CHAPTER XXI.

_A LONG RETIREMENT._

778–1781.

WHEN the travellers arrived at Dover, Fletcher wrote as follows to his

hospitable friends at Stoke Newington:—

“Ten thousand blessings light upon the heads and hearts of my dear

benefactors, Charles and Mary Greenwood! May their quiet retreat at

Newington become a Bethel to them! Their poor pensioner travels on,

though slowly, towards the grave. His journey to the sea seems to him

to have hastened, rather than retarded, his progress to his old

mother—Earth. May every Providential blast blow him nearer to the

heavenly haven of his Saviour’s breast; where he hopes to meet all his

benefactors! O, my dear friends, what shall I render? What to Jesus?

what to you? May He, who invites the heavy-laden, take upon Him all

the burdens of kindness you have heaped on your Lazarus! And may

angels, when you die, find me in Abraham’s bosom, and bring you into

_mine_, that by all the kindness which may be shown in heaven, I may

try to requite that you have shown to your obliged brother,

“J. FLETCHER.”[431]

Footnote 431:

Letters, 1791, p. 249.

Leaving Calais on December 12, 1777, the travellers pursued their way to

the South of France. Mr. Ireland thus described the journey:—

“When we departed from Calais, the north wind was very high, and

penetrated us even in the chaise. We put up at Bretuil, 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 4, 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 quite gone.

His appetite is good, and he takes a little wine.”

In another letter Mr. Ireland wrote:—

“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 Montpelier, 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 Montpelier, 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.”[432]

Footnote 432:

Wesley’s “Life of Fletcher.”

It was probably at this time that Fletcher and Mr. Ireland made a tour

through Italy, and visited Rome, concerning which visit Wesley writes:—

“While he was at Rome, as Mr. Ireland and he were one day going

through the streets in a coach, they were informed the Pope was

coming, and it would be required of them to kneel while he went by, as

all the people did; if they did not, in all probability the mob would

knock them on the head. But this they flatly refused to do; judging

the paying such honour to a man was idolatry. The coachman was

terrified, but turned aside into a narrow way. The Pope was in an open

landau, waved his hands, and frequently repeated, ‘God bless you all!’

Mr. Fletcher’s spirit was greatly stirred, and he longed to bear a

public testimony against anti-Christ; and he would have done it had he

been able to speak Italian. He could hardly refrain from doing it in

Latin, till he considered that only the priests could understand

him.”[433]

Footnote 433:

Wesley’s “Life of Fletcher.”

While in the south of France, Fletcher wrote to Miss Bosanquet the

following letter, which is now for the first time published:—

“MARSEILLES, _March 7, 1778_.

“DEAR MADAM,—Your letter did not reach me till after it had lain here,

at the post office, several days.

“I cannot be answerable for what the person you mention thinks of Mr.

Wesley or me, or our sentiments. Nothing is more common than to see

people drawing rash inferences from premises which are partly false

and partly true. I can only answer for myself, and for what I deem to

be the truth.

“If you ask me what I think to be the truth with respect to Christian

perfection, I reply, my sentiments are exposed to the world in my

essay on ‘Christian Perfection,’ and in my essay on ‘Truth,’ where I

lay the stress of the doctrine on the great _promise of the Father_,

and on the _Christian fulness of the Spirit_. This I have done more

particularly in a treatise on the ‘Birth of the Spirit;’ which

treatise is not yet published. I do not rest the doctrine of Christian

perfection on the _absence of sin_,—that is the perfection of a dove

or a lamb; nor on the _loving God with all one’s power_, for I believe

all perfect Gentiles and Jews have done so; but on the _fulness_ of

that superior, nobler, warmer, and _more powerful_ love, which the

Apostle calls the _love of the Spirit_, or _the love of God shed

abroad by the Holy Ghost_, given to the Christian believers, who,

since the Day of Pentecost, go on to the perfection of the Christian

dispensation.

“You will find my views of this matter in Mr. Wesley’s sermons on

Christian Perfection and on Spiritual Christianity; with this

difference, that I would distinguish more exactly between the

believers baptized with the Pentecostal power of the Holy Ghost, and

the believer who, like the Apostles after our Lord’s ascension, is not

yet filled with that power.

“I own to you, Madam, that I have been much surprised to see the gross

inattention to, and unbelief of, the promise of the Father among

believers of various classes. It is the sun among the stars, and yet

some can hardly distinguish it. When I preached it to the Calvinists

in Wales, they called it Mr. Wesley’s _whim_. When I have spoken of it

to our brethren, some have called it Lady Huntingdon’s _whim_; and

others have looked upon it as a _new thing_; which to me is the

strongest proof that this capital Gospel doctrine is as much under a

cloud now as the doctrine of justification by faith was at the time of

the Reformation.

“Should you go back by way of London, my essay on the Birth by which

we enter into the Kingdom in the Holy Ghost is in the hands of Miss

Thornton, Mrs. Greenwood’s sister, who will give it you if you think

worth while to look into it. I build my faith not on my experience,

though this increases it, but upon the revealed truth of God. Go,

Madam, and do the same, and pray for your affectionate brother and

servant,

“J. FLETCHER.

“Miss Bosanquet,

“at Mrs. Southcot’s,

“Broad Mead,

“Bristol.”

The “treatise,” or rather sermon, referred to in this letter, was

written in French, and was not published during the lifetime of

Fletcher; but in 1794, Henry Moore, one of Wesley’s first biographers,

translated and printed it, with the title, “The New Birth. A Discourse

written in French, by the Rev. John Fletcher, late Vicar of Madeley,

Salop.” 8vo, 39 pp. This was one of the most remarkable productions of

Fletcher’s pen; and great would be the service rendered to the cause of

Christ if, in this day of loose thinking and carnal living, it were

reprinted in a separate form, and read by the myriads who call

themselves Methodists. Though mere quotations from it cannot do justice

to it, yet two or three may be acceptable.

_Regeneration._—“What is the state of a soul that is born again; and

in what does regeneration consist? In general, we may say, it is that

great change by which man passes from a state of nature to a state of

grace. He was an animal man; in being born again he becomes a

spiritual man. His natural birth had made him like to fallen Adam—to

the old man, against whom God had pronounced the sentence of death,

seeing it is the wages of sin; but his spiritual birth makes him like

to Jesus Christ—to the new man—which is created according to God in

righteousness and true holiness. He was before born a child of

wrath—proud, sensual, and unbelieving, full of the love of the world

and of self-love, a lover of money and of earthly glory and pleasure,

rather than a lover of God; but, by regeneration, he is become a child

and an heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ. The humility, the

purity, the love of Jesus, is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy

Spirit which is given to him, making him bear the image of the _Second

Adam_. He is in Christ a new creature; old things are passed away, all

things are become new. All the powers and faculties of his soul are

renovated. His understanding, heretofore covered with darkness, is

illuminated by the experimental knowledge which he has of God and of

His Son Jesus Christ. His conscience, asleep and insensible, awakes

and speaks with a fidelity irreproachable. His hard heart is softened

and broken. His will, stubborn and perverse, yields, and becomes

conformable to the will of God. His passions, unruly, and earthly, and

sensual, submit to the conduct of grace, and turn of themselves to

objects invisible and heavenly. And the members of his body, servants

more or less to iniquity, are now employed in the service of

righteousness unto holiness.”

_Why regeneration is necessary._—“To rejoice in the pleasures that are

at God’s right hand, it is needful to have senses and a taste that

correspond thereto. The swine trample pearls under their feet. The

elevated discourse of a philosopher is insupportable to a stupid

mechanic; and an ignorant peasant, introduced into a circle of men of

learning and taste, is disgusted, sighs after his village, and

declares no hour ever appeared to him so long. It would be the same to

a man who is not regenerated, if we could suppose that God would so

far forget His truth as to open to him the gate of heaven. He would be

incapable of those transports of love which make the happiness of the

glorified saints. It would be insupportable for him now to meditate

one hour on the perfections of God; what then shall He do among the

_cherubim_ and _seraphim_, and _the spirits of just men made perfect_,

who draw from thence their ravishing delights? He loves the pleasures

and comforts of an animal life; but are these the same with the

exercises of the spiritual life? His conversations, his readings, his

amusements, as void of edification as of usefulness, rarely fatigue

him; but an hour of meditation or prayer is insufferable. If he be not

born again, not only he cannot be in a state to rejoice in the

pleasures of Paradise, any more than a deaf man to receive with

transport the most exquisite music; but the ravishing delights of

angels would cause in him an insupportable distaste. Yes, he would

banish himself from the presence of God, rather than pass an eternity

in prostrating himself before the throne, and crying day and night,

_Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, who is, and who was, and who

is to come!_ We conclude that the gate of heaven must be opened upon

earth by regeneration, and by the love of God, or that it will remain

shut for ever; and that a local paradise would be only a sorrowful

prison, to a man not regenerated, because, carrying nothing thither

but depraved and earthly appetites and passions, and finding nothing

there but spiritual and celestial objects, disgust and dissatisfaction

would be the consequence; and, like Satan, his own mind would be his

hell.”

Perorations are too often rhetorical flourishes, and nothing more; but,

in the case of Fletcher, they were the outpourings of a heart

overcharged with feeling. The following is the last paragraph in the

remarkable “Treatise” from which the foregoing extracts are taken:—

“I conjure you by the majesty of that God before whom angels rejoice

with trembling;—by the terror of the Lord, who may speak to you in

thunder, and this instant require your soul of you;—by the tender

mercies, the bowels of compassion of your heavenly Father, which are

moved in your favour, all ungrateful as you are!—I conjure you by the

incarnation of the Eternal Word, by whom you were created;—by the

humiliation, the pains, the temptations, the tears, the bloody sweat,

the agony, the cries of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ!—I

conjure you by the bonds, the insults, the scourgings, the robes of

derision, the crown of thorns, the ponderous cross, the nails, the

instruments of death which pierced His torn body; by the arrows of the

Almighty, the poison of which drank up His spirit; by that mysterious

stroke of Divine wrath, and by those unknown terrors which forced Him

to exclaim, ‘My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me!’—I conjure you

by the interests of your immortal soul, and by the unseen accidents

which may precipitate you into eternity;—by the bed of death, upon

which you will soon be stretched, and by the useless sighs which you

will then pour out, if your peace be not made with God!—I conjure you

by the sword of Divine justice, and by the sceptre of grace;—by the

sound of the last trumpet, and by the sudden appearance of the Lord

Jesus Christ, with ten thousand of His holy angels;—by that august

tribunal, at which you will appear with me, and which shall decide our

lot for ever;—by the vain despair of hardened sinners, and by the

unknown transports of regenerate souls!—I conjure you from this

instant work out your salvation with fear and trembling! Enter by the

door into the sheepfold. Sell all to purchase the pearl of great

price. Count all things dung and dross in comparison of the excellency

of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Let Him not go till He blesses you

with that faith which justifies, and that sanctification without which

no man shall see the Lord. And, soon transported from this vale of

tears into the mansions of the just made perfect, you shall cast your

crown of immortal glory at the feet of Him that sitteth upon the

throne, and before the Lamb who has redeemed us by His blood: to whom

be the blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the power for ever

and ever! Amen.”

It is time to return to Fletcher in the south of France. At the close of

his sojourn here, he wrote as follows to his curate, Mr. Greaves:—

“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,—I received a letter yesterday from my second

brother, who acquaints me, that he was to set out the 23rd of last

month, to come hither” (Montpelier), “and take me to my native

country, where my sick sister wants greatly to see me; so that, if it

please God, I shall, next week, leave this place. The winter has been

uncommonly rainy and windy; and even last week we had half an inch of

snow. 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 Hieres, the orange gardens of France, hither, which is

nearly fifty miles, and was well enough to preach last Sunday in

French at the Protestant Church. Two English clergymen came to hear

me, and one of them takes these lines to England, where I hope they

will find you in health of body and soul, growing in strength of

faith, in firmness of hope, and in fervency of love to God and man,

and especially to those whom you are tempted to think hardly of, if

any such there be. O my dear brother, no religion will do us or our

people any good, but that which ‘works by love,’—humble, childlike,

obedient love. May that religion fill our souls, and influence all our

tempers, words, and actions, and may the leaven leaven the whole lump!

May St. James’s peaceable religion spread through all our parish!

“I hope you are settled to your satisfaction; and I shall be glad to

do what is in my power to make your stay at Madeley agreeable. I wish

you may have as much success as we desire; but, whatever success we

have, we must cast our bread upon the waters, though we should see as

little fruit as he that said of old, ‘I have laboured in vain:’ for

our reward will be with the Lord, if not with men.”[434]

Footnote 434:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

In company with his brother, Fletcher left Montpelier, and arrived at

Nyon, the place of his nativity, where, in the house once occupied by

his father, he received the utmost attention from his affectionate

relatives, and had medical advice equal to any to be obtained in Europe.

One of his first acts was to write “to the Societies in and about

Madeley.” He addressed them as “My dear, very dear brethren;” charged

them all to meet him in heaven, “with all the mind that was in Christ;”

and sent his “love and thanks to Mr. Murlin and Mr. Roberts,” the two

Methodist preachers stationed at Chester, showing that Madeley, at this

period, was a part of the Chester circuit.[435]

Footnote 435:

Letters, 1791, p. 43.

Soon afterwards, he wrote to his beloved medical adviser, in England,

Mr. William Perronet, as follows:—

“NYON, _May 15, 1778_.

“The climate, and prospect, and fine roads, and pure air I enjoy here,

had contributed to strengthen me a little; when, about a month ago,

something I was chewing got into my windpipe, and caused a fit of

coughing which lasted half-an-hour. I then began to spit blood again,

and ever since I have had a bad cough, which has sometimes exercised

me violently for an hour after my first sleep. My cough, however, has

been better the last two days, and I hope it will go off. I have

bought a quiet horse, whose easy pace I can bear; and I ride much. I

have not ventured upon preaching since I came hither: it would be

impossible for me now to go through it. If the weather should grow

hot, I may, at any time, go to the hills, the foot of which is five or

six miles distant. I drink goats’ milk, and have left off meat since

the cough came on, but design eating a little again at dinner.”[436]

Footnote 436:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

Two days after the date of this letter, Fletcher was at Macon, whither

he had gone to meet his friend Mr. Ireland, on his return from

Montpelier to England. Whilst he was here, he wrote two letters, which

must be quoted. The first, addressed to “The Rev. Messrs. John and

Charles Wesley,” was as follows:—

“MACON, IN BURGUNDY, _May 17, 1778_.

“REV. AND DEAR SIRS,—I hope while I lie by, the Lord continues to

renew your vigour, and sends you to water His vineyard, and to stand

in the gap against error and vice.

“I preached twice at Marseilles, but was not permitted to follow the

blow. There are few noble, inquisitive Bereans in these parts. The

ministers in the town of my nativity have been very civil. They have

offered me the pulpit; but, I fear, if I could accept the offer, it

would soon be recalled. I am loath to quit this part of the field

without casting a stone at that giant, sin, who stalks about with

uncommon boldness. I shall, therefore, stay some months longer, to see

if the Lord will give me strength to venture an attack.

“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 Free-thinkers, great admirers of Voltaire[437]

and Rosseau, 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 futherance of His

kingdom.

“In the meantime, it becomes all lovers of the truth to make their

heavenly tempers, and humble, peaceful love to shine before all men,

that those mighty adversaries, seeing the good works of professors,

may glorify their Father who is in heaven, and no more blaspheme that

worthy name, by which we are all called Christians.

“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.

“I need not tell you, Sirs, that the hour in which Providence shall

make my way plain to return to England, to unite with those who feel

or seek the power of Christian godliness, will be welcome to me. O

favoured Britons! Happy would it be for them, if they knew their

Gospel privileges!

“My relations in Adam are all very kind to me; but the spiritual

relations, whom God has raised me in England, exceed them yet. Thanks

be to Christ, and to His blasphemed religion!

“I am, Rev. Sirs, your affectionate son, and obliged servant in the

Gospel,

“J. FLETCHER.”[438]

Footnote 437:

Thirteen days after the date of this letter, Voltaire, in Paris, took

a large dose of opium, without the advice of his physicians, and died.

Footnote 438:

_Arminian Magazine_, 1788, p. 384.

On the day after the date of this letter, Fletcher wrote the following

to the Rev. Dr. Conyers, another Methodist Clergyman, to whom he had

sent his “_Reconciliation; or, an easy Method to unite the people of

God_,” published in 1777:—

“MACON, IN BURGUNDY, _May 18, 1778_.

“HON. AND DEAR SIR,—I left orders, with a friend, to send you a little

book called ‘_The Reconciliation_,’ in which I endeavour to bring

nearer the children of God, who are divided about their _partial_

views of divine truths. I know not whether that tract has, in any

degree, answered its design; but I believe truth can be reconciled

with itself, and the candid children of God one with another. O that

some _abler_ hand, and _more loving_ heart, would undertake to mend my

plan, or draw one more agreeable to the Word of God! My eyes are upon

_you_, dear Sir, and those who are like-minded with you, for this

work. Disappoint not my hope. Stand forth, and make way for

reconciling love, by removing, so far as lies in you, what is in the

way of brotherly union.

“O Sir! the work is worthy of you. If you saw with what boldness the

false philosophers of the continent, who are the apostles of the age,

attack Christianity, and represent it as one of the worst religions in

the world, and fit only to make the professors of it murder one

another, or at least to contend among themselves, and how they urge

our disputes to make the Gospel of Christ the jest of nations, and the

abhorrence of all flesh, you would break through your natural

timidity, and invite all our brethren in the ministry to unite and

form a close battalion, and face the common enemy.

“O dear Sir! take courage. Be bold for reconciling truth. Be bold for

peace. You can do all things through Christ strengthening you; and, as

_Doctor Conyers_, you can do many things, a great many more than you

think. What if you go, Sir, in Christ’s name, to all the Gospel

ministers of your acquaintance, exhort them as a father, entreat them

as a brother, and bring them, or as many of them as you can, together?

Think you that your labour would be in vain in the Lord? Impossible,

Sir! O despair not. If you want a coach, or a friend to accompany you,

when you go upon this errand of love, remember there is a _Thornton_

in London, and an _Ireland_ in Bristol, who will wish you God speed;

and God will raise many more to concur in the peaceful work.

“Let me humbly entreat you to go to work, and to persevere in it. I

wish I had strength to be, at least, your postilion when you go. I

would drive, if not like Jehu, at least with some degree of cheerful

swiftness, while Christ smiled on the Christian attempt. But I am

confident you can do all in the absence of him, who is, with brotherly

love, and dutiful respect, Hon. and dear Sir, your obedient servant in

the Gospel,

“J. FLETCHER.”[439]

Footnote 439:

_Arminian Magazine_, 1788, p. 386.

Dr. Conyers, to whom this letter was addressed, was a notable man. Born

at Helmsley, Yorkshire, in 1725, he, in due time, became the Vicar of

that extensive parish. His conversion there, and his labours, were

remarkable. In 1765, he married Mrs. Knipe, a rich and pious widow, the

sister of the well-known John Thornton, Esq., of Clapham. Three years

before the foregoing letter was written, Mr. Thornton presented him to

the living of St. Paul’s, Deptford; and here he died in 1786, eight

months after the death of Fletcher.[440] At the beginning of his

evangelical career, he was warmly attached to Wesley, and a firm

believer in the doctrines of the Arminians. Afterwards, he was, to some

extent, influenced by certain of the Calvinian Ministers, with whom he

held converse; but, like his brother-in-law, John Thornton, he was a

lover of all good men; and, occupying a kind of neutral position between

the contending parties, Fletcher deemed him well qualified to bring

about the reconciliation of the two.

Footnote 440:

_Evangelical Magazine_, 1794.

At this period, the venerable Vicar of Shoreham had been recently

informed that he was entitled to a valuable estate in Switzerland, and

William Perronet, Fletcher’s medical adviser in England, had undertaken

to visit Switzerland to enforce his father’s rights. Before doing so,

however, he wrote to Fletcher, requesting his advice; and Fletcher’s

reply was as follows:—

“NYON, _June 2, 1778_.

“MY DEAR FRIEND,—When I wrote to you last, I mentioned two ladies of

your family who have married two brothers, Messrs. Monod. Since then,

they have requested me to send your father the enclosed memorial,

which I hope will prove of use to your family. As the bad writing and

the language may make the understanding of it difficult, I forward you

the substance of it, and of the letter of the ladies’ lawyer.

“While I invite you to make your title clear to a precarious estate on

earth, permit me, my dear Sir, to remind you of the heavenly

inheritance entailed on believers. The will, the New Testament by

which we can recover it, is proved. The Court is just and equitable;

the Judge is gracious and loving. To enter into possession of a part

of the estate here, and of the whole hereafter, we need only believe

and prove _evangelically_ that we are believers. Let us then set about

it _now_, with earnestness, with perseverance, and with a full

assurance that, through grace, we shall carry our cause. Alas! what

are estates and crowns to grace and glory?

“I have had a pull back since I wrote last. After I left Mr. Ireland

at Macon, to shorten my journey and enjoy new prospects, I ventured to

cross the mountains which separate France from this country. On the

third day of the journey, I found a large hill, whose winding roads

were so steep that, though we fed the horses with bread and wine, they

could scarcely draw the chaise, and I was obliged to walk in all the

steepest places. The climbing lasted several hours; the sun was hot; I

perspired violently; and the next day I spit blood again. I have

chiefly kept to goat’s milk ever since; I find myself better; and my

cough is neither frequent nor violent.

“This is a delightful country. If you come to see it, and to claim the

estate, bring all the papers and memorials you can collect; and share

a pleasant apartment, and one of the finest prospects in the world, in

the house where I was born. I design to try this fine air some months

longer. We have a fine shady wood near the lake, where I can ride in

the cool all the day, and enjoy the singing of a multitude of birds.

But this, though sweet, does not come up to the singing of my dear

friends in England. There I meet them in spirit several hours in the

day.”[441]

Footnote 441:

Letters, 1791, p. 263, and Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

The ensuing letter, kindly lent by the Rev. Dr. Knowles, of Tunbridge

Wells, has not before been published. It was addressed to “Mr. Power,

Druggist, in Broadmead, Bristol, Angleterre.”

“NYON, _June 20, 1778_.

“DEAR SIR,—A journey and my constant rides have hindered me

acknowledging sooner the favour of your observations and criticisms,

which I received some time ago. If I had my little publications here,

to turn to the pages you quote, I would immediately make notes, and

alter or rectify what you object to, as a preparation for a more

correct edition, should the work be ever reprinted. I wish all my

friends had taken as much pains about my works as you have, Sir; they

would by this time be more correct. Accept my sincere thanks for the

favour; and, if I live to see England again, we shall (please God)

talk the matter over fully.

“I am obliged to you for your caution about preaching. I have followed

it, and have not yet preached in this country, though I believe I

shall soon venture again upon it, but with care and in a sparing

manner. I hope at least the Lord will give me grace so to do.

“I heartily rejoice that Mrs. Power has been carried safely, a second

time, through the danger of child-bearing. May she and the two fruits

of her body live to the glory of God, and to your comfort! Remember me

kindly to her; and give my blessing to my god-son, whose will, I hope,

you continue to break with the wisdom, patience, and steadiness which

become a parent.

“I sent your mother a few lines by Mr. Ireland. I hope she received

them; but I shall never get an answer, if what he writes me is true.

Is she dead indeed? Sometimes I hope it is a rumour without

foundation; and yet his account that she died at Bath, where your

letter mentions she was gone, makes me fear he was well-informed. If

she is no more, you have lost a tender mother, and I a kind friend;

but the Lord will make up all our losses, and has already made them up

by giving us His Son. May we receive Him, and with Him all that is

excellent among the living and the dead! As she has been for many

years a woman of sorrow,—a true Hannah—wading almost constantly

through a sea of temptations, they may have followed her to the last,

and she may have escaped out of many tribulations, as the saints

mentioned in the Revelation. A line about it, and about your welfare,

and that of my god-son, will greatly oblige, dear Sir, your obedient

and already obliged servant,

J. FLETCHER.

“My love to your brother, when you see him.”

The next letter, written to Mr. Ireland, contains a sylvan scene worthy

of being painted:—

“NYON, _July 15, 1778_.

“MY DEAR FRIEND,—I have ventured to preach once, and to expound once

in the church. Our ministers are very kind, and preach to the purpose.

A young one of this town gave us lately a very excellent gospel

sermon.

“Grown-up people stand fast in their stupidity, or in their

self-righteousness. The day I preached, I met some children in my wood

gathering strawberries. I spoke to them about our _common_ Father. We

felt a touch of brotherly affection. 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. The people of the house stopped them,

saying, I would 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 this, I enquired after them, and invited them

to come and see me; which they have done every day since. I make them

little hymns, which they sing. Some of them are unde, sweet drawings.

Yesterday, I wept for joy on hearing one of them speak, as an

experienced believer in Bristol would have done, of conviction of sin,

and of the joy unspeakable in Christ that followed. 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 (for I had exhorted), for fear of giving umbrage; and I have

complied, from a concurrence of circumstances which are not worth

mentioning; I therefore now meet them in my father’s yard.”[442]

Footnote 442:

Letters, 1791, p. 264.

What a contrast to this scene of gentleness among children is the

following!

Fletcher had a nephew, who had been in the Sardinian army, where his

ungentlemanly and profligate conduct had given such general offence to

his brother officers that they determined to compel him to leave their

corps, or to fight them all in succession. After engaging in two or

three duels, with various success, the young bravo left the service, and

now, during Fletcher’s present visit, he returned to Switzerland. His

resources were soon spent in profligacy; and, gaining access to his

uncle, General De Gons, he 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.” The General was a brave man, but, seeing

himself in the power of a desperado capable of any mischief, he wrote

the draft. “Uncle,” said the young fellow, “you must do another thing;

you must promise me, on your honour, to use no means to recover the

draft, or to bring me to justice.” The General promised, and the bandit

rode away triumphantly. Passing the door of his uncle Fletcher, he

called upon him, and told him General De Gons had generously given him

five hundred crowns. Fletcher doubted the truthfulness of this

statement. The draft was produced. “Let me see it,” said Fletcher. It

was handed to him. Fletcher examined it, and remarked, “It is indeed my

brother’s writing, and it astonishes me; because my brother is not

wealthy, and I know that he justly disapproves your conduct, and that

you are the last in the family to whom he would make such a present.”

Then, folding the draft and putting it into his pocket, Fletcher added,

“It strikes me, young man, that you have obtained this draft improperly;

and, in honesty, I cannot return it without my brother’s approbation.”

Out came the pistol, and was levelled at Fletcher’s breast. “Return it,”

cried the young scoundrel, “or I will take your life.” “My life,” calmly

replied Fletcher, “is secure in the protection of the Almighty Power who

guards it; nor will He suffer it to be the forfeit of your rashness, or

my integrity. Do you think that I, who have been a minister of God for

five-and-twenty years, am afraid of death? It is for you to fear death,

who have every reason to fear it. You are a gamester and a cheat, yet

call yourself a gentleman! You are the seducer of female innocence, and

still you say that you are a gentleman! You are a duellist and your hand

is red with blood, and for this you call yourself a man of honour! Look

there, Sir! look there! See, the broad eye of heaven is upon us. Tremble

in the presence of your Maker, who can in a moment kill your body, and

for ever damn your soul!” The culprit turned pale; then he argued,

threatened, and entreated. Sometimes, taking out his pistol, he fixed

himself against the door to prevent egress; and, at other times, closed

on frail Fletcher, menacing him with instantaneous death. All was of no

avail. The poor country parson was as valorous as the most heroic

soldier. He gave no alarm to the family; he sought no weapon; he

attempted no escape; he simply conversed with the calmness of a hero and

a saint. At length, the young fellow began to be affected; and now,

having gained the victory, Fletcher addressed him in another strain: “I

cannot return my brother’s draft,” said he; “yet I feel for your

distress, and will endeavour to relieve it. My brother Gons, at my

request, I am sure will give you a hundred crowns; I will do the same;

perhaps my brother Henry will do as much; and I hope your own family

will make up the five hundred crowns among them.” Fletcher then fell

upon his knees, and began to pray; uncle and nephew parted, and the

family, by Fletcher’s mediation, furnished the young scapegrace with the

five hundred crowns he had feloniously attempted to extort.[443]

Footnote 443:

Cox’s “Life of Fletcher,” p. 129.

Amidst such scenes, Fletcher did not forget his friends at Madeley. On

July 18, he wrote three messages:—

_To his curate, the Rev. Mr. Greaves._—“I trust you lay yourself out

for the good of the flock committed to your care. I shall be glad to

hear that they grow in grace, and humble love.”

_To the congregation in Madeley church._—“John Fletcher begs a farther

interest in the prayers of the congregation of Madeley; and desires

those, who assemble to serve God in the church, to help him to return

public thanks to Almighty God for many mercies received; especially,

for being able to do a little ministerial duty. He humbly beseeches

them to serve God as Christians, and to love one another as brethren;

neglecting no means of grace, and rejoicing in all the hopes of

glory.”

_To the Methodist Societies “in Madeley, Dawley, and the Banks.”_—“We

are all called to grow in grace, and, consequently, in love, which is

the greatest of all Christian graces. Your prayers for my soul and my

body have not been without answer. Blessed be God! Glory be to His

rich mercy in Christ, I live yet _the life of faith_; as to my body, I

recover some strength. God bless you all, with all the blessings

brought to the Church by Christ Jesus, and by the other Comforter! My

love to the preachers” (John Murlin and Robert Roberts), “whom I beg

you will thank in my name.”[444]

Footnote 444:

Letters, 1791, p. 45.

Two months later (September 15), he wrote to his friend Thomas York:—

“Blessed be the God of all consolation, though I have still very

trying and feverish nights, I am kept in peace of mind; resigned to

His will, who afflicts me for my good, and justly sets me aside for my

unprofitableness. His grace within, and His people without, turn my

trying circumstances into matter of praise. Give my love to all your

dear family; to the two or three who may yet remember me at Shiffnal;

and, also, to Daniel, and desire him, when he gathers the Easter dues,

to give my love and thanks to _all_ my parishioners.“[445]

Footnote 445:

_Ibid_, p. 45.

No doubt Fletcher’s statement to Mr. York, respecting himself, was

strictly true; but, still, there must have been a considerable

improvement in his health since he left England. Hence the following

interesting letter, written to Mr. Ireland only ten days later:—

“NYON, _September 25, 1778_.

“MY DEAR FRIEND,—I am just returned from an excursion I have made with

my brother, through the fine vale in the midst of the high hills which

divide France from this country. In that vale we found three lakes,

one on French ground, and two on Swiss: the largest is six miles long

and two wide. It is the part of the country where industry is most

apparent, and where population thrives best. The inhabitants are

chiefly woodmen, coopers, watchmakers, and jewellers. They told me,

they had the best singing, and the best preacher, in the country. I

asked, if any sinners were converted under his ministry? They stared,

and asked, what I meant by conversion? When I had explained myself,

they said, ‘We do not live in the time of miracles.’

“I was better satisfied in passing through a part of the vale which

belongs to the King of France. I saw a prodigious concourse of people,

and supposed they kept a fair, but was agreeably surprised to find

three missionaries in the midst of them, who went about as itinerant

preachers to help the regular clergy. They had been there some days,

and were three brothers, and preached morning and evening. The evening

service opened with what they called _a conference_. One of the

missionaries took the pulpit, and the parish priest proposed questions

to him, which he answered at full length and in a very edifying

manner. The subject was the unlawfulness and the mischief of those

methods by which persons of different sexes lay snares for each other,

and corrupt each other’s morals. The subject was treated with

delicacy, propriety, and truth. The method was admirably well

calculated to draw and fix the attention of a mixed multitude. This

_conference_ being ended, another missionary took the pulpit. His text

was our Lord’s description of the day of 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. When the outcry began, the preacher

was describing the departure of the wicked into eternal fire. They

urged that God was merciful, and that Jesus Christ had shed His blood

for them. ‘But that mercy you have slighted, and now is the time of

justice. That blood you have trodden under foot, and now it cries for

vengeance. Know your day. Slight the Father’s mercy and the Son’s

blood no longer.’ I have seen but once or twice congregations as much

affected in England.

“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 the yard of a jail, where they were come to

see a murderer before his execution. I was a little abused by the

bailiff on the occasion, and was refused the liberty of attending the

poor man to the scaffold, where he was to be broken on the wheel. I

hope he died penitent. The day before he suffered, he said he had

broken his irons, and that, as he deserved to die, he desired new ones

to be put on, lest he should be tempted to make his escape.

“You ask, what I design to do? I propose, if it be the Lord’s will, to

spend the winter here. In the spring, I shall, if nothing prevents,

return to England with you, or with Mr. Perronet, if his affairs are

settled, or alone, if other ways fail. In the meanwhile, I rejoice

with you in Jesus, and in the glorious hope of that complete salvation

His faithfulness has promised, and His power can never be at a loss to

bestow. We must be saved by faith and hope till we are saved by

perfect love, and made partakers of heavenly glory. I am truly a

_stranger_ here. As strangers let us go where we shall meet the

assembly of the righteous gathered in Jesus.“[446]

Footnote 446:

Letters, 1791, p. 268.

Mr. William Perronet arrived at Nyon in the month of December, and, in

letters to his father, related:—

“However engaged Mr. Fletcher is the greater part of the day, he is

generally so kind as to spend a little time with me in the evening in

prayer and conversation. His chief delight seems to be in meeting his

little society of children. He is exceedingly fond of them, and they

appear to be as fond of him. He seldom 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 do the

drunkards make songs on him and his little companions, but many of the

clergy loudly complain of such irregular proceedings. However, he is

upon good terms with three ministers of the place; all of whom are

serious men, and desirous of promoting true religion.

“He is better, I think, than when he left England; but he frequently

puts his strength to too severe a trial, by meeting his Society of

children, and some grown persons; and other exercises of a like

nature. When he ventures to preach, his spitting of blood returns; and

whenever this happens, his strength and spirits decay

surprisingly.”[447]

Footnote 447:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher”.

Fletcher and his brother translated all the papers of William Perronet

into French, and, in other ways, assisted him, in reference to the

estate which he had gone to Switzerland to obtain. Notwithstanding the

delicate state of Fletcher’s health, the three set out, in the wintry

weather of that December month, to visit Chateau d’Oex, where the

property was situated. The distance from Nyon was fifty-seven miles.

When they had made about a quarter of the journey, “the horses were

tired out, the coachman refused to proceed further,” and they were

obliged to return home again.[448] A few days later, they made another

attempt, and arrived at their destination on January 10, 1779. Five days

afterwards, they were again at Nyon.

Footnote 448:

_Ibid._

In Fletcher’s state of health, such a journey was perilous; but his love

to the Perronet family was such that, to him, no labour and risk, on

their behalf, were too great. In letters to his venerable father, at

Shoreham, William Perronet states, that none of them having been to

Chateau d’Oex before, they were obliged to employ a guide, and that “on

account of the badness of the ways,” they had “to go some leagues

about,” which made their journey about eighty miles. Their coach had to

pass “over mountains of snow and rocks of ice.” When nine miles from

Chateau d’Oex, they were obliged to exchange their coach for “an open

sledge;” and now they “travelled through narrow passes, cut through the

snow, which, on both sides, was many feet above their heads; on the

sides of mountains, whose summits the eye could scarcely reach; and

frequently on the brink of precipices, at the bottoms of which they

could hear the waters roar like thunder.” In one place, Fletcher and

William Perronet, being obliged to walk, their feet slipped: Fletcher

“received a violent blow on the back part of the head;” and William

Perronet “sprained” his “wrist.” In crossing the Alps, they had to lie

“two nights in beds that were not only damp, but musty and without

curtains;” and, “being in a Popish canton, and Friday and Saturday being

meagre days,” they “were almost starved with hunger as well as cold.”

“The weather was extremely severe, and it was scarce in the power of

clothes, or even of fire, to keep” them “warm.” William Perronet

concludes his narrative of their adventures as follows:—

“Whether I succeed in my temporal business or not, I shall ever

remember, with pleasure and thankfulness, the opportunities I have

been blessed with in spending so much time in company with our

inestimable friend; who, wherever he goes, preaches the Gospel, both

by his words and example; nay, by his very looks, not only to his

friends, but to all whom he meets: so that, on the top of the frozen

Alps, and in the dreary vale of Chateau d’Oex, good seed has been

sown. At Chateau d’Oex, he was visited by some of the principal

inhabitants, who stood around him, in deep attention, for almost an

hour, while he exhorted and prayed.”[449]

Footnote 449:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

In a postscript to this letter, Fletcher wrote:—

“I have had the pleasure of accompanying your son to your father’s

birthplace. It is a charming country for those who have a taste for

highland prospects; but what is it to our heavenly Father’s _Hill of

Sion_? Thither may we all travel, summer and winter, and there may we

all have a happy meeting, and find an eternal inheritance!”

Three weeks later, Fletcher wrote the following to Mr. Ireland:—

“NYON, _February 2, 1779_.

“MY DEAR FRIEND,—I am sorry to hear that you are still tried by

illness; but our good, heavenly Father is wise; His will be done; His

name be praised!

“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 spend 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.

“Our little Lord-Lieutenant has forbidden the ministers to let me

exhort in the parsonage, because it is the _sovereign’s house_. My

second brother has addressed a memorial to him, in which he informs

him that he will give up neither his religious nor civil liberty, and

will open his house for the Word of God. According, we have since met

at his house.

“On Sunday, we met at the young clergyman’s who writes against the

conduct of the clergy; but I fear we fence against a wall of brass.

However, I am quite persuaded that Providence calls me to leave a

testimony to my French brethren, and it may be of some use when I

shall be no more. I have been comforted by the apology of a minister

at Yverdon, who was persecuted at the beginning of this century under

the name of Pietist; and I have become acquainted with a faithful

minister of Geneva, but he dares no more offer me his pulpit than my

brother-in-law at Lausanne.

“Several young women seem to have received the Word in the love of it,

and four or five grown-up ones; but not one man, except the young

hopeful clergyman I mention, who helps me at my little meetings, and

begins to preach extempore. 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 centre in and flow 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, Emanuel, 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.

“I hope I shall be able to set out for England with Mr. Perronet, in

April or May. O that I may find that dear island in peace within and

without![450] Well, I hope you make peace in the Church if you cannot

make peace with the patriots.

“The coats and shoes you gave me have lasted _all this while_, and are

yet good; so that I need not draw upon your banker. Thank God, and

you, for a thousand favours! God bless and comfort you, my dear

friend! We are poor creatures, but we have a good God to cast all our

burdens upon, and who often burdens us that we may have constant and

free recourse to His bounty, power, and faithfulness. Stand fast in

the faith. Believe _lovingly_, and all will be well.”[451]

Footnote 450:

The war with the American Colonists was now raging, and England was

greatly excited.

Footnote 451:

Letters, 1791, p. 271.

To his friend and Methodist helper among the Madeley Societies, William

Wase, Fletcher wrote as follows:—

“NYON, _February 11, 1779_.

“MY DEAR FRIEND,—I have just received yours of January 24, and rejoice

to hear of the welfare of your friends, whom I long much to see; but

there is no blessing _here_ without some alloy of grief, and such was

to me the account of the poor state of health of dear Mrs. Wase. Tell

her I should be glad to hold up her hands in her fight of affliction;

but, if the poor, unprofitable, weak servant is afar off, the Master,

who is rich in mercy, who fills the whole world with His goodness and

patience, is near to her and to all His afflicted ones. I recommend to

her two remedies. One is a cheerful resignation to the will of God,

whereby her animal spirits will be greatly raised or sweetly

refreshed. The other is, four lumps of heavenly sugar, to be taken

every half hour, day and night, when she does not sleep. I make a

constant use of them, to my great comfort. They have quickened my soul

when I was dying, and I doubt not they will have the same effect upon

hers. They are: ‘God so loved the world,’ etc. ‘If any man sin,’ etc.

‘It is a faithful saying,’ etc. ‘Come unto Me, all ye that are weary,’

etc.

“Tell my little god-daughter, Patty Cartwright, she is big enough and

bad enough to take these heavenly pills. Tell her mother to take them

regularly with her. What a shame it is to have such a remedy and not

to make more use of it!

“Remember me in much love to dear Mr. Hatton. Thank brother Costerdine

and his fellow-labourer[452] for their occasional help. May the Lord

vouchsafe to consecrate our little Zoar[453] by calling one sinner and

establishing another saint! How abundantly shall we be repaid for our

little expense and trouble! Thank the brethren you have mentioned;

salute them kindly from me, not forgetting John Tranter and our

friends at the Fore Bank—Thomas Pool and Thomas Banks, and our friends

at Dawley Green. You may see in the enclosed that I am not without

hopes of telling you in May how much I am yours,

“J. FLETCHER.”[454]

Footnote 452:

James Barry and Robert Costerdine, the two Methodist itinerant

preachers stationed in the Chester circuit, of which Madeley and its

neighbourhood were a part.

Footnote 453:

The meeting-house Fletcher had recently erected in Madeley Wood, and

which is now a part of the Wesleyan Chapel there.

Footnote 454:

Letters, 1791, p. 47, and the _Christian Miscellany_, 1877, p. 333.

“The enclosed” communication bore the same date as this letter to

William Wase, of Broseley, and was addressed “To the Brethren in and

about Madeley;” _i.e._, the Methodists:—

“MY DEAR COMPANIONS IN TRIBULATION,—Peace and mercy, faith, hope, and

love be multiplied to you all from the Father of mercies through the

Lord Jesus Christ, by the Spirit of grace! I thank you for your kind

remembrance of me in your prayers. I am yet spared to pray for you. O

that I had more power with God! I would bring down heaven into all

your hearts. Strive together in love for the living faith, the

glorious hope, the sanctifying love once delivered to the saints. Look

to Jesus. Move on; run yourselves in the heavenly race, and let each

sweetly draw his brother along, till the whole company appears before

the redeeming God in Sion.

“I hope God will, in His mercy, spare me to see you in the flesh; and

if I cannot labour for you, I shall gladly suffer with you. If you

will put health into my flesh, joy into my heart, and life into my

whole frame, be of _one heart_ and of _one soul_. Count nothing your

_own_ but your _sin_ and _shame_; and bury that dreadful property in

the grave of our Saviour. Let all you are and have be His who bought

you. Dig hard in the _Gospel_ mines for hidden treasure. Blow hard the

furnace of prayer with the bellows of faith until you are melted into

love, and the dross of sin is purged out of every heart. Get together

into Jesus, the heavenly ark, and sweetly sail into the ocean of

eternity; so shall you be true miners, furnacemen, and bargemen.

Farewell, in Jesus! Tell Mrs. Cound I shall greatly rejoice if she

remembers Lot’s wife.”[455]

Footnote 455:

Letters, p. 48, and _ibid_, p. 334.

Six weeks after the date of this letter to the Madeley Methodists,

Wesley visited them, and wrote:—

“1779. March 25, _Thursday_. I preached in the new house which Mr.

Fletcher has built in Madeley Wood. The people here exactly resemble

those at Kingswood, only they are more simple and teachable. But, for

want of discipline, the immense pains which he has taken with them has

not done them the good which might have been expected. I preached at

Shrewsbury in the evening, and next day, about noon, in the

assembly-room at Broseley. It was well we were in the shade, for the

sun shone as hot as it usually does at midsummer. We walked from

thence to Coalbrook Dale, and took a view of the bridge which is

shortly to be thrown over the Severn. It is one arch, a hundred feet

long, fifty-two high, and eighteen wide; all of cast-iron, weighing

many hundred tons. I doubt whether the Colossus at Rhodes weighed much

more.”[456]

Footnote 456:

Wesley’s Journal.

Fletcher’s health was still feeble, but he longed to be back to his

parishioners and to the Methodists surrounding Madeley. Hence the

following to the Vicar of Shoreham:—

“1779, March 29. I am still weak in body, but able to ride out and

exhort some children. Well, the time shall come when, in a better

state, we shall be able to glorify our heavenly Father. In the

meantime, let us do it either in the stocks of weakness or in the

fires of tribulation; and on our death-bed may we sing, with hearts

overflowing with humble love, ‘The Resurrection and the Life, the

Friend and Saviour of sinners, loved me and gave Himself for me; and I

am going to see Him and to thank Him, face to face, for His matchless

love!’

“I hope the prospect respecting the inheritance of your fathers in

this country clears up a little, and I trust the matter will be

decided without a lawsuit. As soon as the affair is brought to some

conclusion, we design to set out for England. The will of the Lord be

done in all things!”[457]

Footnote 457:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

This was written in the week before Easter. The Puritanical Calvinists

of Switzerland of course denounced the observance of holy days, and

hence, at Nyon, there was no service on Good Friday, April 2; but

Fletcher and William Perronet, who all their life had been accustomed to

commemorate the death of the incarnate Son of God, crossed the lake into

Savoy, to hear a celebrated Capuchin.

“He made,” says Mr. Perronet, “a very good discourse, and he and his

brethren invited us to dine with them. This we declined; but, after

dinner, we paid our respects to them, when Mr. Fletcher spent two or

three hours with them in serious and friendly conversation.”[458]

Footnote 458:

_Ibid._

Fletcher had expressed a hope that he would be able to return to his

flock at Madeley in April or May, but his hope was not realized. The

reasons for this will be found in the following extracts from his

letters. To his curate, the Rev. Mr. Greaves, he said:—

“Nyon, May 18, 1779. My dear fellow-labourer,—My departure being

delayed some weeks gives me much concern, although, from the

confidence I have in your pastoral diligence, I am easy about the

flock you feed. Last week, a Visitation was held here, and the clergy

of the town took my part against the Visitor and others, who said I

was of a sect everywhere spoken against. The conversation about it

held so long, and was so trying to my grain of humility, that I went

out. The matter, however, ended peaceably by a vote that they should

invite me to dinner. God ever save us from jealous and persecuting

zeal.

“I hope, my dear friend, you go on comfortably, doing more and more

the work of an evangelist. Remember my love to as many of my

parishioners as you meet with, and especially to all our good

neighbours and to the Society.”[459]

Footnote 459:

Letters, 1791, p. 49.

On the same day, he wrote to Michael Onions as follows:—

“I have complied with the request of my friends to stay a little

longer among them, as it was backed by a small Society of pious people

gathered here. Three weeks ago, they got about me, and on their knees,

with many tears, besought me to stay till they were a little stronger

and able to stand alone; nor would they rise till they had got me to

comply. However, yesterday, I spoke with a carrier, from Geneva, to

take me to London, who said he would take us at a fortnight’s notice.

“My love to your fellow-leaders, and, by them, to the companies you

meet in prayer; also to the preachers who help in the

Round[460].”[461]

Footnote 460:

The name often given by the old Methodists to a Methodist Circuit.

Footnote 461:

Letters, 1791, p. 51.

On May 22, William Perronet, in a letter to his father, observed:—

“On the 9th of this month, Mr. Fletcher preached in the church, on 2

Cor. v. 20—‘We are ambassadors for Christ,’ etc. He spoke with a

strong and clear voice for more than three-quarters of an hour, and

did not find himself hurt by it. He has preached four times in the

church since I have been here, and might have preached much oftener if

his health would have allowed him; for, by his friendly and prudent

conduct towards the three ministers of the place, he is upon good

terms with them now, although, at his first coming hither, they were

afraid to own him, on account of his _irregular conduct_; for such

they deemed his exhorting the children, and holding meetings in

private houses.”[462]

Footnote 462:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

On the same day, Fletcher remarked to the same venerable minister:—

“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER, AND HONOURED FATHER,—I rejoice that you are yet

preserved to be a witness of the grace and saving health of Jesus. Let

us rejoice that when _our_ strength shall decay, _His_ will remain

entire for ever, and, in His strength, we, who take Him for our life,

shall be strong. Our Redeemer liveth; and, when sickness and death

shall have brought down our flesh to the earth, we shall, by His

resurrection’s power, rise and live for ever with Him in heavenly

places; for the new earth will be a heaven, or a glorious province in

the kingdom of heaven. The meek shall inherit it; and that inheritance

will be fairer than yours at Chateau d’Oex, and surer too.

“I hope to accompany your son soon to England.”[463]

Footnote 463:

_Ibid._

The following, also, was written at the same time, and was addressed to

his honoured host and friend, Mr. Charles Greenwood, of Stoke

Newington:—

“NYON, _May 22, 1779_.

“MY DEAR FRIEND,—“I am yet alive, able to ride out, and now and then

to instruct a few children. I hope Mr. Perronet will soon have settled

his affairs, and then, please God, I shall inform you, by word of

mouth, how much I am indebted to you, Mrs. Greenwood and Mrs.

Thornton. Thank and salute, on my behalf, Mr. John and Mr. Charles

Wesley, Dr. Coke, and Mr. Atlay.[464] Thanks be to God for His

unspeakable gifts,—His Son, His Spirit, and His Word! And thanks be to

His people, for their kindness towards the poor, the sick, the

stranger, and especially towards me! But, at this time, a sleepless

night and a constant toothache unfit me for almost everything but

lying down under the cross, kissing the rod, and rejoicing in hope of

a better state, in this world or in the next. Perhaps weakness and

pain are the best for me in this world. Well, the Lord will choose for

me, and I fully set my heart and seal to His choice. Let us not faint

in the day of adversity. The Lord tries us, that our faith may be

purged of all the dross of self-will, and may work by that love, which

beareth all things, and thinketh evil of nothing. Our calling is to

follow the crucified, and we must be crucified with Him, until body

and soul know the power of His resurrection, and pain and death are

done away.

“I hope my dear friend will make, with me, a constant choice of the

following mottoes of St. Paul,—_Christ is gain in life and death—Our

life is hid with Christ in God—If we suffer with Him, we shall also

reign with Him—We glory in tribulation—God will give us rest with

Christ in that day—We are saved by hope._ To the Lord our God,

Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, let us give glory _in the fires_.

Amen.”[465]

Footnote 464:

Wesley’s Book Steward, who, nine years afterwards, seceded from the

Methodists, and took possession of a chapel which they had built at

Dewsbury.

Footnote 465:

Letters, 1791, p. 272.

Besides his own physical weakness and suffering, Fletcher had other

trials in Switzerland. In a letter, written about the same time as the

foregoing, he remarked:—

“Let us bear with patience the decays of nature; let us see, without

fear, the approach of death. We must put off this sickly, corruptible

body, in order to put on the immortal and glorious one. I have some

hopes that my poor sister will yet be my sister in Christ. Her

self-righteousness, I hope, breaks as fast as her body. I am come

hither to see death make havoc among my friends. I wear mourning for

my father’s brother, and for my brother’s son. The same mourning will

serve for my dying sister, if I do not go before her. She lies on the

same bed where my father and mother died, and where she and I were

born. How near is life to death! But, blessed be God, Christ, the

Resurrection, is nearer to the weak, dying believer!”[466]

Footnote 466:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

Fletcher, notwithstanding his longing to get back to his flock at

Madeley, was still detained in Switzerland. Hence the following,

addressed to Mr. Thomas York:—

“NYON, _Ibid._.

“MY DEAR SIR,—Providence is still gracious to me, and raises me

friends on all sides. May God reward them all, and may you have _a

double reward_ for all your kindness! I hope I am getting a little

strength. The Lord has blessed to me a species of black cherry, which

I have eaten in large quantities. I have had a return of my spitting

blood; but, for a fortnight past, I have catechized the children of

the town every day; and I do not find much inconvenience from that

exercise. Some of them seem to be under sweet drawings of the Father,

and a few of their mothers begin to come, and desire me with tears in

their eyes to stay in this country. They urge much my being born here,

and I reply, that I was _born again_ in England; that is, _of course_,

the country which, to me, is the dearer of the two.

“My friends have prevailed on me to publish ‘A Poem on the Praises of

God,’ which I wrote many years ago. The revising it for the press is

at once a business and a pleasure, which I go through on horseback.

Help me, by your prayers, to ask a blessing on this little attempt.

“I wish I could procure you an estate in this fine country, as I hope

to do Mr. Perronet, one of the physicians who showed me so much love

when I lay sick at Newington. His grandfather was a Swiss, who was

naturalized in the reign of Queen Anne. By calling upon some of his

relations, I have found that he is entitled to an estate of some

£1000, of which he is come to take possession. So Providence prepares

for me a friend, a kind physician, and a fellow-traveller, to

accompany me back to England; where one of my chief pleasures will be

to embrace you, and to assure you, how much I am, my dear friend, your

obliged servant,

“J. FLETCHER.”[467]

Footnote 467:

Letters, 1791, p. 53.

Alas! little did Fletcher think that William Perronet would not return

to England.

“Providence,” said Fletcher, in the letter just quoted, “raises me

friends on all sides.” He soon had need of them. In the month of

September, William Perronet wrote:—

“Mr. Fletcher has been wont to preach, now and then, in the church

here (Nyon), at the request of one or other of the ministers; but,

some time ago, he was summoned before the Seigneur Bailiff, who

sharply reprehended 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 then

sent for a company of French Comedians to come to Nyon. Accordingly,

he forbade Mr. Fletcher to exercise, any more, any of the functions of

a minister in this country. However, one of the Ministers here has

given him a room in his own house to preach in; and here Mr. Fletcher

meets a few serious persons, particularly a number of children, two or

three times a week. Hitherto, his lordship has not interfered with

respect to this mode of exhortation; and both the number and the

seriousness of the congregation increase daily.”[468]

Footnote 468:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

Referring to the same incident, Fletcher wrote:—

“Our Lord Lieutenant, being stirred up by some of the clergy, and

believing firmly that I am banished from England, took the alarm, and

forbade the ministers to let me exhort in their houses; threatening

them with the power of the Senate if they did. They all yielded, but

are now ashamed of it. A young clergyman, a true Timothy, has opened

me his house, where I exhort twice a week; and the other clergymen,

encouraged by his boldness, come to our meetings.”

William Perronet completes this story by relating that the minister, who

began this discreditable opposition, died suddenly, as he was dressing

to go to church; and that his successor continued the same intolerant

behaviour towards poor, well-meaning Fletcher. Mr. Perronet adds:—

“Mr. Fletcher now thinks himself obliged, before he leaves his native

country, to bear a public testimony to the truth. When his writing

will be finished, I cannot say, for it multiplies under his fertile

pen; so that, I fear, we shall be obliged to spend another winter in

this severe climate.”[469]

Footnote 469:

_Ibid._

There can be little doubt that the “public testimony,” which Fletcher

was now composing was his “Portrait of St. Paul,” to be noticed anon.

Soon after this, Fletcher had an attack of rheumatism, and wrote as

follows to William Perronet, who had gone to Lausanne. After relating

that the pain in his left shoulder had deprived him of sleep, and almost

crippled him, he added:—

“I have partly recovered the use of my shoulder; but it is still very

weak. I drink a decoction of pine-apple, which is as warm as guaiacum.

My writing does not go on; but the will of the Lord is done, and that

is enough. I would press you to come back soon, if I were not

persuaded you are better where you are. I have been afraid that our

bad meat here would make you lose your flesh; and, for the honour of

Switzerland, I should be glad you had some to carry back to England,

if we live to go and see our friends there. I had last Sunday

(December 19), a great trial in my family. I see the Lord will not use

me in this country for good, and, when we shall have finished our

little matters, I shall be glad to go to my spiritual friends, and to

my flock; so much the more, as Mr. Ireland mentions my curate’s danger

of being in a consumption. My compliments and thanks wait on Miss

Perronet. She was very obliging to share her drops with me. May we all

share the springs of grace and glory together! If you will come a few

leagues southward, and try the weather here, your room waits for you,

and I shall be glad to see you. In the meantime, keep yourself warm by

the Word of God within, and a good fire without. The Lord direct us in

all things! Oh for quietness and English friends!”[470]

Footnote 470:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher;” and _Wesleyan Methodist Magazine_, 1825,

p. 744.

Two days after writing this, Fletcher addressed his curate, Mr. Greaves,

as follows:—

“NYON, _December 25, 1779_.

“MY DEAR BROTHER,—Glory be to God for His unspeakable gift! May that

Jesus, that eternal, all-creating, all-supporting, all-atoning,

all-comforting Word, which was with God, and is God, and came, in the

likeness of sinful flesh, to dwell among men, and to be our Emmanuel,

God with us,—may He, by a lively faith, be formed in our hearts; and,

by a warm love, lie and grow in the manger of our emptiness, filling

it always with the bread that comes down from heaven!

“Though absent in body, I am with you and the flock in spirit. You are

now at the Lord’s table. O may all the dear people, you have just now

preached to, receive Jesus in the pledge of His dying love, and go

home with this lively conviction, ‘God has given _me_ eternal life,

and this life is _in His Son_!’

“Glory be to God in heaven! Peace on earth! Love and good-will

everywhere! Especially in the place where Providence has called us to

cry, ‘_Behold! what manner of love the Father has testified to us, in

Jesus, that we, children of wrath, should be made children of God_, by

that only-begotten Son of the Most High, who was born for our

regeneration, crucified for our atonement, raised for our

justification, and who now triumphs in heaven for our sanctification,

for our full redemption, and for our eternal glorification. To Him be

glory for ever and ever;’ and may all, who fear and love Him about

you, say, for ever, Amen! Hallelujah!

“Out of the fulness of my heart, I invite them to do so; but how

shallow is my fulness to His! What a drop, compared to an ocean

without bottom or shore! Let us, then, receive continually from Him,

who is the overflowing and ever-present source of pardoning,

sanctifying, and exhilarating grace; and, from the foot of the Wrekin,

where you are, to the foot of the Alps, where I am, let us echo back

to each other the joyful, thankful cry of the primitive Christians,

which was the text here this morning, ‘_Out of His fulness, we have

all received grace for grace._’

“I long to hear from you and the flock. How do you go on? Let me know

that you cast _joyfully_ all your burdens on the Lord. Mr. Ireland

sends me word, that Mr. Romaine told him you are not very well. Take

care of yourself. Lay nothing to heart. Should your breast be weak,

preach but once on Sundays; for you know the evening sermon is not a

part of our _stated_ duty. I say this, that you may not _over-do_, and

lie by, as I do. God direct, sustain, and comfort you in all things!

“Give my pastoral love to all my flock. May all see, and see more

abundantly, the salvation of God! May national distress be sanctified

unto them; and may they all be loyal subjects of the King of kings,

and of His Anointed, our King! May the approaching new year be to them

a year of peace and Gospel grace! I hope Molly takes good care of you.

God bless her!”[471]

Footnote 471:

Letters, 1791, p. 56.

Fletcher refers to the “national distress.” This was great. Parliament

was excited. Ireland was in a state of veiled rebellion. England rang

with reports of threatened invasion. The war with the American colonists

had already added sixty-three millions to the national debt. Trade was

paralysed, and taxes were intolerable. Popery had been established in

Canada, and had received encouragement in England. The Protestant

Association had sprung into existence, and the Gordon riots were at

hand. In the midst of this state of things, Fletcher wrote to a

nobleman, whose name is not given, but who, probably, was Lord North, as

follows:—

“NYON, _December 15, 1779_.

“MY LORD,—If the American Colonies and the West India Islands are rent

from the Crown, there will not grow one ear of corn the less in Great

Britain. We shall still have the necessaries of life, and, what is

more, the Gospel, and liberty to hear it. If the great springs of

trade and wealth are cut off, good men will bear that loss without

much sorrow; for springs of wealth are always springs of luxury,

which, sooner or later, destroy the empires corrupted by wealth. Moral

good may come out of our losses. I wish you may see it in England.

People on the Continent imagine they see it already in the English on

their travels, who are said to behave with more wisdom and less

haughtiness than they used to do.”[472]

Footnote 472:

Letters, 1791, p. 273.

Lord North, King George the Third’s Prime Minister, was, at this time,

harassed by the American rebellion, incessantly assailed by the

Opposition, and frequently threatened with impeachment. Probably,

Fletcher’s letter, of which the above is only a part, was intended to

help him in his troubles. Though a foreigner by birth, John de la

Flechere was a most loyal and devoted subject of King George. Hence,

also, the following, taken from a letter to his curate, Mr. Greaves:—

“March 7, 1780. I long to hear from you. I hope you are well, and grow

in the love of Christ, and of the souls bought with His blood, and

committed to your care. I recommend to you the most helpless of the

flock,—I mean the _children_ and the _sick_. They most want your help,

and they are the most likely to benefit by it; for affliction softens

the heart, and children are not yet quite hardened through the

deceitfulness of sin.

“I beg you will not fail, when you have opportunity, to recommend to

our flock, to honour the King, to study to be quiet, and to hold up

the hands of the Government by which we are protected.”[473]

Footnote 473:

_Ibid._, p. 57.

On the same day, Fletcher wrote to his friend and helper, Mr. William

Wase, on another matter which was causing him considerable anxiety. His

Methodist meeting-house in Madeley Wood had cost much more than he

expected. The letter to Mr. Wase needs no further explanation, except

that the work, ready to be printed, was, probably, his poem, in French,

entitled, “La Louange.”

“NYON, _March 7, 1780_.

“MY DEAR BROTHER,—I am sorry the building has cost 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

the future. I am going to sell part of my little estate here to

discharge the debt. I had laid by £50, 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 abandon the design, and send

that sum to Mr. York.

“Money is so scarce here, at this time, that I shall sell at a 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;

and, in that case, I dare say Mr. Greaves would be so good as to take

the other little house.

“My dear friend, let us die to sin. Hold fast Jesus, the way, the

truth, and the life. Walk by faith in Him; and not by the sight and

passions of the old Adam. I hope the sun of affliction, which burns

poor England and us, will ripen us all for glory. Give my best love to

all our friends in Christ, and tell them that the hope of seeing them

does me good.”[474]

Footnote 474:

Letters, 1791, p. 58.

Fletcher was hard at work; the weather was cold; and, for the present,

exercise out of doors was impracticable. The following, taken from an

unpublished letter written by William Perronet, contains an amusing

scene:—

“Nyon, March 1, 1780. As this is Mr. Fletcher’s native village, no

wonder that it agrees with him; otherwise, it must be very trying to

so tender a constitution as his; for the weather here is much hotter

in summer, and much colder in winter, than in England; and the

transitions from intense heat to extreme cold are often very sudden.

“Mr. Fletcher was once told by two physicians (somewhere), that the

benefit of exercise, for consumptive persons, must be estimated by the

violence of it; consequently, that riding on horseback was better than

going in a carriage, that walking was better than riding, running than

walking, and jumping better than all of them put together. Our worthy

friend has scrupulously followed this maxim; so that, whenever he does

not take his little hasty rides (which by-the-bye frequently occurs),

he allows himself, for exercise, not more than three minutes, from his

studies, just as dinner is being served, and then, like harlequin, he

takes about half a score such violent leaps and plunges across the

room, that I am _sometimes_ in pain for the floor, and _always_ for

his bones.”

During the year 1779, Fletcher and William Perronet had lodged in the

same house in Nyon; now, as might be expected from the foregoing

extract, William Perronet’s state of health obliged him to seek a more

salubrious situation. He went to Lausanne; Fletcher remained at Nyon;

and was thus pictured by his friend in the month of July next ensuing:—

“About half a year ago, we broke up housekeeping at Nyon. Poor dear

Mr. Fletcher, with difficulty, procured a miserable lodging in the

neighbourhood; and I was obliged to go to Lausanne, which is seven

leagues from Nyon. I submitted the more willingly to this, because he

talked of spending some time at Lausanne. I have been disappointed in

this respect; but, once or twice, I have had the pleasure of seeing

him at Nyon. I found him to-day sitting in his small apartment,

surrounded with books and papers, writing, or, as he expressed it,

‘finishing the _first part_’ of one of his pieces. When the _whole_ is

likely to be finished, one cannot pretend to say.”[475]

Footnote 475:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

Fletcher intended to return to England in the month of September, but

two occurrences prevented him. First of all, he mislaid a portion of the

manuscript which he wished to publish before he left Switzerland, and

had to re-write what was missing.

“The misfortune I hinted at,” said he to William Perronet, “was the

mislaying of a considerable part of my manuscript. After giving it up

as lost, I fell to work again; went through the double toil; and, when

I had done, last night, I accidentally found what I had mislaid. This

has thrown me back a great deal. The Lord’s will be done in all

things! I thank God, I have been kept from fretting on the occasion;

though I would not for a great deal have such another trial.”[476]

Footnote 476:

_Ibid._

Added to this, and, perhaps, partly in consequence of it, his health

relapsed. These, and other matters, are referred to in the following

letter, addressed to his curate, Mr. Greaves:—

“NYON, _September 15, 1780_.

“MY DEAR FELLOW-LABOURER,—I had fixed the time of my departure for

this month; but now two hindrances stand in my way. When I came to

collect the parts of my manuscript, I found the most considerable part

wanting; and, after a thousand searches, I was obliged to write it

over again. This accident compelled me to put off my journey; and now

the change of weather has brought back some symptoms of my disorder. I

speak, or rather whisper, with difficulty; but I hope the quantity of

grapes I begin to eat will have as good an effect upon me as in the

last two autumns.

“Have patience then a little while. If things are not as you could

wish, you can do but as I have done for many years,—_learn patience by

the things which you suffer_. Crossing our will, getting the better of

our inclinations, and growing in experience, are no mean advantages,

and they may all be yours.

“Mr. Ireland writes me word that if I return to England now, the

winter will undo all I have been doing for my health for many years.

However, I have not quite laid aside the design of spending the winter

with you; but don’t expect me till you see me. I am, nevertheless,

firmly purposed that, if I do not set out this autumn, I shall do so

next spring, as early as I can.

“Till I had this relapse, I was able to exhort, in a private room,

three times a week; but the Lord Lieutenant will not allow me to get

into a pulpit, though they permit the schoolmasters, who are laymen,

to put on a band and read the Church prayers; so high runs the

prejudice. The clergy, however, tell me that if I will renounce my

ordination, and get Presbyterian Orders among them, they will allow me

to preach, and on these terms one of the ministers of this town offers

me his curacy. A young clergyman of Geneva, tutor to my nephew,

appears to me a truly converted man; and he is so pleased when I tell

him there are converted souls in England, that he will go with me to

learn English, and converse with the British Christians. He wrote last

summer, with such force, to some of the clergy, who are stirring up

the fire of persecution, that he made them ashamed, and we have since

had peace from that quarter.

“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

the partaking of that sacrament as a ceremony enjoined by the

magistrate. At Zurich, the first town of this country, they have

lately beheaded a clergyman who wanted to betray his country to the

Emperor, to whom it chiefly belonged. It is the town of the great

reformer, Zuinglius; yet there they poisoned the sacramental wine a

few years ago. I mention this to show you there is 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.

“Farewell, my dear brother. Take care, _good, constant, care_ of the

flock committed to your charge; especially _the sick_ and _the young_.

Salute all our dear parishioners. Let me still have a part in your

prayers, public and private; and rejoice in the Lord, as, through

grace, I am enabled to do in all my little tribulations.”[477]

Footnote 477:

Letters, 1791, p. 60.

On the same day, Fletcher wrote to Mr. Thomas York:—

“I have been so well, that my friends here thought of giving me a

wife; but what should I do with a _Swiss wife_ at Madeley? I want

rather an English nurse; but more still a mighty Saviour, and, thanks

be to God! that I have. Help me to rejoice in that never-dying,

never-moving Friend.

“Having heard that my dear friend Ireland has discharged the greatest

part of my debt, I have not sent the money; but I hope to bring with

me £100, to reimburse my friends in part, till I can do it altogether.

But I shall never be able to pay you the debt of kindness I have

contracted with you. I look to Jesus, my Surety, for that. May He

repay you a thousand-fold!”[478]

Footnote 478:

Letters, 1791, p. 62.

To William Wase, the good old Methodist, Fletcher wrote, at the same

time:—

“Give my love and thanks to the preachers” (William Boothby and

Jonathan Hern) “who come to help us. Enforce my exhortation to the

Societies in much love. Go and comfort, from me, Mrs. Palmer and Mrs.

Cartwright; and, since God has placed you all in a widowed state,

agree to take Jesus for a never-dying Friend and Bridegroom. Your

Maker is your husband. He is all in all. What, then, have you lost?

Christ is _yours_ and _all things with Him_. The resurrection day will

soon come. Prepare yourselves for the marriage feast of the Lamb; and

till then, rejoice in the _expectation_ of that day. I sympathize with

our sickly friends, widow Matthews, M. Blummer, E. Whittaker, I. York,

and S. Aston. Salute them kindly from me. Help them to trim their

lamps, and to wait for the Bridegroom. Thank Thomas and Nelly Fennel

for their love to the” (Methodist) “preachers, and give them mine, and

also give it to the little companies they meet with, to call for

strength, comfort, and help, in time of need. Fare ye all well in

Jesus! I say, again, farewell!”[479]

Footnote 479:

_Ibid._, p. 61.

Fletcher’s “Exhortation” to the Methodist Societies was as follows:—

“To the Societies in and about Madeley.

“Grace and peace, truth and love, be multiplied to you all. Stand fast

in the Lord, my dear brethren. Stand fast in Jesus; stand fast to one

another; stand fast to the vow we have so often renewed together, upon

our knees, and at the Lord’s table. Don’t be _so unloving, so

cowardly_, as to let one of your little company fall into the hands of

the world and the devil; and agree to crucify the body of sin

altogether.

“I am still in a strait between the work which Providence cuts out for

me here, and the love which draws me to you. When I shall have the

pleasure of seeing you, let it not be embittered by the sorrow of

finding any of you half-hearted and lukewarm. Let me find you all

strong in the Lord, and increased in humble love. Salute from me all

who followed with us fifteen years ago. Care still for your old

brethren. Let there be no Cain among you, no Esau, no Lot’s wife. Let

the love of David and Jonathan, heightened by that of Martha, Mary,

Lazarus, and our Lord, shine in all your _thoughts_, your _tempers_,

your _words_, your _looks_, and your _actions_. If you love one

another, your little meetings will be a renewed feast; and the God of

love, who is peculiarly present where two or three are gathered

together in the name of Jesus, will abundantly bless you. Bear me

still upon your breasts in prayer, as I do you upon mine; and rejoice

with me that the Lord, who made, redeemed, and comforts us, _bears us

all upon His_. I am yours in Him,

“J. FLETCHER.”[480]

Footnote 480:

Letters, 1791, p. 63.

For some time after his arrival in Switzerland, Fletcher lived in the

house where he was born, a respectable old building, erected on an

elevated site at the extremity of the town. Close at hand was the shady

wood, where he used to read, meditate, and pray, and meet his flock of

little children. Near the house was a terrace, from which the whole of

the glorious lake of Geneva was visible; and, in the distance, might be

seen the city itself. Towering above all, there was the unutterably

grand Mont Blanc. No wonder Fletcher spoke of the “pleasant apartment”

where he was born, as having “one of the finest prospects in the world.”

For some reason, however, he now exchanged the house of his nativity for

another not so enchanting. Hence the following letter to William

Perronet, who was residing at Lausanne:—

“NYON, _October 3, 1780_.

“MY VERY DEAR FRIEND,—I thank you for your letters. They have given me

much pleasure, as I see that you will at last end your business, and

get ready to set out in the spring with Mr. Ireland, who comes with

his family, I know not where; but I think he will spend the winter at

or about Avignon. If you will go and join him, I shall be glad to go

also, for the _stream under this house_ does not make it very

wholesome.

“My brother thinks, as well as myself, that you may conclude upon the

terms you mention. ‘Better a dinner of herbs with peace, than a

stalled ox and noise therewith.’

“I hope to go to Lausanne, directly after vintage, to offer a

manuscript to the censors, to see if they will allow its being

published; so I do not invite you to share my _damp bed_. My sister

was so kind as to look for another house, but we find none to let

under a year. We are here travellers, so we must expect some

difficulties and a good many inconveniences.

“If Mr. Ireland goes to Marseilles, you might go and see your cousin

there. Lift up your heart, and see by faith our Lord and Saviour, our

heavenly Kinsman and Brother; and when you rise there, take by the

hand of prayer your affectionate friend,

“JOHN FLETCHER.”[481]

Footnote 481:

_Wesleyan Methodist Magazine_, 1830, p. 831.

Soon after this, William Perronet was seized with mortal illness. In a

letter to the Vicar of Shoreham, Fletcher wrote:—

“December 5, 1780. Our wise and good God sees fit to try my dear

friend, your son, with a want of appetite and uneasiness in his

bowels. He also often returns the little food he takes. Some time ago,

he came to Nyon, from Lausanne, and we went together to Geneva, where

we settled your affair with three of the Geneva co-heirs, upon the

same footing as he had settled with those of Chateau d’Oex. He bears

his weakness with much patience and resignation.”[482]

Footnote 482:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

Fletcher was now employed in finishing the poem, which he wished to

publish before he left Switzerland; but he delighted in spending as much

time with his dying friend as possible.

“Every night,” says William Perronet, in a letter dated January 22,

1781, “after praying with me, he sings this verse at parting:—

“‘Then let our humble faith address

His mercy and His power;

We shall obtain delivering grace

In the distressing hour.’”[483]

Footnote 483:

_Ibid._

Within three weeks after this, Fletcher’s book was finished, and the

business of William Perronet was ended. Fletcher wished to set out for

England, but was still detained in Switzerland. Hence the following,

addressed to Mr. Wase:—

“NYON, _February 14, 1781_.

“MY DEAR FRIEND,—I thank you for your kind remembrance of me. I need

not be urged to return; brotherly love draws me to Madeley, and

circumstances drive me hence.

“I am exceeding glad that there is a revival on your side the water”

[the river Severn], “and that you are obliged to enlarge your

Room.[484] I wish I could contribute to shake the dry bones in my

parish, but I have no confidence in the flesh. What I could not do

when I was in my strength, I have little prospect of doing now that my

strength is broken. However, I don’t despair, for the work is not

_mine_ but the _Lord’s_. If the few who love the Gospel would be

simple and zealous, God would again hear their prayers for those who

are content to go on in the broad way. I thank you for your view of

the iron bridge.[485]

“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. I trust to set out next month,

and to be in England in May; it won’t be my fault if it is not in

April.

“I am here in the midst of rumours of war. The burghers of Geneva have

disarmed the garrison, and taken possession of one of the gates. I

had, however, the luck to get in, and to bring away my nephew, who is

a student there. Troops are preparing to block them up. The Lord may,

at this time, punish the repeated backslidings of those Laodicean

Christians, most of whom have become infidels. This event may a little

retard my journey, as I must pass through Geneva. It also puts off the

printing of my manuscript, for there is nothing going on in that

unhappy town but disputes, and fights, and mounting of guards.

“Remember me in much love to Mr. Greaves, Mr. Gilpin, and the”

[Methodist] “preachers who labour with us.”[486]

Footnote 484:

The Methodist meeting-house.

Footnote 485:

The bridge across the Severn at Coalbrookdale, the first iron bridge

erected in England; cast in 1779, under the direction of Mr. Abraham

Darby.

Footnote 486:

Letters, 1791, p. 67.

At the same date, Fletcher wrote to Mr. John Owen, his schoolmaster at

Madeley, as follows:—

“Nyon, February 14, 1781. I thank you, my dear brother, for your kind

lines. I hope you help both Mr. Greaves and the” [Methodist]

“preachers to stir up the people in my parish. Be _much_ in prayer.

Take counsel with Michael Onions, Mrs. Palmer, and Molly Cartwright

about the most effectual means to recover the backsliders, and to keep

together to Christ and to each other those who still hold their

shield. Salute them kindly from me, and tell them that I hope they

will give me a good account of their little companies” [Methodist

classes] “and of themselves.

“If I were not a minister, I would be a _schoolmaster_, to have the

pleasure of bringing up children in the fear of the Lord. That

pleasure is yours; relish it, and it will comfort and strengthen you

in your work. The joy of the Lord and of charity is our strength.

Salute the children from me, and tell them I long to show them the way

to happiness and heaven. Have you mastered the stiffness and shyness

of your temper? Charity gives _a meekness, an affability, a child-like

simplicity and openness_, which nature has denied you. Let me find you

shining by these virtues, and you will revive me much. God bless your

labour about the sheep and the lambs!

“Read the following note to all who fear God and love Jesus and each

other, assembling in Madeley church:—

“MY DEAR BRETHREN,—My heart leaps with joy at the thought of coming to

see you and bless the Lord with you. Let us not stay to praise Him

till we see each other. Let us see Him in His Son, in His works, and

in all the members of Christ. How slow will post-horses go in

comparison of love! Meet me, as I do you, in _spirit_; and we shall

not stay till April or May to bless God together. _Now_ will be the

time of union and love.”[487]

Footnote 487:

Letters, 1791, p. 65.

For another month Fletcher was detained at Nyon, when he wrote to

Michael Onions the following:—

“NYON, _March 1781_.

“I thank you, my dear brother, for your kind remembrance of me, and

for your letters. I hope to bring my fuller thanks to you in person.

“Hold up your hands. Confirm the feeble knees. Set up an Ebenezer

every hour of the day. In everything give thanks; and, in order to

this, pray without ceasing, and rejoice evermore. My heart sympathizes

with poor Molly Cartwright. Tell her, from me, that her husband lives

in Him who is the Resurrection. In Christ there is no death, but the

victory over death. O! let us live in Him, to Him, for Him, who more

than repairs all our losses. My love to your wife. Tell her she

promised me to be Jesus’s, as well as yours. My love to John Owen and

all our other” [Methodist] “leaders, and by them to the few who do not

tire by the way. With regard to the others, despair of none. Charity

hopeth all things, and brings many things to pass. All things are

_possible_ to him that believeth; all things are _easy_ to him that

loveth. God be with you, and make you faithful unto death! This is my

prayer for you, and all the Society, and all my dear parishioners, to

whom I beg to be remembered. I have no place to write their names, but

I pray they may all be written _in the book of life_. God is merciful,

gracious, and faithful. I set my seal to His lovingkindness. Witness

my heart and hand,

“J. FLETCHER.”[488]

Footnote 488:

_Ibid_, p. 68.

Fletcher had promised to join Mr. Ireland at Montpelier; but, meanwhile,

William Perronet, who had returned to Lausanne, was so much worse in

health, that it was impossible for him to accompany his friend. Two days

before leaving Switzerland, Fletcher visited him, and, in a letter to

the aged Vicar of Shoreham, wrote:—

“Miss Perronet and her mother[489] are as kind to him as my dear

friends at Stoke Newington were to me when I lay sick there. His mind

is quite easy; he is sweetly resigned to the will of God.”[490]

Footnote 489:

Probably William Perronet’s aunt and cousin; certainly not his mother

and sister.

Footnote 490:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

At Montpelier, Fletcher overtaxed his strength; and at Lyons, on his way

to England, wrote as follows to his sick and dying friend, whom he had

been obliged to leave behind him:—

“LYONS, _April 6, 1781_.

“MY DEAR FRIEND,—We are both weak, both afflicted; but Jesus careth

for us. He is everywhere, and here He has all power to deliver us; and

He may do it by ways we little think of: ‘As Thou wilt, when Thou

wilt, and where Thou wilt,’ said Baxter: let us say the same. It was

of the Lord you did not come with me: you would have been sick as I

am. I am overdone with riding and preaching. I preached twice in the

fields. I carry home with me much weakness and a pain in the back,

which I fear will end in the gravel. The Lord’s will be done! I know I

am called to suffer and die. The journey tires me; but, through mercy,

I bear it. Let us believe and rejoice in the Lord Jesus.”[491]

Footnote 491:

_Ibid._

Three weeks after this, Fletcher preached in City Road Chapel, London,

and, the next day (April 28), set out to the hospitable home of his

friend, Mr. Ireland, at Brislington. At this time, one of the Methodist

preachers, stationed in the Bristol circuit, was Thomas Rankin, who had

spent nearly five years in America, and who, in 1778, had been driven

home by the American rebellion. Hearing of Fletcher’s arrival at

Brislington, Rankin went to visit him, and wrote:—

“I had such an interview with him as I shall never forget. I had not

seen him for upwards of ten years. His looks, his salutation, and his

address, struck me with wonder, solemnity, and joy. We retired into

Mr. Ireland’s garden; and he began to inquire concerning the work of

God in America. I gave him a full account of everything that he wished

to know. During this relation, he stopped me six times, and, in the

shadow of the trees, poured out his soul to God, for the prosperity of

the work, and for our brethren there. He several times called upon me,

also, to commend them to God in prayer. This was an hour never to be

forgotten. Before we parted, I engaged him to come to Bristol, on the

Monday following, to meet the select band in the forenoon, and to

preach in the evening. During the hour he spent with the select band,

the room appeared as ‘the house of God, and the gate of heaven.’ At

night, he preached from, ‘We are bound to give thanks alway to God for

you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning

chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and

belief of the truth.’ The whole congregation was in tears. He spoke

like one who had but just left the converse of God and angels. The

different conversations I had with him, and his prayers and preaching,

during the few days he stayed at Bristol and Brislington, were

attended with such effects upon me, that, for some months afterwards,

not a cloud intervened between God and my soul, no, not for one hour.

Of all the men I ever knew, I never saw such love to God and man, such

deadness to the world, such entire consecratedness to Jesus, as in

him. It often appeared to me that his every breath was prayer and

praise. He lived more like a disembodied spirit than a human

being.”[492]

Footnote 492:

Thomas Rankin’s MS. Journal.

When at Marseilles, on his way to Switzerland, in March, 1778, Fletcher

wrote a long letter,[493] to Miss Bosanquet, on Christian Perfection,

and respecting his unpublished Essay on the New Birth. Miss Bosanquet

replied to that, in a letter dated August 30, 1778. Strange to say, this

letter was not put into Fletcher’s hands until nearly three years

afterwards. During this interval, there seems to have been no

correspondence between him and the lady who was speedily to become his

wife. On his return from Switzerland, he wrote her the following, which

is now for the first time published:—

“BRISLINGTON, NEAR BRISTOL, _May 1, 1781_.

“DEAR MADAM,—Your kind favour dated August 30, 1778, having been

mislaid in a drawer and forgotten, did not come into my hands till

this morning. I hope my speedy taking of the pen, to acknowledge so

unexpected a favour, will atone for the forgetfulness of my friend.

“You speak, Madam, of a _letter from Bath_; I do not recollect, at

present, your having favoured me with one from that place. Is it my

lot to be tried, or disappointed in this respect? Well, the hairs of

our heads, and the letters of our friends, are all numbered: not one

of the former falls, not one of the latter miscarries, without the

will of Him, to whose orders we have long since fully and cheerfully

subscribed.

“I have sincerely aimed at truth in writing the Essay you have been so

kind as to peruse.[494] If I am not mistaken, Dr. Coke told me, when I

passed through London, that he had it; but I went out of town in such

a hurry that I had not time to take it with me. I feel the propriety

of your remarks, and shall make the alterations you mention, as soon

as I shall have the manuscript.

“I had thought of what you name, respecting a _less plan_ of the

doctrine of the New Birth,—a plan calculated to make way for the

larger essay, and to guide into the truth those who have never taken

one step without the leading strings of prejudice, and who cannot

judge of a doctrine if it be not brought within the narrow compass and

focus of their understanding. I shall be glad of an opportunity of

consulting you about that sketch, if I live to make it. I love

_truth_, because I love _Jesus_; but I am, every way, too feeble an

instrument to defend and hold it forth with success. Your thought

about it makes me pray with earnestness that I may, in some degree,

answer your too favourable opinion of the importance of my little

attempts to vindicate, or clear up, some part of the Gospel truths.

“Alas! what am I? A cracked voice crying in the wilderness;—a blunted

pen scribbling in a village. Thanks be to grace, however, I sincerely

desire to be a living shadow of the Divine Man, who is truth and love

incarnate. I sincerely desire to embrace those great and precious

promises given unto us, whereby we may become partakers of the Divine

nature. I will not rest in the first Comforter, so as to slight that

_other Comforter_, who is to abide with us for ever. I want not only

to see Jesus _altogether lovely_, but to feel Him _altogether powerful

and wise_, both in myself and in all my fellow-Christians. Restless,

resigned for this, I wait for this. My vehement soul is on the

stretch. Some tell me I carry my views too high; but how can that be,

if God can do in us exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or

think? Is not the soul joined completely to the Lord, _one spirit with

Him_? Are we not called to come to the measure of the stature of the

fulness of Christ? Is a dwarf’s state of grace the full prize of our

high calling? If this hope preys upon my feeble frame, I dare not cast

it off: let me rather die a martyr to it than lose it. Why should

there not be true martyrs for the hope, as well as for the faith of

the Gospel? At all events, let us wait for the great salvation of God

the Spirit. Against hope, let us believe in hope that we shall see

_the royal priesthood_ clothed with Divine righteousness, and all

God’s saints rejoice and sing.

“The openness with which you mention what some _might_ call _your

enthusiasm_, makes me reveal to you, Madam, what some call _mine_. I

own I do not believe that Scripture repealed, ‘Your young men shall

see visions; your old men shall dream dreams.’ ‘These signs shall

follow them that believe,’ etc. (See Mark xvi. 17, 18). ‘My sons and

my daughters shall prophesy.’ ‘Desire spiritual gifts, but rather that

ye may prophesy’ (1 Cor. xiv. 2). Shall I offend you, if I ask you in

simplicity the following questions? Do you know any soul filled with

all the fulness of God? Anyone walking as Christ also walked, and able

to say, in truth, ‘As He was, so are we in this world?’ Do you know

any knit together in love, sharing all the riches of _the full

assurance of understanding_, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of

God, and of Christ in us the hope of glory (Col. i. 27; ii. 2)? Or,

are the professors about you (far from having the full assurance of

understanding with respect to this mystery) ready to say, when one

speaks of this mystery, ‘Thou bringest strange things to our ears’?

“If you condescend to favour me with an answer, please to direct it to

me at Madeley, Salop. There I hope to be next week. In the meantime, I

pray the Lord to give us an understanding, that we may know more of

Him, and be completely in His Son Jesus Christ, that is, in the true,

Divine, and eternal life. May the living unction be and abide with

you! I ask it ardently for you; condescend to ask it also for, dear

Madam, your obliged friend and servant in the Gospel,

“J. FLETCHER.

“P.S.—The third part, which I designed to add[495] to the ‘Essay on

the New Birth,’ was an application to the disciples of Moses, of John,

and of Jesus glorified; to those who have the fear of God, the faith

of the Son, and the love of the Spirit. My health is mended, thanks be

to God! but my lungs remain weak. Please to remember me in Christian

love to Sister Crosby.

“Miss Bosanquet,

“At Cross Hall,

“Near _Leads (sic)_,

“Yorkshire.”

Footnote 493:

See the letter dated “March 7, 1778.”

Footnote 494:

His “Essay on the New Birth.”

Footnote 495:

This was not added.

A few days after the date of this letter, Fletcher, accompanied by Mr.

Ireland, returned to Madeley, having been absent from his flock since

November 1776,—four years and a-half.