 He returned to London much improved in health and spirits ; 
 and, having rested a few days, he visited Doddridge and Her- 
 vey, in order to promote a public subscription for the New 
 
368 
 
 Jersey college. Doddridge entered warmly into the plan ; nobly 
 hazarding all the consequences of associating with the man whom 
 the Coward trust despised. Whitefield appreciated his kind- 
 ness : " I thank you a thousand times/' he says, " for your 
 kindness, and assure you it is reciprocal. Gladly shall I call 
 upon you again at Northampton." In this letter, he informed 
 the Doctor, that Lady Huntingdon was to write to him that 
 night, and thus playfully prepared him for her news : " She is 
 strangely employed now. Can you guess ? The kind people of 
 Ashby stirred up some of the baser sort to riot before her Lady- 
 ship's door, whilst the gospel was preaching. Some of the peo- 
 ple narrowly escaped being murdered, in their way home. The 
 justice has ordered to bring the offenders before him." To her 
 Ladyship he said on this occasion, " I trust you will live to 
 see many of these Ashby stones become children to Abraham." 
 
 Soon after this he went again into Yorkshire. At Rother- 
 ham, he says, " Satan rallied his forces. The crier was em- 
 ployed to give notice of a bear-baiting. You may guess who 
 was the bear I However, I preached twice. The drum was 
 heard, and several watermen attended with great staves. The 
 constable was struck, and two of the mobbers apprehended, but 
 rescued afterwards. But all this does not come up to the kind 
 usage of the people of Ashby ! " Sheffield and Leeds, he found 
 to be a new and warmer climate. Lancashire, however, he still 
 found to be but cold to him. All was quiet at Manchester, and 
 he humbly hoped " some had enlisted ;" but no great impres- 
 sion was made, although thousands attended. Liverpool he did 
 not visit, at this time. At Bolton, a drunkard stood up to 
 preach behind him ; and the wife of the person who lent him 
 the field, twice attempted to stab the workman who put up the 
 stand for him. This roused him, and he bore down all oppo- 
 sition by a torrent of eloquence, which quite exhausted him. In 
 the night, however, some of the Boltoners got into the barn and 
 stables where his chaise and horses were put up, and cut both 
 shamefully. This he called, " Satan showing his teeth." 
 
 From this quarter, he went into Cumberland ; new ground to 
 him. At Kendal, " such entrance was made as could not have 
 been expected." The impression was so great under his first 
 
369 
 
 sermon, that he could not forget it when he left, and therefore 
 he returned to confirm " the souls of the disciples." At Ulver- 
 ston, also, much good was done. " There," he says, " Satan 
 made some small resistance : a clergyman, who looked more 
 like a butcher than a minister, came with two others, and charged 
 a constable with me. But I never saw a poor creature sent off 
 in such disgrace." 
 
 Further particulars of this northern itineracy would only 
 present similar alternations of insult and success. He preached 
 " ahove ninety times, and to a hundred and forty thousand 
 people," on this route from London to Edinburgh, where he 
 arrived in the beginning of July. 
 
 " He was received," says Gillies, " as usual, in the most tender 
 and loving manner ; preaching generally twice a day to great mul 
 titudes, whose seriousness and earnest desire to hear him, made 
 him exert himself beyond his strength." " By preaching always 
 twice," (he says,) " and once thrice, and once four times, in a day, 
 I am quite weakened ; but I hope to recruit again. I am burn- 
 ing with a fever, and have a violent cold : but Christ's presence 
 makes me smile at pain, and the fire of His love burns up all 
 fevers whatsoever." 
 
 Whitefield's own estimate of this visit to Scotland, was very 
 high. He says, " I shall have reason to all eternity to bless 
 God for it. I have reason to think that many are under con- 
 victions, and am assured of hundreds having received great 
 benefit and consolation. Not a dog moved his tongue all the 
 while I was there, and many enemies were glad to be at peace 
 with me. Oh that I may spring afresh ! " 
 
 On his return to London, he was received with great joy both 
 at the Tabernacle and West-Street. During his stay, Hervey 
 came up on a visit, and resided with him, and Wesley met with 
 them occasionally. As may be supposed, they had much " sweet 
 fellowship." But even that could not divert him from the fields 
 long. It was now autumn ; and, therefore, he resolved to work 
 hard before going into winter quarters. Chatham owes much to 
 this resolution ! The awakening produced by his visit he calls 
 " as promising a work as in almost any part of England." It re- 
 acted also upon Sheerness. There a few pious people won the con- 
 
370 
 
 fidence of good Shrubsole, and drew him on step by step to read 
 and pray amongst them, until he became a minister, although 
 without relinquishing his office in the dock -yard. In reference 
 to this, he said, " I am accounted a phenomenon, there never 
 having been a preaching master mast-maker before. Howevej, 
 I know there has been a preaching Carpenter, of the most ex- 
 alted rank, and this blessed person I am resolved, by the grace 
 of God, to imitate while I live." He did. Mr. Shrubsole wrote 
 a " Pilgrim's Progress," in which he has drawn the character 
 of Whitefield with great accuracy, and sustained it with much 
 effect, under the name, Fervidus. He wrote also an elegy on White- 
 field's death, quite equal to any thing of the kind which appeared 
 on that occasion. His " Pilgrim, or Christian Memoirs," pre- 
 sents, perhaps, a fairer and fuller view of the state of religion in 
 England at this time, than any other contemporary book. A 
 new edition of it was published by his son, the late William 
 Shrubsole, Esq., secretary of the Bank, in 1807 ; a name iden- 
 tified with the formation of all our great catholic societies, and 
 worthy of the distinguished place given to it in Dr. Morrison's 
 " Fathers and Founders of the London Missionary Society." 
 And it was not in these societies alone that he did honour to his 
 father's name and spirit. He was also the chief coadjutor of 
 Thomas Wilson, Esq., the founder of Highbury College, (then 
 Hoxton) and endeared himself to a long succession of students, 
 by his paternal hospitalities, counsels, and courtesies. An 
 evening in his family circle, in the Bank Chambers, with its 
 music, urbanity, ease, anecdote, and hallowed fellowship, was 
 an event then in the early history of not a few, who have since 
 distinguished themselves as " able Ministers of the New Testa- 
 ment." 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD IN IRELAND. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S connexion with Ireland was too slight to impress 
 any character upon the religion of the country, or even to give 
 an impulse to it. His preaching won souls ; but it set in mo- 
 tion no evangelizing enterprise, except the itineracy of the cele- 
 brated John Cennick, who obtained for the methodists in Ire- 
 land the nick-name of swaddlers, by a Christmas sermon. His 
 text was, " Ye shall find the babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, 
 lying in a manger." A catholic who was present, and to whom 
 the language of Scripture was a novelty, says Dr. Southey, 
 " thought this so ludicrous, that he called the preacher a swad- 
 dler, in derision ; and this unmeaning word became the nick- 
 name of the methodists, and had all the effect of the most op- 
 probrious appellation." It had indeed ! When persecution arose 
 against the Wesleys and their adherents, the watchword of the 
 mob was, <( Five pounds for a swaddler's head ! " " Anti-swad- 
 dlers " was a name chosen for themselves, by the popish party, 
 and even avowed by them at the trial of the rioters. A public 
 notice was posted up at the Exchange, with the writer's name 
 affixed to it, in which he offered to head any mob that would 
 pull down any house that should harbour a swaddler. And 
 houses were demolished, and much furniture destroyed. Nor 
 was this all. In Cork, Butler's mob fell upon men and women, 
 old and young, with clubs and swords, and beat and wounded 
 them in a dreadful manner. Even the mayor told one of the 
 complainants, whose house was beset and about to be pulled 
 down, that if he would not " turn the preachers out," he must 
 take whatever he might get. The sheriff also sent a poor 
 
372 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 woman to Bridewell, for expressing regret at seeing the vagabond 
 ballad-singer, Butler, going about in the dress of a clergyman, 
 with the Bible in one hand, and ballads in the other. Moore's 
 Life of Wesley. Mr. Wesley himself describes, what he calls, 
 " Cork persecution," thus; "breaking the houses of his Majes- 
 ty's protestant subjects, destroying their goods, spoiling or 
 tearing the very clothes from their backs ; striking, bruising, 
 wounding, murdering them in the streets ; dragging them 
 through the mire, without any regard to age or sex ; not sparing 
 even those of tender years ; no, nor women, though great with 
 child; but, with more than pagan or Turkish barbarity, de- 
 stroying infants that were yet unborn." 
 
 These enormities were well nigh over before Whitefield visit- 
 ed Ireland. The higher powers had interfered, when they found 
 that the lower were nearly as low as Butler. Whitefield found 
 the benefit of the shield which Wesley so much needed, and so 
 nobly won. He had, however, preached in Ireland before 
 Wesley visited it; which was in 1747. In 1738, Whitefield 
 touched there, on his return from America, weak and weary, 
 after a tedious and famishing voyage. When he landed from 
 the vessel, " we had," he says, " but half a pint of water left, 
 and my stomach was exceeding weak through long abstinence. 
 Most of us begin to be weak, and look hollow-eyed. My clothes 
 have not been off, except to change, all the passage. Part of 
 the time I lay on open deck, part on a chest, and the remainder 
 on a bedstead covered with my buffalo's skin." He was wel- 
 comed at a " strong castle," where, he says, " I asked the ser- 
 vant for water, and she gave me milk, and brought forth butter 
 in a lordly dish. And never did I make a more comfortable 
 meal!" 
 
 After resting for a day or two at Kilrush to renew his 
 strength, he went to Limerick, where the bishop, Dr. Burs- 
 cough, received him with much hospitality and candour. His 
 Lordship requested him to preach in the cathedral on Sunday, 
 and on parting with him kissed him, and said, " Mr. Whitefield, 
 God bless you ; I wish you success abroad ; had you staid in 
 town, this house should have been your home." This welcome 
 was the more gratifying, because his sermon had agitated the 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 373 
 
 people. In walking about the town next day, " all the inha- 
 bitants," he says, " seemed alarmed, and looked most wishfully 
 at me as I passed along." The contrast in his circumstances, 
 also, affected him very deeply. " Good God ! " he exclaims, 
 " where was I on Saturday last ? In hunger, cold, and thirst- 
 ing ; but now I enjoy fulness of bread, and all things convenient 
 for me. God grant I may not, Jeshurun-like, wax fat, and 
 kick ! Perhaps it is more difficult to know how to abound, than 
 how to want." 
 
 From Limerick he went to Dublin, where he preached twice 
 in the churches ; the second time to such a rivetted crowd, that 
 he calls it, "like a London congregation." Here also the 
 bishops were neither afraid nor ashamed of him. The primate 
 of all Ireland invited him to dinner, and told him that he heard 
 of him from Gibraltar. The bishop of Londonderry also was 
 equally kind. Whitefield felt all this deeply, and rejoiced with 
 trembling. " Dearest Jesus," he exclaims, " grant me humility ; 
 so shall thy favours not prove my ruin." 
 
 Such was his first reception in Ireland. His second, in 1751, 
 although upon the whole favourable, was not " like unto it." 
 He was now a field preacher, and just hot from Wales, where 
 he had been preaching twice a day, over a space of 500 miles. 
 He began his labour in Dublin, and found at once large con- 
 gregations hearing, " as for eternity." In Limerick and Cork, 
 also, his commanding eloquence overawed the old persecutors. 
 The public cry was, " Methodism is revived again ;" but it was 
 the signal of welcome, not of war, as formerly. At this time he 
 was both very weak in body, and subject to daily vomiting. 
 During this visit, he preached eighty times, and with great suc- 
 cess. " Providence," says he, " has wonderfully prepared my 
 way, and overruled every thing for my greater acceptance. 
 Every where there seems a shaking among the dry bones, and 
 the trembling lamps of God's people have been supplied with 
 fresh oil. The word ran and was glorified." " Hundreds," 
 says Dr. Southey, "prayed for him when he left Cork; and 
 many of the catholics said, that, if he would stay, they would 
 leave their priests." 
 
 One cause of Whitefield's popularity at this time was, that 
 
374 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 he meddled not with Irish politics. " He condemned all poli- 
 tics," says Dr. Southey, " as below the children of God :" but 
 why did the Doctor add, " alluding, apparently, to the decided 
 manner in which Wesley always inculcated obedience to govern- 
 ment as one of the duties of a Christian ; making it his boast, 
 that whoever became a good methodist, became at the same 
 time a good subject." Was Whitefield less loyal than Wesley ? 
 When ? Where ? Not in Ireland certainly. I have now be- 
 fore me the letter which justifies the Doctor in hinting that 
 Whitefield " seems to have regarded the conduct of Wesley and 
 his lay-preachers," in Ireland, " with no favourable eye." But 
 why should this be interpreted to mean their politics chiefly, or 
 at all ? Dr. Southey quotes from Whitefield, as if he had said 
 that " some dreadful offences had been given " by the Wes- 
 leyans ; and argues as if they had been political offences. 
 Whitefield himself says, " I find, through the many offences 
 that have lately been given, matters (among the methodists) 
 were brought to a low ebb ; but now the cry is, ' Methodism is 
 revived again.' Thanks be to God, that I have an opportunity 
 of showing my disinterestedness, and that I preach not for a 
 party of my own, but for the common interest of my blessed 
 Master. Your Ladyship " (the letter is to Lady Huntingdon) 
 " would smile to see how the wise have been catched in their 
 own craftiness." Now this justifies the hint, that Whitefield 
 " seems to have regarded their conduct with no favourable eye." 
 Indeed, it is the severest thing I know of, that he says in con- 
 nexion with Wesley's name, for that he meant him, by " the 
 wise caught in their own craftiness," is obvious. It is not " ap- 
 parent," however, that he alluded to "the decided manner in 
 which Wesley inculcated obedience to government." That, in 
 fact, was not a matter of policy, but of vital principle, with 
 Wesley and Whitefield too. Wesley had, however, lines of 
 policy, which Whitefield was jealous of, and opposed to, not 
 without reason. 
 
 Whitefield's last visit to Ireland was in 1757, when he nearly 
 lost his life, after preaching at Oxminton Green. This was 
 popish outrage. The church was not unfriendly to him. In- 
 deed, one of the bishops said to a nobleman, who told White- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 375 
 
 field, " I am glad he is come to rouse the people." Even the 
 primate solicited him to " accept of some considerable church 
 preferment, which he declined." De Courcy. 
 
 " Preferments, honours, ease, he deemed but loss, 
 Vile and contemptible, for Jesus' cross : 
 Inur'd to scandal, injuries, and pain, 
 To him to live was Christ j to die was gain." 
 
 De Courcy 1 s Elegy. 
 
 His own narrative of the outrage is as interesting as it is cir- 
 cumstantial. " Many attacks have I had from Satan's children, 
 but yesterday you would have thought he had been permitted 
 to give me an effectual parting blow. I had once or twice ven- 
 tured out to Oxminton Green, a large place like Moorfields, 
 situated very near the barracks, where the Ormond and Liberty 
 boys, that is, the high and low party boys, generally assemble 
 every Sunday, to fight each other. When I was here last, the 
 congregations were very numerous, and the word seemed to 
 come with power, and no noise nor disturbance ensued. This 
 encouraged me to give notice, that I would preach there again. 
 I went through the barracks, the door of which opens into the 
 Green, and pitched my tent near the barrack walls not doubt- 
 ing of the protection, or at least interposition, of the officers 
 and soldiery, if there should be occasion. But how vain is the 
 help of man ! Vast was the multitude that attended. We sang, 
 prayed, and preached without molestation ; only now and then 
 a few stones and clods of dirt were thrown at me. 
 
 " It being war time, I exhorted, as is my usual practice, my 
 hearers, not only to fear God, but to honour the best of kings ; 
 and after sermon, I prayed for success to the Prussian arms. 
 All being over, I thought to return home the way I came ; but, 
 to my great surprise, access was denied, so that I had to go 
 near half a mile from one end of the Green to the other, through 
 hundreds and hundreds of papists, &c. Finding me unat- 
 tended, (for a soldier and four methodist preachers, who came 
 with me, had forsook me and fled,) I was left to their mercy. 
 But their mercy, as you may easily guess, was perfect cruelty. 
 Volleys of hard stones came from all quarters, and every step I 
 took a fresh stone made me reel backwards and forwards, till I 
 
376 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 was almost breathless, and all over a gore of blood. My strong 
 beaver hat served me as it were for a scull cap for a while ; but 
 at last it was knocked off, and my head left quite defenceless. 
 I received many blows and wounds j one was particularly large, 
 and near my temples. I thought of Stephen, and as I believed 
 that I received more blows, I was in great hopes that like him 
 I should be despatched, and go off in this bloody triumph to the 
 immediate presence of my Master. But providentially a minis- 
 ter's house lay next door to the Green ; with great difficulty I 
 staggered to the door, which was kindly opened to, and shut 
 upon, me. Some of the mob in the mean time having broke 
 part of the boards of the pulpit into large splinters, they beat 
 and wounded my servant grievously in his head and arms, and 
 then came and drove him from the door. For a while I con- 
 tinued speechless, panting for, and expecting every breath to 
 be my last. Two or three of the hearers, my friends, by some 
 means or other, got admission, and kindly with weeping eyes 
 washed my bloody wounds, and gave me something to smell to 
 and to drink. I gradually revived, but soon found the lady of 
 the house desired my absence, for fear the house should be 
 pulled down. What to do I knew not, being near two miles 
 
 from Mr. W 's place ; some advised one thing, and some 
 
 another. At length, a carpenter, one of the friends that came 
 in, offered me his wig and coat, that I might go off in dis- 
 guise. I accepted of and put them on, but was soon ashamed 
 of not trusting my Master to secure me in my proper habit, 
 and threw them off with disdain. I determined to go out 
 (since I found my presence was so troublesome) in my proper 
 habit ; immediately deliverance came. A methodist preacher, 
 with two friends, brought a coach ; I leaped into it, and rode 
 in gospel triumph through the oaths, curses, and imprecations 
 of whole streets of papists unhurt, though threatened every 
 step of the ground. None but those who were spectators of the 
 scene, can form an idea of the affection with which I was received 
 by the weeping, mourning, but now joyful methodists. A chris- 
 tian surgeon was ready to dress our wounds, which being done, 
 I went into the preaching-place, and after giving a word of ex- 
 hortation, joined in a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to Him 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 377 
 
 who makes our extremity his opportunity, who stills the noise 
 of the waves, and the madness of the most malignant people. 
 The next morning I set out for Port Arlington, and left my 
 persecutors to His mercy, who out of persecutors hath often 
 made preachers. That I may be thus revenged of them, is my 
 hearty prayer." 
 
 This kind of revenge he never obtained. Ireland has never 
 produced a Whitefield or a Wesley, notwithstanding all the 
 energy and eloquence of the native character ; and it is a 
 melancholy fact, that no form of Protestantism has ever acquired 
 a wide or powerful influence amongst the pure Irish. This 
 problem is only too easily solved. Any one can account for 
 the fact. There is nothing in the native mind, however, to ex- 
 plain it ; Father Matthew has just demonstrated, in the cause of 
 Temperance, how susceptible that mind is, and how easily it 
 can be wielded \vhen well plied. But nothing really great has 
 been attempted by any Protestant Church in Ireland. Good 
 Preachers have appeared in each of them ; but no Apostles of 
 the Lamb, resolved to conquer or die. Battle has been given 
 to Popery ; but either by ill-sustained champions, or by cham- 
 pions who had more than the Gospel and the souls of men 
 to contend for. Accordingly, the triumphs of both were local 
 and temporary. The former had too little public influence, and 
 the latter too much political patronage. Puseyism also will 
 just fail there, like the other experiments. 
 
 3c 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S CHARACTERISTIC SAYINGS. 
 1734 TO 1745. 
 
 CONTENTMENT. " I find all uneasiness arises from having a 
 will of my own ; therefore I would desire to will only what God 
 wills." 
 
 CONDITION. " Alas ! that any one should inquire after such 
 a wretch as I am. As for my quality ; I was a poor, mean 
 drawer (tapster) ; but, by the grace of God, I am now intended 
 for the ministry. As for my estate ; I am a servitor. And as 
 to my condition and circumstances; I have not (of my own) where 
 to lay my head. But my friends, by God's providence, minister 
 daily to me : and, in return for such unmerited, unspeakable 
 blessings, I trust the same good Being will give me grace to 
 dedicate myself without reserve to his service to spend and be 
 spent for the welfare of my fellow-creatures, and in endeavour- 
 ing to promote the gospel of his Son as much as lieth in my poor 
 power." Whitefield's early purpose turned out an accurate 
 prophecy ! He became what he wished to be, and did what he 
 designed. 
 
 HUMILITY. " Catch an old Christian without humility if you 
 can ! It is nothing but this flesh of ours, and those cursed seeds 
 of the proud apostate, which lie lurking within us, that make us 
 think ourselves worthy of the air we breathe. When our eyes 
 are opened by the influence of divine grace, we then shall begin 
 to think of ourselves ( as we ought to think ;' even that Christ is 
 all in all, and we less than nothing." 
 
 INEXPERIENCE. " Oh let us young, inexperienced soldiers, be 
 always upon our guard. The moment we desert our post, the 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 379 
 
 enemy rushes in : and if he can but so divert our eyes from look- 
 ing heavenward, (often,) he will soon so blind us, that we shall 
 not look towards it at all. A great deal may he learnt from a 
 little fall." 
 
 EXAMPLE. " The degeneracy of the age is not the least ob- 
 jection against advances in piety. It is true, indeed, that in- 
 stances of exalted piety are rarely to be met with in the present 
 age: one would think, if we were to take an estimate of our 
 religion from the lives of most of its professors, that Christianity 
 was nothing but a dead letter. But then it is not our religion 
 but ourselves that is to blame for this." 
 
 Such were some of Whitefield's " first principles," when he 
 began to study at Oxford. How well they lasted, and how much 
 they influenced him, all through life, will appear equally from 
 his history, and from their frequent recurrence in other and 
 more powerful forms, in this sketch of his governing maxims. 
 The sketch itself I have made with some care, in order to illus- 
 trate both his talents and piety ; that those who speak of him, 
 may judge of him from his " sayings," as well as from his " do- 
 ings." Had Dr. Doddridge reviewed the following Miscellany 
 of Wnitefield's maxims, he would have retracted the charge of 
 " weakness " he made against him, and heightened all his eulo- 
 giums on the piety and zeal of his friend. But Doddridge saw 
 Whitefield chiefly, if not only, when Whitefield had preached 
 away all his strength and spirits, in " the great congregations," 
 and could speak only of his work and warfare. Thus he judged 
 of his talents, as a Scotch minister did of his devotion, when he 
 was jaded by hard labour. Posterity will now judge of both 
 for themselves, from the following specimens of both. 
 
 SELF-RENUNCIATION. " What is there so monstrously terri- 
 ble in a doctrine, that is the constant subject of our prayers, 
 whenever we put up that petition, ' Thy will be done on earth as 
 it is in heaven ? ' The import of which seems to be this, that 
 we do every thing God wills, and nothing but what he willeth ; 
 that we do those things he willeth, only because he willeth. This 
 cannot, indeed, be done in a day. We have not only a new house 
 to build up, but also an old one to pull down." 
 
 TEMPTATION. " We find our Saviour was led into the wil- 
 
380 
 
 clerness before he entered upon his public ministry : and so must 
 we too, if we would tread in his steps." 
 
 PRAYERS REQUESTED. " If Pauncefort's petitions for me should 
 run in this manner, I should be thankful : That God should 
 finish the good work he has begun in me ; that I may never seek 
 nor be fond of worldly preferment ; but may employ every mite 
 of those talents it shall please God to intrust me with, to His 
 glory and the church's good; and likewise, that the endeavours 
 of my friends to revive pure religion in the world, may meet with 
 proper success*" 
 
 CONSECRATION. " I can call heaven and earth to witness, that 
 when the bishop laid his hand upon me, I gave myself up a mar- 
 tyr to him who hung upon the cross for me. Known unto him 
 are all future events and contingencies : I have thrown myself 
 blindfold, and I trust without reserve, into His almighty hands." 
 
 FIRST SERMON. " It was my intention to have at least a hun- 
 dred sermons with which to begin my ministry : I have not a 
 single one by me, except one which I sent to a neighbouring 
 clergyman to convince him how unfit I was to take upon me 
 the important work of preaching. He kept it a fortnight, and 
 then sent it back with a guinea for the loan ; telling me he had 
 preached it morning and evening to his congregation, by divid- 
 ing it." 
 
 REPROACH. " Strange, that any one should let a little re- 
 proach deprive them of an eternal crown ! Lord, what is man ! 
 In a short time we shall have praise enough. Heaven will echo 
 with the applause given to the true followers of the Lamb." 
 
 A WIFE'S PORTRAIT. " I live in hopes of seeing you and your 
 wife again (growing in grace) in England. You told me, she 
 desired I would draw her picture ; but, alas ! she has applied to 
 an improper limner. However, though I cannot describe what 
 she is, I can tell what she ought to be : Meek, patient, long- 
 suffering, obedient in all things, not self-willed, not soon angry, 
 no brawler, swift to hear, slow to speak, and ready to every good 
 word and work. But I can no more ; I dare not go on in telling 
 another what she ought to be, when I want so much myself; 
 only this I know, when possessed of those good qualities before- 
 mentioned, she will then be as happy as her heart can wish." 
 
LIFE AM) T1MKS. 381 
 
 MIRACLES. " What need is there for them, now that wo 
 see greater miracles every day done by the power of God's 
 word ? Do not the spiritually blind now see ? Are not the spi- 
 ritually dead now raised, and the leprous souls now cleansed, 
 and have not the poor the gospel preached unto them ? And if 
 we have the thing already, which such miracles were only in- 
 tended to -introduce, why should we tempt God in requiring fur- 
 ther signs ? He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." 
 
 WARNING. " God forbid I should be called, at the great day, 
 
 to say, that my dear Mr. put his hand to the plough and 
 
 turned back unto perdition. Good God ! the thought strikes 
 me as though a dart was shot through my liver. Return, re- 
 turn. My dear friend, I cannot part from you for ever. Do not 
 speak peace to your soul, when there is no peace. Do not turn 
 factor for the devil. Do not prejudice or hurt my brother, and 
 thereby add to the grief you have already occasioned." 
 
 ZEAL. " I love those that thunder out the word. The chris- 
 tian world is in a deep sleep. Nothing but a loud voice can 
 awaken them out of it." 
 
 ZEAL AND PRUDENCE. "Had we a thousand hands and tongues, 
 there is employment enough for them all : people are every where 
 ready to perish for lack of knowledge. As the Lord has been 
 pleased to reveal his dear Son in us, oh let us stir up that gift of 
 God, and with all boldness preach him to others. Freely we 
 have received, freely let us give: what Christ tells us by his 
 Spirit in our closets, that let us proclaim on the house-top. He 
 who sends will protect us. All the devils in hell shall not hurt 
 us, till we have finished our testimony. And then if we should 
 seal it with imprisonment or death, well will it be with us, and 
 happy shall we be evermore ! But the proof of our sincerity 
 will be when we come to the trial. I fear for no one so much 
 as myself." 
 
 IMPATIENCE. " I want to leap my seventy years. I long to 
 be dissolved, to be with Christ. Sometimes it arises from a fear 
 of falling, knowing what a body of sin I carry about me ! Some- 
 times from a prospect of future labours and sufferings, I am out 
 of humour, and wish for death as Elijah did. At others, I am 
 tempted, and then I long to be freed from temptations. But it 
 
382 
 
 is not thus always : there are times when my soul hath such 
 foretastes of God, that I long more eagerly to be with him ; and 
 the frequent prospect of the happiness which the spirits of just 
 men made perfect now enjoy, often carries me, as it were, into 
 another world." 
 
 BUN VAN. " And oh what sweet communion did he enjoy in 
 Bedford gaol ! I really believe a minister will learn more by 
 one month's confinement, than by a year's study." 
 
 BLASTS. " The light that has been given us, is not to be put 
 under a bushel, but on a candlestick. Satan, indeed, by blasts 
 of persecution, will do all he can to put it out. If our light be the 
 light of Christ, those blasts will only cause it to shine the brighter." 
 
 FRIENDS. " Nothing gives me more comfort, next to the 
 assurance of the eternal continuance of God's love, than the pleas- 
 ing reflection of having so many Christian friends to watch with 
 my soul. I wish they would smite me friendly, and reprove me 
 oftener than they do ; I would force my proud heart to thank 
 them." 
 
 CANDOUR. " Success I fear elated my mind. I did not be- 
 have towards you, and other ministers of Christ, with that hu- 
 mility which became me. I freely confess my fault ; I own my- 
 self to be but a novice. Your charity, clear Sir, will excite you 
 to pray that I may not through pride fall into the condemnation 
 of the devil. Dear Sir, shall I come out into the world again 
 or not ? Must I venture myself once more among firebrands, 
 arrows, and death ? Methinks I hear you reply, ' Yes, if you 
 come forth in the strength of the Lord God, and make mention 
 of his righteousness only.' It is my desire so to do. I would 
 have Jesus all in all. Like a pure crystal I would transmit all 
 the light he poureth upon me." 
 
 HUMILITY. " If possible, Satan will make us to think more 
 highly of ourselves than we ought to think. I can tell this by 
 fatal experience. It is not sudden flashes of joy, but having 
 the humility of Christ Jesus, that must denominate us chris- 
 tians. If we hate reproof, we are so far from being true fol- 
 lowers of the Lamb of God, that in the opinion of the wisest of 
 men, we are brutish." 
 
 INGENIOUS FIDELITY. " The principles which I maintain, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 383 
 
 are purely Scriptural, and every way agreeable to the Church of 
 Knglattd Articles. What I have been chiefly concerned about 
 is, lest any should rest in the bare speculative knowledge, and 
 not experience the power of them in their own hearts. What 
 avails it, Sir, if I am a patron for the righteousness of Jesus 
 Christ in behalf of another, if at the same time I am self- 
 righteous myself? I am thus jealous, I trust with a godly 
 jealousy, because I see so many self-deceivers among my ac- 
 quaintance. There is one in particular, (whom I love, and for 
 whom I most heartily pray,) who approves of my doctrine, and 
 hath heard it preached many years past, but I could never hear 
 him tell of his experiences, or of what God has done for his 
 soul. He hath excellent good desires and intentions, but I think 
 he wants something more : Lord, for thy infinite mercy's sake, 
 grant he may know himself even as he is known ! I need not 
 
 tell Mr. D who this dear friend is you are intimately 
 
 acquainted with him ; you love him as you do your own heart ; 
 you are never out of his company. O dear Sir, be not angry. 
 Methinks I hear you, by this time, making an application, and 
 saying, e Then I am the man.' True, dear Sir, I confess you 
 are. But love, love for your better part, your soul, your pre- 
 cious soul, this love constrains me to use this freedom. You 
 are more noble than to take it ill at my hands : I could not bear 
 even to suspect that you deceived yourself, dear Sir, and not 
 tell you such a suspicion was in my heart. That God may 
 powerfully convince you of self-righteousness, and clothe you 
 with the righteousness of his dear Son ; that he may fill you 
 with his grace, and thereby fit you for, and at last translate you 
 to, his glory, is the hearty prayer of, 
 
 dear Sir, 
 your most obliged and affectionate friend, 
 
 and humble servant, 
 
 G. W." 
 
 CATHOLICITY. " I wish all names among the saints of God 
 were swallowed up in that one of Christian. I long for pro- 
 fessors to leave off placing religion in saying, ( I am a church 
 man,' ' I am a dissenter.' My language to such is, ' Are you of 
 Christ ? If so, I love you with all my heart.' " 
 
384 
 
 SELF-KNOWLEDGE. "My heart is like Ezekiel's temple, the 
 further I search into it, the greater abominations I discover ; 
 but there is a fountain opened for sin and all uncleanness." 
 
 GODLY JEALOUSY. " There is nothing I dread more than 
 having my heart drawn away by earthly objects. When that 
 time comes, it will be over with me indeed ; I must then bid 
 adieu to zeal and fervency of spirit, and in effect bid the Lord 
 Jesus to depart from me. For alas, what room can there be for 
 God, when a rival hath taken possession of the heart ? My 
 blood runs cold at the very thought thereof. I cannot, indeed 
 I cannot away with it." 
 
 WONDER. " As for my own part, I often stand astonished 
 at the riches of free distinguishing grace, and I often feel my- 
 self so great a sinner, that I am tempted to think nothing can 
 be blessed which comes from such unhallowed hands and lips ; 
 but yet the Lord is with me, and attends his word with mighty 
 power." 
 
 ASSURANCE. u The root of the matter is twisted round every 
 faculty of the soul, which daily is supported with this assurance, 
 that Christ can no more forsake the soul he loves, than he can 
 forsake himself." 
 
 CONFESSION. " All that people do say of me, affects me but 
 little ; because I know worse of myself than they can say con- 
 cerning me. My heart is desperately wicked. Was God to 
 leave me I should be a remarkable sinner." 
 
 'ZEAL. " Nature would sometimes cry out, ' Spare thyself;' 
 but when I am offering Jesus to poor sinners, I cannot forbear 
 exerting all my powers. Oh that I had a thousand lives ; my 
 dear Lord Jesus should have them all." 
 
 AFFLICTION. " Well may God afflict me ; I richly deserve 
 it ; and when he brings me low, nothing grieves me so much, as 
 to think that I should be so froward, as to oblige the God of love 
 to strike me with his rod. But, oh the goodness of the Lord ! 
 His rod, as well as staff, do comfort and build up my soul. I 
 would not but be tried for ten thousand worlds. Blessed be God, 
 I am enabled to clasp the cross, and desire to glory in nothing 
 more." 
 
 LUTHER. " I find Luther's observation to be true : ( Times 
 
385 
 
 if reformation are times of confusion ;' as yet the churches in 
 America are quiet, but I expect a sifting time ere long." 
 
 AMERICA. " I am more and more in love with the good old 
 puritans ; I am pleased at the thoughts of sitting down hereafter 
 with the venerable Cotton, Norton, Elliot, and that great cloud 
 of witnesses, which first crossed the western ocean for the sake 
 of the gospel, and the faith once delivered to the saints. At 
 present, my soul is so filled, that I can scarce proceed." 
 
 PARLIAMENT. " Though I scarce know an oak from a hickory, 
 or one kind of land from another, I am subpoenaed to appear 
 before parliament, to give an account of the condition of the 
 province of Georgia, when I left it." 
 
 ASSURANCE. " As for assurance, I cannot but think all who 
 are truly converted must know that there was a time in which 
 they closed with Christ : but then, as so many have died only 
 with an humble hope, and have been even under doubts and 
 fears, though they could not but be looked upon as Christians, 
 I am less positive than once I was, lest haply I should condemn 
 some of God's dear children. The farther we go in the spi- 
 ritual life, the more cool and rational shall we be, and yet more 
 truly zealous. I speak this by experience." 
 
 HOLY FIRE. " I desire that none of my wildfire may be 
 mixed with the pure fire of holy zeal coming from God's altar. 
 I think it my duty to wait, to go on simply in preaching the 
 everlasting gospel, and I believe we shall yet see the salvation 
 of God." 
 
 FIELD PREACHING. " Every one hath his proper gift. Field 
 preaching is my plan. In this I am carried as on eagles' 
 wings." 
 
 PHARISEES. " I find no such enemies to the cross of Christ, 
 as those who keep up the form of religion, and are orthodox in 
 their notions, but are ignorant of an experimental acquaintance 
 with Jesus." 
 
 PUNNING. " Once in my sermon I said, ( Oh that New Eng- 
 land w as full of new creatures ! ' : 
 
 CATHOLIC SPIRIT. "I talk freely with the Messrs. Wes- 
 ley, though we widely differ in a certain point. Most talk of 
 a catholic spirit ; but it is only till they have brought people 
 
 3D 
 
386 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 into the pale of their own church. This is downright secta- 
 rianism, not Catholicism. How can I act consistently, unless I 
 receive and love all the children of God, whom I esteem to he 
 such, of whatever denomination they may he ? Why should we 
 dispute when there is no probability of convincing ? I think 
 this is not giving up the faith, but fulfilling our Lord's new 
 command, ' Love one another ;' and our love is but feigned, 
 unless it produces proper effects. I am persuaded, the more 
 the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, the more all nar- 
 rowness of spirit will subside and give way : besides, so far as 
 we are narrow-spirited, we are uneasy. Prejudices, jealousies, 
 and suspicions make the soul miserable, so far as they are en- 
 tertained." 
 
 ZEAL. " Those who are not solidly established in the love 
 of God, will fall too much in love with the outward form of their 
 particular church, be it what it will. But as the love of God 
 gets the ascendency, the more they will be like him and his 
 holy angels, and consequently rejoice when souls are brought to 
 Jesus, whatever instruments may be made use of for that pur- 
 pose. If therefore some that you and I know, are too confined 
 (as I believe is too much the case) ; if they do not preach more 
 frequently, and abound more in good works ; I think it is for 
 want of having their hearts more inflamed with the love of God, 
 and their graces kept in more constant exercise. To stir up 
 the gift of God that is in us, is an apostolical injunction ; and 
 if we do not keep upon our watch, we shall fall into a false still- 
 ness. Nature loves ease ; and as a blind zeal often prompts us 
 to speak too much, so tepidity and lukewarmness often cause us 
 to speak too little. Divine wisdom alone is profitable to direct ; 
 and I would be very cautious how I speak, lest I should take 
 too much upon me." 
 
 BIGOTRY. " Disputing with bigots and narrow-spirited people 
 will not do. I intend henceforward to say less to them, and 
 pray more and more to our Lord for them. ' Lord, enlarge 
 their hearts,' is my continual prayer for such, who are so strait- 
 ened in their own bowels. Blessed be God, this partition-wall 
 is breaking down daily in some of our old friends' hearts in 
 London. I exhort all to go where they can profit most. I 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 387 
 
 preach what I believe to be the truth, and then leave it to the 
 Spirit of God to make the application. When we have done 
 this, I think we have gone to the utmost bounds of our com- 
 mission." 
 
 LIFE AND DEATH. " ' Why are you reconciled to life ? ' Be- 
 cause I can do that for Jesus on earth, which I cannot do in 
 heaven : I mean, be made instrumental in bringing some poor, 
 weary, heavy laden sinners to find rest in his blood and right- 
 eousness ; and, indeed, if our Saviour was to offer either to take 
 me now, or to stay only to take one sinner more, I would desire 
 to stay to take him with me." 
 
 DEVOTION. " Morning and evening retirement is certainly 
 exceeding good ; but if through weakness of body, or frequency 
 of preaching, I cannot go to God in my usual set times, I think 
 my spirit is not in bondage. It is not for me to tell how often 
 I use secret prayer ; if I did not use it, nay, if in one sense I 
 did not pray without ceasing, it would be difficult for me to 
 keep up that frame of soul, which by the divine blessing I 
 daily enjoy. If the work of God prosper, and your hands be- 
 come more full, you will then, dear Sir, know better what I 
 mean. But enough of this. God knows my heart; I would do 
 every thing I possibly could to satisfy all men, and give a rea- 
 son of the hope that is in me with meekness and fear ; but I 
 cannot satisfy all that are waiting for an occasion to find fault : 
 our Lord could not ; I therefore despair of doing it." 
 
 BUT A SINNER. " You are but a sinner, and Jesus died for 
 sinners. Come and welcome to Jesus Christ." 
 
 GOD'S WORK. " I have been faulty in looking too much to 
 foreign help, and despising that which God had given me. 
 When our Lord was to feed the multitude, he would not create 
 new bread, but multiplied the loaves that were already at hand. 
 ' Ye need not send them away, give ye them to eat/ said he : 
 so say I to my dear brethren at the Tabernacle. Work with 
 the materials you have. In doing the work, God will teach 
 you how to do it. Experience will grow up with the work 
 itself. Thus God hath dealt with me, and so he continues to 
 deal." 
 
 LUTHER AND CALVIN. "Mr. Wesley I think is wrong in 
 
388 
 
 some things, and Mr. Law wrong also ; yet I believe that both 
 Mr. Law and Mr. Wesley, and others, with whom we do not 
 agree in all things, will shine bright in glory. It is best there- 
 fore for a gospel minister, simply and powerfully to preach those 
 truths he has been taught of God, and to meddle as little as 
 possible with those who are children of God, though they should 
 differ in many things. This would keep the heart siveet, and at 
 the same time not betray the truths of Jesus. I have tried both 
 the disputing and the quiet way, and find the latter far prefer- 
 able to the former. I have not given way to the Moravian 
 brethren, or Mr. Wesley, or to any, whom I thought in an 
 error, no not for an hour. But I think it best not to dispute, 
 when there is no probability of convincing. I pray you, for 
 Christ's sake, to take heed lest your spirit should be imbitter- 
 ed, when you are speaking or writing for God. This will give 
 your adversaries advantage over you, and make people think 
 your passion is the effect of your principles. Since I have been 
 in England this time, Calvin's example has been very much 
 pressed upon me. You know how Luther abused him. As we 
 are of Calvinistical principles, I trust we shall, in this respect, 
 imitate Calvin's practice, and show all meekness to those who 
 may oppose." 
 
 POVERTY. " How is the world mistaken about my circum- 
 stances : worth nothing myself, embarrassed for others, and yet 
 looked upon to flow in riches ! Our extremity is God's op- 
 portunity." 
 
 HEAD AND HEART. " Though principles are not to be rested 
 in, yet it is a good thing to have a clear head as well as a clean 
 heart. Some people make nothing of principles ; but why are 
 they so zealous in propagating their own." 
 
 JUDGING. " Do not think that all things the most refined 
 Christian in the world does, is right ; or that all principles are 
 wrong, because some that hold them are too imbittered in their 
 spirits. It is hard for good men, when the truths of God are 
 opposed, to keep their temper, especially at the first attack. 
 Nothing but the all- conquering blood of the dear Redeemer 
 can destroy the wildfire in the heart." 
 
 USEFULNESS. " I have the pleasure often to go without the 
 
389 
 
 camp, and to bear a little of his sacred reproach, and I prefer it 
 to all the treasures in the world. Weak as I am, my Jesus 
 makes me more than conqueror through his love. He has 
 brought mighty things to pass here, and gotten himself the vic- 
 tory in many hearts. I trust there is not a day passes but some 
 poor creature or another is plucked as a brand out of the burn- 
 ing. I wish I could hear God was more in the camp." 
 
 PERSECUTION. " I had once the honour of being publicly ar- 
 raigned, for not reading the Common Prayer in a meeting- 
 house. At another time, I was taken up by a warrant for cor- 
 recting a letter wherein were these words, ' Shall our clergy 
 break the canons?' The prosecutions were unjust; but there is 
 our glory. I remember when Socrates was about to suffer, his 
 friends grieved that he suffered unjustly. What ! says he, would 
 you have me suffer justly ? ' If we are buffetted for our faults, 
 and take it patiently,' says a greater than Socrates, ( we are not 
 to glory ; but if we are reproached for Christ, and suffer as 
 Christians, happy are we.' I think our present sufferings are 
 for him." 
 
 SELF-KNOWLEDGE. " I know what a dreadful thing it is, to 
 carry much sail without proper ballast, and to rejoice in a false 
 liberty. Joy floating upon the surface of an unmortified heart, 
 is but of short continuance. It puff's up, but doth not edify. I 
 thank our Saviour that he is showing us here more of our hearts, 
 and more of his love." 
 
 CHRIST'S LIBRARY. " Oh that I could lie lower ! then should I 
 rise higher. Could I take deeper root downwards, then should 
 I bear more fruit upwards. I want to be poor in spirit. I want 
 to be meek and lowly in heart. I want to have the whole mind 
 that was in Christ Jesus. Blessed be his name for what he has 
 given me already. Blessed be his name, that out of his fulness 
 I receive grace for grace. Oh that my heart was Christ's 
 library ! I would not have one thief to lodge in my Redeemer's 
 temple. ' Lord, scourge out every thief,' is the daily language 
 of my heart. The Lord will hear my prayer, and let my cry 
 come unto him." 
 
 MAXIM. " When I discover a new corruption, I am as thank- 
 ful as a sentinel keeping watch in a garrison, would be at spying 
 
390 
 
 a straggling enemy come near him. I stand not fighting with 
 it myself in my own strength, hut run immediately and tell the 
 Captain of my salvation. By the sword of his Spirit, he soon 
 destroys it, and makes me exceeding happy. This is what I call 
 a simple looking to Christ. I know of no other effectual way 
 of keeping the old man down, after he has gotten his deadly 
 blow." 
 
 MELANCTHON. " As Luther said to Melancthon, ' Nimis es 
 mdlus. 9 You are kept in bondage by a false humility. It is 
 good to see ourselves poor, and exceeding vile ; but if that sight 
 and feeling prevent our looking up to, and exerting ourselves 
 for, our dear Saviour ; it becomes criminal, and robs the soul of 
 much comfort. I can speak this by dear-bought experience. 
 How often have I been kept from speaking and acting for God, 
 by a sight of my own unworthiness ! but now I see that the 
 more unworthy I am, the more fit to work for Jesus, because he 
 will get much glory in working by such mean instruments ; and 
 the more he has forgiven me, the more I ought to love and serve 
 him. Fired with a sense of his unspeakable loving-kindness, I 
 dare to go out and tell poor sinners that a Lamb was slain for 
 them ; and that he will have mercy on sinners as such, of whom 
 indeed I am chief." 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S TUMP. " I preached to about ten thousand on 
 Hampton Common, at what the people now call Whitefield's 
 Tump, because I preached there first. I cannot tell you what a 
 solemn occasion that was. I perceive a great alteration in the 
 people since I was in these parts last. They did indeed hang 
 on me to hear the word. It ran and was glorified." 
 
 RAMS' HORNS. " The rams' horns are sounding about Jeri- 
 cho ; surely the towering walls will at length fall down. But 
 we must have patience. He that believeth, doth not make 
 haste. The rams' horns must go round seven times." 
 
 JERUSALEM SINNERS. " I purpose once more to attack the 
 prince of darkness in Moorfields, when the holidays come. 
 Many precious souls have been captivated with Christ's love in 
 that wicked place. Jerusalem sinners bring most glory to the 
 Redeemer." 
 
 ORPHAN SCHOOL. " I think I could be sold a slave to serve 
 
391 
 
 at the galleys, rather than you and my dear orphan family should 
 want." 
 
 OLD COLE. " I must acquaint you of the following anecdote 
 of the old Mr. Cole, a most venerable dissenting minister, whom 
 I was always taught to ridicule, and (with shame I write it) used, 
 when a boy, to run into his meeting-house, and cry, Old Cole ! 
 old Cole ! old Cole ! Being asked once by one of his congrega- 
 tion, what business I would be of ? I said, ' A minister, but I 
 would take care never to tell stories in the pulpit, like the old 
 Cole.' About twelve years afterwards, the old man heard me 
 preach in one of the churches at Gloucester ; and on my telling 
 some story to illustrate the subject I was upon, having been 
 informed what I had before said, made this remark to one of his 
 elders, ' I find that young Whitefield can now tell stories, as 
 well as old Cole.' Being affected much with my preaching, he 
 was as it were become young again ; and used to say, when 
 coming to and returning from Barn, ' These are days of the Son 
 of man indeed ! ' Nay, he was so animated, and so humbled, 
 that he used to subscribe himself, my curate, and went about 
 preaching after me in the country, from place to place. But one 
 evening, whilst preaching, he was struck with death, and then 
 asked for a chair to lean on till he concluded his sermon, when 
 he was carried up-stairs and died. O blessed God ! if it be 
 thy holy will, may my exit be like his ! " The Tump at Hamp- 
 ton had been Cole's stand before it was called Whitefield's 
 Tump. 
 
 PARTY. " Those who think I want to make a party, or to 
 disturb churches, do not know me. I am willing to hunt in the 
 woods after sinners ; and, according to the present temper of my 
 mind, could be content that the name of George Whitefield 
 should die, if thereby the name of my dear Redeemer could be 
 exalted. Indeed, I am amazed that he employs me at all. But 
 what shall we say ? He hateth putting away, therefore I am 
 not consumed. Grace, sovereign, free grace ! shall be all my 
 song." 
 
 BEHIND THE CURTAIN. " Satan hath desired to have you, 
 that he may sift you as wheat ; but surely Jesus prays for you, 
 though as it were behind the curtain." 
 
392 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 THE ROD. " O happy rod, 
 
 That brought me nearer to my God. 
 
 I think I can say, it is good to bear the yoke of affliction in 
 youth. It teaches one to keep silence, and weans us from a too 
 great attachment to all sublunary enjoyments. I have a few 
 strokes of my Father's rod from time to time, as well as you. 
 But I find that his rod as well as his staff do comfort. I am a 
 naughty child, and want much correction ; but he that wounds, 
 heals also, and in glory we shall find, that his loving correction 
 hath made us great. O glory ! It is yonder in view ; Jesus 
 stands at the top of the ladder to receive us into it." 
 
 COLONEL GARDINER. " The noble Colonel Gardiner once 
 wished me ' a thriving soul in a healthy body.' Or however 
 it may be with the one, I earnestly pray that the other may 
 prosper. Sickness is often made use of as a means, in the hands 
 of an all-gracious Father, to ripen our graces and fit us for hea- 
 ven. Through grace, I can say it is good for me to be sick, 
 though I am afraid I am too impatient to be gone. Well ! He 
 that cometh, will come, and cannot tarry long : till then may I 
 be resigned, and work the works of him that sent me whilst it 
 is day, before the night cometh when no man can work." 
 
 RESIGNATION. " My schemes are so frequently disconcerted, 
 that I would willingly put a blank into his hands, to be filled up 
 just as he pleases. But this stubborn will would fain avoid 
 swallowing some wholesome bitter-sweets, which the all-gracious 
 Physician reaches out unto me. Nevertheless, through grace, 
 the prevailing language of my heart is, ' Not my will, but thine 
 be done.' " 
 
 CANDOUR. ee Alas ! alas ! in how many things have I judged 
 and acted wrong. I have been too rash and hasty in giving 
 characters, both of places and persons. Being fond of Scripture 
 language, I have often used a style too apostolical, and at the same 
 time I have been too bitter in my zeal. Wildfire has been mixed 
 with it, and I find that I frequently wrote and spoke in my own 
 spirit, when I thought I was writing and speaking by the assist- 
 ance of the Spirit of God. I have likewise too much made in- 
 ward impressions my rule of acting, and too soon and too ex- 
 
393 
 
 plicitly published what had been better kept in longer, or told 
 after my death. By these things I have given some wrong 
 touches to God's ark, and hurt the blessed cause I would defend, 
 and also stirred up needless opposition. This has humbled me 
 much since I have been on board, and made me think of a say- 
 ing of Mr. Henry's, ' Joseph had more honesty than he had 
 policy, or he never would have told his dreams.' At the same 
 time, I cannot but bless, and praise, and magnify that good and 
 gracious God, who filled me with so much of his holy fire, and 
 carried me, a poor, weak youth, through such a torrent both of 
 popularity and contempt, and set so many seals to my unworthy 
 ministrations. I bless him for ripening my judgment a little 
 more, for giving me to see and confess, and I hope in some de- 
 gree to correct and amend, some of my mistakes." 
 
 POPULARITY. " It is too much for one man, to be received as 
 I have been by thousands. The thoughts of it lay me low, but 
 I cannot get low enough. I would willingly sink into nothing 
 before the blessed Jesus, my All in All." 
 
 NOBILITY. " Paul preached privately to those that were of 
 reputation. This must be the way I presume of dealing with 
 the nobility, who yet know not the Lord. Oh that I may be 
 enabled, when called to preach to any of them, so to preach as 
 to win their souls to the blessed Jesus." 
 
 To DR. DODDRIDGE. " The Moravians first divided my fa- 
 mily, then my parish at Georgia, and after that the societies 
 which, under God, I was an instrument of gathering. I suppose 
 not less than four hundred, through their practices, have left 
 the Tabernacle. But I have been forsaken otherwise. I have 
 not had above a hundred to hear me, where I had twenty 
 thousand ; and hundreds now assemble within a quarter of a 
 mile of me, who never come to see or speak to me, though they 
 must own at the great day that I was their spiritual father. 
 All this I find but little enough to teach me to cease from man, 
 and to wean me from that too great fondness which spiritual 
 fathers are apt to have for their spiritual children. Thus blessed 
 Paul was served ; thus must all expect to be treated who are of 
 Paul's spirit, and are honoured with any considerable degree of 
 Paul's success. But I have generally observed, that when one 
 door of usefulness is shut, another opens." 
 
 3 E 
 
394 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 SAMUEL. " t Surely ' (says the prophet that was sent to anoint 
 one of Jesse's sons) c the Lord's anointed is before me.' He 
 guessed several times ; but always guessed wrong, till little 
 David was sent for, who was thought nothing of. And if a pro- 
 phet was mistaken, when thus sent in a peculiar manner, and, 
 no doubt, particularly engaged in prayer for direction, is it any 
 wonder, that we should find ourselves mistaken in many things, 
 even when we have been most earnest with God for guidance and 
 direction ? God often guides us by disappointments." 
 
 SECRETS. " You know me too well to judge I have many 
 secrets. May the secret of the Lord be with me ! and then I 
 care not if there were a window in my heart, for all mankind to 
 see the uprightness of my intentions." 
 
 MAXIM. " Like a pure crystal, I would transmit all the glory 
 God is pleased to pour upon me, and never claim as my own 
 what is his sole property." 
 
 ANGELS. " As we advance in the divine life, we shall be more 
 and more conformed to those ministering spirits, who, though 
 waiting on us below, do always behold the face of our heavenly 
 Father above." 
 
 LUTHER. " How was Paul humbled and struck down before 
 he was sent forth to preach the everlasting gospel ! Prayer, 
 temptation, and meditation, says Luther, are necessary ingre- 
 dients for a minister. If God teach us humility, it must be 
 as Gideon taught the men of Succoth, by thorns." 
 
 BLOSSOMS. " I have always found awakening times like spring 
 times ; many blossoms, but not always so much fruit." 
 
 POPULARITY. " You judge right, when you say, ' It is your 
 opinion, that I do not want to make a sect, or set myself at the 
 head of a party.' No, let the name of Whitefield die, so that 
 the cause of Jesus Christ may live. I have seen enough of po- 
 pularity to be sick of it, and, did not the interest of my blessed 
 Master require my appearing in public, the world should hear 
 but little of me henceforward. But who can desert such a cause ? 
 Who, for fear of a little contempt and suffering, would decline 
 the service of such a Master ? Oh that the Lord Jesus may thrust 
 out many, many labourers into his harvest ! Surely the time 
 must come, when many of the priests also shall be obedient to 
 the word. I wait for thy salvation, O Lord ! " 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 395 
 
 COMPLIMENT. " Luther observed, that ' he was never em- 
 ployed in any new thing, but he was beset with some tempta- 
 tions, or visited with a fit of sickness.' I only wish I could bear 
 it for your Ladyship ; but then your crown would not be so 
 bright, nor the inward purity of your heart so great." 
 
 NATURE. " Nature is a mere Proteus, and till renewed by the 
 Spirit of God, though it may shift its scene, will be only nature 
 still." 
 
 A PRETTY CHARACTER. " I wish the beloved physician was 
 more reconciled to the cross. I am persuaded, let him say what 
 he pleases, that a too great attachment to the world makes him 
 reason as he does in many things. Well, he is in good hands. 
 He must either come or be dragged to the cross. That pretty 
 character of his must be crucified and slain ; and, as well as 
 others, he must be content (as Mr. Gurnall expresses it) ' to 
 go to heaven in a fool's coat.' ' 
 
 THE KING. " Lately his Majesty, seeing Lady Chesterfield 
 at court with a grave gown, pleasantly asked her, f whether Mr. 
 Whitefield advised her to that colour.' Oh that all were clothed 
 in the bright and spotless robe of the Redeemer's righteousness ! 
 How beautiful would they then appear in the sight of the King 
 of kings ! " 
 
 SELF-KNOWLEDGE. " Oh that I may learn from all I see, to 
 desire to be nothing ; and to think it my highest privilege to be 
 an assistant to all, but the head of none ! I find a love of power 
 sometimes intoxicates even God's own dear children, and makes 
 them to mistake passion for zeal, and an overbearing spirit for 
 an authority given them from above. For my own part, I find 
 it much easier to obey than govern, and that it is much safer to 
 be trodden underfoot, than to have it in one's power to serve 
 others so. This makes me fly from that which, at our first set- 
 ting out, we are too apt to court. Thanks be to the Lord of all 
 lords for taking any pains with ill and hell-deserving me ! I can- 
 not well buy humility at too dear a rate." 
 
 THE HOLLOW SQUARE. " As long as we are below, if we have 
 not one thing to exercise us, we shall have another. Our trials 
 will not be removed, but only changed. Sometimes troubles 
 come from without, sometimes from within, and sometimes 
 
396 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 from both together. Sometimes professed enemies, and some- 
 times nearest and dearest friends, are suffered to attack us. 
 But Christ is the believer's hollow square ; and if we keep 
 close in that, we are impregnable. Here only I find my refuge. 
 Garrisoned in this, I can bid defiance to men and devils. Let 
 who will thwart, desert, or overreach, whilst I am in this strong 
 hold, all their efforts, joined with the prince of darkness, to dis- 
 turb or molest me, are only like the throwing chaff against a 
 brass wall." 
 
 A GOOD SOLDIER. " I am called forth to battle ; remember 
 a poor cowardly soldier, and beg the Captain of our salvation, 
 that I may have the honour to die fighting. I would have all 
 my scars in my breast. Methinks, I would not be wounded 
 running away, or skulking into a hiding-place. It is not for 
 ministers of Christ to flee or be afraid. And yet, alas ! Well 
 nil desperandum Christo duci." 
 
 PREACHERS. " It has long since been my judgment, that it 
 would be best for many of the present preachers to have a tutor, 
 and retire for a while, and be content with preaching now and 
 then, till they were a little more improved. Otherwise, I fear 
 many who now make a temporary figure, for want of a proper 
 foundation, will run themselves out of breath, will grow weary 
 of the work, and leave it." 
 
 HEAVEN. " Oh what amazing mysteries will be unfolded, 
 when each link in the golden chain of providence and grace 
 shall be seen and scanned by beatified spirits in the kingdom of 
 heaven ! Then all will appear symmetry and harmony, and 
 even the most intricate and seemingly most contrary dispensa- 
 tions, will be evidenced to be the result of infinite and consum- 
 mate wisdom, power, and love. Above all, there the believer 
 will see the infinite depths of that mystery of godliness, f God 
 manifested in the flesh ;' and join with that blessed choir, who, 
 with a restless unweariedness, are ever singing the song of Moses 
 and the Lamb." 
 
 THE SCOTCH. " 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, turn to every passage when I am expounding, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 397 
 
 and hang as it were upon me, to hear every word, is very en- 
 couraging." 
 
 LETTERS. " I must have aliquid Christi in all my letters." 
 
 UPRIGHTNESS. " I am easy, having no scheme, no design of 
 supplanting or resenting, but, I trust, a single eye to promote 
 the common salvation, without so much as attempting to set up 
 a party for myself. This is what my soul abhors. Being thus 
 minded, I have peace ; peace which the world knows nothing 
 of, and which all must necessarily be strangers to, who are fond 
 either of power or numbers. God be praised for the many strip- 
 pings I have met with : it is good for me that I have been sup- 
 planted, despised, censured, maligned, judged by, and separated 
 from, my nearest, dearest friends. By this I have found the 
 faithfulness of him, who is the Friend of friends ; by this I have 
 been taught to wrap myself in the glorious Emmanuel's ever- 
 lasting righteousness, and to be content that He, to whom all 
 hearts are open, and all desires are known, now sees, and will 
 let all see hereafter, the uprightness of my intentions towards 
 all mankind." 
 
 UNBELIEF. " Unbelief is the womb of misery, and the grave 
 of comfort. Had we faith but as a grain of mustard seed, how 
 should we trample the world, the flesh, the devil, death, and 
 hell under foot ! Lord, increase our faith ! I know you say, 
 Amen. Even so, Lord Jesus, Amen and Amen ! " 
 
 POLICY. " Worldly wise men, serpent like, so turn and wind, 
 that they have many ways to slip through and creep out at, 
 which simple-hearted, single-eyed souls know nothing of, and if 
 they did, could not follow after them. Honesty is the best 
 policy, and will in the end (whether we seek it or not) get the 
 better of all." 
 
 Such was the progress of Whitefield's opinions and maxims, 
 during the first ten years of his ministerial life. I need not say, 
 that these samples are not from his sermons. They are all spe- 
 cimens of the spirited hints he was scattering over the world by 
 his letters and conversation. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 WHITEFIELD REVISITING. 
 
 IT was a maxim with Whitefield to return back in a few days, 
 if possible, upon new spots where his first or second sermon had 
 made a visible impression. On the same principle, he often 
 revisited the chief scenes of his early labours ; te confirming the 
 souls of the disciples," and confronting his enemies. In refer- 
 ence to his avowed converts, he cherished much godly jealousy 
 as well as brotherly love. He did not, like one of his friends, 
 pretend to " know when persons are justified." " It is a lesson," 
 he says, " I have not yet learnt. There are so many stony- 
 ground hearers which receive the word with joy, that I have de- 
 termined to suspend my judgment, till I know the tree by its 
 fruits." In like manner, when he reports individual cases of 
 sudden arrest under the gospel, it is common for him to say, et I 
 shall wait, until we see how the physic works." 
 
 Thus whilst he had other reasons which compelled him to 
 travel and revisit much, he was also impelled by solicitude for 
 the stedfastness and consistency of his widely scattered con- 
 verts. He would have looked well to the state of his herds and 
 flocks, (although perhaps not so well,) had he had no orphan- 
 house to sustain, and no college in contemplation. Witness his 
 countless letters ! What are they in general, but the overflow- 
 ing of his pastoral love and watchfulness for and over the souls 
 whom he deemed committed to his charge ? 
 
 In this spirit he left Ireland to revisit Scotland in 1751, to 
 talk " with the winter as well as with the summer saints." He 
 landed at Irvine, where he preached before the magistrates, at 
 their own request. Next day the whole city of Glasgow was 
 
399 
 
 moved at his coming. " Thousands attend every morning and 
 evening. They seem never to be weary. I am followed more 
 than ever. Scotland seems (still) to be a new world to me. To 
 see the people bring so many Bibles, and turn to every passage 
 as I am expounding, and hang upon me to hear every word, is 
 very encouraging." He abruptly breaks off this letter to the 
 Countess by saying, " I could enlarge, but am straitened. Some 
 ministers wait for me." These were Mac Laurin, Scott, Mac 
 Culloch, &c. who delighted to visit him at his friend Niven's, 
 near the Cross, after the labours of the day. Mac Laurin was 
 both the guardian and champion of his reputation, in public 
 and private ; and therefore gave Whitefield no rest, nor himself 
 either, until he cleared up all flying reports. He would get at 
 the facts of the case, even if he tried his friend's patience. 
 Whitefield often smiled at the Scotch scrutiny of this great and 
 good man. It left no stone unturned, when there was a calumny 
 to overturn, or a mistake to rectify. 
 
 It was not, however, for this purpose chiefly that these good 
 men sought his company. They admired and enjoyed his con- 
 versational talents. These were sprightly, and could be hu- 
 moursome ; arid as he thought aloud, and had seen much of real 
 life, his company was equally instructive and enlivening, espe- 
 cially over his light supper. He then unbent the bow of his 
 spirit, until it cooled from the friction of the burning arrows he 
 shot during the day. A seat at Niven's table was then an 
 honour, as well as a privilege. Gillies says truly, " One might 
 challenge the sons of pleasure, with all their wit, good humour, 
 and gaiety, to furnish entertainment so agreeable. At the same 
 time every part of it was not more agreeable than it was useful 
 and edifying." 
 
 He was much pleased to find, while at Glasgow, that Din- 
 widdie, the brother-in-law of Mac Cullooh of Cambuslang, had 
 been appointed governor of Virginia. This had an important 
 bearing on the work Whitefield began there. He himself states it 
 thus. " In that province, there has been for some years past a 
 great awakening, especially in Hanover county, and the coun- 
 ties adjacent. As the ministers of the establishment did not 
 favour the work, and the first awakened persons put themselves 
 
400 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES* 
 
 under the care of the New York synod, the poor people were 
 from time to time fined, and very much harassed, for not at- 
 tending on the church service : and as the awakening was sup- 
 posed to be begun by the reading of my books, at the instiga- 
 tion of the council a proclamation was issued out to prohibit 
 itinerant preaching. However, before I left Virginia, one Mr. 
 Davies (afterwards President) was licensed, and settled over a 
 congregation. Since that the awakening has increased, so that 
 
 Mr. D writes, " that one congregation is multiplied to 
 
 seven." He desires liberty to license more houses, and to preach 
 occasionally to all, as there is no minister but himself. This, 
 though allowed of in England, is denied in Virginia, which 
 grieves the people very much. The commissary is one of the 
 council, and with the rest of his brethren, I believe no friend to 
 the dissenters. The late lieutenant-governor was like-minded. 
 
 I therefore think that Mr. D is raised up to succeed him, 
 
 in order to befriend the church of God, and the interest of 
 Christ's people. They desire no other privileges than what dis- 
 senting protestants enjoy in our native country. This I am 
 persuaded your brother-in-law will be glad to secure them." 
 
 On revisiting Edinburgh, the only thing he did deplore was, 
 that Mr. Wesley intended to " set up societies " in Scotland, 
 upon his own plan. This he thought " imprudent ;" and he 
 said so. He had before warned Wesley, that the Scotch did 
 not want him ; that neither his sentiments nor his system would 
 suit the north, even if he preached " like an angel." Wesley 
 would not believe this, and tried both ; but the experiment, for 
 him, was a complete failure. And it deserved to be so, so far 
 as he conducted it ; for he libelled and caricatured the people. 
 True ; they heard him coldly : not more so, however, than his 
 own people at the Foundery would have listened to one of the 
 Cambuslang Calvinists. Besides, his very resolution to avoid 
 all controversial points, was, however well meant, unwise, in a 
 country where he was so well known to be an Arminian. It 
 created suspicion, if not disgust, when they found that he kept 
 back his notorious peculiarities. The people would have listen- 
 ed to them, and disputed them one by one with him, and counted 
 him a " paivky chiel" had he come off with the best of the argu- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 401 
 
 ment. But he was silent, and they suspected him of blinking 
 the questions at issue between them. This is the real secret 
 of Wesley's failure. His very candour seemed artifice to the 
 Scotch. 
 
 So far, they misunderstood him, and thus did him injustice. 
 He also misunderstood and misrepresented them. They were 
 not " unfeeling multitudes," because he could not move them. 
 The same multitudes had wept and rejoiced under Whitefield's 
 preaching. He could bring them out on week days, as well as 
 on sabbath, although Wesley found his congregation "miserably 
 small," and said it verified what he had often heard, " that the 
 Scotch dearly love the word of the Lord on the Lord's day." 
 For, what did Whitefield's week-day congregations verify ? At 
 this time, as well as formerly, he had to say, " I now preach 
 twice daily to many thousands. Many of the best rank attend. 
 O Edinburgh, Edinburgh, surely thou wilt never be forgotten 
 by me ! The longer I stay, the more eagerly both rich and 
 poor attend on the word preached. Perhaps, for near twenty- 
 eight days together, in Glasgow and Edinburgh, I preached to 
 near 10,000 saints every day." In like manner, when he took 
 his leave at Glasgow, " numbers set out from the country, by 
 two or three o'clock in the morning." 
 
 Whitefield left Scotland in the autumn, to revisit Georgia ; 
 becoming again, as he calls himself, " a floating pilgrim" In- 
 deed, he was fit for nothing but floating at the time. He had 
 been much reduced at Edinburgh by vomitings of blood ; and 
 though his journey to London recruited him somewhat, he went 
 on board the Antelope very weak. His voyage was, however, 
 short and easy ; and he arrived at Georgia in good health. His 
 spirit also was much cheered by the flourishing condition of the 
 orphan-house, and the flattering prospect of a college, now made 
 plausible by the grant of a tract of excellent land. But whilst 
 enjoying all this, he heard of the death of Dr. Doddridge at 
 Lisbon, and started off to his old work with new diligence. He 
 says, " Dr. Doddridge I find is gone. Lord Jesus, prepare me 
 to follow after ! I intend to begin ; for as yet I have done no- 
 thing. Oh that I may begin in earnest. It is a new year. God 
 quicken my tardy pace, and help me to do much work in a little 
 
 3 F 
 
402 
 
 time. This is my highest ambition." Under this impulse he 
 revisited South Carolina. He durst not, however, risk the heat 
 of the summer in America, and therefore he returned to England 
 in the spring. 
 
 Whilst resting for a little in London, he revised some of 
 Hervey's manuscripts. This he called, on his own part, " hold- 
 ing up a candle to the sun." With his usual tact, however, he 
 foretold their fate. " Nothing but your scenery can screen you. 
 SELF will never bear to die, though slain in so genteel a man- 
 ner, without showing some resentment against its artful mur- 
 derer." But reviewing did not suit him : he rose up 1'rom his 
 desk, exclaiming, " Oh that I could fly from pole to pole, pub- 
 lishing the everlasting gospel ! " Even the transfer of Georgia 
 from trustees into the hands of government, at this time, and 
 all the prospects which the change opened for the colony, could 
 not detain him in London. 
 
 He was invited to revisit Ireland ; but as it was for the pur- 
 pose of organizing the Calvinistic methodists, he refused. " I 
 hate to head a party. It is absolutely inconsistent with my 
 other business to take upon me the care of societies in various 
 parts." He, therefore, revisited Bristol, where he preached 
 nine times in four days, to congregations almost equal in num- 
 bers to his Moorfields audiences. " Old times revived again. 
 Much good was done. The last evening it rained a little, but 
 none moved. I was wet, and contracted a cold and hoarseness ; 
 but I trust preaching will cure me again." It did. In the 
 course of the next fortnight, he preached twenty times, and tra- 
 velled three hundred miles on horseback, in Wales. He also 
 attended an association, at which nine clergymen, and nearly 
 forty other labourers, were present. His interview with these 
 brethren was inspiring as well as refreshing to him. " All was 
 harmony and love." He left them, more resolved than ever, to 
 " expose the wine and milk of the gospel to sale," and to ex- 
 postulate with sinners to " come down to the price, and be willing 
 to be saved by grace." 
 
 On his return to London he wrote, amongst many other let- 
 ters, one to Dr. Franklin. Franklin, as well as Hume, admired 
 him ; and for much the same reason, his genius and power as 
 
 
WUITKFIEl.D S LIKE AND T1MKS. 401 
 
 an orator. They cared about equally little for the grand TKUTH 
 which fired his eloquence, and made him wise to win souls. It 
 is painful to state this, but it is only too true. Franklin was, 
 indeed, friendly to the moral and philanthropic tendency of 
 Whitefield's doctrine, and had abandoned the rabid infidelity 
 of Shaftesbury and Collins : but still, all the Christianity he put 
 into his own epitaph, was only the hope of a resurrection ; and 
 all he put into his confession, a few weeks before his death, in 
 answer to President Stiles, was, that he had doubts as to the 
 divinity of Jesus of Nazareth, and thought his system of reli- 
 gion, although the best, not free from "various corrupting 
 changes." In this opinion, he claimed kindred with most of 
 the dissenters in England ! To the credit of Dr. Priestley, he 
 contradicted Franklin, and set the Americans right on this 
 point. 
 
 Whitefield tried to set Franklin right upon a more important 
 point ; that divine change of heart, without which no man can 
 enter heaven. " I find," he says, " 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 impor- 
 tant and interesting study, and when mastered will richly an- 
 swer and repay you for all your pains. One at whose bar we 
 are shortly to appear, hath solemnly declared that without it we 
 cannot enter 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." This honest 
 letter ought to have delighted the philosopher in his closet, even 
 more than the eulogium he heard whilst standing behind the 
 bar of the House of Lords, when CHATHAM said of him, " Frank- 
 lin is one whom Europe holds in high estimation, for his know- 
 ledge and wisdom ; one who is an honour, not to the English 
 nation only, but to human nature." 
 
 The American Biographical Dictionary has done all it 
 honestly could, to rescue the memory of this great patriot from 
 the charge of being " friendly to infidelity." It quotes an in- 
 stance in which he rebuked a youth, who was treating religion 
 
404 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 as a vulgar prejudice, arid who had appealed to him for coun- 
 tenance. Franklin said emphatically, " Young man, it is best 
 to believe." Hume once said to La Roche, " Oh that I had 
 never doubted." Such expressions prove nothing, but the sus- 
 picions of the sceptical. Besides, there could have been no re- 
 ligious tone about Franklin, if a raw witling could thus have 
 dared to appeal to him against religion. 
 
 The most ingenious vindication of him I have ever seen, is 
 in the sketch of his history in the American National Portrait 
 Gallery : " With such a life as Franklin led, we should, per- 
 haps, offer an injury to religion, in supposing him, as some have 
 done, an enemy to its prevalence, or a stranger to its benign in- 
 fluence." This is plausible, but hollow. His life in Paris will 
 not sustain the argument. True ; he said there, that his suc- 
 cess as a negociator would have convinced him of the being 
 and government of a Deity, had he ever before been an atheist. 
 Equally true it is, however, that, as a philosopher, he was often 
 the companion of both atheists and infidels. Besides, what was 
 he upon his death-bed ? The best said of him then is, " that 
 he was afraid he did not bear his pains as he ought," and was 
 grateful for the many blessings he had received from the Su- 
 preme Being, who had raised him from " a humble origin to such 
 consideration among men" In a word, he was not so unchris- 
 tian in his creed as Unitarians : he only doubted, what they deny, 
 the divinity of the Saviour. 
 
 Franklin died in 1790. Whitefield's letter to him was in 
 1752. Their acquaintanceship seems to have commenced when 
 the claims of the orphan-house were first pleaded in Philadel- 
 phia. Then Franklin, although he approved of the object, re- 
 fused to contribute to it, when applied to in private, because he 
 disapproved of the situation. He went to hear Whitefield, 
 therefore, resolved to give nothing. He had, however, in his 
 pocket, a handful of copper, three or four dollars, and five pis- 
 toles in gold. As the sermon began to kindle, Franklin began 
 to soften, and was willing to give the copper. The next stroke 
 won the silver ; and the finishing stroke was so admirable, he 
 says, " that I emptied my pocket wholly into the collector's dish 
 gold and all." This is a good story ; but he tells a still bet- 
 
WHITEFI ELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 405 
 
 ter one of his friend Hopkinson. He had gone empty-handed, 
 that he might be sure to give nothing. But he was melted too, 
 and tried to borrow money of a quaker. The quaker's answer 
 was, " At any other time, friend, I would lend thee freely : but 
 not now ; for thee seems to me to be out of thy right senses." 
 This is unlike a quaker ! And it was unlike a Christian, for 
 Franklin to say, " The request was fortunately made to perhaps 
 the only man in the company, who had the firmness not to be 
 affected by the preacher." 
 
 It is no pleasure to me to write thus. Franklin was White- 
 field's friend, and the friend of liberty and humanity ; but his 
 half-homage to Christianity should be rejected by her friends. 
 She needs not the compliments of almost Christians. Indeed, 
 they only tend to prevent inquirers from becoming altogether 
 like Paul. It is all very well, when infidelity is to be put down, 
 to appeal to the great cloud of scientific, philosophical, and poet- 
 ical witnesses, who have complimented Revelation ; but when 
 Christianity is to be enforced, it is worse than useless to appeal 
 to great names who only believed the half of it. What minister 
 would tell young men, that they might safely stop at the points 
 where such doubters as Franklin stood still ? Not any " able 
 minister of the New Testament." Let Unitarianism take (and 
 welcome !) all the philosophers and poets she can prove to have 
 been Arians. 
 
 With what satisfaction the mind turns from such men, to fol- 
 low Whitefield to Lutterworth, where he was drawn by the 
 magnetic memory of Wycliffe, on his way from London to visit 
 Scotland again ! There, a protestant is at home. The interest 
 of this hallowed spot was, if possible, enhanced to Whitefield 
 at least he was prepared to enjoy it by meeting on the way to 
 it one of Doddridge's students, who had been converted at 
 Olney, four years before, from a " bitter scoffer," to be a young 
 evangelist. He felt this to be a call to " go forward " in his 
 work. He did ; and preached " twice in the famous Wycliffe's 
 parish " with such effect, that, before he reached Scotland, he 
 received a letter, informing him that he had won souls in the 
 reformer's parish. How enviable his associations with Lutter- 
 worth ! My own were sadly disturbed, when I passed through 
 
406 VVHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 it. I had watched the morning-star from the window of the 
 mail, as it lingered and smiled over the tower of the church ; 
 and had pleased myself all night long with the hope of being 
 able to " drink of the brook " into which Wycliffe's ashes were 
 thrown. The guard, however, would not allow me to run down 
 the hill, whilst the horses were changing. I was more than 
 mortified; but he was inexorable. When, lo, he discovered 
 that one of the fresh horses wanted a shoe ; and there was no 
 other horse in the stable. " Call the blacksmith," he cried in 
 thunder. Off I ran that moment, down the hill, rejoicing in the 
 accident. I leaped the hedge, and reached the brook. Alas, 
 it was covered with yeasty scum from the dye-houses, or manu- 
 factories, upon its banks. I could not drink ! It was then only 
 three o'clock in the morning. I tasted the water, however, by 
 laving up a handful where the slime was least offensive. My 
 reader will pardon this digression, when he remembers old FUL- 
 LER'S climax. This brook conveyed the ashes of Wycliffe into 
 the Avon ; the Avon into the Severn ; and the Severn into the 
 main sea ; and thus the reformer's ashes became emblems of his 
 doctrine, which shall spread from the rivers to the ends of the 
 earth. 
 
 Whitefield's associations were less sublime at Leicester. He 
 had turnips thrown at him, whilst preaching his first sermon. 
 At his second, however, " all was hushed," and he " heard 
 afterwards that good was done." Then he revisited Newcas- 
 tle ; and there he was, " as it were, arrested to stay." Accord- 
 ingly, he preached four times, and " a whole shower of blessings 
 descended from heaven on the great congregation." This led 
 to a second arrest, and the shower was repeated. I use his own 
 strong language concerning Leicester and Newcastle, because 
 he afterwards told Lady Huntingdon that he had received 
 " brave news " from both places. 
 
 These arrests by the way, made him due in Scotland. His 
 invitations to revisit Edinburgh and Glasgow, had been very 
 strong ; and he was nothing loth to comply. " I love state too 
 well, especially in Scotland, not to take it upon me as often as 
 possible," by mounting " my despised throne." There is truth 
 as well as playfulness in this confession. Whitefield did love a 
 
407 
 
 little state now and then ; who does not ? Edinburgh was his 
 throne, and coronets graced it. None of these things, however, 
 estranged or diverted him from humbler spheres, or lessened 
 his interest in " men of low estate." Accordingly, his letters 
 to the Countess at this time, whilst they report briefly the 
 " abundance of the better sort," who came out to hear him 
 twice a day, in common with the multitude, dwell chiefly upon 
 the case of a poor highland schoolmaster, who had been very 
 useful amongst the young Gaels ; and upon the claims of a poor 
 student, who had not the means of finishing his ministerial edu- 
 cation. In none of his letters at this time, is there any refer- 
 ence to the personal honours paid to him, although they were 
 neither few nor small. What he mentions with most compla- 
 cency, is, an account he had received of " a dozen young men, 
 that were awakened" under his ministry, " ten years ago," and 
 who were now useful preachers. This was emphatically good 
 news to Whitefield; for although he was not far-sighted, he 
 saw clearly all the bearings of his own favourite maxim, that 
 "every student's name is legion;" "catching him is catching 
 thousands ; helping him, helping many." 
 
 This maxim (in a better form) deserves the consideration 
 and adoption of both ministers and wealthy christians. Who 
 can calculate how many souls have been won, or what trains of 
 good have been set in perpetual motion, by the young men, 
 whom the Thorntons, and especially the Simeons and Wilsons, 
 of England, the Haldanes of Scotland, and the Bethunes of 
 America, took by the hand, and sustained at college ? The re- 
 flection of that good is already bright upon " the sea of glass 
 before the throne," and it will increase in space and splendour 
 there until the end of time, and then " shine as the stars for 
 ever and ever." Go thou, and do likewise ! Or if unable to 
 bear the entire expense of a student, unite some of your friends 
 with you. In like manner, each of the voluntary churches in 
 large towns should sustain a young evangelist. I have tried 
 the experiment, and my little flock have always come to my 
 help. 
 
 To the poor student who applied to him for advice, White- 
 field wrote, " God willing, I shall not be unmindful of you." 
 
408 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Like myself, he had neither silver nor gold enough of his own ; 
 but he hadfriends, and he pleaded the case with them. He seems 
 also, whilst in Edinburgh, at this time, to have aimed much to 
 catch students ; many of whom from the classes, as well as from 
 the divinity hall, came daily to hear him. This was the case at 
 Glasgow, when he revisited it. There, indeed, his audiences 
 were even greater than at Edinburgh. 
 
 An event had occurred at the General Assembly this year, 
 which called forth Whitefield's characteristic vein of humour. 
 The assembly had deposed Gillespie, the founder of the RELIEF 
 Presbytery. " I wish Mr. Gillespie joy," he said : " the POPE 
 is turned presbyterian. How blind is Satan ! What does he 
 get by casting out Christ's servants ? I expect great good will 
 come out of these confusions. Mr. Gillespie will do more good 
 in a week now, than before in a year." Whitefield's jokes are 
 not two-edged swords, which cut both ways at once : but if his 
 sarcasm against the Secession cut deep, this one against the 
 Kirk cut deeper. The Babel story, and the Babylon story, 
 therefore, if told at all again, should be told together, in justice 
 to Whitefield's impartiality. Both, however, had better be 
 dropped, when the Assembly and the Synod contend at all. 
 
 On leaving Scotland, Whitefield revisited several of his old 
 stations in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire, in a state of 
 mind so heavenly and absorbed, that he scarcely knew at times, 
 he says, " whether he had been in heaven or on earth." During 
 three weeks of such preaching, he " never had more encourage- 
 ment, since the Lord of the harvest sent him out. A gale of 
 divine influence every where attended it." This does not rest 
 on his own testimony only. His Leeds friends brought him 
 back from Sheffield again, " to make hay while the sun shone." 
 
 It was now November : but the weather was " uncommonly 
 favourable ;" and, therefore, he thought it " a pity to go into 
 winter quarters, whilst work could be done in the fields." He 
 was, however, driven in soon by rain and sickness. He expect- 
 ed death in the coach, between Northampton and London. 
 When he reached home, he found his wife had almost as much 
 need of a nurse as himself. Next day, however, he set himself 
 to reconsider the claims of Ireland, and again refused to go over 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 409 
 
 to head a party. In a few days, also, he resumed his corre- 
 spondence with Hervey ; and in a week, he was absorbed with 
 the affairs of Georgia ; writing now a short letter to a manager 
 of the orphan-house, and anon a long one to " dear Nat" one 
 of the orphans. By December, he was " longing to range York- 
 shire again, and to revisit Leeds." Night nor day, he could not 
 forget the scenes he witnessed there, although he was now hear- 
 ing " every day of fresh awakenings " in the Tabernacle. 
 
 At this time, Charles Wesley consulted him on a delicate 
 subject separation from John ; some of whose measures he 
 could not fall in with. His letter I have never seen. It em- 
 barrassed Whitefield. He knew not what to say. Something, 
 however, rendered it necessary for him to say, that he thought 
 John " still jealous " of him and his proceedings. But lest this 
 should injure John with Charles, he said also, " The connexion 
 between you and your brother hath been so close, and your 
 attachment to him so necessary to keep up his interest, that I 
 would not willingly, for the world, do or say any thing that may 
 separate such friends. I have seen an end of all perfection! 
 More might be said were we face to face." Wesley was some- 
 what jealous of Whitefield at this time. A new Tabernacle was 
 now on the carpet ; and for a long time the nobility had smiled 
 on Whitefield. Wesley felt this. He could have taken their 
 smiles more coolly than Whitefield ; but he could not sustain 
 their neglect philosophically. It was, however, the contrast, not 
 the loss, that mortified him. 
 
 When Whitefield agreed to the plan of a new Tabernacle, 
 he resolved, he says, "on the principle that burnt children 
 dread the fire, not to begin till he had 1000 in hand, and 
 then to contract at a certain sum for the whole." His 
 fingers had been burnt at Bethesda ; and he told his friends so. 
 They took the hint, and soon raised upwards of 900 ; and by 
 the time the foundation-stone was laid, the contributions amount- 
 ed to 1100. Whitefield himself laid the stone, 1st March, 
 1753, on the old spot, and preached from Exod. xx. 24. 
 
 To the credit of the Wesleys, his kind but honest letter to 
 Charles not only prevented their rupture, but also led to a loan 
 of their Spitalfields' chapel, when the old Tabernacle was pulled 
 
410 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 down. Whitefield returned this compliment, by remonstrating 
 with one of his preachers against giving offence or creating 
 jealousies amongst the friends of Wesley. 
 
 When the time of the year came, that he could sing, " Lo, the 
 winter is past," he quitted winter quarters. " The time of the 
 singing of birds and the voice of the turtle in the land," called 
 forth his voice too. He revisited Norwich for a few days in 
 April. He says, that he " triumphed there in spite of all oppo- 
 sition." What the opposition was I do not know. One part of 
 the triumph Whitefield did not know on earth. The late FUL- 
 LER of Kettering was wont to tell the following anecdote, which 
 he had from the lips of the person. A young man who had gone 
 out in the morning on a frolic, with a party of his companions, 
 would have his fortune told by a gipsy they met. She predict- 
 ed for him a good old age, and lots of children and grandchil- 
 dren. He believed the prophecy, and resolved to store his 
 mind with such knowledge as would make young folks like an 
 old man. " Let me see," he said, " what I can acquire first ? 
 O, here is the famous methodist preacher, Whitefield ; he is to 
 preach to-night, they say ; I will go and hear him." From these 
 strange motives, he really went to hear. The sermon was on 
 John's appeal to the Sadducees and Pharisees, to " flee from the 
 wrath to come." "Whitefield," said he, "described the Saddu- 
 cean character : but that did not touch me. Then the Phari- 
 saic : that shook me a little. At length he abruptly broke off 
 then burst into a flood of tears then lifting up his hands, 
 he cried with a loud voice, O my HEARERS ! the wrath is to come 
 the wrath is to come ! These words sunk into my heart like 
 lead in the waters. I wept. I went alone. These words fol- 
 lowed me wherever I went. For days and weeks I could think 
 of little else but the awful words, ' The wrath is to come is to 
 come.' " Fuller said, the young man became " a considerable 
 preacher." 
 
 Whitefield's work and reward during his revisits in 1753, were 
 much as usual for him ; like that of nobody else. I can scarcely 
 believe my own eyes, as I read the distances, dates, and numbers 
 of his audiences, in his memoranda; connected as these are 
 with frequent and even startling attacks of sickness. If he had 
 
411 
 
 not eagle's wings, his strength was certainly renewed like the 
 eagle's, even in a physical sense. 
 
 Having opened the new Tabernacle, and preached in it for a 
 short time, ("weeping in secret," however, to get back to York- 
 shire,) he set out again for the north. Some of his Leeds con- 
 verts met him by the way, to hurry him off from Sheffield. He 
 would stop at Rotherham, however, because the insults he had 
 formerly received there, had tempted him to return no more. 
 Then, he thought no good was done. Now, he found the chief 
 family of his " bitter persecutors " converted to God, and ready 
 to welcome him under their roof. He became their guest. 
 Rotherham had signalized itself by hostility to Whitefield. 
 Both his person and character had been assailed there ; and by 
 none more than the late Thorpe of Masborough, then a young 
 man. He was in the habit of meeting his boon companions in 
 the alehouse, to mimic Whitefield, and turn religion into mock- 
 ery. One evening Thorpe and three others laid a wager, which 
 of them could imitate him in the highest style, at an off-hand 
 sermon, from the first text which should turn up on opening 
 the Bible. The buffoonery of the three soon failed, and Thorpe 
 sprung on the table, saying, " I shall beat you all hollow." The 
 Bible was handed to him. He opened it at random. His eye 
 fell on the words, " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 
 perish." He uttered them without fear or hesitation. But that 
 moment his conscience smote him. It burst into flames. It 
 compelled him to preach repentance to himself and all the club. 
 He went on in spite of himself, until his own hair stood on end 
 with horror, and all the bacchanals were blanched with terror. 
 Not a word was said of the wager when he came down. He 
 walked out in awful silence. Soon after this he joined the 
 Wesleyans, and was sent out by Wesley himself as a preacher, 
 who wisely stationed him at Rotherham. He afterwards became 
 an independent. 
 
 When Whitefield arrived at Leeds, he found that neither 
 reports, nor his own hopes of his past success, were exaggerated. 
 Twenty thousand assembled to hear him on the sabbath, and 
 many fruits of his former ministry were presented to him. Such 
 was his elevation of soul now, that he saw nothing impossible. 
 
412 WHITEFIELD S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 which it was proper to attempt by the preaching of the gospel ; 
 for even York could not resist the fascination of his field preach- 
 ing. The methodist thinned out the Minster, and overawed 
 the mob. Indeed, so great was his success at this time in York- 
 shire, that he exceedingly regretted his engagement to visit 
 Scotland. He had heard that " poor Scotland was dead" again, 
 notwithstanding the power of the revivals ; and, therefore, he 
 was afraid to breathe a cold atmosphere, now that he was on fire 
 amidst " a people full of fire," and enjoying " perpetual Cam- 
 buslang seasons." He kept his promise, however ; and found 
 Scotland not so dead as it was reported. Both the rich and the 
 poor thronged to hear him twice every day at Edinburgh. 
 " Attention sat upon all faces, and friends came round like bees, 
 importuning him to stay another week." It was the same at 
 Glasgow. There, the owner of the play-house was made so un- 
 easy by a sermon against theatrical amusements, that he pulled 
 the roof off the building, to put an end to them so far as he was 
 concerned. This was laid hold of by Whitefield's enemies, and 
 held up as the act of his mobs. He says, " The devil owed me 
 a grudge for speaking against the play-house." That grudge 
 appeared in the following form, in the Newcastle Journal : ' f We 
 are informed, that Mr. Whitefield, the itinerant, being at Glas- 
 gow, and preaching near the play-house lately built, influenced 
 the mob so much against it, that they ran directly from before 
 him, and pulled it down to the ground. Several of the rioters 
 are since taken up, and committed to gaol." This was all a lie. 
 The " lately built " house was only a temporary booth, supported 
 by the old walls of the bishop's palace ; a strange spot, it will 
 be said, for a theatre. Perhaps not, in Scotland ! I recollect, 
 however, to feel it more than strange at Chester, to find that 
 part of the abbey had been turned into a theatre ! I shrunk 
 from the desecration, notwithstanding all my Scotch prejudices. 
 Whitefield came back upon York and Leeds, on leaving Scot- 
 land; and again what he saw and felt " was inexpressible." 
 The parting at Leeds was so overpowering, that he did not re- 
 cover the shock for some time. At Haworth also, they had a 
 sacrament at which thirty-five bottles of wine were used. What 
 a day for good Grimshaw ! I say good ; for with all his eccen- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. U:J 
 
 tricities, he was a noble-minded man. He made the wilderness 
 blossom as the rose around him. And God did not forget his 
 labours of love. His prodigal son was restored to him in heaven. 
 This young man was reclaimed ; and said on his death-bed, 
 " What will my father say, when he sees me in heaven ? " 
 
 Altogether, this was, perhaps, Whitefield's most successful 
 campaign in England, although I am unable to illustrate it by 
 a detail of facts. In the space of three months, he travelled 
 about " twelve hundred miles, and preached a hundred and 
 eighty sermons, to many, very many thousands of souls." 
 
 " The partings " in Yorkshire, he says, " nearly killed me." 
 He does not write thus, except when parting from those he 
 hoped to meet in heaven. Whenever he speaks strongly of suc- 
 cess, I have found that he had strong reasons. Ordinary suc- 
 cess never inflames nor inflates his language. 
 
 Having rested a few days in London, he started again, to make 
 the most of the autumn, whilst it lasted. He went first into 
 Northamptonshire, where " a new scene of usefulness opened " 
 to him. It was the season of their feasts in that county. He 
 says, in his own off-hand style, " If I mistake not, some of their 
 feasting was spoiled." He did not mistake. I once saw a ve- 
 nerable patriarch there, sitting smoking his evening pipe under 
 a hoary sycamore, who remembered having seen Whitefield at 
 this time. He had no recollection of the sermon ; but his eye 
 brightened, when he told me, how the people made him and the 
 other boys keep quiet. My friend, George Bennet, Esq. the 
 missionary traveller, will recollect this scene under the sycamore 
 tree, near Long Buckbey. We must, however, have loved the 
 old man, even if he had not seen Whitefield ; for, like Simeon, 
 he had seen Jesus. 
 
 On leaving Northamptonshire, Whitefield revisited Birming- 
 ham ; and there " souls fled to the gospel like doves to their 
 windows." At Gornall, (a place I have already described,) he 
 heard of " a whole company," who had been " awakened by 
 reading his sermons." But conversions were not his only reward 
 in this quarter. Many aged believers blessed him. One said 
 to him, " I was comforted when you were here last, and now I 
 can go more cheerful to heaven." Another, who had been long 
 
414 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 a pilgrim, said, on first hearing him, " Why, this is just the old 
 story of fifty -five years ago." Upon the whole, he was much 
 cheered by his success in Staffordshire. He would not, however, 
 give his judgment upon it, until he came, as he expresses it, " to 
 cross-plough the ground again." 
 
 He now went into Cheshire, where his " way was prepared " 
 by the usefulness which had sprung from his books. Accord- 
 ingly, at Chester a great concourse, together with some of the 
 clergy, attended ; and the most " noted rebel in the town " was 
 so alarmed under the sermon, that he could not sleep night or 
 day for some time afterwards. At Wrexham, however, and at 
 Nantwich, he was stoned whilst preaching ; but, providentially, 
 he " got off pretty free," although some of his friends were 
 " much pelted." " I met," he says, " with a little rough treat- 
 ment " (he calls it apostolic treatment in one letter) ; "but what 
 have pilgrims to expect better in the wilderness." He found 
 better at Liverpool. There another convert, won by his printed 
 sermons, met him on landing, and took him home, and convened 
 great numbers to hear him. 
 
 It was now November, and he returned to London ; but not 
 for winter quarters. In a few days, he was in his " native coun- 
 ty," at the house of a "nineteen years' friend," one of the al- 
 dermen of Gloucester. That house, he says, was made a Bethel 
 to him ; and never before had he such " freedom " in preaching 
 to his townsmen. Altogether, this new freedom was " so pleas- 
 ant " to him, that he resolved to take Gloucestershire again on 
 his way home. On his arrival in Bristol, he found his usual 
 welcome, and what surprised him more that not a few of " the 
 quality, and one of Ca?sar's household, wished to hear him at his 
 brother's great house." He preached to them twice. On the 
 sabbath following, he opened the new Tabernacle at Bristol. 
 " It is large," he says, " but not half large enough. Would the 
 place contain them, I believe as many would attend as in London." 
 
 It was now cold weather ; but he was unwilling to return to 
 his metropolitan nest. " Winter quarters ! " he says, " the 
 word winter almost shocks me." He, therefore, went into 
 Somersetshire. How much he enjoyed this detention from 
 London, and the work that detained him, let the following fine 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 415 
 
 memorial tell : " At seven in the evening I preached in the 
 open air, to a great multitude. All was hushed, and exceeding- 
 ly solemn. The stars shone exceedingly bright. Then, if ever, 
 I saw by the eye of faith, Him who calleth them all by their 
 names. My soul was filled with a holy ambition, and I longed 
 to be one of those, who shall shine as the stars for ever and 
 ever. My hands and my body were cold ; but what are out- 
 ward things, when the soul within is warmed by the love of 
 God. Oh that I may die in the field." The scene of this apos- 
 trophe I once visited. The air was equally cold the stars 
 equally bright all nature the same ; but there was no White- 
 Jield / I had only fifty persons to preach to. However, my 
 " soul within" was not cold. 
 
 Whilst thus reluctant to give in, Whitefield heard of the ill- 
 ness of Wesley, and forgot every thing but his dying friend. 
 The disease was said to be " galloping consumption," and he 
 threw up all his engagements, and hastened to London. He 
 also wrote to both brothers, before he could set out. To " poor 
 Mr. Charles," he wrote thus : " The Lord help and support you. 
 A wife, a friend, a brother, all ill together ! Well, this is our 
 comfort all things shall work together for good to them that 
 love God. May a double spirit of the ascending Elijah descend 
 and rest upon the surviving Elisha ! To-morrow I leave Bristol." 
 
 The letter from which these lines are transcribed, enclosed 
 one to Wesley himself, written, as Whitefield says, out of the 
 fulness of his heart. " The news and prospect of your ap- 
 proaching dissolution hath quite weighed me down. I pity my- 
 self and the church ; but not you. A radiant throne awaits 
 you, and ere long you will enter into your Master's joy. Yon- 
 der He stands with a massy crown, ready to put on your head, 
 amidst an admiring throng of saints and angels. But I poor 
 I, who have been waiting for my dissolution these nineteen 
 years, must be left behind to ( grovel here below.' Well, this 
 is my comfort it cannot be long until the chariots will be sent 
 even for worthless me. If prayers can detain you even you 
 shall not leave us yet. But if the decree is gone forth, that you 
 must now fall asleep in Jesus may He kiss your soul away, and 
 give you to die in the embraces of triumphant love. If in the 
 
416 
 
 land of the living, I hope to pay my last respects to you next 
 week. If not farewell ! My heart is too big. Tears trickle 
 down too fast. And I fear you are too weak for me to enlarge. 
 May underneath you be Christ's everlasting arms. I commend 
 you to his never-failing mercy, and am your most affectionate, 
 sympathizing, and afflicted younger brother in the gospel." 
 Well might, and well did, Wesley say, in his funeral sermon 
 for Whitefield, "He had a heart susceptible of the most 
 generous and the most tender friendship : I have frequently 
 thought, that this, of all others, was the distinguishing part of 
 his character." Funeral Sermon. 
 
 Whilst Wesley continued in danger, Whitefield remained in 
 almost agonizing suspense ; " praying and inquiring, inquiring 
 and praying again, and always dreading to hear the worst." It 
 was, however, his friend's usefulness to the church and the 
 world, which made him thus solicitous ; for when he heard that 
 his lungs were injured, he said to Lady Huntingdon, " I cannot 
 wish him to survive his usefulness. It is poor living to be 
 nursed." At this time a storm of persecution broke upon some 
 quarter of his vineyard, and an appeal was made to his sympa- 
 thy by the sufferers. He did sympathize with them ; but told 
 them, " should the present illness of dear Mr. Wesley issue in 
 his death, that will be a storm of a far more threatening na- 
 ture." Happily for the world and the church, Wesley was 
 spared nearly forty years longer. 
 
 Whitefield was cheered in his winter quarters this year, by 
 the visit of his friends Tennent and Davies of America, who 
 had come over to collect for the college of New Jersey. He 
 entered with all his soul into their object, and threw all his in- 
 fluence upon their side. He also obtained, in prospect of his 
 return to Georgia, " twenty-two prizes," as he calls the orphans, 
 whom he had selected to go with him. He then prepared to sail. 
 The next chapter contains his own account of Lisbon ; and is 
 worthy of deep notice at this time, whilst popery is softened by one 
 class of politicians, and libelled (if that be possible) by another. 
 
 It is curious, that living popery made Whitefield forget, 
 during his visit, dead Doddridge, at Lisbon : at least, I have 
 found no letter yet that shows any visit to his tomb. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 WHITEFIELD IN LISBON. 
 1754. 
 
 " THE following letters were written about a twelvemonth ago, 
 and are now sent into the world at the earnest desire of many. 
 If an infinitely condescending God shall vouchsafe to bless the 
 perusal of them, to excite in any, either at home or abroad, a 
 more obediential and zealous thankfulness for the civil and reli- 
 gious liberties we enjoy ; or make them any way instrumental in 
 stirring up my fellow-protestants and dear countrymen to exert 
 themselves more vigorously, at this critical juncture, against 
 those who, if conquerors, would quickly rob us of those inva- 
 luable blessings, I shall not repent that the publication of them 
 was consented to by, courteous reader, thy willing servant, for 
 Christ's sake, G. W. 
 
 " By this time, I suppose, you have heard of my having been 
 at Lisbon, and are wondering what led me thither, especially 
 since my last informed you of my intention to go to Georgia by 
 way of New York. This was really my design at the time of 
 my writing ; but being afterward called by Providence to take 
 with me several orphan children, I thought it most advisable to 
 go and settle them, and my other domestic affairs, at the orphan- 
 house first ; that I might visit the northern parts of America 
 with more ease and freedom in my own mind. It happened that 
 the Success, Captain Thompson, bound for Port Royal, South 
 Carolina, (which is not very far from Georgia,) was then almost 
 ready to sail. I sent for the owner, and finding that the ship 
 was to touch at Lisbon to unload some wheat, it occasioned a 
 little demur ; but, upon second thoughts, believing it might be 
 serviceable to me, as a preacher and protestant, to see something 
 
 3n 
 
418 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 of the superstitions of the church of Rome, I took my passage 
 and emharked in the Success the 7th of March. On the 14th 
 we reached Cape Finisterre ; on the 15th came in sight of the 
 Burlings ; and on the 16th anchored safe before Bellem, about 
 four miles distant from Lisbon city, the metropolis of Portugal. 
 As I knew nobody there, and had formed but an indifferent idea 
 of the inhabitants, from the account that had been given me of 
 them, I had purposed within myself to keep on board, and go 
 ashore only now and then in the day-time. But Providence so 
 ordered it, that a gentleman of the factory, who had heard me 
 himself, and whose brother had been awakened under my mi- 
 nistry several years ago, immediately, upon hearing of my ar- 
 rival, sent me an offer of his house during my stay. I thank- 
 fully accepted it ; and special leave being procured for my going 
 ashore, I was carried in a chaise and pair from Bellem to Lis- 
 bon. A new scene, both in respect to the situation of the place, 
 the fashion of the buildings, and the dress of the inhabitants, 
 presented itself all the way. But what engaged my attention 
 most, was the frequency of crucifixes and little images of the 
 Virgin Mary, and other real or reputed saints, which were placed 
 almost in every street, or fixed against the walls of the houses 
 almost at every turning, with lamps hanging before them. To 
 these I observed the people bow as they passed along ; and near 
 some of them stood several little companies, singing with great 
 earnestness. This seemed to me very odd, and gave me an idea 
 of what further ecclesiastical curiosities would probably fall in 
 my way, if I should be detained any time here. These expecta- 
 tions were quickly raised ; for, not long after my arrival at my 
 new lodgings, (where I was received and entertained with great 
 gentility, hospitality, and friendliness,) upon looking out of the 
 window, I saw a company of priests and friars bearing lighted 
 wax tapers, and attended by various sorts of people, some of 
 which had bags and baskets of victuals in their hands, and 
 others carried provisions upon their shoulders on sticks between 
 two. After these followed a mixed multitude, singing with a 
 very audible voice, and addressing the Virgin Mary in their 
 usual strain, ' Or a pro nobts. 9 In this manner they proceeded 
 to the prison, where all was deposited for the use of the poor 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 419 
 
 persons confined therein. But a far more pompous procession 
 of the like nature (as a stander-by informed me) passed by a few 
 days after. In this there were near three hundred Franciscan 
 friars, many of which (besides porters hired for the purpose) 
 were loaded with a variety of food ; and those who bore no bur- 
 den, carried either ladles or spoons in their hands. Sights of 
 this nature being quite a novelty to me, I was fond of attending 
 as many of them as I could. Two things concurred to make 
 them more frequent at this juncture, viz. the season of Lent, 
 and an excessive drought, which threatened the total destruc- 
 tion of the fruits of the earth. For the averting so great a judg- 
 ment, and for the imploring the much-longed-for blessing of 
 rain, daily processions had been made from one convent or an- 
 other for a considerable time. One of these I saw. It was 
 looked upon as a pretty grand one, being made up of the Car- 
 melite friars, the parish priests, and a great number of what they 
 call the brothers of the order, who walked two by two in divers 
 habits, holding a long and very large lighted wax taper in their 
 right hands. Amidst these was carried, upon eight or ten men's 
 shoulders, a tall image of the Virgin Mary, in a kind of man's 
 attire ; for I think she had a very fine white wig on her head, 
 (a dress she often appears in,) and was much adorned with jewels 
 and glittering stones. At some distance from the lady, under a 
 large canopy of state, and supported likewise by six or eight 
 persons, came a priest, holding in his hand some noted relic. 
 After him followed several thousands of people, joining with the 
 friars in singing, f Eandem cantilenam, ora pro nobis, 9 all the 
 way. Still rain was denied, and still processions were con- 
 tinued. At length the clouds began to gather, and the mercury 
 in the barometer fell very much. Then was brought out a 
 wooden image, which they say never failed. It was the figure 
 of our blessed Lord, clothed with purple robes, and crowned with 
 thorns. I think they call him the LORD OF THE PASSION. Upon 
 his shoulders he bore a large cross, under the weight of which 
 he was represented as stooping, till his body bent almost double. 
 He was brought from the Le Grass convent in very great pomp, 
 and placed in a large cathedral church. Being on board at that 
 time, I lost this sight ; but, the subsequent evening, I beheld the 
 
420 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Seigneur fixed on an eminence in a large cathedral church, near 
 the altar, surrounded with wax tapers of a prodigious size. He 
 was attended by many noblemen, and thousands of spectators 
 of all ranks and stations, who crowded from every quarter, and, 
 in their turns, were admitted by the guards to come within the 
 rails and perform their devotions. This they expressed by 
 kneeling, and kissing the Seigneur's heel, by putting their left 
 and right eye to it, and then touching it with their beads, which 
 a gentleman in waiting received from them, and then returned 
 again. This scene was repeated for three days successively; 
 and, during all this time, the church and space before it was so 
 thronged with carriages and people, that there was scarce any 
 passing. The music on this occasion was extremely soft, and 
 the church was illuminated in a very striking manner. The 
 third day in the forenoon it rained, and soon after the Seigneur 
 was conducted home in as great splendour, and much greater 
 rejoicing, than when he was brought forth. As my situation 
 was very commodious, I saw the whole ; and afterwards went and 
 heard part of the sermon, which was delivered before him in the 
 church to which the Seigneur belonged. The preacher was full 
 of action ; and in some part of his discourse, (as one who under- 
 stood Portuguese informed me,) pointing to the image, he said, 
 f Now he is at rest. He went out in justice, but is returned in 
 mercy.' And towards the conclusion, he called upon the people 
 to join with him in an extempore prayer. This they did with 
 great fervency, which was expressed not only by repeating it 
 aloud, but by beating their breasts, and clapping their cheeks, 
 and weeping heartily. To complete the solemnity, immediately 
 after the delivery of the blessing, all on a sudden, from the place 
 near which the image stood, there was heard a most soft and 
 soothing symphony of music ; which being ended, the assembly 
 broke up, and I returned to my lodgings, not a little affected to 
 see so many thousands led away from the simplicity of the gos- 
 pel, by such a mixture of human artifice and blind superstition, 
 of which indeed I could have formed no idea, had I not been an 
 eye-witness of it mysejf. This concern was still increased by 
 what I heard from some of my fellow -passengers, who informed 
 me, that about eleven one night, after I came aboard, they not 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 421 
 
 only heard a friar preaching most fervently before the Seigneur, 
 but also saw several companies of penitents brought in, lashing 
 and whipping themselves severely. How little unlike this to 
 those who cut themselves with knives and lancets, and cried out 
 from morning till night, ' O Baal, hear us ! ' Me thinks I hear 
 you say, And, had I been present, I should have wished for the 
 spirit of an Elijah to Hush, my friend I am content to guess 
 at the rest till we meet. In the mean while, let us comfort our- 
 selves with this thought, that there is a season approaching, 
 when the Lord God of Elijah will himself come, and destroy 
 this and every other species of antichrist, ( by the breath of his 
 mouth, and the brightness of his appearing,' even by the all- 
 conquering manifestations of his eternal Spirit. Whether as 
 men, Christians, and protestants, we have not more and more 
 reason to pray, night and day, for the hastening on of that glo- 
 rious and long wished-for period, you will be better able to judge, 
 when I send you (as I purpose to do, if I have time) a further 
 account of a Lent procession or two, of which I was also a spec 
 tator. At present I can only beg a continual remembrance at a 
 
 throne of grace, as being, my dear friend, . 
 
 " Though some other business demands my attention, yet I 
 must not forget the promise made you of a further account of 
 the processions I saw at Lisbon. Some of those already men- 
 tioned were extraordinary, by reason of the great drought ; but 
 that which is to be the subject of my present letter was an an- 
 nual one ; it being always customary at Lisbon to exhibit some 
 procession or another every Friday in Lent. An intelligent 
 protestant who stood near me, was so good as to be my inter- 
 preter of the dumb show as it passed along I say dumb show 
 for you must know it was chiefly made up of waxen or wooden 
 images, and carried on men's shoulders through the streets, in- 
 tending to represent the life and death of St. Francis, the found- 
 er of one of their religious orders. They were brought out 
 from the Franciscan convent, and were preceded by three per- 
 sons in scarlet habits with baskets in their hands, in which 
 they received the alms of the spectators, for the benefit of the 
 poor prisoners. After these came two little boys in parti- 
 coloured clothes, with wings fixed on their shoulders, in imita- 
 
422 
 
 tion of little angels. Then appeared the figure of St. Francis, 
 very gay and beau-like, as he used to be before his conversion. 
 In the next, he was introduced under conviction, and conse- 
 quently stripped of his finery. Soon after this was exhibited an 
 image of our blessed Lord himself, in a purple gown with long 
 black hair, with St. Francis lying before him, to receive his im- 
 mediate orders. Then came the Virgin Mother, (liorresco re- 
 ferens,) with Christ her Son at her left hand, and St. Francis 
 making his obeisance to both. Here, if I remember aright, he 
 made his first appearance in his friar's habit with his hair cut 
 short, but not as yet shaved in the crown of his head. After a 
 little space followed a mitred cardinal gaudily attired, and be- 
 fore him lay St. Francis almost prostrate, in order to be con- 
 firmed in his office. Soon.after this he appears quite metamor- 
 phosed into a monk, his crown shorn, his habit black, and his 
 loins girt with a knotted cord. Here he prays to our Saviour 
 hanging on a cross, that the marks of the wounds in his hands, 
 feet, and side, might be impressed on the same parts of his 
 body. The prayer is granted; blood comes from the hands, 
 feet, and side, and the saint with great devotion receives the 
 impressions. This was represented by red waxen strings, reach- 
 ing from those parts of the image to the corresponding parts of 
 St. Francis's body. Upon this he begins to do wonders ; and 
 therefore in a little while he was carried along, holding up a 
 house which was just falling. This miracle they say was per- 
 formed (if my information be true) at Madrid, but the parti- 
 culars of its history I have forgotten. At length the father 
 dies, and is brought forth lying in his grave. But lo ! the 
 briers and nettles under which he lay are turned into fine and 
 fragrant flowers. After this he is borne along upon a bier 
 covered with a silver pall, and four friars lamenting over him. 
 He then appears for the last time, but with an increase of power ; 
 for he was represented as drawing tormented people out of pur- 
 gatory with his knotted cord, which, as you may well imagine, 
 the poor souls catched at and took hold of very eagerly. At 
 length came a gorgeous friar under a splendid canopy, bearing 
 in his hand a piece of the holy cross. After him followed two 
 more little winged boys, and then a long train of fat and well- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 423 
 
 favoured Franciscans, with their calceisfenestratis, as Erasmus 
 calls them ; and so the procession ended. Methinks I hear you 
 say, It is full time. And so say I for as the sight itself dis- 
 gusted me, so I am persuaded the bare narration of it, though 
 ever so short, cannot be very pleasant to you, who I know abhor 
 every thing that savours of superstition and idolatry. We will 
 therefore take our leave of St. Francis, whose procession was in 
 the day-time ; but I must tell you it is only to inform you of 
 another of a much more awful and shocking nature, which I 
 saw afterwards by night. It was about ten o'clock, when being 
 deeply engaged in conversation with my kind host, in came an 
 Englishman, and told me in all haste, that he had seen a train 
 of near two hundred penitents passing along, and that in all pro- 
 bability I might be gratified with the same sight, if I hastened 
 to a place whither he would conduct me. I very readily obeyed 
 the summons, and, as curiosity quickened my pace, we soon 
 came up with some of those poor creatures, who were then making 
 a halt, and kneeling in the street, whilst a friar from a high 
 cross, with an image of our Lord crucified in his hand, was 
 preaching to them and the populace, with great vehemence. 
 Sermon being ended, the penitents who had already been preach- 
 ed to, went forwards, and several companies followed after with 
 their respective preaching friars at their head bearing crucifixes. 
 These they pointed to and brandished frequently, and the 
 hearers as frequently beat their breasts and clapped their cheeks. 
 At proper pauses they stopped and prayed; and one of them, 
 more zealous than the rest, before the king's palace, sounded 
 out the word penitent 'la through a speaking trumpet. The peni- 
 tents themselves were clothed and covered all over with white 
 linen vestments, only holes were made for their eyes to peep 
 out at. All were barefooted, and all had long heavy chains 
 fastened to their ancles, which, when dragged along the street, 
 made a dismal rattling : but though alike in dress, yet in other 
 respects there was great variety amongst them ; for some car- 
 ried great stones on their backs, and others dead men's bones 
 and sculls in their hands. Some bore large and seemingly very 
 heavy crosses upon their shoulders, whilst others had their 
 arms extended quite wide, or carried a bow full of swords with 
 
424 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 the points downwards. Most of them whipped and lashed them- 
 selves, some with cords, and others with flat bits of iron. It 
 being a moonshine night I could see them quite well ; and, in- 
 deed, some of them struck so hard that I perceived that their 
 backs (left bare on purpose to be slashed) were quite red, and 
 swollen very much by the violence and repetition of the blows. 
 Had my dear friend been there, he would have joined with me 
 in saying, that the whole scene was horrible so horrible, that, 
 being informed it was to be continued till morning, I was glad 
 to return from whence I came, about midnight. Had you been 
 with me, I know you would have joined in praising and grate- 
 fully adoring the Lord of all lords, not only for the great won- 
 der of the Reformation, but also for that glorious deliverance 
 wrought out for us in stopping of our late unnatural rebellion. 
 Oh with what a mighty Spirit and power from on high, must 
 Luther, Calvin, Melancthon, Zuinglius, and those glorious Re- 
 formers, be necessarily endued, who dared first openly to oppose 
 and stem such a torrent of superstition and spiritual tyranny ! 
 And what gratitude owe we to him, who, under God, was instru- 
 mental in saving us from the return of such spiritual slavery, 
 and such blind obedience to a papal power ! To have had a 
 cardinal for our king a cardinal, if not born, yet from his in- 
 fancy nursed up, at Rome a cardinal, one of whose sons is ad- 
 vanced to the same ecclesiastical dignity, and both under the 
 strongest obligations to support the interest of that church 
 whose superstitions, as well as political state principles, they 
 have sucked in and imbibed even from their infancy. But, 
 blessed be God, the snare is broken, and we are delivered. Oh 
 for protestant practices to be added to protestant principles ! 
 Oh for an obediential acknowledgment to the ever blessed God 
 for our repeated deliverances ! But alas ! pardon me, my dear 
 friend, I stop to weep adieu I cannot enlarge, but leaving you 
 to guess from what source my tears flow, I must hasten to sub- 
 scribe myself, . 
 
 " Providence still detains us at Lisbon, and therefore I know 
 you will be inquiring what more news from thence ? Truly, as 
 extraordinary as ever for I have now seen the solemnities of a 
 Holy Thursday, which is a very high day in this metropolis, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 4:25 
 
 and particularly remarkable for the grand illuminations of the 
 churches, and the king's washing twelve poor men's feet. 
 Through the interest of a friend I got admittance into the gal- 
 lery where the ceremony was performed. It was large, and 
 hung with tapestry ; one piece of which represented the humble 
 Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. Before this, upon a 
 small eminence, sat twelve men in black. At the upper end, 
 and several other parts of the gallery, were sideboards with gold 
 and silver large basons and ewers most curiously wrought ; and 
 near these a large table covered with a variety of dishes, all 
 cold, set off and garnished after the Portuguese fashion. Public 
 high mass being over, his Majesty came in attended with his 
 nobles, who seemed to me to look like so many Roman senators. 
 The very act of washing the feet I did not get in time enough 
 to see ; but that being ended, several of the young noblemen 
 served up the dishes to the king's brother and uncles ; these 
 again handed them to his Majesty, who gave (I think) twelve of 
 them in all to each poor man. Every thing was carried on with 
 a great deal of decency and good humour. The young noble- 
 men served very cheerfully, their seniors looked quite pleased, 
 and the king and his royal relations behaved in a very polite, 
 easy manner. Upon the whole, though, as you may easily guess, 
 it was not an exact copy of the tapestry, yet as the poor men's 
 clothes and food, when sold, came to about ten moidores, and as 
 there was little mixture of superstition in it, I cannot say but I 
 was as well pleased with my morning's entertainment as with 
 any thing I had met with since my arrival. I believe the whole 
 took up near two hours. After dinner we went to see the 
 churches, but the magnificence and sumptuousness of the furni- 
 ture, on this occasion, cannot well be expressed. Many of them 
 were hung with purple damask trimmed with gold. In one of 
 them there was a solid silver altar of several yards circum- 
 ference, and near twelve steps high ; and in another a gold one, 
 still more magnificent, of about the same dimensions. Its basis 
 was studded with many precious stones, and near the top were 
 placed silver images in representation of angels. Each step 
 was filled with large silver candlesticks, with wax tapers in 
 them, which, going up by a regular ascent till they formed them- 
 
 3 i 
 
426 WHITEFJELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 selves into a pyramid, made a most glittering and splendid 
 blaze. The great altars also of the other churches were illu- 
 minated most profusely, and silver pots of artificial flowers with 
 a large wax taper between each, were fixed all round several of 
 them. Between these were large paintings in black and white, 
 representing the different parts of our Saviour's passion. And, 
 in short, all was so magnificently, so superstitiously grand, that 
 I am persuaded several thousands of pounds would not defray 
 the expenses of this one day. Go which way you would, no- 
 thing was to be seen but illuminations within and hurry with- 
 out. For all persons, the crowned heads themselves not ex- 
 cepted, are obliged on this day to visit seven churches or altars, 
 in imitation, as is supposed, of our Lord's being hurried from 
 one tribunal to another before he was condemned to be hung 
 upon the cross. I saw the queen pass by in great state to visit 
 three of them. Velvet cushions were carried before her Ma- 
 jesty, and boards laid along the streets for herself and retinue 
 to walk upon. Guards attended before and behind, and thou- 
 sands of spectators stood on each side to gaze at them as they 
 passed along. Being desirous of seeing the manner of their en- 
 trance, we got into the last church before they came. It was 
 that of St. Domingo, where was the gold altar before mentioned, 
 and at which her Majesty and train knelt about a quarter of an 
 hour. All the while the Dominican friars sung most sur- 
 prisingly sweet. But as I stood near the altar over against the 
 great door, I must confess my very inmost soul was struck with 
 a secret horror, when, upon looking up, I saw over the front of 
 the great window of the church the heads of many hundred 
 Jews, painted on canvass, who had been condemned (by what 
 they call the Holy Inquisition) and carried out from that church 
 to be burnt. Strange way this of compelling people to come 
 in ! Such was not thy method, O meek and compassionate 
 Lamb of God ! Thou earnest not to destroy men's lives, but 
 to save them. But bigotry is as cruel as the grave. It knows 
 no remorse. From all its bitter and dire effects, good Lord, de- 
 liver us. But to return to the queen having performed her 
 devotions she departed, and went in a coach of state, I believe, 
 directly from the church to her palace, and without doubt suffi- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 427 
 
 ciently fatigued. For, besides walking through the streets to 
 the several churches, her Majesty also, and the princesses, had 
 been engaged in waiting upon and washing the feet of twelve 
 poor women, in as public a manner as the king. In our walk 
 home we met his Majesty with his brother and two uncles, 
 attended only with a few noblemen in black velvet, and a few 
 guards without halberts. I suppose he was returning from his 
 last church, and, as one may well imagine, equally fatigued with 
 his royal consort and daughters. When church and state thus 
 combine to be nursing fathers and nursing mothers to supersti- 
 tion, is it any wonder that its credit and influence is so diffusive 
 among the populace ? O Britain ! Britain ! hadst thou but zeal 
 proportionable to thy knowledge, and inward purity adequate 
 to the simplicity of thy external worship, in what a happy and 
 god-like situation wouldst thou be ! Here I could weep again. 
 Again I leave you to guess the cause ; and if I can send you one 
 more letter of a like nature, before we leave this place, it is all 
 
 you must expect from, . 
 
 " After the news sent you in my last, I thought our Lisbon 
 correspondence would entirely have been put a stop to. For 
 upon returning to my lodgings, (as weary, I believe, as others 
 that had been running from church to church all day,) word was 
 sent me, that our ship would certainly sail next morning. This 
 news, I own, was not altogether agreeable to me, because I wanted 
 to see the conclusion of the Lent solemnities. However, I made 
 ready ; and having despatched my private affairs the over-night, 
 was conducted very early in the morning, by my kind host, 
 down to Bellem, where the ship lay. We parted. The wind 
 promised to be fair ; but dying away, I very eagerly went ashore 
 once more. But how was the scene changed ! Before, all used 
 to be noise and hurry : now, all was hushed and shut up in the 
 most awful and profound silence. No clock or bell had been 
 heard since yesterday noon, and scarce a person was to be seen 
 in the street all the way to Lisbon. About two in the afternoon 
 we got to the place where (I had heard some days ago) an ex- 
 traordinary scene was to be exhibited. Can you guess what it 
 was ? Perhaps not. Why, then, I will tell you. ' It was the 
 crucifixion of the Son of God, represented partly by dumb im- 
 
428 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 ages, and partly by living persons, in a large church belonging 
 to the convent of St. De Beato.' Several thousands crowded 
 into it; some of which, as I was told, had been waiting there 
 ever since six in the morning. Through the kind interposition 
 and assistance of a protestant or two, I was not only admitted 
 into the church, but was very commodiously situated to view 
 the whole performance. We had not waited long before the 
 curtain was drawn up. Immediately, upon a high scaffold, hung 
 in the front with black baize, and behind with silk purple dam- 
 ask laced with gold, was exhibited to our view an image of the 
 Lord Jesus at full length, crowned with thorns, and nailed on a 
 cross, between two figures of like dimensions, representing the 
 two thieves. At a little distance, on the right hand, was placed 
 an image of the Virgin Mary, in plain long ruffles, and a kind 
 of widow-weeds. Her veil was purple silk, and she had a wire 
 glory round her head. At the foot of the cross lay, in a mourn- 
 ful, pensive posture, a living man, dressed in woman's clothes, 
 who personated Mary Magdalene ; and not far off stood a young 
 man, in imitation of the beloved disciple. He was dressed in a 
 loose green silk vesture, and bob-wig. His eyes were fixed on 
 the cross, and his two hands a little extended. On each side, 
 near the front of the stage, stood two sentinels in buff, with 
 formidable caps and long beards ; and directly in the front stood 
 another yet more formidable, with a large target in his hand. 
 We may suppose him to be the Roman centurion. To complete 
 the scene, from behind the purple hangings came out about 
 twenty little purple- vested winged boys, two by two, each bear- 
 ing a lighted wax taper in his hand, and a crimson and gold cap 
 on his head. At their entrance upon the stage they gently 
 bowed their heads to the spectators, then kneeled and made 
 obeisance, first to the image on the cross, and then to that of 
 the Virgin Mary. When risen, they bowed to each other, and 
 then took their respective places over against one another, on 
 steps assigned for them at the front of the stage. Opposite to 
 this, at a few yards' distance, stood a black friar, in a pulpit hung 
 in mourning. For a while he paused, and then, breaking si- 
 lence, gradually lifted up his voice, till it was extended to a 
 pretty high pitch, though, I think, scarce high enough for so 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 429 
 
 large an auditory. After he had proceeded in his discourse 
 about a quarter of an hour, a confused noise was heard near the 
 front great door ; and, upon turning my head, I saw four long- 
 bearded men, two of which carried a ladder on their shoulders, 
 and after them followed two more with large gilt dishes in their 
 hands, full of linen, spices, &c. These (as I imagined) were 
 the representatives of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. 
 On a signal given from the pulpit, they advanced towards the 
 steps of the scaffold. But upon their very first attempting to 
 mount it, at the watchful centurion's nod, the observant soldiers 
 made a pass at them, and presented the points of their javelins 
 directly to their breasts. They are repulsed. Upon this a let- 
 ter from Pilate is produced. The centurion reads it, shakes his 
 head, and, with looks that bespoke a forced compliance, beckons 
 to the sentinels to withdraw their arms. Leave being thus ob- 
 tained, they ascend ; and having paid their homage, by kneeling 
 first to the image on the cross, and then to the Virgin Mary, 
 they retired to the back of the stage. Still the preacher con- 
 tinued declaiming, or rather (as was said) explaining the mourn- 
 ful scene. Magdalene persists in wringing her hands, and vari- 
 ously expressing her personated sorrow ; whilst John (seemingly 
 regardless of all besides) stood gazing on the crucified figure, 
 By this time it was near three o'clock, and therefore proper for 
 the scene to begin to close. The ladders are ascended, the 
 superscription and crown of thorns taken off, long white rollers 
 put round the arms of the image, and then the nails knocked 
 out which fastened the hands and feet. Here Mary Magdalene 
 looks most languishing, and John, if possible, stands more thun- 
 der-struck than before. The orator lifts up his voice, and al- 
 most all the hearers expressed concern by weeping, beating their 
 breasts, and smiting their cheeks. At length the body is gently 
 let down. Magdalene eyes it, and, gradually rising, receives the 
 feet into her wide-spread handkerchief; whilst John, (who 
 hitherto stood motionless like a statue,) as the body came nearer 
 the ground, with an.eagerness that bespoke the intense affection 
 of a sympathizing friend, runs towards the cross, seizes the upper 
 part of it into his clasping arms, and, with his disguised fellow- 
 mourner, helps to bear it away. And here the play should end, 
 
430 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 was I not afraid you would be angry with me if I did not give 
 you an account of the last act, by telling you what became of the 
 corpse after it was taken down. Great preparations were made 
 for its interment. It was wrapped in linen, and spices, &c. and 
 being laid upon a bier richly hung, was afterwards carried round 
 the churchyard in grand procession. The image of the Virgin 
 Mary was chief mourner, and John and Magdalene, with a whole 
 troop of friars with wax tapers in their hands, followed after. 
 Determined to see the whole, I waited its return; and in about 
 a quarter of an hour the corpse was brought in, and deposited 
 in an open sepulchre prepared for the purpose ; but not before 
 a priest, accompanied by several of the same order in splendid 
 vestments, had perfumed it with incense, sung to and kneeled 
 before it. John and Magdalene attended the obsequies ; but the 
 image of the Virgin Mary was carried away and placed upon the 
 front of the stage, in order to be kissed, adored, and worshipped 
 by the people. This I saw them do with the utmost eagerness 
 and reverence. And thus ended this Good Friday's tragi- 
 comical, superstitious, idolatrous droll. A droll which, whilst 
 I saw, as well as now whilst I am describing it, excited in me a 
 high indignation. Surely, thought I, whilst attending on such 
 a scene of mock devotion, if ever, now is the dear Lord Jesus 
 crucified afresh ; and I could then, and even now, think of no 
 other plea for the poor beguiled devotees, than that which suf- 
 fering Innocence put up himself for his enemies, when actually 
 hanging upon the cross, viz. ' Father, forgive them, for they 
 know not what they do.' There was but one thing wanting to 
 raise one's resentment to the highest pitch, and that was for 
 one of the soldiers to have pierced the side of the image upon 
 the cross. This, in all probability, you have heard hath actually 
 been done in other places, and, with a little more art, might, I 
 think, have been performed here. Doubtless it would have 
 afforded the preacher as good, if not a better, opportunity of 
 working upon the passions of his auditory, than the taking down 
 the superscription and the crown of thorns, and wiping the head 
 with a blooded cloth, and afterwards exposing it to the view of 
 the people ; all which I saw done before the body was let down. 
 But alas ! my dear friend, how mean is that eloquence, and how 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 431 
 
 entirely destitute of the demonstration of the Spirit, and of a 
 divine power, must that oratory necessarily be, that stands in 
 need of such a train of superstitious pageantry to render it im- 
 pressive ! Think you, my dear friend, that the apostle Paul 
 used or needed any such artifices to excite the passions of the 
 people of Galatia, amongst whom, as he himself informs us, 
 ' Jesus Christ was crucified, and evidently set forth ? ' But thus 
 it is, and thus it will be, when simplicity and spirituality are 
 banished from our religious offices, and artifice and idolatry 
 seated in their room. I am well aware that the Romanists deny 
 the charge of idolatry ; but after having seen what I have seen 
 this day, as well as at sundry other times since my arrival here, 
 I cannot help thinking but a person must be capable of making 
 more than metaphysical distinctions, and deal in very abstract 
 ideas indeed, fairly to evade the charge. If ' weighed in the 
 balances of the sanctuary,' I am positive the scale must turn on 
 the protestant side. But such a balance these poor people are 
 not permitted to make use of ! Doth not your heart bleed for 
 them ? Mine doth, I am sure ; and I believe would do so more 
 and more, was I to stay longer, and see what they call their hal- 
 lelujah and grand devotions on Easter day. But that scene is 
 denied me. The wind is fair, and I must away. Follow me 
 
 with your prayers, and believe me to be, ." 
 
 Such was Popery at Lisbon, in 1754, and it is not substan- 
 tially different now in Paris, Antwerp, or Cologne. If it be im- 
 possible not to admire the statuary of the Crucifixion and 
 Sepulchre in the church of St. Roche in Paris, it is equally 
 impossible not to be disgusted at the Shrine of St. Genevieve. 
 Indeed, all over the Continent, the tragi-comic prevails in the 
 popish cathedrals, nor is it possible to doubt that the Virgin 
 has most worship. Her altar never lacks caudles or votaries, 
 whatever other shrine may be dim and deserted. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 WHITEFIELD AND THE LONDON MORAVIANS. 
 
 ALTHOUGH Whitefield derived neither the good nor the evil 
 from the Moravians that Wesley did, his personal history would 
 be incomplete, and his Times would lack a slight feature of 
 their true character, were I to pass over his connexion with that 
 singular people, then so ill represented, in some respects, in 
 London. It is, however, with great reluctance I touch the sub- 
 ject. I am dissolving (so far) a charm, which has often soothed 
 and cheered me, when I have been soured or saddened by looking 
 too closely at human nature. Oh, what have the tyrants of con- 
 science to answer for ! Truly " oppression makes a wise man 
 mad." Had the first quakers been free to follow the Lamb by 
 the lamp of the New Testament, and to reject "Roman can- 
 dles," they and their posterity might have been as useful to the 
 church as they have been to the world. In like manner, had 
 the Bohemian church not been deprived of Huss and Jerome, 
 nor denounced for reading Wycliffe, the descendants of her 
 martyrs might have had no startling singularities of sentiment 
 or ceremony. The Moravians were drawn into both, because 
 their fathers were driven into unnatural and trying positions, 
 which inevitably created fancies, and called forth rhapsodies. 
 
 Time, happily, has so pruned both the wild luxuriance and 
 the worldly policy of Moravianism, that it is almost impossible 
 to believe now, that Molther ever taught the doctrines, or 
 Nitschmann ever sung the hymns, or Zinzendorff ever sanction- 
 ed the practices in London, which Whitefield and Wesley ex- 
 posed. These things, however, ought not to be forgotten. Their 
 memory is the safeguard against their recurrence. It is wanted 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 433 
 
 too as ballast, by the Moravian church ; just as all churches 
 need to remember the blots upon their escutcheon. Dr. Southey 
 says, " few religious communities may look back upon their his- 
 tory with so much satisfaction as the united brethren." This 
 is true of their general history ; but it is equally true that their 
 vagaries in London did them no credit. These first alarmed, 
 and then alienated, both Watts and Doddridge, as well as White- 
 field and Wesley. Doddridge was right too in supposing, that 
 " they produced the same sentiments in the archbishop of Can- 
 terbury." Potter could forgive much to a people whom he re- 
 cognised as an " apostolical and episcopal church ;" but he seems 
 to have doubted eventually, whether Zinzendorff was elected 
 their bishop, " plaudente toto ccelesti choro" At least his arms 
 were not so "open" to him as at first. And it was well for the 
 Moravians, that good men both took and sounded an alarm, 
 from the exposures made by Rimius. It taught them, as Dr. 
 Southey well says, " to correct their perilous error in time ;" 
 and since, " they have continued not merely to live without re- 
 proach, but to enjoy in a greater degree than any other sect, the 
 general good opinion of every other religious community." Both 
 Wesley and Whitefield contributed not a little to this improve- 
 ment by the influence they had over Ingham, Dellamotte, and 
 Gambold, and by their writings. The manner in which White- 
 field dealt with the subject will be best seen in his own letter to 
 Zinzendorff. 
 
 He remonstrated thus with the Count, as the lord advocate 
 of the UNITAS FRATRUM. " For these many years past I have 
 been a silent, and I trust I can say, an impartial, observer of the 
 progress and effects of Moravianism, both in England and Ame- 
 rica ; but such shocking things have been lately brought to our 
 ears, and offences have swelled to such an enormous bulk, that 
 a real regard for my king and my country, and, if I am not 
 greatly mistaken, a disinterested love for the ever-blessed 
 Jesus, that King of kings, and the church which he hath pur- 
 chased with his own blood, will not suffer me to be silent any 
 longer. 
 
 " Pardon me, therefore, my Lord, if at length, though with great 
 regret, as the Searcher of hearts knows, I am constrained to in- 
 
 3 K 
 
434 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 form your Lordship, that you, together with some of your lead- 
 ing brethren, have been unhappily instrumental in misguiding 
 many real, simple, honest-hearted Christians ; of distressing, if 
 not totally ruining, numerous families ; and introducing a whole 
 farrago of superstitious, not to say idolatrous, fopperies into the 
 English nation. 
 
 " For my own part, my Lord, notwithstanding the folio that 
 was published (I presume under your Lordship's direction) 
 about three years ago, I am as much at a loss as ever, to know 
 what were the principles and usages of the ancient Moravian 
 church ; but if she was originally attired in the same garb, in 
 which she hath appeared of late amongst many true-hearted, 
 though deluded protestants, she is not that simple, apostolical 
 church the English brethren were made to believe about twelve 
 years ago. Sure I am, that we can find no traces of many of 
 her present practices in the yet more ancient, I mean the primi- 
 tive churches, and which we all know were really under an im- 
 mediate and truly apostolical inspection. 
 
 " Will your Lordship be pleased to give me leave to descend 
 to a few particulars ? Pray, my Lord, what instances have we 
 of the first Christians walking round the graves of their deceased 
 friends on Easter-day, attended with hautboys, trumpets, French 
 horns, violins, and other kinds of musical instruments ? Or 
 where have we the least mention made of pictures of parti- 
 cular persons being brought into the first Christian assemblies, 
 and of candles being placed behind them, in order to give a 
 transparent view of the figures ? Where was it ever known, 
 that the picture of the apostle Paul, representing him handing 
 a gentleman and lady up to the side of Jesus Christ, was ever 
 introduced into the primitive love-feasts ? 
 
 ' ' Or do we ever hear, my Lord, of incense, or something like it, 
 being burnt for Paul, in order to perfume the room before he 
 made his entrance among the brethren ? Or can it be supposed 
 that he, who, together with Barnabas, so eagerly repelled the 
 Lycaonians, when they brought oxen and garlands, in order to 
 sacrifice unto them, would ever have suffered such things to be 
 done for him, without expressing his abhorrence and detestation 
 of them ? And yet your Lordship knows both these have been 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 435 
 
 done for you, and suffered by you, without your having shown, 
 as far as I can hear, the least dislike. 
 
 " Again, my Lord, I beg leave to inquire, whether we hear any 
 thing in Scripture of elderesses or deaconesses of the apos- 
 tolical churches seating themselves before a table, covered with 
 artificial flowers, and against that a little altar surrounded with 
 wax tapers, on which stood a cross, composed either of mock or 
 real diamonds, or other glittering stones ? And yet your Lord- 
 ship must be sensible this was done in Fetter Lane chapel, for 
 Mrs. Hannah Nitschman, the present general elderess of your 
 congregation, with this addition, that all the sisters were seat- 
 ed, clothed in white, and with German caps ; the organ also 
 illuminated with three pyramids of wax tapers, each of which 
 was tied with a red riband ; and over the head of the general 
 elderess, was placed her own picture, and over that (horresco 
 referens) the picture of the Son of God. A goodly sight, this, 
 my Lord, for a company of English protestants to behold ! 
 Alas ! to what a long series of childish and superstitious devo- 
 tions, and unscriptural impositions, must they have been ha- 
 bituated, before they could sit silent and tame spectators of 
 such an antichristian scene. Surely, had Gideon, though but 
 an Old Testament saint, been present, he would have risen and 
 pulled down this, as he formerly did his father's altar. Or had 
 even that meek man Moses been there, I cannot help thinking, 
 but he would have addressed your Lordship, partly at least, in 
 the words with which he addressed his brother Aaron, ' What 
 did this people unto thee, that thou hast introduced such super- 
 stitious customs among them ? ' 
 
 " A like scene to this was exhibited by the single brethren, in 
 a room of their house at Hatton Garden. One of them, who 
 helped to furnish it, gave me the following account. The floor 
 was covered with sand and moss, and in the middle of it was 
 paved a star of different coloured pebbles, upon that was placed 
 a gilded dove, which spouted water out of its mouth into a ves- 
 sel prepared for its reception, which was curiously decked with 
 artificial leaves and flags ; the room was hung with moss and 
 shells. The Count, his son, and son-in-law, in honour of whom 
 all this was done, with Mrs. Hannah Nitschman, and Mr. Peter 
 
436 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Boehler, and some other labourers, were present. These were 
 seated under an alcove, supported by columns made of paste- 
 board, and over their heads was painted an oval, in imitation of 
 marble, containing the ciphers of Count ZinzendorfPs family. 
 Upon a side table, was a little altar covered with shells, and on 
 each side of the altar was a bloody heart, out of or near which 
 proceeded flames. The room was illuminated with wax tapers, 
 and musicians placed in an adjacent apartment, while the com- 
 pany performed their devotions, and regaled themselves with 
 sweetmeats, coffee, tea, and wine. After this the labourers de- 
 parted, and the single brethren were admitted in. I am told, 
 that most, if not all, of these leading persons were present also 
 at the celebration of Mrs. Hannah Nitschman's birth-day. 
 
 " But this is not all ; I have another question to propose to 
 your Lordship. Pray, my Lord, did any of the apostles or 
 leaders of the primitive churches, ever usurp an authority, not 
 only over people's consciences, but their properties also ? Or 
 draw in the members of their respective congregations to dis- 
 pose of whole patrimonies at once, or to be bound for thousands 
 of pounds more than they well knew they were worth ? And 
 yet your Lordship knows this has been done again and again, in 
 order to serve the purposes of the brethren for several years 
 last past ; and that too, at, or very near the time, when, in order 
 to procure an act in their favour to go abroad, (which now ap- 
 pears to be rather a scheme to settle at home,) they boasted to 
 an English parliament, how immensely rich they were. 
 
 " Your Lordship cannot but be sensible, that at this present 
 time you stand indebted to sundry persons to the value of forty 
 thousand pounds sterling; and unless some of your brethren 
 had agreed to stay six years for about twenty thousand pounds, 
 due to them ; (though after the expiration of that term, as they 
 have no security, in all probability they will be just where they 
 are now ;) and if the other creditors also, upon consideration of 
 some bonds given, and mortgages made for principal and in- 
 terest, had not agreed to stay four years, for twenty-one thou- 
 sand pounds more, many of the English brethren, who, out of I 
 know not what kind of infatuation, have not only given their all, 
 but have been bound for thousands more than they are able to 
 
437 
 
 pay, must either have immediately become bankrupts, and 
 thereby the creditors perhaps not have had a shilling in the 
 pound, or have been obliged to shut up their shops, go to prison, 
 or be turned out into the wide world, to the utter ruin of them- 
 selves and families. 
 
 " I have been told of a very singular expedient made use of by 
 Mr. Peter Boehler, one of the brethren's bishops, in order to 
 strengthen the faith and to raise the drooping spirits of Mr. 
 William Bell, who hath been unhappily drawn in (with several 
 others) to be one of their agents. It was this : It being Mr. 
 Bell's birth-day, he was sent for from his house in Nevil's Al- 
 ley, Fetter Lane ; but for a while, having had some words with 
 Mr. Boehler, he refused to come : at length he complied, and 
 was introduced into a hall, in the same alley, where was placed 
 an artificial mountain, which, upon singing a particular verse, 
 was made to fall down, and then behind it was discovered an 
 illumination, representing Jesus Christ and Mr. Bell, sitting 
 very near, or embracing each other ; and out of the clouds was 
 also represented plenty of money falling round Mr. Bell and the 
 Saviour. This story appeared to me so incredible at the first 
 hearing, that, though I could not doubt the veracity of the re- 
 later, yet fearing he might be misinformed, I sent for him again, 
 and he assured me, that Mr. Bell told this story himself some 
 time ago in company, and a person of good reputation of that 
 company related it to an acquaintance of mine. May God 
 grant him and all others who have been undesignedly concern- 
 ed, a more sure and stable prop for their faith, even his own 
 word, in which he causes his people to trust ! Then, and not till 
 then, even upon the greatest emergency, they may without any 
 fanciful representations, boldly say, 'Who art thou, O great 
 mountain ? before the Lord Jesus, our all-conquering Zerubba- 
 bel, thou shalt become a plain.' 
 
 " The distress and anguish of mind that hundreds have been 
 involved in upon this very account, is, I believe, unspeakable. 
 And the bare reflection upon it, whilst I am writing, makes my 
 heart almost to bleed within me. Who, who, but themselves, 
 my Lord, can tell the late perplexity of their minds, who have 
 been already arrested, or obliged to break off their respective 
 
438 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 partnerships ? Or what words can express the great concern 
 which Mr. Freeman and Mr. Thomas Grace must have heen 
 necessarily under, when they found that bills had been drawn 
 in their name, unknown to them, to the value of forty- eight 
 thousand pounds ? And how pitiable, my Lord, must the pre- 
 sent circumstances of young Mr. Rhodes be, who, to stop a 
 little of the above-mentioned gap, was prevailed on, (your 
 Lordship knows by whom,) about eighteen months ago, to sell 
 his estate of above four hundred pounds a year, and went or 
 was sent off very lately, as I am assured, to France, (leaving a 
 destitute mother behind him,) and only with twenty -five pounds, 
 for the payment of which he left his watch, bureau, horse, and 
 saddle! 
 
 " These are but a few instances, my Lord, amongst many, in- 
 deed, too, too many, that might be given. The brethren's 
 agents, and those concerned with them, can best tell what hor- 
 rid equivocations, untruths, and low artifices have been used, to 
 procure money, at high interest, wherever it was to be had, in 
 order to keep up the brethren's credit ; and in that poor, lame 
 manner, it hath been kept up for a considerable time. Was the 
 whole scene to be opened, I believe every one would be of 
 opinion, that such an ecclesiastical project never was heard of 
 before in any part of his Majesty's dominions. 
 
 ' ' Of this, my Lord, the Royal Exchange hath long since rung ; 
 and if the same part hath been acted abroad, how many fami- 
 lies must have been ruined there, and how many more may yet 
 be ruined, in order to fill up the present English chasm ; and 
 consequently, what loads of guilt must needs lie at the door of 
 somebody ! Surely, the Lord of all lords, whose eyes are like 
 a flame of fire, and who requires truth in the inward parts, 
 will one day or other visit for these things, by bringing to light 
 the hidden things of darkness, and thereby making manifest the 
 counsels of the heart ! 
 
 " I need not inform your Lordship, that Babels are generally 
 suffered to be built pretty high, before God comes down to 
 confound the language of the builders. If knaves are employ- 
 ed, (as commonly they are,) God's honour is concerned to dis- 
 cover them. And if any of his own children are undesignedly 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 439 
 
 drawn in, (which is frequently the case,) he, who hath promised 
 not to suffer them to be tempted above what they are able to 
 bear, will in mercy, some way or other, rebuke the tempter, 
 and make a way for them to escape. It is true, this, in public 
 concerns, may sometimes expose them to a little worldly con- 
 tempt, and for a while they may seemingly be crushed under 
 the rubbish of the fallen fabric, but even this shall work toge- 
 ther for their good ; and happy will it be for them, if, after all, 
 they at length learn this important lesson, ' That it is danger- 
 ous, upon any pretence whatsoever, to go from the written 
 word, or give up their consciences to the guidance of any man, 
 or body of men, under heaven.' This, your Lordship well 
 knows, is what weak and unstable souls are too apt to do ; and 
 artful and designing men, who are fond of power, especially if 
 naturally they are of an ambitious turn of mind, easily catch 
 at the pleasing bait. But honesty, my Lord, will be found to 
 be the best policy after all ; and therefore, God forbid that any 
 who call themselves the followers of the Lamb, should glory in 
 any thing save the cross of Christ. 
 
 " At present, I shall add no more, but earnestly say Amen, to 
 that part of the brethren's litany, however exceptionable in other 
 respects, ' From untimely projects, and from unhappily becom- 
 ing great, keep us, our good Lord and God ! ' ' 
 
 This controversy had one effect, which Whitefield did not an- 
 ticipate, nor can I fully explain ; it led Cennick to quit him, and 
 to go over to the Moravians : a proof, however, that the Mora- 
 vians as a body were not perverted by their leaders. A large 
 party went over with Cennick on this occasion; amongst whom 
 was Mrs. Greenfield, one of Queen Caroline's ladies. She is 
 the person called in Whitefield's Letters, " one of Caesar's house- 
 hold." He visited her at St. James's Palace, and found her 
 " ready to shotc out" Indeed, she had ; for the palace was then 
 ringing about her. But whilst he thought she would make a 
 glorious martyr, if she stood firm, he saw the peril of her posi- 
 tion, and said to her friend Lady Huntingdon, "Till Mrs. 
 Greenfield can meet with company really in earnest, the closer 
 she keeps to her God and her book the better." She retired 
 from the court on a pension ; and though she joined the Mo- 
 
440 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 ravians, she continued to correspond with Whitefield, and to 
 hear him at the house of the Countess. She also parted with 
 her favourite servant, to furnish the Tabernacle house in Bris- 
 tol with a suitable housekeeper. I ought to add, that White- 
 field's letter to Zinzendorff " cured many of the fopperies and 
 faults it exposed." 
 
 Whitefield's picture of Moravianism as it then was, has been 
 rigidly criticized of late by the amiable author of the Life of the 
 Count, who laments that I should have preserved the picture. 
 And certainly it is no likeness of Moravians now, and was none, 
 then of the body at large, and especially not of the Mission- 
 aries they sent to Greenland and the Colonies. Still, there 
 were such caricatures of that simple-hearted people in London 
 then ; and London wealth, to which they had not been accus- 
 tomed, betrayed them into extravagances, at variance with their 
 general principles. History, however, cannot afford to forget 
 such things altogether, even although the persons meant well, 
 and became wiser eventually. Moravianism, like Quakerism, 
 had its fanatics at first ; and both will best preserve their pre- 
 sent high character by remembering the humbling fact. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S INFLUENCE IN AMERICA. 
 FIRST PART. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S former visits to America, although not unwel- 
 come to her spiritual churches, were, in some measure, unsought 
 for by them, as churches. I mean, he consulted his own sense 
 of duty, and the interest of his orphan-house, and the urgency 
 of private friends, rather than public opinion, on either side of 
 the Atlantic. On the present occasion, besides his ordinary 
 reasons for ranging America, he had many pressing invitations 
 " to cross-plough " his old grounds, and to water where he had 
 planted. He had also a home reason. He wished to come back 
 upon England and Scotland again, in the power of an American 
 unction ; a savour he had found to be " of life unto life," in all 
 his movements through his native land. Hence he said on his 
 voyage, " After a short tour through America, I hope to see my 
 native country, and begin to begin to ramble after poor sinners 
 again." It was there he learnt to range, and there he dis- 
 covered how much he could range, as well as how much good 
 ranging did ; and therefore he was unwilling to forget the lesson. 
 And no wonder. Had he not hunted in the American woods 
 and wilds, he would not have done nor dared what he attempted 
 at home. Indeed, every foreign place was a school, where he 
 studied for home. And he was an apt scholar. It must have 
 been a strange place indeed, where Whitefield could pick up 
 nothing useful. Every where his maxim was, " I would fain be 
 one of Christ's bees, and learn to extract honey from every 
 flower ;" whilst every where his feeling was, " Alas, I am a 
 drone, and deserve to be stung out of God's hive." 
 
442 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 He arrived in safety with his orphans at Bethesda, after an 
 easy voyage ; and found himself at the head of a family of a 
 hundred and six members, " black and while," all dependent 
 upon his personal efforts and influence. But he had no fears. 
 He regarded his charge as a stewardship of Providence, and 
 hoped and begged accordingly, nothing doubting. Having 
 arranged his household, he started to his work, and traversed 
 Carolina. It was now high summer; and besides the oppressive 
 heat, " great thunders, violent lightnings, and heavy rains," 
 frequently beat upon him as he journeyed from town to town ; 
 but his health improved and his spirits rose, as he advanced. 
 One reason of this was that he chiefly travelled by night. " In 
 spite of thunder, lightning, rain, and heat, God is pleased," he 
 says, " to hold my soul in life, and to let me see his glorious 
 work prosper in my unworthy hands." One part of this pros- 
 perity was, the conversion of a clergyman, and the prospect of 
 a faithful successor to Smith at Charleston from Bethesda * 
 This was the first student sent forth from the orphan-house 
 I can give no account of him : but he must have had consider- 
 able ministerial talent, to commend himself to Josiah Smith's 
 flock. The reader remembers his sermon on Whitefield's 
 character. 
 
 Having " fully preached the gospel " in the regions of Caro- 
 lina, he went to New York and Philadelphia, and found at both 
 te prejudices removed, and a more effectual door than ever," for 
 labour. At this time, however, he seems to have lost his horse; 
 and thus to have been dependent upon his friends for convey- 
 ances. He had been so before, and remembered that neither 
 all horses nor all drivers were alike. To one of his former whips 
 he wrote, " You must bring a chaise ; I have no horse ; I will 
 once more venture your throwing me down." This was on the 
 way to Philadelphia. There he was thrown down suddenly, but 
 not from a chaise. He was seized " with a violent cholera mor- 
 bus" and soon brought to the gates of death. He had, he said, 
 " all his cables out, ready to cast anchor within the port " of 
 eternity : but he was soon " at sea again ;" although only able to 
 preach once a day, for some time. When he was himself again, 
 and looked at the " glorious range for hunting in the American 
 woods," he was at a loss what hand to go to : " Affection, in- 
 
1. 1 1 I AM) TI.MKS. 1 l.i 
 
 tense afFection, cries aloud, Away to New Ki inland, <!<><ir iNew 
 England, directly. Providence, and the circumstances of the 
 southern provinces, point directly to Virginia. " Whilst thus 
 undecided, he visited his old friend Governor Belcher, and found 
 him an improved and ripening pilgrim, now willing to depart 
 and be with Christ. The venerable governor enjoyed this visit 
 much ; and found it as conducive to his own peace, as his patron- 
 age and .state-coach had formerly been to Whitefield's popularity. 
 It was now the New Jersey commencement, and the pn>M<l<-nt 
 and trustees of the college presented Whitefield with the d-- 
 gree of M. A. He was pleased with this mark of their respect 
 from the senate : but much more pleased with the synod of 
 ministers. " I was much refreshed," he says, " with the com- 
 pany of the whole synod : such a number of simple-hearted, 
 united ministers, I never saw before. I preached to them 
 several times, and the great Master of assemblies was in the 
 midst of us." 
 
 By their counsel he determined to visit New England first, 
 and to return through Virginia to Georgia ; a circuit of about 
 " two thousand miles ;" but not at all intimidating to him. On 
 looking at it he said, " The Redeemer's strength will be more 
 than sufficient." President Burr accompanied him to New 
 England, and saw at Boston, morning after morning, three or 
 four thousand people hanging in breathless silence on the lips 
 of the preacher, and weeping silent tears. Whitefield himself 
 calls it " a lovely scene," and says, he " never saw a more effec- 
 tual door opened for the gospel." " Sinners have been awak 
 ened, saints quickened, and enemies made at peace with me. 
 Grace, grace ! Surely my coming here was of God ! Convic- 
 tions do fasten, and many souls are comforted." Such was the 
 crowd at the early sermons, that he had to get in at the ivin- 
 dows of the chapels, in order to reach the pulpit. In a letter to 
 the Countess, he says, " At Boston the tide ran full as high as 
 ever your Ladyship knew it at Edinburgh, or in any part of 
 Scotland." 
 
 Before leaving Boston he heard with unspeakable satisfaction, 
 that his friend Habersham was appointed secretary to the new 
 governor of Georgia. " I wish you joy," he wrote to him, 
 " of your new honour. May the King of kings enable you to 
 
444 
 
 discharge your trust as becomes a good patriot, subject, and 
 Christian. You have now a call, I think, to retire from business, 
 and to give up your time to the public." His complete triumph 
 in Boston, opened for him " a wider and wider door " all around. 
 He hardly knew where to go first, or how to go fast enough, in 
 order to meet the public demand. He seems on one occasion 
 to have let down, or over-ridden his horse, in his haste ; but he 
 knew r the owner ; obtained another ; and sent word, <e I left the 
 horse a little lame at Long Island, with one who is called Saint 
 Dick. All hail such reproach." 
 
 On his journey northward, he was able to preach twice or 
 thrice every day : and his success will be best judged from his 
 own account, for he never speaks strongly without strong reason. 
 " What have I seen ? Dagon falling every where before the ark ; 
 enemies silenced, or made to own the finger of God ; and the 
 friends of Jesus triumphing in his glorious conquests. A 
 hundredth part cannot be told. We had scarce one dry meet- 
 ing." When he came near to Portsmouth, the end of his north- 
 ern boundary, he was overwhelmed with humility as well as joy, 
 by the cavalcade which came out to meet and welcome him. 
 He says of them, they " were too many ;" and of the whole ex- 
 pedition so far, " It seems to me the most important one I was 
 ever engaged in." 
 
 He now turned back, " to preach all the way to Georgia ;" a 
 journey of sixteen hundred miles. This had no terrors to him. 
 He called it " a ride," and said, " Nil desperandum, Christo 
 duce, auspice Christo" Little, I regret to say, is to be found 
 in either his memoranda or letters to illustrate this ride, except 
 proofs that many of his hearers must have ridden forty or fifty 
 miles, in order to reach the line of his itineracy. From the 
 manner also in which he was received at every town, and from 
 the multitudes who assembled, it is evident that great exertions 
 had been made to prepare them for his coming, and to enable 
 him to keep his appointments. This throws no small light 
 upon the influence he now had in America. It was felt to be 
 a privilege every where, to forward him on his mission, " after 
 a godly sort," and to telegraph the wilderness before him : 
 and rich and poor answered the signals ; churches and chapels 
 opened to them. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 445 
 
 When he reached Charleston, he had the pleasure of see- 
 ing the student from Bethesda ordained there. It does not 
 appear whether he took any part in the ordination, or not. 
 He merely says, that it was solemn. He was not less pleased, 
 however, on this occasion, to find that one of the players of 
 Charleston had heen " snatched as a hrand from the burning." 
 
 His health failed again now. His old vomitings returned 
 with violence, and his spirits sunk with his strength. He, there- 
 fore, embarked for England, in the fond hope that the voyage 
 would recruit him for his " Father's business ;" for which, he 
 says, " I am a poor pilgrim, willing to give up all that is near 
 and dear to me on this side eternity ! " 
 
 This brief chapter is merely preparatory to one on the same 
 subject. Whitefield's influence in America would, however, 
 fill a volume ; were it traced in all its bearings and on-goings, 
 from the first rousing of her churches, down through the pro- 
 gress of her revivals. This cannot, perhaps, be done by any 
 British writer. Indeed, it would be imprudent to attempt the 
 task on this side of the Atlantic. We do not know enough 
 of the men who caught and carried on the influence which 
 Whitefield's ministry had upon the public mind ; to tell where 
 their influence began, or where his ended. We should thus be 
 for ever in danger of ascribing too much to him, and too little 
 to them. We see only the mighty impulses which he gave ; 
 and not the men nor the measures by which they were turned 
 to immediate account, or transmitted to posterity. For, after 
 all, they were but impulses on the public mind. They were, 
 indeed, many, and mighty, and good, and unparalleled : and 
 just because they were all this, there must have been much of 
 this goodness and greatness about the agency which wrought 
 with them and by them. The " action taken upon them," 
 (to use an Americanism,) was one chief cause of their ex- 
 tensive and enduring usefulness. I have not dared, there- 
 fore, to bring together the proofs of Whitefield's influence in 
 America, which might be collected and embodied from the 
 results of all his visits : but have simply given illustrations of 
 it from two of them ; and these, perhaps, not the most in- 
 fluential. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S PUBLIC SPIRIT. 
 
 " ON his return from America, the first thing he took notice 
 of," says Gillies, "was the success of religion in his native 
 country." He was delighted to find " the poor methodists as 
 lively as ever ; the gospel preached with power in many churches ; 
 some fresh ministers almost every week determining to know 
 nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified; and many at 
 Oxford awakened to the knowledge of the truth." 
 
 Almost the first thing he did on his arrival, was, to use his 
 influence with the Marquis of Lothian, for a diploma to his 
 friend President Burr of New Jersey. His Lordship applied to 
 the university of Edinburgh ; and the senate consented at once ; 
 requiring only " an account of Mr. Burr's literature." This 
 Whitefield sent to the Marquis ; assuring him, that the favour 
 done to the president would " endear " his Lordship to " the 
 good people in America." I suppose the degree of D. D. was 
 sent, seeing it was thus readily promised : it is not noticed, 
 however, in the " American Biographical Dictionary." There, 
 the president is styled Mr. Burr, to the end of the chapter. 
 How is this ? Was the diploma lost, or not sent out ? Or, was 
 the president too modest to adopt the title ? I put this ques- 
 tion, because all the American diplomas, which are not acknow- 
 ledged in this country, are neither lost nor unappreciated. They 
 are not all used ; but none of them are lightly esteemed by their 
 possessors. They never can be so, unless the future issue of 
 degrees becomes promiscuous : and America will surely respect 
 herself too much to permit this. 
 
 Whitefield had at the Tabernacle, on his return, what he 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 447 
 
 calls " golden seasons :" but by this time there were other cler- 
 gymen in London, who preached the gospel faithfully ; and as 
 that was the only thing he cared for, it made, he says, his " call 
 to go abroad still more clear." Indeed, so little did he like 
 London as a sphere of labour, and so much did he judge of 
 spheres by their destitution, that he wished to return to America 
 this year, without ranging England or Scotland. Hence he 
 says, " Methinks I could set out for America to-morrow, though 
 I have not yet entered upon my country range." Lett. 1534. 
 
 But if he loved America most, England loved herself more, 
 and drew him with " the cords of love." into Gloucestershire 
 and Bristol again. He went also to open the Norwich Taber- 
 nacle, at the request of the Countess ; and there he so turned 
 the tide out of the Wesleyan channels, that he deemed it neces- 
 sary to apprize his friend Wesley of the fact, and to assure him 
 that there were no party designs on foot. At first, and for a 
 long time, the Norwich Tabernacle was distinguished amongst 
 the Countess's chapels, as one of the most promising. In 1777, 
 the Hon. Walter Shirley spent some time at it, and had eight 
 hundred communicants in fellowship. He said of them, " Their 
 experience, lives, and conversation are so excellent, that there 
 is nothing like it in the whole kingdom." This once flourish- 
 ing place the trustees have managed to break up. In 1836, the 
 great body of the congregation retired to another sanctuary. 
 
 When Whitefield returned to London, he was goaded by not 
 a few, to engage in controversy with the Wesleys again. His 
 measures at Norwich seem to have been misrepresented to them. 
 Instead, however, he preferred to wait until he could converse 
 with Wesley " face to face." " I have no time for controversy," 
 he says. He redeemed time, however, at this crisis, to write a 
 grateful letter to his old tutor at Oxford ; begging his prayers, 
 and blessing him for his instructions and counsels. 
 
 At this time, the encroachments of the French upon the 
 British colonies in America, awakened his jealousy. He saw 
 more than civil liberty at stake. He trembled for the ark of 
 God. Accordingly, when he heard that his old friend Colonel 
 Pepperell was in the field again to resist the enemy, he wrote to 
 Lady P. an inspiring letter ; and one to the colonel, challenging 
 
448 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 him to meet him often at the throne of grace, in prayer for suc- 
 cess against " popish tyranny and arbitrary power." In like 
 manner, when he set out on his northern tour, he carried this 
 subject with him, like his shadow, through Yorkshire and Lan- 
 cashire. "At this time," he says, " next to Jesus, my king and 
 country were upon my heart. I hope I shall always think it my 
 bounden duty, next to inviting sinners to the blessed Jesus, to 
 exhort my hearers to exert themselves against the first ap- 
 proaches of popish tyranny. Oh that we may be enabled to pray 
 and watch against antichrist in our hearts ; for there, after all, 
 lies the most dangerous man of sin." 
 
 With all his partiality, indeed love, to Leeds, Whitefield was 
 sadly disconcerted there, when he found that his friends, with- 
 out his knowledge, had built a large chapel. He saw at a 
 glance that it would create an " awful separation amongst the 
 societies ;" and lost no time in writing off to Wesley, that they 
 might try to prevent a breach. Both the plan and the spirit 
 of this undertaking so vexed him, that he exclaimed, " Oh 
 this self-love this self-will is the devil of devils." This he 
 wrote to Lady Huntingdon ; a proof that party was not their 
 object. 
 
 During two months, he preached twice or thrice a day, to 
 still greater numbers than before ; inviting them to Christ, and 
 " exhorting them to pray for King George, and the dear friends 
 in America." On his return to London, he heard that the 
 American ladies were making the soldiers' coats ; and he wrote 
 off immediately to urge his own female friends there, to be 
 " some of the most active in this labour of love." 
 
 Notwithstanding his immense labours on this tour, he grew 
 fat : but it was disease, not strength. Sore throat set in, and 
 was followed by an inflammatory quinsey, which assumed almost 
 a fatal aspect. One physician prescribed " silence and warmth ;" 
 and he promised to be "very obedient." He was so for a few 
 days. Then another physician prescribed a "perpetual blister ;" 
 this proposal roused him, and he soon tried his old remedy, 
 "perpetual preaching." It was, of course, painful; but he said, 
 " When this grand catholicon fails, it is all over with me." In 
 this, he judged aright of his own constitution. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 449 
 
 Whilst compelled to take " the medicine of silence" the sad 
 news of the earthquake at Lisbon arrived. At the time, it was 
 doubtful whether death or life would be the issue of the quinsy : 
 but he forgot his own sufferings, when told of the public cala- 
 mity : " Blessed be God," he said, " I am ready ; I know that 
 my Redeemer liveth. Oh that all in Portugal had known this ! 
 Then, an earthquake would only be a rumbling chariot, to carry 
 the soul to God. Poor Lisbon ! how soon are thy riches and 
 superstitious pageantry swallowed up ! " One almost regrets 
 that Whitefield was unable to preach on this catastrophe. His 
 vivid recollections of Lisbon, with his deep sense of its super- 
 stitions, would have enabled him to render the scene visible to 
 the eye, as well as overpowering to the heart and conscience. 
 This reflection just reminds me, that I have seen nothing in all 
 his memoranda or letters, of his own well-known heroism at the 
 time of the earthquake in London. He preached then in the 
 parks at midnight to trembling thousands; and presented to 
 them, in his own composure, a sublime illustration of " the peace 
 which passeth all understanding." So did Charles Wesley at 
 the Foundery. I quite agree with Watson, that it is difficult to 
 say which was the nobler spectacle, Charles Wesley in the 
 chapel, or Whitefield in the open air, at midnight ; and both 
 triumphing in God, whilst the earth shook and trembled ! How 
 could methodism fail to commend itself then to the public mind ? 
 Doddridge also signalized himself in London, by a sermon on 
 the earthquake, which produced a thrilling effect amongst the 
 dissenters. One of its fruits was, the formation of " The Lon- 
 don Religious Book Society," by Benjamin Forfitt, Esq. ; then 
 a British though not a Foreign Bible Society; for its object was 
 " to distribute Bibles, Testaments, and other books, gratis, 
 among the poor, and particularly to send such books to the 
 country." That this society originated from the sermon is 
 evident from Forfitt's letter to the preacher : " If the world 
 receives any advantage from this design, I think it is indebted, 
 under God, to Dr. Doddridge for it ; as the sacred fervour 
 which animated your addresses from the pulpit, when last in 
 town, kindled a spark of the same benevolence to the souls of 
 men, in the breast of one, who could no longer retain his desires 
 
 3 M 
 
450 
 
 of usefulness within the compass of his own small abilities, with- 
 out exciting others to the same views." Doddridge's Diary, 
 vol. iv. 192. 
 
 In the winter of 1755, Whitefield was applied to by his 
 friends, who resided near the theatres, to preach regularly at a 
 chapel they had licensed in Long Acre. It was hazardous 
 ground ; but he did not hesitate a moment. He engaged to 
 " preach twice a week, and read prayers." On the first night 
 the chapel was overflowing. Hundreds went away, who could 
 not get in. But he was soon disturbed. " The sons of Tubal 
 and Cain," as he called the rioters, serenaded him every night 
 with " bells, drums, clappers, and a copper-furnace," as a kettle- 
 drum. These men were hired by subscription, although some 
 of them were soldiers, to annoy and insult him. It became, 
 therefore, necessary to arrest some of them as rioters. These 
 
 the bishop of B sent for, and inquired of them, where 
 
 Whitefield lived? This surprised him; for he thought his 
 " house pretty public." This bishop, however, neither knew it, 
 nor the law of the land ; for he sent him a prohibition, although 
 the chapel was duly licensed, and unconsecrated. 
 
 Whitefield took the episcopal " bull by the horns at once ;" 
 but with the greatest courtesy. He began by telling the bishop, 
 " I thought I might innocently preach the love of a crucified 
 Redeemer, and, for His sake, loyalty to the best of princes, 
 our dread sovereign King George, without giving any just 
 offence to Jew or gentile, much less to any bishop or overseer 
 of the church of God." He ended by telling his Lordship, " I 
 hope you will not look upon it as contumacy, if I persist in pro- 
 secuting my design, till I am more particularly apprized wherein 
 I have erred. I trust the irregularity I am charged with (if 
 called to answer for it) will appear justifiable to every lover of 
 English liberty ; and, what is all to me, be approved at the 
 awful and impartial tribunal of the great Shepherd and Bishop 
 of souls." Whilst waiting for an answer to this letter, White- 
 field took up the case of the persecuted French protestants, and 
 collected 80 for them at the Tabernacle. He had likewise 
 the gratification of finding that one of the subscribers to the riots 
 had been arrested by the gospel at Long Acre, and was now 
 
451 
 
 weeping to see him. A once " confirmed deist," also, had be- 
 come " as a little child." 
 
 The next time Whitefield preached in Long Acre, " all was 
 hushed ;" and he publicly ascribed the peace to the bishop's 
 intervention. It was only a pause in the storm. The rioters 
 contented themselves with making " odd noises " in an adjoin- 
 ing house, whilst a scaffold was preparing for the full flourish 
 and chorus of " such instruments of reformation " as " a copper- 
 furnace, bells, drums, clappers, marrow-bones and cleavers, and 
 large stones of a pound weight to break the windows." This 
 volley was planted and played off against the chapel, in the yard 
 of his Lordship's overseer, by some of his Lordship's vestry and 
 parishioners. This fact Whitefield told him, Lett. 1122, 1124 ; 
 and added, " C., one of your Lordship's relations, can acquaint 
 you with many more particulars ; and if you would be so good 
 as ride to C.'s house, you would see such a scaffold, (if not taken 
 down,) and such costly preparations for a noise upon it, that 
 must make the ears of all that shall hear it to tingle. I have 
 only one favour to beg of your Lordship, that you will send to 
 the gentlemen, as they are your parishioners, and desire them 
 henceforward to desist from such riotous and dangerous pro- 
 ceedings." " Indeed, my Lord, it is more than noise. It de- 
 serves no milder a name than premeditated rioting." 
 
 His Lordship's answer to these appeals seems to have been 
 respectful to Whitefield, but useless to the occasion. He quoted 
 canons, instead of quelling the riots ; and threw doubts upon 
 the lease and license of the chapel, instead of displacing the 
 overseer of the parish. He had admonished some of the rioters, 
 whilst they merely serenaded the congregation ; but when they 
 " sadly wounded " some of the hearers, he sailed out of the dif- 
 ficulty upon a raft of canonical technicalities. But he mistook 
 his man, when he quoted canons and Scripture to stop \Vhite- 
 field from preaching the gospel. He told him at once, that the 
 former were mere " bruta fulmina" which ought to be set at 
 defiance, like the uriths of the Philistines, whenever they stood 
 in the way of " preaching against sin, the pope, and the devil." 
 That, he declared he would do, at all hazards of pains and pe- 
 nalties. And as to the apostolical canon against trenching on 
 
452 
 
 another man's line of things, Whitefield reminded him of the 
 welcome Philip Henry had from the vicar at Broad Oaks, to 
 " throw a handful of seed," now and then, into his field ; " there 
 is work enough for ur ^th :" " this I humbly conceive is the 
 case, not only of your Lordship, but of every minister's parish 
 in London, and every bishop's diocess in England." 
 
 This faithful appeal to principle and conscience, did not pre- 
 vent Whitefield from clearing up to his Lordship the legal 
 claims of the chapel to protection. It had been regularly li- 
 censed in the Commons for a dissenting minister, Barnard ; and 
 the certificate was in the hands of Culverwell. To these men 
 he referred the bishop. The "unhallowed noises" went on, 
 however, and lives were endangered by the stones thrown in at 
 the windows ; one of which nearly struck Whitefield himself. 
 He now felt that private letters were merely child's play, when 
 public liberty and safety were thus outraged ; and therefore he 
 apprized the bishop, that he would throw the whole affair before 
 the world. His Lordship thought, that this implied the pub- 
 lication of his letters ; and claimed his privilege as a peer, to 
 prevent it. He had no occasion. Whitefield was a gentleman, 
 as well as a Christian. He therefore made a final appeal to the 
 bishop for protection, and told him he would trouble him no 
 more. 
 
 The outrages went on, and became so flagrant, that prosecu- 
 tion seemed inevitable, and was contemplated. When the 
 rioters heard of this, they threatened his life. One man went 
 up to him in the Tabernacle pulpit; and others sent him 
 menacing letters, " denouncing a certain, sudden, unavoidable 
 stroke, unless he desisted from preaching, and from pursuing 
 the offenders by law." One of these letters he sent to the 
 government ; who at once offered a reward and his Majesty's 
 pardon to any one who would discover the writer. This pleased 
 him of course ; but it also embarrassed him. " My greatest 
 distress is," he said to Lady Huntingdon, " to act so as to avoid 
 rashness on the one hand, and timidity on the other." For his 
 own sake, he would not have stirred in it ; but viewing it as 
 " the cause of civil and religious liberty," he wisely let the law 
 take its course, at the hazard of his own life by assassination. 
 
453 
 
 The preparations for bringing the matter into the King's Bench 
 seem, however, to have stopped the evil. 
 
 The annoyances at Long Acre led him to plan Tottenham 
 Court chapel. The sabbath after he had taken the ground, he 
 obtained nearly 600 towards the building. He intended to 
 put it under the protection of Lady Huntingdon ; but found, on 
 consulting Doctors' Commons, that " no nobleman could license 
 a chapel " for himself, if the public were to be admitted to it. 
 It was begun in May, and opened in November, 1756, and 
 licensed " as the other houses " of prayer. 
 
 Having laid the foundation of Tottenham Court, and shown 
 himself again at Long Acre to the enemy, Whitefield went to 
 Bristol ; but not to rest, although the cares and labours of the 
 winter and spring had nearly worn out both his strength and 
 spirits. Still he preached as usual in that quarter, and then 
 returned to London " to keep Pentecost at Long Acre ;" that no 
 one might suspect him of having been "frightened away." 
 After visiting Kent, he set out again for Scotland, preaching by 
 the way to still greater audiences than ever. At Leeds and 
 York, he found " many trophies of redeeming love," which had 
 been won at former visits. Such was the effect of two sermons 
 he now preached at Burstall, that " several hundreds rode eight 
 miles" with him in the evening, "singing and praising God." 
 Lett. 1146. 
 
 At Edinburgh, Whitefield received more than his usual wel- 
 come. Politicians now thronged to hear him, and the news- 
 papers lauded him, for his spirit-stirring exposures of " popish 
 tyranny and arbitrary power." He preached twice every day 
 in the Orphan Hospital Park, and blended with almost every 
 sermon rousing appeals to the protestantism, courage, and loy- 
 alty of the Scotch. He also pleaded the cause of the poor 
 Highlanders at the close of one sermon, and collected 60 for 
 them. 
 
 On his way back to London, he had at Leeds what he calls 
 " the Welch night ;" a meeting peculiarly solemn and refresh- 
 ing. After it, he braced his nerves by a tour of mountain- 
 preaching, in company with his friend Grimshaw. But it was 
 now late in October, and as he found " these cold countries 
 
454 
 
 bringing on his last year's disorder," and being (he says signi- 
 ficantly) " grown very prudent/' he came to London to open 
 Tottenham Court chapel. He had, however, another errand to 
 London. The new governor of Georgia had sent for him from 
 the north, to consult with him before sailing. He met him, 
 and was so much delighted, that he wrote off to Bethesda to 
 prepare them for a state visit. " Waited upon his Excellency, 
 and gave him, and all whom he pleases to bring, an invitation 
 to Bethesda. Dear Mrs. C. will make proper provision." This 
 was not all. He wanted to have military honours paid to the 
 governor. " Have you persons enough to exercise before him ? 
 Can they receive him under arms ? " Whitefield was thinking 
 of his intended COLLEGE, whilst thus ingratiating himself with 
 the governor. 
 
 At this time Cudworth, (no antinomian, as Moore ignorantly 
 calls him in his " Life of Wesley,") having embroiled Hervey 
 with Wesley, wrote a pamphlet against what he calls, " Some 
 Fundamental Mistakes in Whitefield's Sermons ;" and as Her- 
 vey had allowed him " to put out and put in " whatever he 
 pleased in his letters to Wesley, he seems to have sought his 
 sanction to this attack on Whitefield also. Mason charged 
 him with saying, that Hervey offered to preface the pamphlet. 
 " This," Whitefield wrote to Hervey, " I as much believe, as 
 that I am at Rome." Perhaps he was wrong ! The pamphlet 
 sustained Hervey's own theory of appropriating faith, and set 
 Marshall against Whitefield ; and so far Hervey may have 
 countenanced Cudworth, who was now the champion of ( ' Theron 
 and Aspasio." Hervey's posthumous letters do not clear up this 
 fact. Indeed, Cudworth had too much to do with their publi- 
 cation to leave any light on the subject ! It is, however, 
 curious, that from this time there is no letter of Whitefield to 
 Hervey, that I can find ; nor any notice in others, of Hervey's 
 death. But the series of Whitefield's letters, about this time, 
 is very incomplete. He was now preaching fifteen times a week 
 in London, and daily occupied with the converts caught in his 
 " SOUL TRAP," as some Doctor designated the new chapel. He 
 welcomed the nickname, and prayed that " Whitefield's Soul 
 Trap" might catch many wanderers. It nearly caught poor 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 45.5 
 
 Shuter, the player. He always attended at this time, and brought 
 many with him. Some of the nobility also became stated hearers, 
 and took seats in the chapel. 
 
 In 1757, Whitefield planned his visit to Scotland to fall at the 
 time of the General Assembly. But before leaving London, he 
 placed the scheme of his college in the hands of Lord Halifax. 
 He seems, on his arrival, to have attended the sittings of the 
 Assembly ; and Gillies says, " Perhaps a hundred ministers at a 
 time attended his sermons." Thirty of the ministers honoured 
 him with & public entertainment, and Lord Cathcart, his Majes- 
 ty's commissioner, invited him to his own table. This was 
 wormwood and gall to the high churchmen. Some of them had 
 the insolence to remonstrate with Cathcart, on the impropriety 
 of inviting Whitefield to meet the clergy ! " It would give of- 
 fence " to the church, they said ! His Lordship spurned their 
 paltry " overture with indignation." Gillies. Whitefield preach- 
 ed, he says, " just fifty times," on this visit : that was about as 
 much in a month, as some of these clergymen did in a year ! 
 Such a contrast could hardly endear his company to half-day 
 labourers. 
 
 At Glasgow, Whitefield preached in the High Church yard 
 with equal success, and collected money for the poor. He then 
 went to Ireland, and was stoned (as we have seen) on Oxman- 
 town Green ; not, he says, " for speaking against the papists in 
 particular, but for exciting all ranks to be faithful to King 
 Jesus, and to our dread sovereign King George ;" and because 
 he prayed for the King of Prussia. In the other parts of Ire- 
 land he found hunting for souls to be " delightful sport when 
 the heart is in it." The well-known Edwards of Leeds was 
 converted under the sermon at Oxmantown Green. The Irish 
 Liberty Boys used to call him " their swaddling John." 
 
 On his return to London, he found that the governor of 
 Georgia had visited Bethesda, and promised to communicate his 
 sentiments to Lord Halifax, " concerning its being enlarged in- 
 to a college :" but the pressure of public affairs deterred him 
 from applying to the government. There were bad news from 
 America " about the fleet," and therefore he kept a fast day at 
 his chapels. 
 
456 
 
 His health now failed sadly. He was brought to live on the 
 " short allowance of preaching but once a day, and thrice on the 
 Sunday :" very short allowance for him ! Once, however, he 
 broke through the restraint, and preached three times on the 
 success of the King of Prussia ; which, he says, " somewhat re- 
 covered " him, after he had been for a week at the gates of the 
 grave ! He was not able to attempt great things this winter. 
 Tottenham Court was, however, his Bethel, as he calls it j and 
 as it was then surrounded by a " beautiful piece of ground," he 
 formed the plan of an almshouse for twelve " godly widows ; " 
 as " a standing monument that the methodists were not against 
 good works." This charity he soon carried into effect. His 
 thoughts, however, were not confined to home. Although 
 broken down in health and spirits by weakness and want of 
 rest, he watched the affairs of Prussia with intense interest, and 
 assured the German protestants, through Professor Franck, that 
 " we looked on their distresses as our own." 
 
 In the spring of 1758, he went into the west of England, and 
 visited Wales ; but he was so feeble, that he could not bear to 
 drive nor ride in a one-horse chaise. He was obliged to give 
 it up. The roads shook it, and it shook him nearly to pieces 
 " Every thing," he says, " wearies this shattered bark now ! " 
 A friend interfered, and purchased a " close chaise " for him, 
 advancing the money until he could conveniently repay it. He 
 felt this kindness deeply, because by no other means could he 
 have itinerated. " I would not," he says, " lay out a single 
 farthing but for my blessed Master : but it is inconceivable 
 what I have undergone these three weeks. / never was so be- 
 fore I Oh for a hearse to carry my weary carcass to the wished- 
 for grave ! " During all this tour, he was unable to sit up in 
 company even once ; yet he often preached to ten or fifteen 
 thousand people, and made their " tears flow like water from the 
 rock." His views of himself at this time were more than 
 usually humble ; and that is saying a great deal, to those who 
 have read his letters before this time. He said to Lady Hun- 
 tingdon, " Oh I am sick I am sick sick in body ; but infi- 
 nitely more so in mind, to see so much dross in my soul. Bless- 
 ed be God, there is One who will sit as a refiner's fire, to purify 
 
the sons of Levi. I write out of the burning bush. Christ is 
 there ! Christ is there ! " 
 
 In the summer, he went north again ; but was often ready 
 to turn back, through extreme weakness, even before he reach- 
 ed Northampton. There, however, he " took the field " again. 
 Preaching in "Bishop Bunyan's" pulpit at Bedford, had ral- 
 lied his spirits. My eye rests at this moment upon a fragment 
 of that hallowed pulpit ; and I hardly know whether it is most 
 associated in my mind with Bum/an in his strength, or with 
 Whitefield in his weakness. This I know I often see them 
 both leaning over it, and reproving me ! 
 
 This year, Whitefield lost by death some of his earliest and 
 dearest friends ; Hervey, President Burr, Governor Belcher, 
 and Jonathan Edwards. Their death, and his own dying life, 
 made him long " to depart." When he reached Edinburgh, he 
 expected death after " every sermon." Yet he preached twice 
 a day in general, and that to immense auditories. On one oc- 
 casion he collected upwards of 200 for the orphan hospital. 
 He also preached thanksgiving sermons for the victories at 
 Crevelt, Cape Breton, and on the defeat of the Russians. He 
 allowed nothing to escape him unimproved. The races came on 
 at Edinburgh, and he consented to preach to the people, to ' f run 
 the race set before " them. 
 
 Well might he say, " This preaching is a strange restorative." 
 Still, it did restore him. He was unable to visit private friends, 
 and was adjourning to see them until they met in heaven : 
 " but," he says, " it will not do I " His health was, in fact, im- 
 proving by hard labour. He therefore went to Glasgow, and 
 laboured harder than ever. " I am put out to sea again," he 
 said ; " and if to take some more prizes, I shall rejoice." There 
 is good reason to believe that he took many in Scotland on this 
 occasion. One thing which gave him additional influence 
 amongst the poor in Glasgow, was the zeal with which he plead- 
 ed the cause of the Highland families, whose fathers were serving 
 the king in America. 
 
 Whitefield never, perhaps, was more overcome than now in 
 parting from his friends. He called the day of his farewell to 
 Scotland, the " execution day ; " not, however, that he despaired 
 
 3N 
 
458 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 of seeing it again; but that his friends were like Paul's at 
 Miletus. In fact, he was almost himself again, for a little, 
 when he got into Yorkshire. Then, the idea of winter- 
 quarters was as painful as ever. He resolved, that nothing 
 but " change of weather should drive " him into them. He 
 could not help feeling, however, that he must soon retire 
 from the fields ; and, therefore, he prayed, " Lord, prepare 
 me for winter trials : they are preparatives for an eternal 
 summer." 
 
 In 1759, Whitefield had the satisfaction to clear off all his 
 debts for the orphan-house. " Bethesda's God," he said, " lives 
 for ever, and is faithful and all-sufficient." He, therefore, 
 wished much to visit America ; but he could not find supplies 
 to relieve him from his chapels in London. This pained him. 
 " Strange ! " he says, " that nobody will relieve me, that I may 
 once more flee to America." No one did, and he returned to 
 Scotland. He became fat by the way, and his friends congra- 
 tulated him on the prospect of a new lease of life ; but he did 
 not flatter himself on becoming corpulent : " so did Darracott 
 a little before he died," he said. It is much to be regretted, 
 that paintings of Whitefield multiplied at this time. It cannot 
 be wondered at, because his friends could not but feel that his 
 life was precarious. Still, these portraits convey no idea of the 
 man who awed the multitude in Moorfields, and electrified the 
 nobility at Lady Huntingdon's. Some of them, especially Na- 
 thaniel Hone's, are faithful likenesses of Whitefield, when dis- 
 ease made him corpulent ; and thus they are the Whitefield 
 our grandfathers knew : but not the Whitefield of their fathers. 
 I defy any one to associate the emotions of the old or of the new 
 world with the pursy parson of these figures ; all of them 
 " born out of due season ! " Whitefield was " slender in per- 
 son," until he began to sink in strength. Indeed, were there not 
 reason to suppose that the first portrait of him was transmuted 
 by the trade into a Hervey, when " Theron and Aspasio " became 
 popular, I should have made it the frontispiece to this volume. 
 It, and the one I have adopted as the medium between the first 
 and last, are the portraits which Whitefield himself presented 
 to his friends. In regard to the others he said, he should haU 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 459 
 
 himself, if he were " the sour-looking creature" they represent- 
 ed him to be. Jay's Life of Winter. 
 
 I mention this here, because on his visit to Edinburgh this 
 year, (I think,) the governors of the orphan hospital had his 
 likeness taken, and hung up in the hall, as a mark of their 
 respect and gratitude to him, for the collections he made for 
 the charity. On this occasion, he collected 215 for the orphan 
 hospital. 
 
 What was thought of his political influence, at this time, 
 may be best told, perhaps, in the language of the newspapers. 
 One of them says, " The Rev. Mr. Whitefield has been preach- 
 ing here and at Glasgow. He has preached nearly a hundred 
 times ; and yet his congregations were always increasing. 
 Whatever this be owing to every body must judge for them- 
 selves : but it is certain that he continually exerted all his rhe- 
 toric in stirring up zeal for his God, his king, and his country, 
 in this time of danger ; and he seemed particularly pleased, as 
 were thousands more, that he had an opportunity of preaching 
 a thanksgiving sermon to a most thronged auditory, on account 
 of the glorious victory lately vouchsafed to Prince Ferdinand 
 over the French." Edin. Aug. 1759. 
 
 During this visit to the north, he had an opportunity of de- 
 monstrating his disinterestedness. A Miss Hunter, " a young 
 lady of considerable fortune, made a full offer of her estate, 
 both money and lands, amounting to about 7000." This gift 
 he promptly refused. Even when it was offered, not for his 
 own use, but for his orphan-house, he " absolutely refused" it. 
 Gillies says, he himself had the facts "from undoubted au- 
 thority." There is a similar anecdote of Wesley, and it is 
 equally authentic. Indeed, they resembled each other very 
 much in their disinterestedness ; and left all their enemies as 
 silent on this subject, as Wesley did the Cumberland guide, 
 who asked him, what he made a year by so many preachings ? 
 
 Whitefield was not much pleased with the state of religion in 
 Scotland, on this visit. " It is a dead time indeed," here, he 
 says ; " little or no stirring among the dry bones. I preach 
 and people flock as usual : but Scotland is not London. The 
 Redeemer is doing wonders there. Every post brings fresh 
 
460 
 
 good news." He solved this difference to himself by saying, 
 " God's Spirit blows when and where it listeth ;" forgetting 
 that his own spirit was a little too political, at the time. He 
 did not suspect this ; but he felt that the " languor " of the 
 north was infectious, and hastened back to London, lest it should 
 " take hold " on his own " already too languid heart." 
 
 Much of this languor arose from sudden corpulency. That 
 broke in upon him, he says, " like an armed man." Labour 
 could not keep it down, nor abstinence check it. This both 
 pained and alarmed him. " I dread a corpulent body. Oh that 
 my heart may not wax gross at the same time ! I would fain 
 not flag ; but rather begin to begin in the latter stages of my 
 road." In this spirit he entered upon his winter campaign in 
 London ; during which, he edited a new edition of Samuel 
 Clarke's Bible, which, next to " holy Henry's," was his favourite 
 Commentary. It well deserved to be so. It had the joint sanc- 
 tion of Owen, Baxter, Bates, and Howe. Calamy says, that 
 the most eminent divines of the church of England also used 
 it, and that " one of the highest rank recommended it to young 
 divines at their ordination." 
 
 The care and commendation bestowed on Clarke's Commen- 
 tary, by Whitefield, and the heartiness with which he identified 
 himself in the preface, as " a small cedar," with " the tall cedars 
 of our Lebanon," conciliated the dissenters. I mean, they now 
 saw that he had " one faith " with themselves and their fathers : 
 and thus their fears of novelty and fanaticism were allayed. 
 They now began to read and hear him by the light of a Bartho- 
 lomew candlestick. This, and the intimacy he had formed with 
 Dr. Gifford, whilst memorializing government on behalf of 
 religious liberty in Ireland, gave him his first hold upon the 
 confidence of the regular dissenters; and it became a strong 
 hold, and is likely to be lasting. The manner in which it be- 
 came strong, is interesting. Whitefield made no advances to 
 the dissenters, nor they to him. He was no dissenter in theory ; 
 and, in practice, he set Lady Huntingdon against all proposals 
 for dissenting chapels. But he did not set his converts against 
 dissent. They were numerous in all quarters of England ; and 
 thus many of them became his " epistles," in dissenting churches : 
 
461 
 
 for, having to apply for sacramental fellowship, to pastors who 
 examined both the creed and experience, as well as the moral 
 character, of communicants, they revealed Whitefield's princi- 
 ples while stating their own ; and thus brought home to the 
 orthodox pastors and churches the fact, that God had delighted 
 to honour Whitefield beyond all men. This truth had the force 
 of truth, amongst all the evangelical nonconformists. Their 
 churches were strengthened, and their hearts cheered, by the 
 fruits of his ministry. The consequence has been, that, for half 
 a century, his name has been associated and enshrined with the 
 names of their real fathers, as if he had been one of them. No 
 one would call him a dissenter ; but all pious dissenters feel 
 that he belonged to them : so much ascendency has love to the 
 image of Christ, above party zeal, in their churches ! And this 
 feeling is the same towards the catholic stars of the establish- 
 ment. It is not dissenters who distinguish, because of rituals, 
 between Owen and Hughes, of the Bible Society ; Carey and 
 Heber, of India ; Wilberforce and Philip, of Africa ; Simeon of 
 Cambridge and Morrison of China. The church herself, being 
 the judge, must allow, that her best ministers never live un- 
 loved, nor die unwept, by the evangelical dissenters. What 
 bishop, who loves the truth as it is in Jesus, is not as much 
 loved for the truth's sake, by pious nonconformists, as by pious 
 churchmen ? 
 
 In the spring of 1760, Whitefield enlarged his new chapel, 
 and celebrated the event by collecting upwards of 400 for the 
 Prussian protestants, who had been stripped and peeled by the 
 Russians at Costein and Niewmark. Two hundred of this sum he 
 remitted to Franck ; and part of it he kept, until he should hear 
 " from the Professor himself," how it could be best applied. There 
 is good reason to suppose, as Gillies says, that W^hitefield receiv- 
 ed the thanks of the king of Prussia for this act. And yet this 
 was the time chosen by the London stage, to caricature and insult 
 him ! I will not condescend to characterize " The MINOR." It is 
 enough to say, that it was written by the miscreant Foote. He 
 had mimicked Whitefield, and been applauded for it by the Long 
 Acre rioters ; and, therefore, Drury Lane employed him to bring 
 out " The Minor." Madan remonstrated with Garrick against 
 
462 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 the outrage ; but in vain. The fact is, " Whitefield's Soul Trap " 
 was thinning old Drury. The experiment was tried at Edin- 
 burgh also, to counteract his influence there. But there it failed. 
 On the second night of the performance, only ten women were 
 present. On the following sabbath, the principal clergyman 
 denounced the outrage on truth and decency. " How base and 
 ungrateful," said Baines, " is such treatment of the dead ! 
 (Whitefield was then dead ;) and that too, so very nigh to a 
 family of orphans, the records of whose hospital will transmit 
 Mr. Whitefield's name to posterity with honour, when the 
 memory of others will rot." The " Hypocrite" by Isaac Bicker- 
 steth, was an experiment of the same kind. Cantwell was in- 
 tended to burlesque Whitefield. If George IV. did not know 
 this, when he commanded the comedy, and " roared and rolled 
 with immoderate laughter," at Liston in Mawworm, the public 
 knew it. Preface to Cumberland's edition. The play, how 
 ever, can neither be acted nor published now, without disclaim 
 ing, as " an absurd notion, that Cantwell was intended for Mr. 
 Whitefield, that eloquent, pious, though eccentric man." 
 This sounds well : but the critic forgot, that both his author 
 and himself connect Cantwell and Mawworm with the Taber- 
 nacle and Tottenham Court. Whitefield himself cared very 
 little about the attacks of the theatre. When they began, 
 he merely said, " Satan is angry. All hail such contempt ! " 
 
 His autumnal tour in Yorkshire this year brought on a 
 severe cold, which hung upon him through the winter. At 
 times he was unable to write a letter. But a destructive fire at 
 Boston, and the increasing distress of the German protestants, 
 roused him, and he collected for them in one day nearly 600 
 in his own chapels. The effort was too much for his strength. 
 Gillies says, "he grew worse and worse, so that in April 1761, 
 he was brought to the gates of death." One cause of this was, 
 that he was much shaken, although not much hurt, on a journey 
 from Bristol, whilst thus weak. He was returning " post-haste " 
 to London, and once the chaise was overturned, and once he had 
 to leap out " though going very fast." 
 
 In the midst of these troubles, Berridge of Everton came to 
 his help : no acquisition, if Dr. Southey be the judge. He says, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 463 
 
 " Berridge was buffoon as well as fanatic." The late Simeon of 
 Cambridge did not think so, when he preached his funeral 
 sermon. Clare Hall did not think him either, when it pre- 
 sented him to the vicarage of Everton. What is meant by his 
 having been " lately Moderator of Cambridge," (as Whitefield 
 calls him,) I do not know ; but the office is surely proof, that 
 the officer was neither buffoon nor fanatic. One thing I do 
 know that the memory of Berridge is fragrant throughout 
 and around Cambridgeshire. That would have been a dark 
 district but for him, until Simeon arose, so far as the church 
 was concerned. Even the dissenters in that quarter owe much 
 of their increase and energy to the influence of Berridge. I, 
 who care nothing about either church or dissent, any further 
 than they care for the souls of men, and the supremacy of Christ, 
 shall never forget the churches or the chapels which owed to 
 him the former, their possession of the glorious gospel ; and 
 the latter, their origin and the gospel too. I traced both with 
 equal patience, and remember them with equal pleasure. 
 
 I am not evading the charge of buffoonery, which Southey 
 has advanced. Berridge was such another wag as Rowland 
 Hill. He was not, however, such a buffoon as South, nor such 
 a punster as Dr. Donne, nor such a satirist as Lavington. His 
 wit never wounded a penitent, nor hardened a sinner. It dis- 
 turbed many a solemn drone, and mortified the self-righteous ; 
 but it never intimidated the humble, nor led the weak to con- 
 found methodism with hypocrisy. It was, indeed, unmerciful to 
 Arminianism, and thus unjust to Wesley. There I loathe as 
 well as lament it. It is not so inexplicable, however, as it is 
 unpardonable. Fletcher and Wesley libelled Calvinism, as 
 heartily as Berridge and Toplady caricatured Arminianism. 
 The style differs, but the sting is the same. The " Mr. Fry- 
 babe" of the Arminian Magazine is just as vile and vulgar a 
 caricature, as the " old Fox " of the Gospel Magazine. Fletcher's 
 Royal Proclamation of " free grace and free wrath" dated from 
 Geneva, and signed by his Majesty's secretaries for the " pre- 
 destinarian department, Calvin, Crisp, and Rowland Hill, is 
 quite as indefensible as Toplady 's genealogy of atheism. In- 
 deed, they are equally disgraceful. Apart, however, from its 
 
464 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 occasional personalities, the wit of Berridge, as a preacher, de- 
 serves all the benefit of Southey's generous concessions on 
 Whitefield's occasional playfulness : ( ' Minds of a certain power 
 will sometimes express their strongest feelings with a levity, 
 at which formalists are shocked, and which dull men are wholly 
 unable to understand. But language which, when coldly repeat- 
 ed, might seem to border upon irreverence and burlesque, has its 
 effect in popular preaching, when the intention of the speaker is 
 perfectly understood : it is suited to the great mass of the people ; 
 it is felt by them when better things would have produced no 
 impression, and it is borne away when wiser arguments would 
 have been forgotten." Southey's Wesley. 
 
 Berridge's was just a mind of this " certain " order. Few 
 men had more right to say to those who did not understand his 
 vein, had you been born a wit, you must have borne with 
 it. He was constitutionally mercurial, and his perfect scholar- 
 ship as a classic, enabled him to give point to piquant thoughts : 
 for he was equally familiar with Aristotelian and Aristophanic 
 Greek ; and there will be some buffoonery, whenever the latter 
 is understood. He did not, however, 
 
 " Woo a grin, where he should win a soul." 
 
 He often caused a smile, that he might create a tear : a hazard- 
 ous, if not an unwarrantable, experiment in the pulpit. Row- 
 land Hill often ventured upon it ; but he did not approve of it. 
 Indeed, he was often surprised, as well as grieved, that he had 
 created a laugh. He did not suspect, that many of his phrases 
 were ludicrous. I recollect once, when travelling with him, to 
 inquire into the truth of certain sallies, I had heard ascribed to 
 him. He denied the whole of them : but, at the same time, he 
 told me some that " were true," which, to my Scotch taste, were 
 even more extravagant than those he disclaimed. But enough 
 of this : had Berridge been either fanatic or buffoon, Whitefield 
 would not have called him " an angel of the churches indeed," 
 much less employed him as his own substitute at Tottenham 
 Court, where so many persons of both rank and talent attended. 
 At this time, Whitefield wished much to go into Scotland 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 465 
 
 again ; not that he had much hope of recovery, but he thought 
 that a " desirable place to go to heaven from." He was not 
 able to undertake the journey : he therefore tried the effect of 
 bathing at Plymouth, and then of the air at Bristol. These 
 recruited him a little, and " stirred up an ambition to be em- 
 ployed again ;" but his first sermon on his return to London 
 threw him back. He became exceedingly nervous; a kind of 
 suffering to which he had formerly been a stranger. Alas, how 
 many, like myself, will see unutterable emphasis in his simple 
 account of this : " 1 now know what nervous disorders are ! " 
 Happy those who can say with him, " Blessed be God, they 
 were contracted in His service ; and I do not repent." 
 
 In the autumn he went into Yorkshire, by gentle stages ; not 
 preaching, but " travelling in order to preach ;" and his York- 
 shire friends were considerate enough not to tempt him into the 
 pulpit often. By the end of October, therefore, he could bear 
 to ride " sixty miles a day, in a post-chaise, quite well." On 
 reaching Edinburgh, however, he became much worse. Silence, 
 " the bitter cup of continued silence," as he calls the medical 
 prohibition against preaching, was now forced upon him ; but 
 with the assurance, from four of the principal physicians of the 
 city, that it would recover him. Accordingly, he drunk it for 
 a month, and then preached once on new-year's day. This en- 
 couraged him. His nerves also began to brace again by riding; 
 although he fell off one day, and pitched on his head. He 
 merely says of this accident, "I had a violent fall upon my 
 head ; but was neither surprised nor hurt." 
 
 Having thus preached once without injury, and not being in- 
 terdicted from preaching again in a week after, at Edinburgh, 
 he caught at the prospect of resuming his " delightful work" 
 with rapture. " Who knows, who knows ? " he exclaims, " I 
 may again see Plymouth ! " He was able to return to London, 
 and his first work there was to read all his letters from the 
 German protestants, and to consult with Ziegenhagan for their 
 further relief. But whilst planning for that, he had to bestir 
 himself again for Georgia. One of his agents had drawn upon 
 him ; and he was now pennyless, and very unequal to the task 
 of begging. " How could you," he says to the agent, " draw 
 
 3o 
 
466 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 on me for so large a sum as 147 ? Lord, help me." The Bris- 
 tol friends had not collected for the German sufferers, and he 
 carried his case there. Its urgency roused him, and he preach- 
 ed four or five times a week " without hurt," and with great 
 success. This wound up his spirit to its old pitch, and led him 
 to look at the fields again, as his proper sphere. " How gladly," 
 he exclaims, " would I bid adieu to ceiled houses and vaulted 
 roofs ? Mounts are the best pulpits, and the heavens the best 
 sounding-boards. Oh for power equal to my will ! I would fly 
 from pole to pole, publishing the glorious gospel." 
 
 On his return to London he was soon overcome by cares and 
 labour, and obliged to spend the month of June in Holland, in 
 order to prepare himself for the dog-days at home. The visit 
 had the desired effect. All his " old times revived again," on 
 his return to England. But new troubles awaited him. Travel- 
 ling was essential to his health, and injurious to his chapels : 
 he had, therefore, to devolve the management of them upon 
 trustees, and to make the best arrangements he could for their 
 supply. This he accomplished with great difficulty, and then 
 started for Scotland ; intending to sail from Greenock to Vir- 
 ginia. 
 
 On his way to the north, he wrote, in the intervals of public 
 labour, his answer to Warburton's attack on methodism ; an 
 account of which will be found in the chapter " Whitefield and 
 the Bishops." He intended it to be, in the event of his not 
 seeing England again, " a parting testimony for the good old 
 puritans and the free-grace dissenters ;" because the bishop had 
 " sadly maligned them." At Edinburgh he soon broke down 
 again, and had to drink anew the bitter cup of silence for six 
 weeks. It restored him, however ; and he went in " brisk 
 spirits " to embark for America. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S INFLUENCE IN AMERICA. 
 
 SECOND PART. 
 
 
 IN June, 1763, Whitefield sailed from Scotland for Rapanach, 
 in Virginia. The voyage was pleasant, but tedious. He was 
 twelve weeks on the passage ; but it did him good. The length 
 of time wore out the painful impressions which had been cre- 
 ated by his solicitude for the Tabernacle and Tottenham Court. 
 The order and harmony on board, also, added to the bracing 
 and tranquillizing eifect of the voyage. " I enjoyed," he says, 
 " that quietness which I have in vain sought after for some 
 years on shore." He had sailed " with but little hopes of fur- 
 ther public usefulness," owing to his asthma : but after being 
 six weeks at sea, he wrote to a friend, " Who knows but our 
 latter end may yet increase ? " He was, however, afraid of pre- 
 suming, and added " If not in public usefulness, Lord Jesus, 
 let it be in heart-holiness ! I know who says, Amen. I add, 
 Amen and Amen." 
 
 On his arrival, he found many Christian friends, of whom he 
 had " never heard before," waiting to welcome him. They 
 were the fruits of his former visit to Virginia; and the more 
 welcome to him, because he was not very sure that he had won 
 any souls upon the voyage. It was with great difficulty, how- 
 ever, that he preached to them ; his breathing was so bad, al- 
 though his general health was better. At Philadelphia, also, a 
 still higher gratification awaited him : not less than " forty new- 
 creature ministers, of various denominations," visited him; 
 some of them " young and bright witnesses " for Christ. He 
 heard, also, that sixteen students had been converted last year, 
 
468 
 
 at New Jersey college. This was medicine to him for every 
 thing but his asthma ; and even that he tried to forget : for now 
 the Lutherans in Philadelphia thronged to hear the friend of the 
 German protestants. Accordingly, he preached twice a week, 
 and with " remarkable " success amongst all ranks. 
 
 He wanted much to go to Georgia ; but the physicians ab- 
 solutely prohibited him, until he should gain strength. He 
 therefore went to New Jersey college, to fan the flame he 
 had kindled amongst the students ; and had " four sweet sea- 
 sons " there, which resembled old times. His spirits rose at 
 the sight of the young soldiers, who were to fight when he fell. 
 Thus cheered he went on to New York. It was now winter; 
 and " cold weather and a warm heart " always suited him best. 
 He therefore was able to preach thrice a week, for seven weeks. 
 " Such a flocking of all ranks," he says, " I never saw before at 
 New York." This flocking was not confined to the sanctuary. 
 Many of the most respectable gentlemen and merchants went 
 home with him after his sermons, to " hear something more 
 of the kingdom of Christ." Such was his influence as a philan- 
 thropist also, that, although prejudices ran high against the 
 Indians, because of a threatened insurrection in the south, he 
 collected 120 for the Indian school at Lebanon. This, with 
 the numerous conversions under his sermons, made him say, 
 "We are trying to echo back from America the Gogunniant" 
 of Wales. Thus he found " New York new York indeed " to 
 him. 
 
 Soon after, he visited the Indian school at Lebanon, then 
 under Dr. Wheelock. The sight of this " promising nursery 
 for future missionaries," inspired him. All his old plans for its 
 extension expanded. I am inclined to think, from a full com- 
 parison of dates, that he arranged on the spot with Wheelock or 
 Whitaker, the mission of OCCUM to Britain, on behalf of the 
 Indian seminary. It was certainly Whitefield's plans and 
 pledges which brought Whitaker and Occum here ; and it was 
 his influence which won Lord Dartmouth to be the patron of the 
 college at Hanover, which Wheelock very properly called 
 " Dartmouth." But this subject will come up again. 
 
 In 1764, Whitefield came to Boston, and was " received with 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 469 
 
 the usual warmth of affection." Again he saw there " the 
 Redeemer's stately steps in the great congregation." Small-pox 
 were, however, raging so in the city, that he deemed it prudent 
 to move about in the adjacent towns. The Bostonians bore with 
 this for some weeks : but when they heard that he was likely to 
 slip off to the south, they brought him back by force. " They 
 sent," he says, " a gospel hue-and-cry after me, and really 
 brought me back." It was not so much to their credit, that 
 they " begged earnestly for a six o'clock morning lecture," when 
 they got him back. He seems to have been unable to comply 
 with their cruel request : but he declined with reluctance. He 
 preached for them, however, thrice a week for some time ; and 
 such was the number of converts discovered after his farewell 
 sermon, that his friends actually proposed to send after him 
 a book, full of names of the multitude who were clamorous 
 for his return, although he was fleeing for his life. The heat 
 alone had compelled him to leave. It was now summer, and he 
 began to sink again. What could he do but fly ? The good 
 Bostonians assured him, that their summers had lately become 
 much cooler than formerly, and that he might safely risk their 
 dog-days now ! He tried to believe them, until he had hardly 
 breath enough to say farewell. His parting with them tried 
 him much. " It has been heart-breaking," he says, " I cannot 
 stand it ! " They acted more considerately when his visit com- 
 menced. Then, " at a meeting of the freeholders and other 
 inhabitants of the town of Boston, it was unanimously voted, 
 that the thanks of the town be given to the Rev. George White- 
 field, for his charitable care and pains in collecting a considerable 
 sum of money in Great Britain, for the distressed sufferers by 
 the great fire in Boston, 1760. A respectable committee was 
 appointed to wait on Mr. W r hitefield, to inform him of the vote, 
 and present him with a copy thereof." Boston Gazette, February, 
 1764. 
 
 Urgency, like that at Boston, was employed with him at New 
 Haven college. He had preached to the students, and taken 
 his leave : but such was the impression, that they sent the pre- 
 sident after him, to entreat for another " quarter of an hour's 
 exhortation." He complied, of course : and the effect was, 
 
470 
 
 what he called, " the crown of the expedition." Letters. He 
 spent the summer in and around New York, without suffering 
 much from the heat. Often, a hundred carriages might be seen 
 in the streets, around whatever chapel he preached in. This 
 pleased him : but twice he got into the fields again ; and then 
 he exclaims, " We sat under the Redeemer's shadow with great 
 delight." 
 
 In September, he went to Philadelphia again ; and the effect, 
 he says, " was great indeed." It made him exclaim, " Grace, 
 grace ! " He was also much gratified at Nassau Hall, where 
 he preached at Commencement. Both the governor and ex- 
 governor of the state, with the principal gentlemen of the city, 
 attended, and the provost of the college read prayers for him. 
 The trustees also sent him a vote of thanks for his services and 
 the countenance he gave to the institution. About this time, a 
 picture of him was taken by an American artist, who could not 
 finish the drapery, owing to an attack of ague. Whitefield must 
 have been pleased with it ; for he sent it to England to be finished, 
 and then " hung up in the Tabernacle parlour." There is a 
 painting there, imperfect in its drapery, which has often as- 
 tounded me ; the figure is so unwieldy, and so unlike all my old 
 prints. Until this moment, I could not account for its enormous 
 obesity. It is, I now suspect, the original he sent from Phila- 
 delphia ; for he was then much swollen. He calls it, in his 
 letter, " my shadow:" I should like to have seen his smile, when 
 he used these words ! He must have been very ill, if he was 
 grave then. 
 
 He was well enough, however, to cross-plough Virginia again. 
 During this itineracy, he found here and there, in places as 
 ( ' unlikely as ROME itself," groups of new lights, formed and led 
 on by a wealthy planter in the state. This he calls (f grace 
 indeed." They also met him in a body, to identify themselves 
 publicly with him. The character and result of this camp- 
 meeting at Lockwoods, I do not know : but such was his own 
 opinion of the prospects in Virginia at large, that he wrote home 
 thus : " Surely the Londoners, who are fed to the full, will not 
 envy the poor souls in these parts. I almost determine to come 
 back in the spring " to them, from Georgia. 
 
471 
 
 He spent the winter at Bethesda. How flourishing he found 
 it, will be best told in his own words. " Peace and plenty 
 reign at Bethesda. All things go on successfully. God hath 
 given me great favour in the sight of the governor, council, and 
 assembly. A memorial was presented for an additional grant 
 of lands, consisting of two thousand acres. It was immedi- 
 ately complied with. Both houses addressed the governor in 
 behalf of the intended college. A warm answer was given ; 
 and I am now putting all in repair, and getting every thing 
 ready for that purpose. Every heart seems to leap for joy, at 
 the prospect of its future utility to this and the neighbouring 
 colonies. He that holdeth the stars in his right hand, will 
 direct in due time, whether I shall directly embark for Eng- 
 land, or take one tour more to the northward. I am in delight- 
 ful winter-quarters (for once /) His EXCELLENCY dined with 
 me yesterday, and expressed his satisfaction in the warmest 
 terms. Who knows how many youths may be trained up for 
 the service of the ever-loving and altogether lovely Jesus ? 
 Thus far, however, we may set up our Ebenezer. Hitherto the 
 bush hath been burning, but not consumed." 
 
 On transcribing this sentence, I was about to say, " Alas, 
 the consuming fire is kindling ;" when the recollection of Ber- 
 ridge's opinion on the eventual fate of Bethesda, checked me. 
 He thought it a good thing that that bush was consumed, and 
 thus prevented from becoming a nursery for unconverted minis- 
 ters. But this subject will occur again. 
 
 In the spring of 1765, Whitefield began to prepare again for 
 his " wilderness range." He was tired of " ceiled houses and 
 crowded tables." These, he says, " I leave to others : a morsel 
 of bread, and a little bit of cold meat, in a wood, is a most 
 luxurious repast " to me. He left Georgia, however, with great 
 regret, on some accounts. It was all alive to hear him. It 
 was, in his opinion, " such a scene of action " then, that " words 
 could not express " the facilities for usefulness which it pre- 
 sented. But both Old and New England were clamorous for 
 his return to them. All the way from Charleston to Phila- 
 delphia, the loud and piercing cry was, " For Christ's sake, 
 stay, and preach the gospel to us." Even in Charleston, of 
 
472 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 which he often said, its motto is, " Chastened but not changed" 
 (referring to its calamitous visitations by storms,) he was de- 
 tained a week longer than he intended, by the urgency of the 
 mayor and the principal gentlemen of the town. Indeed, he 
 calls his parting from it and Bethesda, " affecting, cutting, 
 and awful." So it was to him every where : for he doubted 
 very much whether it was his duty to move homewards. But 
 he had laid the foundation of his college, and the superstructure 
 depended upon his influence at home. Besides, the heat soon 
 decided the question, when he reached Philadelphia. In a few 
 days, he could scarcely move. He even dreaded the motion of 
 a ship, when he was compelled to embark for England ; but he 
 said, " If it shake this tottering frame to pieces, it will be a 
 trading voyage indeed ! " In this spirit he sailed, and reached 
 home so speedily, that he could hardly believe his own senses, 
 when he found himself there in twenty-eight days. 
 
 In this second illustration, as in the first, of Whitefield's in- 
 fluence in America, there is (it will be seen) no selection of 
 facts from any former or subsequent visits ; but merely the de- 
 tails of the moment. I have already stated my reasons for not 
 going into the general estimate of his influence in the new 
 world. Let some of my American friends show this out. The 
 old world, instead of being jealous, will be thankful, to see 
 Whitefield, as we now see Luther, Knox, and Latimer, in his 
 own place, amidst the Aarons and Hurs who sustained his 
 hands, and the Joshuas who carried on his work and warfare. It 
 is worthy of American Christians, that whilst they would feel at 
 a loss between two of their patriarchs one of whom had shaken 
 hands with George Washington, and the other with George 
 Whitefield with which to shake hands first, they would vene- 
 rate most a veteran who had known both. Again I tell them, 
 that I have not dared to do Whitefield full justice, in reference 
 to their father-land, because I was afraid of doing injustice to 
 their fathers, who acted with him, and followed after him. I 
 devolve the duty, therefore, upon America. Let her give 
 Britain the Transatlantic Life and Times of Whitefield ! 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 WHITEFIELD AND THE BISHOPS. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S deliberate and final opinion of the episcopate as 
 an order, or as an office, is very doubtful. Until I read his 
 solemn declaration to the Erskines, that he would not be epis- 
 copally ordained again for a thousand worlds, I had seen nothing 
 to warrant even a suspicion of the kind. Even now I know of 
 nothing to illustrate that declaration. It is not repeated in any 
 of his letters. It is not reported in any popular anecdote of his 
 preaching or conversation. The dissenters had no idea of his 
 doubts on this head, and his episcopalian friends regarded him 
 as a sound, although irregular, churchman upon the whole. It 
 is thus evident that he was very silent upon the subject. Be- 
 sides, although he was present at several ordinations of another 
 kind, he took no part in any of them. He preached in the 
 evening at Deal, after Dr. Gibbons and other ministers had or- 
 dained a pastor there. He also spent the afternoon with them, 
 greatly to his own edification, he says. All this is proof that he 
 did not doubt the validity of their ordination ; but not proof 
 that he preferred their way. The strongest thing I know him 
 to have said of " that way " is, " The prayer put up in the very 
 act of laying on of hands, by Dr. Gibbons, was so affecting, and 
 the looks and behaviour of those that joined so serious and 
 solemn, that I hardly know when I was more struck under 
 any one's ministration. Several very important questions 
 were asked and answered before, and a solemn charge given 
 after imposition of hands." Thus he thought, felt, and wrote, 
 on this subject, thirty years after what he said to the Erskines 
 about his own ordination. He showed, however, no preference 
 
 3p 
 
474 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 during all that time to either presbyterian or congregational or- 
 dination. What, therefore, ought we to think of his strong lan- 
 guage to the Erskines ? Was it a hasty assertion never re- 
 peated? Did he repent of it as a rash saying? With my 
 knowledge of Whitefield, I cannot think that he kept silence 
 from either policy or repentance. He had, indeed, no policy 
 except that of trying to do the greatest sum of good. 
 
 My own conviction is, that he had neither fixed nor definite 
 opinions upon the subject of episcopacy. He was for it and 
 against it, just as it was for and against the work of evangelizing 
 the country. He thought highly of episcopal power, when it 
 aided or protected faithful preaching; and meanly, when it 
 hindered the gospel. If a bishop did good, or allowed good to 
 be done, Whitefield venerated him and his office too : but he 
 despised both, whenever they were hostile to truth or zeal ; I 
 have no objection to say, whenever they were hostile to his own 
 sentiments and measures. The question comes thus within a 
 narrow compass, Were his measures and sentiments, or those 
 of the hostile bishops, the more apostolical ? Gibson compro- 
 mised the apostolic doctrine of regeneration ; Lavington cari- 
 catured it ; Smallbroke all but denied the work of the Spirit ; 
 and Warburton evaporated divine influence. Whitefield sus- 
 tained the doctrine of the Reformation on the subject; and 
 however his modes of expression varied, his invariable meaning 
 was, that it is Christ in the heart, that is the hope of glory. It 
 was this apostolic maxim which made him at first, and kept 
 him to the end, a faithful echo of the supreme oracle, " Mar- 
 vel not that I say unto you, Ye must be born again." They 
 may be prelates, but they are not bishops of the church of 
 Christ, who either oppose or explain away this oracle. To 
 honour such masters in Israel, is to dishonour Christ. And as 
 to respecting their office, notwithstanding their errors, that is 
 drawing a distinction equally unwise and unwarrantable. What 
 honest man would respect an unjust judge or an ignorant phy- 
 sician, because of their professional titles ? It is high time to 
 put an end to this nonsense. Bishop is a name of office in the 
 Bible, because it is a name of creed and character ; and there- 
 fore ought never to be conceded to any man whose creed and 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 475 
 
 character are not apostolical, whoever may confer it upon him. 
 Ordination can no more make a worldly man a bishop, than a 
 diploma can make an ignorant man a physician, or a theologian. 
 
 Whitefield's sentiments on this subject came out, most fully, 
 in his exposure of Warburton. He did not spare him, as he 
 did Smallbroke ; for although no match for Warburton as a 
 scholar or a reasoner, his spirit compelled the wrangler to cal- 
 culate consequences. I have never seen the original form of 
 the bishop's pamphlet on the grace of the Spirit ; but as sermons, 
 it is evidently softened and qualified in his works. The me- 
 mory of Doddridge had, perhaps, some influence upon him. 
 Not much, however. When I read his letters to Doddridge I 
 can hardly believe my own recollections of his works; and when 
 I read his works, I can hardly believe that he wrote the letters. 
 I regret this discrepancy : for Warburton, if the most " impu- 
 dent man of the age," was a mighty man of valour, and warred 
 well against the twin-scepticism of Bolingbroke and Middle- 
 ton. I select him, therefore, that the point of Whitefield's 
 argument may be felt. It penetrates " the joints of his 
 armour," even. 
 
 The following remonstrances are not addressed to the levia- 
 than of the Legation himself. Whitefield was probably afraid 
 to put " a hook in his jaws," by a direct effort ; and therefore 
 he caught him with holy guile, by addressing a private friend ; 
 probably Keene, one of the first managers of the Tabernacle. 
 
 " However profound and unintelligible our author's comments 
 may be, yet, when he comes to show the reasonableness and fit- 
 ness of an abatement or total withdrawment of divine influence 
 in these last days, he speaks intelligibly enough. ' On the 
 Spirit's first descent upon the apostles, he found their minds 
 rude and uninformed, strangers to all celestial knowledge, pre- 
 judiced in favour of a carnal law, and utterly averse to the dic- 
 tates of the everlasting gospel. The minds of these he illu- 
 minated, and, by degrees, led into all truths necessary for the 
 professors of the faith to know, or for the propagators of it to 
 teach.' True I ' Secondly, the nature and genius of the gospel 
 were so averse to all the religious institutions of the world, that 
 the whole strength of human prejudices was set in opposition to 
 
476 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 it. To overcome the obstinacy and violence of those prejudices, 
 nothing less than the power of the Holy One was sufficient.' 
 Good! ' And, thirdly and lastly, there was a time when the 
 powers of this world were combined together for its destruc- 
 tion. At such a period, nothing but superior aid from above 
 could support humanity in sustaining so great a conflict as that 
 which the holy martyrs encountered with joy and rapture, the 
 horrors of death and torment.' Excellent ! But what follows ? 
 According to our author, 
 
 ' Tempera mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis/ 
 
 ' But now,' (a dreadful but it is !) ( the profession of Chris- 
 tianity is attended with ease and honour ;' and we are now, it 
 seems, so far from being ' rude and uninformed, and utterly 
 averse to the dictates of the everlasting gospel, that whatever 
 there may be of prejudice, it draws another way. Conse- 
 quently, a rule of faith being now established, the conviction 
 which the weight of human testimony, and the conclusions of 
 human reason, afford us of its truth, are abundantly sufficient to 
 support us in our religious perseverance ; and therefore it must 
 certainly be a great mark of fanaticism, to expect such divine 
 communications, as though no such rule of faith was establish- 
 ed ; and also as highly presumptuous or fanatical to imagine, 
 that rule to be so obscure, as to need the further assistance of 
 the Holy Spirit to explain his own meaning.' 
 
 " This, you will say, my dear friend, is going pretty far ; and 
 indeed, supposing matters to be as this writer represents them, 
 I do not see what great need we have of any established rule 
 at all, at least in respect to practice, since corrupt nature is 
 abundantly sufficient of itself, to help us to persevere in a reli- 
 gion attended with ease and honour. And I verily believe, that 
 the deists throw aside this rule of faith entirely, not barely on 
 account of a deficiency in argument to support its authenticity, 
 but because they daily see so many who profess to hold this 
 established, self-denying rule of faith with their lips, persever- 
 ing all their lives long in nothing else but an endless and insa- 
 tiable pursuit after worldly ease and honour. But what a total 
 ignorance of human nature, and of the true, unalterable genius 
 
477 
 
 of the everlasting gospel, doth our author's arguing discover ! 
 For supposing, my dear friend, that this or any other writer 
 should undertake to prove, that the ancient Greeks and Romans 
 were born with sickly, disordered, and crazy bodies, but that 
 we in modern days, being made of a firmer mould, and being 
 blessed with the established rules of Galen and Hippocrates, 
 need now no further assistance from any present physician, 
 either to explain or apply those rules to our present ails and 
 corporeal distresses, though we could not, without the help of 
 some linguist superior to ourselves, so much as understand 
 the language in which those authors wrote. Supposing, I say, 
 any one was to take it into his head to write in this manner, 
 would he not be justly deemed a dreaming enthusiast or real 
 fanatic ? And yet this would be just as rational as to insinuate 
 with our author, that we who are born in these last days, have 
 less depravity in our natures, less enmity to, and less prejudice 
 against, the Lord Jesus Christ, and less need of the divine 
 teachings of the Blessed Spirit to help us to understand the 
 true spiritual meaning of the holy Scriptures, than those who 
 were born in the first ages of the gospel. For as it was former- 
 ly, so it is now, the natural man discerneth not the things of 
 the Spirit ; and why ? ( Because they can only be spiritually 
 discerned.' But when is it that we must believe this author ? 
 for, p. 73, he talks of ( some of the first Christians, who were 
 in the happy circumstance of being found innocent, when they 
 were led into the practice of all virtue by the Holy Spirit.' 
 And what occasion for that, if found innocent ? But how inno- 
 cent did the Holy Spirit find them ? Doubtless, just as innocent 
 as it finds us, ' conceived and born in sin.' 
 
 " But, by this time, my dear friend, I imagine you would be 
 glad to know against whom these brutafulmina, this unscrip- 
 tural artillery, is levelled. Our author shall inform you : " All 
 modern pretenders to divine influence in general ;' and you may 
 be assured, ' the poor methodists (those scourges and eye-sores 
 of formal, self-righteous, letter-learned professors) in particu- 
 lar.' To expose and set these off in a ridiculous light, (a 
 method that Julian, after all his various tortures, found most 
 effectual,) this writer runs from Dan to Beersheba ; gives us 
 
478 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 quotation upon quotation out of the Rev. Mr. John Wesley's 
 journals ; and to use his own simile upon another occasion, by a 
 kind of Egyptian husbandry, draws together whole droves of 
 obscene animals of his own formation, who rush in furiously, 
 and then trample the journals, and this sect, already every 
 where spoken against, under their feet. In reading this part of 
 his work I could not help thinking of the papists dressing John 
 Huss in a cap of painted devils, before they delivered him up 
 to the secular arm. For our author calls the Rev. Mr. John 
 Wesley ' paltry mimic, spiritual empiric, spiritual martialist, 
 meek apostle, new adventurer.' The methodists, according to 
 him, are f modern apostles, the saints, new missionaries, illu- 
 minated doctors, this sect of fanatics. Methodism itself is mo- 
 dern saintship. Mr. Law begat it, and Count Zinzendorff 
 rocked the cradle; and the devil himself is man-midwife to 
 their new birth.' And yet this is the man, my dear friend, who 
 in his preface to this very book, lays it down as an invariable 
 maxim, f That truth is never so grossly injured, or its advo- 
 cates so dishonoured, as when they employ the foolish arts of 
 sophistry, buffoonery, and personal abuse in its defence.' By 
 thy own pen thou shalt be tried, thou hapless, mistaken advo- 
 cate of the Christian cause. Nay, not content with dressing up 
 this meek apostle, this spiritual empiric, these new missionaries, 
 in bear-skins, in order to throw them out to be baited by an ill- 
 natured world, he proceeds to rake up the very ashes of the 
 dead ; and, like the witch of Endor, as far as in him lies, at- 
 tempts to bring up and disquiet the ghosts of one of the most 
 venerable sets of men that ever lived upon the earth ; I mean, 
 the good old puritans : ' For these,' (says our author,) ' who now 
 go under the name of methodists, in the days of our forefathers, 
 under the firm reign of Queen Elizabeth, were called pre- 
 cisians ; but then, as a precious metal which had undergone its 
 trial in the fire, and left all its dross, the sect, with great pro- 
 priety, changed its name' (a very likely thing, to give them- 
 selves a nick-name, indeed) f from precisian to puritan. Then 
 in the weak and distracted times of Charles I. it ventured 
 to throw off the mask, and under the new name of inde- 
 pendent, became the chief agent of all the dreadful disorders 
 
\\ HITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 479 
 
 which terminated that unhappy reign.' So that, according to 
 this author's heraldic, genealogical fiction, ' methodism is the 
 younger daughter to independency, and now a methodist is an 
 apostolic independent,' (God grant he may always deserve such 
 a glorious appellation,) ' but an independent was then a Maho- 
 metan methodist.' Pages 142 144. What ! an independent 
 a Mahometan methodist ? What ! the learned Dr. Owen, the 
 great Dr. Goodwin, the amiable Mr. Howe, and those glorious 
 worthies who first planted the New England churches, Maho- 
 metan methodists ? Would to God, that not only this writer, 
 but all who now profess to preach Christ in this land, were not 
 only almost, but altogether such Mahometan methodists in re- 
 spect to the doctrine of divine influence, as they were ! For I 
 will venture to affirm, that if it had not been for such Maho- 
 metan methodists, and their successors, the free-grace dis- 
 senters, we should some years ago have been in danger of sink- 
 ing into Mahometan methodism indeed ; I mean, into a Chris- 
 tianity destitute of any divine influence manifesting itself in 
 grace and knowledge, and void of any spiritual aid in spiritual 
 distresses. But from such a Christianity, good Lord, deliver 
 this happy land ! The design our author had in view in draw- 
 ing such a parallel, is easily seen through. Doubtless, to ex- 
 pose the present methodists to the jealousy of the civil go- 
 vernment. For, says he, p. 142, ' We see methodism at present 
 under a well-established government, where it is obliged to wear 
 a less audacious look. To know its true character, we should 
 see it in all its fortunes.' And doth this writer then, in order 
 to gratify a sinful curiosity of seeing methodism in all its for- 
 tunes, desire to have the pleasure of seeing the weak and dis- 
 tracted times of Charles I. brought back again ? Or dares he 
 insinuate, that because, as he immediately adds, our country 
 hath been productive of every strange thing, ' that we are in the 
 least danger now of any such distracting turn, since we have a 
 king upon the throne who, in his first most gracious speech to 
 both houses of parliament, declared he would preserve the Act 
 of Toleration inviolable ? And that being the case, blessed 
 be God, we are in no danger of any return of such weak and 
 distracted times, either from the apostolic independents, Maho- 
 
480 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 me tan methodists, or any religious sect or party whatsoever.' 
 My dear friend, ' if this is not gibbeting up names with unrege- 
 nerate malice, to everlasting infamy/ I know not what is. But 
 it happens in this, as in similar cases, whilst men are thus busy 
 in gibbeting up the names of others, they unwittingly, like 
 Haman, when preparing a gallows for that apostolic independent, 
 that Mahometan methodist, Mordecai, all the while are only 
 erecting a gibbet for their own. 
 
 " But, methinks, I see you now begin to be impatient to know 
 (and indeed I have neither inclination nor leisure at present to 
 pursue our author any further) who this can be, that takes such 
 gigantic strides ? I assure you he is a perfect Goliath in the 
 retinue of human learning. Will you guess ? Perhaps Dr. 
 Taylor of Norwich. No he is dead. Certainly not a church- 
 man ? Yes ; a member, a minister, a dignitary, a bishop of the 
 church of England ; and, to keep you no longer in suspense, it 
 is no less a man than Dr. Warburton, the author of " The 
 Divine Legation of Moses," and now William Lord Bishop of 
 Gloucester. I know you are ready to say, ' Tell it not in Gath, 
 publish it not in the streets of Askelon.' But, my dear friend, 
 what can be done ? His Lordship hath published it himself: 
 nay, his book hath just gone through a second impression; and 
 that you may see and judge for yourself, whether I have wronged 
 his Lordship or not, (as it is not very weighty,) I have sent you 
 the book itself. Upon the perusal, I am persuaded you will at 
 least be thus far of my opinion, that however deem et tutamen 
 is always the motto engraven upon a bishop's mitre, it is not 
 always most certain, though his Lordship says it is, p. 202, 
 that they are written on every prelate's breast ? And how can 
 this prelate, in particular, be said to be the ornament and safe- 
 guard of the church of England, when his principles are as 
 directly contrary to the offices of that church, over which he is 
 by divine permission made overseer, as light is contrary to dark- 
 ness ? You know, my dear friend, what our ministers are taught 
 to say, when they baptize : ' I beseech you to call upon God 
 the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that of his boun- 
 teous goodness he will grant to this child that thing which by 
 nature he cannot have.' But what says his Lordship ? ' All 
 
WIIITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 481 
 
 influence exceeding the power of humanity, is miraculous, and 
 therefore to abate or be totally withdrawn, now the church is 
 perfectly established.' What say they when they catechise ? 
 f My good child, know this, that thou art not able to do these 
 things of thyself, nor to walk in the commands of God, and to 
 serve him, without his special grace. 9 But what says his Lord- 
 ship ? ' A rule of faith being now established, the conviction 
 which the weight of human testimony, and the conclusions of 
 human reason, afford, are abundantly sufficient to support us in 
 our religious perseverance.' What says his Lordship himself, 
 when he confirms children thus catechised ? * Strengthen them, 
 we beseech thee, O Lord, with the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, 
 and daily increase in them thy manifold gifts and grace, the 
 spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and 
 ghostly strength.' But what says his Lordship, when he speaks 
 his own sentiments ? f All aids in spiritual distresses, as well 
 as those which administered help in corporeal diseases, are now 
 abated or totally withdrawn.' What says his Lordship when he 
 ordains ? ' Dost thou trust that thou art inwardly moved by 
 the Holy Ghost ? then, receive thou the Holy Ghost.' 
 
 " What says his Lordship, when pronouncing the blessing ? 
 f The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your 
 hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God.' But 
 what says his Lordship when retired to his study ? ' All super- 
 natural influence, manifesting itself in grace and knowledge, is 
 miraculous, and therefore to cease under a perfect establish- 
 ment.' What says But I check myself; for the time would 
 
 fail me, was I to urge all those quotations that might be pro- 
 duced out of the articles, homilies, and public offices, to con- 
 front and invalidate the whole tenor and foundation of his Lord- 
 ship's performance. But how it is consistent with that wisdom 
 which is from above, (and by which his Lordship attempts to 
 arraign, try, and condemn, the Reverend Mr. John Wesley,) to 
 subscribe to, and make use of, public offices in the church, and 
 then as publicly deny and contradict them in the press, I leave 
 to his Lordship's more calm and deliberate consideration. Sure 
 I am, if weighed in the same balance, his Lordship would be 
 found equally wanting, at least. Indeed, during the whole trial, 
 
 3Q 
 
482 
 
 I could scarcely refrain breaking out into the language of the 
 eunuch of Queen Candace to Philip the evangelist, ' Speaketh 
 the prophet this of himself, or of some other man ? ' I hope, 
 my dear friend, you know me better than to suspect I thus re- 
 tort upon his Lordship, in order to throw dust in your eyes, to 
 prevent your seeing what his Lordship may justly except against 
 in the conduct of the methodists in general, or in the journals of 
 the Reverend Mr. John Wesley in particular. Whatever that 
 indefatigable labourer may think of his, you know I have long 
 since publicly acknowledged, that there were, and doubtless, 
 though now sent forth in a more correct attire, there are yet, 
 many exceptionable passages in my journals. And I hope it will 
 be one of the constant employments of my declining years, to 
 humble myself daily before the most high God, for the innu- 
 merable mixtures of corruption which have blended themselves 
 with my feeble, but, I trust, sincere endeavours, whether from 
 the press or pulpit, to promote the Redeemer's glory, and the 
 eternal welfare of precious and immortal souls. And I assure 
 you, that if his Lordship had contented himself with pointing 
 out, or even ridiculing, any such blemishes or imprudences, or 
 yet still more important mistakes, in my own, or any of the 
 methodists' conduct or performances, I should have stood en- 
 tirely silent. But when I observed his Lordship through almost 
 his whole book, not only wantonly throwing about the arrows 
 and firebrands of scurrility, buffoonery, and personal abuse, but, 
 at the same time, on account of some unguarded expressions and 
 indiscretions of a particular set of honest, though fallible, men, 
 taking occasion to wound, vilify, and totally deny the all-pow- 
 erful, standing operations of the blessed Spirit, by which alone 
 his Lordship or any other man living can be sanctified and sealed 
 to the day of eternal redemption, I must own that I was con- 
 strained to vent myself to you, as a dear and intimate friend, in 
 the manner I have done. Make what use of it you please ; per- 
 haps hereafter I may trouble you with some further remarks." 
 Letter. 
 
 It was a significant " sign of the times," that Payne, the ac- 
 comptant-general of the Bank of England, wrote an answer to 
 Warburton. I ought also to add, that the bishop could persecute 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 483 
 
 as well as rail. This ought to be known ; because he appears 
 somewhat amiable in his correspondence with Doddridge, and 
 not a little faithful in exposing " the unclean beasts" in his own 
 ark. Adams of Stinchcombe, near Gloucester, was the friend 
 of Whitefield and Venn. He was an infirm man, but zealous. 
 Warburton had been his patron ; but when he began to itinerate, 
 and to preach for Lady Huntingdon at Bath, the bishop insist- 
 ed, in his own style, upon strict residence at home. " I shall 
 insist," he says, " upon your constant residence in your parish, 
 not so much for the good you are likely to do there, as to pre- 
 vent the mischief you may do by rambling about to other places. 
 Your bishop and (though your fanatic conduct has almost made 
 me ashamed to own it) your patron, W. GLOUCESTER." 
 
 Adams remonstrated, and proved that during three years he 
 had only been three months non-resident. He argued also that 
 he had accepted Stinchcombe, a living of 36 per annum, in pre- 
 ference to one of 80, because he was unable to give full ser- 
 vice. All this was in vain. He was a methodist. Warburton, 
 therefore, (without a divine legation,) replied, " If I indulged 
 you in giving your parish only one service on Sunday, I hereby 
 revoke that indulgence, and insist upon your giving them full 
 service." Nichols. 
 
 It might have been unsafe then to defy such legates, when 
 they interdicted itineracy ; and even now an infirm man could 
 do no good by rambling ; but let some men of renown take the 
 field, arid their gowns are as safe as any mitre on the bench. 
 Mitres must now lead on the evangelization of the country, or 
 follow cardinals' hats to Rome. Nothing, at least, could seat 
 them so firmly now, as to sanction a few of the staunch cham- 
 pions of the Reformation, as chartered Itinerants, to preach 
 down the Oxford Tract Popery in every parish of the kingdom, 
 where it has been introduced. Or if this experiment would create 
 confusion, a calm and speedy triumph might easily be achieved, 
 by each bishop itinerating from church to church in his own 
 diocese, and protesting against Puseyisin, as treason against 
 Protestantism. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S LAST LABOURS AT HOME. 
 
 ALTHOUGH Whitefield's last days were not " his best days," 
 either at home or abroad, they were both happy and useful days. 
 The very evening of his life includes more labour and success 
 than the whole day of ordinary men. After opening the Coun- 
 tess's chapel at Bath, the care of his own chapels in London 
 quite absorbed him for some months. He could neither range 
 nor revisit, because of the difficulty of supplying his pulpits. 
 Besides, he was too weak " to do now as he had done." He 
 thought himself fit only to " stand by an old gun or two in a 
 garrison," instead of leading the battle. But such thoughts 
 did not last long in his mind. His "old ambition" soon re- 
 turned, whenever his strength or spirits rallied for a day. A 
 very slight improvement in his health would make him exclaim, 
 " Who knows but this feeble arm may yet be strengthened to 
 annoy the enemy ? " 
 
 In the spring of 1766, he was assisted by Occum, the Indian 
 preacher, who came over with Whitaker, to collect for Dr. 
 Wheelock's college. He was much pleased with Occum's spirit, 
 and with his preaching ; for both the noble and the poor heard 
 him gladly, and contributed liberally. Whitefield threw all his 
 soul into this enterprise, and nearly a thousand pounds were 
 soon raised for it. Even the king, through the influence of 
 Lord Dartmouth, contributed to the fund. Occum, as well as 
 his object, deserved this welcome. He was a superior man and 
 a popular preacher in his own country, both in the woods and in 
 the cities. He died in 1792, at New Stockbridge, and was fol- 
 lowed to the grave by three hundred weeping Indians. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 485 
 
 In the spring and summer of 1766, Whitefield paid some visits 
 to Bath and Bristol, for the benefit of the waters, and in the 
 hope of making excursions. But both the weather and his health 
 were bad, and he could seldom preach in these cities, except 
 at six in the morning. But even at that hour he had large 
 audiences. 
 
 Two things pleased him much at this time. He had got 
 Fletcher of Madely into his pulpits at London, and had formed 
 an acquaintance with Rowland Hill. Of the former he said, 
 " Dear Mr. Fletcher is become a scandalous Tottenham Court 
 preacher." " Were we more scandalous, more good would be 
 done." Still, " the shout of a King is yet heard in the methodist 
 camp." This was particularly the case in Bath, before White- 
 field returned to winter quarters. The nobility crowded to hear 
 him ; and whatever effect his sermons had upon them, many of 
 the poor were effectually called. Such was, however, the appa- 
 rent impression on all ranks, that he left Bath, longing and pray- 
 ing that God would open his way again into all the towns in 
 England. 
 
 This prayer was not granted : but God enabled Whitefield to 
 quicken the zeal of stronger men. He heard of " four methodist 
 parsons " being the guests of one of his friends ; and exclaimed, 
 " Four methodist parsons ! it is enough to set a whole king- 
 dom on fire, when Jesus says, Loose them, and let them go ! " 
 This message was followed up by an appeal to them, which must 
 have been felt : " Indeed and indeed, my dear and honoured 
 friends, I am ashamed of myself. I blush and am confounded, 
 so very little have I done or suffered for Jesus ! What a poor 
 figure shall I make amongst the saints, confessors, and martyrs 
 around His throne, without some deeper signatures of his divine 
 impress, without more scars of Christian honour ! To-morrow 
 I intend to take the sacrament upon it, that I will begin to begin 
 to be a Christian." It was appeals of this kind, which made the 
 Romaines and Venns (nothing loth !) bestir themselves ; and 
 which brought around Whitefield the Shirleys and De Courcys 
 of the time. Another way in which he helped on, at this time, 
 the work he had begun, was by prefacing a new edition of Bun- 
 yan's Works; and thus reviving public attention to the old 
 
486 WHITEFIELp's LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 puritans, by grouping their names with those of the reformers : 
 a process equally fair and wise ! They libel the reformers, who 
 think them at all lowered by identifying Owen, Baxter, or Bun- 
 yan with them. These men dwell in the same mansion in 
 heaven, with Latimer, Jewel, and Usher. Let, therefore, all 
 who believe their identity maintain it ! The conviction will soon 
 enthrone itself in the public mind, in spite of all the efforts 
 made to keep up a distinction. There is no real distinction. 
 They were only distinct billows of the one sea of protestant 
 reformation. Their differences were mere foam, which the hal- 
 cyon wmgs of time and truth will soon obliterate. Or, if there 
 be a bench in heaven, Bunyan is an archbishop ! 
 
 In the spring of 1767, Whitefield visited Cambridge and 
 Norwich, and preached with something of his old power for 
 some time. He left London, intending a " large plan of opera- 
 tions ;" but his " inward fever " returned upon him, and check- 
 ed him. Lady Huntingdon then took him to Rodborough by 
 easy stages, and he was soon in the fields again. This encou- 
 raged him to venture into Wales also : for he had great faith in 
 the " thirty-year-old methodistical medicine," of preaching in 
 the open air; and the Welch liked him best in that element. 
 " Thousands on thousands," therefore, now met him around his 
 "field throne" and light and life flew in all directions, as in 
 the days of old. This was, however, more than he could stand 
 long. Both the work and the reward were too much for his 
 strength to sustain. He was soon as thankful to be again on 
 " this side of the Welch mountains," as he had been to get to 
 " the other side " of them, although they rung with the cry, 
 " Evermore give this bread of life." 
 
 In the summer he returned to London, weak but lively ; and 
 finding that some laymen had not been unacceptable nor unsuc- 
 cessful in his pulpits, " the itch for itinerating " returned upon 
 him, he says, to a degree not curable " out of heaven ;" and 
 therefore he prepared to go into Yorkshire again, upon "a 
 blessed methodist field-street preaching plan." He now pre- 
 ferred streets to fields ; I do not know why. Perhaps he was 
 afraid of sudden attacks of illness, and wished to be near medi- 
 cal help. However that may be, he had to exclaim at almost 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 487 
 
 every stage, " Old methodism is the thing. Hallelujah ! Good 
 old work good old seasons." Both were improved at this time 
 by the company and help of Captain Scott, who often preached 
 for him. 
 
 This Yorkshire tour improved his health, notwithstanding all 
 the fatigue he went through ; because he travelled much, and 
 always on horseback. He was, therefore, afraid of London, 
 where he had much labour, and no riding. It tempted him to 
 nestle, he said ; and his favourite maxim was, " No nestling, no 
 nestling, on this side Jordan." On his arrival at home, he 
 preached for the Religious Book Society at the Tabernacle, and 
 afterwards dined with them at Drapers' Hall. On this occasion 
 (and it was both the first and the last) almost all the dissenting 
 ministers of London heard him, and met him at dinner. He 
 was pleased, and they seem to have been so too : for the collec- 
 tion amounted to 105, and eighty new subscribers were ob- 
 tained. It is thus unity of heart is produced, by uniting hands 
 in work which cannot be carried on without peace and good- 
 will. But for this society, Whitefield and the London ministers, 
 as a body, would hardly have known each other, except by name. 
 This fact should not be forgotten by the dissenters. It was at 
 this door Whitefield and they entered into the fellowship and 
 unity of the Spirit. And what has been the effect ? His me- 
 mory is an enshrined star, and his name a watch-word, in all 
 their orthodox churches. 
 
 At this time, he had much labour and more care pressing 
 upon him. The question of his college at Bethesda was coming 
 to a crisis, and he had a " little college of outcasts " (as he calls 
 some false and fickle brethren) to reclaim from error and apos- 
 tasy. In regard to the former, he began by memorializing the 
 king ; informing his Majesty, that there was no seminary for 
 academical studies southward of Virginia, and thus no stimulus 
 to improvement in Georgia ; that he had expended twelve 
 thousand pounds upon Bethesda, and thus laid a foundation for 
 a college, if a charter like that of New Jersey were granted. 
 He then sent, through Lord Dartmouth, a draught of the char- 
 ter to the archbishop of Canterbury. His Grace sent it to 
 the premier ; and the premier sent it back, requiring that the 
 
488 
 
 head of the college should be an episcopalian, and its prayers 
 established forms : not very modest requisitions, in a case where 
 the money came chiefly out of the pockets of American and 
 British dissenters ! Whitefield explained and pleaded this fact, 
 until his patience was worn out : he then, very properly, begged 
 leave to inform his Grace, that he would " trouble him no more, 
 but turn the charity into a more generous and useful channel." 
 " Accordingly, he resolved," says Gillies, " in the mean time, to 
 add a public academy to the orphan-house, and wait for a more 
 favourable opportunity for making a fresh application for a char- 
 ter upon a broad bottom." That c-pportunity he never found. 
 His failure to obtain a charter, however pitiable or paltry in its 
 causes, cannot surprise those who know the history of the char- 
 ter of the London university. Nearly a century was required 
 to make the state wiser than it was in the days of Whitefield ; 
 and even that long period has not improved the liberality of the 
 church much. Oxford still frowns, and Cambridge does not 
 smile, upon the call for open doors. There are, however, men 
 in both universities, who would be glad to see them open ; and 
 men out of both, who will not stop their " SESAME," because a 
 charter has been won for the London university. In the mean 
 time, (and I record it with pleasure and gratitude,) a dissenter 
 may find more than courtesy at the libraries, when he has occa- 
 sion to visit them for literary purposes. I have found Oxford 
 " more noble than " some would suppose. 
 
 Whitefield having failed to obtain a charter for a college 
 abroad, opened an nnchartered one at home, Trevecca in 
 Wales. This was a timely measure ; for Oxford had just ex- 
 pelled six praying students, and thus proved to Lady Hunting- 
 don that it would be no nursery for the kind of ministers she 
 wanted. Another college was, also, a practical comment upon 
 Vice- Chancellor Durell's edict ; which was more intelligible to 
 the heads of houses, than either Whitefield's solemn remon- 
 strances or the SHAVER'S sarcastic rebukes. They could com- 
 prehend a methodist seminary better than methodistical de- 
 fences of extempore prayer. Whilst, therefore, the spirit-stirring 
 pamphlets of Whitefield and M'Gowan placed the heads of 
 houses before the public, as the persecutors of godly students, 
 
WHITKFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 489 
 
 Trevecca placed before them a specimen of reaction which they 
 had not foreseen. 
 
 The Countess's College is now at Cheshunt, and under the 
 presidency of Dr. Harris, the author of " Mammon." This last 
 arrangement, and the accession of Thomas Challis, Esq., as 
 treasurer, have given great satisfaction to all who inherit or 
 admire the spirit of Lady Huntingdon and George Whitefield. 
 And such a change was wanted. The college had long been 
 the least amongst the schools of the prophets, and the last in 
 aggressive evangelization, although always orthodox upon the 
 whole, and never without some Whitefieldian spirits to sustain 
 its original character, both as ministerial and missionary. The 
 fact is, its theological chair had long had no attractions or in- 
 fluence beyond the pale of " the Connexion." It just drew as 
 many young men from the churches of the Connexion as kept 
 the chapels supplied, and furnished a few valuable missionaries 
 now and then, but it presented neither fascinations nor facilities 
 to young men of other denominations. They knew, either that 
 some of its rules would embarrass them, or that the most distin- 
 guished sons of Cheshunt had reached their meridian by dint of 
 their own talents and theological taste rather than by the guid- 
 ance or inspiration of the divinity chair ; and thus they had no 
 motive to make it their Alma Mater. Hoxton (now Highbury) 
 andHomerton were thus more magnetic th an Cheshunt, although 
 neither had its rural shades, nor its inspiring associations with 
 the sphered names of the Countess and Whitefield. 
 
 This was all that the writer meant in the remarks on this sub- 
 ject, which stand in the first edition of this work, and which gave 
 such dire offence to some of the old school. The^/br/w of these 
 remarks, however, was certainly anything but prudent, as some 
 men " count" prudence ; and the spirit of them might well be 
 deemed extravagant by any one whose head and heart were not 
 equally on fire with the memory of Whitefield's prayers and 
 hopes for the Countess's college. His own were so, and he 
 cannot regret it. He did try to provoke the trustees " to 
 jealousy" for the theological name and influence of the college ; 
 but for nothing else ; and they have since welcomed with 
 applause, from other lips and in other forms, all that he ever 
 
490 WHITEFJELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 meant or dreamt on the subject; for he never thought of any- 
 thing beyond the improvement of the system by the power of 
 the divinity chair. Whoever put another meaning upon his 
 words did him injustice, as well as mistook his spirit. He did 
 not, therefore, alter a line or a letter of what he had written, 
 even when all the requisite change was made; but he now 
 expunges the entire passage, with a ready hand and a rejoicing 
 heart, because his motives are no longer impeached. He would 
 have done this in silence, had he not feared that silence might 
 be misunderstood, and the old version of the attack quoted at 
 some future period. As to Cheshunt itself now, it is one of the 
 cherubic wheels, " instinct with living fire," on which the medi- 
 atorial throne of the Lamb on earth, enshrined as with the 
 shekinah is moving from nation to nation, and pouring light 
 and glory upon them all. Every other wheel of that throne, in 
 which is " the spirit of the living creatures," welcomes the 
 Whitefieldian one, and will now roll in harmony with it, as an 
 accession of real "strength and beauty" to the cause of both 
 Home and Foreign evangelization. This is the fact now ; but if 
 we may judge from the prize won by Dr. Harris for his " Great 
 Commission," and from the character of his umpires and com- 
 petitors, that work is likely to place Cheshunt at the head of all 
 our colleges as a missionary seminary. 
 
 Whilst engaged in maturing the college at Trevecca, and 
 opening chapels for the Countess, Whitefield lost his wife. On 
 this subject, I have nothing to add to a former chapter; except 
 that his own health and spirits declined afterwards. Still he 
 preached, although often bringing up blood when he came down 
 from the pulpit. 
 
 It will be gratifying to the reader to learn, that Trevecca, so 
 long holy ground, and so intimately associated with the name 
 and labours of Howel Harris, is about to become a theological 
 seminary for the Welsh Calvinistic methodists. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD AND EDMUND-HALL. 
 
 THE well-known expulsion of six students from Oxford, in 
 1763, was thus announced in the St. James's Chronicle ; " On 
 Friday last, six students belonging to Edmund-Hall, were ex- 
 pelled the University, after a hearing of several hours, before 
 Mr. Vice- Chancellor and some of the heads of houses, for hold- 
 ing methodistical tenets, and taking upon them to pray, read, 
 and expound the Scriptures, and singing hymns in a private 
 house. The (principal) of the college (Dr. Dixon) defended 
 their doctrines from the Thirty-nine Articles of the established 
 church, and spoke in the highest terms of the piety and exem- 
 plariness of their lives : but his motion was overruled, and sen- 
 tence pronounced against them. One of the heads of houses 
 present observed, that as these six gentlemen were expelled 
 for having too much religion, it would be very proper to inquire 
 into the conduct of some who had too little. Mr. (the Vice- 
 Chancellor) Durell was heard to tell the chief accuser, that the 
 UNIVERSITY was much olliged to him for his good work ! " 
 
 The form, as well as the facts, of this Oxford bull, deserves 
 preservation, because it will be the last of its race : for now, 
 public opinion would soon expel from the university of Christian 
 fellowship, any number of heads of houses, who should repeat 
 this act of tyranny. That great tribunal has just pronounced 
 the sentence of unqualified condemnation against the late popish 
 " Oxford Tracts," and neither the chancellor, nor the vice- 
 chancellor, could obtain, were they to try, any mitigation of the 
 sentence. The tracts are unprotestant, and, therefore, unpopular. 
 
 The hisses and yells of the raw witlings of Oxford against 
 
492 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 dissenters, at the late installation, were the mere ebullitions of 
 political folly, and prove nothing against the university but the 
 want of good manners on gala days : whereas the tracts prove 
 the want of good theology ; a defect not so easily remedied as 
 ill-breeding. 
 
 It is one way of remedying both to keep up for a time the 
 names and the acts of the conclave, who excluded six Oxonians 
 for extempore prayer, and kept in one who was proved guilty of 
 ridiculing the miracles of Moses and Christ. Another way 
 (which I prefer) is, to perpetuate the names of the wise and 
 good men who protested against these outrages on truth, de- 
 cency, and consistency. Oxford was never without some Ab- 
 diels. Her cloud of witnesses is not great ; but it is splendid 
 enough to inspire both hallowed recollections and high antici- 
 pations. I have felt and enjoyed this whilst musing in her 
 cloisters and halls. Often have her redeeming spirits gathered 
 around my own spirit, in such numbers and radiance, that I 
 forgot every thing but the service she had rendered to the Re- 
 formation, and the power she could apply to the defence and 
 diffusion of the gospel. Oh that she were wise to win souls ! 
 She has won all kinds of fame, but the immortality of leading on 
 the evangelization of the world. If I am not her enemy in 
 writing thus, then she has no enemies amongst orthodox dis- 
 senters. Their eyes are upon both universities, not to divide 
 the popish spoil, nor to divert the national endowments into 
 sectarian channels or foreign enterprises; but to secure for all 
 who can pay for it, free access to all the literature and science 
 of Cam and Isis. 
 
 The junto who expelled Matthews, Jones, Shipman, Kay, 
 Middleton, and Grove, were, Drs. Durell, Randolph, Fothergill, 
 Nowell, and the senior proctor, Atterbury. They evidently 
 feared a new edition of Whitefield and Wesley. These men, 
 who had " turned the world upside down," and the church in- 
 side out, had begun with reading, praying, and expounding in 
 private houses ; and, if two did so much damage to the old sys- 
 tem, what might not six do ? To prevent this danger, " each 
 of them, for the crimes above mentioned," was deemed " wor- 
 thy of being expelled the Hall :" " I, therefore, by my visitorial 
 
493 
 
 power," said the vice-chancellor, " do hereby pronounce them 
 expelled." This was the form of the bull ! 
 
 Middleton, in his " Ecclesiastical Memoir," laments that 
 " the archives " of Oxford should " preserve the entry of a re- 
 cord which seemed unsuitable to the character of a great pro- 
 testant community in the eighteenth century :" but its unsuit- 
 ableness is just the reason for its preservation. Were it not in 
 the archives, it would hardly be credited now ; and the next 
 century would deem it a mere calumny. 
 
 Amongst the writers who exposed the folly and infamy of this 
 decree, was Dr. Home, afterwards bishop of Norwich. He 
 nobly defended the students, whilst Sir Richard Hill lashed, 
 and M'Gowan shaved, their judges. But neither this defence, 
 nor that volunteered at the trial by two heads of houses, pre- 
 vented Dr. Nowell, the principal of St. Mary's Hall, from at- 
 tempting to justify the expulsion. He had even the effrontery 
 to plead drunkenness as Welling's excuse for ridiculing the 
 miracles ! 
 
 Whitefield rebuked this conclave with much severity ; but in 
 a better spirit than the baronet or the Shaver. His letter to 
 Durell, on the occasion, is scarce now, and as it is not likely to 
 be reprinted, I subjoin some specimens of it. They are not^ 
 however, the best as remonstrance, although the best as history. 
 Whitefield never wrote better than on this occasion. 
 
 " It hath gladdened the hearts of many, and afforded matter of 
 uncommon joy and thanksgiving to the Father of mercies and 
 God of all consolation, to hear, that for some time past there 
 hath been a more than common religious concern and zeal for 
 promoting their own and others' salvation among some of the 
 sons of the prophets. What a pleasing prospect hath hereby 
 been opened of a future blessing to the rising generation ! A 
 blessing which we well hoped would be not less salutary and 
 beneficial to the moral, than the new cruse of salt was to part 
 of the natural, world, which the prophet Elisha, when com- 
 plaint was made that the water was naught and the ground bar- 
 ren, cast into the spring of waters, with a ' Thus saith the Lord, 
 There shall not be from thence any more dearth or barren land : 
 so the waters were healed unto this day.' 
 
494 
 
 "But alas ! how is this general joy damped, and the pleasing 
 prospect almost totally eclipsed, by a late melancholy scene ex- 
 hibited in that very place, from whence, as from a fountain, 
 many of their preachers frequently and expressly pray that pure 
 streams may for ever flow, to water the city of the living God. 
 You need not be told, reverend Sir, what place I mean ; it was 
 the famous university of Oxford. Nor need I mention the 
 scene exhibited, it was a tribunal, a visitatorial tribunal, erect- 
 ed in Edmund-Hall. Six pious students, who promised to be 
 the salt of the earth, and the lights of the world, entire friends 
 to the doctrines and liturgy of our church, by a citation pre- 
 viously fixed upon the college door, were summoned to appear 
 before this tribunal. They did appear ; and as some were 
 pleased to term it, were tried, convicted, and to close the scene, 
 in the chapel of the same hall, (consecrated and set apart for 
 nobler purposes,) had the sentence of expulsion publicly read 
 and pronounced against them. 
 
 " So severe a sentence, in an age when almost every kind of 
 proper discipline is held with so lax a rein, hath naturally ex- 
 cited a curiosity in all that have heard of it, to inquire of what 
 notable crime these delinquents may have been guilty, to de- 
 serve such uncommonly rigorous treatment. But how will their 
 curiosity be turned into indignation, when they are told, that 
 they were thus rigorously handled for doing no evil at all, and 
 that ' no fault could be found in them, save in the law of their 
 God?' 
 
 " It is true, indeed, one article of impeachment was, ' that 
 some of them were of trades before they entered into the uni- 
 versity.' But what evil or crime worthy of expulsion can there 
 be in that ? To be called from any, though the meanest me- 
 chanic employ, to the study of the liberal arts, where a natural 
 genius hath been given, was never yet looked upon as a re- 
 proach to, or diminution of, any great and public character 
 whatsoever. Profane history affords us a variety of examples of 
 the greatest heroes, who have been fetched even from the plough 
 to command armies, and who performed the greatest exploits for 
 their country's good. And if we examine sacred history, we 
 shall find that even David, after he was anointed king, looked back 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 495 
 
 with sweet complacence to the rock from whence he was hewn, 
 and is not ashamed to leave it upon record, that ' God took 
 him away from the sheep-folds, as he was following the ewes 
 great with young ones / and as though he loved to repeat it, 
 ' he took him/ (says he,) f that he might feed Jacob his people, 
 and Israel his inheritance.' 
 
 " But why speak I of David? when Jesus of Nazareth, David's 
 Lord and David's King, had for his reputed father a carpenter, 
 and in all probability, as it was a common proverb among the 
 Jews, that ' he who did not teach his son a trade, taught him 
 to be a thief,' he worked at the trade of a carpenter himself. 
 For this indeed he was reproached and maligned ; ' Is not this/ 
 said they, ' the carpenter's son ? ' nay, ' Is not this the carpenter ? ' 
 But who were these maligners ? The greatest enemies to the 
 power of godliness which the world ever saw, the scribes and 
 Pharisees, that ' generation of vipers,' as John the Baptist 
 calls them, who upon every occasion were spitting out their 
 venom, and shooting forth their arrows, even bitter words, 
 against that Son of man, even that Son of God, who, to display 
 his sovereignty, and confound the wisdom of the worldly wise, 
 chose poor fishermen to be his apostles ; and whose chief of the 
 apostles, though bred up at the feet of Gamaliel, both before 
 and after his call to the apostleship, laboured with his own 
 hands, and worked at the trade of a tent-maker. 
 
 " If from such exalted and more distant, we descend to more 
 modern and inferior, characters, we shall find that very late, not 
 to say our present, times furnish us with instances of some, even 
 of our dignitaries, who have been called from trades that tended 
 to help and feed the body, not only to higher employs of a spi- 
 ritual nature, but even to preside over those that are intrusted 
 with the care of souls. And who knows but some of these young 
 students, though originally mechanics, if they had been suffered 
 to have pursued their studies, might have either climbed after 
 them to some preferment in the church, or been advanced to 
 some office in that university from which they are now expelled ? 
 One of the present reverend and worthy proctors, we are told, 
 was formerly a lieutenant in the army, and as such a military 
 employ was no impediment to his being a minister or proctor, it 
 
496 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 may be presumed that being formerly of trades could have been 
 no just impediment to these young men becoming, in process of 
 time, true gospel ministers and good soldiers of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " Their being accustomed to prayer, whether with or without a 
 form, would by no means disqualify them for the private or pub- 
 lic discharge of their ministerial functions. For if it did, what 
 sinners, what great sinners must they have been, who prayed in 
 an extempore way before any forms of prayer could be printed ! 
 Why also are not some few others expelled for extempore 
 swearing ? " Lett. 
 
 Of the six exiles from Edmund-Hall, Erasmus Middleton 
 was the most distinguished. He was sustained at Cambridge 
 by Fuller the banker, a dissenter ; and ordained in Ireland by 
 the bishop of Downe. In Scotland, he married a branch of the 
 ducal family of Gordon. In London, he Tbecame curate to Ro- 
 maine and Cadogan, and compiled his well known " Biographia 
 Evangelica." The Fuller family presented him, in his old age, 
 with the living of Turvey in Bedfordshire. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S LAST VOYAGE. 
 
 MANY things conspired to enable Whitefield to embark again 
 for America, without suspecting that he was not likely to return. 
 Both his health and spirits were unusually good. He had 
 often raised his old war-cry, " Field preaching, field preaching 
 for ever ! " and followed it up with the shout, " Ebenezer, Hal- 
 lelujah, Pentecost ! " on the spots of his former triumphs. His 
 chapels in London also were well provided with acceptable sup- 
 plies, and his affairs at Georgia all prosperous. Indeed, he 
 appears to have had nothing to vex him but the heavy expense 
 incurred for coach-hire, in making his last excursions. It had 
 " mounted very high," he says ; " and means must be found to 
 save the late great expense." This proves that he expected to 
 return ; and none of his letters at the time indicate any misgiv- 
 ings of heart, or breathe even his usual longing for heaven. " I 
 am brave as to my bodily health, and have not been in better 
 spirits for years," is his own account of himself, when he went 
 on board the Friendship ; and of his prospects, he said, " I am 
 persuaded this voyage will be for the Redeemer's glory, and the 
 welfare of precious and immortal souls." It was but not in 
 the way he anticipated. Cornelius Winter's account of his ge- 
 neral tone of mind and body agrees, on the whole, with White- 
 field's own account of himself. He had occasional seasons of 
 " remarkable lowness and languor," at sea ; but he was able to 
 spend much of his time in close study of the History of Eng- 
 land, and in preparing sermons ; and was in better health at the 
 end of the voyage, than he had been after the generality of his 
 former voyages. 
 
 3 s 
 
498 
 
 Thus the only thing which really oppressed him, on leaving, 
 was the pain of parting from his friends for a time. But this 
 was nothing new with him. What he said now, he had said 
 often ; ' ' Oh these partings ! without a divine support they would 
 be intolerable. Talk not of taking personal leave : you know 
 my make. Paul could stand a whipping but not a weeping 
 farewell." Letters. 
 
 The parting scene at the Tabernacle and Tottenham Court 
 was awful, and seems to have been repeated : for he says, in his 
 own manuscript journal, that he preached on the vision of Ja- 
 cob's ladder, at both places ; and Winter says, that " The Good 
 Shepherd" was his farewell sermon. Indeed, Whitefield him- 
 self, in a letter, calls this his " last sermon." Thus there must 
 have been " more last words " than his journal records. He 
 himself was " disgusted " with the manner in which this fare- 
 well sermon was reported and printed. Well he might, as to the 
 latter, if the first edition was like the second, which is now be- 
 fore me. Still, with all its faults, it is characteristic; and, 
 therefore, I will give some specimens of it, as few persons have 
 ever seen it. 
 
 The text is, John x. 27, 28. These words, it will be recol- 
 lected, were uttered by Christ, at the feast of dedication. " This 
 festival," says Whitefield, " was of bare human invention; and 
 yet I do not find that our Lord preached against it. And I 
 believe, that when we see things as we ought, we shall not en- 
 tertain our auditories about rites and ceremonies but about the 
 grand thing. It is the glory of methodists, that whilst they have 
 been preaching forty years, there has not been (that I know of) 
 one single pamphlet published by them about the non-essentials 
 of religion." 
 
 On the words, " My sheep hear my voice, and they follow 
 me," he says, " There are but two sorts of people. Christ does 
 not say, Are you an independent, a baptist, a presbyterian, or 
 are you a church of England man ? Nor did he ask, Are you a 
 methodist ? The Lord divides the whole world into sheep and 
 goats. O sinners, you are come to hear a poor creature take 
 his last farewell : but I want you to forget the creature and his 
 preaching. I want to lead further than the Tabernacle even 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 499 
 
 to mount Calvary, to see with what expense of blood, Jesus 
 Christ purchased ' his own.' Now, before I go any further, 
 will you be so good, before the world gets into your hearts, to 
 inquire whether you belong to Christ or not ? Surely the world 
 did not get into your hearts before you rose from your beds ! 
 Many of you were up sooner than usual." (The sermon was 
 preached at seven o'clock in the morning.) " I hope the world 
 does not get into your hearts before nine. Man, woman, sinner ! 
 put thy hand upon thy heart, and say, didst thou ever hear 
 Christ's voice so as to follow him ? " 
 
 Speaking of the restoration of wandering sheep, he said, " I 
 once heard Dr. Marryat who was not ashamed of market-lan- 
 guage say at Pinner's Hall, ( God has a great dog to fetch his 
 sheep back when they wander.' He sends the devil after them, 
 to bark at them ; but instead of barking them further off, he 
 barks them back to the fold." 
 
 On the subject of the ministry, he said, " I am sure I never 
 prayed so much against my infirmities, as against going into 
 holy orders so soon. However some may come to preach here 
 and there, and I know not how much they are concerned, 
 but I am sure it concerned me greatly. I have prayed hun- 
 dreds of times, that God would not let me go so soon. I re- 
 member once at Gloucester I know the room and I cannot 
 help looking up at the window, whenever I am there, and going 
 by : I know the bed-side I know the floor, on which I have 
 been prostrate for weeks together, crying, I cannot go ; I am a 
 novice ; I shall fall into the condemnation of the devil. Yet I 
 wanted to be at Oxford. I wanted to stay there three or four 
 years, that I might make a hundred and fifty sermons at least, 
 for I wished to set up with a stock in trade. I remember wrest- 
 ling, praying, groaning, striving with God ; and said, I am un- 
 done, unfit to speak in thy name ; my God, send me not. After 
 I had written to all my friends, to pray against the bishop's 
 solicitation, these words came into my mind, ' My sheep hear 
 my voice, and none shall pluck them out of my hand,' then I 
 said, Lord, I will go ; send me when thou wilt." 
 
 The following remarks are very characteristic. " ' None shall 
 pluck them out of my hand :' this implies that there is always 
 
500 
 
 somebody plucking at Christ's sheep. The lust of the flesh is 
 plucking ; the pride of life is plucking ; and the devil is con- 
 tinually plucking at them : but nothing shall pluck them out of 
 my hands. I have bought them, and am gone to heaven to pre- 
 pare a place for them." Sermon. 
 
 This sermon was preached at the Tabernacle on the morning 
 of the day he went to Gravesend to embark. The companions 
 of his voyage were Smith and Cornelius Winter. His own 
 account of their services to him during the voyage is, " Mr. 
 Smith hath really behaved very well, and been handy and atten- 
 tive. The same may be said of Mr. Winter." This he said at 
 the end of the voyage. Whilst on board, he wrote to a friend, 
 concerning them, " I only want somebody about me that hath 
 a little more brains ; but we must have our buts in this trying, 
 imperfect state." This, I have no doubt, contains the real 
 secret of Rowland Hill's mode of explaining Winter's account of 
 Whitefield's temper ; as " the version of a worthy but weak 
 man." It is well known by many, that Rowland Hill empowered 
 me to contradict, with all the authority of his own name, Win- 
 ter's picture of Whitefield's temper ; and to explain it by Win- 
 ter's want of brains. I have done neither, because very little 
 historical importance belongs to the knowledge of either party. 
 Both knew Whitefield late in life, and not long, and only after 
 his nerves were shattered. Wesley's opinion is of more value 
 than that of both. He knew him from the beginning, and said 
 at the end, " How few have we known of so kind a temper ! " 
 Funeral Sermon. Whitefield's temper in his last days was not 
 so bland as Rowland Hill thought, nor so hasty as Cornelius 
 Winter said. The former had, therefore, no occasion to refer 
 the picture drawn by the latter, to mortification. Winter had 
 brairiSj as well as fine feelings, whatever might have been the 
 development of them at sea. The good man was too often sick 
 there, to be very clever : for it was his first voyage ; but White- 
 field's thirteenth : a fact which quite explains the impatience of 
 the latter, and the opinions of the former. 
 
 I have touched this contested point, because more has been 
 made of it, on both sides, than was at all necessary. Neither 
 Hill nor Winter had any personal acquaintance with Whitefield 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. ,501 
 
 until 1767 ; and he died 1770. This fact should have moderated 
 the opinions of both. Wilberforce said, without knowing this 
 fact, " Even Winter's account detracts little from the sum of 
 Whitefield's excellences." Dr. Reed's epithet at his grave 
 " that seraphic man / " will for ever absorb both the compli- 
 ments of Hill and the complaints of Winter ; and just because 
 it is historically true, or borne out by the whole tenor of his life. 
 
 These dates give, however, great importance to Winter's 
 account of Whitefield's preaching : for if it was so commanding 
 and melting during the few years he heard him, what must it 
 have been when it awed Moorfields, and agitated Blackheath, 
 whilst they were thronged with tens of thousands ? 
 
 I feel reluctant, I confess, to enter upon this last voyage. I 
 have journeyed so long in vision with Whitefield, and so often 
 when I could enjoy little else, that I shrink from the near pros- 
 pect of parting with him. Perhaps my readers share this feel- 
 ing with me. If so, they will not regret to linger with me, 
 whilst he was detained on the coast. He was accompanied to 
 Gravesend by " a very large party, in coaches and chaises ; and 
 next day preached two sermons " there. Not in the church, 
 however, as formerly. " That was refused to him." Winter. 
 This fact creates in my mind an association with that church, 
 which is any thing but what I enjoy, when I visit Gravesend. 
 This is not my fault ; nor can other visitors be blamed if they 
 feel as I do. True ; I am thus teaching visitors to recollect the 
 pitiable fact. I avow the design. This is one way of bringing 
 into discredit the worse than synagogue bigotry, which excludes 
 from national churches men who are the glory of the nation. 
 Shame upon the folly and effrontery which can shut them upon 
 stars that Christ is not ashamed to hold in his " right hand ! " 
 And equal shame upon any chapel, if such there be, that would 
 not welcome an evangelical clergyman, even if he were a bishop 
 or an archbishop, into its pulpit, and at its communion table ! 
 The tide of public opinion is setting in to this point, strongly 
 and directly ; and I, for one, both go with it, and try to help it 
 on. True ; many are trying to turn it. Well ; they will only 
 strengthen it. The tide of public opinion is slow upon eccle- 
 siastical channels ; but then it has no reflux, except to gather 
 
 
502 
 
 strength. It can afford to be slow ; for it is sure. Let not the 
 spirit of these remarks be called levelling : it is elevating, if 
 there be no arbitrary nor unnatural distinctions in the church of 
 the first-born, in heaven. Besides, who does not see, that the 
 first bishop who shall preach in a dissenting or methodist cha- 
 pel, or preside at a missionary sacrament in Zion or Surrey, will 
 win more golden opinions for his church from all the good and 
 wise in the world, by that one act of duty, than by a thousand 
 acts of power ? It is in vain now to dream of uniting the three 
 kingdoms, or any one of them, in the fellowship of one church : 
 but all protestants may be gradually united in the fellowship of 
 the Spirit, if their leaders will only set the example. 
 
 A specimen of this catholicity occurred at Deal, whilst White- 
 field's vessel was detained by contrary winds. Dr. Gibbon of 
 London, and Mr. Bradbury of Ramsgate, had come there to 
 ordain a student. The Doctor, on hearing that Whitefield was 
 in the bay, went on board, and spent a day with him. Brad- 
 bury and the young minister also visited him, and urged him to 
 be present at the ordination, and to preach after it. He did 
 both ; and as we have seen, with great delight to himself and 
 others. Winter, who accompanied him, says, " I hope I shall 
 never forget the solemnities of that day." What would have 
 been thought of Whitefield had he refused, or of Gibbon and 
 the dissenters had they not invited him, to be present ? Just so 
 is thought of the exclmives, by the thinkers who are destined to 
 pilot the church of Christ out of the narrow seas of party, into 
 the Pacific of catholic communion. Whitefield tells an anec- 
 dote of Dr. Gibbon's " warm-hearted " visit to him on board, 
 which may be applied to good men who forget this. The Doctor 
 became sea-sick, and was obliged to lie down, for some time, in 
 the state cabin. " There," says Whitefield, " he learnt more 
 experimentally to pray for those who do business in the great 
 waters." Like many others, the Doctor had cared less for 
 seamen than he ought: but sickness made him sympathizing. 
 So it is in this matter : something is always occurring in the 
 exclusive system to sicken good men, and thus to teach them to 
 pray with the understanding and the heart, " Thy will be done 
 on earth as it is in heaven." Whoever regrets the frequency of 
 
503 
 
 that prayer in the church service, I do not. It will pull down 
 the middle wall of partition soon : and it is, in the mean time, 
 the protest of the church (however unconsciously) against that 
 wall. She thus denounces at the font, the altar, and the grave, 
 her own bigotry. 
 
 During the month Whitefield was tossed about on the coast, 
 he preached whenever he could land, and paid his usual atten- 
 tions to all on board. The voyage was both long and danger- 
 ous; but not unpleasant. He arrived at Charleston in such 
 health, that he preached on the very day he landed. The fact 
 is, his spirits were elevated by the welcome he received, and 
 especially by the good news which awaited him from Georgia. 
 " The increase of the colony was incredible, and the governor, 
 Wright, had laid the foundation of two wings to the orphan- 
 house, for the accommodation of students." All this wound up 
 his hopes and spirits, until he forgot that he was in the body. 
 And the impulse was both increased and prolonged, when he 
 saw Bethesda in its glory. The governor, council, and assembly 
 attended in a body at the academy chapel, to hear him preach 
 for the college. They then surveyed and approved the new 
 buildings ; each of which was " a hundred and fifty feet long, 
 and executed with taste, and in a masterly manner." After- 
 wards the whole party dined with him in the hall of the orphan- 
 house, " at a handsome and plentiful table ;" and testified both 
 their gratitude and satisfaction. Nor was this all. The com- 
 mons' house of assembly voted the warmest thanks to him for 
 his " truly generous and disinterested benefactions to the pro- 
 vince." Georgia Gazette. All this was done after a sermon, 
 in which he avowed that, as far as lay in his power, " Bethesda 
 should always be upon a broad bottom." " All denominations 
 have freely given," he said ; " all denominations all the 
 continent shall receive equal benefit from it." Sermon. 
 
 The inspiring effect of all this was, that his health was better 
 than it had been for many years, and his strength equal to the 
 task of every-day preaching. His moral strength was such, that 
 he " annihilated his own name " in the deed of settlement for 
 the college, that trustees might accept the office of wardens, 
 " without suffering contempt for being connected with " him ! 
 
504 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Thus it was not pretence, nor mere exclamation, when he said, 
 years before this time, " Let the name of George Whitefield 
 perish, if God be glorified." As I have often said, he only spoke 
 strongly, when words could not fully express all he felt and 
 meant. But his name will be imperishable, just by the little 
 care he took to make it so : for he did imperishable work, with- 
 out calculating upon any lasting reward in this world. No man, 
 indeed, ever understood less, or proved more, the truth of the 
 sacred oracle, " He that loseth his life for my sake shall save it." 
 
 Bethesda was now to him " a Goshen a Bethel." He was 
 almost tempted to say, " It is good to be here ;" but he said in- 
 stead, " No nestling on this side eternity : all must give way 
 to that divine employ gospel ranging." This was his resolu- 
 tion, even while he could say, " Never did I enjoy such domes- 
 tic peace, comfort, and joy during my whole pilgrimage. It is 
 unspeakable and full of glory ! " Strong as this language is, he 
 used still stronger on leaving the institution, although fondly 
 and fully expecting to return to it : " O Bethesda, my Bethel, 
 my Peniel ! My happiness is inconceivable. Hallelujah, Hal- 
 lelujah! Let chapel tabernacle earth heaven, rebound with 
 Hallelujah ! I can no more. My heart is too big to add more 
 than my old name, ' Less than the least of all,' G. W." Letters. 
 
 The vigour and versatility of his mind, at this time, may be 
 estimated by the speech, which he wrote for one of the orphans 
 to deliver, after the sermon before the governor and council. I 
 venture to ascribe the authorship of it to Whitefield, because 
 the document was found in his own hand-writing, by Dr. Gillies. 
 This assumption involves, I am aware, the awkward fact, that 
 he paid some compliments to himself. But the speech would 
 have been unnatural and unacceptable, if, while complimenting 
 the patrons of the institution, it had passed by the founder. 
 Had Whitefield not made the orphan-boy thank him, who else 
 in the assembly would have accepted public thanks ? It is, how- 
 ever, for its beautiful simplicity I quote the document. 
 
 THE ORPHAN'S SPEECH. " When I consider where I stand, 
 and before whom I am about to speak, no wonder that, previous 
 to my rising, a trembling seized my limbs ; and now, when risen, a 
 throbbing seizes my heart, and, as a consequence of both, shame 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 505 
 
 and confusion cover my face. For what am I, (a poor unlettered 
 orphan, unlearned almost in the very rudiments of my mother- 
 tongue, and totally unskilled in the persuasive arts of speaking !) 
 that I should be called to speak before such a venerable, 
 august assembly, as is this day convened under Bethesda's roof ? 
 But when I reflect, that I stand up at your command, reverend 
 Sir, to whom, under God, I owe my little all ; and when I fur- 
 ther reflect on the well-known candour of those that compose 
 this venerable and august assembly, my trembling begins to 
 abate, my throbbing ceases, and a gleam of hope breaks in, that 
 the tongue of the stammerer will, in some degree, be able to 
 speak plainly. 
 
 " But where shall I begin, and how express the various emotions 
 that, within the last hour, have alternately agitated and affected 
 my soul ? If the eye, as I have been taught to think, is the 
 looking-glass of the soul ; and if the outward gestures and earnest 
 attention, are indications expressive of the inward commotions 
 and dispositions of the human heart ; then, a heartfelt compla- 
 cency and joy hath possessed the souls of many in this assembly, 
 whilst the reverend founder hath been giving from the pulpit 
 such a clear, succinct, and yet withal affecting account of the 
 rise and progress of this orphan-house academy, and of the low 
 estate of this now flourishing colony, when the first brick of this 
 edifice was laid. All hail, that happy day ! which we now com- 
 memorate, when about thirty-two years ago, in faith and fervent 
 prayer, the first brick of this edifice was laid. Many destitute 
 orphans were soon taken in, and without any visible fund, in the 
 dearest part of his Majesty's dominions, more than fifty labour- 
 ers were employed, and honourably paid, and a large orphan- 
 family, for these many years, hath been supported, clothed, and 
 brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Oh, could 
 these walls speak, could every chamber, every corner of this 
 fabric speak, what agonizing supplications, what inwrought, 
 energetic prayers would they tell us they had been witness to, 
 and also of the blessed fruits of which we are now partakers ! 
 Behold ! a once infant, deserted, despised colony, not only lifting 
 up its drooping head, and, in some degree, overtopping, at least 
 for trade, and increase, and extent of commerce, vying with some 
 
 3x 
 
506 
 
 of its neighbouring provinces. Behold the once despised insti- 
 tution ! (the very existence of which was for many years denied,) 
 through the indefatigable industry, unparalleled disinterested- 
 ness, and unwearied perseverance of its reverend founder, ex 
 panding and stretching its wings, not only to receive a larger 
 number of helpless orphans like myself, but to nurse and cherish 
 many of the present rising generation, training them up to be 
 ornaments both in church and state. For ever adored be that 
 Providence, that power and goodness, which hath brought mat- 
 ters to such a desirable and long-expected issue ! Thanks, 
 thanks be rendered to your Excellency, for the countenance you 
 have always given to this beneficial plan, for laying the first 
 brick of yonder wings, this time twelvemonth, and for the favour 
 of your company on this our anniversary. Thanks to you, Mr. 
 President, who have long been a fellow -helper in this important 
 work, and have now the pleasure of seeing the fruit of all your 
 labours. Thanks to the gentlemen of his Majesty's honourable 
 council, and to the members of the general assembly, who so 
 warmly recommended the utility of this institution. Thanks to 
 you, Sir, who first opened it by preaching. Thanks to you, who 
 left your native country, and, without fee or reward, have for 
 many years laboured and watched over us in the Lord. Thanks 
 to all who have this day honoured us with your presence. And 
 above all, thanks, more than an orphan tongue can utter, or 
 orphan hearts conceive, be, under God, rendered unto you, 
 most honoured Sir, who have been so happily instrumental, in 
 the hands of a never-failing God, in spreading his everlasting 
 gospel." 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 WHITEFIELD AND THE NOBILITY. 
 
 WHITEFIELD never sought the patronage of the great, nor ever 
 employed it for any personal end. To the credit of his first 
 noble friends, Lothian, Leven, and Rae, they sought his friend- 
 ship because they admired his talents, and appreciated his cha- 
 racter. They were won by the preaching which won the multi- 
 tude ; and when they wrote to him, he answered them just as he 
 did any one else, who sought his counsel or prayers, courteously 
 and faithfully. He paid them, indeed, the current compliments 
 of his times : and if these ever amount to flattery in appearance, 
 they are followed by warnings which no real flatterer would 
 have dared to whisper. In his first letters to the Marquis of 
 Lothian, he said, " You do well, my Lord, to fear, lest your con- 
 victions should wear off. Your Lordship is in a dangerous situ- 
 ation," in the world. " Come, then, and lay yourself at the feet 
 of Jesus." " As for praying in your family, I entreat you, my 
 Lord, not to neglect it. You are bound to do it. Apply to 
 Christ for strength to overcome your present fears. They are 
 the effects of pride, or infidelity, or of both." These are not 
 unfair specimens of Whitefield's correspondence with the Scotch 
 nobles, who honoured him with their confidence. Upon some 
 of the English noblemen, who were brought to hear him by 
 Lady Huntingdon, his influence was equally great and good. 
 
 Amongst his friends were, also, " honourable women not a few." 
 I wish I could say of his compliments to them, all that I have 
 said of his general influence upon their " order :" but I cannot. 
 I cannot even qualify, after long rejudging, the opinion I have 
 given of his letters to them. True ; they needed and deserved 
 
508 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 " strong consolation," in order to resist the strong temptations 
 presented by a frivolous court, a witty peerage, and a learned 
 bench, in favour of a formal religion. Nothing but " the joy of the 
 Lord " could have sustained them in such a sphere. Whitefield 
 judged well, therefore, in not plying the peeresses with the same 
 warnings he addressed to the peers. Happiness in religion was 
 the best security for their holiness. They could not be laughed 
 out of a good hope through grace. Wit and banter may make 
 the fear of perishing seem a weakness or a fancy ; but they can- 
 not make hope, peace, or joy, seem absurd. Neither the rough 
 jibes of Warburton, nor the polished sarcasms of Chesterfield 
 and Bolingbroke, could touch the consciousness of peace in be- 
 lieving, or of enjoyment in secret prayer, in the hearts of those 
 peeresses who had found, at the cross and the mercy-seat, the 
 happiness they had sought in vain from the world. Whitefield 
 knew this, and ministered to their comfort. What I regret, 
 therefore, is, that he mingled more compliment with consolation 
 than was wise or seemly. Each of " the twelve manner " of ripe 
 fruits on the tree of life, requires to be served up in its own 
 " leaves ;" and needs no other garnishing. 
 
 But if Whitefield's letters to the peeresses were not always 
 manly, his lectures to the " brilliant circle " at Lady Hunting- 
 don's were evidently as faithful as they were eloquent. The 
 well-known Countess of Suffolk found them so. Lady Guildford 
 prevailed on Lady Huntingdon to admit this beauty to hear 
 Whitefield. He, however, knew nothing of her presence. He 
 drew his bow at a venture : but every arrow seemed aimed at 
 her. She just managed to sit out the service, in silence ; and 
 when Whitefield retired, she flew into fury ; abused Lady Hun 
 tingdon to her face, and denounced the sermon as a deliberate 
 attack on herself. In vain Lady Betty Jermain tried to appease 
 the beautiful fury, or to explain her mistake.. In vain old 
 Lady Bertie and the Duchess dowager of Ancaster commanded 
 her silence. She maintained that she had been insulted. She 
 was compelled, however, by her relatives who were present, to 
 apologize to Lady Huntingdon. Having done this with a bad 
 grace, she left to return no more. 
 
 Horace Walpole, unwittingly, has borne testimony to the faith- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 509 
 
 fulness of Whitefield, in the case of Earl Ferrers. " That im- 
 pertinent fellow," Whitefield, he says, " told his enthusiasts in 
 his sermons, that my Lord's heart was stone" So it was, and 
 " harder than the nether millstone." He treated Whitefield 
 courteously; but evinced a reckless contempt for religion. 
 Walpole's own account of Ferrers proves this. 
 
 It would hardly be worth while to notice this horrible affair, 
 were it not for the sake of the striking contrast between White- 
 field and Theophilus Lindsay, when they successively tried to 
 comfort Lady Huntingdon under her calamities. Her son had 
 imbibed the principles of Chesterfield and Bolingbroke ; and 
 her heart brooded in anguish upon his eternal prospects. The 
 Lindsays suggested to her the possibility of a temporary hell. 
 Whitefield visited and prayed for her wretched nephew, Ferrers ; 
 but spoke all the truth of his character, and planted no fictions 
 upon his grave. 
 
 Horace Walpole, again unwittingly, bears testimony to the 
 uniform consistency of Whitefield's creed and character. When 
 the peace festival was celebrated at Ranelagh, some one asked, 
 in the clique of wits, (most likely himself,) " Has Whitefield re- 
 canted ?" Lady Townshend replied, " O, no ; he has only canted." 
 Walpole thought this a happy hit ; little dreaming it to be a 
 compliment to a man, who might have had preferment at the 
 time, if he would have recanted even his clerical irregularities. 
 This is the original play upon the words, " cant " and " recant ;" 
 which have lately been so happily applied to an ex -patriot, by 
 Lord John Russell. 
 
 The following anecdote of Whitefield was communicated by 
 the Countess of Huntingdon to the late Barry, R. A. ; and sent 
 by him to me. I give it in his own words : " Some ladies called 
 one Saturday morning, to pay a visit to Lady Huntingdon, and 
 during the visit, her Ladyship inquired of them if they had ever 
 heard Mr. W T hitefield preach ? Upon being answered in the ne- 
 gative, she said, I wish you would hear him, he is to preach to- 
 morrow evening at such a church or chapel, the name of which 
 the writer forgets (nor is it material) : they promised her Lady- 
 ship they would certainly attend. They were as good as their 
 word ; and upon calling on the Monday morning on her Lady- 
 
510 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 ship, she anxiously inquired if they had heard Mr. Whitefield on 
 the previous evening, and how they liked him ? The reply was, 
 ' O my Lady, of all the preachers we ever heard, he is the most 
 strange and unaccountable. Among other preposterous things, 
 (would your Ladyship believe it,) he declared that Jesus Christ 
 was so willing to receive sinners, that he did not object to receive 
 even the devil's castaways. Now, my Lady, did you ever hear 
 of such a thing since you was born.' To which her Ladyship 
 made the following reply : f There is something, I acknowledge, 
 a little singular in the invitation, and I do not recollect to have 
 ever met with it before ; but as Mr. Whitefield is below in the 
 parlour, we'll have him up, and let him answer for himself.' 
 Upon his coming up into the drawing-room, Lady Huntingdon 
 said, ( Mr. Whitefield, these ladies have been preferring a very 
 heavy charge against you, and I thought it best that you should 
 come up and defend yourself: they say, that in your sermon last 
 evening, in speaking of the willingness of Jesus Christ to receive 
 sinners, you expressed yourself in the following terms, that so 
 ready was Christ to receive sinners who came to him, that he 
 was willing to receive even the devil's castaways.' Mr. White- 
 field immediately replied, ( I certainly, my Lady, must plead 
 guilty to the charge : whether I did what was right or otherwise 
 your Ladyship shall judge from the following circumstance. 
 Did your Ladyship notice, about half an hour ago, a very modest 
 single rap at the door ? It was given by a poor, miserable-look- 
 ing, aged female, who requested to speak with me. I desired 
 her to be shown into the parlour, when she accosted me in the 
 following manner : ' I believe, Sir, you preached last evening 
 at such a chapel.' ' Yes, I did.' ' Ah, Sir; I was accidentally 
 passing the door of that chapel, and hearing the voice of some 
 one preaching, I did what I have never been in the habit of do- 
 ing, I went in ; and one of the first things I heard you say, was, 
 that Jesus Christ was so willing to receive sinners, that he did 
 not object to receiving the devil's castaways. Now, Sir, I have 
 been on the town for many years, and am so worn out in his ser- 
 vice, that I think I may with truth be called one of the devil's 
 castaways : do you think, Sir, that Jesus Christ would receive 
 me?' Mr. Whitefield assured her there was not a doubt of it, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. Ml 
 
 if she was but willing to go to him. From the sequel it appeared, 
 that it was the case ; and that it ended in the sound conversion 
 of this poor creature ; and Lady Huntingdon was assured, from 
 most respectable authority, that the woman left a very charming 
 testimony behind her that, though her sins had been of a crim- 
 son hue, the atoning blood of Christ had washed them white as 
 snow." 
 
 I shall not soon forget the first use I made of this anecdote. 
 It was handed to me just as I was about to attend the anniver- 
 sary of the Female Penitentiary. I told it there, and was pleased, 
 although in nowise surprised, to see tears flowing down the 
 cheeks of the noble chairman, and of honourable women not a 
 few. I mention this fact, because it is only by such facts, that 
 some minds can be won over to think well of Penitentiaries. I 
 long questioned their policy. Even when I became one of the 
 secretaries of the Liverpool Female Penitentiary, I was not sure 
 that I was doing right. But I soon knew better, when the cor- 
 respondence of the institution with parents came before me. 
 Indeed, I owe to the converts in that house of mercy, and espe- 
 cially to the late Betsy Kenyon, the relief of my own mind from 
 the haunting suspicion, that it would be impossible to forget, 
 even in heaven, what certain brands plucked from the burning 
 had been. I found it impossible, however, to remember, even on 
 earth, what that wonderful miracle of grace and martyr of suf- 
 fering had been, although I knew well her former horrible his- 
 tory. Then understood I the promise, " They shall be as though 
 God had not cast them off." Saints and angels will so resemble 
 each other in the beauty of holiness, that there will be nothing 
 to distinguish them, but the difference of their new song. I ex- 
 press, I am quite sure, the cherished recollections of many of the 
 greatest and best in the land, in thus recording the hallowing 
 influence of Betsy Kenyon's character and spirit. Her " wings 
 were covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold." 
 There ought to be in every large town a female mission, to seek 
 out and bring home the outcasts. 
 
 " A female mission I " Yes ; the church of Christ flourished 
 most when women " laboured " with Paul " in the gospel," 
 Phil. iv. 3. He did not, indeed, suffer them to speak in the 
 
512 
 
 church ; but he both employed them to speak out of it, and ap- 
 plauded their co-operation in spreading the gospel. He has 
 emblazoned their names, equally with CLEMENT'S, " in the book 
 of life," and in the New Testament. The other apostles also, 
 and all the primitive churches, gratefully accepted and acknow- 
 ledged female agency. That agency was prolonged in the Western 
 church until the eleventh, and in the Eastern until the end of the 
 twelfth century. The form of prayer used at the ordination of 
 the deaconness is preserved in the " Apostolic Constitutions." 
 
 Are we wiser or stronger than the wise and apostolic master- 
 builders of the church, that we can evangelize the world with- 
 out the co-operation which apostles welcomed, and martyrs ho- 
 noured, and the fathers immortalized? (See Clem. Alexand. 
 and Tertullian de Virginn.) True, ministers and missionaries 
 have freer and fuller access now to all classes, than the apostles 
 and evangelists. Neither the jealousies nor the restraints of 
 the East, exist in the West. What then ? Alas, with all our su- 
 perior facilities, the gospel is not brought home to all classes ! 
 There are even hinderances to the spread of it in the metropolis, 
 which no man can surmount. Thousands, yea, tens of thou- 
 sands, of females in London must perish for lack of knowledge, 
 unless the agency of WIDOWS be employed to pluck the brands 
 from the burning ! To this extent they have been perishing, 
 and involving, to a still greater extent, the ruin of young men, 
 for ages. No ministry yet has penetrated the haunts of female 
 vice, or the hovels of female ignorance. No regular ministry 
 can reach them effectually. Even Whitefield and Wesley could 
 only skirt their borders. Public opinion would not sanction any 
 man to go further at present. It would snatch the cloak of 
 character from him, even if he kept his innocence like JOSEPH. 
 His good would be evil spoken of, were he as pure and prudent 
 as an angel. Ministers cannot do nor dare all that their Master 
 did. He could pass, like light, uncontaminated through any 
 medium. He could defy public opinion, or overpower it, by 
 miracles, whenever it was shocked at his condescension to " a 
 woman that was a sinner." No Christian man can run such 
 risks with safety. Only Christian widows can " follow the Lamb 
 fully in the regeneration of life," in this region of the shadow of 
 
WHITEKIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. ~>\ '> 
 
 death : and they can follow Him, with equal safety and suc- 
 cess. The apostles of the Lamb knew this, and employed them. 
 The apostolic churches knew this, and made deaconesses of 
 many of their holy widows. And PRISCILLA too, as well as her 
 husband, was thanked by Paul, in the name of " all the churches 
 of the gentiles," for her services. 
 
 This is not the place to reason this question in. I must, how- 
 ever, remind the churches of Britain and America, that they 
 have in the widowhood of their fellowship a sisterhood which 
 can be safely and efficiently employed in this work. It would 
 also help many who are " widows indeed," as well as save souls 
 from death. 
 
 It will be seen from the anecdote which led to these remarks, 
 that Whitefield was not ashamed nor slow to avow, before any 
 rank, that his commission extended to the chief of sinners. 
 And it is to the credit of Lady Huntingdon and her pious friends, 
 that they were not ashamed of the gospel in this form. They 
 rejoiced in some conversions, particularly that of Colonel 
 Gumley, which astonished Doddridge as much as the conver- 
 sion of Colonel Gardiner. No wonder, therefore, if Horace 
 Walpole wondered, when " Gumley became a methodist." The 
 wit was at his " wit's end ;" and could only explain the pheno- 
 menon by ascribing to Whitefield the fascinations of Garrick. 
 Even Chesterfield wondered, and offered his chapel at Bretby 
 Hall, in Derbyshire, to such ministers as Lady Huntingdon might 
 introduce to it. She soon introduced Whitefield to Bretby ; 
 and he soon rendered the Hall chapel too small. Bretby park 
 had to accommodate the audience. Whitefield was followed by 
 Romaine, who was not ajield preacher. The crowd had, there- 
 fore, to catch what they could hear in the court of the hall, 
 whilst he spoke only from the pulpit. Both preachers were, 
 however, made very useful on this occasion. Romaine himself 
 says of it, " We had a most refreshing time ; fifteen pulpits open ; 
 showers of grace came down ; sinners in great numbers were 
 awakened, and believers comforted." Letters. 
 
 These fifteen pulpits were not open to Whitefield. He was 
 too irregular for the Derbyshire clergy. He had, however, 
 roused their people so, that it became good policy to admit 
 
 3 u 
 
514 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Romaine. There was also a better reason. It was a new thing 
 to find Chesterfield patronizing religion ; and therefore wise to 
 make the most of his sanction whilst he was in the humour. 
 Romaine also did well, in continuing regular. But for that, he 
 would have heen less useful. It enabled him to introduce the 
 gospel into churches, where there was no leaven in the whole 
 lump. Even in Derby he found his way into " the great church," 
 although " the mayor, and the churchwardens, and the Ariari " 
 clergy, opposed him. 
 
 Soon after this, Lady Huntingdon summoned Whitefield and 
 Romaine to preach at the opening of her chapel in Bath. White- 
 field complied, of course : but Romaine pleaded off. Not, how- 
 ever, from any reluctance to preach with his friend. I say de- 
 liberately his friend. Romaine gloried in the friendship of 
 Whitefield, and cheerfully followed him in the chapels of the 
 Countess. It was the claim of Brighton he pleaded against 
 Bath. " Why should Bath have all, and poor Brighton none? 
 I am at your command to go or stay." The fact is, her Lady- 
 ship had invited all her chief clerical friends to the dedication ; 
 and Romaine thought that he might well be excused, especially 
 as he was then labouring with great success at Brighton. The 
 chapel was opened, therefore, by Whitefield, and the rector of 
 Pewsey, the son of the celebrated Alderman Townsend of Lon- 
 don. They were soon succeeded by Madan and Romaine. 
 
 These services produced a great sensation at Bath. The 
 chapel itself was attractive. Even Horace Walpole said of it, 
 " It is very neat, with true gothic windows. I was glad to see 
 that luxury is creeping on them before persecution. They have 
 boys and girls with charming voices, that sing hymns in parts. 
 At the upper end is a broad hautpas of four steps, advancing in 
 the middle. At each end of the broadest part are two eagles, 
 with red cushions for the parson and clerk. Behind them rise 
 three more steps, in the midst of which is a third eagle for a pul- 
 pit. Scarlet arm-chairs to all three. On either hand a balcony 
 for elect ladies." Walpole 's Letters. 
 
 There was something else which Walpole did not know of ; 
 a seat for bishops. It was often occupied too ! The witty and 
 eccentric Lady Betty Cobbe, the daughter-in-law of the Arch- 
 
XVHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 515 
 
 bishop of Dublin, called this curtailed seat " The Nicotian He. 
 corner." She delighted in smuggling in bishops, to see and 
 hear the methodists, unseen. Dr. Barnard, the Bishop of Derry, 
 went thus often. It was he who ordained Maxfield to help 
 Wesley, that that " good man might not work himself to death." 
 Of this chapel Whitefield says, " It is a beautiful original ; 
 extremely plain, and equally grand." " Dear Mr. Romaine hath 
 been much owned in" it. In 1766, he and Romaine preached 
 in it alternately, to splendid audiences. Amongst others who 
 heard them with profit, was Lady Glenorchy the Selina of 
 Scotland ; for Lady Huntingdon was her model, although her 
 biographer seems to have forgotten the fact. She derived great 
 spiritual benefit, and caught her inspiration in the cause of God 
 from the example and the chaplains of the countess. It was 
 through her, also, that Lord and Lady Sutherland were intro- 
 duced into this circle, when they fled from the grave of their 
 eldest daughter, to seek relief in the amusements of Bath. 
 They were led, however, to hear Whitefield, and continued to do 
 so, until their untimely death. They were in the prime of life : 
 and their funeral sermon at the chapel drew out all the nobility, 
 and produced a deep impression. The Duchess dowager of 
 Sutherland, if alive still, knows that Whitefield ministered to 
 her suffering parents, when she was an unconscious infant. A 
 remarkable circumstance aggravated this bereavement to the 
 family. The death of Lady Sutherland had been concealed 
 from her mother, and only that of Lord Sutherland communi- 
 cated. Lady Alva hastened from the north to Bath, to be with 
 her daughter. She met by the way two hearses, and learnt that 
 they were carrying Lord and Lady Sutherland to be interred in 
 the royal chapel at Holyrood. Evan. Reg. 
 
 Another impressive scene took place at Bath, on the death 
 of the Earl of Buchan. " He died," says Whitefield, " like 
 the patriarch Jacob. He laid his hands on, and blessed, his 
 children ; assured them of his personal interest in Jesus ; 
 called most gloriously on the Holy Ghost; cried, ' Happy, 
 ImppyJ as long as he could speak." The coffin was removed 
 from Buchan House to the chapel, where it lay a week. White- 
 field preached twice a day, and all the family, besides the other 
 
516 
 
 rank in the city, attended. The scene must have been solemn at 
 the funeral service. In the morning the family attended an 
 " early sacrament, and seated themselves at the feet of the 
 corpse," whilst communicating. This was followed by a special 
 address to them, and closed by the sublime benediction, " The 
 Lord bless you and keep you ; the Lord lift up the light of his 
 countenance upon you ; the Lord cause his face to shine upon 
 you, and give you peace." They then retired to Lady Hun- 
 tingdon's house, until eleven o'clock, when the public service 
 began. The chapel was " more than crowded." " Nearly three 
 hundred tickets, signed by the young earl, were given out to the 
 nobility and gentry. All was hushed and solemn. Attention 
 sat on every face, and deep and almost universal impressions 
 were made," whilst Whitefield preached the funeral sermon. 
 " The like scene, and, if possible, more solemn, was exhibited 
 in the evening," and repeated during five days. He says of it, 
 " A like I never expect to see on this side eternity ! Surely the 
 death of this noble earl, thus improved, will prove the life of 
 many." It did. Amongst others who publicly avowed them- 
 selves, was the young earl. This drew upon him the laugh and 
 lash of all the wits and witlings of the rooms ; but he " stood 
 impregnable as a rock." 
 
 These were not the first fruits of Whitefield's ministry at 
 Bath amongst the great. He had often preached to them at 
 the residence of Lady Gertrude Hotham, the sister of Chester- 
 field. She was one of his first converts, when he began to preach 
 at Lady Huntingdon's, in London ; and her own eldest daughter 
 was amongst the first of them at Bath. Miss Hotham died 
 early, but happy. There is in the second volume of Whitefield's 
 Letters a beautiful narrative of his last interview with her. 
 He wanted her not to sit up in bed, whilst he prayed with her, 
 because she was very weak. " I can rise to take my physic," - 
 she said ; " shall I not rise to pray ? " The letter is addressed 
 to the Countess of Moira, the eldest daughter of Lady Hunting- 
 don ; of whom Horace Walpole says, " The queen of the me- 
 thodists got her daughter named lady of the bedchamber to the 
 princesses ; but it is all off again, because she will not let her 
 play cards on Sunday." 
 
WIIITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 517 
 
 The Countess Delitz, one of the daughters of the Duchess 
 of Kenclal, and the sister of Lady Chesterfield, was another gem 
 in Whiten" eld's crown, whom he prized highly. She had much 
 influence upon her nephew, Sir Charles Hotham, when his ac- 
 complished wife died suddenly. He had often heard Whitefield 
 at his mother's house in Bath, and had not drunk the poison of 
 his uncle Chesterfield: but he was not a decided character, 
 until he was made a lonely widower. From that time, he defied 
 all the sneers of the court, and dared ee to be singularly good." 
 He had also some good influence upon the young Earl of Hun- 
 tingdon, for a time. He was made groom of the bedchamber 
 to George III. ; but he never recovered the shock of his wife's 
 death. He soon relinquished his office, and died. This was a 
 severe blow to his mother, Lady Gertrude ; now old and lonely. 
 It led to her own death, in a painful manner. She had been 
 absorbed whilst reading at night, and the candles set fire to her 
 head-dress. It spread rapidly to her neck and breast. The 
 wounds were so many, that it required an hour and a half every 
 day to dress them. Her composure astonished Adair the sur- 
 geon. He used to tell her, " that she deserved heaven." This 
 alone discomposed her. She replied, with holy indignation, 
 that there was no merit but in Christ ; and told Adair, that if 
 either of them " escaped eternal death," it must be through the 
 blood and righteousness of the Lamb of God. This account of 
 her death-bed was given by her friend, the late Lady Maxwell 
 of Edinburgh. 
 
 Such were Whitefield's trophies in the Chesterfield family. 
 He won souls in it, upon the right hand and the left of the 
 earl ; thus leaving him no excuse for making the exchange of 
 worlds " a leap in the dark." His countess made a better 
 choice. Lady Chesterfield was a natural child of George I. 
 For years she was a leading star at court, and in all the spheres 
 of folly. Great, therefore, was their consternation, when they 
 saw her, after hearing Whitefield, lay all her honours and in- 
 fluence at the foot of the cross. Even the king forgot royal 
 decorum so far as to laugh aloud in her face, at the simplicity of 
 her dress. There was nothing to laugh at in it, but the chaste- 
 ness of its beauty. Chesterfield himself had bought it at great 
 
518 VVHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 expense on the continent ; and the earl had certainly quite as 
 much taste as the king. 
 
 Pulteney, also, the Earl of Bath, and the well-known political 
 antagonist of Sir Robert Walpole, was deeply impressed under 
 Whitefield's ministry, at the same time as the Countess of Ches- 
 terfield. He attended Tottenham Court chapel regularly for 
 some years, and was a munificent benefactor to the orphan- 
 house. Both Lady Huntingdon and Lady Fanny Shirley were 
 his intimate friends. Whatever, therefore, may be thought of 
 his political character, he must have been rather more than 
 moral, to have secured their esteem. But amongst the peers, 
 none stood higher in Whitefield's estimation, for piety or pru- 
 dence, than Lord Dartmouth. George III. confirmed this 
 estimate of Dartmouth's character. Queen Charlotte also 
 thought him " one of the best of men." The king said to Dr. 
 Beattie, the essayist on Truth, " They call his Lordship an 
 enthusiast; but surely he says nothing on the subject of religion 
 but what any Christian may and ought to say." John Newton 
 thought so. Dartmouth was his patron : and to him he ad- 
 dressed the first twenty-six letters of the " Cardiphonia" It 
 was a fit return. Newton had been refused ordination by the 
 Archbishop of York : (not a very arch refusal certainly !) and 
 Dartmouth prevailed on Dr. Green, the Bishop of Lincoln, to 
 ordain him ; and then gave him the curacy of Olney. How 
 much the church of Christ owes to this act of kindness ! New- 
 ton's early association with the dissenters, and his methodism, 
 would have shut him out of the church : for it was well known, 
 that Brewer of Stepney recommended him to the dissenters of 
 Warwick, on the removal of Ryland, as a probationer. He 
 preached also in Yorkshire amongst the dissenters. This ac- 
 counts for the archbishop's refusal. Newton forgot as well as 
 forgave him ; but he never forgot nor concealed his connexion 
 with Warwick. Long after his settlement at Olney, he often 
 said, " The very name of Warwick makes my heart leap with 
 joy. There my mouth was first opened. There I met some 
 sweet encouragement on my entrance into the ministry." Thus 
 he loved the people, although he had been an unsuccessful can- 
 didate. It is well he was so ! He would have been lost 
 
TOUTEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 519 
 
 amongst the dissenters. I mean, of course, that his preach iiiy 
 talents would have given him no distinction amongst them. 
 Even his pen they did not want. They welcomed his writings, 
 as they do every thing which is spiritual, in common with all 
 the friends of truth and godliness; but they needed them not 
 for themselves. They read and praised them, that the church 
 might profit by them. This is not the case now. Newton is 
 read by them for their own edification aiso, and because he was 
 eminently useful in the church. Then, they read him that he 
 might be useful, and because there were few Newtons in the 
 church, and still fewer Dartmouths or Thorntons to patronize 
 them. 
 
 I have already mentioned Dartmouth's patronage of the col- 
 lege for the American Indians. It is not so generally known, 
 that he was one of the chief patrons of evangelical preaching 
 at the Lock chapel in London. He and Baron Smythe gave 
 the full weight of their rank and influence to that " hill of 
 Zion," on which the dew of heaven has so often and long de- 
 scended. That influence was not small. Dartmouth stood 
 high at court ; and Smythe, besides being the son of Leicester's 
 eldest daughter, was Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. 
 Both were the particular friends of Venn also. The latter gave 
 him the living of Yelling, in Huntingdonshire ; and Lady Smythe 
 bequeathed to his son the advowson of Bidborough, in Kent. 
 
 It was thus Lady Huntingdon and Whitefield, leading each 
 other alternately, and always acting together, drew out and 
 brought into notice the little, but faithful, band of clergymen, 
 who became the salt of the church of England. Yes ; they 
 found out and brought forward these good men, and won for 
 them the patronage which enabled them to do good, as well as 
 created for them the element in which they lived, moved, and 
 had their being. They were, indeed, " independent students of 
 the word of God ;" but methodism made them so. This fact is 
 disputed. It cannot, however, be disproved. Why then should 
 it be called in question ? It is as impossible to separate the 
 improvement of the church from the direct influence of White- 
 field and Wesley, as to separate her corruptions from the name 
 of Laud. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S LAST ITINERACY. 
 
 WHILST Whitefield was rejoicing over Georgia, applications 
 were pouring in upon him from all quarters, to hasten again to 
 the cities and wildernesses of America. He hardly knew which 
 call was loudest, or " which way to turn" himself. He went, 
 however, first to Philadelphia, after having preached the gospel 
 fully in Savannah. On his arrival he found, he says, " pulpits, 
 hearts, affections as open and enlarged as ever " towards him. 
 Philadelphia could not have given him a more cordial welcome, 
 had she even foreseen that she was to see his face no more : for 
 all the churches as well as the chapels were willingly opened to 
 him, and all ranks vied in flocking to hear him. This free 
 access to the episcopal churches delighted him much, wherever 
 it occurred. He never fails to record both his gratitude and 
 gratification, when he obtains, on any tour, access even to one 
 church. It always did him good too. I have often been struck 
 with this, whilst tracing his steps. True ; he was at home 
 wherever there were souls around him ; but he was most at 
 home in a church, except, indeed, when he had a mountain for 
 his pulpit, and the heavens for his sounding-board, and half a 
 county for his congregation. Then, neither St. Paul's nor 
 Westminster had any attractions for him. The fact is, White- 
 field both admired and loved the Liturgy. He had the spirit of 
 its compilers and of its best prayers in his own bosom, and 
 therefore it was no form to him. It had been the channel upon 
 which the first mighty spring-tides of his devotion flowed, and 
 the chief medium of his communion with heaven, when he was 
 most successful at Tottenham Court and Bath. All his great 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 521 
 
 "days of the Son of Man" there, were associated with the 
 church service. He was, therefore, most in his element with 
 it ; although he was often equally and more successful without 
 it. Accordingly, it would be difficult to say, whether the gos- 
 pel triumphed most, at this time, in the churches or the chapels 
 of Philadelphia. His prayers for the outpouring of the Holy 
 Spirit went, in an equally " direct line, to heaven," and were 
 equally answered, whether with or without book. 
 
 He was now in such good health and spirits, that he preach- 
 ed twice every sabbath, and three or four times a week, although 
 the heat was setting in. During an excursion of a hundred and 
 fifty miles in the province, also, he was able to preach every day, 
 and to " bear up bravely." Indeed, he was so much " better 
 than he had been for many years," that he indulged the hope 
 of returning to Bethesda in the autumn, and of sailing to Eng- 
 land again. 
 
 In this state of mind and body he arrived at New York, and 
 found not only " congregations larger than ever," but also such 
 a host of invitations from all quarters, that he sent the bundle 
 to England as a curiosity. These numerous and loud calls 
 shook his purpose of returning to Georgia in the autumn. " I 
 yet keep to my intended plan," he says, but " perhaps I may not 
 see Georgia until Christmas." A tempting prospect was now 
 held out to him, of "fresh work" at Albany, Great Burring- 
 ton, Norfolk, Salisbury, Sharon, and New Windsor. This was 
 rendered irresistible by the offer of Kirkland, the Oneida mis- 
 sionary, to accompany him, and to take him to " a great con- 
 gress of the Indians." It does not appear, however, that he 
 went to the Oneida congress. There are, indeed, the names of 
 some Indian towns in his notes of this tour, but no mention is 
 made of Indians. 
 
 Whitefield, as might be expected, enjoyed much the scenery 
 of the Hudson, during his sail to Albany ; especially in the 
 pass between the Cat-skill mountains, and not less, when he 
 visited the Cohoes, the falls of the Mohawk, at Schenectady. 
 At both, he could only exclaim, " O thou wonder-working God ! " 
 (The scenery of America will not long be unknown in Britain. I 
 have seen Bartlett's glorious sketches of it ; and some of the en- 
 
 3 x 
 
522 
 
 gravings are now before me, in the same style as those of Beattie's 
 Switzerland, Scotland, and Waldenses. The verbal descriptions, 
 likewise, are equally graphic. The religious public here want 
 such a work, in order to understand and appreciate Reed and 
 Cox, and in order to sympathize with Washington Irving, in 
 their enthusiastic admiration of Transatlantic beauty and sub- 
 limity. I need not say that I am not puffing the work, even 
 when I add that it is passing through the press under my own 
 eye. I have all the reward I wish for, in being ihejirst reader 
 of an illustrative work, worthy of America, and wanted in 
 Britain. It will enable many, like myself, to trace with the 
 eyes of the understanding, the steps of Brainerd and White- 
 field, of Reed and Cox, and of all tourists who are worth 
 following.) 
 
 I am unable to point out Whitefield's route from Albany back 
 to New York. It embraced a circuit of more than five hun- 
 dred miles, and occupied him during the whole of the month of 
 July. All that he himself records of it and it is the last entry 
 in his memoranda is, " Heard afterwards that the word ran 
 and was glorified. Grace, grace ! " His last letter but one to 
 his friend Keene, is a little more explicit. " All fresh work 
 where I have been. Congregations have been very large, at- 
 tentive, and affected. The divine influence hath been as at first. 
 Oh what a scene of usefulness is opening in various parts of the 
 new world ! Invitations crowd upon me both from ministers 
 and people, and from many, many quarters. A very peculiar 
 providence led me lately to a place where a horse-stealer was 
 executed. Thousands attended. The poor criminal had sent 
 me several letters, on hearing I was in the country. The sheriff 
 allowed him to come and hear a sermon under an adjacent tree. 
 Solemn, solemn ! After being by himself about an hour I 
 walked half a mile with him to the gallows. An instructive 
 walk ! His heart had been softened before my first visit. I 
 went up with him into the cart. He gave a short exhortation. 
 I then stood on the coffin ; added, I trust, a word in season, 
 prayed, and took my leave. Effectual good, I trust, was done. 
 Grace, grace ! " 
 
 From New York he went to Boston, in the middle of Sep- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 523 
 
 tember ; and again had to say, " Never was the word received 
 with greater eagerness than now. All opposition seems to 
 cease for a while. I never was carried through the summer's 
 heat so well." All this encouraged him to start again upon 
 another circuit. He therefore went to Newbury ; but was 
 obliged to return suddenly, in consequence of an attack of 
 cholera in the night. Still, he was not alarmed for his general 
 health. He soon rallied again, and set off to New Hampshire, 
 to " begin to begin," as he said, anew ! 
 
 I have now to transcribe the last letter he wrote to England. 
 It is dated from Portsmouth, seven days before he died, and ad- 
 dressed to his friend Keene, one of the managers of the Taber- 
 nacle. " My very dear friend, you will see by the many in- 
 vitations, what a door is opened for preaching the everlasting 
 gospel. I was so ill on Friday, that I could not preach, although 
 thousands were waiting to hear. Well ; the day of release will 
 shortly come ; but it does not seem yet ; for, by riding sixty 
 miles, I am better, and hope to preach here to-morrow. I trust 
 my blessed Master will accept of these poor efforts to serve him. 
 Oh for a warm heart ! Oh to stand fast in the faith, to quit our- 
 selves like men, and be strong ! " This prayer was answered, 
 but his hope " to see all dear friends, about the time proposed,/' 
 was not realized. 
 
 At Portsmouth, however, he preached daily, from the 23rd 
 to the 29th of September, besides once at Kittery and Old York. 
 
 On Saturday morning, September 29, he set out for Boston ; 
 but before he came to Newbury Port, where he had engaged to 
 preach next morning, he was importuned to preach by the way 
 at Exeter. At the last he preached in the open air, to ac- 
 commodate the multitudes that came to hear him, no house 
 being able to contain them. He continued his discourse near 
 two hours, by which he was greatly fatigued ; notwithstanding 
 which, in the afternoon, he set off for Newbury Port, where he 
 arrived that evening, and soon after retired to rest, being Satur- 
 day night, fully intent on preaching the next day. His rest 
 was much broken, and he awoke many times in the night, and 
 complained very much of an oppression at his lungs, breathing 
 with much difficulty. And at length, about six o'clock on 
 
524 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 the Lord's day morning, he departed this life, in a fit of the 
 asthma. 
 
 Mr. Richard Smith, who attended Mr. Whitefield from Eng- 
 land to America the last time, and was his constant companion 
 in all his journeyings while there, till the time of his decease, 
 has given the following particular account of his death and 
 interment : 
 
 "On Saturday, September 29, 1770, Mr. Whitefield rode 
 from Portsmouth to Exeter (fifteen miles) in the morning, and 
 preached there to a very great multitude, in the fields. It is 
 remarkable, that before he went out to preach that day, (which 
 proved to be his last sermon,) Mr. Clarkson, senior, observing 
 him more uneasy than usual, said to him, e Sir, you are more fit 
 to go to bed than to preach.' To which Mr. Whitefield answer- 
 ed, ' True, Sir ;' but turning aside, he clasped his hands toge- 
 ther, and looking up, said ( Lord Jesus, I am weary in thy 
 work, but not of thy work. If I have not yet finished my 
 course, let me go and speak for thee once more in the fields, 
 seal thy truth, and come home and die.' His last sermon was 
 from 2 Cor. xiii. 5, ' Examine yourselves, whether ye be in 
 the faith ; prove your own selves : know ye not your own selves, 
 how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates ? ' He 
 dined at Captain Gillman's. After dinner, Mr. Whitefield and 
 Mr. Parsons rode to Newbury. I did not get there till two 
 hours after them. I found them at supper. I asked Mr. White- 
 field how he felt himself after his journey. He said, ( he was 
 tired, therefore he supped early, and would go to bed.' He ate 
 a very little supper, talked but little, asked Mr. Parsons to dis- 
 charge the table, and perform family duty ; and then retired up- 
 stairs. He said, ' that he would sit and read till I came to 
 him,' which I did as soon as possible ; and found him reading 
 in the Bible, with Dr. Watts's Psalms lying open before him. 
 He asked me for some water gruel, and took about half his 
 usual quantity ; and kneeling down by the bed-side, closed the 
 evening with prayer. After a little conversation, he went to 
 rest, and slept till two in the morning, when he awoke me, and 
 asked for a little cider ; he drank about a wine-glass full. I 
 asked him how he felt, for he seemed to pant for breath. He 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 525 
 
 told me ' his asthma was coming on him again ; he must have 
 two or three days' rest. Two or three days' riding, without 
 preaching, would set him up again.' Soon afterwards, he asked 
 me to put the window up a little higher, (though it was half up 
 all night,) ' for,' said he, ' I cannot breathe ; but I hope I shall 
 be better by and by ; a good pulpit sweat to-day, may give me 
 relief: I shall be better after preaching.' I said to him, I 
 wished he would not preach so often. He replied, ' I had rather 
 wear out than rust out.' I then told him, I was afraid he took 
 cold in preaching yesterday. He said, ' he believed he had ;' 
 and then sat up in the bed, and prayed that God would be 
 pleased to bless his preaching where he had been, and also bless 
 his preaching that day, that more souls might be brought to 
 Christ ; and prayed for direction, whether he should winter at 
 Boston, or hasten to the southward prayed for a blessing on 
 his Bethesda college, and his dear family there for Tabernacle 
 and chapel congregations, and all connexions on the other side 
 of the water ; and then laid himself down to sleep again. This 
 was nigh three o'clock. At a quarter past four he waked, and 
 said, ' My asthma, my asthma is coming on ; I wish I had not 
 given out word to preach at Haverill, on Monday ; I don't think 
 I shall be able ; but I shall see what to-day will bring forth. If 
 I am no better to-morrow, I will take two or three days' ride ! ' 
 He then desired me to warm him a little gruel ; and, in break- 
 ing the fire-wood, I waked Mr. Parsons, who thinking I knock- 
 ed for him, rose and came in. He went to Mr. Whitefield's 
 bed-side, and asked him how he felt himself. He answered, ' I 
 am almost suffocated. I can scarce breathe, my asthma quite 
 chokes me.' I was then not a little surprised to hear how quick, 
 and with what difficulty, he drew his breath. He got out of 
 bed, and went to the open window for air. This was exactly at 
 five o'clock. I went to him, and for about the space of five 
 minutes saw no danger, only that he had a great difficulty in 
 breathing, as I had often seen before. Soon afterwards he 
 turned himself to me, and said, ' I am dying.' I said, ' I hope 
 not, Sir.' He ran to the other window panting for breath, but 
 could get no relief. It was agreed that I should go for Dr. 
 Sawyer ; and on my coming back, I saw death on his face; and 
 
526 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 he again said, ( I am dying? His eyes were fixed, his under lip 
 drawing inward every time he drew breath ; he went towards 
 the window, and we offered him some warm wine, with lavender 
 drops, which he refused. I persuaded him to sit down in the 
 chair, and have his cloak on ; he consented by a sign, but could 
 not speak. I then offered him the glass of warm wine ; he took 
 half of it, but it seemed as if it would have stopped his breath 
 entirely. In a little time he brought up a considerable quantity 
 of phlegm and wind. I then began to have some small hopes. 
 Mr. Parsons said, he thought Mr. Whitefield breathed more 
 freely than he did, and would recover. I said, ' No Sir, he is 
 certainly dying.' I was continually employed in taking the 
 phlegm out of his mouth with a handkerchief, and bathing his 
 temples with drops, rubbing his wrists, &c. to give him relief, 
 if possible, but all in vain ; his hands and feet were as cold as 
 clay. When the doctor came in, and saw him in the chair 
 leaning upon my breast, he felt his pulse, and said, f He is a dead 
 man.' Mr. Parsons said, ' I do not believe it ; you must do 
 something, doctor ! ' He said, ' I cannot ; he is now near his 
 last breath.' And indeed so it was ; for he fetched but one 
 gasp, and stretched out his feet, and breathed no more. This 
 was exactly at six o'clock. We continued rubbing his legs, 
 hands, and feet, with warm cloths, and bathed him with spirits 
 for some time, but all in vain. I then put him into a warm 
 bed, the doctor standing by, and often raised him upright, con- 
 tinued rubbing him and putting spirits to his nose for an hour, 
 till all hopes were gone. The people came in crowds to see him : 
 I begged the doctor to shut the door." Smith. 
 
 Thus Whitefield died. I need not the apocalyptic voice from 
 heaven in order to " write," nor do you in order to exclaim, 
 " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth : 
 Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and 
 their works do follow them :" but the very readiness with which 
 we utter all this oracle at his death-bed, should lead us to in- 
 quire, why we utter only part of it at the death-beds of the 
 righteous in general. I must for my own sake, if not for your 
 sake also, meditate on this, 
 
WHITEFIELD S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 " In the chamber, 
 Where the good man met his fate." 
 
 I have not often troubled you with formal reflections in this 
 work. There was no need of them, whilst Whitefield could 
 speak for himself. But he is now dead ; and although " he yet 
 speaketh," his language needs an interpreter, who understands 
 both it and the oracle I have just quoted. 
 
 The blessedness of dying in the Lord, is a privilege under- 
 stood and appreciated by all real Christians. Even almost 
 Christians see, at a glance, how sweet it must be to sleep in 
 Jesus. Yea, the very BALAAMS of the church, who love gain 
 more than godliness,/^/ what they say, when they exclaim from 
 time to time, " Let me die the death of the righteous, and let 
 my last end be like his." Accordingly, the oracle, " Blessed 
 are the dead which die in the Lord," has passed into a, proverb; 
 the truth of which no one doubts, and the sweetness of which all 
 acknowledge. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, however, that the last clause of that 
 oracle has not become proverbial, except in its application to 
 very eminent and useful Christians. We say of all who die in 
 Jesus, " they rest from their labours :" but of how few we add, 
 with any great emphasis or emotion, " their works do follow 
 them," Rev. xiv. 13. He must have been, if not a second 
 Whitefield, at least a very devoted man, of whom we say, with 
 triumph or pleasure, or even without faltering hesitation, " His 
 works do follow him." 
 
 It is worthy of special notice, that this hesitation was fore- 
 seen, and provided against, when the oracle was first given to 
 the church. John says, " I heard a voice from heaven saying 
 unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord 
 from henceforth." That heavenly voice, however, said no 
 more ; ventured no further. It was the Holy Ghost who 
 added the other parts of the oracle : " Yea, saith the SPIRIT, 
 that they may rest from their labours ; and their works do fol- 
 low them." Instances of this kind of addition to the amount 
 or the momentum of an oracle, are not uncommon. Hence 
 Paul, when warning the Hebrews by the fate of the church in 
 the wilderness, added to the counsel, " Harden not your hearts," 
 
528 
 
 the appeal, " The Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear his 
 voice," Heh. iii. 7. In like manner the Saviour when expound- 
 ing the law on the mount, added to his quotations of the law 
 his own injunctions ; prefaced thus, " But, I say unto you," 
 Matt. v. 20. 
 
 Such was the rule, in the revelation of some truths. Its rea- 
 son is not, however, so easily explained, in the case of the dead, 
 as in the case of the living. It was a fine measure for giving 
 effect to the tremendous warnings addressed to the Hebrews, to 
 make Paul fall back for a time into the shade, until the Holy 
 Ghost himself said, " I sware in my wrath." After that, the 
 apostle's " Take heed, brethren," and his " Let us fear," could 
 not be wondered at, nor fairly objected to, however solemnly ut- 
 tered, nor however warmly enforced. 
 
 Perhaps this hint will furnish a clue to the reason, why the 
 Holy Spirit took up the subject of future blessedness, where the 
 voice from heaven stopped. He confirmed that voice, so far as 
 it went. " Yea, saith the Spirit," they are blessed who " die in 
 the Lord." Then he added an explanation of that blessedness, 
 which comes better from himself, surely, than it could have 
 come from the lips of either saints or angels in heaven. They, 
 indeed, could have gone a little further than they did, and might 
 have said, (the former from their own experience, and the latter 
 from long observation,) " the dead in Christ rest from their la- 
 bours :" but it would hardly have become saints or angels to 
 complete the explanation of celestial bliss by adding, " their 
 works do follow the dead which die in the Lord." Indeed, the 
 more they understood this truth then, the less they would ven- 
 ture to say about it ; it is so sublime and amazing ! Besides, 
 it was then so new, that no one in heaven could well understand 
 it. The fruits and effects of the works of those who had slept 
 in Jesus, were but just beginning to follow them. The reaction 
 of their works of faith and labours of love, was only coming into 
 operation on earth; ,and thus only "a kind of its first-fruits" 
 had reached heaven ; so that even those who had " turned many 
 unto righteousness," by watching to win souls whilst here, had 
 no idea then of the number of souls they had won by watching. 
 They know better now and they knew soon after the death of 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. .529 
 
 John, that their labour had not been in vain in the Lord : but 
 when the apocalyptic oracle was first given, they were not Jit to 
 complete it, either from their own knowledge, or from their own 
 spirit. I mean they were too much absorbed with a heaven 
 all new to them with their own personal enjoyment and espe- 
 cially with the presence of the Lamb slain to think about their 
 relative usefulness on earth. They had sung nothing about 
 their works, and thought nothing about them, in heaven, ex- 
 cept to blush for their fewness and imperfections ; and, there- 
 fore, they said nothing about the fruits which followed, when 
 they cried down from their thrones of light and mansions of 
 glory to John, " Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the 
 Lord from henceforth." Here they stopped at once. Then, 
 there was silence in heaven ! But the eternal Spirit did not let 
 the matter rest here. He carried on and completed the revela- 
 tion of that blessedness. Having " wrought all their works in 
 them ;" having " created them anew in Christ Jesus unto good 
 works ;" and having wrought by them in glorifying Christ on 
 earth, the Holy Spirit would not, did not, conceal the sublime 
 fact, that the works of such working men do follow them into 
 heaven, in their fruits and effects, as surely as their bodies will 
 follow their souls into heaven. 
 
 This is one good reason for the peculiarity of the oracle. It 
 is not, however, the only one worthy of notice. There is in the 
 church on earth, something of the same spirit which kept the 
 church in heaven silent on the subject of works. I am aware 
 that we have other reasons for saying nothing about our works, 
 than those had whom John saw. Ours are fewer and feebler 
 than theirs. Some, indeed, do nothing arduous or expensive in 
 the service of God, or for the good of mankind. Many only 
 work enough to prove that they are unwilling to work. But 
 such, if they are in the church of Christ, are certainly not of it. 
 On the other hand, however, it is equally true, that in general, 
 the active, the benevolent, and the enterprising, do not allow 
 themselves to take any higher views of their best works, de- 
 liberately, than as proofs of faith, love, or sincerity. If their 
 well-doing prove that their faith is unfeigned, they are quite 
 satisfied. Even when they cannot doubt the usefulness of their 
 
 3 Y 
 
530 
 
 labours of love, nor hide from themselves the fact, that God has 
 honoured their humble efforts to save some, they are only stirred 
 up to watch the more, lest after having preached to others, they 
 themselves should turn out castaways; lest, in keeping the 
 vineyards of others, their own should be neglected. Yes ; it is 
 this, more than the dread of legality or of self-complacency, 
 which makes many a faithful servant afraid to call his service, 
 works. He sees clearly in the best of it, so much that is bad 
 in manner and worse in spirit, that he is more ashamed of his 
 good works than Pharisees are of their evil works. " Good " 
 or " faithful servant," is the last name of a Christian, which he 
 thinks of appropriating to himself. He is even more than con- 
 tent, he is grateful, if he can hope to escape the branding name, 
 " wicked and slothful servant." He well understands and ap- 
 proves what one of Whitefield's friends, a devoted minister, 
 said on his death-bed, " I have been throwing into one heap all 
 my bad works and my good works, and carrying both to the foot 
 of the cross." 
 
 Thus it is, that the rewardableness of well-doing has hardly 
 any place in the actuating creed of a real Christian, whatever 
 theoretic credence he may give to it. He may even be eloquent in 
 speaking of the works of Paul, Luther, Bunyan, Baxter, White- 
 field, and Wesley, following them to heaven in forms of good, 
 and as sources of joy, and yet be more than silent in his own 
 case, although quite sure that his own labour has not been in 
 vain in the Lord. 
 
 This is real humility, as well as modesty. Is it, however, as 
 wise as it is humble ; as scriptural as it is modest ? Not if 
 Moses was right in having " respect to the recompence of re- 
 ward ;" not if Daniel was right in saying, that they who turn 
 many to righteousness shall " shine as the stars for ever and 
 ever ;" not if Paul was right in anticipating his converts, as his 
 crown and joy in the day of the Lord. It will not weaken the 
 force of this argument to add, not if Whitefield was right in 
 keeping before himself and his fellow-labourers the prospect of 
 presenting many souls before the throne. He "hunted for 
 souls," as well as watched to win souls, because he allowed him- 
 self to see indeed, set himself to study how the " children " 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 531 
 
 God gave him as seals to his ministry, would increase his bless- 
 edness, when he rested from his labours. There are many fine 
 specimens of this inspiring hope, in his letters to the Wesleys, 
 the Tennents, and the Welch itinerants. " I see you with thou- 
 sands around you in glory," is a frequent appeal to them. And 
 so distinctly and habitually did he realize this scene, that even 
 when writing against Wesley, he closed his remonstrance by 
 saying, " When I come to judgment, I will thank you before 
 men and angels for what you have, under God, done for my soul." 
 Even all this, however, does not come up to the full import 
 of " what the Spirit saith unto the churches." His " Yea, their 
 works do follow them," includes more than the immediate fruits 
 of their labour. It embraces also all the succession of remote 
 good which their example, labour, and influence might ori- 
 ginate and prolong. And, who can calculate or trace out that ? 
 No one understood this arithmetic less than Whitefield. He 
 was all alive to the immediate numbers he could gather into the 
 fold of Christ. He even revelled in the prospect of meeting 
 them on the right hand of the great white throne, and of 
 spending his eternity with them in heaven ; but he did not cal- 
 culate the consequences of their individual or joint influence 
 upon their contemporaries, or even upon their posterity. In- 
 deed, the apostles themselves did not allow their eye to run far 
 along the line of their remote influence. Even they could not 
 " look stedfastly to the END." , We can see the names of " the 
 twelve apostles of the Lamb," on the " twelve foundations " of 
 both the earthly and the heavenly Jerusalem ; and can trace 
 Paul planting and Apollos watering yet ; and can hear all the 
 dead in Christ, still speaking to the living ; and thus can un- 
 derstand how their works are still following them/and will con- 
 tinue to follow them until the end of time, and even how they 
 will be their own reward through eternity : but the workmen 
 could not foresee all this. It only began to break upon these 
 good and faithful servants, when they entered into the joy of 
 their Lord; and then, they were so absorbed with the pre- 
 sence of their Lord himself, that they could not take their 
 eyes off" from Him for a moment, to look at any thing beyond 
 the immediate children they had to present before his throne* 
 
532 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 . It becomes the church,, however, now that she has the means 
 of calculating how her well-doing, in the service of God, can 
 multiply and prolong itself from age to age, as well as spread 
 itself over the world, to search out diligently, what is " the 
 mind of the Spirit," in His " Yea, the works of the dead who 
 die in the Lord do follow them." The workmen "rest from 
 their labour ;" but their works are kept up, and carried on, and 
 even carried out, as works which they began : and, therefore, 
 all the dead in Christ are personally interested in all the good 
 now doing in the world, and in all the glory which that good is 
 bringing in to God and the Lamb : for those who rest from 
 their labours enter into the joy of their Lord, which is the 
 many sons He brings to glory. 
 
 No one is prepared, or preparing, to enter into the real joy 
 of heaven, who is doing nothing to win souls to Christ on 
 earth. No one can die in the Lord, or enter heaven at all, 
 who has no works to follow him there. No wonder ! For no 
 Christian is so poor, nor so busy, nor so weak, as to be unable 
 to work for God. The weakest and the poorest are able to do 
 work which neither earth nor hell can destroy or stop, and which 
 will be their reward through eternity. 
 
 What Christian cannot pray heartily and habitually for the 
 coming of the kingdom of God ? Many of the dead in Christ 
 could do nothing else for his glory. That was enough, however, 
 to prepare them to enter into the joy of their Lord ; for that 
 connected them with all the grand instrumentality which saves 
 souls. This is too little considered. I am not conscious of 
 being particularly insensible to the natural or the moral sublime ; 
 but I frankly confess, that I see and feel more sublimity in a 
 vestry prayer meeting for the spread of the gospel, than in the 
 most splendid meetings in Exeter Hall. I would rather have 
 been one in the first nameless groups, of two or three, who 
 meet together in the name of Christ, to pray in the travail of 
 their souls, that he might " see the travail of His soul and be 
 satisfied," than have been the inventor of the platform. I feel 
 much more sure that prayer meetings will prolong themselves, 
 than that speech meetings will keep their place or their power. 
 Prayer " shall be made for Christ continually ;" and those who 
 began its concerts in Britain and America, will never be separ- 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 533 
 
 ated from its continuance. Their work has been following 
 them every year since they died, in new and larger meetings 
 for intercession, and in the answers not only to their own 
 prayers, but to all the prayers which their example has thus 
 called forth. They now see the golden censer of the High 
 Priest waving before the throne with a greater weight of prayer, 
 and emitting a larger cloud of incense, than it did when they 
 first entered heaven. They now see the prayers of all saints 
 setting in, like a spring tide, upon all the channels, coasts, and 
 bays of the divine purposes ; here, floating the smaller vessels 
 of prophecy over the bar of time ; and there, beginning to 
 heave afloat the largest and the heaviest of the prophetic Jleet ; 
 and every where rising to the high-water mark of " effectual fer- 
 vent prayer." 
 
 Is not this their work following them ? This prayerfulness 
 in our times was set in motion by their example, just as their 
 prayerfulness was called forth by the example of the first 
 prayer-meetings at Jerusalem. Now, you and I can carry on 
 this good work of intercession and supplication, however little 
 else we can do. We may be both good and faithful servants in 
 this department of labour, and thus be prepared to enter into 
 the joy of our Lord. 
 
 It is not splendid works alone, that bring glory to Christ, or 
 that follow Christians into heaven in forms of reward. The 
 simple domestic piety of Abraham, Hannah, and Eunice, in 
 training up their children in the nurture and admonition of the 
 Lord, was work which, in its influence, is following them still^ 
 and will follow them until the last pious family on earth com- 
 plete " the whole family in heaven." For, what pious father or 
 mother has not been influenced and encouraged by their ex- 
 ample and success ? Thus the father of the Faithful, and the 
 mothers of Samuel and Timothy, set in motion a system of 
 parental well-doing, which has never stopped entirely since, 
 and which will work on until the end of time, and through 
 eternity be as visible in its effects as the results of the ministry 
 of reconciliation. O parents, what a work, which would fol- 
 low you like your shadow, you may do for God, by teaching 
 your children to love the Saviour ! For who can calculate along 
 the line of posterity, the spreading influence of one pious family, 
 
534 
 
 or even of one pious child ? Only think, how your own family 
 may ramify in the next generation, and how it may blend, age 
 after age, with other families ; carrying into them all a sweet 
 savour of Christ, along with your revered memory, until there 
 be actually a little nation of your descendants, rejoicing in the 
 God of their fathers ? But neglect your son, or leave your 
 daughter's principles to chance, and you may set in motion a 
 course of ruin which shall never stop, and be a fountain which 
 shall originate a stream of evil and woe, that may run, widening 
 and wasting, through time and eternity ! 
 
 In those lights, how infinite are the consequences of Sunday 
 schools ! They are now giving a tone and a character to the 
 rising generation of the poor, which will tell for ever upon the 
 present and future character of the nation, and also upon the 
 bliss of heaven. That teaching, when well conducted, is a 
 work, the fruits of which will follow holy teachers, wherever 
 they follow the Lamb in heaven. It will never stop, until all 
 shall know the Lord ; and even then, that grand consummation 
 will be in no small measure the fruit of it ; and thus the reward 
 of all who sow, and of all who reap. 
 
 In like manner, you may " work a work " for your neighbour- 
 hood, which shall impress an imperishable character upon its 
 habits and spirit. You may make and leave it a nursery for 
 holiness, from which you may be regaled every year, until the 
 end of time, even in Paradise, by roses from the wilderness, and 
 myrtles from the desert. Only sow, plant, and water to the 
 Spirit, and in due season, and through enduring cycles, you 
 shall reap, not only life everlasting, but also the full joy of that 
 life, by entering fully into the joy of your Lord. 
 
 This is the right improvement of the death of Whitefield. It 
 would be as easy to write fine things upon the subject, as to 
 read them ; but I envy not the taste nor the conscience, that 
 could be satisfied with unpractical truths, at the death-bed of 
 the most practical man who has appeared since the days of Paul. 
 I feel that my readers and myself may be Whitefields in some- 
 thing ; and, therefore, I have written, not for fame, but in order 
 to be useful. Accordingly, although you cannot admire, you 
 will remember. This is all I want. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S FUNERAL. 
 
 RICHARD SMITH'S account of the funeral, like that of the death- 
 bed of Whitefield, needs no commendation; but only some 
 additions. 
 
 " The Reverend Mr. Parsons, at whose house my dear master 
 died, sent for Captain Fetcomb and Mr. Boadman, and others 
 of his elders and deacons, and they took the whole care of the 
 burial upon themselves, prepared the vault, and sent for the 
 bearers." Smith. 
 
 Dr. Gillies says, " Early next morning, Mr. Sherburn of Ports- 
 mouth sent Squire Clarkson and Dr. Haven with a message to 
 Mr. Parsons, desiring that Mr. Whitefield's remains might be 
 buried in his own new tomb, at his own expense : and in the 
 evening several gentlemen from Boston came to Mr. Parsons, 
 desiring the body might be carried there. But as Mr. White- 
 field had repeatedly desired to be buried before Mr. Parsons' 
 pulpit, if he died at Newbury Port, Mr. Parsons thought him- 
 self obliged to deny both of these requests." 
 
 Parsons, in a note to his funeral sermon, says, " At one o'clock 
 all the bells in the town were tolled for half an hour, and all the 
 vessels in the harbour gave their proper signals of mourning. 
 At two o'clock the bells tolled a second time. At three the 
 bells called to attend the funeral. The Reverend Dr. Haven of 
 Portsmouth, and the Reverend Messrs. Rogers of Exeter, Jewet 
 and Chandler of Rowley, Moses Parsons of Newbury, and Bass 
 of Newbury Port, were pall-bearers. Mr. Parsons and his fa- 
 mily, with many other respectable persons, followed the corpse 
 in mourning. 
 
536 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND 'TIMES. 
 
 " The procession was only one mile, and then the corpse was 
 carried into the presbyterian church, and placed on the bier in 
 the broad alley ; when Mr. Rogers made a very suitable prayer, 
 in the presence of about six thousand persons within the walls 
 of the church, while many thousands were on the outside."* 
 After singing or e of Watts's hymns, " the corpse was put into 
 a new tomb, which the gentlemen of the congregation had had 
 prepared for that purpose ; and before it was sealed, Mr. Jewet 
 gave a suitable exhortation." Parsons. 
 
 " Many ministers of all persuasions came to the house of the 
 Reverend Mr. Parsons, where several of them gave a very par- 
 ticular account of their first awakenings under his ministry, 
 several years ago, and also of many in their congregations, 
 that, to their knowledge, under God, owed their conversion 
 wholly to his coming among them, often repeating the blessed 
 seasons they enjoyed under his preaching : and all said, that 
 this last visit was attended with more power than any other ; 
 and that all opposition fell before him. Then one and another 
 of them would pity and pray for his dear Tabernacle and chapel 
 congregations, and it was truly affecting to hear them bemoan 
 America and England's loss. Thus they continued for two 
 hours conversing about his great usefulness, and praying that 
 God would scatter his gifts and drop his mantle among them. 
 When the corpse was placed at the foot of the pulpit, close to 
 the vault, the Rev. Daniel Rogers made a very affecting prayer, 
 and openly confessed, that under God, he owed his conversion to 
 the labours of that dear man of God, whose precious remains 
 now lay before them. Then he cried out, O my father, my fa- 
 ther ! then stopped and wept, as though his heart would break, 
 and the people weeping all through the place. Then he recov- 
 ered, and finished his prayer, and sat down and wept. Then 
 one of the deacons gave out that hymn, 
 
 ' Why do we mourn departed friends ? ' &c. 
 some of the people weeping, some singing, and so on alternately. 
 
 * This church was then (I hope is now) one of the largest in America. 
 Allen's Diet. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 537 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Jewet preached a funeral discourse, and made an 
 affectionate address to his brethren, to lay to heart the death of 
 that useful man of God ; begging that he and they might be 
 upon their watch-tower, and endeavour to follow his blessed ex- 
 ample. The corpse was then put into the vault, and all con- 
 cluded with a short prayer, and dismission of the people, who 
 went weeping through the streets to their respective places of 
 abode." Smith. 
 
 " The melancholy news of Mr. Whitefield's decease arrived 
 in London, on Monday, November 5, 1770, by the Boston Ga- 
 zette, and also by several letters from different correspondents 
 at Boston, to his worthy friend, Mr. R. Keene ; who received 
 likewise, by the same post, two letters written with his own 
 hand, when in good health, one seven and the other five days 
 before his (Jeath. Mr. Keene caused the mournful tidings to be 
 published the same night at the Tabernacle, and the following 
 evening at Tottenham Court chapel. His next step was to 
 consider of a proper person to deliver a funeral discourse, when 
 it occurred to his mind, that he had many times said to Mr. 
 Whitefield, f If you should die abroad, who shall we get to preach 
 your funeral sermon ? Must it be your old friend, the Rev. John 
 Wesley ? ' And his answer constantly was, ( He is the man. 9 
 Mr. Keene therefore waited on Mr. Wesley, on the Saturday 
 following, and he promised to preach it on the Lord's day, No- 
 vember 18, which he did, to an extraordinary crowded and 
 mournful auditory ; many hundreds being obliged to go away, 
 who could not possibly get within the doors. 
 
 " In both the chapel and Tabernacle, the pulpits, &c. were hung 
 with black cloth, and the galleries with fine black baize. Es- 
 cutcheons were affixed to the fronts of the pulpits ; and on each 
 of the adjoining houses, hatchments were put up : the motto on 
 which was ' Mea vita salus et gloria Christ us S At the expira- 
 tion of six months, the mourning in each place of worship, and 
 the escutcheons in the vestries, were taken down. The hatch- 
 ments remained twelve months, when one was taken down, and 
 placed in the Tabernacle, and the other over a neat marble 
 monument, erected by Mr. Whitefield for his wife, in Tottenham 
 
 3 z 
 
538 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Court chapel, with a space left for an inscription respecting 
 himself after his decease, as he wished to be interred in the same 
 vault, had he died in England. Accordingly the following 
 epitaph was written by the Rev. Titus Knight of Halifax, in 
 Yorkshire." 
 
 In Memory of 
 
 The Rev. GEORGE WHITEFIELD, A. M. 
 
 Chaplain to the Right Honourable the Countess of Huntingdon, 
 
 Whose Soul, made meet for Glory, 
 
 Was taken to Emmanuel's Bosom, 
 
 On the 30th of September, 1770; 
 
 And who now lies in the silent Grave, at Newbury Port, near 
 Boston, 
 
 In NEW ENGLAND ; 
 
 There deposited in hope of a joyful Resurrection to Eternal 
 Life and Glory. 
 
 He was a Man eminent in Piety, 
 
 Of a Humane, Benevolent, and Charitable Disposition. 
 
 His Zeal in the Cause of God was singular : 
 
 His Labours indefatigable ; 
 
 And his Success in preaching the Gospel remarkable and 
 astonishing. 
 
 He departed this Life, 
 In the Fifty-sixth Year of his Age. 
 
 And, like his Master, was by some despis* d ; 
 
 Like Him, by many others lov'd and priz'd : 
 But theirs shall be the everlasting crown, 
 
 Not whom the world, but Jesus Christ will own. 
 
 This tribute is as like Knight, as the following epitaph is like 
 Dr. Gibbons. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMKS. .539 
 
 In Reverendum Virum 
 GEORGIUM WHITEFIELD, 
 
 Laboribus sacris olim abundantem; nunc vero, ut bcnc spcnitur 
 coolestem et immortalera vitam cum Chriflo agent em. 
 
 EPITAPHIM, 
 
 (Auctore THOMAS GIBBONS, S. T. P.) 
 Electum et divinum vas, WHITEFIELDI fuisti 
 
 Ingenio pollens, divitiisque sacris : 
 His opibus populo Iong6 lateque tributis, 
 
 Tandem perfrueris lactitia superum 
 Inque hanc intrasti, Domino plaudente ministrum : 
 Expertum in multis, assiduumque bonum : 
 Ecce mea portus, et clara palatia coeli 
 
 Deliciis plenis omnia aperta tibi. 
 
 Dum matutinam Stellam, quam dulce rubentem ! 
 
 Vivificos roresque ossa sepulta manent. 
 
 TRANSLATION. 
 
 A vessel chosen and divine, replete 
 
 With nature's gifts, and grace's richer stores, 
 
 Thou WHITEFIELD wast : these through the world dispens'd, 
 
 In long laborious travels, thou at length 
 
 - Hast reach'd the realms of rest, to which thy Lord 
 
 Has welcom'd thee with his immense applause. 
 
 All hail, my servant, in thy various trusts 
 
 Found vigilant and faithful ; see the ports, 
 
 See the eternal kingdoms of the skies, 
 
 With all their boundless glory, boundless joy, 
 
 Open'd for thy reception, and thy bliss ! 
 
 Mean time, the body in its peaceful cell, 
 
 Reposing from its toils, awaits the star, 
 
 Whose living lustres lead that promis'd.morn, 
 
 Whose vivifying dews thy moulder'd corse 
 
 Shall visit, and immortal life inspire. 
 
 The following lines are part of a poem on Mr. Whitefield, 
 written by a negro servant girl, seventeen years of age, belong- 
 ing to Mr. J. Wheatley, of Boston. They are better than De 
 Courcy's Elegy. 
 
540 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 " He pray'd that grace in every heart might dwell, 
 He long'd to see America excel ; 
 He charg'd its youth to let the grace divine 
 Arise, and in their future actions shine. 
 He offer'd what he did himself receive, 
 A greater gift not God himself can give. 
 He urg'd the need of it to every one ; 
 It was no less than God's co-equal Son ! 
 Take Him, ye wretched, for your only good ; 
 Take Him, ye starving souls, to be your food. 
 Ye thirsty, come to this life-giving stream ; 
 Ye preachers, take him for your joyful theme. 
 Take Him, my dear Americans, he said, 
 Be your complaints in his kind bosom laid. 
 Take Him, ye Africans, he longs for you ; 
 IMPARTIAL SAVIOUR, is hie title due. 
 If you will choose to walk in grace's road, 
 You shall be sons, and kings, and priests to God. 
 Great Countess ! we Americans revere 
 Thy name, and thus condole thy grief sincere. 
 New England, sure doth feel ; the orphan's smart 
 Reveals the true sensations of his heart. 
 His lonely Tabernacle sees no more 
 A Whitefield landing on the British shore. 
 Then let us view him in yon azure skies, 
 Let every mind with this lov'd object rise. 
 Thou, tomb, shalt safe retain thy sacred trust, 
 Till life divine reanimates his dust." 
 
 Cowper's tribute to the memory of Whitefield, although well- 
 known, must not be omitted here. 
 
 " LEUCONOMUS (beneath well-sounding Greek 
 I slur a name, a poet must not speak) 
 Stood pilloried on infamy's high stage, 
 And bore the pelting scorn of half an age. 
 The very butt of slander, and the blot 
 For every dart that malice ever shot. 
 The man that mentioned him, at once dismiss'd 
 All mercy from his lips, and sneer'd and hiss'd. 
 His crimes were such as Sodom never knew, 
 And perjury stood up to swear all true : 
 His aim was mischief, and his zeal pretence, 
 His speech rebellion against common sense : 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. ~) \ 1 
 
 A knave, when tried on honesty's plain rule, 
 And when by that of reason, a mere fool. 
 The world's best comfort was, his doom was pass'tl, 
 Die when he might, he must be damn'd at last. 
 
 Now, truth, perform thine office, waft aside 
 The curtain drawn by prejudice and pride ; 
 Reveal (the man is dead) to wond'ring eyes, 
 This more than monster in his proper guise. 
 
 He lov'd the world that hated him j the tear 
 That dropp'd upon his Bible was sincere ; 
 Assail'd by scandal, and the tongue of strife, 
 His only answer was a blameless life : 
 And he that forged, and he that threw, the dart, 
 Had each a brother's interest in his heart. 
 Paul's love of Christ, and steadiness unbrib'd, 
 Were copied close in him, and well transcrib'd. 
 He followed Paul his zeal a kindred flame, 
 His apostolic charity the same : 
 Like him, cross'd cheerfully tempestuous seas, 
 Forsaking country, kindred, friends, and ease : 
 Like him he labour'd, and like him, content 
 To bear it, sufler'd shame where'er he went. 
 
 Blush calumny ! and write upon his tomb, 
 If honest eulogy can spare thee room, 
 Thy deep repentance of thy thousand lies, 
 Which, aim'd at him, have pierced th' offended skies ; 
 And say, Blot out my sin, confess'd, deplor'd, 
 Against thine image, in thy saint, O Lord ! " 
 
 America did not fail to mark her veneration for Whitefield's 
 memory. It was not alone at Newbury Port that " good men 
 made great lamentation over him." Distant places vied with 
 both Newbury and London, in this tribute of esteem and sor- 
 row. Winter says to Jay, "You have no conception of the 
 effect of Whitefield's death upon the inhabitants of the province 
 of Georgia. All the black cloth in the stores was bought up ; 
 the pulpit and desks of the church, the branches, the organ- 
 loft, the pews of the governor and council, were covered with 
 black. The governor and council, in deep mourning, convened 
 at the state-house, and went in procession to church, and were 
 received by the organ playing a funeral dirge. Two funeral 
 sermons were preached by Mr. Ellington and Zubly." Winter. 
 
542 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Dr. Gillies has quoted largely from Ellington's sermon. He 
 did not know that it was composed by Cornelius Winter. " I 
 was desired to compose" it, says Winter : and he does not add, 
 that he declined the task. I therefore conclude, that he was 
 the real author. Indeed, it is like Winter, and creditable to 
 him, so far as the sentiment and spirit of it go. And it is not 
 less creditable to Ellington, that he preached the sermon. Very 
 few clergymen would have consented to utter such truths, at 
 that time. It is not necessary to repeat these truths here. It 
 is enough to say, that they were a transcript of the creed and 
 heart of Cornelius Winter ; and thus they are a key to the heart 
 of Ellington. There is, however, one expression in the ser- 
 mon, which I hesitate to interpret. " It is well known," Elling- 
 ton says, that Whitefield " had opportunity long since to enjoy 
 episcopal emolument." Was it, then, more than a joke, when 
 the king suggested to the bench, that they " might stop White- 
 field's preaching by making a bishop of him ? " A bishopric 
 was, of course, out of the question : but it is quite certain, that 
 he might have had what De Courcy calls " considerable pre- 
 ferment," from the court, as well as from the primate of 
 Ireland. 
 
 Dr. Gillies has preserved numerous specimens of the funeral 
 sermons preached on this occasion, in England and America ; 
 and I could add to them. But they are too many to be record- 
 ed, and too similar to be distinguished. Their similarity is, 
 however, their most instructive and interesting characteristic. 
 It both proves and illustrates the fact, that Whitefield's charac- 
 ter and career left the same impression upon ministers of dif- 
 ferent churches, and men of dissimilar talents and temperament. 
 Wesley and Toplady might have written their sermons at the 
 same desk, and compared notes before preaching them. Ro- 
 maine might have exchanged pulpits with Dr. Pemberton of 
 Boston, and Venn and Newton with Brewer of Stepney, or Dr. 
 Gibbons. They all bear the same testimony, and breathe the 
 same spirit, at the grave of Whitefield. 
 
 It was not Toplady, but WESLEY, that said of him, " His fun- 
 damental point was, Give God all the glory of whatever is good 
 in man : set Christ as high, and man as low as possible, in the 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFK AND TIMES. 543 
 
 business of salvation. All merit is in the blood of Christ, and 
 all power in and from the Spirit of Christ." It was not Wesley, 
 but TOPLADY, that said, " He was a true and faithful son of the 
 church of England, and invincibly asserted her doctrines to the 
 last ; and that not in a merely doctrinal way though he was a 
 most excellent systematic divine ; but with an unction of power 
 from God, unequalled in the present day." It was not a 
 preslyterian, but ROMAINE, that said, " Look at the public loss ! 
 Oh what has the church suffered in the setting of that bright 
 star, which had shone so gloriously in our hemisphere ! We 
 have none left to succeed him ; none, of his gifts ; none any 
 thing like him in usefulness." It was not a methodist, but 
 VENN, that said, " We are warranted to affirm, that scarce any 
 one of (Christ's) ministers, since the apostles' days, has exceeded, 
 scarce any one has equalled, Whitefield. For such a life, arid 
 such a death, though in tears under our loss, we must thank 
 God. We must rejoice that millions heard him so long, so 
 often, and to so much good effect." It was not a dissenter, but 
 JOHN NEWTON, that said, " What a change has taken place 
 throughout the land, within little more than thirty years ! The 
 doctrines of grace were seldom heard from the pulpit, and the 
 life and power of religion were little known. And how much 
 of this change (for the better) has been owing to God's bless- 
 ing on Whitefield's labours, is well known to many who have 
 lived through this period, and can hardly be denied by those 
 who are least willing to allow it." Thus contemporary church- 
 men thought and wrote of their own accord, when Whitefield 
 died : but since they died, his mighty and happy influence upon 
 the church may, it seems, "be controverted!" It may: but 
 the evangelical clergy should remember, that they themselves 
 are considered by some of their superiors, as proofs of the 
 mighty influence of Whitefield and Wesley upon the church. 
 Venn and Sidney forget, that the anti-evangelical party ascribe 
 to methodism both the rise and progress of evangelical religion 
 in the church. Thus the blind see clearly what some of " the 
 children of light" try to conceal. 
 
 The following letter, written on the death of Whitefield, suits 
 my limits and design better than formal extracts from the 
 
544 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 funeral sermons. I do not know who was the author of it 
 but whoever he was, it will be responded to by all warm hearts, 
 
 1771. "A great man is fallen in our Israel the Rev. Mr. 
 Whitefield is no more ! he has left his charge, his flock, and 
 gone to mansions of blessedness. 
 
 " I may safely say, a great man, a great Christian, a humble 
 follower of the divine Redeemer, and a zealous defender of the 
 doctrines of grace, died, when Whitefield closed his eyes. That 
 voice which was lifted up like a trumpet, and flew around the 
 sacred roof, proclaiming salvation through the dying Jesus, 
 teaching a sinful world the Saviour's name, is now lost in per- 
 petual silence ! That man, whose labours in the cause of God 
 have been more abundant, has ceased from his work. That 
 eminent minister of the New Testament, that son of thunder to 
 the careless and secure, that cheering son of consolation to the 
 weary and heavy laden, who has been distinguished as the happy 
 instrument of bringing strayed sheep to the fold of God, is gone 
 to experience the truth of his doctrines ; and will one day ap- 
 pear, with all those who have been savingly brought to the know- 
 ledge of Jesus by his means, at the right hand of God, to give 
 an account of the ministry he received from him ; and in the 
 presence of a surrounding world, say, ( Lord, here am I, and the 
 children thou hast given me.' 
 
 ff It is an afflictive, awful, and alarming providence to the 
 church of God. A great light extinguished, a bright star set, 
 and a numerous people deprived of their pastor. Who shall 
 supply his place ? Who shall, with that pathetic language, 
 strength of argument, and force of persuasion, compel sinners 
 to partake of the gospel feast ? Who shall animate our asso- 
 ciations, and diffuse a spirit of candour, charity, and modera- 
 tion, throughout our assemblies ? Who shall declare the glories, 
 the riches, the freeness, the fulness of that complete salvation 
 which Messiah finished ? Who shall exhort, by precept and 
 example, to that steady, uniform, constant character, which 
 adorns the profession of the gospel ? Who shall recommend a 
 life of fellowship and communion with the Father, Son, and 
 Spirit, as the most desirable blessing, and build up the saints in 
 their most holy faith ? Who shall ? I am stopped by the mouth 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. .01.0 
 
 of him who says, ' Shall I not do what I will with my own ? Is 
 it not my prerogative to take and leave, as seemeth me good? 
 I demand the liberty of disposing my servants at my own plea- 
 sure. He hath not slept as others do. It is your's to wait and 
 trust, mine to dispose and govern. On me be the care of minis- 
 ters and churches with me is the residue of the Spirit I set 
 my labourers to work, and when I please, I take them to the 
 rest I have appointed for them. My power is not diminished, 
 my arm not shortened, my love not abated, and my faithfulness 
 still the same. I know my sheep, and they shall not stray into 
 forbidden pastures, for want of a shepherd to feed them with 
 knowledge and understanding.' 
 
 " With these thoughts my passions subside, my mind is soft- 
 ened and satisfied. But now for the wings of faith and divine 
 contemplation, to view him among the celestial throng, par- 
 taking of the happiness, sharing the joys of yonder blissful 
 regions ascribing salvation to Him who loved and washed him 
 in his blood having on that perfect robe of immaculate right- 
 eousness, wrought out by the dear Redeemer having on his 
 head a crown of never-fading glory, and palms of eternal vic- 
 tory in his hands drinking at the fountain-head of blessedness, 
 and refreshing himself continually at that river which flows in 
 sweet murmurs from the right hand of the Majesty on high 
 for ever out of the reach of scandal and reproach where ca- 
 lumny can never penetrate, and the wicked cease from troubling 
 where God, even his own God, wipes away all tears from his 
 eyes where he will for ever bask in the boundless fruition of 
 eternal love, continually receiving out of the divine fulness, fresh 
 supplies of glory for glory, from which on earth he had com- 
 munication of grace for grace sees the King in his beauty, re- 
 joices in the beatific vision, follows the Lamb wheresoever he goes 
 and with those who are redeemed from among men, rests in 
 the closest embraces of his Lord. 
 
 ' And now his voice is lost in death, 
 Praise will employ his noblest pow'rs, 
 
 While life, or thought, or being last, 
 Or immortality endures ! ' 
 
.546 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 " Here we must take our leave of the dear departed saint, 
 till the happy time takes place, when we shall put off this body, 
 and enter the confines of unmolested joy. And oh ! in what 
 elevation of happiness, and refinement of felicity, shall we awake 
 up in the likeness and express image of that God, who has loved 
 us, and called us with an holy calling ! Yet let us be persuaded 
 of this, that when the important period commences, when the 
 surprising signs, and descending inhabitants of heaven, proclaim 
 the second coming of our glorious Immanuel when the heavens 
 open and disclose his radiant glory, the archangel's trump shall 
 sound, the Lord himself descend with a shout, and the dead in 
 Christ arise glorious and immortal leave corruption, weakness, 
 and dishonour behind them we shall with him, and all the 
 ransomed race, ascend to mansions of glory, bliss, and immor- 
 tality, and join that universal chorus : 
 
 1 Say, Live for ever, glorious King ! 
 
 Born to redeem, and strong to save : 
 Then ask the monster, Where 's thy sting ? 
 
 And where 's thy victory, boasting grave ? ' 
 
 " But, my dear Sir, this awful dispensation demands a suit- 
 able improvement. The death of ministers, and mankind in 
 general, are so many mementos ; ( Be ye also ready,' is their 
 solemn language. Come then, O my soul, examine with impar- 
 tiality thy state. Nothing but an interest in the perfectly 
 finished, infinitely glorious, and everlastingly sufficient salvation 
 of Jehovah Jesus, can be of any avail, can be any real ground 
 of consolation, when the grim tyrant stares thee in the face. 
 May thy evidence be clear, thy faith strong, and thy hope on 
 tiptoe ; that when the Bridegroom comes, and summons thy at- 
 tendance, thou mayst with joy answer, Lord, I come. 
 
 " Should not the death of one and another of God's people 
 give fresh wings to our souls, make life less pleasant, and heaven 
 more desirable wean our affections from the beggarly enjoy- 
 ments of time and sense, and make us long to dwell where 
 Jesus reveals his beauties, glories, and matchless excellence, 
 face to face ? Here on earth we have some faint glimmerings ; 
 and oh ! how ought we to prize them, as they are drops from 
 
547 
 
 the ocean ! but the ravishing blaze is reserved for the upper and 
 better world. 
 
 " Though our interviews in the church militant are very 
 sweet, yet they are very short. The world's ten thousand baits, 
 the devil's insnaring wiles, but above all, the flesh with its 
 legions of corruptions, enslave the soul, and deaden our relish 
 for divine things. O happy day ! O blessed hour ! when Christ 
 shall have all his enemies under his feet, and death itself be 
 swallowed up of life when we shall get within the enclosures of 
 the New Jerusalem, and go out no more for ever ! 
 
 " If faithful ministers are so soon removed from us, how 
 should we prize them while we have them ! Oh let us never 
 give ear to, much less be the means of promoting the malevo- 
 lent whispers of slander ; but esteem them very highly in love 
 for their work's sake ! Should it not be our constant care, and 
 studious concern, through divine grace, to improve by every 
 sermon we hear, that the end of all ordinances may be obtained, 
 even an increase in love to Jesus, and fellowship with him ? 
 That this desirable end may be answered, let us be earnest and 
 frequent in our address to the throne of grace, for ministers 
 and people, that God may be glorified by bringing home sin- 
 ners to himself, and in the edification of saints that each stone 
 in the spiritual fabric may be edified and built up upon the 
 foundation, Christ Jesus, till the top-stone is brought forth with 
 shoutings, Grace, grace, unto it ! 
 
 " The clock strikes twelve, and tells me to conclude. But 
 how can I do it, without commending you to that God, whose 
 power alone is able to keep you from falling, and at last present 
 you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding 
 joy? May he give you continual assurances of his grace, mercy, 
 and love, in his lower courts, thereby making them a heaven 
 upon earth ; and cause you at last to join the general assembly 
 and church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven. 
 This is the hearty, unfeigned, and constant prayer of him, who 
 is, with great esteem and affection," 
 
 The following eulogium is from the pen of Toplady. " I deem 
 myself happy in having an opportunity of thus publicly avowing 
 the inexpressible esteem in which I held this wonderful man ; 
 
M8 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 and the affectionate veneration which I must ever retain for the 
 memory of one, whose acquaintance and ministry were attended 
 with the most important spiritual benefit to me, and to tens of 
 thousands beside. 
 
 " It will not be saying too much, if I term him, THE APOSTLE 
 OF THE ENGLISH EMPIRE ; in point of zeal for God, a long course 
 of indefatigable and incessant labours, unparalleled disinterest- 
 edness, and astonishingly extensive usefulness. 
 
 " He would never have quitted even the walls of the church, 
 had not either the ignorance, or the malevolence, of some who 
 ought to have known better, compelled him to a seeming 
 separation. 
 
 " If the absolute command over the passions of immense au- 
 ditories, be the mark of a consummate orator, he was the greatest 
 of the age. If the strongest good sense, the most generous ex- 
 pansions of heart, the most artless but captivating affability, the 
 most liberal exemptions from bigotry, the purest and most 
 transpicuous integrity, the brightest cheerfulness, and the 
 promptest wit, enter into the composition of social excellence, 
 he was one of the best companions in the world. 
 
 " If to be stedfast, immovable, always abounding in the works 
 of the Lord ; if a union of the most brilliant with the most 
 solid ministerial gifts, ballasted by a deep and humbling expe- 
 rience of grace, and crowned with the most extended success in 
 the conversion of sinners, and edification of saints, be signatures 
 of a commission from heaven, George Whitefield cannot but 
 stand highest on the modern list of Christian ministers. 
 
 " England has had the honour of producing the greatest men, 
 in almost every walk of useful knowledge. At the head of 
 these are, Archbishop BRADWARDIN, the prince of divines ; 
 MILTON, the prince of poets; NEWTON, the prince of phi- 
 losophers ; WHITEFIELD, the prince of preachers." 
 
 Strong as this language is, the sober statements of Cornelius 
 Winter both illustrate and justify it. I therefore shall quote 
 freely from them in the next chapter. In the mean time, I add 
 only his opinion of Toplady's compliment. " Whatever invi- 
 dious remarks they may make upon his written discourses, they 
 cannot invalidate his preaching. Mr. Toplady called him the 
 
549 
 
 prince of preachers, and with good reason, for none in our day 
 preached with the like effect." Jay's Winter. 
 
 Whitefield's successors were very unlike himself, except in 
 piety and sentiment ; and yet they nobly sustained the influence 
 of both the Tabernacle and Tottenham Court. This was cer- 
 tainly the more easy, because the stated congregations had never 
 been accustomed to enjoy much of Whitefield's presence : but 
 still, it was an arduous task to succeed him. Mr. Wilks was, 
 however, quite equal to that task. His wisdom kept the flock, 
 which Whitefield's eloquence won. He knew the way to the 
 understanding and the conscience, just as well as Whitefield knew 
 the way to the heart. He could dive as far into men, as White- 
 field could draw them out of themselves. If the latter could rouse 
 or melt them, the former could rivet them. If Whitefield made 
 them feel, Wilks made them think. Mr. Hyatt had more of 
 Whitefield's tremendous energy. He had, perhaps, all his 
 thunder, although but little of his lightning or showers. He 
 was, however, eminently useful in the conversion of sinners. If 
 Wilks fed the flock, Hyatt guarded and augmented it. In a 
 word, they were both good shepherds, and each great in his own 
 way. 
 
 The body of Whitefield, like that of Moses, although not hid, 
 has been the subject of sharp contention, and has called forth 
 some " railing accusations." In 1790, it was reported in Lon- 
 don, that " the body was entire and uncorrupted." In 1801, 
 Mr. Mason of Newbury Port contradicted this, in a letter to 
 the editor of the Gospel Magazine. " We found the flesh," he 
 says, " totally consumed," although " the gown, cassock, and 
 bands, with which he was buried, were almost the same as if just 
 put into the coffin." Until this contradiction appeared, the 
 ignorant welcomed a miracle in the case ; the scientific referred 
 it to antiputrescent applications ; and the jealous charged the 
 sexton with supplying fresh bodies from time to time. 
 
 The facts of the case are these : In 1784, Mr. Brown of Ep- 
 ping Forest visited Newbury Port; and, having heard there 
 that W T hitefield's " body was entire," he went, with his wife, to 
 see it. " A lantern and candle being provided, we descended 
 into the tomb. Our guide led me to dear Mr. Whitefield's 
 
550 
 
 coffin. He opened the lid down to his breast. I never felt so 
 over a corpse ! His body was perfect. I felt his cheeks and his 
 breast : the skin immediately rose after. Even his lips were 
 not consumed, nor his nose. He did not look frightful at all. 
 His skin was considerably discoloured, blackish, through dust 
 and age. His gown was not much impaired, nor his wig. 
 
 " I turned to look at Mr. Parsons, who died seven years after 
 him : but there was only a promiscuous show of bones, clean 
 and dry. 
 
 " I do but give you the matter of fact. I am well assured the 
 body of Mr. Whitefield was not embalmed. He particularly 
 ordered it should not. The body is open to every visitor." 
 Brown's Letter. 
 
 This looks like truth. Dr. Southey also has quoted from 
 some one, whom he does not name, the following words, " One 
 of the preachers told me the body of Whitefield was not yet 
 putrified : but several other corpses are just in the same state at 
 Newbury Port, owing to the vast quantities of nitre with which 
 the earth abounds there." This is quoted to prove, that the 
 report does not " seem to have originated in any intention to 
 deceive." Thus there was evidently much truth in it in 1784; 
 whereas in 1796, when Mason saw the body, it might be equally 
 true that " the flesh was totally consumed." The skull is, I 
 understand, very perfect still. 
 
 It will surprise and grieve not a few on both sides of the At- 
 lantic, when I tell them that the bones of Whitefield are not 
 entire. Part of his riff Jit arm was sent to this country. I hope 
 it is not here still. If I thought it were not returned, I should 
 feel inclined to tell the American ambassador where to find it, 
 and to urge him to demand it in the name of his country. 
 
 About two years ago, a visitor in London invited me to see 
 " a curiosity, sure to gratify me." He mistook my taste. I 
 went, and he placed on the table a long narrow box ; defying 
 me to guess its contents. I had no need to guess or hesitate. 
 I said, " It contains the right arm of George Whitefield, and I 
 could name both the thief and the receiver. I have known for 
 ten years that it was in your possession : but my organ of vene- 
 ration is larger than that of my curiosity ; and, therefore, I 
 
\\ HITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 551 
 
 never hinted at my knowledge, although I have often visited 
 you on the hanks of the Thames, and seen all your other memo- 
 rials of Whitefield, and reciprocated all your other feelings 
 towards him." I owe it to my friend to add, if the relic be still 
 in England, that it could not be in better hands than those it 
 was first committed to. Still, I would, if I could, give " com- 
 mandment concerning the bones," as solemnly and authorita- 
 tively as dying Joseph. One thing I promise : I will conceal 
 the name of the spoiler, (for I have read his letter,) if the spoil 
 should be returned. 
 
 The following inscription was copied by Dr. Reed from the 
 splendid monument erected by Mr. Bartlett, at Newbury Port, 
 to the memory of Whitefield. 
 
 THIS CENOTAPH 
 Is erected, with affectionate Veneration, 
 
 To the Memory of 
 
 The Rev. GEORGE WHITEFIELD, 
 
 Born at Gloucester, England, December 16, 1714, 
 
 Educated at Oxford University; ordained 1736. 
 
 In a Ministry of Thirty-four Years, 
 
 He crossed the Atlantic Thirteen times, 
 
 And preached more than Eighteen Thousand Sermons. 
 
 As a Soldier of the Cross, humble, devout, ardent, 
 
 He put on the whole Armou? of God ; 
 
 Preferring the Honour of Christ to his own Interest, Repose, 
 
 Reputation, and Life. 
 As a Christian Orator, his deep Piety, disinterested Zeal, and vivid 
 
 Imagination, 
 Gave unexampled Energy to his look, utterance, and action. 
 
 Bold, fervent, pungent, and popular in his Eloquence, 
 No other uninspired man ever preached to so large assemblies, 
 
 Or enforced the simple Truths of the Gospel, by Motives 
 So persuasive and awful, and with an Influence so powerful. 
 
 On the Hearts of his Hearers. 
 
 He died of Asthma, September 30, 1770, 
 
 Suddenly exchanging his Life of unparalleled Labours 
 
 For his Eternal Rest. 
 
 Reed and Malheson's Visit. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIT. 
 
 WHITEFIELD'S CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 I FORESAW, from the commencement of this work, that 1 was 
 incapable of imbodying the character of Whitefield, at the end, 
 in a form which would satisfy myself. I therefore kept back 
 nothing, for the sake of final effect; but allowed him, at every step, 
 to appear all he was at the time and place. His characteristics 
 have thus come out like the stars, now one by one, and anon in 
 constellations, and all " in their season." In this form they have 
 kept alive my own interest in both his Life and Times, whilst 
 writing these pages ; and therefore I see no necessity, and feel 
 no inclination, to try my hand at a formal portrait. Whitefield 
 paints himself upon every eye that follows him. The only dif- 
 ficulty felt in trying to realize this mighty angel of the everlast- 
 ing gospel, as he flies 4n the midst of heaven, arises from the 
 Jigure he presents in almost all the portraits which have accom- 
 panied his works hitherto. Indeed, until I saw the full-length 
 engravings of him, from pictures taken when he was in his 
 prime, I found it impossible to associate with his form (except 
 in the case of his uplifted hands and eyes) just ideas of his spirit. 
 This difficulty is now removed, and by no stratagem. The 
 portrait in this volume is a faithful copy (except in length and 
 scenery) of the original engraving, taken from Russell's picture 
 of him, as he appeared in Moorfields in all his glory. 
 
 I have another reason for not trying to imbody the whole 
 character of Whitefield : it would present an inimitable exam- 
 ple ; and thus defeat one great purpose I had in writing his 
 life. His image as a whole, is not calculated to multiply itself. 
 Happily this is not the fact, in regard to some features of it. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 553 
 
 Some of them, like queen bees, are each capable of producing 
 a whole hive. Indeed, it is impossible that any conscientious 
 minister of the gospel can contemplate Whitefield in this vo- 
 lume, without setting himself to imitate him in something : 
 whereas no one would dream of even trying to imitate him in 
 all things. At least, I never saw the man who could be a second 
 Whitefield. Rowland Hill was not that. SPENCER, from all I 
 could learn in Liverpool, during eleven years' occupation of his 
 pulpit, seems to have approached nearest to the pathos and fas- 
 cination of Whitefield ; but he had evidently none of his com- 
 manding majesty. 
 
 I studied Whitefield until I understood him ; and therefore, 
 I have instinctively recognised whatever resembled him, in all 
 the popular preachers of my time. James, of Birmingham, has 
 occasionally reminded me of his alternate bursts of tenderness 
 and terror, in all but their rapidity ; Rowland Hill of his off- 
 hand strokes of power ; and Spring, of New York, his off- 
 heart unction, when it fell like dew, copiously and calmly. 
 Baptist Noel also has reminded me of this. Robert Newton has 
 some of Whitefield's oratory, but none of his high passion. 
 Irving had nothing of him but his voice. Cooper, of Dublin, 
 when in his prime, and preaching in the open air, has enabled 
 me to conceive how Whitefield commanded the multitude in 
 Moorfields. I must add, although I shall not be generally 
 understood, that Williams of the Wern, and my friend Christ- 
 mas Evans, of Wales, and Billy Dawson of Yorkshire, have 
 oftener realized Whitefield to me, than any other preachers of 
 my time : and yet these three men do not resemble him, nor 
 each other, in mind or body ; but they can lose themselves en- 
 tirely, as he did, in tender and intense love to souls. This is 
 what is wanted ; and it will tell by any voice or style, and from 
 any eye or stature. Rowland Hill knew and loved one minister 
 in Scotland the late Cowie of Huntly for his resemblance to 
 Whitefield. I do not wonder at this. It was Whitefield's like- 
 ness to Cowie, that first won my heart. I saw in the busts, and 
 read in the books of George Whitefield, the express image of 
 George Cowie, the pastor of my boyhood. I was not twelve 
 years old when he died : but the majestic music of his voice is 
 
 4 B 
 
554 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 yet in my ear, and the angelic benevolence of his countenance 
 yet before my eye. I could weep yet, as I wept when I did 
 not understand him. I wept often then because he was bathed 
 in tears of love. I loved him, because he loved me for my 
 father's sake, when my father died. He then became a father 
 unto me. Whether he bequeathed me to Dr. Philip, I do not 
 know : but I can never forget that in his house Dr. Philip 
 adopted me. This he did in the true spirit of adoption ! I 
 owe every thing, in early life, to this. Even in mature life, I 
 feel the benefit of it every day. 
 
 I must not dismiss this reference to Cowie yet. It will help 
 not a few to realize Whitefield. I have often roused the vener- 
 able Rowland Hill, in his old age, from absence and depression, 
 when he was not likely to be himself in the pulpit, or on the 
 platform, by a timely reference to " our old friend Mr. Cowie." 
 This never failed to quicken him. I was to him so associated 
 with Huntly, that he often called me Mr. Huntly. The public 
 are thus indebted to me for not a few of Rowland Hill's last 
 and best eulogiums on Whitefield. He had seen him personi- 
 fied in Cowie, and I kept the image before the good old man, 
 whenever I met him in public or private. The secret was this. 
 The chief cause of Mr. Cowie's excommunication from the anti- 
 burghers, was his cooperation with Mr. Hill, and itinerants of 
 his stamp ; and I had been Mr. Cowie's little servant on the 
 day he defended himself before the synod. It was a high day 
 to me, until I found him condemned. I had carried from his 
 library to the top of his pulpit stairs, the books he intended to 
 quote from ; and handed them to him as he required them. It 
 was a long defence ; but I felt no weariness, although I did not 
 understand a word of its real merits. There was Latin in it and 
 he had begun to teach me Latin ; and thus I expected to under- 
 stand the speech some day. And then it was a perfect stream 
 of eloquence, flowing, now softly as the Boggie, and anon impe- 
 tuously as the Dovern ; the rivers which encircle Huntly. I 
 was sure that nobody could answer him ; and so vexed when 
 they tried, that I could have thrown a book at the head of the 
 moderator, and even two or three at some other heads of the 
 synod. True ; this was worse than foolish in a boy ; but still, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 555 
 
 it was not more foolish than old men flinging censures at the 
 head of a champion, who was the Whitefield of the north. At 
 this moment, I do not feel that I was the greatest sinner in that 
 assembly. 
 
 I thus allow my recollections of Cowie to revel in their own 
 vividness, because they will explain what I have ventured to 
 call my " knowledge of Whitefield." I mean, that I met in the 
 sermons and vein of Whitefield, the image of my first friend 
 and pastor ; and Rowland Hill, who knew both parties, attested 
 the likeness. This fact must be my apology for the many in- 
 stances in this volume, in which I gossip about Whitefield, as if 
 I had been brought up at his knee. There is no affectation in 
 this, whatever flippancy it may have betrayed me into. I have 
 been all along at home, because in company with COWIE. Be- 
 sides, only a character which speaks for itself belongs to bio- 
 graphy ; and he is no biographer of it, who does not speak in its 
 own style. 
 
 I have often heard it asked and argued, whether Whitefield 
 would be popular now, were he alive ? The late Dr. Ryland 
 used to maintain, that he would be as popular as ever ! The 
 Doctor was right, so far as Whitefield's manner and unction 
 were concerned. Holy energy can never be unpopular. Holy 
 during will always wield the multitude. Natural eloquence 
 will find an echo for ever in the human heart, however the truth 
 it utters may be evaded or disliked. All ministers who cannot 
 command attention, are unnatural in something. Whitefield's 
 sermons, however, would not draw out the same crowd, nor the 
 same classes now, that they did at first. His doctrine) as well 
 as his manner, was a novelty then, even in London, to the mul- 
 titude. They had never heard of regeneration but at the bap- 
 tismal font ; and that, told them of its beginning and completion, 
 in the same breath. 
 
 Too little importance, however, has been attached to White- 
 field's manner of preaching. This is not his fault. He made 
 no secret of his attention to delivery. He commended the study 
 of oratory to the American colleges, and provided for it at Be- 
 thesda, and rebuked the neglect of it at Oxford. He was not 
 ashamed to quote Sheridan's lectures, in remonstrating with 
 
556 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Durell. " Sorry am I to find so true what a celebrated orator 
 takes the liberty of saying in the University of Oxford, if I 
 mistake not, ' That the state of pulpit elocution in general, in 
 the church of England, is such, that there never was, perhaps, 
 a religious sect on earth, whose hearts were so little engaged in 
 the act of worship, as the members of that church. To be 
 pleased, we must feel ; and we are pleased with feeling. The 
 presbyterians are moved ; the methodists are moved ; they go 
 to their meetings and tabernacles with delight. The very 
 quakers are moved : whilst much the greater part of the mem- 
 bers of the church of England are either banished from it 
 through disgust, or reluctantly attend the service as a disagree- 
 able duty.' Thus far Mr. Sheridan." 
 
 Whitefield even quotes Betterton the player, and affirms that 
 the stage would soon be deserted if the actors spoke like 
 preachers. " Mr. Betterton's answer to a worthy prelate is 
 worthy of lasting regard. When asked ' how it came to pass 
 that the clergy, who spoke of things real, affected the people so 
 little, and the players, who spoke of things barely imaginary, 
 affected them so much/ he said, ' My Lord, I can assign but 
 one reason ; we players speak of things imaginary as though 
 they were real, and too many of the clergy speak of things real 
 as though they were imaginary.' Thus it was in his, and all 
 know it is too much the case in our time. Hence it is, that 
 even on our most important occasions, the worthy gentlemen 
 concerned in our public churches, generally find themselves more 
 obliged to musicians than the preachers ; and hence it is, no 
 doubt, that upon our most solemn anniversaries, after long pre- 
 vious notice has been given, and when some even of our lords 
 spiritual do preach, perhaps not two lords temporal come to hear 
 them." Letter to Durell. 
 
 Whitefield's own maxim was, " to preach as Apelles painted, 
 for ETERNITY." He was first struck with this maxim at the table 
 of Archbishop Boulter in Ireland, where " the great Dr. De- 
 lany " said to him, " I wish whenever I go up into a pulpit, to 
 look upon it as the last time I shall ever preach, or the last time 
 the people may hear." He never forgot this. He often said, 
 " Would ministers preach for eternity, they would then act the 
 
557 
 
 part of true Christian orators, and not only calmly and coolly in- 
 form the understanding, but by persuasive, pathetic address, en- 
 deavour to move the affections and warm the heart. To act 
 otherwise bespeaks a sad ignorance of human nature, and such 
 an inexcusable indolence and indifference in the preacher, as 
 must constrain the hearers to suspect, whether they will or not, 
 that the preacher, let him be who he will, only deals in the 
 false commerce of unfelt truth" 
 
 This pointed and perpetual reference to eternity in his preach- 
 ing, did not divert Whitefield from a due regard to time. He 
 was an ardent admirer, if not imitator, of the character given 
 of one of the German Reformers Bucolspherus, as he calls 
 him. I do not know him, unless Bucholcerus, the young friend 
 of Melancthon, (Theat. Vir. Erud.) be referred to ; and I doubt 
 whether it could be said of him, " Vividus vultus, vividi occuli, 
 vividcB mamis, denique omnia vivida" But whoever he was, 
 Whitefield recognised a living exemplification of him in some 
 of the Romish priests at Lisbon. I must go further, and say, 
 that Whitefield felt it his duty to obey the commands given to \ 
 some of the prophets to smite with the hand, stamp with the 
 foot, and lift up the voice like a trumpet, as well as to beseech 
 with tears. Winter says of him, " his freedom in the use of his 
 passions often put my pride to the trial. I could hardly bear 
 such unreserved use of tears, and the scope he gave to his feel- 
 ings ; for sometimes he exceedingly wept, stamped loudly and 
 passionately, and was frequently so overcome, that for a few 
 seconds, you would suspect he never could recover ; and when 
 he did, nature required some little time to compose herself. I 
 hardly ever knew him go through a sermon without weeping 
 more or less, and I truly believe his were tears of sincerity. 
 His voice was often interrupted by his affections ; and I have 
 heard him say in the pulpit, * You blame me for weeping ; but 
 how can I help it, when you will not weep for yourselves, al- 
 though your immortal souls are on the verge of destruction ; 
 and, for aught I know, you are hearing your last sermon, and 
 may never more have an opportunity to have Christ offered to 
 you.' 
 
 " I have known him avail himself of the formality of the judge 
 
558 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 putting on his black cap, to pronounce sentence. With his eyes 
 full of tears, and his heart almost too big to admit of speech, 
 he would say, after a momentary pause, ' I am now going to 
 put on my condemning cap. Sinner, I MUST do it ! I must pro- 
 nounce sentence ! ' Then, in a strain of tremendous eloquence, 
 he would repeat our Lord's words, ' Depart, ye cursed,' and 
 not without a very powerful description of the nature of that 
 curse. But it was only by hearing him, and by beholding 
 his attitude and tears, that a person could well conceive of the 
 effect." 
 
 It deserves special notice that Whitefield, whether he stamp- 
 
 y jed or wept, whether he seemed a lion or lamb, was uniformly 
 \solemn, and allowed nothing to seem at variance with his deep 
 
 f solemnity. " Nothing awkward, nothing careless, appeared 
 about him in the pulpit, nor do I ever recollect his stumbling on 
 a word. Whether he frowned or smiled, whether he looked 
 grave or placid, it was n attire acting in him." Winter. This 
 care over his words, tones, and gestures, sustained his own 
 solemnity, and communicated it to others. They neither saw 
 nor heard any thing to weaken the impression. There was no 
 levity in his lively sallies, and no dulness in his reasonings, and 
 no departure from the spirit of his mission even when he used 
 " market language." He made all modes of address bear upon 
 solemn effect. For this " every accent of his voice spoke to 
 the ear ; every feature of his face, every motion of his hands, 
 every gesture, spoke to the eye ; so that the most dissipated and 
 
 /thoughtless found their attention involuntarily fixed." Gillies. 
 * Even when he created a momentary smile, it was to relieve the 
 heart from the tension of an ordinary solemnity, that he might 
 strain it up to an extraordinary pitch. 
 
 There was thus much art in Whitefield's preaching : I mean, 
 the art of studying to be perfectly natural in all things pertain- 
 ing to real life and godliness. He left nothing to accident that 
 he could regulate by care, in his delivery. Hence practised 
 speakers and shrewd observers could tell at once, whenever he 
 delivered a sermon for the first time. Foote and Garrick 
 maintained that his oratory was not at its full height, until he 
 had repeated a discourse forty times. Franklin says, " By hear- 
 
559 
 
 ing him often, I came to distinguish easily between sermons 
 newly composed, and those he had preached often in the course 
 of his travels. His delivery of the latter was so improved by 
 frequent repetition, that every accent, every emphasis, every 
 modulation of voice, was so perfectly tuned and well placed, that, 
 without being interested in the subject, (Franklin-like, alas !)\ 
 one could not help being pleased with the discourse : a pleasure 
 of much the same kind with that received from an excellent 
 piece of music." Dr. Southey shows that he understands speak- 
 ing as well as writing, by his remarks on Whitefield's oratory. 
 " It was a great advantage, but it was not the only one, nor 
 the greatest, which he derived from repeating his discourses, 
 and reciting instead of reading them. Had they been delivered 
 from a written copy," (only think of Whitefield reading!) " one 
 delivery would have been like the last : the paper would have 
 operated as a spell, from which he could not depart ; invention 
 sleeping, while the utterance followed the eye. But when he 
 had nothing before him except the audience whom he was ad- 
 dressing, the judgment and the imagination, as well as the me- 
 mory, were called forth. Those parts were omitted which had 
 been felt to come feebly from the tongue, and fall heavily on the 
 ear ; and their place was supplied by matter newly laid in in 
 the course of his studies, or fresh from the feeling of the mo- 
 ment. They who lived with him could trace him, in his ser- 
 mons, to the book which he had last been reading, or the sub- 
 ject which had recently taken his attention. But the salient 
 points of his oratory were not prepared passages they were 
 bursts of passion, like jets of a GEYSER, when the spring is in 
 full play." Southey' s Wesley. 
 
 David Hume beheld one of these jets of the Tabernacle- 
 Geyser, and wondered, despised, and perished ! He pronounced 
 Whitefield the most ingenious preacher he ever heard; and 
 said, it was worth going twenty miles to hear him. " Once, after 
 a solemn pause, he thus addressed his audience : * The attend- 
 ant angel is just about to leave the threshold of this sanctuary, 
 and ascend to heaven. And shall he ascend, and not bear with 
 him the news of one sinner, among all this multitude, reclaimed 
 from the error of his ways ? ' To give the greater effect to this 
 

 560 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 exclamation, Whitefield stamped with his foot, lifted up his 
 hands and eyes to heaven, and cried aloud, ' Stop, Gabriel, 
 stop, ere you enter the sacred portals, and yet carry with you 
 the news of one sinner converted to God.' " How gladly Gabriel 
 would have carried to the throne the news of Hume's conver- 
 sion, and told it to his mother in her mansion of glory ! But 
 Gabriel did not report Hume's words in heaven, although they 
 were thus complimentary "This address was accompanied with 
 such animated yet natural action, that it surpassed any thing I 
 ever saw or heard in any other preacher." Dr. Southey says, 
 that this " flight of oratory is not in the best taste." Where 
 will he find a better ? He himself has quoted worse from White- 
 field, without finding fault. But on a question of taste, I will 
 not attempt to arbitrate between two historians of acknowledged 
 tact. This flight of oratory will, however, keep itself for ever 
 on all the wings of the wind, even if both judges had found fault 
 with it. It will also be a lasting illustration of the " odd " but 
 not " unapt " expression of the ignorant man, who said " that 
 Whitefield preached like a lion ;" " no unapt notion," says Dr. 
 Southey, " of the force, and vehemence, and passion of that ora- 
 tory which awed the hearers, and made them tremble like Felix 
 before the apostle." 
 
 Such was the manner of the preacher, whose spirit has spoken 
 for itself throughout all this volume : and I now ask, was that 
 spirit ever trammelled, cooled, or carnalized, by W r hitefield's 
 attention to the graces of pulpit eloquence ? Did the study of 
 oratory estrange him from his closet, or lessen his dependence 
 on the Holy Spirit, or divert him from living habitually in the 
 light of eternity and the Divine presence ? No man ever lived 
 nearer to God, or approached nearer to the perfection of oratory ._ 
 He was too devotional to be cooled by rules, and too natural tb 
 be spoiled by art, and too much in earnest to win souls, to neg- 
 lect system. He " sought out acceptable " tones, and gestures, 
 and looks, as well as " acceptable words." Was Whitefield 
 right ? Then how many, like myself, are far wrong ! Let the 
 rising ministry take warning ! Awkwardness in the pulpit is a 
 sin monotony a sin dulness a sin and all of them sins against 
 the welfare of immortal souls. These, be it ever remembered, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 501 
 
 invent too many excuses already for evading the claims of the 
 gospel : do not, therefore, place yourself, STUDENT, among their 
 reasons for rejecting it. It is as easy to be graceful in gesture, 
 and natural in tone, as to be grammatical. You would not dare 
 to violate grammar : dare not to be vulgar or vapid in manner. 
 Your spirituality of mind is too low, and your communion with 
 God too slight, and your love of the truth too cold, if they can 
 be endangered by cultivating an eloquence worthy of the pulpit. 
 
 Whitefield's manner fascinated all ranks. I lately visited one 
 of his converts ; now a pilgrim of nearly a century ; and a poor 
 villager, who was never fifty miles from home. I went to see 
 whether old Father Mead, of Chinnor, in Oxfordshire, could 
 recognise Whiter! eld in one of my old prints. To my surprise 
 the veteran himself was not unlike the portrait. Before opening 
 it, therefore, I asked him whether he remembered Whitefield's 
 person ? The old man brightened at the question, and said, 
 " Ay, sure : he was a jolly, brave man ; and what a look he had 
 when he put out his right hand thus, to rebuke a disturber, as 
 tried to stop him under the pear-tree. The man had been very 
 threatening and noisy : but he could not stand the look. Off he 
 rode, and Whitefield said, There he goes : empty barrels make 
 most din." Father Mead both smiled and wept, as the vision 
 threw him unconsciously into the very attitude and aspect of the 
 preacher. I then asked him, whether he ever saw Whitefield 
 now, in his dreams. He paused as if struck by the question. 
 At length he said, " No ; but he was a jolly, brave man, and 
 sick a look with him." I then asked if he had ever heard any 
 preacher since, that reminded him of Whitefield ? His speaking 
 face sparkled as he looked to his own pastor, (who was with me,) 
 and said, " Some reminds me of George." Whitefield seems 
 his perpetual day-dream ; for, although almost a pauper, he has 
 not parted with the books which Whitefield wrote or edited. I 
 found him reading one of them, and singing " of mercy and 
 judgment." 
 
 This little incident will do more than illustrate the emphatic 
 hints of Cornelius Winter. He characterizes Whitefield's ora- 
 tory, as we have seen, with great success ; as the following spe- 
 cimens will still further prove. 
 
 4c 
 
562 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 " As though it were no difficult matter to catch the sound of 
 the Saviour praying, he would exclaim, ' Hark ! hark ! do not 
 you hear him ? ' You may suppose that as this occurred fre- 
 quently, the efficacy of it was destroyed ; but, no ; though we 
 often knew what was coming, it was as new to us as though we 
 had never heard it before. 
 
 " That beautiful apostrophe, used by the prophet Jeremiah, 
 ( O earth, earth, earth, hear the words of the Lord,' was very 
 subservient to him, and never used impertinently. 
 
 " He abounded with anecdotes, which, though not always re- 
 cited verbatim, were very just, as to the matter of them. One, 
 for instance, I remember, tending to illustrate the efficacy of 
 prayer, though I have not been able to meet with it in the 
 English history it was the case of the London apprentices 
 before Henry VIII. pleading his pardon of their insurrection. 
 The monarch, moved by their sight, and their plea, ( Mercy ! 
 mercy ! ' cried, ( Take them away, I cannot bear it." The ap- 
 plication you may suppose was, that if an earthly monarch of 
 Henry's description could be so moved, how forcible is the sin- 
 ner's plea in the ears of Jesus Christ ! The case of two Scotch- 
 men, in the convulsion of the state at the time of Charles II. 
 subserved his design ; who, unavoidably obliged to pass some of 
 the troops, were conceiving of their danger, and meditating what 
 method was to be adopted, to come off safe : one proposed the 
 wearing of a scull-cap ; the other, supposing that would imply 
 distrust of the providence of God, was determined to proceed 
 bare-headed. The latter, being first laid hold of, and being 
 interrogated, f Are you for the covenant ? ' replied, ' Yes ;' and 
 being further asked, e What covenant ? ' answered, ' The cove- 
 nant of grace ;' by which reply, eluding further inquiry, he was 
 let pass : the other, not answering satisfactorily, received a blow 
 with the sabre, which, penetrating through the cap, struck him 
 dead. In the application, Mr. Whitefield, warning against vain 
 confidence, cried, ' Beware of your scull-caps.' But here like- 
 wise the description upon paper, wanting the reality as exem- 
 plified by him with voice and motion, conveys but a very faint 
 idea. However, it is a disadvantage which must be submitted 
 to, especially as coming from my pen. 
 
563 
 
 " The difference of the times in which Mr. Whitefield made 
 his public appearance, materially determined the matter of his 
 sermons, and, in some measure, the manner of his address. He 
 dealt far more in the explanatory and doctrinal mode of preach- 
 ing on a sabbath-day morning, than perhaps at any other time ; 
 and sometimes made a little, but by no means improper, show 
 of learning. If he had read upon astronomy in the course of the 
 week, you would be sure to discover it. He knew how to con- 
 vert the centripetal motion of the heavenly bodies to the dispo- 
 sition of the Christian toward Christ, and the fatal attraction of 
 the world would be very properly represented by a reference to 
 the centrifugal. Whatever the world might think of him, he 
 had his charms for the learned as well as for the unlearned; 
 and as he held himself to be a debtor both to the wise and to 
 the unwise, each received his due at such times. The peer and 
 the peasant alike went away satisfied. 
 
 " As though he heard the voice of God ever sounding in his 
 ears the important admonition, ' Work while it is called to day,' 
 this was his work in London at one period of his life : After 
 administering the Lord's supper to several hundred communi- 
 cants, at half an hour after six in the morning ; reading the first 
 and second service in the desk, which he did with the greatest 
 propriety, and preaching full an hour, he read prayers and 
 preached in the afternoon, previous to the evening service, at 
 half an hour after five ; and afterwards addressed a large society 
 in public. His afternoon sermon used to be more general and 
 exhortatory. In the evening he drew his bow at a venture, vin- 
 dicated the doctrines of grace, fenced them with articles and 
 homilies, referred to the martyrs' zeal, and exemplified the power 
 of divine grace in their sufferings, by quotations from the vene- 
 rable Fox. Sinners were then closely plied, numbers of whom 
 from curiosity coming to hear a sentence or two, were often 
 compelled to hear the whole sermon. How many in the judg- 
 ment day will rise to prove that they heard to the salvation of 
 the soul ! 
 
 " Perhaps Mr. Whitefield never preached greater sermons 
 than at six in the morning, for at that hour he did preach, win- 
 ter and summer, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and 
 
564 
 
 Thursdays. At these times his congregations were of the select 
 description, and young men received admonitions similar with 
 what were given in the society ;* and were cautioned, while they 
 neglect the duty required from them under the bond of an in- 
 denture, not to anticipate the pleasures and advantages of future 
 life. 
 
 " His style was nov/ colloquial, with little use of motion ; per 
 tinent expositions, with suitable remarks ; and all comprehended 
 within the hour. Christian experience principally made the 
 subject of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday even- 
 ing lectures ; when, frequently having funeral sermons to preach, 
 the character and experience of the dead helped to elucidate the 
 subject, led to press diligence in the Christian course, to reflect 
 upon the blessing of faith on earth, and glory in heaven. Mr. 
 Whitefield adopted the custom of the inhabitants of New Eng- 
 land in their best days, of beginning the sabbath at six o'clock 
 on Saturday evenings. The custom could not be observed by 
 many, but it was convenient to a few a few compared with the 
 multitudes, but abstractedly considered, a large and respectable 
 company. Now ministers of every description found a peculiar 
 pleasure in relaxing their minds from the fatigues of study, and 
 were highly entertained by his peculiarly excellent subjects, 
 which were so suitable to the auditory, that I believe it was 
 seldom disappointed. It was an opportunity peculiarly suited 
 to apprentices and journeymen in some businesses, which allowed 
 of their leaving work sooner than on other days, and availing 
 themselves at least of the sermon ; from which I also occasion- 
 ally obtained many blessings. Had my memory been retentive, 
 and I had studiously treasured up his rich remarks, how much 
 more easily might I have met your wishes, and have answered 
 
 * This society, consisting of several hundreds of widows, married people, 
 young men, and spinsters, placed separately in the area of the Tabernacle, 
 used after sermon to receive from Mr. Whitefield, in the colloquial style, 
 various exhortations comprised in short sentences, and suitable to their 
 various stations. The practice of Christianity in all its branches, was then 
 usually inculcated, not without some pertinent anecdote of a character 
 worthy to be held up for an example, and in whose conduct the hints re- 
 commended were exemplified. 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 565 
 
 the design of this letter ! But though I have lost much of the 
 letter of his sermons, the savour of them yet remains. The pe- 
 culiar talents he possessed, subservient to great usefulness, can 
 be but faintly guessed from his sermons in print ; though, as 
 formerly God has made the reading of them useful, I have no 
 doubt but in future they will have their use. The eighteen 
 taken in short-hand, and faithfully transcribed, by Mr. Gurney, 
 have been supposed to do discredit to his memory, and there- 
 fore they were suppressed. But they who have been accustomed 
 to hear him, may collect from them much of his genuine preach- 
 ing. They were far from being the best specimens that might 
 have been produced. He preached many of them, when, in fact, 
 he was almost incapable of preaching at all." Winter. 
 
 After all, the grand secret of Whitefield's power was, as we 
 have seen and felt, his devotional spirit. Had he been less 
 prayerful, he would have been less powerful. He was the prince ' 
 of preachers without the veil, because he was a Jacob " within 
 the veil." His face shone when he came down from the mount, 
 because he had been long alone with God upon the mount. It 
 was this won for him the title seraphic ; not in the scholastic, 
 but in the angelic sense of the term. But he was a human 
 seraph ; and thus burnt out in the blaze of his own fire. What 
 then ? he often ascended in it, as the Angel of the covenant 
 did in the flame of Manoah's sacrifice ; and always " did won- 
 dwiffily" when he descended. He was so often at the throne, 
 and always so near it, that, like the apocalyptic angel, he came 
 down " clothed with its rainbow." 
 
 "W hitefield's LETTERS also illustrate both his character and 
 success, as a minister. They are many, and varied, and easy ; 
 and must have been very useful. Like the bulletins of a gene- 
 ral, they were chiefly written on the field of battle ; and thus 
 came to his friends associated and enshrined with his victories. 
 No matter, therefore, what they are as epistolary writing ; they 
 came from " the conquering hero " of the day, to those who 
 were praying for and expecting him to go on from conquering 
 to conquer. How gratifying, yea, how inspiring, therefore, the 
 briefest and baldest of them must have been, as well as the 
 longest and best, to those who received them ! They were all 
 
566 
 
 proofs to them, that he had them in his heart, and that his soli- 
 citude and friendship for them followed him like his shadow 
 wherever he went, and whatever he was doing. This is the true 
 light in which to read his letters : and in this light, the wonder 
 is that they are so many and so good ! The man is to be pitied 
 who can criticise them ; and so is he who can read them without 
 being refreshed by them ; for they are only surpassed by Luke's 
 Acts of the Apostles." 
 
 Whitefield's public character was fully sustained by his pri- 
 vate habits. His vein of humour never betrayed him into 
 levity, nor his exhaustion into excess, at the social or the do- 
 mestic table. He sat down often, of course, to sumptuous 
 tables, whilst travelling. Indeed, he could not avoid a suc- 
 cession of such feasts. Enemies, however, judged of his eating 
 by the scale of cooking in the houses of his hosts. His corpu- 
 lency was thus ascribed to " good living." This needs no refu- 
 tation, to any one who understands public speaking. Indulgence 
 is incompatible with unction, if not with energy also. Corne- 
 lius Winter has thought proper, however, to defend Whitefield ; 
 and therefore it is my duty to quote the defence : " He was 
 unjustly charged with being given to appetite. His table was 
 never spread with variety. A cow-heel was his favourite dish ; 
 and I have known him say cheerfully, ' How surprised would 
 the world be if they were to peep upon Dr. Squintum, and see 
 only a cow-heel upon his table ! ' ' He was, however, a gentle- 
 man; and, therefore, " whether by himself, or having but a 
 second, his table must be elegantly spread, though it produced 
 but a loaf and a cheese." Gillies says, " He was remarkable, 
 even to a proverb, for moderation in eating and drinking." 
 
 This wise attention to etiquette he carried into all his habits. 
 It was a maxim with him, that a minister should be literally 
 spotless. " He was neat in the extreme in his person and every 
 thing about him. He said, he did not think he could die easy 
 if he thought his gloves were out of their place. Not a paper 
 might be out of its place, or put up irregularly. Each part oi 
 the furniture also must be in its place before we retired to rest. 
 There was no rest after four in the morning, nor sitting up after 
 ten in the evening. He was scrupulously exact to break uf 
 
567 
 
 parties in time. In the height of a conversation I have heard 
 him say, abruptly, We forget ourselves : come, gentlemen, it is 
 high time for all good folks to be at home." Jay's Winter. 
 
 Gillies, who knew him in his prime, says, " His person was 
 graceful and well proportioned his stature above the middle 
 size his complexion very fair his countenance manly. His 
 eyes were of a dark blue, and very sprightly. He had a squint 
 with one of them. His deportment was decent and easy, with- 
 out the least stiffness or formality ; and his engaging polite 
 manner made his company universally agreeable." 
 
 Whitefield's last WILL, also, deserves a place amongst his cha- 
 racteristics. It was brought from America to England by 
 Winter. He felt it to be a sacred trust ; for during a storm, in 
 which all the sails were blown away, and all the masts bending, 
 and all the dead-lights up, his chief earthly " concern was, that 
 he had Whitefield's will." " I felt sorry," he says, " that by my 
 being lost, his executors would be kept in suspense." Both ar- 
 rived safe ; but the chief property, Bethesda, was soon destroyed 
 or alienated. It was, I think, Berridge who said, on hearing of 
 the extinction of the orphan-house college, that " God set fire to 
 it, in order to save the founder from becoming the father of a 
 race of unconverted ministers." This is a just view of its fate : 
 for, by admitting young men to study for the ministry before 
 their piety or call was ascertained, it was both unfit and unwor- 
 thy to be a nursery to the church of Christ. 
 
 The following are the documents published by the executors. 
 " Mr. Whitefield's executors having received the probate of his 
 will, February 6, 1771, Mr. Keene, who was well acquainted 
 with the whole of his affairs, published it, with the following 
 introduction : 
 
 " As we make no doubt the numerous friends of the Rev. Mr. 
 George Whitefield will be glad of an opportunity of seeing a 
 genuine copy of his last will and testament, his executors have 
 favoured us with a copy of the same, transmitted to them from 
 the orphan-house, in Georgia, and which they have proved in 
 the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. And as it was Mr. 
 Whitefield's constant declaration, he never meant to raise either 
 a purse or a party, it is to be remarked, that almost the whole 
 
568 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 sum he died possessed of, came to him within two or three 
 years of his death, in the following manner, viz : Mrs. Thomson, 
 of Tower Hill, bequeathed him 500 ; by the death of his 
 wife, (including a bond of 300,) he got 700 ; Mr. Whitmore 
 bequeathed him 100 ; and Mr. Winder, 100. And it is highly 
 probable, that had he lived to reach Georgia, from his last 
 northern tour, he would have lessened the above sums, by dis- 
 posing of them in the same noble and disinterested manner, 
 that all the public or private sums he has been intrusted with 
 have been." 
 
 " In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three per- 
 sons, but one God; I, George Whitefield, clerk, at present 
 residing at the orphan-house academy, in the province of 
 Georgia, in North America, being through infinite mercy in 
 more than ordinary bodily health, and a perfectly sound and 
 composed mind, knowing the certainty of death, and yet the 
 uncertainty of the time I shall be called by it to my long-wish- 
 ed-for home, do make this my last will and testament, in man- 
 ner and form following, viz. 
 
 " Imprimis In sure and certain hope of a resurrection to 
 eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, I commit my body 
 to the dust, to be buried in the most plain and decent manner ; 
 and knowing in whom I have believed, being persuaded that he 
 will keep that which I have committed unto him, in the fullest 
 assurance of faith I commend my soul into the hands of the 
 ever loving, altogether lovely, never-failing Jesus, on whose 
 complete and everlasting righteousness I entirely depend for the 
 justification of my person, and acceptance of my poor, worth- 
 less, though I trust sincere performances, at that day when he 
 shall come in the glory of his Father, his own glory, and the 
 glory of his holy angels, to judge both the quick and dead. In 
 respect to my American concerns, which I have engaged in 
 simply and solely for his great name's sake, I leave that build- 
 ing, commonly called the orphan-house, at Bethesda, in the 
 province of Georgia, together with all the other buildings lately 
 erected thereon ; and likewise all other buildings, lands, negroes, 
 books, furniture, and every other thing whatsoever, which I 
 now stand possessed of in the province of Georgia aforesaid, to 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 569 
 
 that elect lady, that mother in Israel, that mirror of true and 
 undefiled religion, the Right Honourable Selina, Countess dow- 
 ager of Huntingdon ; desiring, that as soon as may be after my 
 decease, the plan of the intended orphan-house, Bethesda col- 
 lege, may be prosecuted, if not practicable, or eligible, to pursue 
 the present plan of the orphan-house academy, on its old found- 
 ation and usual channel ; but if her Ladyship should be called 
 to enter her glorious rest before my decease I bequeath all the 
 buildings, lands, negroes, and every thing before mentioned, 
 which I now stand possessed of in the province of Georgia 
 aforesaid, to my dear fellow-traveller and faithful, invariable 
 friend, the Honourable James Habersham, president of his 
 Majesty's Honourable Council : and should he survive her 
 Ladyship, I earnestly recommend him as the most proper per- 
 son to succeed her Ladyship, or to act for her during her Lady- 
 ship's life-time, in the orphan-house academy. With regard to 
 my outward affairs in England ; whereas there is a building, 
 commonly called the Tabernacle, set apart many years ago for 
 divine worship I give and bequeath the said Tabernacle, with 
 the adjacent house in which I usually reside when in London, 
 with the stable and coach-house in the yard adjoining, together 
 with all books, furniture, and every thing else whatsoever, that 
 shall be found in the house and premises aforesaid; and also the 
 building, commonly called Tottenham Court chapel, together 
 with all the other buildings, houses, stable, coach-house, and 
 every thing else whatsoever, which I stand possessed of in that 
 part of the town, to my worthy, trusty, tried friends, Daniel 
 West, Esq. in Church Street, Spitalfields, and Mr. Robert Keene, 
 woollen draper, in the Minories, or the longer survivor of the 
 two. As to the monies, which a kind Providence, especially of 
 late, in a most unexpected way, and unthought-of means, hath 
 vouchsafed to intrust me with I give and bequeath the sum of 
 100 sterling to the Right Honourable the Countess dowager of 
 Huntingdon aforesaid, humbly beseeching her Ladyship's ac- 
 ceptance of so small a mite, as a pepper-corn acknowledgment, 
 for the undeserved, unsought -for honour her Ladyship conferred 
 upon me, in appointing me, less than the least of all, to be one 
 of her Ladyship's domestic chaplains. 
 
 4D 
 
570 
 
 " Item I give and bequeath to my dearly beloved friend, the 
 Honourable James Habersham aforesaid, my late wife's gold 
 watch, and 10 for mourning ; to my dear old friend, Gabriel 
 Harris, Esq. of the city of Gloucester, who received and boarded 
 me in his house, when I was helpless and destitute, above thirty- 
 five years ago, I give and bequeath the sum of 50 ; to my 
 humble, faithful servant and friend, Mr. Ambrose Wright, if in 
 my service and employ, either in England or America, or else- 
 where, at the time of my decease, I give and bequeath the sum 
 of 500 ; to my brother, Mr. Thomas Whitefield, I give and 
 bequeath the sum of 50, to be given him at the discretion of 
 Mr. Robert Keene ; to my brother-in-law, Mr. James Smith, 
 hosier, in the city of Bristol, I give and bequeath the sum of 
 50, and 30 also for family mourning ; to my niece, Mrs. 
 Frances Hartford, of Bath, I give and bequeath the sum of 50, 
 and 20 for family mourning ; to Mr. J. Crane, now a faithful 
 steward at the orphan-house academy, I give and bequeath the 
 sum of 40 ; to Mr. Benjamin Stirk, as an acknowledgment of 
 his past services at Bethesda, I give and bequeath the sum of 
 10, for mourning; to Peter Edwards, now at the orphan-house 
 academy, I give and bequeath the sum of 50 ; to William 
 Trigg, at the same place, I give and bequeath the sum of 50 ; 
 both the sums aforesaid to be laid out, or laid up for them, at 
 the discretion of Mr. Ambrose Wright ; to Mr. Thomas Adams, 
 of Rodborough, in Gloucestershire, my only surviving first fel- 
 low-labourer, and beloved much in the Lord, I give and bequeath 
 the sum of 50 ; to the Rev. Mr. Howel Davies, of Pembroke- 
 shire, in South Wales, that good soldier of Jesus Christ ; to 
 Mr. Torial Joss, Mr. Cornelius Winter, and all my other dearly 
 beloved, present, stated, assistant preachers at Tabernacle and 
 Tottenham Court chapel, I give and bequeath 10 each for 
 mourning ; to the three brothers of Mr. Ambrose Wright, Ann, 
 the wife of his brother, Mr. Robert Wright, now faithfully and 
 skilfully labouring and serving at the orphan-house academy, I 
 give and bequeath the sum of 10 each for mourning ; to Mr. 
 Richard Smith, now a diligent attendant on me, I give and be- 
 queath the sum of 50, and all my wearing apparel, which I 
 shall have with me in my journey through America, or on my 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 571 
 
 voyage to England, if it should please an all-wise God to shorten 
 my days in either of those situations. Finally, I give and be- 
 queath the sum of 100 to be distributed at the discretion of 
 my executors, hereinafter mentioned, for mourning among my 
 old London servants, the poor widows at Tottenham Court 
 chapel, and the Tabernacle poor ; especially my old trusty, dis- 
 interested friend and servant, Mrs. Elizabeth Wood. All the 
 other residue, if there be any other residues of monies, goods, 
 and chattels, or whatsoever profits may arise from the sale of 
 any books, or any manuscripts that I may leave behind, I give 
 and bequeath to the Right Honourable the Countess dowager 
 of Huntingdon ; or in case of her Ladyship being deceased at 
 the time of my departure, to the Honourable James Habersham, 
 Esq. before mentioned, after my funeral expenses and just 
 debts are discharged, towards paying off any arrears that may 
 be due on the account of the orphan-house academy, or for an- 
 nual prizes as a reward for the best three orations that shall be 
 made in English, on the subjects mentioned in a paper annexed 
 to this my will. And I hereby appoint the Honourable James 
 Habersham, Esq. aforesaid, to be my executor in respect to my 
 affairs in the province of Georgia, and my trusty, tried, dearly 
 beloved friends, Charles Hardy, Esq. Daniel West, Esq. and 
 Mr. Robert Keene, to be executors of this my last will and tes- 
 tament, in respect of my affairs in England, begging each to 
 accept of a mourning ring. 
 
 " To all my other Christian benefactors, and more intimate 
 acquaintance, I leave my most hearty thanks and blessing, 
 assuring them that I am more and more convinced of the un- 
 doubted reality and infinite importance of the grand gospel 
 truths, which I have from time to time delivered ; and am so far 
 from repenting my delivering them in an itinerant way, that 
 had I strength equal to my inclination, I would preach them 
 from pole to pole ; not only because I have found them to be the 
 power of God to the salvation of my own soul, but because I am 
 as much assured that the great Head of the church hath called 
 me by his word, providence, and Spirit, to act in this way, as that 
 the sun shines at noon-day. As for my enemies, and misjudging 
 friends, I most freely and heartily forgive them, and can only 
 
572 
 
 add, that the last tremendous day will only discover what I 
 have been, what I am, and what I shall be, when time itself 
 shall be no more ; and therefore from my inmost soul, I close all 
 by crying, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly; even so, Lord Jesus. 
 Amen and Amen / 
 
 GEORGE WHITEFIELD." 
 
 " This was written with the testator's own hand, and at his 
 desire, and in his presence, sealed, signed, and deliver- 
 ed, at the orphan-house academy, in the province of 
 Georgia, before us witnesses, Anno Domini, March 22, 
 1770. 
 
 < ROBERT BOLTON, 
 Signed, s THOMAS DIXON, 
 
 (CORNELIUS WINTER." 
 
 " N. B. I also leave a mourning ring to my honoured and 
 dear friends, and disinterested fellow-labourers, the Rev. John 
 and Charles Wesley, in token of my indissoluble union with 
 them, in heart and Christian affection, notwithstanding our dif- 
 ference in judgment about some particular points of doctrine. 
 Grace be with all them, of whatever denomination, that love our 
 Lord Jesus, our common Lord, in sincerity." 
 
 " GEORGIA, Secretary's Office. 
 
 " A true copy, taken from the original in this office, examined 
 and certified : and I do further certify, that the same was duly 
 proved ; and the Hon. James Habersham, one of the executors 
 therein named, was duly qualified as executor, before his Excel- 
 lency, James Wright, Esq. governor and ordinary of the said 
 province, this 10th day of December, 1770. 
 
 THOMAS MOODIE, Deputy Secretary." 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 WHITEFIELD PREACHING. 
 
 THIS volume would be incomplete, for my purpose, without 
 some specimens of Whitefield's preaching. That requires to 
 be illustrated as well as analyzed, now that the man, and his 
 message, and his success, are fully before us. It is also neces- 
 sary to preserve some specimens of his sermons in this record of 
 his life, because his sermons, as such, will hardly perpetuate 
 themselves. His name may continue to sell them ; but even 
 already they are but seldom read. No minister quotes from 
 them, except when an anecdote of Whitefield brings in some 
 stroke of power or pathos ; and no student hears or thinks of 
 them as models. Indeed, they are not models for the pulpit 
 but when it stands in the fields ; and even there, it must be 
 surrounded by thousands before any man could wield the glit- 
 tering sword of Whitefield with effect. 
 
 Besides ; there is not much to be learnt from his sermons 
 now. Their best maxims are but common-place to us. They 
 were, however, both new and strange things to the generality 
 of his hearers. He was as much an original to them, as 
 Chalmers is to us. And, let it never be forgotten, that White- 
 field and Wesley common-placed) in the public mind, the great 
 truths of the Reformation, in simple forms and familiar words. 
 If they added nothing to the theology of their country that 
 was either original or valuable, they threw old truths into new 
 proportions and wide circulation. This is forgotten by those 
 who say with a sneer, that there is nothing in their sermons. 
 I have often heard this said, by men who never gave currency 
 to a single maxim, nor birth to a thought worth preserving. 
 
574 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Such critics should be silent. Their newer modes of thinking 
 and writing will never common-place themselves in the world or 
 the church ! 
 
 There is one peculiarity about Whitefield's sermons which 
 his critics have not pointed out, and which I should like to 
 commend, if I could do so wisely. I mean, his modest egotism 
 in preaching. He is for ever speaking of himself when he 
 touches any experimental point, or grapples with a difficulty. 
 Then he opens his own heart in all its inmost recesses, and de- 
 tails the process by which his own mind was made up ; and 
 both without even the appearance of vanity, or of " a voluntary 
 humility." It is all done with the artless simplicity of child- 
 hood. He thinks aloud about himself, only to enable others to 
 know what to think about their own perplexities, dilemmas, and 
 temptations. He shows them his own soul, merely to prove 
 that " no strange thing has befallen " their souls. 
 
 Nothing is so unlike Whitefield's egotism, however, as the 
 whining confessions of a certain clique of preachers, who talk 
 much about the plagues and lusts of their own hearts. They 
 are theological Rousseaus or Montaignes, foaming out their 
 own shame, if not glorying in it. Nothing is so disgusting as 
 such obtrusive egotism. It is, indeed, unblushing effrontery, 
 to hawk moral disease thus. Whitefield spoke of himself in 
 the strong language of the Scriptures ; but he did not go into 
 details when applying it to himself, except in the first sketch of 
 his life ; and that he carefully pruned in a subsequent edition. 
 
 The following passage is a fair specimen of his egotism. 
 " Do not say that I preach despair. I despair of no one, when 
 I consider how God had mercy on such a wretch as I, who was 
 running in a full career to hell. I was hasting thither ; but 
 Jesus Christ passed by and stopped me. Jesus Christ passed 
 by while I was in my blood, and bid me live. Thus I am a 
 monument of God's free grace ; and, therefore, my brethren, I 
 despair of none of you, when I consider, I say, what a wretch I 
 was. I am not speaking now out of a false humility, or a pre- 
 tended sanctity, as the Pharisees call it. No; the truth in 
 Christ I speak ; and therefore, men and devils, do your worst ! 
 I have a gracious Master who will protect me. It is His work 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 575 
 
 I am engaged in, and Jesus Christ will carry me above their 
 rage." Works. 
 
 The following extracts will illustrate his vivacity and vehe- 
 mency, to any one who will consider the scope they afford for 
 the indulgence of both. It must, however, be borne in mind, 
 that his face was a language, and his intonation music, and his 
 action passion. So much was this the case, that GARRICK said 
 of him, he could make men weep or tremble by his varied ut- 
 terances of the word " Mesopotamia." 
 
 PETER ON THE HOLY MOUNT. " f Peter said unto Jesus, Mas- 
 ter, it is good for us to be here : and let us make three taber- 
 nacles ; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias : not 
 knowing what he said.' Peter, when he had drank a little of 
 Christ's new wine, speaks like a person intoxicated ; he was 
 overpowered with the brightness of the manifestations. * Let 
 us make three tabernacles ; one for thee, and one for Moses, and 
 one for Elias.' It is well added, ' not knowing what he said.' 
 That he should cry out, ' Master, it is good for us to be here/ 
 in such good company, and in so glorious a condition, is no 
 wonder ; which of us all would not have been apt to do the 
 same ? But to talk of building tabernacles, and one for Christ, 
 and one for Moses, and one for Elias, was saying something for 
 which Peter himself must stand reproved. Surely, Peter, thou 
 wast not quite awake ! Thou talkest like one in a dream. If 
 thy Lord had taken thee at thy word, what a poor tabernacle 
 wouldst thou have had, in comparison of that house not made 
 with hands, eternal in the heavens, in which thou hast long 
 since dwelt, now the earthly house of the tabernacle of thy 
 body is dissolved ! What ! build tabernacles below, and have 
 the crown before thou hast borne the cross ? O Peter, Peter ! 
 ' Master, spare thyself,' sticks too, too closely to thee. And why 
 so selfish, Peter ? Carest thou not for thy fellow-disciples that 
 are below, who came not up with thee to the mount ? carest 
 thou not for the precious souls, that are as sheep having no 
 shepherd, and must perish for ever, unless thy Master descends 
 from the mount to teach, and to die for them ? wouldst thou 
 thus eat thy spiritual morsels alone ? Besides, if thou art for 
 building tabernacles, why must there be three of them, one for 
 
576 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 Christ, and one for Moses, and one for Elias ? are Christ and 
 the prophets divided ? do they not sweetly harmonize and 
 agree in one ? did they not prophesy concerning the sufferings 
 of thy Lord, as well as of the glory that should follow ? Alas, 
 how unlike is their conversation to thine ! Moses and Elias 
 came down to talk of suffering, and thou art dreaming of build- 
 ing I know not what tabernacles. Surely, Peter, thou art so 
 high upon the mount, that thy head runs giddy. 
 
 " However, in the midst of these infirmities, there was some- 
 thing that bespoke the honesty and integrity of his heart. 
 Though he knew not very well what he said, yet he was not so 
 stupid as his pretended successor at Rome. He does not fall 
 down and worship these two departed saints, neither do I hear 
 him say to either, Or a pro nobis; he had not so learned Christ ; 
 no, he applies himself directly to the Head, ' he said unto Jesus, 
 Master, it is good for us to be here.' And though he was for 
 building, yet he would not build without his Master's leave. 
 ' Master, let us build ;' or, as St. Mark words it, * Wilt thou 
 that we build three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, 
 and one for Elias ? ' I do not hear him add, and one for 
 James, and one for John, and one for Peter. No, he would 
 willingly stay out with them upon the mount, though it was in 
 the cold and dark night, so that Christ and his heavenly at- 
 tendants were taken care of. The sweetness of such a heavenly 
 vision would more than compensate for any bodily suffering 
 that might be the consequences of their longer abode there. 
 Nay, further, he does not desire that either Christ, or Moses, or 
 Elias, should have any trouble in building ; neither does he 
 say, Let my curates, James and John, build, whilst I sit idle and 
 lord it over my brethren ; but he says, ' Let us build ;' he will 
 work as hard, if not harder than either of them, and desire to 
 be distinguished only by his activity, enduring hardness, and 
 his zeal to promote the welfare of their common Lord and 
 Master." 
 
 OLD AND INFIRM SAINTS. " Did Moses and Elias appear in 
 glory ? Are there any old saints here ? I doubt not but there 
 are a considerable number. And are any of you afraid of 
 death ? Do any of you carry about with you a body that weighs 
 
\V:IITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 577 
 
 down your immortal soul ? I am sure a poor creature is preach- 
 ing to you, that every day drags a crazy load along. But come, 
 believers, come, ye children of God, come, ye aged, decrepit 
 saints, come and trample upon that monster death. As thou 
 goest over yonder church-yard, do as I know an old excellent 
 Christian in Maryland did ; go, sit upon the grave, and medi- 
 tate upon thine own dissolution. Thou mayst, perhaps, have 
 a natural fear of dying ; the body and the soul do not care to 
 part without a little sympathy and a groan ; but O look yon- 
 der, look up to heaven, see there thy Jesus, thy Redeemer, and 
 learn that thy body is to be fashioned hereafter like unto 
 Christ's most glorious body. That poor body which is now sub 
 ject to gout and gravel, and that thou canst scarce drag along ; 
 that poor body, which hinders thee so much in the spiritual life, 
 will ere long hinder thee no more : it shall be put into the 
 grave ; but though it be sown in corruption, it shall be raised 
 in incorruption ; though it be sown in dishonour, it shall be 
 raised again in glory. This consideration made blessed Paul 
 to cry out, < O death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is 
 thy victory?' Thy soul and body shall be united together 
 again, and thou shalt be 'for ever with the Lord.' Those 
 knees of thine, which perhaps are hard by kneeling in prayer ; 
 that tongue of thine, which hath sung hymns to Christ ; 
 those hands of thine, which have wrought for God ; those feet 
 which have ran to Christ's ordinances ; shall all, in the twinkling 
 of an eye, be changed ; and thou shalt be able to stand under 
 an exceeding and an eternal weight of glory. Come then, ye 
 believers in Christ, look beyond the grave ; come, ye dear chil- 
 dren of God, and however weak and sickly ye are now, say, 
 Blessed be God, J shall soon have a body strong, full of vigour 
 and of glory, 
 
 " But as this speaks comfort to safnts, it speaks terror to sin- 
 ners, to all persons that live and die out of Christ. It is the 
 opinion of Archbishop Usher, that as the bodies of the saints shall 
 be glorified, so the bodies of the damned shall be deformed. 
 And if this be true, alas ! what a poor figure will the fine ladies 
 cut, who die without a Christ ! What a poor figure will the 
 fine gentleman cut in the morning of the resurrection, that now 
 
578 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 dresses up his body, and at the same time neglects to secure an 
 interest in Christ and eternal happiness ! It is the opinion, 
 likewise, of Archbishop Usher, that damned souls will lose all 
 the good tempers they had here ; so that though God gave un- 
 regenerate people a constitutional meekness, good nature, and 
 courage, for the benefit of the commonwealth ; yet, the use of 
 these things being over, and they having died without Christ, 
 and it being impossible there will be an appearance of good in 
 hell, their good tempers will be for ever lost. If this be so it 
 is an awful consideration ; and I think persons who love their 
 bodies, should also hence take care to secure the welfare of 
 their souls." 
 
 HEAR CHRIST. (( Did the Father say, ' This is my beloved 
 Son, hear him ?' Then let every one of our hearts echo to this 
 testimony given of Christ, " This is my beloved Saviour.' Did 
 God so love the world, as to send his only begotten Son, his 
 well-beloved Son to preach to us ? Then, my dear friends, Hear 
 Him. What God said seventeen hundred years ago, imme- 
 diately by a voice from heaven, concerning his Son upon the 
 mount, that same thing God says to you immediately by his 
 word, ( Hear him.' If ye never heard him before, hear him 
 now. Hear him so as to take him to be your Prophet, Priest, 
 and your King ; hear him, so as to take him to be your God 
 and your all. Hear him to-day, ye youth, while it is called to- 
 day ; hear him now, lest God should cut you off before you 
 have another invitation to hear him ; hear him while he cries, 
 ' Come unto me ;' hear him while he opens his hand and his 
 heart ; hear him while he knocks at the door of your souls, lest 
 you should hear him saying, ' Depart, depart, ye cursed, into 
 everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.' Hear 
 him, ye old and grey-headed ; hear him, ye that have one foot 
 in the grave ; hear him, I say : and if ye are dull of hearing, 
 beg of God to open the ears of your hearts, and your blind 
 eyes ; beg of God that you may have an enlarged and a believ- 
 ing heart, and that ye may know what the Lord God saith 
 concerning you. God will resent it, he will avenge himself on 
 his adversaries, if you do not hear a blessed Saviour. He is 
 God's Son, he is God's beloved Son ; he came upon a great 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMKS. 579 
 
 errand, even to shed his precious blood for sinners ; he came to 
 cleanse you from all sin, and to save you with an everlasting 
 salvation. Ye who have heard him, hear him again ; still go 
 on, believe in and obey him, and by and by you shall hear him 
 saying, ' Come, ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom 
 prepared for you from the foundation of the world.' J! 
 
 BESEECHING SINNERS. " O my brethren, my heart is enlarged 
 towards you. I trust I feel something of that hidden, but power- 
 ful presence of Christ, whilst I am preaching to you. Indeed, 
 it is sweet, it is exceedingly comfortable. All the harm I wish 
 you, who without cause are my enemies, is, that you felt the like. 
 Believe me, though it would be hell to my soul, to return to a 
 natural state again, yet I would willingly change states with 
 you for a little while, that you might know what it is to have 
 Christ dwelling in your hearts by faith. Do not turn your 
 backs ; do not let the devil hurry you away ; be not afraid of 
 convictions ; do not think worse of the doctrine, because preached 
 without the church walls. Our Lord, in the days of his flesh, 
 preached on a mount, in a ship, and a field ; and I am per- 
 suaded, many have felt his gracious presence here. Indeed, we 
 speak what we know. Do not reject the kingdom of God 
 against yourselves ; be so wise as to receive our witness. I can- 
 not, I will not let you go ; stay a little, let us reason together. 
 However lightly you may esteem your souls, I know our Lord 
 has set an unspeakable value on them. He thought them wor- 
 thy of his most precious blood. I beseech you, therefore, O 
 sinners, be ye reconciled to God. I hope you do not fear being 
 accepted in the Beloved. Behold, he calleth you ; behold, he 
 prevents and follows you with his mercy, and hath sent forth 
 his servants into the highways and hedges, to compel you to 
 come in. Remember, then, that at such an hour of such a day, 
 in such a year, in this place, you were all told what you ought to 
 think concerning Jesus Christ. If you now perish, it will not 
 be for lack of knowledge : I am free from the blood of you all. 
 You cannot say I have, like legal preachers, been requiring you 
 to make brick without straw. I have not bidden you to make 
 yourselves saints, and then come to God ; but I have offered 
 you salvation on as cheap terms as you can desire. I have 
 
580 
 
 offered you Christ's whole wisdom, Christ's whole righteousness, 
 Christ's whole sanctification and eternal redemption, if you will 
 but believe on him. If you say, you cannot believe, you say 
 right ; for faith, as well as every other blessing, is the gift of 
 God : but then wait upon God, and who knows but he may have 
 mercy on thee ? Why do we not entertain more loving thoughts 
 of Christ ? Or do you think he will have mercy on others, and 
 not on you ? But are you not sinners ? And did not Jesus 
 Christ come into the world to save sinners ? If you say you are 
 the chief of sinners, I answer, that will be no hinderance to your 
 salvation; indeed it will not, if you lay hold on him by faith. 
 Read the evangelists, and see how kindly he behaved to his dis- 
 ciples who fled from and denied him ; ' Go tell my brethren/ 
 says he. He did not say, Go tell those traitors ; but, ' Go tell 
 my brethren, and Peter;' as though he had said, Go tell my 
 brethren in general, and poor Peter in particular, f that I am 
 risen :' O comfort his poor drooping heart, tell him I am re- 
 conciled to him ; bid him weep no more so bitterly : for though 
 with oaths and curses he thrice denied me, yet I have died for 
 his sins, I am risen again for his justification ; I freely forgive 
 him all. Thus slow to anger, and of great kindness, was em- 
 ail-merciful High Priest. And do you think he has changed his 
 nature, and forgets poor sinners, now he is exalted to the right 
 hand of God ? No, he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for 
 ever, and sitteth there only to make intercession for us. Come 
 then, ye harlots ; come, ye publicans ; come, ye most aban- 
 doned of sinners, come and believe on Jesus Christ. Though 
 the whole world despise you and cast you out, yet he will not 
 disdain to take you up. O amazing, O infinitely condescending 
 love ! even you he will not be ashamed to call his brethren. 
 How will you escape, if you neglect such a glorious offer of sal- 
 vation ? What would the damned spirits, now in the prison of 
 hell, give, if Christ was so freely offered to their souls ! And 
 why are not we lifting up our eyes in torments ? Does any one 
 out of this great multitude dare say, he does not deserve damna- 
 tion ? If not, why are we left, and others taken away by death ? 
 What is this but an instance of God's free grace, and a sign of 
 his good will towards us ? Let God's goodness lead us to re- 
 
581 
 
 pentance ! O let there be joy in heaven over some of you re- 
 penting ! Though we are in a Jield, I am persuaded the blessed 
 angels are hovering now around us, and do long, ' as the hart 
 panteth after the water-brooks/ to sing an anthem at your con- 
 version. Blessed be God, I hope their joy will be fulfilled. 
 An awful silence appears amongst us. I have good hope that 
 the words which the Lord has enabled me to speak in your ears 
 this day, have not altogether fallen to the ground. Your tears 
 and deep attention, are an evidence that the Lord God is 
 amongst us of a truth. Come, ye Pharisees, come and see, in 
 .spite of your fanatical rage and fury, the Lord Jesus is getting 
 himself the victory. And, brethren, I speak the truth in Christ, 
 I lie not ; if one soul of you, by the blessing of God, be brought 
 to think savingly of Jesus Christ this day, I care not if my 
 enemies were permitted to carry me to prison, and put my feet 
 fast in the stocks, as soon as I have delivered this sermon. 
 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God is, that you may 
 be saved. For this cause I follow my Master without the camp. 
 I care not how much of his sacred reproach I bear, so that some 
 of you be converted from the errors of your ways. I rejoice, 
 yea, and I will rejoice. Ye men, ye devils, do your worst : the 
 Lord who sent will support me. And when Christ, who is our 
 life, and whom I have now been preaching, shall appear, I also, 
 together with his despised little ones, shall appear with him in 
 glory. And then, what will you think of Christ ? I know what 
 you will think of him. You will think him to be the fairest 
 among ten thousand : you will then think and feel him to be a 
 just and sin-avenging Judge. Be ye then persuaded to kiss 
 him lest he be angry, and so you be banished for ever from the 
 presence of the Lord. Behold, I come to you as the angel did 
 to Lot. Flee, flee for your lives ; haste, linger no longer in 
 your spiritual Sodom, for otherwise you will be eternally de- 
 stroyed. Numbers, no doubt, there are amongst you, that may 
 regard me no more than Lot's sons-in-law regarded him. I am 
 persuaded I seem to some of you as one that mocketh : but I 
 speak the truth in Christ, I lie not ; as sure as fire and brimstone 
 was rained from the Lord out of heaven, to destroy Sodom and 
 Gomorrah, so surely, at the great day, shall the vials of God's 
 
582 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 wrath be poured on you, if you do not think seriously of, and act 
 agreeably to, the gospel of the Lord's Christ. Behold, I have 
 told you before ; and I pray God, all you that forget him may 
 seriously think of what has been said, before he pluck you away, 
 and there be none to deliver you." 
 
 CHRISTLESS SINNERS. " My friends, I trust I feel somewhat of 
 a sense of God's distinguishing love upon my heart ; therefore 
 I must divert a little from congratulating believers, to invite 
 poor Christless sinners to come to him, and accept of his right- 
 eousness, that they may have life. Alas, my heart almost bleeds ! 
 What a multitude of precious souls are now before me ! how 
 shortly must all be ushered into eternity ! and yet, O cutting 
 thought ! was God now to require all your souls, how few, compa- 
 ratively speaking, could really say, The Lord our righteousness ! 
 
 " And think you, O sinners, that you will be able to stand in 
 the day of judgment, if Christ be not your righteousness ! No ; 
 that alone is the wedding garment in which you must appear. 
 O Christless sinners, I am distressed for you ! the desires of my 
 soul are enlarged. Oh that this may be an accepted time ! that 
 the Lord may be your righteousness ! For whither would you 
 flee, if death should find you naked ? Indeed there is no hiding 
 yourselves from his presence. The pitiful fig-leaves of your own 
 righteousness will not cover your nakedness, when God shall 
 call you to stand before him. Adam found them ineffectual, 
 and so will you. O think of death ! O think of judgment ! 
 Yet a little while, and time shall be no more ; and then what 
 will become of you, if the Lord be not your righteousness ? 
 Think you that Christ will spare you ? No, he that formed you 
 will have no mercy on you. If you are not of Christ, if Christ 
 be not your righteousness, Christ himself shall pronounce you 
 damned. And can you bear to think of being damned by Christ ? 
 C^n you bear to hear the Lord Jesus say to you, ' Depart from 
 me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and 
 his angels 1 ' Can you live, think you, in everlasting burnings ? 
 Is your flesh brass, and your bones iron ? what if they are ? hell- 
 fire, that fire prepared for the devil and his angels, will heat 
 them through and through. And can you bear to depart from 
 Christ ? Oh that heart-piercing thought ! Ask those holy souls, 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 583 
 
 who are at any time bewailing an absent God, who walk in dark- 
 ness, and see no light, though but a few days or hours ; ask them 
 what it is to lose a sight and presence of Christ ? See how they 
 seek him sorrowing, and go mourning after him all the day long ! 
 And if it is so dreadful to lose the sensible presence of Christ 
 only for a day, what must it be to be banished from him to all 
 eternity ? 
 
 " But thus it must be, if Christ be not your righteousness : 
 for God's justice must be satisfied; and, unless Christ's right- 
 eousness is imputed and applied to you here, you must hereafter 
 be satisfying the divine justice in hell-torments eternally ; nay, 
 Christ himself shall condemn you to that place of torment. And 
 how cutting is that thought ! Methinks I see poor, trembling, 
 Christless wretches, standing before the bar of God, crying out, 
 Lord, if we must be damned, let some angel, or some archangel, 
 pronounce the damnatory sentence : but all in vain. Christ 
 himself shall pronounce the irrevocable sentence. Knowing, 
 therefore, the terrors of the Lord, let me persuade you to close 
 with Christ, and never rest till you can say, f The Lord our 
 righteousness.' Who knows but the Lord may have mercy 
 on, nay, abundantly pardon, you ? Beg of God to give you faith ; 
 and, if the Lord give you that, you will by it receive Christ, 
 with his righteousness, and his all. You need not fear the great- 
 ness or number of your sins. For, are you sinners ? so am I. 
 Are you the chief of sinners ? so am I. Are you backsliding 
 sinners ? so am I. And yet the Lord, (for ever adored be his 
 rich, free, and sovereign grace,) the Lord is my righteousness. 
 Come then, O young men, who (as I acted once myself) are play- 
 ing the prodigal, and wandering away afar off from your heavenly 
 Father's house, come home, come home, and leave your swine's 
 trough. Feed no longer on the husks of sensual delights : for 
 Christ's sake arise, and come home ! your heavenly Father now 
 calls you. See yonder the best robe, even the righteousness of 
 his dear Son, awaits you. See it, view it again and again. Con- 
 sider at how dear a rate it was purchased, even by the blood of God. 
 Consider what great need you have of it. You are lost, undone, 
 damned for ever, without it. Come then, poor guilty prodigals, 
 come home : indeed, I will not, like the elder brother in the 
 
584 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 gospel, be angry ; no, I will rejoice with the angels in heaven. 
 And oh that God would now bow the heavens, and come down ! 
 Descend, O Son of God, descend ; and as thou hast shown in me 
 such mercy, O let thy blessed Spirit apply thy righteousness to 
 some young prodigals now before thee, and clothe their naked 
 souls with thy best robe ! " 
 
 PLEADINGS. " My text is introduced in an awful manner, 
 ' Verily I say unto you ;' and what Jesus said then, he says now to 
 you, and to me, and to as many as sit under a preached gospel, 
 and to as many as the Lord our God shall call. Let me exhort 
 you to see whether ye are converted ; whether such a great and 
 almighty change has passed upon any of your souls. As I told 
 you before, so I tell you again, ye all hope to go to heaven, and 
 I pray God Almighty ye may be all there. When I see such a 
 congregation as this, if my heart is in a proper frame, I feel 
 myself ready to lay down my life, to be instrumental only to 
 save one soul. It makes my heart bleed within me, it makes 
 me sometimes most unwilling to preach, lest that word that I 
 hope will do good, may increase the damnation of any, and per- 
 haps of a great part of the auditory, through their own unbelief. 
 Give me leave to deal faithfully with your souls. I have your 
 dead warrant in my hand : Christ has said it, Jesus will stand 
 to it ; it is like the laws of the Medes and Persians, it altereth 
 not. Hark, O man ! hark, O woman ! he that hath ears to 
 hear what the Lord Jesus Christ says, f Verily I say unto you, 
 Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall 
 not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' Though this is Satur- 
 day night, and ye are now preparing for the sabbath, for what 
 you know, you may yet never live to see the sabbath. You 
 have had awful proofs of this lately ; a woman died but yester- 
 day, a man died the day before, another was killed by some- 
 thing that fell from a house, and it may be in twenty-four hours 
 more, many of you may be carried into an unalterable state. 
 Now then, for God's sake, for your own souls' sake, if ye have 
 a mind to dwell with God, and cannot bear the thought of 
 dwelling in everlasting burning, before I go any further, silently 
 put up one prayer, or say Amen to the prayer I would put in 
 your mouths ; ' Lord, search me and try me ; Lord, examine 
 
WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 585 
 
 cy heart, and let my conscience speak ; O let me know whe- 
 ther I am converted or not ! ' What say ye, my dear hearers ? 
 what say ye, my fellow-sinners ? what say ye, my guilt v brethren ? 
 Has God by his blessed Spirit wrought such a change in your 
 hearts ? I do not ask you, whether God has made you angels ? 
 that I know will never be; I only ask you, whether -ye have 
 any well-grounded hope to think that God has made you new 
 creatures in Christ Jesus ? so renewed and changed your na- 
 tures, that you can say, I humbly hope, that as to the habitual 
 temper and tendency of my mind, that my heart is free from 
 wickedness ? I have a husband, I have a wife, I have also chil- 
 dren, I keep a shop, I mind my business ; but I love these crea- 
 tures for God's sake, and do every thing for Christ : and if God 
 was now to call me away, according to the habitual temper of 
 my mind, I can say, Lord, I am ready ; and however I love the 
 creatures, I hope I can say, Whom have I in heaven but thee ? 
 whom have I in heaven, O my God and my dear Redeemer, 
 that I desire in comparison of thee ? Can you thank God for 
 the creatures, and say at the same time, these are not my 
 Christ ? I speak in plain language, you know my way of preach- 
 ing : I do not want to play the orator, I do not want to be 
 counted a scholar ; I want to speak so as I may reach poor peo- 
 ple's hearts. What say ye, my dear hearers ? Are ye sensible 
 of your weakness ? Do ye feel that ye are poor, miserable, blind, 
 and naked by nature ? Do ye give up your hearts, your affec- 
 tions, your wills, your understanding, to be guided by the Spirit 
 of God, as a little child gives up its hand to be guided by its 
 parent ? Are ye little in your own eyes ? Do ye think meanly of 
 yourselves ? And do you want to learn something new every 
 day ? I mention these marks, because I am apt to believe they 
 are more adapted to a great many of your capacities. A great 
 many of you have not that flowing of affection ye sometimes 
 had, therefore ye are for giving up all your evidences, and 
 making way for the devil's coming into your heart. You are 
 not brought up to the mount as ye used to be, therefore ye con- 
 clude ye have no grace at all. But if the Lord Jesus Christ 
 has emptied thee, and humbled thee, if he is giving thee to see 
 and know that thou art nothing ; though thou art not growing 
 
 4 F 
 
586 
 
 upward, thou art growing downward ; and though thou hast not 
 so much joy, yet thy heart is emptying to be more abundantly 
 replenished by and by. 
 
 " This may be esteemed as enthusiasm and madness, and as a 
 design to undermine the established church. No ; God is my 
 judge, I should rejoice to see all the world adhere to her Arti- 
 cles ; I should rejoice to see the ministers of the church of 
 England preach up those very Articles they have subscribed to ; 
 but those ministers who do preach up the Articles are esteem- 
 ed as madmen, enthusiasts, schismatics, and underminers of the 
 established church ; and though they say these things of me, 
 blessed be God, they are without foundation. My dear bre- 
 thren, I am a friend to her Articles, I am a friend to her Homi- 
 lies, I am a friend to her Liturgy ; and, if they did not thrust 
 me out of their churches, I would read them every day : but I 
 do not confine the Spirit of God there ; for I say it again, I 
 love all that love the Lord Jesus Christ, and esteem him my 
 brother, my friend, my spouse ; aye, my very soul is knit to 
 that person. The spirit of persecution will never, indeed it will 
 never make any to love Jesus Christ. The Pharisees make this 
 to be madness, so much as to mention persecution in a Christian 
 country ; but there is as much the spirit of persecution now in 
 the world as ever there was : their will is as great, but blessed 
 be God, they want the power ; otherwise, how soon would they 
 send me to prison, make my feet fast in the stocks, yea, would 
 think they did God service in killing me, and would rejoice to 
 take away my life." 
 
 MOUNT MORIAH. (( f They came to the place of which God 
 had told Abraham. He built an altar there, and laid the wood 
 in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar 
 upon the wood.' 
 
 " And here let us pause awhile, and by faith take a view of 
 the place where the father has laid him. I doubt not but the 
 blessed angels hovered round the altar, and sang, f Glory be to 
 God in the highest,' for giving such faith to man. Come, all 
 ye tender-hearted parents, who know what it is to look over a 
 dying child : fancy that you saw the altar erected before you, 
 and the wood laid in order, and the beloved Isaac bound upon 
 
it : fancy that you saw the aged parent standing by weeping. 
 For, why may we not suppose that Abraham wept, since Jesus 
 himself wept at the grave of Lazarus ? Oh what pious, endear- 
 ing expressions passed now alternately between the father and 
 the son ! Josephus records a pathetic speech made by each, 
 whether genuine I know not : but methinks I see the tears 
 trickle down the patriarch Abraham's cheeks ; and out of the 
 abundance of the heart, he cries, ' Adieu, adieu, my son ; the 
 Lord gave thee to me, and the Lord calls thee away ; blessed 
 be the name of the Lord : adieu, my Isaac, my only son, whom 
 I love as my own soul ; adieu, adieu.' I see Isaac at the sam^ 
 time meekly resigning himself into his heavenly Father's hands, 
 and praying to the Most High to strengthen his earthly parent 
 to strike the stroke. But why do I attempt to describe what 
 either son or father felt. It is impossible: we may indeed form 
 some faint idea of, but shall never fully comprehend it, till we 
 come and sit down with them in the kingdom of heaven, and 
 hear them tell the pleasing story over again. Hasten, O Lord, 
 that blessed time ! O let thy kingdom come ! I see your hearts 
 affected. I see your eyes weep. And, indeed, who can refrain 
 weeping at the relation of such a story? But, behold, I show 
 you a mystery, hid under the sacrifice of Abraham's only son, 
 which, unless your hearts are hardened, must cause you to weep 
 tears of love, and that plentifully too. I would willingly hope 
 you even prevent me here, and are ready to say, ( It is the love 
 of God, in giving Jesus Christ to die for our sins.' ' 
 
 PETER. " Spiritual sloth, as well as spiritual pride, helped to 
 throw this apostle down. The Sun, that glorious Sun of right- 
 eousness, was now about to enter into his last eclipse. Satan, 
 who had left him for a season, or till the season of his passion, 
 is now to be permitted to bruise his heel again. This is his 
 hour, and now the powers of darkness summon and exert their 
 strongest and united efforts. A hymn is a prelude to his dread- 
 ful passion. From the communion-table the Saviour retires to 
 the garden. A horrible dread, and inexpressible load of sor- 
 row, begins to overwhelm and weigh down his innocent soul. 
 His body can scarcely sustain it. See how he falters ! See 
 how his hands hang down, and his knees wax feeble under the 
 
588 WHITEFIELD'S LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 amazing pressure ! He is afflicted and oppressed indeed. See, 
 see> O my soul, how he sweats ! But what is that which I see ? 
 Ik,O9D drops of blood great drops of blood falling to the 
 ground. Alas, was ever sorrow like unto this sorrow ! HARK ! 
 what is that I hear ? Oh dolorous complaint ! ( Father, if it be 
 possible, let this cup pass from me.' HARK ! he speaks again. 
 Amazing ! the Creator complains to the creature ; ( My soul is 
 exceeding sorrowful, even unto death : tarry you here and watch 
 with me.' And now he retires once more. But see how his 
 agony increases hark ! how he prays, and that too yet more 
 earnestly: 'Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from 
 me.' And will his heavenly Father leave him comfortless ? 
 No. An angel (O happy, highly-favoured angel 1) is sent from 
 heaven to strengthen him. But where is Peter all this while ? 
 We are told that the holy Jesus took him, with James and 
 John, into the garden. Surely he will not leave his Lord in 
 such deep distress ! What is he doing ? I blush to answer. 
 Alas ! he is sleeping : nay, though awakened once by his ago- 
 nizing Lord, with a ( Simon Peter, sleepest thou ? what ! 
 couldst thou not watch with me one hour ? ' yet his eyes, not- 
 withstanding his profession of constancy and care, are heavy 
 with sleep. Lord, what is man ! " Works. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENT*. 
 
 IT is a curious fact, and it ought to be instructive at this crisis, that 
 just before the rise of Methodism in England, an attempt was made to 
 bring the ancient discipline, traditions, and authority of the fathers into 
 notoriety and fashion again in the church. Archbishop Wake, and 
 other learned men of both universities, translated and annotated many 
 of the documents upon which the notorious OXFORD TRACTS of our 
 times are founded, and for a similar purpose, although in a more 
 protestant spirit. This fact will be most easily verified by a reference 
 to Marshall's edition of Cyprian ; a book not uncommon in private 
 libraries still. In his preface, the editor compliments his " most 
 Reverend Metropolitan," as he well might, for his just and eloquent 
 translation of the genuine epistles of the apostolic Fathers, by which 
 the treasure of their valuable remains may be known to " the English 
 reader;" and adds, "I cannot but think that our honest Laity ^ who 
 sincerely love religion, and would walk in the LIGHT if they had it. 
 might receive great advantage from a resort to the true fountains of 
 antiquity, and from forming their principles upon those excellent 
 models. For still I say, the settlement of the Christian church is not 
 so clearly to be found in the writings of the SACRED CANON, as when 
 that Canon is explained by the practice of succeeding ages." " The bet- 
 ter they are known, the more willingness there may be in our people 
 to return to them." " For though a church may subsist without those 
 remnants of ancient discipline, yet it cannot subsist in health, nor 
 vigour, nor spread its reputation beyond its own walls." " Many, I 
 fear, are ' willingly ignorant that the priest hath, in all religions, 
 
590 ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 
 
 been an acknowledged intercessor with God for his peopie, and ap- 
 pointed to be the medium of conveying their prayers to the throne of 
 grace.' " 
 
 Such was the Puseyism of 1717 and although it appeared in folios, 
 instead of tracts, it was an appeal to the people as well as to the 
 clergy. Marshall's notes on Cyprian are equally suited to the learned 
 and the illiterate. Thus Puseyism is no new thing in England. 
 Under another name, or rather without any name, it felt the pulse of 
 Protestantism a century ago. But whilst it was thus employed then, 
 God was gathering to Oxford a little band, most of whom were quite 
 inclined to apply the " ancient discipline" to their own habits and 
 spirit. Their rigid observance of fasts, festivals, vigils, and canonical 
 rules, won for them the name of Methodists. "Wesley and Whitefield, 
 but for their instinctive and glowing philanthropy, would have be- 
 come ascetics of a high order, and anticipated all but the anti-protes- 
 tantism of the Puseyites. Both found out by bitter experience, 
 however, that the fathers only drove them " into the wilderness to be 
 tempted of the devil." And when they did discover this, they made 
 no secret of the fact at Oxford. They soon, indeed, gave the church 
 other work than editing or annotating the fathers. They revived the 
 great doctrines of the Reformation, and renewed the conversions of 
 Pentecost all over the land, and thus, without knowing the fact, 
 crushed the Patristic crusade, which was then feeling its way by the 
 press. 
 
 They were not aware of this ; but, had they been so, who does not 
 see at a glance, how they would have thrown themselves into the 
 breach, to stay the plague ? Wesley's sound scholarship, and severe 
 logic, and keen spiritual discernment, would have soon disentangled 
 the webs of Patristic sophistry ; and the indignant lightnings of 
 Whitefield's eloquence would have consumed them as fast as they were 
 torn up. They would not have looked on in silence, had the Oxford 
 Tractists been their contemporaries, nor waited for bishops to set an 
 example of zeal for Protestantism. 
 
 How the present spirit and position of popery also would have 
 roused Whitefield and Wesley ! It was not aggressive in their times. 
 But had it been then, as it is now, avowedly confederated in prayer, 
 for the re-conversion of Great Britain, and paying compliments to 
 Oxford at the expense of their church, it is not unlikely that they 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 591 
 
 would have gone to " preach the gospel at Rome also, ' and tnere 
 carried the spiritual war up to the gates of the Vatican, and into 
 the area of St. Peter's. This would have been just the spncre ior 
 Whiten 1 eld's eloquence and Wesley's logic, had they been masters of 
 Italian. 
 
 By some strange infatuation for it is more than an oversight 
 Rome has never been made the seat of an evangelical mission. The 
 power of the gospel has never been tried in Babylon by Protestants. 
 "Why is this ? Missionaries have been found for all parts of the world, 
 but for Rome ! Life has been calmly and willingly perilled in 
 savage countries : neither Erromanga, where Williams fell, nor 
 Madagascar, the Pergamos of modern martyrdom, is abandoned as 
 utterly hopeless ; but Rome has never been tried with the doctrine of 
 the Cross. How can the champions of the cross answer for this 
 neglect ? It will not do to say, that the pope would not allow preaching 
 in the capital. If that be true, it is just a valid reason for sending the gos- 
 pel there ; for he sends his missionaries here, and expects protection for 
 them, and thus ought to be compelled to return the compliment to us. But 
 what if he did not ? What if his inquisition imprisoned or tortured 
 the first missionary who imitated Paul at Rome ? the re-action would 
 convulse the papal throne. Paul's martyrdom, even more than Peter's, 
 helped to transform the throne of the Caesars, by creating a public 
 opinion in the empire upon the merits of " the Apostle of the Gen- 
 tiles." And one martyr at Rome now, if slain for preaching the 
 gospel itself, and not for assailing popery or the pontiff, would seal the 
 doom of both. But Babylon is too wily to drink or taste " the blood 
 of the saints" now. Only as a temporal prince would the pope venture 
 to expel missionaries from his kinglet ; and in that capacity, protestant 
 kings might enforce, without arms, that toleration for their subjects 
 which they give to his. Oh ! could Luther have preached at Rome with 
 only twice the peril to which a British Evangelist would be exposed, 
 he would have dared the consequence as fearlessly as he went to 
 Worms ! But Britain has no Luther. She is content to laugh at her 
 Quaker as crazy, who went to the Vatican to convert the pope. But 
 Obadiah was no fool. He was both philosopher and Christian 
 enough to understand, although not to apply well, the Scriptural 
 fact, that popery, like the old serpent, must be first " bruised in 
 its head." But regrets are useless. We have neither a Whitefield 
 
592 ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 
 
 nor a Wesley to roll back or arrest the confluent tide of Popery and 
 Puseyism. 
 
 The following letter, addressed to the author of this volume, contains 
 the largest if not also the last memorial of Mr. Winter's usual " Table 
 Talk" about Whitefield, which is likely to be found. It will, I hope, 
 lead to inarr.ry %ftsr the picture it describes ; for that must be good, 
 if Whitefield approved of the elevation of his hands. The only two 
 likenesses of himself which I can find approved by him are, first, that 
 which forms the frontispiece to this volume ; and second, the bust 
 which he kept in his own room in the Tabernacle House, and which 
 he bequeathed to his manager, Mr. Keene. That bust is now in the 
 possession of my venerable friend and neighbour, the Rev. Mr. Wall, 
 of the Pavement chapel. The widow of Mr. Keene withdrew from 
 the Tabernacle soon after the death of her husband, and joined Mr. 
 Wall's church. The bust was thus bequeathed to him by her. It is 
 exceedingly beautiful, and realises all that Mr. Winter says of White- 
 field's expressive face. The profile on one side is all melting tender- 
 ness, and on the other, calm but commanding majesty ; and both 
 blend in the front face with perfect harmony. There are a few copies 
 of this bust here and there ; but none of them, that I have seen, are to 
 be compared with the original in any sense. The next best is in the 
 possession of Thomas Wilson, Esq., the Treasurer of Highbury Col- 
 lege. 
 
 " Wem, Shropshire, Feb. 16th, 1838. 
 
 " REV. SIR, 
 
 " Mr. Cornelius Winter was at Wem in the year 1805, 
 on a visit to his esteemed friend, Mr. Lee, and as I had several times 
 the pleasure of being in his company, I embraced those opportunities 
 of drawing from him some particulars in the life of Mr. Whitefield, and 
 what I then heard I carefully committed to writing. 
 
 u Mr. Winter said he had always a great esteem for Mr. Whitefield. 
 He never travelled with him much in England. Mr. Whitefield, he 
 said, could not bear the least appearance of pride in young ministers, 
 and discouraged it as much as possible. In your book, page 567, you 
 give Gillies' description of Mr. Whitefi eld's person ; Mr. Winter's is nearly 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 693 
 
 simitar to it. lie says ho was a tall man, very straight, and a fine 
 figure ; his face had a very manly appearance, and his countenance 
 was very engaging; but the following is more than Gillies has described; 
 Mr. Winter says that a cast of the eye, which was generally considered 
 a blemish, and disfigures others, had a contrary effect upon him, as it 
 added a peculiar lustre or grace to his countenance. The cast, he 
 thinks, was in his left eye. He had a fine musical voice. Mr. Winter 
 told the following anecdote : c As Mr. Whitefield was walking in St. 
 James's Park, he met several very genteel people : one of them said to 
 the others, That's Whitefield. That Whitefield! Then he is as hand- 
 some a man as our rector. Aye and handsomer too, said another/ 
 
 " When administering the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, he was 
 peculiarly striking, noticing and improving seemingly small occurrences 
 that others would have overlooked ; such, for instance, as a blind man 
 coming to the table. And if a line or two of a hymn was sung ex- 
 pressing an earnest desire for a participation of the joys of heaven, he 
 would remind them that there was much more implied in what they had 
 been singing than they imagined; such as a determination to en- 
 counter the greatest trials in this world ; some of which they were 
 almost certain of experiencing. But he said it was impossible for any 
 one to convey an adequate idea of his manner of conversation. 
 
 " Mr. Winter said he then had at Painswich an original picture of 
 Mr. Whitefield, as large as life a very good likeness of him when ad- 
 vanced in years, but in a particular attitude of holding up his arms in 
 preaching. Though Mr. Whitefield was not preaching when this like- 
 ness was taken, the artist has drawn the face as if engaged in preaching. 
 He then related the circumstance of its being taken. A gentleman 
 one day knocked at Mr. Whitefield's door, Mr. Whitefield, though 
 rather backward to admit strangers, immediately went to him, when 
 the gentleman told him that he had had the pleasure of hearing him 
 preach, on ' the whole armour of God,' and having seen him in a 
 very particular attitude, (he was a painter,) he much wished to take 
 his likeness in that attitude. Mr. Whitefield begged to decline it, as 
 he had often sat for that purpose to oblige his friends, and he was now 
 become old, and neither could he spare the time. The gentleman being 
 very pressing, Mr. Whitefield at length consented, and he accordingly 
 took it. Some time after, Mr. Whitefield (most likely hearing it was a. 
 good likeness,) sent to the painter either for the original or a copy, but 
 
 4 G 
 
594< ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMKNTS. 
 
 the answer returned was, he should have it if he would send forty pounds 
 for it; bat Mr. Whitefield not thinking it of such importance never 
 sent for it. Mr. Winter then told the way that it came into his pos- 
 session. As he was some time ago with several ministers, and among 
 the rest Mr. Jay, some of them gave it as their opinion that more 
 might be said of Mr. Whitefield than ever had been yet, and expressed 
 a wish that it might be done. They said they knew of no one more 
 likely to do it than Mr. Winter, especially as he must be well acquainted 
 with him in domestic life, and therefore urged him to undertake it. 
 He accordingly wrote about two or three sheets respecting him ; and, 
 among other things, related the above circumstance of the picture. 
 Soon after, a gentleman, a Mr. Alridge, a merchant of Bristol, (I think 
 it was,) meeting with Mr. Winter, informed him that he had that very 
 original picture of Mr. Whitefield in his house, and that, as he thought 
 Mr. Winter was the most proper person to have it, it was at his service, 
 if lie thought he could find room for it in any part of his house. Mr. 
 Winter accepted it, but when it came, it was so large, it was with 
 great difficulty he got it into his room, where it then hung. Mr. 
 Winter said he had some thoughts, if he could get a capital painter, to 
 have it copied off by subscription, but without the arms being raised 
 up in the manner it is in the original. 
 
 "At the death of Mr. Winter, he intended it to go to a Mr. Trigg, 
 the only surviving relation of Mr. Whitefield, his grandfather being Mr. 
 Whitefield's own brother, and who then resided about four miles from 
 Painswick. 
 
 " Mr. Winter heard Mr. D'Courcy preach the first sermon before Mr. 
 Whitefield, when he first came to him to London, from Ireland. Mr. 
 Winter, though a dissenter at the time, read the prayers previous to 
 Mr. D'Courcy preaching, and which led him to think Mr. Winter 
 was a minister of the Church of England. Mr. Winter then wore a 
 large wig. He was the person to whom Mr. Whitefield committed the 
 care of Mr. D'Courcy. 
 
 " Mr. Winter said Mr. Hawksworth (who was pastor at Weui about 
 seven years previous to Mr. Peter Edwards) told him a circumstance 
 respecting himself that he had forgot, which was, that when Mr. 
 Hawksworth made application to be admitted to the ordinance of the 
 Lord's Supper, with Mr. Whitefield's people, Mr. Winter (though Mr. 
 Hawksworth had been in communion with Mr. Romaine) examined 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 595 
 
 him, and that very strictly ; but Mr. Hawksworth said it was all very 
 well. 
 
 " Mr. Whitcficld, like other ministers, Mr. Winter said, had his lad 
 times as well as good ones. Once in Lady Huntingdon's drawing- 
 room, when several of the nobility* were present, he had a bad time ; 
 but the next morning, when preaching only to her own family, and 
 perhaps a few more, he displayed uncommon abilities, and spoke in just 
 such a manner, no doubt, that she would have wished the preceding 
 day. 
 
 " Mr. Whitefield used to say that perhaps he should sometimes go to 
 prison for the Gospel's sake, but if he did, he would make it a clean 
 and neat one. His saying used to be ' Cleanliness is next to God- 
 liness.' 
 
 " Mr. Winter in speaking of a play that burlesqued Mr. Whitefield, 
 remarked on the wonderful dealings of God ; this very play was the 
 means of drawing great numbers to hear Mr. Whitefield who never 
 had heard him before, many of whom were converted, and in conse- 
 quence thereof he was obliged to have his place of worship enlarged, 
 and (I think he said) so as to hold one thousand more people. 
 
 " I asked Mr. Winter, when he was at the Orphan House, if he expected 
 his death. He said he had been prepossessed with a thought that he 
 should never see him again, and related the parting scene as follows : 
 When he set out from the Orphan House on his American tour, they 
 and some friends dined together in the cabin of the ship that Mr. 
 Whitefield was to sail in : he said they were all of them very merry, 
 but when the ship was just going to depart, Mr. Whitefield exclaimed, 
 4 Now I am going to be executed ! ' meaning he was going to endure 
 what he always so much dreaded, the parting with some of his dearest 
 friends. When the ship sailed, Mr. Winter and his friends in a boat 
 made for the shore, Mr. Whitefield all the time leaning over the ship 
 to have the last look at them ; and, when a great distance from each 
 other, and almost out of sight, he could discern Mr. Whitefield take 
 off his hat and wave it in the air. They had now parted to meet no 
 more in this world. It was during this parting scene that Mr. Winter 
 was impressed with the thought he should never see him again ; but 
 this thought did not continue; it passed off from his mind at that time, 
 and did not occur to him again till he heard of his death, when it came 
 fresh to his recollection. 
 
596 ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 
 
 " In Mr. Whitefield's last voyage from England, Mr. Winter asked 
 Mr. Whitefield what was become of Mr. Rowland Hill, (wno he 
 believes was then at College). But I think he said Mr. Whitefield 
 was so depressed at that moment with the thought of many things 
 that seemed to go against him, that he could scarcely answer. Mr. 
 "Winter said they should never have taken down Mr. Whitefield's 
 Wednesday night's lectures, as from having been up at four o'clock in 
 the morning, and employed in writing letters and various other things 
 all day, he must have been at times very much exhausted. The best 
 time, he thought, for his sermons to have been taken down would have 
 been on the Sabbath-day morning, when he was fresh and lively. 
 
 " Mr. Winter used to lie on a little bed that drew out from under Mr. 
 Whitefield's, and at about four o'clock in the morning (which was the 
 usual time of Mr. Whitefield's rising) he would awake, and imme- 
 diately call Mr. Winter. This, Mr. Winter said, came so fresh to his 
 mind when talking to us, that he could fancy lie then heard Mr. 
 
 Whitefield's voice. 
 
 " Yours, &c. 
 " REV. R. PHILIP/' " THO S ' JAMES." 
 
 The following precious gem will be recognised at once as Whitefield's, 
 although I have mislaid the envelope in which it was transmitted to 
 me, and am thus unable to name the donor at present. I think it was 
 sent to me from Scotland, where the scene it describes occurred. The 
 fact itself, however, is well known in its vague forms, and it had no 
 small influence upon that eloquent eulogium which the Edinburgh 
 Review pronounced upon Whitefield's oratory in 1838. That splendid 
 article showed me no mercy, although it was indebted to this volume 
 for all its facts ; but it did justice to Whitefield ; and to have provoked 
 that is reward enough for me. 
 
 "Mr. Whitefield's eloquence was of a peculiar cast, and well adapted 
 to his auditory, as his figures were drawn from sources within the 
 reach of their understanding, and frequently from the circumstances of 
 the moment. The application was often very happy, and sometimes 
 rose to the true sublime ; for he was a man of warm imagination, and 
 not devoid of taste. 
 
 " On his first visit to Scotland, he was received in Edinburgh with a 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 597 
 
 kind of frantic joy, by a largo body of the citizens. An unhappy 
 man who had forfeited his life to the laws of his country was to be 
 executed the day after his arrival. Mr. Whitefield mingled in the 
 throng, and seemed highly pleased at the solemnity and decorum with 
 which the most awful scene in human nature was conducted. His 
 appearance drew the eyes of all around him, and raised a variety of 
 opinions as to the motives which led him to join in the crowd. The 
 next day he preached to a large body of men, women, and children, in 
 a field near the city. In the course of his sermon he adverted to the 
 execution ; ' I know,' said he, ' that many of you will find it difficult 
 to reconcile my appearance yesterday with my character. Many of 
 you will say that my moments would have been better employed in 
 praying for the unhappy man, than in attending him to the fatal tree ; 
 and that, perhaps, curiosity was the only cause that converted me into 
 a spectator on that occasion ; but those who ascribe that motive to me 
 are under a mistake. I witnessed the conduct of almost every one 
 present on that awful occasion, and I was highly pleased therewith. 
 It has given me a very favourable impression of the Scottish nation. 
 Your sympathy was visible on your countenances, and reflected the 
 greatest credit on your hearts, particularly when the moment arrived 
 that your unhappy fellow-creature was to close his eyes on this world 
 for ever. You all, as if moved by one impulse, turned your heads 
 aside, and wept. Those tears were precious, and will be held in 
 remembrance. How different was it when the Saviour of mankind 
 was extended on the cross ! The Jews, instead of sympathising in his 
 sorrows, triumphed in them. They reviled him with bitter expressions, 
 with words even more bitter than the gall and vinegar which they 
 handed him to drink ; not one of all that witnessed his pains, turned 
 the head aside, even in the last pang. Yes, there was one ; that glorious 
 luminary, (pointing to the sun,) veiled his bright face, and sailed on in 
 tenfold night.' " 
 
 The stolen Arm of Whitefield. The account given of this relic, at p. 
 550, did not escape attention in America, as the following curious letter 
 will show. By mere accident, I had called the bone, "part of White- 
 field's right arm ;" for I had too much veneration for the fragment to 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 
 
 lift it out of its downy shrine. It seems, however, o he vii* /* arm. 
 How this fact alters the case at all, the reader will judge for himself. 
 I give the letter of my correspondent entire, with the exception of the 
 name of the person, to whom, he says, "the outrage was attributed at the 
 time." He is wrong in his guess, so far as the bone sent to England is 
 concerned ; and he may soon ascertain this, by pursuing his zealous 
 inquiries with impartiality. The bone itself, I have reason to believe, 
 is now in America again, and will, I would fondly hope, find its way 
 eventually to Whitefield's tomb. Should it do so, Mr. Greenleafs 
 difficulties will all be cleared up, and my charges verified, for the 
 letter of the spoiler is in the box with it. I will only add, that the 
 gentleman whom Mr. Greenleaf calls my " London friend," and who 
 showed me the relic, is an American, and now resident in his own 
 country, and will not allow the innocent to be blamed for the sacri- 
 lege, even if he never give up the name of the guilty. The theft 
 seems to have been in bad taste, rather than in bad feeling, and from 
 no motive but to gratify English curiosity. Perhaps, therefore, what 
 was well meant ought to have been well taken ; but I could not do so 
 in this instance. 
 
 " Cambridge, (Massachusetts) Sept. 3, 1838. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " In your Memoir of Whitefield's Life and Times, which I 
 have read with great interest, you state as a fact that his right arm 
 had been stolen from the tomb. Permit me respectfully to suggest 
 that it would have been more satisfactory to his friends in this quarter 
 to have been favoured with the evidence of so ex taordinary an asser- 
 tion as that made by your London friend. We are strongly inclined 
 to think that both he and you were deceived in that matter. Mr. 
 Whitefield died at the house of my maternal grandfather. The chair 
 in which he expired has been preserved with care, and is now in my 
 possession. The tomb was a brick arch under my grandfather's pulpit, 
 with an upright door of wood, secured by a lock. Mr. W's. coffin was 
 on the left hand ; my grandfather's, (who died in July 1776,) was on 
 the right. I visited the tomb in 1793, with many other persons, on 
 the day of the interment of the Rev. Mr. Prince ; when the lids of 
 both coffins were open for several hours. The bodies, so far as could 
 bo seen in that mode, appeared entire. I well recollect the orderly 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 599 
 
 appearance of their white wigs, silk gowns, and bands. My grand- 
 father's face was a dark olive colour, and mouldy.' Some one touched 
 "his cheek, and it fell in, a space as large as the finger. His body was 
 evidently much decomposed, yet entire. Mr. Whitefield looked com- 
 paratively fresh. The contrast between them was striking, and was 
 then spoken of; but at this time very little remains of Mr. W. but 
 the skull. Though everything relating to him was deeply interesting 
 to the people of Newburyport, yet I never heard of the violation of 
 his person which you mention ; but it was well known that the tomb 
 had been once broken open, and the side of Mr. TV. opened, and his 
 vitals found entire. This was after the death of my grandfather 
 whose false teeth were said to have been taken out at the same time. 
 My aunt then put a new lock on the tomb. 
 
 " After the appearance of your book, a gentleman examined the 
 skeleton, at the request of the Rev. Dr. Dana, and thought that the 
 os humeri, only, of the left arm was missing ; and stated to Dr. Dana 
 that he thought the same, on an examination made nine years since, 
 as the Doctor writes to me. The Doctor adds, that, ' a rumour has pre- 
 vailed in the town, which dates this strange depredation as early as 1793. 
 Still, the indistinctness of the impression on the public mind, connected 
 with the atrocity of the act, naturally excites some degree of doubt.' I 
 infer from this, that the gentleman alluded to saw nothing to excite a 
 suspicion in regard to the loss of the right arm ; and the rumour men- 
 tioned by Dr. Dana, I think relates to the violation I have already 
 mentioned : and from these circumstances, and the vigilance of my 
 grandfather's numerous family in the town, and of his parishioners, 
 and their affectionate regard for Mr. Whitefield, it seems hardly 
 possible that such an outrage could have been offered to his remains, 
 as your London friend supposes. I could not be brought to believe it 
 but upon very clear and direct evidence. These details may seem 
 unimportant to others, but I have supposed that they might be inte- 
 resting to yourself, at least sufficiently so to serve for my apology for 
 troubling you with this letter. 
 
 " I remain, dear Sir, very respectfully, 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " SIMON GREENLEAF." 
 
 " RF-V. R. PHILIP." 
 
600 ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 
 
 Whitefield's Hawthorn Tree at Cambuslang. The following note, 
 which accompanied a*branch from this tree, will, perhaps, induce some 
 tourist to visit the spot, and sketch the scenery of Cambuslang from 
 the point where Whitefield stood. It would furnish a scene worthy of 
 Mr. Bartlett's attention, or a picture worthy of the artist of the Cove- 
 nanters ; for Cambuslang is the pentecostal chamber of Scotland. The 
 note is from Mr. Logan, a home missionary. " Being in the neigh- 
 bourhood of that long to be remembered spot Cambuslang, on a visit to 
 my parents, I went to see the Hawthorn Tree under which Whitefield 
 used to preach the glorious gospel to thousands. It stands near a little 
 rivulet, and on both sides the hills rise gradually, whilst in front they 
 are very lofty. I stood under it, and thought of thousands once 
 collected and impressed there ! I prayed for part of his mantle ! I 
 send you a branch, because you feel so much interested in everything 
 connected with that departed ' man of God/" " Whitefield's Mound," 
 on Blackheath, near London, with its stunted fir-trees, is worth visiting 
 by strangers ; but it is hardly picturesque enough to furnish an illus- 
 trative drawing, now that the heath is so much modernized. An 
 attempt to raise funds in order to erect a monument to Whitefield on 
 Stinchcombe Hill, in Gloucestershire, was made a few years ago, and 
 failed ; partly because the spot was too far from the metropolis, and 
 chiefly because such a monument would not be in keeping with his 
 character or influence. But surely some monument worthy of his 
 memory will be raised, either in one of his chapels, or in one of the 
 Dissenting burying-grounds in or near London. 
 
 The Countess of Leven. Many of the traits of Whitefield's character, 
 and of his characteristic sayings, which appear in this volume, I have 
 been enabled to verify by the Letters of Lady Leven, to the late Rev. 
 John Campbell. They came into my possession whilst writing his 
 Life ; and they abundantly prove that she was in the habit of holding 
 up to him, and to the late Simeon of Cambridge, and to the Haldanes, 
 the example and spirit of her old friend Whitefield, whom she had often 
 nursed after he was exhausted by excessive labour. 
 
 The Life of the Countess of Huntingdon. This work was published 
 two or three years after the present volume. This fact is mentioned, 
 because there are in both some almost verbatim paragraphs. The truth 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 
 
 is, I found these anecdotes in Magazines, and had no idea that ever the 
 papers containing thorn would be worked up into a Memoir. Although, 
 therefore, this volume is not indebted to the Life of the Countess for any 
 of its contents, it is to the author, who has since produced that life ; 
 and, therefore, the obligation is gratefully acknowledged. lie, too, is 
 unwittingly indebted to this volume for some of his remarks. I know 
 of no other obligations which I have not acknowledged ; but I shall 
 be glad to come under new ones. 
 
 FATHER MEAD, OF CHINNOR. 
 
 " 5, Great Queen Street, Westminster, 
 
 May 17, 1842. 
 44 MY DEAR SIR, 
 
 " Being on a visit in the neighbourhood of Chinnor, Oxon, on 
 Lord's-day the 1st May inst., I got my friend Mr. Deverell to ride 
 over with me to that place early in the morning, that I might see old 
 "William Mead, who accompanied George "Whitefield into the village, 
 when he preached there seventy -seven years ago. I had visited him 
 about thirty years back, when he was a hale, hearty man, and had 
 walked with him to the spot where George Whitefield preached, and 
 heard him describe the scene, which then filled him with animation 
 and delight. We called on Mr. Rutherford the minister of Chinnor 
 chapel, who kindly accompanied us. We entered the cottage of the 
 old man the same in which he was born, and in which he had lived 
 for nearly ninety -three years. The antique furniture had, much of it, 
 belonged to his ancestors, and been in constant use all his days. In his 
 arm-chair was seated his son, a venerable, neat, respectable grey-headed 
 cottager ; and on ascending to the upper-room, we met what the old 
 man called, one of his 4 wenches' his daughter Nanny. I should sup- 
 pose her to be on the wrong side of seventy. Old William Mead lay 
 before us, bed-ridden, in the ancient family bedstead, which is most 
 elaborately carved, and the tester formed of various woods curiously 
 inlaid. Nanny told us ' he was very insensible ; he had not spoken all 
 night, and knew nothing.' I looked at him as he lay unable to move 
 his hand to his head, and perfectly helpless, and saw in him the ruins 
 
 4u 
 
602 ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 
 
 of a fine old man, very muscular and stout, but without teeth, or sight, 
 or hearing, all but insensible, except on one subject. Mr. Rutherford said 
 in a very loud voice, 4 Here is a friend of Georges ( Whitefield) come to see 
 you.' He gave no signs of knowledge. 4 Here is a friend of Jesus Christ's 
 from London, whence they sent you some money, when you were 
 afraid your landlord would turn you out, and you should be obliged to 
 go to the workhouse. You know you have often told me how good it 
 was of God to raise you up such friends, and that you should never 
 doubt again.' The old man's tongue began to move, and listening to 
 him, we could here him saying, 
 
 * His love in times past forbids me to think 
 He'll leave me at last in trouble to sink ;' 
 
 and his voice rose to be manly and powerful, for we had touched a chord 
 (the goodness of God) which appeared to vibrate through his inmost 
 soul, and give new life to his decaying frame, so that aloud, and with 
 peculiar energy, he added, 
 
 { Each glad Ebenezer, I have in review, 
 Confirms his good pleasure to bring me quite through.' 
 
 We may, like the ships I often think of this verse,' said the old man, 
 
 ' "We may, like the ships, by tempests be tossed, 
 On perilous deeps, but cannot be lost ; 
 Though Satan enrages the wind and the tide, 
 The promise engages the Lord will provide.' 
 
 " ' I cannot sing now, I am so hoarse : I do though, sing still, with the 
 wenches, sometimes,' said he ; alluding to his daughters of about 
 seventy. 
 
 " Mr. Rutherford or myself asked him if he remembered Mr. White- 
 field's text, but he appeared to be exhausted, and had relapsed into a 
 state of insensibility ; we learned, however, that he often talked of it ; it 
 was 'The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, &c.' 
 After a little, the old man said to Mr. Rutherford, whom he appeared 
 well to know, ' I was a wicked youth when Mr. Whitefield came to 
 this village ; his coming made a great noise, and I and multitudes more, 
 went (to a place he named, but which I could not understand) to meet 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. C03 
 
 him : the people stood so thick you might have walked on their heads. 
 
 that the Lord should have had mercy upon me ! I thought some- 
 times I should never hold out, but the Lord has provided. Oh ! his good- 
 ness : Oh ! for a heart to be thankful.' Appearing suddenly to remember 
 all about a former scene, he said with great vivacity, ' Is that gentle- 
 man alive that giv'd me that hock of bacon?' and laughed heartily. 
 
 1 inquired who and what this meant, and was told that Thomas 
 Thompson, Esq. the Treasurer of the Home Missionary Society, had 
 been to sec him some years back, and in the fulness of his heart had 
 gone over to the shop opposite, and wished to have the best piece of 
 bacon in their stock ; being himself fond of lean, and disliking fat, he 
 turned over the pieces until he found what he thought was a prime 
 lean cut ; which was taken over to the old man's, who eying it, and 
 estimating it as a dry bit, with no fat or goodness, exclaimed, ' Well ! 
 blessed be God for it, though it is but the hock ;' and when the matter 
 was explained to him that Mr. Thompson had selected it as iheprimest 
 piece to be found, he laughed heartily at Mr. Thompson's want of taste 
 in the matter of bacon. 
 
 " The old man added, ' I often think of him ; I shall never forget his 
 kindness.' After a pause he said, ' He's married again, aint he ?' 
 Being told he was, he said, ' Give my love to his wife, and say I hope 
 they'll live together in love and unity/ 
 
 " On presenting him a trifle, and saying, ' I give that because I 
 love your Master,' ' If you means Jesus Christ, I loves he,' he replied. 
 ' Oh ! what a friend he has been to me :' 
 
 ' His love in times past forbids me to think, 
 He'll leave me at last in trouble to sink.' 
 
 " Mr. Rutherford said, ' In George's chapel, they have got a fine 
 man now.' He replied, ' I'se glad of that. Such a wicked wretch as I 
 have been, that Jesus should have had mercy upon me !' Mr. Ruther- 
 ford said, ' We can repeat the language of the apostle, and say to you, 
 God be thanked ! though ye were the servant of sin, ye have obeyed 
 from the heart the form of sound doctrine, delivered unto you.' He re- 
 plied, ' Oh ! what a mercy he spared me, and did not send me to that 
 place of fire and woe O for a heart to be thankful!' 
 
 " Mr. Rutherford said, 4 Will you pray for me ? I am going to preach 
 
604} ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. 
 
 about Jesus Christ.' He replied, ' I never forget you. I often pray for 
 you/ Mr. Rutherford said, 4 1 have good news to tell you about a 
 great many Africans who have turned to Christ.' ' Ah ! ' said he, * but 
 the last you told me was bad news, about those poor Christians who 
 were killed,' alluding to the Madagasse martyrs. 
 
 " I asked him, ' You have long since given yourself to God, tell me 
 now, have you ever repented?' he turned his head towards me, and 
 replied indignantly, ' Repented ! no, never. Oh ! he has been so good, 
 many a time he has holped me through things I never thought I should 
 get through ; he has never, never failed me.' And there he appeared 
 to sink from exhaustion. We remarked how strong and unimpaired 
 his intellect was ; Nanny replied, 'Ah ! but he's quite unscnsiblc about 
 everything else but religion.' In a minute he began to say aloud, with 
 great energy, 
 
 ' Elijah's example declares, 
 
 Whatever distress may betide, 
 
 The saints may commit all their cares 
 
 To Him who will surely provide : 
 
 He ravens and lions can tame, 
 
 All creatures obey his command ; 
 
 Then let me rejoice in his name, 
 
 Aiid leave all my cares in his hand.' 
 
 " ' How does Mr. Philip do ? I remember him :' on being told he 
 was quite well, he said, ' Remember my kind respects to him ; I am glad 
 to hear he is well.' Mr. Rutherford said, ' He still preaches Jesus Christ ;' 
 he replied, ' I hope they won't turn back that do hear him. I do feel so 
 sometimes, because I can't go to hear the word ; but it is my desire ; 
 only I cannot get out. I never missed while I was able : old Thomas 
 Keen used to call me the clock, because I was so regular.' And it ap- 
 pears the whole village used to look to him, minister and all, he always 
 passed through the village to the chapel so punctually, so that the peo- 
 ple used to say, Master Mead's not gone yet, we need not hurry ; or 
 Make haste and come along, Master Mead is gone. 
 
 " After this, the old man relapsed into a state of inanity ; the next 
 day he had an attack of diarrhoea, and I understand he has not spoken 
 since, except once in reply to Mr. Rutherford, a day or two back, when 
 anxiously inquiring of him how he felt in his mind, he articulated 
 with great difficulty the one word, * Happy.' 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE FRAGMENTS. G05 
 
 " There are two wishes with reference to this patriarch of the village 
 of Chinnor, first, that he should not end the few remaining days of his 
 life in the union-workhouse, of which there is fear ; but in the cottage 
 where he drew his first breath, and where he has ever since resided in 
 respectability ; and next, that when he dies, his remains should be 
 interred in the chapel-yard, and a stone, with a suitable inscription 
 mark the spot. To accomplish these objects, perhaps you will take 
 charge, and see to the proper appropriation of any sums that may be 
 subscribed for the purpose, or if that be too much trouble, I will 
 willingly do so. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 " GEORGE WILSON." 
 
 Father Mead is dying, if not dead. He has left T. Thompson, 
 Esq , his Pilgrim, and to me his copy of Whitefield's Sermons, in hia 
 will. I prize the Legacy, and will take care of his memory. 
 
 June. R. P. 
 
 MRS. WHITFIELD. 
 
 "Henley, 1833. 
 " MY DEAR SIR, 
 
 " Hearing from Mr. Hearne, that your Life of Mr. Whitefield was 
 nearly ready for press, I am reminded of some circumstances which I 
 regret I am so late in bringing before your notice. The first regards 
 Mrs. Whitefield. There is a strange impression on the minds of some 
 persons, (and I heard it mentioned only yesterday,) that she was not a 
 pious character. If I could see you, I have here the best evidence that 
 she was of a like spirit with her incomparable husband ; viz. a book 
 containing Letters to and from her. 
 
 " The second regards Mr. Winter. I have a letter for your perusal, 
 written by Mr. Whitefield to Mr. Winter, breathing the sweetest spirit, 
 and at the very time when some think Mr. Whitefield acted harshly 
 towards him. 
 
 " ROBERT BOLTON." 
 
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 than a well-got-up Cyclopaedia. We have before us a 
 publication, edited by Mr. Charles Tomlinson, and 
 published by Mr. George Virtue, London and New 
 
 Turk The paper and type are of unexception- 
 
 :i:ilo quality, and the work bids fair to be one of 
 unusual interest, and highly deserving of public 
 patronage." Mnilng Journal. 
 
 " We have had repeated occasions to speak favour- 
 ably of this book. It still sustains its character, and is 
 evidently an honest as well as an ab'.e book." The 
 Builder. 
 
 " The information is communicated in the clearest 
 lauiruage. and, in every instance we have examined, is 
 browjhtdown to the present time; so that we have a just 
 
 representation, not of the state of any art some years 
 ago, but of its condition in the present year." Artizan. 
 
 " As a specimen of beautiful typography, and for 
 the profusion of its wood engravings, executed in a 
 high style of art, this work has. a strong recommenda- 
 tion beyond its mere literary merit. At the same 
 time that the general reader will derive instruction 
 and pleasure from the penpal, it must not be sup- 
 posed that the articles are of so elementary a cha- 
 racter that they may lie passed over by such as have 
 made mechanics their study ; on the contrary, they 
 are written with a full knowledge of the subject in 
 its present state, and they exhibit clearly what has 
 as yet been done, and what still remains to do." 
 Mechanics' Magazine. 
 
 " One important feature distinguishing this from 
 the bulk of the works which the Exhibition has called 
 forth is, that it is not only a record of art up to its 
 present position, but an exposition of science, on 
 which art rests." Newcastle C/irontcie. 
 
 Complete in One Volume, post Sro., price 10o. Qd. doth, 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY FIVE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 A 
 
 DICTIONARY OF TERMS IN ART. 
 
 EDITED AND ILLUSTRATED BY F. W. FAIRHOLT, F.S.A., 
 
 . AUTHOR OF "COSTUME IN ENGLAND," ETC.; 
 
 Honorary Member of the Society of Antiquaries of VormanJy, Poitiers, and Picardy; and Corresponding Member 
 of the Society of Antiquaritt of Scotland. 
 
 VIRTUE, HALL, & VIRTUE, 25, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
HEW WOEK BY THE KEY, JOHN CUMMIUG, D,D,, F.R.S.E. 
 
 Just published, price 6s., foolscap, cloth, 
 
 THE LAST OF THE PATRIARCHS ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 Steams fram i\t fife at fostjlr. 
 BY THE REV. JOHN GUMMING, D.D., F.B.S.E. 
 
 AUTHOR OF " APOCALYPTIC SKETCHES," " SABBATH EVENING READINGS," &C. 
 
 " This work is replete with consolatory and practical lessons, and well worth perusal; especially will it 
 prove instructive to the young." St. James's Chronicle. 
 
 " Tells us in grand and simple language how we, in our daily life, may learn of the model whcm ho sets 
 before us. It is one of the ablest productions of his pen." Church and State Gazette. 
 
 PEEPABOm FOB, PUBLICATION AT CHRISTMAS, 
 
 CONSOLATIONS ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 LEAVES FROM THE THEE OF LIFE. 
 
 BY THE EEV. JOHN GUMMING, D.D., F.R.S.E. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I. THE CAREFUL SCRUTINY. 
 IT. PERFECT PEACE. 
 
 III. THE WAY OF PEACE. 
 
 IV. THE SURE REFUGE. 
 V. STRONG CONSOLATION. 
 
 VI. NEITHER FORGOTTEN NOR FORSAKEN. 
 VII. CHRIST APPEARING FOR us. 
 VIII. LIFE'S BRIEF DAY. 
 IX. THE TROUBLED HEART. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 X. PATERNAL PRESENCE. 
 XI. THE OPENING OF A YEAR. 
 XII. THE COVENANT ORDERED AND SURE. 
 
 XIII. A PEOPLE AND THEIR GOD. 
 
 XIV. THERE is NO DIFFERENCE. 
 XV. THE UNPARDONABLE SIN. 
 
 XVI. THE ATONING BLOOD. 
 XVII. MY LIVING REDEEMER. 
 XVIII. NUNC DIMITTJS. 
 
 DR. GUMMING ON THE HEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 Now complete in Four Volumes, foolscap cloth, price 20s., 
 
 SABBATH EVENING READINGS 
 
 it % Jfoiir Iwspek 
 
 BY THE EEY. JOHN GUMMING, D.D., F.K.S.E. 
 
 V/ITH FRONTISPIECE. 
 
 THE SEPARATE VOLUMES ARE 
 
 ST. MATTHEW, 5s. ST. MARK, 3s. ST. LUKE, Gs. ST. JOHN, Gs. 
 
 THE ACTS, 7s. THE ROMANS (publishing in numbers). 
 
 Third Edition. In foolscap cloth, price 5s., 
 
 THE DAILY LIEE; 
 
 OR, 
 
 PRECEPTS AND PRESCRIPTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING 
 
 BY THE EEY. JOHN" .CTJMMIffG D.D., F.B.S.E. 
 
 ARTHUR HALL, VIRTUE, & CO., 25, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
THE WILKIE GALLERY, 
 
 66 Engravings from the Works of Sir D. Wilkio, a portrait, price 3 10s. cloth. 
 
 CASTLES Am ABBEYS OF ENGLAND, 
 
 By W. BEATIIE, M.D., with illustrations on Steel and Wood, 2 vols., price 1 5s. each. 
 
 THE CATALOGUE OE THE EXHIBITION 
 
 OF 1851, 
 
 With 1400 Engravings on Wood, and 2 Steel Plates, price 1 5s. cloth. 
 
 THE CATALOGUE OF THE DUBLIN 
 EXHIBITION, 
 
 A Series of upwards of 300 Wood Engravings, price 10s. cloth. 
 
 THE BOSPHORUS AND THE DANUBE. 
 
 By Miss PARDOE and Dr. BEATTIE. 170 Engravings, 2 vols., price 1 5s. each, cloth. 
 
 IRELAND, 
 
 By Mr. and Mrs. S. C. HALL, with 48 Steel Engravings, 18 Maps, and 500 Wood-cuts, 3 vols., 
 
 price 3 3s. cloth. 
 
 HARRY COYERD ALE'S COURTSHIP, AND 
 ALL THAT CAME OF IT, 
 
 By FRANK E. SJIEDLEV, Author of " Frank Fairlegln" &c. With 30 Illustrations by PHIZ," 
 
 price 16s. cloth. 
 
 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS 
 
 (PICTOKIAL EDITION). 
 
 9 Steel Plates, and nearly 100 Wood-cuts, price 18s. cloth. 
 
 THE BOOK OF BRITISH SONG, 
 
 120 Popular Songs, with Illustrations, 2 vols., price 21s. each. 
 VIRTUE, HALL, AND VIRTUE, 25, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
Now publishing, to be completed in Forty Parts at Is., or in Eight Divisions at 6s., cloth gilt, 
 
 THE HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 
 
 BY E. H. NOLAN, PH.D., LL.D. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY STEEL ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 THE importance of the late war is such as to render a faithful history of its events a necessary 
 volume in the library of every man who desires to be familiar with the current topics of con- 
 versation. The object of the author has been to supply this want, by a truthful record of all that 
 can interest the general reader, written in a spirit of impartiality, and embracing every event of 
 importance from the commencement of hostilities to the treaty of peace at Paris. In this task he 
 has been kindly assisted by the written and verbal communications of several distinguished officers 
 who took active parts in the struggle. 
 
 The Illustrations, which are a special feature, have been engraved on Steel, and comprise 
 
 I. PORTRAITS OF THE LEADING MEN. 
 II. EVENTS OF THE WAR. 
 III. MAPS, PLANS, BATTLE-FIELDS, &c. 
 
 PORTRAITS. 
 
 GENERAL CANROBEIIT. SIR WILLIAM WILLIAMS. 
 
 MARSHAL ST. ARNAUD. SIR RICHARD ENGLAND. 
 
 OMAR KASHA. SIR DE LACY EVANS. 
 
 EARL OF CARDIGAN. SIR JOHN BURGOYKE. 
 
 SIR COLIN CAMPBELL. GENERAL BEATSON. 
 
 SIR EDMUND LVONS. ADMIRAL DUNDAS. 
 
 THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 NAPOLEON III. 
 
 SULTAN ABDUL-MEDSCHID. 
 
 VICTOR EMANUEL. 
 
 NICHOLAS I. 
 
 LORD RAGLAN. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF 
 
 CAVALRY CHARGE OF BALAKLAVA. 
 NIGHT ATTACK ON THE TRENCHES. 
 BATTLE OF ALMA. 
 BATTLE OF INKERMAN. 
 ZOUAVES SCALING THE HEIGHTS. 
 
 SCENES OF 
 
 SEBASTOPOL. VARNA. 
 
 CRONSTADT. HELSINGFORS. 
 
 THE WAR. 
 
 MASSACRE OF HANGO. 
 VULTURE LANDING DESPATCHES. 
 BOMBARDMENT OF SWEABOIIG. 
 TAKING SOUNDINGS AT CRONSTADT. 
 Miss NIGHTINGALE AT SCUTARI. 
 
 EVENTS. 
 
 DARDANELLES. I GALLIPOLI. 
 KIEL. ODEZSA. 
 
 MAP OF THE CRIMEA. 
 
 BALTIC. 
 
 ,, RUSSIA. 
 
 MAPS, PLANS, &c. 
 
 MAP OF THE DANUBE. 
 
 BLACK SEA. 
 PLAN OF SIEGE WORKS, SEBASTOPOL. 
 PLAN OF DOCK YARDS, SEBASTOPOL. 
 
 The following extract from THE TITHES of Jan. 14, 1856, will sufficiently mark the value of 
 
 the Work in the eyes of those who are the best qualified to judge of its merits : 
 " A handsomely illustrated volume has been published by VIKTUE & Co., which forms part of a work intended 
 to furnish an elaborate and comprehensive history of the origin and progress of the present war against Russia. 
 Although the chief incidents of the war have been traced by able hands as they occurred, yet, judging from the 
 care bestowed by the writer of the present volume, Dr. NOLAN, his work, when completed, seems likely to com- 
 prise facts and elucidations throwing further light upon all the varied and exciting occurrences of this memorable 
 struggle. Indeed, even in the present volume, much is stated which will be new even to those tolerably conver- 
 sant with the numerous and striking events of the campaign. The portraits include those of the Duke of Cam- 
 bridge, the late Lord Raglan, Omar Pasha, General Canrobert, and Admiral Napier. All are excellent like- 
 nesses, if we may judge of those who are not so generally known by those known to almost everybody. The 
 illustrations are those of Sebastopol, the Charge of the Heavy Cavalry at Balaklava, Miss Nightingale and the 
 Nurses in the East, the last moments of the Emperor Nicholas, the Night Attack in the Trenches, Scba-topo], 
 and the Charge of the Guards at the Battle of Inkerman, all of which are executed in a style worthy of the 
 work." 
 
 Each 6s. Division contains 200 super royal octavo pages, and 10 Steel Plates. 
 
 VIRTUE, HALL, AND VIRTUE, 25, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF CALirORNTA 
 
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