"God has been pleased graciously to visit me with a violent
fever, which He so sweetened by Divine consolations, that I
was enabled to rejoice and sing in the midst of it. I was, as
I thought, on the brink of eternity. I had heaven within me.
I thought of nothing in this world. I earnestly desired to be
dissolved and go to Christ; but God was pleased to order it
otherwise, and I am resigned, though I can scarce be reconciled,
to come back again into this vale of misery. I had the heavenly
Canaan in full view, and hoped I was going to take possession of
it; but God saw I was not yet ripe for glory, and, therefore, in
mercy spared me, that I may recover my spiritual strength before
I go hence, and am no more seen."
One more fact respecting Whitefield's voyage to Savannah must be
added. Though extremely weak, and still suffering from his recent
fever, the young missionary was unwilling to leave the ship, where
he had spent four happy months, without preaching a farewell
sermon. His text (Psalm cvii. 30, 31) was most appropriate, and so
also was his sermon, which was published by James Hutton, a few
months afterwards. (8vo., 19 pp.) "God forbid," cried the ardent
preacher, standing within the shade of the outspread sails of the
ship _Whitaker_, lying at anchor at the mouth of Savannah river, on
Sunday, May 7, 1738:--
"God forbid that any of those should ever suffer the vengeance
of eternal fire, amongst whom I have for these four months been
preaching the Gospel of Christ; and yet thus must it be, if you
do not improve the Divine mercies; and, instead of your being my
crown of rejoicing in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, I must
appear as a swift witness against you.
"But, brethren, I am persuaded better things of you, and things
that accompany salvation, though I thus speak. Blessed be
God! some marks of a partial reformation, at least, have been
visible amongst all you that are soldiers. My weak, though
sincere, endeavours to build you up in the knowledge and fear
of God have not been altogether vain. Swearing, I hope, is in
a great measure abated with you; and God, I trust, has blessed
His late visitations by making them the means of awakening your
consciences to a more solicitous enquiry about the things which
belong to your everlasting peace. Consider, my good friends, you
are now, as it were, entering on a new world, where you will be
surrounded by multitudes of heathens; and, if you take not heed
to 'have your conversation honest among them, and to walk worthy
the holy vocation wherewith you are called,' you will act the
hellish part of Herod's soldiers, and cause Christ's religion,
as they did His person, to be had in derision of those who are
round about you. I cannot say I have discharged my duty to you
as I ought. No; I am sensible of many faults, for which I have
not failed to humble myself in secret before God. As for your
military affairs, I have nothing to do with them. Fear God, and
you must honour the king. Nor am I better acquainted with the
nature of that land which you are come to protect; only this
I may venture to affirm in general, that you must necessarily
expect, upon your arrival at a new colony, to meet with many
difficulties. But your very profession teaches you to endure
hardship. Be not, therefore, faint-hearted, but quit yourselves
like men, and be strong.
"As I have spoken to you, I hope your wives also will suffer the
word of exhortation. Your behaviour on shipboard, especially the
first part of the voyage, I choose to throw a cloak over; for,
to use the mildest term, it was not such as became the Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, of late, blessed be God! you
have taken more heed to your ways, and some of you have walked
all the while as became women professing godliness. Let those
accept my hearty thanks; and permit me to entreat you all in
general, as you are all now married, to remember the solemn vow
you made at your entrance into the marriage state; and see that
you be subject to your own husbands, in every lawful thing.
Beg of God to keep the door of your lips, that you offend not
with your tongues; and walk in love, that your prayers be not
hindered. You who have children, let it be your chief concern to
breed them up in the nurture and monition of the Lord. And live
all of you so holy and unblamable, that you may not so much as
be suspected to be unchaste; and, as some of you have imitated
Mary Magdalene in her sin, strive to imitate her also in her
repentance."
After this manly address to the soldiers and their wives, Whitefield
proceeded, in the same strain, to speak to the sailors; and then
thus addressed the two captains, naval and military, who were
present:--
"I am positive neither you sailors nor the soldiers have wanted,
nor will want, any manner of encouragement to piety and holiness
of living from those two persons who have here the government
over you; for they have been such helps to me in my ministry,
and have so readily concurred in everything for your good, that
they may justly demand a public acknowledgment of thanks both
from you and me.
"Permit me, then, my honoured friends, in the name of both your
people, to return you hearty thanks for the care and tenderness
you have expressed for the welfare of their better parts. As for
the private favours you have shewn to myself, I hope so deep a
sense of them is imprinted on my heart, that I shall plead them
before God in prayer as long as I shall live. But I have still
stronger obligations to intercede on your behalf; for God--for
ever adored be His free grace in Christ Jesus!--has set His seal
to my ministry in your hearts. Some pangs of the new birth I
have observed to come upon you; and God forbid that I should sin
against the Lord, by ceasing to pray that the good work begun in
you may be carried on till the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
"And now, brethren, into God's hands I commend your spirits.
Excuse my detaining you so long. Perhaps it is the last time I
shall speak to you. My heart is full, and, out of the abundance
of it, I could continue my discourse till midnight. But I must
away to your new world. May God give you new hearts, and enable
you to put in practice what you have heard from time to time to
be your duty. Then God will so bless you, that you will 'build
cities to dwell in;' then will you sow your lands and plant
vineyards, which will 'yield you fruits of increase.' Then your
'oxen shall be strong to labour, there shall be no leading into
captivity, and no complaining in your streets; then shall your
sons grow up as the young plants, and your daughters be as the
polished corners of the temple; then shall your garners be full
and plenteous with all manner of store, and your sheep bring
forth thousands and ten thousands in your streets.' In short,
then shall the Lord be your God; and, as surely as He hath now
brought us to His haven, so surely, after we have passed through
the storms and tempests of this troublesome world, will He bring
us to the haven of eternal rest, where we shall have nothing to
do but to praise Him for ever for His goodness, and declare, in
never-ceasing songs of praise, the wonders he has done for us,
and all the other sons of men."
This was a noble finish of Whitefield's shipboard ministry. No
wonder that the juvenile preacher was loved and followed.
Whitefield, thousands of miles from home, now stood on the shores
of the immense continent of America--a continent extending from the
north pole to the fifty-seventh degree of south latitude,--upwards
of eight thousand miles in length--washed on the east by the great
Atlantic Ocean, which divides it from Europe and Africa, and on
the west by the Pacific, by which it is disjoined from Asia,--in
reality, two vast continents, the one north, the other south,
united by Mexico.
At the time of Whitefield's arrival, the whole of South America
(excepting Brazil, which belonged to Portugal) and all that part of
North America which forms the isthmus of Mexico, and the country
extending as far as Florida, was possessed by Spain. English
territory reached from Hudson's Bay, all along the eastern shore to
the thirtieth degree of north latitude. The French had Canada, and
claimed the country lying between there and the Spanish settlements
to the west. A description of this enormous region of mountains,
prairies, swamps, forests, lakes and rivers, with every variety
of climate and production that the earth affords, cannot be here
attempted.
Many immense tracts of country could scarcely be said to have any
population whatever; and yet there was an almost countless number of
Indian tribes, differing but little from each other in their usages
and manners, and forming a striking picture of human antiquity. Most
of them were tall and strong, their countenances fierce, and their
skins brown, and not improved by the constant use of rude cosmetics.
The only occupations of the men were war and hunting. Agriculture
was left to the women. Most of their time, however, was spent in
sleeping, loitering, jesting among their friends, and eating and
drinking enormously. Some held the existence of a Supreme Being;
but none knew how to worship Him. They abounded in superstitions,
observed omens and dreams, pryed into futurity with the utmost
eagerness, and greatly relied on diviners, augurs, and magicians, in
all affairs that concerned them, whether of health, war, or hunting.
But enough of this. For the present, Georgia only was Whitefield's
sphere of labour. In the year 1732, the Government of England,
observing that a large tract of land, between Carolina and the
borders of the Spanish Florida, was uncultivated and unsettled,
resolved to erect it into a separate province, and to found a
colony. They were induced to do this, (1) because the land lay on
the frontier of all the English provinces, naked and defenceless,
and exposed Carolina especially to attacks from the Spaniards and
Indians; and (2) because it was believed that the region might
be utilised by the growth of wine, oil, and silk. This useless
territory extended along the Atlantic coast for a distance of about
sixty miles; and into the interior, from a hundred and fifty to
three hundred miles, as far as the Alleghany mountains.
Carolina, the adjoining province, had been formed into an English
settlement in 1663. One portion of the colonists were Churchmen;
another, quite as large, were Dissenters, who had escaped, as
refugees, from tyrannising governments. There were numerous
quarrellings between the two classes of religionists. This was bad
enough, but it was not the only evil. Eight English noblemen had
obtained a charter for the property and jurisdiction of the country.
John Locke, the great philosopher, had compiled its fundamental
laws. The lordly proprietors stood in the place of the king,
appointed all officers, and bestowed all titles of dignity. The
people were dissatisfied with the proceedings of their governors,
and violent disputes followed. Then there were two wars with the
Indian tribes; and, as a consequence of the whole, the colony was
almost torn to pieces. Ten years before Whitefield's embarkation,
the Parliament of England put the province under the immediate care
and inspection of the Crown. Peace was soon established with all
the neighbouring Indian nations--the Cherokees, the Creeks, and the
Catuabas; Carolina, north and south, was delivered from its internal
quarrels; and now trade was advancing with astonishing rapidity.
The climate of Carolina and of the adjoining region, now called
Georgia, was one of the finest in the world. The soil of both
countries was marvellously rich. Where cultivated, oranges, olives,
rice, indigo, wheat, peas, and Indian corn were grown in great
abundance. Most of the land, however, was entirely untilled, and
consisted of swamps of black fat earth, immense forests of oaks and
pines, and, here and there, luxuriant glades, overrun with flowering
shrubs and plants the most beautiful.[128]
[128] "An Account of the European Settlements in America," 2 vols.
London, 1761.
Though the Georgian colony was now only six years old, five
companies of emigrants had already landed. 1. The motley band of
released debtors, a hundred and twenty in number, who arrived with
Oglethorpe, in February, 1733. 2. The Saltzburghers, who set sail
from Dover on January 8, 1734. 3. A number of Scotch islanders,
who founded New Inverness, in Darien. 4. Two different sets of
Moravians, with one of whom Wesley and his brother sailed. These
were Whitefield's parishioners, most of them foreign refugees,
a few of them Presbyterian Highlanders, and the rest chiefly
insolvent debtors, whom the hand of charity had rescued from London
prisons. Wesley's life among them had been embittered by all kinds
of vexations, to a great extent engendered by his endeavouring to
enforce High-Church discipline. How did Whitefield succeed? His
present sojourn was not of long continuance--only four months--but
it comprised numerous incidents worthy of being noticed.
Weak as Whitefield was, from his late attack of fever, as soon as he
reached Savannah, he "joined in prayer and a psalm of thanksgiving"
with Charles Delamotte, whom Wesley had left behind, and with "some
pious souls," who rejoiced at his arrival.
Next morning, May 8, as early as five o'clock, the ardent evangelist
commenced his public labours by reading the Liturgy, and expounding
the second lesson "to seventeen adults and twenty-five children."
This was Whitefield's first congregation in America. During the day,
he had an interview with the notorious Thomas Causton (the bitter
enemy of Wesley), and with the other magistrates of this Liliputian
kingdom of about five hundred souls. He says, they received him
"with great civility;" and it was resolved by their magisterial
highnesses that "he should have a house and tabernacle built at
Frederica, and should serve at Savannah, when, and as long as he
pleased." Whitefield adds: "I find there are many divisions amongst
the inhabitants, but God, I hope, will make me an instrument of
composing them."
Whitefield's ardour in commencing his public labours was greater
than his prudence. There was an immediate return of fever, and, for
the next few days, he was entirely disabled. On Sunday, May 14, he
"_attempted_ to read prayers, but was so faint and weak that he was
obliged to leave off before he began the second service."[129]
[129] At this period, Mr. William Stephens was the secretary of
the Trustees of Georgia, and resided at Savannah. He afterwards
published, in two octavo volumes, "A Journal of the Proceedings in
Georgia," from which the following extracts are taken:--
"1738. May 21. Mr. Whitefield officiated this day at the church, and
made a sermon very engaging to the most thronged congregation I had
ever seen there."
"May 28. Mr. Whitefield manifests great ability in the ministry, and
his sermons to-day were very moving."
"June 4. Mr. Whitefield's auditors increase daily, and the place
of worship is far too small to contain the people who seek his
doctrine."
"June 18. Mr. Whitefield went on moving the people with his
captivating discourses. A child being brought to church to be
baptized, he performed that office by _sprinkling_, which gave
great content to many who had taken great distaste at the form of
_dipping_, so strictly required and so obstinately withstood by some
parents that they have suffered their children to go without the
benefit of that sacrament, till a convenient opportunity could be
found of another minister to do that office."
"July 2. Mr. Whitefield gains more and more on the affections of the
people, by his labour and assiduity in the performance of divine
offices; to which an open and easy deportment, without show of
austerity, or singularity of behaviour in conversation, contribute
not a little, and open the way for him to inculcate good precepts,
with greater success, among his willing hearers." (Vol. i.)
Recovering a little strength, he set out, on May 19, to visit
Hampstead and Highgate, two of his parochial villages, about five
miles from Savannah. Hampstead consisted "of three families, making
in all eleven souls." The component parts of this _Georgian village_
population were two men, one woman, and seven children--all from
Switzerland; to whom, by some odd accident, was added another
man, a Jew. Whitefield writes: "I was much delighted with seeing
the improvements a few pair of hands had made in their respective
plantations. Surely they speak not the truth, who say that the
Georgia people have been idle, for I never saw more laborious
people than are in these villages. I was at a loss, because I could
not talk French; but I resolved to follow my worthy predecessor's
(Wesley) example, and to visit them once a week, and read prayers
to as many as could understand me. I also enquired into the state
of their children, and found there were many who might prove useful
members of the colony, if there was a proper place for their
maintenance and education. Nothing can effect this but an orphan
house, which might easily be erected, if some of those who are rich
in this world's goods would contribute towards it."
The next day, May 20, Whitefield paid a visit to a memorable man who
merits a brief notice.
When Oglethorpe first went to Georgia, in 1733, he found, between
the coast and the Alleghany mountains, three considerable nations
of Indians--the Uchees, consisting of two hundred men; the Upper
Creek, having eleven hundred men; and the Lower Creek, who had
nine towns, or rather cantons, and about a thousand men able to
bear arms. The chief of the last-mentioned tribe was Tomo Chici,
whose head-quarters was at a place called Yamacraw, a short
distance from Savannah. Oglethorpe waited upon this Indian chief,
and persuaded him to invite a deputation from the other tribes
to hold a conference with him at Savannah. The conference took
place in one of the newly built houses, about fifty Indian chiefs
and leading warriors being present. Oglethorpe received them with
his wonted courtesy, and told them that the English, in coming to
settle there, did not intend either to dispossess or to annoy the
natives; but desired above all things to live in friendship with
them, and hoped, through those whom he now addressed, to obtain from
them a concession of a portion of their territory, and to confirm
a treaty of amity and commerce. Ouechachumpa, a warrior of great
stature, replied, and, after describing the region which the natives
wished to retain in their own possession, declared the English were
welcome to all the rest. Tomo Chici then advanced, and, making a low
obeisance, said: "When these white men came, I feared they would
drive us away, for we were weak; but they promised not to molest us.
We wanted corn and other things, and they have given us supplies;
and now, of our small means, we make them presents in return. Here
is a buffalo skin, adorned with the head and feathers of an eagle.
The eagle signifies speed, and the buffalo strength. The English
are swift as the eagle, and strong as the buffalo. Like the eagle,
they flew over great waters; and, like the buffalo, nothing can
withstand them. But the feathers of the eagle are soft, and signify
kindness; and the skin of the buffalo is covering, and signifies
protection. Let these, then, remind them to be kind, and to protect
us." The terms of alliance were speedily agreed upon; and Oglethorpe
presented to each chief, a laced coat, a hat, and a shirt; to each
war captain, he gave a gun, and ammunition; and to the attendants,
mantles of coarse cloth and smaller presents.
The friendship thus commenced with Tomo Chici was life-long. In
1734, when Oglethorpe returned to England, Tomo Chici, with his wife
and nephew, Hillispilli, the war captain of his tribe, five chiefs
of the Creeks, and Umpichi, a chief from Palachicolas, with their
interpreter and attendants, accompanied him, because he thought it
would promote the interests of Georgia if some of the principal
natives were to see Great Britain, and become impressed with its
power and dignity. Comfortable quarters were provided for the
Indians at the Georgia office; and, after being suitably attired,
and having their faces painted after their fashion, they were
conveyed, in three of the royal carriages, to Kensington Palace, and
presented to George II. and his Queen Caroline. Tomo Chici addressed
to the king one of his flowery speeches; and the king returned an
appropriate reply. They were then introduced to Queen Caroline,
to the Prince of Wales, to the Duke of Cumberland, and to the
Princesses. One of their party died of smallpox, and was interred in
the churchyard of St. John's, Westminster. Oglethorpe took them to
his country residence. They likewise visited Lambeth Palace, where
they were agreeably entertained by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
They were also taken to Eton College, Windsor Castle, St. George's
Chapel, Hampton Court, the Tower of London, Greenwich Hospital, and,
in short, to all the great sights in the metropolis and its vicinity.
After a four months' residence in England, they rode, in royal
carriages, to Gravesend, and embarked for Georgia, where, with a
company of Saltzburghers, they arrived in safety.
On February 14, 1736, Tomo Chici, his nephew and heir, and several
others, as soon as they heard of the arrival of the ship, came to
welcome Wesley to Georgia. "I am glad you are come," said the chief.
"When I was in England, I desired that some would speak the great
Word to me; and my nation then desired to hear it; but now we are
all in confusion. Yet I am glad you are come. I will go up and speak
to the wise men of our nation; and I hope they will hear. But we
would not be made Christians as the Spaniards make Christians. We
would be taught, before we are baptized."[130]
[130] Wesley's Journal.
A month after this, Tomo Chici and forty of his Indians set out with
Oglethorpe on an expedition, in the course of which they reached a
fine island hitherto called _Wissoo_, but which the chief on this
occasion re-named Cumberland, in honour of the young Prince, who
had been very gracious to the Indians when in England, particularly
to the chief's nephew, to whom His Royal Highness had given a gold
repeating watch.
Tomo Chici, on this and other occasions, shewed himself a sincere
friend of Oglethorpe and the English settlers; but he hesitated to
declare himself a Christian. When Wesley urged him to embrace the
doctrines of Christianity, he significantly answered: "Why, these
are Christians at Savannah! Those are Christians at Frederica!
Christians get drunk! Christians beat men! Christians tell lies! Me
no Christian!"
This was the man whom Whitefield visited a few days after his
arrival in Georgia. The old chief was dangerously ill, and "lay on a
blanket, thin and meagre--little else but skin and bones." His wife,
Senauki, "sat by fanning him with Indian feathers." Tooanahowi,
his nephew, was the only one present who understood the English
language, and through him Whitefield asked the chief whether he
thought he was about die? Tomo Chici answered, "I cannot tell." "I
then asked," says Whitefield, "where he thought he would go after
death? He replied, To heaven." To this brief dialogue, Whitefield
adds: "But, alas! how can a drunkard enter there? I then exhorted
Tooanahowi (who is a tall proper youth) not to get drunk, and asked
him whether he believed a heaven? He answered, Yes. I then asked
whether he believed a hell? and described it by pointing to the
fire. He replied, No."
Tomo Chici partially recovered from his present illness; and when
Oglethorpe arrived a few months afterwards, he, with several other
chiefs, came to meet and welcome him, declaring that the coming of
"The Great Man," as he called the governor, quite restored him, and
made him "moult like the eagle."
In the following year, 1739, the venerable chief, who had nearly
reached his hundredth year, tranquilly expired. Having expressed a
wish to be buried at Savannah, his remains were brought by water
from Yamacraw, and were received at the landing-place by Oglethorpe,
the Savannah magistrates, and the people. The pall was borne by the
general and five other gentlemen; and the body, followed by the
Indian mourners, was interred with military honours. Tooanahowi, his
nephew, succeeded to the chieftain dignities, and proved as faithful
and firm a friend to the English settlers as his centenarian uncle
had been.[131]
[131] See "Memoir of General Oglethorpe."
Four days after his visit to Tomo Chici, Whitefield and Charles
Delamotte went to Thunderbolt, a village, as it was called, about
six miles distant, "and consisting of three families, four men and
two women, and ten servants." Here he "expounded a chapter, and used
a few collects;" and returned to Savannah, saying, "Blessed be God
for strengthening my weak body!"
On Friday, June 2, he had to part with "kind Captain Whiting,"
and his "dear friend Delamotte, who embarked for England."[132]
Concerning the latter, he writes: "The poor people lamented the loss
of him, and went to the water-side to take a last farewell. And good
reason had they to do so; for he has been indefatigable in feeding
Christ's lambs with the sincere milk of the word, and many of them
have grown thereby. Surely I must labour most heartily, since I
come after such worthy predecessors. The good which Mr. John Wesley
has done in America, under God, is inexpressible. His name is very
precious among the people; and he has laid a foundation that I hope
neither men nor devils will ever be able to shake."
[132] Though the son of a Middlesex magistrate, Charles Delamotte
was found to be almost penniless. Hence the following item
in Whitefield's account of money received for the poor of
Georgia:--"1738. May 27. Gave to Mr. Charles Delamotte, the
catechist of Savannah, to pay his passage, etc., to England, £15."
In a foot note, however, Whitefield states that this money was
refunded by the Georgia trustees.
A week later, Whitefield appointed one of his friends,[133] who had
accompanied him from England, to open a school at Highgate, for
the purpose of teaching the children of the French, there and at
Hampstead, the English language; so that he and his successors might
be able to catechise them, and bring them to church to hear the
word of God. He also opened a school for girls at Savannah; another
friend, "whose heart God had touched," on board the _Whitaker_,
having consented to teach them. "The work," writes the hopeful and
penniless young preacher, "is for my Master, and, therefore, I doubt
not of being supplied, some way or another, with a sufficient fund
for the support of it."
[133] This was John Doble. In Whitefield's account of money
disbursed in Georgia, are the following items:--
1738. August 26. Laid out for Highgate School and the maintenance of
the master, John Doble, as follows:--
£ _s_ _d._
Paid Mr. Gilbert, the tailor, for Mr. Doble 0 5 6