"1739, Friday, March 16. Being much entreated by the people,
and horses being sent for me, I went and preached at Elberton,
a village about nine miles from Bristol. The clergyman denied
me the pulpit; so I preached on a little ascent on which the
May-pole was fixed. The weather being cold, and the adjacent
villages having but little notice, I had not above two hundred
hearers.[184] After dinner, I hastened to Thornbury, and
preached to a great part of my morning congregation, and many
hundreds besides. Mr. Willis, the incumbent, lent me the church,
and used me with great civility, as did two other clergymen who
were there present."
[184] The entire population of Elberton, in 1801, was only 179.
Whitefield also preached at Keynsham, where "great numbers of
horsemen from Bristol" met him, "besides several thousands from the
neighbouring villages." "The church being refused, he preached on a
mount."
He likewise went to Publow, "a village about five miles from
Bristol. The church was offered; but, not being sufficient to
contain a third part of the audience," he preached in the open air.
At Coal-pit Heath, seven miles from Bristol, his congregation
numbered above two thousand. The yard of the Glass-house, Bristol,
was another of his preaching places. Here his "congregation
consisted of many thousands." While he was preaching, "a gentleman
(being drunk)" called him a dog, and said he "ought to be whipped at
the cart's tail, and offered money to any that would pelt" him; but
"the boys and people," instead of pelting the preacher, "began to
cast stones and dirt" at the inebriated gentleman.
In Bristol, also, a large bowling-green was lent to Whitefield,
where he preached twice in the last week in the month of March. On
the first occasion, he says, he had a congregation of "about five
thousand people, and made a collection for his poor orphans, till
his hands were quite weary." On the second, he writes, "I believe
seven or eight thousand people were present. The sun shone bright,
and the windows and balconies of the adjoining houses were filled
with hearers. I again collected for the Orphan House, and it was
near an hour and a half before the people could go out. Many were
very faint because of the throng, which was so exceeding great that
they trod one upon another."
Strangely enough, at Winterbourne, and at Frenchay, he had, in
private, friendly meetings with the Quakers; but, he says, he was
not at all convinced by their arguments against paying tithes, an
outward call to the ministry, and baptism, and the Lord's supper,
though he admits that "their notions about walking and being led by
the Spirit were right and good."
On the 6th of March, he and William Seward went off to Wales;
the Rev. Richard Hutchins, afterwards Rector of Lincoln College,
taking his place at Bristol. This, in its ultimate results, was an
important visit; and, though only of four days' duration, was full
of incident.
Here, however, an extract from a letter written by William Seward
may be interjected.
"NEW PASSAGE, BRISTOL-SIDE, _March 6, 1739_.
"REVEREND AND DEAR BROTHER,--Our dear brother Whitefield goes
on from conquering to conquer. Thousands and ten thousands
flock to hear the word. He has been in but three churches,
and that was at his first coming. The chancellor threatened
excommunication, but soon dropt it. However, the glory of God
was to be promoted another way; for, being thrust out of the
synagogues, our brother has settled a lecture or exposition at
Newgate every morning; the place being more convenient than
Oxford Castle Chapel. He generally expounds to one, two, or
three Societies every night; and has preached seven or eight
times on a mount, about two miles from Bristol, where have been
from fifteen hundred to fifteen thousand hearers. Last Sunday
evening, we sung the hundredth psalm, and all could hear. It
is much like singing at a scaffold or stake with multitudes
around. At another place, the church not being big enough, he
preached from the cross. He preaches once a week on the steps
of a workhouse, with a hall behind, and a courtyard almost full
before. He has preached in two other parts of Kingswood, among
the colliers; and thousands come--horsemen, coaches, chaises,
etc. Thus the gospel spreads round the country, for divers
come from far--_some_ twenty miles. You may be sure we are set
up for being stark mad. We are now going to meet our brother
Howell Harris at Cardiff, the minister of which place being
here will not even go over in the passage-boat with us. He says
our brother shall not have the church; so I hope the fields
will be white at Cardiff, as well as at Bristol. There is also
a Society there who long for our coming. Our brother Hutchins
is at Bristol, and stays till brother Kinchin comes to supply
his place. Our dear brother Whitefield would have none of you
('the Oxford Methodists') hidden, but wishes that you would all
come out, and be itinerant. The harvest is great, and great
encouragement there is to spend and be spent for the good of
souls. I hear brother J. Wesley is at Oxford; and that forty
gownsmen were lately to hear brother Kinchin expound. O praise
the Lord for these His great mercies!
"I am, etc.,
"WILLIAM SEWARD."
At the _New Passage_, where Whitefield and Seward had a twelve
hours' detention, the Cardiff clergyman, who refused to go in the
"passage-boat" because Whitefield was going, employed his enforced
leisure in "shaking his elbows over a gaming table." Whitefield's
Journal, published about four months afterwards, contained this
incident, and also Whitefield's reflections on it. The clergyman
became very wroth, and wrote a letter, dated "Cardiff, July 17,
1739," and signed "Nath. Well," which filled nearly two folio pages
of the _Weekly Miscellany_. Mr. Well calls Whitefield's Journals
"rhapsodies, and repetitions of spiritual pride, vanity, and
nonsense." He says Whitefield's statement respecting his refusal to
go in the passage-boat is not correct, for he actually went in it.
Mr. Well's assertion is both true and false. At first he refused to
go, as Whitefield says he did; but, during the long detention at
the New Passage, Mr. Well changed his mind and went.[185] Mr. Well
further states that Whitefield and William Seward "sang hymns the
best part of the passage, till the pilot, hindered by their noise
from hearing the man appointed to look out, obliged them to give
over." He also adds, that Whitefield had advised Howell Harris not
to offer himself for holy orders, alleging the "fanatical argument,
'that the success with which the Holy Spirit had blessed his labours
was a sufficient evidence and proof of his _divine_ commission, and
he _needed_ no other.' And yet his _boasted_ success is this: he has
alienated the _affections_ of _ignorant_ people from their _parish
ministers_, and sent most of them to _dissenting_ meeting-houses."
[185] Supplement to Rev. Mr. Whitefield's Answer to the Bishop of
London's Pastoral Letter, 1739, p. 6.
Whitefield's account of his trip to Wales shall be given in his own
language. After relating the incident respecting Mr. Well at the New
Passage, he writes as follows:--
"1739, Wednesday, March 8. Arose before twelve at night, sung
psalms, and prayed; and, the wind being fair, we had a speedy
passage over to the Welsh shore. Our business being in haste,
and one being sent to guide us, we rode all night, and reached
Cardiff about eleven in the morning.
"Whilst I was giving a word of exhortation to some poor people
at the inn, Mr. Seward went to ask for the pulpit; but, being
denied, we pitched on the Town Hall, which Mr. Seward got by
his interest; and, at four in the afternoon, I preached from
the judge's seat to about four hundred hearers. Most were very
attentive; but some mocked.
"After I came from the seat, I was much refreshed with the sight
of my dear brother, Howell Harris.[186] A burning and shining
light has he been in those parts; a barrier against profaneness
and immorality, and an indefatigable promoter of the true gospel
of Jesus Christ. About three or four years God has inclined
him to go about doing good. He is now above twenty-five years
of age. Twice he has applied (being every way qualified) for
holy orders; but he was refused, under a false pretence that
he was not of age, though he was then twenty-two years and six
months. About a month ago he offered himself again, but was put
off. Upon this, he was, and is still, resolved to go on in his
work. For these three years, he has discoursed almost twice
every day for three or four hours together, not authoritatively
as a minister, but as a private person exhorting his Christian
brethren. He has been in seven counties, and has made it his
business to go to wakes, etc., to turn people from such lying
vanities. Many alehouse people, fiddlers, and harpers sadly cry
out against him for spoiling their business. He has been made
the subject of numbers of 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
continues to go on from conquering to conquer. He is of a most
catholic spirit, and loves all who love our Lord Jesus Christ;
and therefore he is styled by bigots a Dissenter. Many call him
their spiritual father, and, I believe, would lay down their
lives for his sake. He discourses generally in a field; but at
other times in a house, from a wall, a table, or anything else.
He has established near thirty Societies, and still his sphere
of action is enlarged daily. He is full of faith and the Holy
Ghost.
[186] Harris says, "The first question Mr. Whitefield asked
me was this, 'Do you know that your sins are forgiven?' The
question rather surprised me, having never heard it asked
before." ("Life and Times of Howell Harris," by Rev. E. Morgan,
p. 43.)
"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. We spent the evening in telling
one another what God had done for our souls, and took an account
of the several Societies, and agreed on such measures as seemed
most conducive to promote the common interest of our Lord. I
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. The partition wall of bigotry and party zeal is
broken down in Wales, 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 till this is done, I fear, we must despair of
any great reformation in the Church of God.
"Thursday, March 9. Spent the beginning of the morning in prayer
and private discourse with the members of the Religious Society.
About ten, I went to the Town Hall, and preached for about an
hour and a half to a large assembly of people. My dear brother,
Howell Harris, sat close by me. I did not observe any scoffers
within; but without some were pleased to honour me so far as to
trail a dead fox, and hunt it round about the hall. After I had
concluded, I went with many of my hearers, amongst whom were
two worthy dissenting ministers and my brother Howell Harris,
to public worship. In the Second Lesson were these remarkable
words, 'And the high priest, 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
hear Him.' In the afternoon, I preached again to the people,
without any scoffing or disturbance; and, at six in the evening,
I talked for above an hour and a half, and prayed with the
Religious Society, whose room was quite thronged.
"Friday, March 10. Left Cardiff about six in the morning, and
reached Newport about ten, where many came from Pontypool and
other parts to hear me. The minister having readily granted us
the pulpit, I preached to about a thousand people. Wales is
excellently well prepared for the Gospel of Christ. They have
many burning and shining lights both among the Dissenting and
Church ministers, amongst whom Mr. Griffith Jones shines in
particular.[187] No less than fifty charity schools have been
erected 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, and great numbers there
are who have not only been hearers, but doers also of the word.
[187] The Rev. Griffith Jones was a memorable man. Born in
the parish of Kilredin, and educated in the Grammar-school
at Camarthen, he was ordained a deacon in 1708, and a priest
in 1709, by the learned Bishop Bull. He was preferred to the
Rectory of Llandowror by Sir John Philips of Picton Castle. At
the request of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
in Foreign Parts, he consented to go as a missionary among the
Indians; but, for some unknown reason, this arrangement was set
aside. Divinity was the grand study of Mr. Jones's life. He was
well versed in the writings of the most eminent English and
foreign divines. His sermons were solid, lively, striking, and
judicious. His voice was musical, his delivery agreeable, his
action proper. As a preacher, he soon became famous, and great
multitudes flocked to hear him wherever he went. Invitations to
preach in other churches besides his own were frequent; and,
in many instances, the crowds were such that he was obliged
to preach in the churchyards. On some of these occasions,
his sermons occupied three hours in delivery. He instituted,
and for twenty-four years maintained by subscriptions, the
circulating Welsh Free Schools, the object of which was to
teach the poor to read their native language, and to instruct
them in the principles of the Christian religion. At the time
of his decease, the number of his schools was more than 3,000,
and of their scholars 158,000, some of them sixty years old.
Principally by his efforts, the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge was induced to print two editions of the Welsh Bible,
of 15,000 copies each, which were sold as cheap as possible, for
the benefit of the poor in Wales. He was also himself the author
of at least a dozen different publications. He died on the 8th
of April, 1761, in the seventy-eighth year of his age, and
was interred at his own parish church of Llandowror.--_Gospel
Magazine_, 1777.
"Saturday, March 11. Got safe to Bristol, with my dear
fellow-travellers, about eleven at night."
These extracts from Whitefield's Journal are important, as
shewing the work which had been begun, and which was prospering
in Wales before Whitefield and the Wesleys commenced their great
itinerant mission. The reader also has here the beginning of the
warm-hearted friendship between Whitefield and Howell Harris, and
of their evangelical co-operation, which issued in the founding of
the Societies of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, and in other
results which cannot now be noticed. What the "measures" were which
Whitefield and Harris agreed upon for further promoting the work of
God in Wales, it is impossible to determine; but henceforth the two
were fellow-workers, and lived in the happiest amity.
Whitefield's labours during the seven weeks he spent at Bristol
and in its neighbourhood were marvellous; but the most picturesque
were those among the Kingswood colliers. It would be superfluous,
it would be wearisome, to describe Kingswood and its ignorant and
rude inhabitants, at the period now in question. This has been done
so often, that Methodist readers already know all that Methodist
writers have to tell on such a subject. Still, Whitefield's first
services in this benighted neighbourhood cannot be omitted; for, in
reality, Kingswood was the rough cradle in which Methodism was first
rocked and nursed.
Here it was, on February 17, that Whitefield, for the first
time, dared to be so irregular as to preach in the open air,
his congregation consisting of upwards of two hundred persons.
Altogether he preached about twenty sermons, from February 17 to
April 2, in different parts of Kingswood, including Hannam Mount,
Rose Green, and the Fish Ponds. Most of these were scenes of solemn
grandeur. On February 23, when he estimated his congregation at
from four to five thousand, he writes: "The sun shone very bright,
and the people, standing in such an awful manner round the mount,
in the profoundest silence, filled me with holy admiration." Two
days later, he says: "At a moderate computation, there were above
ten thousand people present. The trees and hedges were full. All
was hush when I began, and God enabled me to preach for an hour,
with great power, and so loud that all (I was told) could hear me.
Blessed be God! Mr. B----n spoke right when he said, 'The fire is
kindled in the country, and all the devils in hell shall not be
able to quench it.'" On March 18,[188] at Rose Green, he calculated
his congregation at not less than twenty thousand, and remarks,
"To behold such crowds stand about us in such awful silence, and
to hear the echo of their singing, is very solemn and surprising.
My discourse continued for near an hour and a half." At the same
place, on April 1, "There were twenty-four coaches and an exceeding
great number of other people, besides the colliers, both on foot
and horseback." Such was his success among the begrimed Kingswood
colliers, that, before he left, they gave him £20 in money, and
promised £40 in subscriptions, towards the erection of a Charity
School, which he wished to build for the instruction of their
children. He writes:--
"March 29. Were I to continue here, I would endeavour to settle
schools all over the Wood, and also in other places, as Mr.
Griffith Jones has done in Wales. I have but just time to set
it on foot. I hope God will bless the ministry of my honoured
friend, Mr. John Wesley, and enable him to bring it to good
effect. It is a pity so many little ones as there are in
Kingswood should perish for lack of knowledge."
[188] The following is taken from the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for
1739, p. 162: "Mr. Whitefield, who set out from London on February
7, in order to preach and collect money for an Orphan House, has
been wonderfully laborious and successful, especially among the
poor prisoners in Newgate, Bristol, and among the rude colliers of
Kingswood. On Saturday, the 18th inst., he preached at Hannam Mount
to five or six thousand persons, and in the evening removed to the
Common, about half a mile farther, where three mounts and the plains
around were crowded with so great a multitude of coaches, foot and
horsemen, that they covered three acres, and were computed at twenty
thousand people; and, at both places, he collected £14 10s. for the
Orphan House of Georgia."
Whitefield had requested Wesley to visit Bristol. The latter
writes:--
"March, 1739. During my stay in London, I was fully employed,
between our own Society in Fetter Lane, and many others, where I
was continually desired to expound; so that I had no thought of
leaving London when I received, after several others, a letter
from Mr. Whitefield, and another from Mr. Seward, entreating me
in the most pressing manner to come to Bristol without delay.
This I was not at all forward to do, and perhaps the less
inclined to it (though I trust I do not count my life dear unto
myself, so I may finish my course with joy), because of the
remarkable scriptures which offered as often as we enquired,
touching the consequence of this removal--probably permitted for
the trial of our faith: Deut. xxxii. 49, 50; Deut. xxxiv. 8;
Acts ix. 16, and Acts viii. 2.
"March 28. My journey was proposed to our Society in Fetter
Lane, but my brother Charles would scarce bear the mention of
it; till, appealing to the oracles of God, he received those
words as spoken to himself, and answered not again: 'Son of man,
behold,' etc. (Ezek. xxiv. 16). Our other brethren, however,
continuing the dispute, without any probability of their coming
to a conclusion, we at length all agreed to decide it by
lot. And by this it was determined that I should go. Several
afterwards desiring we might open the Bible, concerning the
issue of this, we did so on the several portions of Scripture,
which I shall set down without any reflection on them. They were
2 Sam. iii. 1; 2 Sam. iv. 11; and 2 Chron. xxviii. 27."
This narrative, of combined bibliomancy and sortilege, is a
curious one, but let it pass. Fortunately, by the kindness of
Mr. G. Stampe, of Grimsby, I am able to furnish the reader with
Whitefield's letter, never before published. It was as follows:--
"BRISTOL, _March 22, 1739_.
"REVEREND SIR,--I rejoice at the success which God has given you
at Oxford and elsewhere. I immediately kneeled down and prayed
that you may go on from conquering to conquer.
"I thank you most heartily for your kind rebuke. I can only
say it was too tender. I beseech you, whenever you see me do
wrong, rebuke me sharply. I have still a word or two to offer in
defence of my behaviour, but shall defer it till I come to town.
If I have offended, I humbly ask pardon, and desire the brethren
to pray that I may be such as God would have me be.
"If the brethren, after prayer for direction, think proper, I
wish you would be here the latter end of next week. Brother
Hutchins sets out to-morrow for Dummer. Mr. Chapman brings a
horse to London, which you may ride. I go away, God willing,
next Monday sennight. If you were here, before my departure, it
might be best. Many are ripe for bands. I leave that entirely to
you. I am but a novice; you are acquainted with the great things
of God. Come, I beseech you; come quickly. I have promised not
to leave this people till you or somebody come to supply my
place. I am resigned to Brother Hutton's coming hither. The good
Lord direct him!
"Desire the brethren's advice in the following case. Joseph is
arrived. Because he would not submit to a lot, whether he should
go with me to England or not, I said he never should return if
he went. On board, he behaved well, exceeding well. What shall I
do? Shall I keep to my vow that he should not return? or shall
I break it? I am indifferent. I will do as the brethren shall
direct.
"Great comfort and joy in the Holy Ghost does God, of His free
grace, give me. I find myself strengthened in the inner man day
by day. I feel an intenseness of love, and long that all should
be partakers of it. I hope I grow in grace. To free grace be all
the glory!
"God will fight for our dear brother Charles. I thank him for
his letter. Blessed be God that both of you are not so brief as
usual. God will bring light out of darkness. All these things
are not against, but for us.
"Be pleased to bring the Account of my Temptations with you;
and, though unworthy, permit me to subscribe myself, Reverend
Sir,
"Your dutiful son and servant,
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD.
"P.S. March 23. I beseech you come next week; it is advertised
in this day's journal. I pray for a blessing on your journey,
and in our meetings. The people expect you much. Though you
come _after_, I heartily wish you may be preferred _before_ me.
Even so, Lord Jesus. Amen. Our brethren are here together. They
advise you should go through Basingstoke, and call at Dummer,
and there take the horse Brother Hutchins rides thither.
Whosoever you may appoint shall ride Brother Chapman's. The Lord
direct us all in all things!
"The Rev. Mr. John Wesley, at Mr. John Bray's, a Brazier, in
Little Britain, in Aldersgate Street, London."
There are many points in this deeply interesting letter which
deserve attention; such as the fact, that, notwithstanding
Whitefield's taunt on Wesley, within two years afterwards,
respecting the practice of sortilege, he himself now believed in
it, and was in favour of its being used. Want of space, however,
prevents enlargement.
Eight days after the date of Whitefield's letter, Wesley arrived
in Bristol, to prosecute the wondrous work which his young friend
had been honoured to begin; and, on April 2nd, Whitefield took
his leave; and, with the exception of one day's visit in the
month of July following, for the next two years the Bristol and
Kingswood congregations were entrusted solely to the care of
the Wesley brothers and of the lay evangelists who became their
fellow-labourers. Whitefield shall give his own account of his
departure from Methodism's cradle:--
"1739. Monday, April 2. Spent a good part of the morning in
talking with those who came to take their leave; and tongue
cannot express what a sorrowful parting we had. My heart was
so melted, that I prayed for them with strong cryings and many
tears. About one, I was obliged to force myself away. Crowds
were waiting at the door to give me a last farewell, and near
twenty friends accompanied me on horseback. Blessed be God for
the marvellous great kindness He hath shewn me in Bristol! Many
sinners, I believe, have been effectually converted; numbers
have come to me under convictions; and all the children of God
have been exceedingly comforted. Several thousands of little
books have been dispersed among the people. About £200 have been
collected for the Orphan House, and many poor families have
been relieved by the bounty of my friend Mr. Seward. What gives
me the greater comfort is the consideration that my dear and
honoured friend, Mr. Wesley, is left behind to confirm those
that are awakened, so that, when I return from Georgia, I hope
to see many bold soldiers of Jesus Christ.[189]
[189] In its number, dated April 19, 1739, _Common Sense_,
after describing a Methodist preacher as a gentleman of "meagre
countenance, lank hair, puritanical behaviour, and with a stock
of pride that domineers in every look," proceeds to say, "If
one man like Mr. Whitefield should have it in his power, by his
preaching, to detain five or six thousand of the vulgar from
their labour, what a loss in a little time may this bring to
the public! For my part, I shall expect to hear of a prodigious
rise in the price of coals about the city of Bristol, if this
gentleman proceeds with his charitable lectures to the colliers
of Kingswood."
"Having taken my leave, and passed through the people of
Bristol, I came about two to Kingswood, where the colliers,
unknown to me, had prepared an hospitable entertainment, and
were very forward for me to lay the first stone of their school.
A man giving me a piece of ground (in case Mr. C---- should
refuse to grant them any), I laid a stone, and then kneeled
down on it, and prayed that the gates of hell might not prevail
against our design. The colliers said a hearty _Amen_, and,
after I had given them a word of exhortation suitable to the
occasion, I took my leave, promising that I would come amongst
them again, if ever God should bring me back to England. I
hope a reformation will be carried on amongst them. For my
own part, I had rather preach the gospel to the unprejudiced
ignorant colliers, than to the bigotted, self-righteous, formal
Christians. The colliers will enter into the kingdom of God
before them."
Thus, by kneeling on a loose stone, deposited in a piece of ground,
provisionally promised as a site for the erection, was begun the
memorable Kingswood School. This is not the place to relate the
details of the ministry of Wesley and his brother, nor to dwell
upon the history of Kingswood School. Suffice it to say, that,
on the 12th of May next ensuing, Wesley, in Bristol, laid the
foundation-stone of his first Methodist meeting-house; and that, in
the month of June, he began to build the School in Kingswood. The
following extract, also, from Wesley's Journal, is full of interest,
and perfectly appropriate. It was written eight months after Wesley
became Whitefield's successor in Bristol and its neighbourhood:--
"Few persons have lived long in the west of England, who have
not heard of the colliers of Kingswood; a people famous, from
the beginning hitherto, for neither fearing God nor regarding
man; so ignorant of the things of God, that they seemed but one
remove from the beasts that perish; and, therefore, utterly
without desire of instruction, as well as without the means of
it.
"Many, last winter, used tauntingly to say of Mr. Whitefield,
'If he will convert heathens, why does he not go to the colliers
of Kingswood?' In spring, he did so; and as there were thousands
who resorted to no place of public worship, he went after them
into their own wilderness, 'to seek and save that which was
lost.' When he was called away, others went into 'the highways
and hedges, to compel them to come in.' And, by the grace
of God, their labour was not in vain. The scene is already
changed. Kingswood does not now, as a year ago, resound with
cursing and blasphemy. It is no more filled with drunkenness
and uncleanness, and the idle diversions that naturally lead
thereto. It is no longer full of wars and fightings, of clamour
and bitterness, of wrath and envyings. Peace and love are
there. Great numbers of the people are mild, gentle, and easy to
be entreated. They 'do not cry, neither strive;' and hardly is
their 'voice heard in the streets,' or indeed in their own wood,
unless when they are at their usual evening diversion,--singing
praise unto God their Saviour."
Leaving Wesley at Bristol, Whitefield again went off to Wales,
preaching in the open air at Thornbury and at the _Old Passage_ on
his way. At Usk, on April 4th, he met Howell Harris; and, being
refused the use of the pulpit in the church, a table was placed
under a large tree, upon which he discoursed "to some hundreds"
of attentive listeners. Attended by a cavalcade of nearly fifty
persons, he proceeded to Pontypool, and preached first in the
church, and then, to the overflowings of his congregations, out of
doors. Thirty horsemen accompanied him to Abergavenny, where, at
"the backside of a garden," he addressed "about two thousand people,
and did not spare the polite scoffers in the least." About forty on
horseback went with him to Comihoy, where the minister of the church
was "a hearty friend," but the congregation was so large that the
churchyard had to be used as Whitefield's preaching place. "I could
spend some months very profitably in Wales," he writes; "the longer
I am in it, the more I like it. The people are simple and artless.
They have left bigotry more than the generality of our Englishmen;
and, through the exhortations of Howell Harris, and the ministry of
others, they are hungering and thirsting after the righteousness of
Jesus Christ."
On April 6th, in company with about sixty equestrians, he reached
Caerleon, "a town," says he, "famous for having thirty British kings
buried in it, and for producing three noble Christian martyrs. I
chose particularly to come hither, because when my brother Howell
Harris was here last, some of the baser sort beat a drum, and
huzzaed around him, for the purpose of disturbing him. But God
suffered them not to move a tongue now, though I preached from the
very same place, and prayed for him by name, as I have in every
place where I have preached in Wales. God forbid I should be ashamed
either of my Master or His servants! Many thousands were there from
all parts, and God gave me such extraordinary assistance, that I
was carried out beyond myself."
At Trelegg, Whitefield preached "upon the horse-block before
the inn;" at Chepstow, in the church; and at Coleford, in the
market-house. On April 9th, he arrived at Gloucester, in the
neighbourhood of which he spent the next eight days. Howell Harris,
as well as William Seward, was his travelling companion. The
following is taken from the _Gloucester Journal_ of April 24, 1739:--
"On the 9th inst., the Rev. Mr. Whitefield came to this city
(the place of his nativity) from Wales; having preached in Usk
Street; in Pontypool Church and field; in Abergavenny, from a
place built on purpose, against a gentleman's wall; in Caerleon
field, from a pulpit built for the famous Mr. Howell Harris,
who came with him hither, and goes with him to London. He was
attended from Usk to Pontypool, and from thence to Abergavenny,
and to Caerleon, by sixty or seventy horse, so great was the
love of the people to his person, and to his doctrine of the new
birth," etc.
Whitefield's ministry in Gloucester and its vicinity was quite as
irregular and as remarkable as it had been in Wales. On April 10,
besides visiting three Religious Societies in the city, he also
preached in St. Michael's Church; but, on the day following, at the
conclusion of his sermon, the same church was closed against him,
on the ground that "the greatness of his congregations" seriously
interfered with public business. With the exception of another
instance, to be mentioned shortly, these were the only services
that Whitefield was allowed to hold in the Gloucester churches. The
result was, he began to preach, to assembled thousands, in the Booth
Hall, and in a field attached to the Bell Inn, and belonging to his
brother. The newspaper just quoted says:--
"On Tuesday and Wednesday, he preached at the parish church of
St. Michael's; but that, as well as one other pulpit, being
afterwards denied, and having no prospect of better success
with the rest of his brethren, he, on Thursday, Friday, Sunday,
and Monday, preached to some thousands in a field belonging to
the Bell Inn; also on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday _nights_,
in the Booth Hall, to about three or four thousand each time.
Great power has attended his preaching; great numbers have been
strengthened in their Christian faith, and are exceedingly
sorrowful at his departure from them."
Whitefield's views and feelings will be best expressed in his own
words. He writes:--
"1739, Thursday, April 12th. Preached to nearly three thousand
hearers in a field belonging to my brother. Cry out who will
against this my frowardness, I cannot see my dear countrymen and
fellow-Christians everywhere ready to perish, through ignorance
and unbelief, and not endeavour to convince them of both. I
call upon them who forbid me to speak to these poor baptized
heathens, to give a reason for their so doing--a reason which
may satisfy not man only, but God. I am, and profess myself, a
member of the Church of England. I have received no prohibition
from any of the bishops; and, having had no fault found by them
with my life or doctrine, have the same general license to
preach which the rectors are willing to think sufficient for
their curates; nor can any of them produce one instance of their
having refused the assistance of a stranger clergyman, because
he had not a written license. And have their lordships, the
bishops, insisted that no person shall ever preach occasionally
without such special license? Is not our producing our Letters
of Orders _always judged sufficient_? Have not some of us been
_allowed_ to preach in Georgia and other places, by no other
than our general commission? His lordship of London allowed of
my preaching in Georgia, even when I had only received Deacon's
Orders; and I have never been charged by his lordship with
teaching or living otherwise than as a true minister of the
Church of England. I keep close to her Articles and Homilies,
which, if my opposers did, we should not have so many dissenters
from her. But it is most notorious that for the iniquity of
the priests the land mourns. We have _preached_ and _lived_
many sincere persons out of our communion. I have now conversed
with several of the best of all denominations; and many of them
solemnly protest that they went from the church because they
could not find food for their souls. They stayed among us till
they were starved out. I know this declaration will expose
me to the ill-will, not of _all_ my brethren, but of all my
indolent, earthly-minded, pleasure-taking brethren. But were I
not to speak, the very stones would cry out against them. Speak,
therefore, I must, and will, and will not spare. God look to the
event!"
No doubt all this is true; but still, the clergy had a right to
refuse the use of their churches to the young evangelist; and
it must also be admitted that there is throughout Whitefield's
statement a strain of egotism scarcely modest, and at the end of it
a tone of censoriousness hardly in harmony with Christian courtesy.
Unfortunately, this was not the only imprudent attack of Whitefield
on the indolence, the earthly-mindedness, and pleasure-taking habits
of his brethren in the ministry. There were ample grounds for it;
but the attack was not politic. It resulted in no good, and not
unreasonably exposed Whitefield to retaliatory critiques. But more
of this anon.
Besides his preaching in the Booth Hall and in his brother's field,
Whitefield preached out of doors at Painswick, Chalford, Stroud,
Stonehouse, and Oxenhall. Strangely enough, his last service, for
the present, was performed in the church he attended in the days of
his boyhood. He writes:--
"1739, April 17, Tuesday. About eleven, by the bishop's
permission, I baptized, in the Church of St. Mary de Crypt,
Mr. Thomas W----d, a professed Quaker, about sixty years of
age, who was convinced of the necessity of being born again of
_water_ as well as of the _Spirit_. Many of Christ's faithful
servants attended on the prayers around him; and, I believe,
the Holy Ghost was with us of a truth. After the solemnity was
over, I gave a word of exhortation from the font; and, being the
place where I myself not long since had been baptized, it gave
me an opportunity of reflecting on the frequent breaches of my
baptismal vow, and of proving the necessity of the new birth
from the office of our Church.
"After this, and having dined, I prayed with and took leave of
my weeping friends. When I came to the city, I found the devil
had painted me in most horrible colours; for it was currently
reported that I was really mad, that I had said I was the
Holy Ghost, and that I had walked bare-headed through Bristol
streets, singing psalms. But God was pleased to shew the people
that the devil was a liar, and that the words I spoke were not
those of a madman, but the words of soberness and truth."
Having baptized the old Quaker, and unnecessarily repudiated the
stupid charge of being mad, because he had sung with uncovered head
in the streets of Bristol, he set out for Cheltenham, accompanied by
about a dozen of his friends. Until recently, Cheltenham had been
a poor, straggling hamlet of a few thatched cottages, sheltered by
the Cotswold Hills. The first Spa was discovered in 1716, and since
then, during a period of twenty years, the insignificant village
had been full of bustle, for its site was in the process of being
transformed into the squares, crescents, terraces, and promenades of
the fashionable Cheltenham of the present day. As Whitefield and his
friends passed along, the rustic inhabitants, at the doors of their
humble cottages, stood and stared. Whitefield applied for the use
of the parish church. His application was refused; and therefore
he preached, he says, "to near two thousand people,"[190] on the
Plough Inn bowling-green. He adds, "Many were convicted. One woman
wept greatly, because she had said I was crazy; and some were so
filled with the Holy Ghost, that they were almost unable to support
themselves under it."
[190] This may seem incredible, after what has just been said
of Cheltenham; but it must be borne in mind that Whitefield was
now preaching according to a previous appointment, and that his
congregation consisted of many others than the inhabitants of the
prosperous village. The following is taken from the _Gloucester
Journal_: "1738, April 24. Last Tuesday (having first baptized an
aged Quaker), Mr. Whitefield set out _by appointment_ for Cheltenham
and Evesham."
From Cheltenham, Whitefield proceeded to Evesham, in the
neighbourhood of which he spent three days among the relatives of
his friend William Seward. He shall relate his own story.
"1739, April 18, Wednesday. Got safe to Evesham (where Mr.
Seward's relations live) about seven at night. Several persons
came to see me, amongst whom was Mr. Benjamin Seward, whom God
has been pleased to call by His free grace very lately. For
some years he had been at Cambridge. As touching the law, so
far as outward morality went, he was blameless; but he disliked
my proceedings, and once had a mind, he said, to write against
Mr. Law's enthusiastic notions in his 'Christian Perfection.'
Lately, however, he has had an eight days' sickness; in which
time he scarce ever ate, or drank, or slept, and underwent
great inward agonies and tortures. After this, God sent a poor
travelling woman, who came to sell straw toys, to instruct
him in the nature of the second birth; and now he is resolved
to prepare for Holy Orders. He is a gentleman of very large
fortune, which he has devoted to God. I write this to shew how
far a man may go, and yet know nothing of Jesus Christ. Here is
one who constantly attended on the means of grace, exact in his
morals, humane and courteous in his conversation, who gave much
in alms, was frequent in private duties; and yet, till about
six weeks ago, was as destitute of any saving, experimental
knowledge of Jesus Christ, as those on whom His name was never
called, and who still sit in darkness and in the shadow of
death. How often has my companion and honoured friend, Mr.
William Seward, been deemed a madman, even by this very brother,
for going to Georgia; but now God has made him an instrument of
converting his brother. This, more and more, convinces me that
we must be despised before we can be vessels fit for God's use.
"April 19, Thursday. Went to Badsey, about two miles from
Evesham, where Mr. Seward's eldest brother lives. We were most
kindly received. About four in the afternoon, the churches
at Evesham, Bengeworth, and Badsey being denied, I preached
from the cross, in the middle of Evesham street, to a great
congregation; and then went to Badsey, and preached in Mr.
Seward's brother's yard.
"April 20, Friday. Preached about nine in the morning at the
cross in Evesham, went to public worship, and received the
sacrament. Preached at Badsey at five in the evening, and
returned and expounded in the town hall, which was quite
thronged. The recorder himself procured the keys for us.
"April 21, Saturday. Preached in the morning at Badsey, to a
weeping audience, and set out for Oxford, which I reached at
about ten at night."
At Oxford, Whitefield was thrown into amusing perturbation by an
event which might have been expected to secure his warm approval.
Charles Kinchin, one of the most zealous of the Oxford Methodists,
was Rector of Dummer and Fellow and Dean of Corpus Christi College.
Greatly to Whitefield's distress of mind, Kinchin had resolved to
declare himself a Dissenter. He had left the college, intended to
resign his living, and purposed, as soon as he was really converted,
to become an itinerant preacher.[191] Whitefield himself was already
an itinerant, either by necessity, or choice, or both; and yet he
seems to have been ridiculously horrified at the probability of
Kinchin following his example. He writes:--
"The step taken by Mr. Kinchin gave me a great shock. For I knew
what dreadful consequences would attend a needless separation
from the Established Church. For my own part, I can see no
reason for my leaving the Church, however I am treated by the
corrupt members and ministers of it. I judge of the state of a
church, not from the practice of its members, but its primitive
and public constitutions; and so long as I think the Articles of
the Church of England are agreeable to Scripture, I am resolved
to preach them up without either bigotry or party zeal."
[191] See "The Oxford Methodists," pp. 220-223.
Already Hervey, another of the Oxford Methodists, had written to
Kinchin a letter, of more than a dozen printed octavo pages,[192]
and had strongly and lovingly entreated him not to leave the Church.
Whitefield wrote to the same effect. His letter is thoroughly
characteristic, and abbreviation would injure it.
[192] Ibid.
"OXON, _April 22, 1739_.
"DEAREST MR. KINCHIN,--Just now I have received the blessed
sacrament, and have been praying for you. Let me exhort you,
by the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, not to resign your
parsonage till you have consulted your friends in London. It is
undoubtedly true that all is not right when we are afraid to be
open to our dear brethren.
"Satan has desired to sift you as wheat. He is dealing with
you as he did with me some years ago, when he kept me in my
closet near six weeks, because I could not do anything with a
single intention. So he would have you not to preach till you
have received the Holy Ghost in the full assurance of it; and
that is the way never to have it at all. God will be found in
the use of means; and our Lord sent out His disciples to preach
_before_[193] they had received the Holy Ghost in that most
plentiful manner at the day of Pentecost.
[193] The italics are Whitefield's own. This was odd doctrine
for him to teach! It must always be remembered, however, that
Whitefield was a warm-hearted preacher,--never a learned,
logical theologist.
"Besides, consider, my dear brother, what confusion your
separation from the Church will occasion. The prison doors"
(at Oxford) "are already shut" (against us). "Our Society is
stopped; and most are afraid almost to converse with us. I can
assure you, that my being a minister of the Church of England,
and preaching its articles, is a means, under God, of drawing so
many after me.
"As for objecting about habits, robes, etc., good God! I thought
we long since knew that the kingdom of God did not consist in
any externals, but in righteousness, and peace, and joy in the
Holy Ghost.
"Oh! my dear brother, I travail in pain for you. Never was I
more shocked at anything than at your proceedings. I doubt
not that you will pray to God to be kept from delusion at the
reading of this. I am not ignorant of Satan's devices, and I
know he never more successfully tempts us, than when he turns
himself into an angel of light. Oh! my dearest Mr. Kinchin, do
nothing rashly. Consult your friends, and do not break the heart
of your most affectionate, though unworthy brother in Christ,
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD."
Though it is not necessary to pursue the subject, it may be added,
1. That Kinchin was prompted to act as he did chiefly by three
Moravian brethren;[194] 2. Though there can be little doubt that he
resigned his Fellowship and his office of Dean of Corpus Christi
College, it is not certain that he resigned his living; 3. When he
died, on January 4, 1742, he left behind him a young widow of the
age of thirty, who, ten months afterwards, was one of the enrolled
members of "the Congregation of the Lamb, in London;" and, within
eighteen months after that, became the wife of Ludolph Ernest
Schlicht,[195] who officiated as one of the principal Moravian
ministers in London, Dublin, and other places.
[194] Whitefield's Journal, 1739, p. 87.
[195] Memoirs of James Hutton, pp. 93, 146, 177.
Whitefield spent two days at Oxford, trying to put wrong things
right. Of course, he was not allowed the use of any of the Oxford
churches; but he says:--
"I visited two Societies, at the first of which many gownsmen
did me the honour of coming to hear. Before I began, I desired
them to behave like gentlemen and Christians. I also prayed
particularly for them, and applied myself in meekness and love
to them at the end of my discourse. They behaved quietly; but
afterwards followed me to my inn, and came uninvited up into my
room. I took that opportunity to give them a second exhortation;
and though some, no doubt, mocked, yet, I believe, some will
remember what was said. Blessed be God for sending me hither!
Our dear brother Kinchin, falling into such an error, has given
such a shock, that, unless I had come, in all probability the
brethren would have been scattered abroad like sheep having no
shepherd."
Next morning, before setting out for London, Whitefield conducted
another religious service; during which the Vice-Chancellor of the
University came and sent a message, requesting Whitefield to come
downstairs to see him.[196] As soon as the young preacher presented
himself, the learned Don angrily exclaimed, "Have you, sir, a name
in any book here?" "Yes, sir," said Whitefield, "but I intend to
take it out soon." "Yes," replied the wrathful magnate, "and you
had best take yourself out too, or otherwise I will lay you up by
the heels. What do you mean by going about, alienating the people's
affections from their proper pastors? Your works are full of vanity
and nonsense. You pretend to inspiration. If you ever come again
in this manner among these people, I will lay you first by the
heels, and these shall follow." Having delivered himself of this
official threat, the Vice-Chancellor "turned his back, and went
away." "I exhorted the brethren," says Whitefield, "not to forsake
the assembling of themselves together, though no pastor should be
permitted to come amongst them; for, so long as they continued
steadfast in the communion of the Established Church, I told them,
no power on earth could justify hindering them continuing in
fellowship, as the primitive Christians did, in order to build up
each other in the knowledge and fear of God. Oh, what advantage has
Satan gained over us by our brother Kinchin putting off his gown!"
[196] The following is taken from an old newspaper: "We hear from
Oxford that the Vice-Chancellor, hearing of Mr. Whitefield's arrival
there, sent him word that he must not preach in Oxford, and hoped
he would leave the place, which he did accordingly the beginning of
this week."
The ungentlemanly menace of the Vice-Chancellor was an empty one,
and yet it evidently caused Whitefield some anxiety. Hence, on the
same day, he wrote as follows to his friend Harris:--
"I rejoice to hear Mr. Cole[197] builds you up in your most
holy faith. Who knows but you may, under God, keep up religion
in Gloucester? Mr. Kinchin's conduct, in leaving the Church
and giving up the parsonage, has sadly grieved the spirit of
many good people here. My heart is drawn towards London most
strangely. Perhaps you may hear of your friend's imprisonment.
I expect no other preferment. God grant I may behave so, that
when I suffer, it may not be for my own imprudencies, but for
righteousness' sake! Then, I am sure, the spirit of Christ and
of glory will rest upon my soul."
[197] The Dissenting minister at Gloucester.
On April 25th, Whitefield and his friends, William Seward and
Howell Harris, arrived in London, where (excepting one or two brief
excursions made to other places) he continued until the end of June.
This was a most important epoch in Whitefield's history, and must be
carefully examined.
It is a significant fact, that, though it was through three
Moravians that Charles Kinchin was (as Whitefield thought) so
disastrously led astray, Whitefield still maintained a close
connection with the Moravian Society in Fetter Lane, and, up to
the time of his second embarkation for Georgia, attended their
assemblies, and assisted in their services. He was really, if not
nominally, one of their brotherhood; and, on Sunday, May 20, made
the following entry in his Journal: "Went with our brethren of
Fetter Lane Society to St. Paul's, and received the holy sacrament,
as a testimony that we adhered to the Church of England."
It was not, however, as a Moravian that Whitefield became so
notable; but as an outdoor preacher, whose congregations, voice, and
oratory were unparalleled.
At this period, the vicar of Islington was the Rev. George
Stonehouse, who had recently been converted, chiefly by means of
Charles Wesley; and who, like Whitefield and the Wesley brothers,
evinced great affection for the Moravian fraternity. In fact, he
soon afterwards so identified himself with the Brethren, that he
sold his living, and retired to Sherborne, in the west of England,
where he fitted up a Moravian meeting house capable of accommodating
five hundred people.
Mr. Stonehouse was now the only clergyman in London willing to lend
his pulpit to poor outcast Whitefield; and even he was not able to
carry out his wishes. Whitefield, the day after he reached London,
wrote as follows:--
"Thursday, April 26. Assisted in administering the blessed
sacrament at Islington, where the vicar, in conformity to the
rubric, takes care to observe the octaves of Easter.
"Friday, April 27. Went this morning to Islington to preach,
according to the appointment of my dear brother in Christ, the
Reverend Mr. Stonehouse; but, in the midst of the prayers,
the churchwarden came, demanding me to produce my license, or
otherwise he forbad my preaching in that pulpit. I believe I
might have insisted upon my right to preach, being in priest's
orders, and having the presentation of the living at Savannah,
which is in the Bishop of London's diocese,--a stronger license
than that implicit one by which hundreds of the inferior clergy
are by his lordship permitted to preach. However, for the
sake of peace, I declined preaching in the church; but, after
the communion service was over, I preached in the churchyard,
being assured my Master now called me out here, as well as in
Bristol.[198] God was pleased so to assist me in preaching, and
so wonderfully to affect the hearers, that, I believe, we could
have gone singing of hymns to prison. Let not the adversaries
say I have thrust myself out of their synagogues. No, they
have thrust me out. And since the self-righteous men of this
generation count themselves unworthy, I go out into the highways
and hedges, and compel harlots, publicans, and sinners to come
in, that my Master's house may be filled. They who are sincere
will follow after me to hear the word of God."[199]
[198] _The Universal Weekly History_ of May 5 contained the
following: "On Saturday last, the Rev. Mr. Whitefield, being denied
the use of a pulpit, preached to a prodigious concourse of people
on a tombstone, in Islington churchyard. Last Sunday morning, he
did the same from the wall near Bedlam; and, in the afternoon, near
the gallows on Kennington Common, to a vast number of people."
_Read's Weekly Journal_, of the same date, says: "The followers of
Parson Whitefield have done a vast deal of damage to the tombs and
gravestones in Islington churchyard." It also adds that the question
of Whitefield's exclusion from the pulpit of Islington Church was
decided by a committee of ten; five chosen by Mr. Stonehouse, the
vicar, and five by the parish vestry. Their decision was unanimous.
[199] Two days afterwards, Charles Wesley was similarly prohibited,
and was told "the devil was in them all;" that is, in himself,
Whitefield, and the vicar. Mr. Stonehouse waited upon the bishop;
but had to leave him "close, shut up, and sour." In reference to
Whitefield, Charles Wesley writes: "April 25. I heard G. Whitefield,
very powerful, at Fetter Lane. April 27. I heard G. Whitefield in
Islington churchyard. The numerous congregation could not have been
more affected within its walls."
Thus was Whitefield driven to outdoor preaching in London, as well
as in Bristol. Perhaps he would have preferred a church; but now he
must either preach out of doors, or not at all. His spirit might be
vexed, but was not depressed. On the very day when the imperious
churchwarden thrust him out of Islington Church into the churchyard,
he wrote to his friend Harris at Gloucester:--
"To-day, my Master, by His providence and Spirit, compelled
me to preach in the churchyard at Islington. To-morrow, I
am to repeat that mad trick, and, on Sunday, to go out into
Moorfields. The word of the Lord runs and is glorified. People's
hearts seem quite broken. God strengthens me exceedingly. I
preach till I sweat through and through. Innumerable blessings
does God pour down upon me. Oh that I had a thankful heart!"
When Sunday came, Whitefield, not surprisingly, did more than he
intended. He writes:--
"Sunday, April 29. Preached in the morning at Moorfields, to
an exceeding great multitude. At ten, went to Christ Church,
and heard Doctor Trapp preach most virulently against me and
my friends, upon these words, 'Be not righteous over-much: why
shouldest thou destroy thyself?' God gave me great serenity
of mind; but, alas! the preacher was not so calm as I wished
him. His sermon was founded upon wrong suppositions, not to
say that there were many direct untruths in it. And he argued
so strenuously against all _inward feelings_, that he plainly
proved that, with all his learning, he knew nothing yet as
he ought to know. At five, I preached at Kennington Common,
about two miles from London, where thirty thousand people
were supposed to be present. The wind carried my voice to the
extremest part of the audience. All stood attentive, and joined
in the Psalm and the Lord's Prayer most regularly. I scarce ever
preached more quietly in any church. The word came with power.
The people were much affected. All agreed it was never seen on
this wise before. I hope a good inroad has been made into the
devil's kingdom this day.[200]
[200] _Read's Weekly Journal_ of May 5th, says Whitefield
preached from the same text as Dr. Trapp, and adds, "As the
people were kept waiting a long time for the preacher, Dr. Rock
cunningly took the advantage of his absence, and talked so
pathetically to the multitude of the efficacy of his packets,
that he disposed of abundance of them; and it is thought the
quack for the body made greater profit that afternoon than the
quack for the soul."
"Monday, April 30. Declined preaching to-day, that I might
have leisure to write to some of my correspondents, and make
preparations for my poor orphans in Georgia. Heard that Mr.
Kinchin had got over his scruples, and of the wonderful success
of my honoured friend Mr. John Wesley's ministry in Bristol, and
of much opposition at Oxford. Certainly God is about to bring
mighty things to pass."
So ended this eventful month of April. Wesley, whom Whitefield had
left as his successor, was preaching to thousands upon thousands
in Bristol and its vicinity, and already numbers were falling on
the ground as if "thunderstruck," and in the greatest excitement
calling upon God for mercy. Whitefield had prepared Wesley's way
in Bristol, and he was now doing the same in London. Moorfields--a
park laid out in grass plots, intersected by broad gravel walks, and
shaded by rows of well-grown elms--was "the city mall." Kennington
Common--a mile beyond the small hamlet of Newington, and situated at
the end of a vast conglomerated garden which extended to what is now
Westminster Bridge--was the rendezvous of London riff-raffs, and the
ghostly locale where hundreds of condemned felons had been hanged
and gibbeted. These, henceforth, were two of Whitefield's grand
cathedrals.[201]
[201] The following abusive doggrel was published in the _London
Daily Post_:--