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WESLEY’S DESIGNATED SUCCESSOR.
[Illustration: J Fletcher/Madeley]
WESLEY’S DESIGNATED SUCCESSOR:
=The Life, Letters, and Literary Labours=
OF THE
REV. JOHN WILLIAM FLETCHER,
_Vicar of Madeley, Shropshire_.
BY
REV. L. TYERMAN,
AUTHOR OF
“THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE REV. SAMUEL WESLEY, M.A., RECTOR OF EPWORTH;”
“THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE REV. JOHN WESLEY, M.A.;”
“THE LIFE OF THE REV. GEORGE WHITEFIELD, B.A.;”
AND “THE OXFORD METHODISTS.”
=New York:=
PHILLIPS AND HUNT.
=Cincinnati:=
WALDEN AND STOWE.
MDCCCLXXXIII.
=I dedicate this Book to my Wife,=
_Who has shared my joys and sorrows for nearly
thirty years_.
_L. TYERMAN._
PREFACE.
---
“Jean Guillaume de la Flechere,” wrote Robert Southey, “was a man of
rare talents, and rarer virtue. No age or country has ever produced a
man of more fervent piety, or more perfect charity; no Church has ever
possessed a more apostolic minister. He was a man of whom Methodism may
well be proud, as the most able of its defenders; and whom the Church of
England may hold in remembrance, as one of the most pious and excellent
of her sons.”
“Fletcher was a saint,” said Isaac Taylor, “as unearthly a being as
could tread the earth at all.”
“Fletcher,” remarked Robert Hall, “is a seraph who burns with the ardour
of divine love. Spurning the fetters of mortality, he almost habitually
seems to have anticipated the rapture of the beatific vision.”
Dr. Dixon, one of the greatest of Methodist preachers, observed, “I
conceive Fletcher to be the most holy man who has been upon earth since
the apostolic age.”
No apology is needed for publishing the life of such a man, unless it
can be shown that a life worthy of him is already in existence.
Excepting the brief and exceedingly imperfect biography by the Rev.
Robert Cox, in 1822, only two Lives of Fletcher have been published
since his death, ninety-seven years ago; namely, Wesley’s in 1786, and
Benson’s in 1804.
It is true that, in 1790, the Rev. Joshua Gilpin, Vicar of Rockwardine,
appended twenty-nine biographical “Notes” to different chapters of
Fletcher’s “Portrait of St. Paul;” but the facts they contained, in
addition to those which Wesley had already given, were not many.
A year later, in 1791, the Rev. Melville Horne, Curate of Madeley,
published “Posthumous Pieces of the late Rev. John William De La
Flechere,” a volume of 435 pages, nearly 400 of which are filled with
Fletcher’s Letters to his friends. This volume has been of great service
to me in the present work. Many quotations are made from it, and are
indicated by the footnotes, “Letters, 1791.”
When Fletcher died, some of his admirers wished Mr. Ireland to be his
biographer; others desired Fletcher’s widow to undertake the task. Both
of them judiciously declined. Wesley was then fixed upon. He asked Mr.
Ireland to supply him with materials, but Mr. Ireland refused: Mrs.
Fletcher, however, rendered him important help. In unpublished letters
to Sarah Crosby, she writes:—
“Mr. Ireland knew and loved my dear husband as scarcely any other person
did; and if he chooses to print a journal of their travels and of the
great spiritual labours of which he was an eye-witness, it would not be
wrong. But this is not his intention. He only wishes to gather materials
for me. With a good deal of labour, I have collected some sweet
fragments, on different subjects, from little pocket-books, but I have
handed them to Mr. Wesley, who, however, tells me he has done nothing
towards the Life, and that he has enough to occupy his time for a year
to come. Indeed, he seems to be in doubt whether he will be able to
write the Life at all. I hope the accounts I have given him will not be
shortened; if they be, I shall repent that I did not print them myself.”
This was written on June 20, 1786, and shows that ten months after
Fletcher’s death, Wesley had not even begun Fletcher’s biography.
Fourteen weeks afterwards, he made a start. An extract from his journal
is worth quoting:—
“1786. September 25. Monday. We took coach” at Bristol, “in the
afternoon; and on Tuesday morning reached London. I now applied myself
in earnest to the writing of Mr. Fletcher’s Life, having procured the
best materials I could. To this I dedicated all the time I could spare
till November, from five in the morning till eight at night. These are
my studying hours; I cannot write longer in a day without hurting my
eyes.”
For little more than a month the venerable biographer, now in the
eighty-fourth year of his age, devoted all the time he “could spare” in
preparing the Life of one whom he pronounced the most “unblameable man,
in every respect, that, within four-score years,” he had “found either
in Europe or America!” The biography was finished in the month of
November, and in December was published with the title “A Short Account
of the Life and Death of the Rev. John Fletcher. By the Rev. John
Wesley. _Sequor, non passibus æquis._ London, 1786.” It certainly was a
“_Short Account_,”—a 12mo volume of 227 pages, which would have been
much smaller if the type and the space between the lines had been
different. This was the first Life of Wesley’s greatest friend, and his
“Designated Successor“! The veteran was far too busy to do justice to
his great “helper.”
Eighteen years elapsed before another and larger Life was given to the
public. This was undertaken in 1801 by the Rev. Joseph Benson, at the
request of Fletcher’s widow, and of the Methodist Conference of that
year. In 1804 it was published with the following title:—“The Life of
the Rev. John W. de la Flechere, compiled from the Narratives of the
Reverend Mr. Wesley; the Biographical Notes of the Reverend Mr. Gilpin;
from his own Letters; and other Authentic Documents, many of which were
never before published. By Joseph Benson.” This is the only Life of
Fletcher which, _in a separate form_, has been circulated during the
last seventy-eight years.
Of course, during this long period of nearly fourscore years, many new
facts and incidents concerning Fletcher have come to light; and, among
these new biographical materials, special mention must be made of the
Fletcher MSS. deposited in the Wesleyan Mission House, London, in 1862.
Since then, the Methodist “Committee on Book Affairs” has repeatedly
expressed the opinion that a new Life of Fletcher ought to be prepared,
and, at least, two of the foremost men in Methodism have been requested
to undertake the work. One of the two is dead, and the other seems to
have as much literary labour in hand as he is able to accomplish. Under
such circumstances, I have had the temerity to attempt the task.
I have carefully used _all_ the _biographical matter_ that I have found
in the “Short Account” by Wesley; in the Letters published by Melville
Horne; in Gilpin’s “Notes;” in the Life by Benson; in the Fletcher MSS.,
just mentioned; in other MSS. belonging to myself; in MSS. kindly lent
to me; and in all the Methodist and other publications relating to
Fletcher with which I am acquainted.
I have no artistic talent; and if I had, I should not employ it in
writing biographies. In such publications I am only desirous to see the
man, not the artist’s drapery. I want to know his doings, sayings, and
sufferings, rather than to read philosophic discourses concerning them.
My aim, therefore, from first to last, has been to let Fletcher speak
for himself. His Letters are invaluable; the man who can read them
without being profited is greatly to be pitied. The extracts from his
sermons show how the first Methodists used to preach. The chapters
respecting the Calvinian controversy may, to some readers, be somewhat
dry, but they could not be omitted, because that controversy was the
great event in Fletcher’s life, and hastened his death. Besides, it was
by his publications on this subject that he rendered service to Wesley
and the Methodist movement, which neither Wesley himself nor any other
of Wesley’s friends could have furnished. I have refrained from
discussing the truths which Fletcher’s pen defended; but I have said
enough to indicate what the doctrines were which created Methodism, and
which alone can perpetuate its spiritual life and power.
The portrait of Fletcher is taken from an exceedingly scarce engraving,
in the Methodist Museum, at Centenary Hall, London.
I think I may say, without exposing myself to the charge of arrogance or
conceit, that, in this volume, the reader will find all the facts of any
importance that are known concerning Fletcher, and that here, more than
in any previous publication, is illustrated the intellectual and saintly
character of one of the holiest men that ever lived.
L. TYERMAN.
STANHOPE HOUSE, CLAPHAM PARK, S.W.
_October 7, 1882._
GENERAL CONTENTS
---
INTRODUCTION.
PAGE
Wesley requests Fletcher to be his successor—Others who might
have been designated 1–3
CHAPTER I.
FROM FLETCHER’S BIRTH TO HIS COMING TO ENGLAND IN 1752.
Parentage—Birthplace—Early piety—Remarkable deliverances from
danger—-Education at Geneva—Removed to Lentzburg—Wishes to be
a soldier 4–9
CHAPTER II.
FROM HIS COMING TO ENGLAND TO HIS ORDINATION, 1752–1757.
Arrives in London-Admitted to Mr. Burchell’s school—Becomes
tutor to sons of Thomas Hill, Esq.—Letter to his brother
Henry—Introduced to Methodists—His conversion—A millenarian—A
Catechumen—Acquaintance with Mr. Vaughan—Richard Edwards, his
class-leader—Letters to Wesley—His ordination 10–27
CHAPTER III.
FROM HIS ORDINATION TO HIS SETTLEMENT AT MADELEY, 1757–1760.
A favourite among the first Methodists—Preaches in
Shropshire—Letter to Wesley—Thomas Walsh—Letter to his
class-leader—Introduced to Lady Huntingdon—Preaching to
French prisoners—Letter to Charles Wesley—Letter to Sarah
Ryan—Christian Perfection—Fletcher and his foes—Proposal to
go to the West Indies—Death of Thomas Walsh—Letter to Charles
Wesley—A Convert—Conversion of Mr. Richard
Hill—Temptation—Letters to Charles Wesley—Dorothy
Furley—Visits Lady Huntingdon—Her ladyship’s
proposal—Fletcher’s first published sermon—Earl
Ferrars—Glorious services at Everton—Choosing a
benefice—Letters to Lady Huntingdon—Commencement of ministry
at Madeley 28–60
CHAPTER IV.
FIRST TWO YEARS AT MADELEY, 1760–1762.
Madeley—Branded a Methodist—Increasing labours—Madeley Wood and
Coalbrook Dale—Rev. Mr. Prothero’s sermon—The
publicans—Fletcher’s first sermons at Madeley—Mary
Matthews—Answers to an objection—“The Rock Church”—Letter to
a Papist—Persecutions—Letter to Rev. Mr. Hutton—Testimony of
Rev. Mr. Gilpin 61–83
CHAPTER V.
THREE QUIET SUCCESSFUL YEARS. 1762–1765.
Fanaticism among the London Methodists—Rules of Fletcher’s
Methodist Societies—A troublesome member—A quiet year—Reasons
for and against matrimony—The furious butcher—Letters to Miss
Hatton—Wesley’s first visit to Madeley—Simplicity of
living—Alexander Mather—Fletcher at Breedon—Fletcher’s first
pastoral letter—Fletcher and his relatives 84–105
CHAPTER VI.
TWO YEARS MORE. 1766–1767.
Fletcher depressed—Rejoicing on account of other men’s
success—Letters to Miss Hatton and Miss Ireland—Thanks for a
present—An excursion to Brighton, etc.—Pastoral letter—Miss
Hatton dying—Letter to Whitefield—Lady Huntingdon at
Madeley—Captain Scott—Fletcher in Yorkshire—Letter to Lady
Huntingdon—Rev. Cradock Glascott—Trevecca College—Fletcher
appointed chaplain of the Earl of Buchan—James
Glazebrook—“Manifestations of the Son of God” 106–130
CHAPTER VII.
TREVECCA COLLEGE: VISIT TO SWITZERLAND, ETC. 1768–1770.
Joseph Easterbrook—Books for Trevecca College—Letter on
Conversation—Expulsion of six students at Oxford—Letter to
Whitefield—Opening of Trevecca College—Letters to Mr. and
Miss Ireland—Rev. John Jones—Mr. John Henderson, B.A.—First
anniversary of Trevecca College—Rev. Walter
Sellon—Anti-Popery sermon—Joseph Benson—Letter to Mr.
Ireland—Visit to Switzerland 131–163
CHAPTER VIII.
COMMENCEMENT OF THE CALVINIAN CONTROVERSY. 1770–1771.
Letter to masters and students of Trevecca College—Fletcher at
Trevecca College—Letter to Rev. David Simpson—Wesley’s
Doctrinal Minutes—Second anniversary of Trevecca
College—Wesley’s sermon on the death of Whitefield—Letter of
Lady Glenorchy—Joseph Benson dismissed from Trevecca
College—Fletcher’s unpublished letter to Wesley—Fletcher
resigns his office at Trevecca—Important unpublished
manuscript—The storm brewing—Shirley’s Circular
Letter—Fletcher’s “First Check to Antinomianism”—Shirley’s
“Narrative”—Fletcher’s Letter to Shirley—Fletcher’s
Vindication of Wesley’s “Minutes” 164–205
CHAPTER IX.
“SECOND CHECK TO ANTINOMIANISM.” 1771.
Letters in the _Gospel Magazine_—Unpublished letter to Joseph
Benson—Prevalent Antinomianism—Richard Hill’s pamphlet
respecting a conversation with a monk 206–217
CHAPTER X.
“THIRD CHECK TO ANTINOMIANISM.” 1772.
Edward Elwall—Unpublished letter to Sellon—Letter to the Dublin
Methodists—Richard Hill’s _Five Letters_—Fletcher’s reply to
them—Divine Grace given to all—Good men doing the Devil’s
work—Advices to Arminians 218–233
CHAPTER XI.
“FOURTH CHECK TO ANTINOMIANISM.” 1772.
Richard Hill’s “_Review of all the Doctrines taught by the Rev.
J. Wesley_“—Richard Hill’s “_Six Letters_” to
Fletcher—Rowland Hill’s “_Friendly Remarks_”—“_Logica
Genevensis_”—Wesley’s “_Remarks on Mr. Hill’s
Review_”—Unpublished letter by John Pawson—Fletcher rebukes
Rowland Hill—Absurdities of Calvinism—Free Will—Unpublished
letter by Richard Hill to Walter Sellon 234–253
CHAPTER XII.
“APPEAL TO MATTER OF FACT AND COMMON SENSE.” 1772.
Manuscript lost—Dedication—Doctrine of Original Sin—Colliers,
bargemen, and iron-workers—England’s favourite amusements—Ten
inferences 254–262
CHAPTER XIII.
WESLEY’S DESIGNATED SUCCESSOR, ETC., ETC. 1773.
Wesley requests Fletcher to be his successor—Fletcher’s
reply—Wesley respecting Fletcher and Whitefield—Samuel
Bradburn visits Fletcher—Correspondence in 1773—The penitent
thief—The earthquake—Fletcher’s sermon on it 263–278
CHAPTER XIV.
“THE FINISHING STROKE,” ETC. 1773.
“_The Finishing Stroke_”—“_The Farrago Double
Distilled_”—Berridge’s “_Christian World Unmasked_”—Letters
by Berridge—Richard Hill desiring peace—Richard Hill’s
“_Three Letters_” to Fletcher—“_Creed for Arminians and
Perfectionists_” 279–293
CHAPTER XV.
“FIFTH CHECK TO ANTINOMIANISM.” 1774.
Toplady’s letter to Ambrose Serle—“_Logica Genevensis
continued_”—Remaining differences—Fletcher answering
Berridge—Wesley on Fletcher’s “_Checks_”—Lady Huntingdon
wishes an interview with Fletcher—Fletcher’s reply—Fletcher
writing and weary 294–301
CHAPTER XVI.
FURTHER PUBLICATIONS IN 1774.
“_Equal Check to Pharisaism and Antinomianism_”—Doleful
picture—Letter to Lady Huntingdon—Saving Faith—The Athanasian
Creed—Letters to J. Benson and C. Wesley 302–311
CHAPTER XVII.
PUBLICATIONS IN THE YEAR 1775.
“_Equal Check to Pharisaism and Antinomianism
continued_”—“_Scripture Scales_”—“_The Fictitious and the
Genuine Creed_”—The controversy has done Fletcher good—Rev.
Thomas Reader visits Fletcher—Christian perfection—Letter to
J. Benson—Wesley dangerously ill—Charles Wesley writes to
Fletcher—Fletcher’s reply—“_Checks to
Antinomianism_”—Reconciliations—Dr. Coke’s Letter to
Fletcher—Letter to C. Wesley 312–333
CHAPTER XVIII.
PUBLICATIONS IN THE YEAR 1776.
Toplady—Fletcher’s “_Answer to the Vindication of the
Decrees_”—Toplady attacks Wesley—Fletcher answers
Toplady—Review of six years’ work—Rev. Caleb Evans’ letter on
Wesley’s “_Calm Address_”—Fletcher’s “_Vindication of the
Calm Address_”—Mr. Evans’ “_Reply_” to Fletcher’s
“_Vindication_”—Fletcher publishes “_American Patriotism_”—A
Public Fast—“_The Bible and the Sword_”—The _Monthly Review_
on Fletcher—Government desires to reward Fletcher 334–353
CHAPTER XIX.
CORRESPONDENCE IN 1776.
Fletcher’s labours and abstinence—Again objects to become
Wesley’s successor—An excursion with Wesley—Fletcher
discouraged—Unpublished letter by J. Benson—Another work for
the press—“_Driving_ Methodism and _Still_
Mysticism”—Fletcher dangerously ill—C. Wesley’s hymn—Michael
Onions—Letters—Fletcher apparently dying—An impromptu
hymn—Wesley escorts Fletcher to London—Another excursion with
Wesley—Second visit to Berridge—Fletcher and Venn at St.
Neots—Charles Greenwood—Fletcher resides with him—Letter “to
the parishioners of Madeley” 354–375
CHAPTER XX.
PUBLICATIONS AND CORRESPONDENCE IN 1777.
“_The Doctrines of Grace and Justice equally Essential to the
Pure Gospel_”—Fletcher a millenarian—“_Bible Arminianism and
Bible Calvinism_”—“_The Plan of Reconciliation_”—Another
letter to his parishioners—Letter to W. Wase—Letters to Rev.
V. Perronet and his daughter—Fletcher visited by his
friends—Fletcher’s letter to his bishop—Charles Perronet
dies—Fletcher’s sojourn at Stoke Newington—Removes to Mr.
Ireland’s, at Brislington—Meets Henry Venn—Attends Wesley’s
Conference—Rev. David Lloyd—James Rogers visits
Fletcher—Letter to Rev. V. Perronet—Unpublished letter to
Miss Bosanquet—Lady Mary Fitzgerald—Letters to her and to
Mrs. Thornton—Preparing to leave England—Farewell letters 376–408
CHAPTER XXI.
A LONG RETIREMENT. 1778–1781.
Journey to the south of France—Unpublished letter to Miss
Bosanquet—Sermon concerning the New Birth—Letters to Rev. Mr.
Greaves, W. Perronet, the Wesley Brothers, and Dr.
Conyers—The Perronet estate in Switzerland—Unpublished letter
to Mr. Power—Fletcher among children—Fletcher and his
nephew—Messages to Madeley—Preaching at an execution—William
Perronet joins Fletcher—A perilous journey—Letter to Mr.
Ireland—Letters to Madeley—Other letters—Trials in
Switzerland—An attack of rheumatism—Letter to his
curate—National distress—Methodist meeting house at Madeley
Wood—W. Perronet’s unpublished letter—In a “miserable
lodging”—Loss of manuscripts—Religion in Switzerland—Letters
to Madeley—House of Fletcher’s nativity—Letters to W. Wase,
J. Owen, and M. Onions—Joins Mr. Ireland at Montpelier—Return
to England—Thomas Rankin visits Fletcher at
Brislington—Unpublished letter to Miss Bosanquet 409–450
CHAPTER XXII.
LITERARY WORK DONE IN RETIREMENT.
“_La Grace et la Nature_”—“_The Portrait of St. Paul._” 451–459
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE FIRST THREE MONTHS AFTER THE RETURN TO MADELEY. 1781
Affairs in confusion—Letter to Wesley—Rev. Cornelius
Bayley—Correspondence with Miss Loxdale—Letters to Wesley and
T. Rankin—Attends Wesley’s Conference at Leeds—Joseph
Pescod’s letter—Fletcher the guest of Miss Bosanquet—A
remarkable meeting at Leeds—Sanctification—Visits Sheffield 460–472
CHAPTER XXIV.
FLETCHER’S MARRIAGE. 1781.
Letters to Miss Perronet and to Lady Mary Fitzgerald—History of
Miss Bosanquet—Her Orphanage at Leyton—Her fortune and her
debts—Her removal to Yorkshire—She turns farmer and
maltster—Debts and difficulties—Fletcher proposes to marry
her—Fletcher on celibacy—Unpublished love-letter—Unpublished
letters to Miss Bosanquet’s uncle and her brother—Further
correspondence—Settling affairs in Yorkshire—The wedding and
letters respecting it 473–500
CHAPTER XXV.
TWO YEARS OF MARRIED LIFE AT MADELEY. 1782–1783.
How Fletcher began the year 1782—Husband and wife go to
Madeley—Wesley visits them—William Tranter—Dr. Jobson and L.
Tyerman at Madeley—Letter to author of “The Fool of
Quality”—The Methodists of Dublin invite Fletcher and his
wife to visit them—Mrs. Fletcher’s letter to Wesley—Fletcher
has an accident which disables him—Letter to Charles Wesley—A
new poem—Nathaniel Gilbert and Melville Horne—Letters to Mrs.
Thornton and to John Valton—Fletcher and his wife visit the
Dublin Methodists—Their successful labours—Unpublished
letter, thanking them for their services—Unpublished pamphlet
by Fletcher—Fletcher begins Sunday schools at Madeley—Rev. H.
Venn visits Fletcher 501–529
CHAPTER XXVI.
LAST DAYS ON EARTH. 1784–1785.
Dr. Coke and his friends begin the Methodist Missionary
Society—Fletcher one of the first subscribers—Unpublished
letter by Dr. Coke—Fletcher’s unpublished letter to Rev. Mr.
Bouverot—Dr. Priestley—Fletcher’s “_Rational Vindication of
the Catholic Faith_”—Fletcher’s “_Socinianism
Unscriptural_”—Fletcher’s Millenarianism—Unpublished letters
to Mrs. Smyth and to Lady Mary Fitzgerald—Fletcher at
Wesley’s Conference at Leeds—Sermons preached—Fletcher a
peacemaker—Remarkable scene—Fletcher objected to—Enoch Wood
and Fletcher’s discourse on Wesley’s bust—Fletcher in his
“Sentry Box”—Letter to his god-son—Rev. Charles Simeon visits
Fletcher—Modified millenarianism—Letters to Rev. Peard
Dickenson and Rev. Melville Horne—Mrs. Fletcher ill of
fever—Letter to Lady Mary Fitzgerald—Fletcher ill of
fever—Mrs. Fletcher’s account of him—Last service in Madeley
Church—Dying—Death and burial—Mrs. Fletcher’s letter to C.
Wesley—Wesley preaches Fletcher’s funeral sermon—Testimonies
concerning Fletcher—Inscription on his tombstone—Inscription
on the tablet in City Road Chapel 530–575
_INTRODUCTION._
EIGHTEEN years before his death, Wesley wrote the following letter to
Fletcher, Vicar of Madeley—
“_January, 1773._
“DEAR SIR,—What an amazing work has God wrought in these kingdoms, in
less than forty years! And it not only continues, but increases,
throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland; nay, it has lately spread
into New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and Carolina. But the
wise men of the world say, ‘When Mr. Wesley drops, then all this is at
an end!’ And so it surely will, unless, before God calls him hence,
one is found to stand in his place. For, ουκ αγαθον πολυκοιρανιη. Εις
κοιρανος εστω. I see more and more, unless there be one προεστως, the
work can never be carried on. The body of the preachers are not
united: nor will any part of them submit to the rest; so that either
there must be one to preside over all, or the work will indeed come to
an end.
“But who is sufficient for these things? Qualified to preside both
over the preachers and people? He must be a man of faith and love, and
one that has a single eye to the advancement of the kingdom of God. He
must have a clear understanding; a knowledge of men and things,
particularly of the Methodist doctrine and discipline; a ready
utterance; diligence and activity, with a tolerable share of health.
There must be added to these favour with the people, with the
Methodists in general. For, unless God turns their eyes and their
hearts towards him, he will be quite incapable of the work. He must
likewise have some degree of learning, because there are many
adversaries, learned as well as unlearned, whose mouths must be
stopped. But this cannot be done unless he be able to meet them on
their own ground.
“But has God provided one so qualified? Who is he? Thou art the man!
God has given you a measure of loving faith, and a single eye to His
glory. He has given you some knowledge of men and things, particularly
of the old plan of Methodism. You are blessed with some health,
activity, and diligence, together with a degree of learning. And to
these He has lately added, by a way none could have foreseen, favour
both with the preachers and the whole people. Come out in the name of
God! Come to the help of the Lord against the mighty! Come while I am
alive and capable of labour!
‘_Dum superest Lachesi quod torqueat, et pedibus me
Porto meis, nullo dextram subeunte bacillo._’
Come while I am able, God assisting, to build you up in faith, to
ripen your gifts, and to introduce you to the people. _Nil tanti._
What possible employment can you have, which is of so great
importance?
“But you will naturally say, ‘I am not equal to the task; I have
neither grace nor gifts for such an employment.’ You say true; it is
certain you have not. And who has? But do you not know Him who is able
to give them? perhaps not at once, but rather day by day: as each is,
so shall your strength be. ‘But this implies,’ you may say, ‘a
thousand crosses, such as I feel I am not able to bear.’ You are not
able to bear them _now_, and they are not now come. Whenever they do
come, will He not send them in due number, weight, and measure? And
will they not all be for your profit, that you may be a partaker of
His holiness?
“Without conferring, therefore, with flesh and blood, come and
strengthen the hands, comfort the heart, and share the labour of
“Your affectionate friend and brother,
“JOHN WESLEY.”[1]
Footnote 1:
Dr. Whitehead’s “Life of Wesley,” vol. ii., p. 355.
In all respects, Wesley’s letter is remarkable. He wished Methodism to
be perpetuated; but he was convinced that this could not be done unless
the ruling and administrative power could be confided, not to the
Conference, or to a committee of the Conference, but to a single person.
His description of the necessary qualifications of such a ruler is
worthy of being studied. Especially ought Methodist preachers and the
Methodist people all over the world, and in all generations, to notice
the fact that Wesley’s first and pre-eminent qualification was that he
who “presided both over the preachers and people must be a man of faith
and love, and one who had a single eye to the advancement of the kingdom
of God.” For thirty-eight years, since he left the Oxford University,
Wesley’s labours had been herculean and incessant. His health had begun
to fail; so much so, that, only a few months before he wrote to
Fletcher, his friends in London had become alarmed by signs of age and
debility, and had contributed to provide him a carriage in which to
pursue those extensive and laborious journeys, which hitherto he had
made on horseback. In Edinburgh, he had undergone a medical examination
by Dr. Monro, Dr. Gregory, and Dr. Hamilton, after which he wrote:
“1772, May 18. They satisfied me what my disorder was; and told me there
was but one method of cure. Perhaps but one natural one; but I think God
has more than one method of healing either the soul or the body.”
Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that Wesley wished to
have in training his successor; and he seems to have had no difficulty
in nominating him. His brother Charles was living, and, among his
itinerant preachers, there was a small band of remarkable men, including
Alexander Mather, Thomas Olivers, George Shadford, John Pawson, Thomas
Hanby, William Thompson, Thomas Taylor, John Nelson, Thomas Rankin,
Christopher Hopper, Joseph Benson, George Story, Thomas Rutherford,
Richard Whatcoat, Joseph Pilmore, Francis Asbury, and others; but all
these were passed over, and the man he desired and nominated to be his
successor was the saintly Swiss, John William de la Flechère, Vicar of
Madeley.
The character and the life of such a man must be worthy of attention.
Wesley, a keen judge of men, thought him qualified to be the “προεστως”
of the Methodists. His reply to Wesley’s proposal need not be inserted
here. The position was the highest Wesley could offer him. Was he worthy
of it? Let the reader of the following pages form his own opinion.
Enough has been said to justify the present attempt to delineate the
man.
CHAPTER I.
_FROM FLETCHER’S BIRTH TO HIS COMING
TO ENGLAND_
IN 1752.
JEAN GUILLAUME DE LA FLECHÈRE was a descendant of one of the most
respectable families in Switzerland; a family, in fact, which was a
branch of an earldom of Savoy. After his marriage, Fletcher’s wife found
in his desk a seal. “Is this yours?” she asked. “Yes,” replied the poor
country parson; “but I have not used it for many years.” “Why?” “Because
it bears a coronet, nearly such as is the insignia of your English
dukes. Were I to use that seal, it might lead to frivolous inquiries
about my family, and subject me to the censure of valuing myself on such
distinctions.”[2]
Footnote 2:
Cox’s “Life of Fletcher,” p. 140.
For some time the father of John Fletcher was a general officer in the
French army, but, on his marriage, he retired from the service. Later in
life, he accepted a colonelcy in the militia of Switzerland.
John, his father’s youngest son, was born at Nyon, on September 12th,
1729. His birthplace was a fine old mansion, that had withstood the
storms of centuries, and, like many of the ancient houses in
Switzerland, was entered by a spiral stone staircase, which opened into
a spacious hall. “The house where I was born,” said Fletcher, “has one
of the finest prospects in the world. We have a shady wood, near the
lake, where I can ride in the cool all the day, and enjoy the singing of
a multitude of birds.” From one of the windows of Fletcher’s ancestral
home, there was a magnificent view of hill and dale, vineyards and
pastures, stretching right away to the distant Jura mountains. At a few
paces from the château, there was a terrace overlooking Lake Leman, with
its clear blue waters and its gracefully-curved and richly-wooded bays.
On the right hand, at a distance of fifteen miles, was Geneva, the
cradle of the Reformation; on the left, Lausanne and the celebrated
castle of Chillon. High up in the heavens were Alpine peaks, embosoming
scenes the most beautiful; and, not far away, was Mont Blanc, robed in
perpetual and unsullied snow.
Not much is known of the early life of Fletcher. A few anecdotes
concerning him have been preserved by his biographers, and these shall
be given in as brief a form as possible.
Wesley relates that Fletcher, “in his early childhood, had much of the
fear of God, and great tenderness of conscience.” One day, when he was
about seven years of age, his nurse, who had occasion to reprove him,
said, “You are a naughty boy. Do you not know that the devil is to take
away all naughty children?” The maid’s remark troubled him. He fell upon
his knees and began to pray, and did not cease till he believed God had
forgiven him.
His filial obedience was exemplary, but, on one occasion, he,
undesignedly, offended his mother, whom he dearly loved. The good lady
was speaking in too warm a manner to one of the family. Young Fletcher
turned a reproving eye upon her. She was much displeased with what she
conceived to be unfilial forwardness, and punished him. With a look of
tender affection, he meekly replied, “When I am smitten on one cheek,
and especially by a hand I love so well, I am taught to turn the other
also.” The mother’s indignation was instantly turned into admiration of
her boy.[3]
Footnote 3:
Gilpin’s “Account of Fletcher.”
While yet a youth, he had several near escapes from an untimely death.
Once, when walking upon a high wall enclosing his father’s garden, his
foot slipped, and he must have been killed had he not fallen into “a
large quantity of fresh-made mortar.”
At another time, when swimming by himself in deep water, a strong
ribbon, which bound his hair, became loose, twisted about his leg, and
tied him “as it were neck and heels.” “I strove,” said he, “with all my
strength to disengage myself, but to no purpose. No person being within
call, I gave myself up for lost; but when I had ceased struggling, the
ribbon loosed itself.”
On another occasion, he and four other young gentlemen agreed to swim to
a rocky island, five miles from the shore. Young Fletcher and one of his
adventurous friends succeeded in reaching the island, but the cliff was
so steep and smooth that they found it impossible to scale its heights.
After swimming round the islet again and again, they concluded that
their being drowned was inevitable. Immediately after, however, they
discovered a place of safety; and, in due time, a boat arrived and took
them home. The other three, when only half way to the island, were
rescued by a boat just as they were sinking.
A still more remarkable deliverance from a watery grave was the
following: Fletcher was a practised swimmer, and once plunged into a
river broader than the Thames at London Bridge, and very rapid. “The
water was extremely rough, and poured along like a galloping horse.” He
endeavoured to swim against it, but in vain, and was hurried far from
home. When almost exhausted, he looked for a resting-place, feeling he
must either escape from the water or sink. With great difficulty, he
approached the shore, but found it “so ragged and sharp that he saw, if
he attempted to land there, he would be torn to pieces.” In his direful
plight, he recommenced swimming. “At last,” says he, “despairing of
life, I was cheered by the sight of a fine smooth creek, into which I
was swiftly carried by a violent stream. A building stood directly
across it, which I then did not know to be a powder-mill. The last thing
I can remember was the striking of my breast against one of the piles
whereon it stood. I then lost my senses, and knew nothing more till I
rose on the other side of the mill. When I came to myself, I was in a
calm, safe place, perfectly well, without any soreness or weariness at
all. Nothing was amiss but the distance of my clothes, the stream having
driven me five miles from the place where I left them. Many persons
gladly welcomed me on shore; one gentleman in particular, who said, ‘I
looked at my watch when you went under the mill, and again when you rose
on the other side, and the time of your being immerged among the piles
was exactly twenty minutes.’”
Fletcher passed the early part of his life at Nyon, where he began his
education. With his two brothers, he was then removed to the university
of Geneva, where he was distinguished equally by his superior abilities
and his uncommon diligence. The two first prizes for which he stood a
candidate he carried away from a number of competitors, several of whom
were nearly related to the professors. He allowed himself but little
time either for recreation, refreshment, or sleep. After confining
himself closely to his studies all day, he would frequently consume the
greater part of the night in making notes of what he had found in the
course of his reading worthy of observation.
After quitting Geneva, he was sent by his father to Lentzburg, in the
canton of Berne, where, besides pursuing his other studies, he acquired
the German language. On his return to Nyon, he studied Hebrew, and
improved his knowledge of mathematics.
From early childhood, Fletcher loved and served his Maker. He himself
relates: “I think it was when I was seven years of age, that I first
began to feel the love of God shed abroad in my heart, and that I
resolved to give myself up to Him, and to the service of His Church, if
ever I should be fit for it; but the corruption which is in the world,
and that which was in my own heart, soon weakened, if not erased, those
first characters which grace had written upon it.”
“From a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures,” wrote St. Paul to
Timothy. The same might have been said to Fletcher. His early
acquaintance with inspired truth guarded him, on the one hand, from the
snares of infidelity, and preserved him, on the other, from many of the
vices peculiar to youth. It also qualified and emboldened him to reprove
sin, and, with becoming modesty, to remonstrate with sinners. To
illustrate this, his biographers relate an incident which occurred when
he was only fourteen years of age. A lady and her three sons visited his
sister, Madame de Botens. The sons quarrelled, and the mother uttered a
hasty imprecation. Young Fletcher was shocked, and, instantly starting
from his chair, began to expound and enforce the apostolic admonition,
“Provoke not your children to wrath,” etc.; and then reminded his
astonished auditress that her imprecation might be realized; a
vaticination that soon became a fact; for, on the same day, the lady
embarked upon the lake, was overtaken with a tremendous storm, and was
brought to the point of perishing; and, soon after, two of her sons were
drowned; and the third was crushed to death at one of the gates of
Geneva.
Fletcher had wished to be a Christian minister, and his parents had
wished the same concerning him; but, soon after the occurrence just
related, his plans of life were entirely altered. He writes: “I went
through my studies with a design of entering into orders; but,
afterwards, upon serious reflection, feeling I was unequal to so great a
burden, and disgusted by the necessity I should be under to subscribe
the doctrine of predestination, I yielded to the desire of my friends,
who would have me go into the army.”[4]
Footnote 4:
_Arminian Magazine_, 1794, p. 219.
The friends here mentioned did not include his parents, for they were
strongly opposed to his turning soldier; but now, nearly at the age of
twenty, his theological reading gave place to the studying of the works
of Cohorn and Vauban, the great military engineers. At this time,
Portugal was sending troops to Brazil, to defend its interests there.
Against the remonstrances of his parents, Fletcher went to Lisbon, there
gathered a company of his own countrymen, accepted a captain’s
commission, and engaged to serve the Portuguese on board a man-of-war,
which was preparing with all speed to sail to the Brazilian coasts.
Meanwhile, he wrote to his parents for a considerable sum of money, by
means of which he expected to make a small fortune in the country he was
about to visit. “They refused him roughly: unmoved by this, he
determined to go without the cash.” Whilst waiting, however, for the
ship to sail, the maid, attending him at breakfast, let the tea-kettle
fall upon his leg, and so scalded him, that he had to keep his bed.
“During that time,” says Wesley, “the ship sailed for Brazil; but it was
observed that the ship was heard of no more.”
Wesley continues: “How is this reconcileable with the account which has
been given of his piety when he was a child? Very easily: it only shows
that his piety declined while he was at the university. And this is too
often the case of other youths in our own universities.”
Fletcher returned to Nyon, but his military ardour was not abated; and,
being informed that his uncle, then a colonel in the Dutch service, had
procured a commission for him, he joyfully set out for Flanders. Here,
however, he was again defeated in his purpose to become a soldier. Peace
was concluded; his uncle died; his hopes were blasted; and the military
profession was abandoned.
This, in substance, is all that is known of Fletcher, until he came to
England, as Wesley says, in 1752.