_RESIDENCE IN SWITZERLAND._
After spending some months at Bristol, with little, if any, improvement
in his health, Fletcher was strongly urged to spend the winter abroad.
The south of France, and Spain were both suggested, and his brothers
and sisters in Switzerland sent him a pressing invitation to revisit
his home, and breathe once more his native air. He yielded at last to
the advice of physicians and friends, and made the necessary
arrangements for a long absence from Madeley. His curate, Mr. Greaves,
who had supplied his place for some months, was to remain in charge of
the parish. The vicar's income was assigned, part to Mr. Greaves, and
the rest to the maintenance of various good works in and around
Madeley.
Before setting out on his journey he addressed a pastoral letter "To
the Brethren who hear the Word of God in the Parish Church of Madeley."
It was full of affectionate counsels and exhortations. In bidding them
farewell, he writes: "I hope to see you again in the flesh; but my
sweetest and firmest hope is to meet you where there are no parting
seas, no interposing mountains, no sickness, no death, no fear of
loving too much, no shame for loving too little."
On December 4th, 1777, after being delayed at Dover for a day or two by
bad weather, Fletcher crossed the Channel with Mr. Ireland and his two
daughters, who were desirous of spending the winter in the south, and
of ministering to the comfort of their loved and honoured friend.
He remained abroad for nearly three years and a half. This period of
seclusion and comparative inactivity is full of interest to the student
of Fletcher's history. It is true we lose sight of him for months
together, and find it difficult to weave into a consistent story the
references to persons and places which are to be found in his letters,
and in sundry narratives that have come down to us; but the change of
scene and circumstance gives additional charm to the portraiture of his
gentle life. It must not be forgotten that Fletcher, though almost more
English than the English themselves in his attachment to the
institutions of this country, was a Swiss, and we cannot desire that
the Swiss in him should be suppressed; we would not have him "forget
his own people and his father's house." Away from Madeley, from the
Church of England, from Methodism, he moves amid moral and social
surroundings which were, after all, native to him, and amongst which
his character could not but reveal some aspects not similarly brought
out by his life in England. These years spent in France and Switzerland
add to the moral picturesqueness of his course as a whole.
The route taken by Fletcher and his friends was by Calais, Abbeville,
etc., to Dijon and Lyons, and thence to Aix in Provence, where they
remained for some time. They afterwards visited Montpellier,
Marseilles, and Hyeres, though in what order it is difficult to
determine, and in the spring of 1778 Fletcher reached Nyon, where he
was to spend the next three years. This outline of his journeyings may
now be supplemented by extracts from his letters and those of his
companions.
"When we departed from Calais," writes Mr. Ireland, "the
north wind was very high, and penetrated us even in the
chaise. We put up in Breteuil, and the next day got to
Abbeville, whence we were forced, by the miserable
accommodation we met with, to set out, though it was Sunday.
Hitherto Mr. Fletcher and I had led the way, but now the
other chaises got before us. Nine miles from Abbeville our
axletree gave way through the hard frost, and we were left
to the piercing cold on the side of a hill without shelter.
After waiting an hour and a half, we sent the axletree and
wheels back to be repaired; and, leaving the body of the
chaise under a guard, procured another to carry us to the
next town. On the 15th our chaise arrived in good repair.
The country was covered with snow, but travelling steadily
forward, we reached Dijon on the 27th. During the whole
journey Mr. Fletcher showed marks of recovery. He bore both
the fatigue and cold as well as the best of us. On the 31st
we put up at Lyons, and solemnly closed the year, bowing our
knees before the throne, which indeed we did all together
every day. January 4th, 1778, we left Lyons, and came on the
9th to Aix. Here we rest, the weather being exceedingly fine
and warm. Mr. Fletcher walks out daily. He is now able to
read and pray with us every morning and evening. He has no
remains of his cough nor of the weakness in his breast. His
natural colour is restored, and the sallowness is quite
gone. His appetite is good, and he takes a little wine."
In another letter, written from Aix, he says: "Soon after our arrival
here, I rode out most days with my dear and valued friend. Now and then
he complained of the uneasiness of the horse, and there were some
remains of soreness in his breast, but this soon went off. The
beginning of February was warm, and the warmth, when he walked in the
fields, relaxed him; but when the wind got north or east, he was braced
again. His appetite is good, his complexion as healthy as it was eleven
years ago. As his strength increases he increases the length of his
rides. Last Tuesday he set out on a journey of a hundred and twelve
miles. The first day he travelled forty miles without feeling any
fatigue, and the third day fifty-five. He bore the journey as well as I
did, and was as well and as active at the end of it as at the
beginning. During the day he cried out, 'Help me to praise the Lord for
His goodness; I never expected to see this day.' He accepted a pressing
invitation to preach to the Protestants here; and he fulfilled his
engagement on Sunday morning, taking as his text, 'Examine yourselves,
whether ye be in the faith.' Both the French and English were greatly
affected; the word went to the hearts of both saints and sinners. His
voice is now as good as ever it was, and he has an earnest invitation
to preach near Montpellier, where we are going. You would be
astonished at the entreaties of pastors as well as people. He has
received a letter from a minister in the Levine Mountains, who intends
to come to Montpellier, sixty miles, to press him to go and preach to
his flock. He purposes to spend the next summer in his own country, and
the following winter in these parts."
From Montpellier Fletcher wrote to his curate, Mr. Greaves: "Please
God, I shall set out next week from this place, where the winter has
been uncommonly rainy and windy. We had over half an inch of snow last
week, but it was gone long before noon. The climate has, nevertheless,
agreed with me better than England, and as a proof of it, I need only
tell you that I rode last Friday from Hyeres, the orange gardens of
France, hither, which is near fifty miles, and was well enough to
preach last Sunday, in French, at the Protestant chapel.... At the
first convenient opportunity, please to read the following note in the
church: John Fletcher sends his best Christian love to the congregation
that worships God in the parish church at Madeley. He begs the
continuance of their prayers for strength of body and mind, that he may
be able (if it be the will of God) to serve them again in the gospel.
He desires them to return Almighty God thanks for having enabled him to
speak again in public last Sunday, without having had a return of his
spitting of blood, which he considers as a token that his life may be
spared a little, to exhort them to grow in grace, in the knowledge of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and in brotherly love;--the best marks that we
know God, and are in the faith of Christ."
Early in May he reached Nyon, having travelled under the care of his
brother from Montpellier. He was received by the members of his family
with the utmost affection and respect.
One of the most important letters which he wrote during his absence
from England was addressed to "The Rev. Messrs. John and Charles
Wesley." It is dated from Macon in Burgundy, May 17th, 1778. The
following extracts will show Fletcher's judgment concerning the state
of morals and religion in France ten years before the Revolution:
"Gambling and dress, sinful pleasure and love of money,
unbelief and false philosophy, lightness of spirit, fear of
man, and love of the world, are the principal sins by which
Satan binds his captives in these parts. Materialism is not
rare; deism and Socinianism are very common; and a set of
freethinkers, great admirers of Voltaire and Rousseau, Bayle
and Mirabeau, seem bent upon destroying Christianity and
government. If we believe them, the world is the dupe of
kings and priests; religion is fanaticism and superstition;
subordination is slavery; Christian morality is absurd,
unnatural, and impracticable; and Christianity the most
bloody religion that ever was. And here it is certain, that
by the example of Christians _so called_, and by our
continual disputes, they have a great advantage, and do the
truth immense mischief. _Popery will certainly fall in
France, in this or the next century_; and I have no doubt
God will use those vain men to bring about a reformation
here, as he used Henry the Eighth to do that work in
England; so the madness of His enemies shall, at last, turn
to His praise, and to the furtherance of His kingdom....
"If you ask, what system these men adopt, I answer, Some
build on deism a morality founded on _self-preservation_,
_self-interest_, and _self-honour_; others laugh at all
morality, except that which being neglected _violently_
disturbs society. And external order is the decent covering
of fatalism, while materialism is their system.
"Oh! dear sirs, let me entreat you, in these dangerous days,
to use your wide influence, with unabated zeal, against the
scheme of these modern Celsuses, Porphyries, and Julians, by
calling all professors to think and speak the same things,
to love and embrace one another, and to firmly resist those
daring men, many of whom are already in England, headed by
the admirers of Mr. Hume and Mr. Hobbes. But it is needless
to say this to those who have made, and continue to make,
such a stand for vital Christianity, so that I have nothing
to do but pray that the Lord may abundantly support and
strengthen you, and make you a continued comfort to His
enlightened people, loving reprovers of those who mix light
with darkness, and a terror to the perverse."
While residing at Nyon Fletcher was visited by his friend and former
medical adviser, William Perronet, son of the venerable Vicar of
Shoreham. The Perronet family was of Swiss origin, and about this time
it came to the knowledge of Mr. Perronet that he had some claim to a
property situated at Chateau d'Oex, a small town in a mountain
valley, about twenty miles from the north-eastern shore of the Lake of
Geneva, and nearly sixty from Nyon. Fletcher assisted his friends by
making inquiries and obtaining legal advice, and it was thought
necessary that William Perronet should go over to press the claim in
person. This he accordingly did, and, it may be said here, with
complete success, though he did not live to enjoy the possession, as he
was taken ill on his way home, and died before reaching England.
Fletcher wrote, inviting him to be his guest: "This is a delightful
country. If you come to see it, and to claim the estate, bring all the
papers and letters you can collect; and share a pleasant apartment, and
one of the finest prospects in the world, in the house where I was
born."
Soon after Mr. Perronet's arrival, it was thought necessary that he
should visit Chateau d'Oex, and although it was now December,
Fletcher accompanied him. The journey was not without danger, more
especially for one in such a feeble state of health. It is described,
together with many interesting details of Fletcher's life at Nyon, in
Mr. Perronet's letters.
"On Friday, the 11th, I reached Nyon, where I had the
pleasure of finding our dear friend in pretty good health
and spirits. Mr. Fletcher's house is a fine, large building,
agreeably situated. It is in the form of a castle, and is
supposed to have been built five hundred years ago....
"His chief delight seems to be in the meeting of his little
society of children; and as he is exceedingly fond of them,
they appear to be altogether as fond of him. He seldom
either walks abroad or rides out, but some of them follow
him, singing the hymns they have learned, and conversing
with him by the way. But you must not suppose that he is
permitted to enjoy this happiness unmolested. Not only the
drunkards make songs upon him and his little companions, but
many of the clergy loudly complain of such irregular
proceedings."
Mr. Perronet was much impressed with the incidents of their journey to
Chateau d'Oex. The rugged heights, the precipices, the torrents, the
deep snow, rising many feet above their heads as they toiled through
narrow passes that had been cut through it,--all are new to him, and
are described with much vivacity. Part of the distance they rode upon a
sledge, and in some places they were obliged to go on foot. Whilst
doing so they got a fall on the ice, when Fletcher received a severe
blow on the back of his head, and his companion sprained his wrist.
Though they only spent two days at Chateau d'Oex, Fletcher was
constrained to preach the gospel to the people. He was visited by some
of the principal inhabitants, who stood round him in deep attention for
nearly an hour while he exhorted and prayed.
As his strength permitted, Fletcher laboured, not only in Nyon, but,
true to the Methodist principles he had learnt in England, made
journeys in various directions, that he might scatter the good seed.
Amongst the Jura Mountains he found industrious and thriving
populations. In one village they told him they had the best singing,
and the best preacher in the country. But when he asked if any sinners
were converted under his ministry, they stared, and asked what he
meant. When he had explained himself, they could only say, "We do not
live in the time of miracles." Having crossed into French territory, he
was much interested on coming upon a great gathering of people who were
assembled to hear some itinerant mission preachers, Roman Catholic
clergymen. They were, it appears, three brothers, and they had already
spent some days in the place, preaching morning and evening. Fletcher
heard one of them preach upon the judgment. "Before the sermon, all
those who, for the press, could kneel, did, and sang a French hymn to
beg a blessing on the word; and indeed it was blessed. An awful
attention was visible upon most, and, during a good part of the
discourse, the voice of the preacher was almost lost in the cries and
bitter wailings of the audience." The preacher urged them to know their
day, and slight the mercy of God and the blood of Christ no longer; and
Fletcher adds, "I have seen but once or twice congregations so much
affected in England."
Devout and earnest Roman Catholics were much more to his mind than
formal, lifeless Protestants. On Good Friday, which was not observed
amongst the Calvinists of Nyon, Fletcher and Mr. Perronet crossed the
lake into Savoy to hear a celebrated Capuchin preacher. Fletcher was
much pleased with his discourse, and spent two or three hours with him
and his brethren in serious and friendly conversation.
To many of the Swiss ministers his "irregularities" were as distasteful
as such things were to the "high" or "moderate" clergy in England. His
earnestness and popularity perplexed them. The people crowded the
churches where he preached, multitudes who could not gain admittance
remaining outside, while others placed ladders against the windows, and
climbed to places whence they might hear, even if they could not see
him. Pulpits to which he had been at first invited were closed against
him. It was represented to the authorities that he preached doctrines
subversive of morality and social order, and that on this account he
had been banished from England. At a visitation held in Nyon strong
complaints were made against him, the ministers of the town, however,
taking his part, while those of Geneva and Lausanne were opposed to
him. He was forbidden to hold meetings in private houses, and
householders were warned that they would be liable to penalties if they
permitted such meetings to be held. This roused the spirit of his
brother, who wrote to the _Bailli_ saying that he would give up neither
his civil nor religious liberty, and would open his house for the word
of God. But the climax was reached when Fletcher was summoned before
the _Bailli_, who sharply reprimanded him for preaching against
Sabbath-breaking and stage plays. The former, he said, implied a
censure on the magistrates in general, as if they neglected their duty;
and the latter he considered as a personal reflection on himself, he
having just invited a company of French comedians to Nyon. Accordingly,
he forbade him any longer to exercise any of the functions of a
minister in the country. Fletcher, however, still found means to
catechize the children and to hold meetings in private. At the same
time he was informed that if he would renounce his ordination, and
obtain Presbyterian orders, he would be allowed to preach, and on those
terms a minister in Nyon offered him what might be called a curacy.
The following extracts from his letters, written while at Nyon, will
throw light both upon the state of things there, and upon his
occupations and sentiments at this time.
_July 15th, 1778._--"The day I preached, I met with some
children in my wood, walking or gathering strawberries. I
spoke to them about our Father, our common Father. They said
they would sing to their Father as well as the birds, and
followed me, attempting to make such melody as you know is
commonly made in these parts. I outrode them, but some of
them had the patience to follow me home, and said they would
speak with me; but the people of the house stopped them,
saying, I could not be troubled with children. They cried,
and said they were sure I would not say so, for I was their
good brother. The next day, when I heard it, I inquired
after them, and invited them to come to me, which they have
done every day since. I make them little hymns which they
sing.... Last Sunday I met them in the wood: there were a
hundred of them, and as many adults. Our first pastor has
since desired me to desist from preaching in the wood, ...
and I have complied, from a concurrence of circumstances
which are not worth mentioning. I therefore meet them in my
father's yard."
_Sept. 17th, 1778._--"One of our ministers being ill, I
ventured a second time into the pulpit last Sunday; and the
Sunday before I preached six miles off to two thousand
people in a jail-yard, where they were come to see a poor
murderer two days before his execution. I was a little
abused by the Bailiff on the occasion, and refused the
liberty of attending the poor man on the scaffold, where he
was to be broken on the wheel. I hope he died penitent."
_Feb. 2nd, 1779._--"I am better, thank God! and ride out
every day when the slippery roads will permit me to venture
without the risk of breaking my horse's legs, and my own
neck. You will ask me how I have spent my time. I pray, have
patience, rejoice, and write when I can. I saw wood in the
house when I cannot go out, and eat grapes, of which I have
always a basket by me....
"The truths I chiefly insist upon, when I talk to the people
who will hear me, are those which I feed upon myself, as my
daily bread: God, our Maker and Preserver, though invisible,
is here and everywhere. He is our chief good, because all
beauty and all goodness centres in and flows from Him. He is
especially love: and love in us, being His image, is the sum
and substance of all moral and spiritual excellence,--of all
true and lasting bliss. In Adam we are all estranged from
love and from God; but the second Adam, Jesus, Emmanuel,
God with us, is come to make us know and enjoy again our God
as the God of love and the chief good. All who receive Jesus
receive power to become the sons of God, etc., etc."
_March 7th, 1780._--"I am sorry the building has come to so
much more than I intended; but as the mischief is done, it
is a matter to exercise patience, resignation, and
self-denial; and it will be a caution in future. I am going
to sell part of my little estate here to discharge the debt.
I had laid by L50 to print a small work, which I wanted to
distribute here; but, as I must be just before I presume to
offer that mite to the God of truth, I lay by the design,
and shall send that sum to Mr. York. Money is so scarce here
at this time that I shall sell at very great loss; but
necessity and justice are two great laws which must be
obeyed. As I design on my return to England to pinch until I
have got rid of this debt, I may go and live in one of the
cottages belonging to the vicar, if we could let the
vicarage for a few pounds."
_Sept. 15th, 1780._--"There is little genuine piety in these
parts: nevertheless, there is yet some of the form of it; so
far as to go to the Lord's table regularly four times a
year. There meet the adulterers, the drunkards, the
swearers, the infidels, and even the materialists. They have
no idea of the double damnation that awaits hypocrites. They
look upon partaking that sacrament as a ceremony enjoined by
the magistrate."
_Feb. 14th, 1781._--"My friend Ireland invites me to join
him in the south of France, and I long to see whether I
could not have more liberty to preach the word among Papists
than among Protestants. But it is so little that I can do,
that I doubt much whether it is worth while going so far
upon so little a chance. If I were stronger, and had more
time, the fear of being hanged should not detain me."
It had occurred to Fletcher during his residence in Nyon that he might
serve the cause of religion in Switzerland with his pen, seeing that
the state of his health, and the opposition of persons in authority,
made it impossible for him to preach the gospel, as it was in his heart
to do. To awaken the clergy, to rouse them from their worldliness and
scepticism, and bring them to some acquaintance with true religion,
seemed of all things the most desirable. Humanly speaking, there was
little hope for the Church in Switzerland until there was, at least,
the leaven of an earnest ministry. To his friend and curate at Madeley,
Mr. Greaves, he wrote: "There is occasion and great need to bear a
testimony against the faults of the clergy here; and if I cannot do it
from the pulpit, I must try to do it from the press. Their canons,
which were composed by two hundred and thirty pastors at the time of
the Reformation, are so spiritual and apostolic that I design to
translate them into English, if I am spared."
It does not appear that this design was carried out, but meanwhile
Fletcher was preparing a practical treatise on the "Pastoral
Character," which he hoped to publish before leaving the country. It
grew upon his hands into a lengthy and elaborate work. His plan was to
exhibit at one view the character of the primitive Christian, and of
the apostolic minister, as exemplified in the Apostle Paul. It was
written in French, but was still unfinished when he returned to
England, and the manuscript was laid aside, with the intention of
translating and preparing it for the press when circumstances should
allow. The convenient season, however, did not come, and it was not
until after his death that the manuscript was found--portions of it
from time to time,--obviously needing revision at the author's hand.
The task of translating and editing was performed by the Rev. Joshua
Gilpin, and his version of "The Portrait of St. Paul" is the only one
that has ever appeared. No mode of publication could well be more
disadvantageous to a writer, and this should be borne in mind in
estimating its value. Mr. Gilpin remarks that "the manuscript was so
incorrect and confused as frequently to stagger the resolution of the
translator"; and as his object was rather to produce an edifying work
than to edit with precision Fletcher's literary remains, it is probable
that he filled up the gaps and elaborated the hints which he found in
Fletcher's papers. This would in part account for the diffuseness which
characterises "The Portrait of St. Paul." The tendency, so frequently
discernible in Fletcher's writings, is here most conspicuous. In the
first division of the work the moral character of St. Paul is
delineated under no less than forty "Traits," each one having a chapter
to itself, the chapters being numbered successively TRAIT 1, TRAIT 2,
and so on, to forty. Had Fletcher completed this treatise, and
published it himself, it is reasonable to believe that his own literary
experience or the advice of his friends would have led him to group
these numerous details under fewer heads, and in other ways give
greater unity to the whole. There is hardly a chapter that does not
show the writer's spiritual insight and experience, and may not be read
with profit, even by those who are acquainted with the best works of
pastoral theology; but the cataloguing of moral features is carried to
a fatiguing length, and the portrait which it was intended to exhibit
is in danger of disappearing in the process of linked and long-drawn
description.
Even in its present form it is not difficult to see that the "Portrait
of St. Paul" was written by one who had Swiss readers in view. The
authors most frequently quoted are Ostervald, professor and pastor at
Neufchatel, whose "Exercice du Ministere Sacre" was published in 1739,
and Roques, formerly minister of the French congregation at Basle,
whose "Pasteur Evangelique," published in 1723, was still a popular
work. It was an advantage for Fletcher to be able to appeal to "such
excellent and learned divines as Mons. Ostervald and Mons. Roques" in
setting forth the character and calling of the Christian minister.
The third and concluding portion of the work is "An Essay on the
Connexion of Doctrines and Morality." It might almost be considered a
separate and independent work. Its object is to show the insufficiency
of natural religion and philosophy to produce true goodness. We are
reminded on every page that it was written in the country of
Rousseau's birth and of Voltaire's adoption, at a time when the wit of
the one, the sentiment of the other, and the principles of both these
philosophers and men of letters, were of paramount influence in
Switzerland. Voltaire and Rousseau died in the year 1778, while
Fletcher was residing at Nyon, and he had ample opportunity of
observing the extent to which both clergy and laity had come under
their spell. That influence was, in Fletcher's judgment, the cause of
grievous injury to religion and morals. A loose, easy-going, yet
confident deism seemed almost to have superseded Christianity. Even
amongst the clergy the truth of revelation was denied, or its
importance disparaged. The doctrines of revealed religion were
ridiculed as mysterious and incredible, or rejected as having no
practical bearing. The religion of nature had a showy and pretentious
side for those who aspired to the dignity of philosophers, and was
easily reconcilable with selfishness, vanity, and licentiousness alike
in its more, and in its less, illustrious professors.
Fletcher set himself to show the relation between principles and
conduct, and particularly between the doctrines of the gospel and a
pure morality, instituting comparisons between Christianity and the
current deism in respect of their ethical force and direction. His
references to Rousseau are frequent, as might be expected, and it was
not difficult for so expert a controversialist to give a good account
of the author of _Emile_. The "Confessions" of Rousseau were not
published until 1782, four years after his death; but Fletcher lived
in a country where Rousseau's history and character were well known.
The most direct allusion, however, to his personal qualities occurs in
the following passage, taken from the close of the treatise:
"If it be asked, what secret vice it was that would not
suffer so honest a man as J. J. Rousseau to embrace the
gospel, without searching into the anecdotes of his life, we
may rest satisfied with the discovery he has made of his own
heart in this single sentence: 'What can be more
transporting to a noble soul than the pride of virtue!' Such
was the pride which made him vainly presume that he had
power sufficient to conquer himself, without invoking the
assistance of God; and by which he was encouraged to assert
that the doctrines of the gospel were such as 'no sensible
man could either conceive or admit.'
"There is no species of pride more insolent than that which
gives rise to the following language: 'It is asserted that
"God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." These tidings, whether they be true or
false, are highly acceptable to many; but for my own part, I
openly declare that I reject with contempt the idea of such
a favour. I read with attention those writings which tend to
unfold the mysteries of nature, but resolve never to turn
over those authors who vainly attempt to establish the truth
of the gospel. This subject, though it has occupied the
thoughts and engaged the pens of inquiring students for
these seventeen hundred years, I shall ever regard as
unworthy my attention. I leave it to the vulgar, who are
easily persuaded of its importance. My virtues are
sufficient to expiate my crimes, and on these I will
resolutely depend, as my sole mediators before God.' ...
"The deists of Socrates' time must have been far less
culpable than those of the present day. The former,
conscious of the uncertainty with which they were
encompassed, made use of every help they could procure in
the pursuit of truth with unwearied assiduity. The latter,
presuming upon their own sufficiency, decide against
doctrines of the utmost importance without impartially
considering the evidence produced in their favour. The
former, by carefully examining every system of morality
proposed to their deliberation, discovered a candour and
liberality becoming those who were anxiously 'feeling after
God, if haply they might find Him.' The latter, by
condemning revelation without calmly attending to the
arguments of its advocates, manifest a degree of prejudice
that would be unpardonable in a judge, but which becomes
inexcusable in a criminal, who is pressed by the strongest
reasons to search out the truth."
On his return to England, Fletcher brought this unfinished treatise
with him, and, as we have said, never found time to complete it. One
work he published while in Switzerland, a poem entitled "La Louange,"
afterwards enlarged and republished in England under the title, "La
Grace et La Nature." The Swiss edition required, and received, the
license of the official censor at Lausanne, who was good enough to
give his imprimatur in the following terms: "I have read this work,
which, in my judgment, everywhere breathes Piety, Faith, and Christian
Charity."--DE BONS, _Censeur_. The English edition was dedicated, by
permission, to Queen Charlotte.
One incident connected with Fletcher's residence at Nyon remains to be
told. A certain nephew of his, lately an officer in the Sardinian army,
had been compelled to leave the service under discreditable
circumstances. To rid themselves of his company, his brother officers
agreed to challenge him in succession. After fighting two or three
duels, he was obliged to resign his commission and leave the country.
He returned to Switzerland, to become a terror and a distress to his
relatives. Having squandered his money in various evil ways, and come
to the end of his resources, he resorted to a desperate expedient. He
asked for a private interview with his uncle, General de Gons, and when
they were alone, suddenly presented a loaded pistol, and said, "Uncle
de Gons, if you do not give me a draft on your banker for five hundred
crowns, I will shoot you." His uncle, finding himself in the power of a
desperado capable of any mischief, and, possibly, having no heart to
resist the violence of one who was all but a son, complied with his
demand. His nephew then extracted a promise from him that he would not,
on his honour as a gentleman and a soldier, take any steps to recover
the draft, or bring him to justice; after which he rode off triumphant
with his ill-gotten gains.
As he passed the door of his uncle Fletcher, the fancy took him to call
and pay him a visit, and he began at once to tell him of the kindness
of his uncle De Gons, who had just given him five hundred crowns,
adding, as he held out the draft, "If you don't believe me, see the
proof under his own hand." Fletcher felt that there was something
wrong. He took the draft, and looked first at it, and then at the young
man. "It is, indeed, my brother's writing," said he, "and I am
astonished to see it, for he is not rich, and I know that he so much
disapproves your conduct that you are the last of the family to whom he
would make such a present." Then folding the paper, and putting it into
his pocket, he added, "It strikes me, young man, that you have come by
this by some improper means, and I cannot, in honesty, return it to you
but with my brother's knowledge and approbation." Out came the young
ruffian's pistol once more, and putting it to Fletcher's breast, he
swore he would have his life if he did not immediately return him the
draft. "My life," replied Fletcher, "is secure in the hands of God."
The young man still sought to terrify him into compliance. "Do you
think," said Fletcher, "that I have been twenty-five years the minister
of the Lord of life, to be afraid of death now? It is for you to fear
death, who have every reason to fear it. You are a gambler and a cheat,
yet call yourself a gentleman! You are a seducer, and a duellist, and
call yourself a man of honour! Look there, sir; look there! The eye of
God is upon us. Tremble in the presence of your Maker, who can in a
moment kill your body, and for ever punish your soul in hell."
The young man was powerless. He stormed and trembled alternately. He
withdrew his pistol, and again presented it. He argued, entreated,
threatened, but Fletcher remained calm and fearless. By-and-by he
expostulated with him. "I cannot," said he, "return my brother's draft;
yet I am sorry for you, and will do what I can to help you. General de
Gons will, at my request, I am sure, give you a hundred crowns. I will
do the same. Perhaps my brother Henry will do as much; and perhaps the
other members of the family will make up the sum amongst them." He then
knelt down, and prayed for his unhappy nephew. The matter was arranged,
by Fletcher's influence, in the way he had suggested, and an
opportunity was afforded to a foolish and wicked young man for
repentance and reformation of life.