_TWO YEARS OF MARRIED LIFE AT MADELEY._
1782 AND 1783.
IN a letter to an aristocratic friend in London, Fletcher began the year
1782 as follows:—
“January 1, 1782. I live, blessed be God, to devote myself again to
His blessed service in this world or in the next, and to wish my dear
friends all the blessings of a year of jubilee. Whatever this year
brings forth, may it bring us the fullest measures of salvation
attainable on earth, and the most complete preparation for heaven.
“I have a solemn call to gird my loins and keep my lamp burning.
Strangely restored to health and strength (considering my years), I
have ventured to preach of late as often as I did formerly; and after
having read prayers and preached twice on Christmas-day, I did, last
Sunday, what I had never done,—I continued doing duty from ten o’clock
in the morning till after four in the afternoon. This was owing to
christenings, churchings, and the sacrament, which I administered to a
church full of people,[559] so that I was obliged to go from the
communion table to begin the evening service, and then to visit some
sick. This has brought back upon me one of my old, dangerous symptoms;
so I have flattered myself in vain that I should be able to do the
whole duty of my own parish. My dear wife is nursing me with the
tenderest care; gives me up to God with the greatest resignation; and
helps me to rejoice that life and death, health and sickness, work for
our good, and are all _ours_, as blessed means to forward us in our
journey to heaven.
“We intend to set out for Madeley to-morrow. The prospect of a
winter’s journey is not sweet; but the prospect of meeting you, and
your dear sister, and Lady Mary Fitzgerald, and all our other
companions in tribulation in heaven, is delightful. If Lady Huntingdon
is in London, I beg you to present my duty to her, with my best
wishes.”[560]
Footnote 559:
No doubt this six hours’ continuous service took place in the parish
church, Bradford.
Footnote 560:
Letters, 1791, p. 283.
Fletcher and his bride left Cross Hall on Wednesday, January 2, 1782.
Mrs. Fletcher wrote:—
“1782, January 2. We set out for Madeley. Where shall I begin my song
of praise? What a turn is there in all my affairs! From what a depth
of sorrow, distress, and perplexity am I delivered! How shall I find
language to express the goodness of the Lord! I know no want but that
of more grace. I have a husband, in everything suited to me. He bears
with all my faults and failings in a manner that continually reminds
me of the text, ‘Love your wives, as Christ loved the Church.’ His
constant endeavour is to make me happy; his strongest desire is for my
spiritual growth. He is, in every sense of the word, the man my
highest reason chooses to obey. I am also happy in a servant[561] whom
I took from the side of her mother’s coffin when she was four years
old. She loves us as if we were her parents, and is also truly devoted
to God.”[562]
Footnote 561:
Sarah Lawrence.
Footnote 562:
Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”
On January 6, Fletcher and his wife spent their first Sunday at Madeley.
Seventeen years afterwards, Mrs. Fletcher remarked:—
“The first Sabbath after I came to Madeley my dear husband took me
into the kitchen, where his people were assembled to partake of
refreshment between the times of worship. He introduced me to them,
saying, ‘I have not married this wife for myself only, but for your
sakes also.’”
And then the happy throng sang the hymn beginning with the verse—
“Blow ye the trumpet, blow
The gladly solemn sound;
Let all the nations know,
To earth’s remotest bound;
The year of jubilee is come!
Return, ye ransomed sinners, home.”
A few weeks after this, Wesley paid his friends a visit of one day and
two nights. He says:—
“1782. Saturday, March 23. It was with a good deal of difficulty that
we got” [from Kidderminster] “to Bridgenorth, much of the road being
blocked up with snow. In the afternoon, we had another kind of
difficulty; the roads were so rough and so deep that we were in
danger, every now and then, of leaving our wheels behind us. But, by
adding two horses to my own, at length we got safe to Madeley.
“Both Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher complained that, after all the pains they
had taken they could not prevail on the people to join in Society; no,
nor even to meet in class. Resolved to try, I preached to a crowded
audience on ‘I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.’ I followed the
blow in the afternoon by strongly applying those words, ‘Awake, thou
that sleepest;’ and then enforcing the necessity of Christian
fellowship on all who desired either to awake or keep awake. I then
desired those that were willing to join together for this purpose to
call upon me and Mr. Fletcher after service. Ninety-four or
ninety-five persons did so—about as many men as women. We explained to
them the nature of a Christian Society, and they willingly joined
therein.”[563]
Footnote 563:
Wesley’s Journal.
Methodist preachers, for some time past, had preached in Madeley Wood,
Coalbrookdale, and other adjacent places, and here Society Classes seem
to have been formed; but, up to the present, the Methodist people at
Madeley had refused to meet in class. Henceforth, it was different. This
altered state of things was owing partly to Wesley and to Fletcher, but
chiefly to Fletcher’s devoted wife.
At the time of Wesley’s visit, there was living at Little Dawley, near
Madeley, a child nearly four years old, who, nineteen years afterwards,
became a Methodist Itinerant Preacher, and who, in 1879, died in the one
hundred and first year of his age—the tall, stalwart, grand old William
Tranter. Naturally, Mr. Tranter loved Madeley, and affectionately
cherished the memory of Fletcher and his wife. In an article published
forty-five years ago, he wrote:—
“When Mr. Wesley’s preachers came to the neighbourhood of Madeley, Mr.
Fletcher hospitably received those laborious servants of God into his
house; the vicarage kitchen, before consecrated by his prayers, was
now further consecrated by their earnest and faithful preaching; the
Vicar of Madeley himself being one of their humblest and most
prayerful hearers. The kitchen becoming too small, a barn on the
premises was neatly fitted up for a preaching room. In this place, the
Methodist travelling preachers, and the curate of the parish,
regularly preached the Word of God. Here, also, Mrs. Fletcher, after
the removal of her holy husband to his heavenly rest, held her
meetings for exposition of the Scriptures, religious experience, and
prayer. Surviving her husband many years” (thirty), “she lived a widow
indeed, doing good to all around her, and winning the veneration and
love of rich and poor, not only in the village and parish of Madeley,
and in the adjoining parishes, but in all places where she was known,
and to which the fame of her piety and charity had extended. The
rector not only allowed her to remain in the vicarage-house,
undisturbed during life, but allowed her to choose the curate by whom
the duties of the living were to be performed; assigning as his
reason, that she knew better than himself what would suit and benefit
the parishioners. Besides exercising publicly, at stated times, in the
vicarage room, she occasionally visited Madeley Wood, Coalbrookdale,
Coalport, and other places more distant, at which times the chapels
were usually crowded with delighted and profited hearers. To her
house, the Itinerant Preachers continued to come to the end of her
earthly sojourn. Here they always found a hearty welcome, and a
delightful home. Several lovely Societies were formed, others were
augmented, hundreds of souls were converted, Christian believers were
edified and blessed, the fruit of Mr. Fletcher’s ministry was
preserved, and Madeley became the rendezvous for religious persons and
purposes—a privileged, honoured place,—a sort of Christian Jerusalem.
It was not uncommon to see two, three, or more clergymen, pious and
able men, from neighbouring and even distant parishes, among the
congregation at her week-night lectures. On the Sabbath, the pious
people, living at the distance of from one to four miles from Madeley,
usually arrived in time for her morning meeting, at nine o’clock; and,
from there, they went to the parish church close at hand. At noon,
respectable strangers, visiting Madeley for religious purposes, were
usually invited to dine with her at the vicarage; the poor, living too
far off to allow them to return from their own houses for the after
services of the day, partook, if so disposed, of her hospitalities in
the vicarage-kitchen; others, having brought their provisions with
them, were seen, in fine weather, in little companies in the fields,
engaged in heavenly conversation and prayer; and others of the
respectable portion of these pious people, had, in an apartment to
themselves, a cheap family dinner provided at the village inn. On the
ringing of a bell, at one o’clock, all assembled at Mrs. Fletcher’s
meeting, when she was accustomed to read the life of some eminently
holy man, and make remarks upon it; then they adjourned to the church,
for the afternoon service there, and sermon; after which they repaired
to their respective homes, and attended their own meeting-houses, at
one or other of which the Curate of Madeley officiated every Sabbath
evening, as well as occasionally on the week-days, always announcing
at the close of the afternoon service in the church, the chapel in
which he would preach that evening. This plan was adopted by Mr.
Fletcher, and was followed by his evangelical and pious successors,
for upwards of forty years.”[564]
Footnote 564:
_Wesleyan Methodist Magazine_, 1837, p. 903.
The godly reader will easily forgive this rich digression, and will be
inclined to sing, with Charles Wesley:—
“Meek, simple followers of the Lamb,
They lived, and spake, and thought the same;
They joyfully conspired to raise
Their ceaseless sacrifice of praise.
“With grace abundantly endued,
A pure, believing multitude,
They all were of one heart and soul,
And only love inspired the whole.
“O what an age of golden days!
O what a choice, peculiar race!
Washed in the Lamb’s all-cleansing blood,
Anointed kings and priests to God!”[565]
Footnote 565:
Deep indentations in the stone pillars of the vicarage gate still
exist, occasioned by the Sunday visitors to Madeley sharpening their
knives to eat their dinners. (Randall’s “Lives and Usefulness of the
Rev. J. and Mary Fletcher,” p. 33.)
Madeley will long continue to be a kind of Mecca to the Methodists. Many
years ago, the present writer, in company with the late Rev. Dr. Jobson,
visited it. They met with the utmost courtesy, the lady of the Vicar
showing them everything likely to interest a Methodist. She had a lock
of Fletcher’s silky hair, which she greatly prized. They were taken into
Fletcher’s study, about nine feet by twelve in size, and had pointed out
to them a portion of the wall, still stained with Fletcher’s breathings
while engaged in prayer. The old barn-chapel was no longer in existence,
but, near to its site, there was a small building, containing its
pulpit, brass lamps, and prayer-book, together with the small oaken
communion table at which Fletcher celebrated his last sacrament. The
vicarage, a respectable old edifice, had beautiful gardens and grounds
attached to it; and the parish church, built upon the site of the small
old church, in which Fletcher ministered to crowded congregations,
contained several mementoes to remind visitors of its memorable vicar.
The steps leading both to the reading-desk and pulpit were those which
Fletcher used to tread; and, in a small vestry, was preserved the
register of all the baptisms, marriages, and deaths during his
incumbency, and showing that his last baptism was on July 29, 1785, six
weeks before his death. The old church, in which Fletcher preached,
would hold five hundred; the present one, built in 1794, will seat about
a thousand; and, since its erection, two others have been built in other
parts of the parish. Besides these, the following Wesleyan Methodist
chapels have been built: one in Court Street, Madeley, holding eight
hundred; another, of the same size, in Madeley Wood; another, half the
size, in Coalbrookdale; and a fourth at Coalport, capable of containing
two hundred. And to these may be added two chapels, at Madeley and
Madeley Wood, belonging to the Methodist New Connexion; and another
belonging to the Primitive Methodists.
It is time to return to Fletcher. Among the first Methodists in Ireland
were Henry and Robert Brooke, who, up to the year 1758, resided in the
neighbourhood of Rantavan. Henry became the far-famed author of “The
Fool of Quality; or, The History of Henry, Earl of Moreland;” published,
in five volumes, 1766–1770; and of other ably-written books, which
gained him the friendship of Pope, Swift, and several more of the
literati of his age. He married a young lady, to whom he was guardian,
when she was thirteen years of age, by whom he had seventeen children,
only two of whom survived him, when he died in 1783. His brother Robert
had three children: Henry, the eldest, who, for about forty years, was
one of the leading Methodists in Dublin; Robert, the second, a colonel
in the army; and Thomas Digby, the youngest, also connected with the
Dublin Methodist Society. In the year 1772, Henry wrote to Fletcher;
Fletcher mistook the nephew for the uncle, whose “Fool of Quality” had
recently been completed; and this amusing mistake led Fletcher to
address to the famous author the following valuable epistle:—
“MADELEY, _September 6, 1772_.
“DEAR SIR,—I cannot tell you how often I have thought of thanking you
for your kind letter. My controversy made me put it off some time,
and, when I was going one day to answer you, a clergyman called upon
me, read your letter, said you were a sensible author, and, if I would
let him have it, he would let me have your ‘Fool of Quality,’ of which
I had never heard. I forgot to take your address; but, after some
months, my friend has sent me back your unexpected and welcome favour;
and I now know in what street you live. A thousand thanks for your
letter. May this sheet convey them from my heart to yours; and thence
may they fall, like a thousand drops, into that immense ocean of
goodness, truth, and love, whence come all the streams, which gladden
the universe of God!
“I thankfully accept the pleasure, profit, and honour of your
correspondence. But I must not deceive you; I have not yet learned the
blessed precept of our Lord in respect of writing and receiving
letters. I still find it more blessed to _receive_, than to _give_;
and, till I have got out of this selfishness, never depend on a letter
from me till you see it, and be persuaded, nevertheless, that one from
you will always be welcome.
“I see, by your works, that you love truth, and that you will force
your way, through all the barriers of prejudice, to embrace it in its
meanest dress. That makes me love you. I hope to improve by your
example and your lessons. One thing I want truly to learn, that is,
that creatures and visible things are but _shadows_, and that God is
God, Jehovah, the true, eternal Substance. To live practically in this
truth is to live in the suburbs of heaven. Really to believe that in
God we live, move, and have our being, is to find and enjoy the root
of our existence: it is to slide from self into our original
principle; from the carnal into the spiritual; from the visible into
the invisible; from time into eternity. Give me, at your leisure, some
directions, how to cease from busying myself about the husks of
things, and how to break through the shell, so that I may come to the
kernel of resurrection, life, and power, that lies hidden from the
unbeliever’s sight.
“About _feelings_. Pray, my dear Sir, are you possessed of all the
feelings of your Clinton, Clement, and Harry? Are they natural to you,
I mean, previous to what we generally call conversion? I have often
thought that some of the feelings you describe depend a good deal upon
the fineness of the nerves, and bodily organs; and, as I am rather of
a Stoic turn, I have, sometimes, comforted myself in thinking, that my
want of feelings might, in a degree, proceed from the dulness of Swiss
nerves. If I am not mistaken, Providence directs me to you to have
this important question solved. May not some persons have as much true
faith, love, humanity, and pity, as others who are ten times more
affected, at least for a season? And what directions would you give to
a Christian Stoic, if these two ideas are not absolutely incompatible?
“My Stoicism helps me, I think, to weather out a storm of displeasure,
which my little pamphlets have raised against me. You see, I at once
consult you as an old friend and spiritual casuist; nor know I how to
testify better to you how unreservedly I begin to be, my very dear
friend,
“Yours in the Lord,
“J. FLETCHER.”[566]
Footnote 566:
Letters, 1791, p. 214.
Probably “The Fool of Quality” was the only novel Fletcher ever read;
but it taught him to respect its author. It is more than doubtful,
however, whether Fletcher’s letter ever reached the gentleman for whom
it was intended. At all events, there is no evidence whatever that any
correspondence took place between Henry Brooke, senior, and the Vicar of
Madeley. Of course, Fletcher’s communication reached the nephew of
Brooke, and, nearly ten years afterwards, he and others wrote to
Fletcher, requesting him and his newly-wedded wife to visit the
Methodists in Dublin. Fletcher replied:—
“MADELEY, _April 20, 1782_.
“DEAR SIR,—Last Saturday, I received your kind invitation to take a
journey to Dublin, with my wife; and we join in sincere thanks for the
kind and generous offer which accompanies that invitation.
“Two reasons, at this time, concur to make me postpone the accepting
of it. Not to mention my state of health, I have been so long absent
from my parish, that my parishioners have a just claim to my stated
labours for some time; and Mr. Bayley, my curate, being wanted at
Kingswood School, I must serve my own church myself, and the duty is
so continual that I dare not go twenty miles from home, much less to a
neighbouring kingdom. Providence may, if it be for the glory of God,
make a way for me to go, and return my thanks in person. In the
meantime, I beg you, Sir, to present them to all our brethren, who set
their hands to your kind letter.
“If I took you, Sir, for the author of ‘The Fool of Quality,’[567] I
thought I saw his style in the style of your letter; however, I was
not much mistaken. Your pen is nearly allied to his, as your blood is
to his. May one Spirit, the humble, loving Spirit of Jesus, make us
all of one heart and soul! May we, notwithstanding the channel which
separates our bodies, rejoice that one truth unites our souls, and
that the common faith and love make us join daily in Christ our Head!
So prays, dear Sir, your affectionate and obliged brother and servant,
“JOHN FLETCHER.”[568]
Footnote 567:
Two years before this, Wesley had published his abridged edition of
“The Fool of Quality,” in two volumes, 12mo.
Footnote 568:
Original Letter.
Fletcher and his wife remained at Madeley, and the latter wrote:—
“May 30, 1782. I have the kindest and tenderest of husbands; of so
spiritual a man, and so spiritual a union, I had no adequate
conception. He is every way suited to me, all I could wish. The work
among souls increases.”[569]
Footnote 569:
“Mrs. Fletcher’s Life,” by H. Moore.
A few weeks later, in a letter to Wesley, she said:—
“MADELEY, _July 7, 1782_.
“VERY DEAR SIR,—I find a desire of informing you how we go on. The
people you joined, when here, are, I trust, coming forward. I have not
conversed with the men; but the women are more in number than at that
time. Some have been clearly justified, I think five; and three or
four are restored to that communion with God, which they had for some
years lost. A few are athirst for a clean heart; and, on the whole,
there is a good increase of freedom and liberty in our class-meetings.
We have now also a band,[570] into which I gather the most lively; all
that are newly blest, or that have any light into sanctification; and
we have much of the presence of God with us.
“My dear Mr. Fletcher spares no pains. I know not which is greater,
his earnest desire for souls, or his patience in bearing with their
infirmities and dulness. His preaching is exceeding lively; and our
sacraments are more like those in the chapels of London than any I
have seen since I left it. Yet, I find a great difference between the
people here and those in Yorkshire: however, the Lord has little ones
here also.
“Last Friday, after riding two hours in the rain, we came to a good
congregation, where there was neither house nor church to cover us;
but I have not seen more of the Yorkshire attention since I left that
county, nor had a more solemn time; though we were under a wet cloud
all the while, and our poor servant waiting for us, who brought us
safe home by ten o’clock the same night. This is one of the old
congregations which my husband has visited for years; and where he
joined (in Society) sixty persons. Next Friday, we are to see them
again, and he purposes to enquire into the state of those which
remain. There are, in many parts about here, some serious hearers, and
we wish them all to be brought into a regular discipline. My husband
has been at near £500 expense in building a small Preaching-house,
that, if he should be removed, they may have a fold to prevent them
from being scattered. But were they joined (in Society) _now_, it
would be far more likely to answer the end. On this subject we wish to
have a little conversation with you.
“I am your affectionate servant,
“MARY FLETCHER.“[571]
Footnote 570:
A term well understood by Methodists: a meeting of the most spiritual
people who met in class.
Footnote 571:
_Arminian Magazine_, 1790, p. 391.
Two months after this, Fletcher was temporarily disabled by an accident,
mentioned in a long letter to Lady Mary Fitzgerald, from which the
following is extracted:—
“MADELEY, _August 28, 1782_.
“MY HONOURED FRIEND,—The Lord has peculiar favours in store for your
ladyship, and for me; the proof is, that we are _afflicted_. Have you
been in a weak state of health? I have had the honour to drink of your
cup. The influenza laid me down; and, when I was partly well, I broke
my shin against a bench, in consequence of which I am confined by a
bad leg to my bed, where I write this.
“You still complain of _vile self_. Let vile self be reduced to order,
and, though he be a bad master, he will become _an excellent servant_.
Do this, by letting the Lord, the Maker, the Preserver, the Redeemer,
the Lover of your soul, ascend upon the throne of your thoughts, will,
and affections. Who deserves to engross them better than He does? Is
not He your first Lord, your best Husband, your most faithful Friend,
and your greatest Benefactor? Oh! allow Jehovah, the Supreme Being, to
be to you what He deserves to be, _All in all_. One lively act of
faith, one assent and consent to this delightful truth, that your
Father, who is in heaven, loves you a thousand times more than you
love your idol (for God’s love is, like Himself, _infinite_ and
boundless), will set your heart at liberty, and even make it dance for
joy. What, if to this ravishing consideration, you add the
transporting truth, that the Son of God, fairer than the sons of men
and brighter than the angels, has loved you unto death, to the death
of the cross, and loves you still more than all your friends do, were
their love collected into _one_ heart, could you help thinking, with a
degree of joyous gratitude, of such an instance of Divine
condescension? No, your _vile self_ would be _ennobled_, _raised_,
_expanded_, and set at liberty by this evangelical thought. Self would
be nobody; Emmanuel would be all in all. You would be so employed in
praising your Father’s mercy, and your Saviour’s love and tenderness,
that you would have but little time to speak either of _good or bad
self_. When self is forgotten, _as nothing_ before God, you put self
in its proper place; and you make room for the heavenly Being, whose
holy and happy existence you are to shadow out. If you have left off
attending on the Princess,[572] attend on the Prince of Peace with
double diligence.
“Shall we ever have the honour of seeing you, my lady? My wife, who
joins in respectful love and thanks to your ladyship, for your
remembrance of her, says, she will do her best to render our cold
house safe for you, if not convenient. You would have had a repeated
invitation from us, if a concern for your health, heightened by the
bad weather, had not checked our desires to have an opportunity of
assuring you how much we are devoted to your service. But the roads
and weather beginning to mend, we venture to offer you the best
apartment in our hermitage. I wish it were large enough to take in
dear Mrs. G——,[573] and our dear friends in St. James’s Place; but we
have only two small rooms; to which, however, you would be received
with two enlarged hearts,—I mean those of your ladyship’s obedient,
devoted servants,
“JOHN AND MARY FLETCHER.”[574]
Footnote 572:
Probably, Princess Elizabeth Caroline, the third daughter of George
the Second, one of the most excellent of women. She died, in St.
James’s Palace, in 1787.
Footnote 573:
Probably Mrs. Grinfield, “one of Cæsar’s household,” as Whitefield
called her, an attendant at St. James’s Palace.
Footnote 574:
Letters, 1791, p. 287.
How long Fletcher was laid aside from his public work there is no
evidence to show. His position was somewhat trying, for the work was
heavy, and Mr. Bayley, his curate, had been obliged to return to
Wesley’s school at Kingswood. This and other matters are referred to in
the following letter to Charles Wesley:—
“MADELEY, _December 19, 1782_.
“REV. AND DEAR SIR,—I thank you for your hint about exemplifying the
love of Christ and His Church. I hope we do. I was afraid, at first,
to say much of the matter; but, having lived thirteen months in my new
state, I can tell you, Providence has reserved a _prize_ for me, and
that my wife is far better to me than the Church to Christ, so that if
the parallel fails, it will be on my side.
“Be so good as to peruse the enclosed sheets. Mr. De Luc, to whom they
are addressed, is reader to the Queen, and the author of some volumes
of Letters to her: he is a true philosopher. I flatter myself, he will
present my letter to the Queen. Do you find anything improper in the
addition I have made to my poem? I wish I were near you for your
criticisms; you would direct me, both as a _poet_ and a _Frenchman_.
“I have yet strength enough to do my parish duty without the help of a
curate. O that the Lord would help me to do it acceptably and
profitably! The colliers began to rise in this neighbourhood: happily
the cockatrice’s egg was crushed, before the serpent came out.
However, I got many a hearty curse from the colliers, for the plain
words I spoke on that occasion. I want to see days of power both
_within_ and _without_; but, meantime, I would follow closely my light
in the narrow path.
“My wife joins me in respectful love to Mrs. Wesley and yourself; and,
requesting an interest in your prayers for us, I remain, my dear Sir,
your affectionate, obliged brother, servant, and son in the Gospel,
“JOHN FLETCHER.”[575]
Footnote 575:
Letters, 1791, p. 288.
The “poem,” mentioned in this letter, was “La Grace et la Nature,” which
Fletcher had composed in Switzerland, and published in Geneva. He had
now enlarged it, and wished to publish a second edition of it, and to
dedicate the book to the Queen of King George the Third. This was done a
few months before he died; but, previous to committing his sheets to the
press, he submitted them to the criticism of Charles Wesley, Methodism’s
unequalled hymnologist.
This, however, was not the only poem on which Fletcher was now engaged.
On November 30, 1782, the preliminaries of the peace with America were
signed; and, on January 20, 1783, peace was concluded with France and
Spain. The termination of the long and disastrous war gave no one
greater joy than it did Fletcher. He celebrated it in another poem,
written also in French, and dedicated to the Archbishop of Paris.[576]
This was published, but is now extremely scarce. Fletcher enlarged it;
and, in 1785, Mr. Gilpin translated it into English, and intended to
dedicate his translation to the author; but, just as this English
edition was being printed, Fletcher died, and the dedication, dated
exactly a fortnight after Fletcher’s death, was, “To the Honoured Mrs.
Mary de la Flechere, of Madeley, in Shropshire.” The title of the poem
was, “An Essay upon the Peace of 1783. Dedicated to the Archbishop of
Paris. Translated from the French of the Rev. J. Fletcher, late Vicar of
Madeley. By the Rev. J. Gilpin, Vicar of Wrockwardine, Salop. London:
Printed by R. Hindmarsh, 1785.” 4to, 79 pp.
Want of space renders it impossible to furnish extracts from this
poetical production. In rhyme and rhythm, Fletcher, or, more probably,
his translator, was far from perfect; but that the Vicar, bred among the
inspiring scenery of Switzerland, was possessed of real poetic genius,
there cannot be a doubt. His descriptions of a naval battle, and of a
fight on land, and of the bombarding of Gibraltar, are very graphic. So
also are his definitions of the passions which war too frequently
evokes.
Though hardly worth mentioning, it may be stated, that the only thing
published by Fletcher, in the year 1782, was the following: “A Race for
Eternal Life: being an Extract from the Heavenly Footman. A Sermon on 1
Cor. ix. 24: written by the Author of the ‘Pilgrim’s Progress.’ By the
Rev. Mr. Fletcher. London: printed by R. Hindmarsh.” 12mo, 16 pp.
Fletcher says:—
“This extract is published,—1. To stir up lazy and inconsistent
Arminian professors, who assert that we should work out our own
salvation with all diligence, and yet neglect doing it. And, 2. To
convince of partiality the contentious Calvinists, who quarrel with
their brethren for preaching _consistently_ the very same doctrine,
which is _inconsistently_ maintained by their orthodox teachers, among
whom pious John Bunyan stands in the first rank.”
Footnote 576:
Fletcher’s dedication is dated, “Madeley, Salop, January 28, 1784.”
About this time, two young men were introduced to Fletcher, whom he
helped to the utmost of his power, and who, soon afterwards, attained
distinction, as clergymen of the Church of England.
One of these was Nathaniel Gilbert, the eldest son of Nathaniel Gilbert,
Esq., Speaker of the House of Assembly in Antigua, and who formed the
first Methodist Society in the West Indies. In 1759, he had requested
Fletcher to accompany him to the Western Archipelago; but Fletcher had
declined, on the ground that he had neither “sufficient zeal, nor grace,
nor talents” for such missionary work. His son, Nathaniel, was sent to
England at the age of seven (about the year 1761), and, three years
later, was placed under the care of the Rev. Mr. Hatton, of Water’s
Upton, in Shropshire, where he acquired a knowledge of the Latin and
Greek languages. On returning to Antigua, he found that the estate of
his father was overwhelmed with debt, and that the subsistence of the
family depended on a small jointure belonging to his mother. He came
back to England; settled in the parish of Madeley; enjoyed the
advantages of Fletcher’s ministry and counsels; and devoted himself to
God. On receiving episcopal ordination, the places of his ministerial
labours were Bristol, London, Budworth, Sierra Leone, Aveley, and
Bledlow. He was an eminently good and useful man; and peacefully fell
asleep in Jesus, in 1807, in the forty-sixth year of his age.[577]
Footnote 577:
_Christian Observer_, 1807, pp. 768–772.
The other youth, who greatly benefited by Fletcher’s example and advice,
was Melville Horne, who, for a few years, was one of Wesley’s Itinerant
Preachers, and then was ordained for the ministry of the Church of
England. Melville Horne was a remarkable man, of whom it would be an
easy and pleasant task to write a more than ordinary biography. Suffice
it to say here, that, a year after Fletcher’s death, he became the
officiating minister in Fletcher’s church; that, in 1792, he and his
friend Gilbert went as missionaries to Sierra Leone; that, on his return
in 1794, he was appointed Chaplain of Magdalen Chapel, Bristol; and then
became Vicar of Olney.[578] This is not the place to record his
subsequent career of distinguished usefulness; but the testimony of such
a man, concerning Fletcher, is worthy of being quoted. Many years after
his first introduction to Fletcher, he wrote:—
“On all my visits to Mr. Fletcher, I derived the highest pleasure and
edification. I not only had the opportunity of hearing many excellent
sermons, but of seeing him in the privacies of life; and I know not
which most to venerate,—his public or his private character. Grave and
dignified in his deportment and manners, he yet excelled in all the
courtesies of the accomplished gentleman. In every company, he
appeared as the least, the last, and the servant of all. From head to
foot, he was clothed with humility; while the heavenly-mindedness of
an angel shone from his countenance, and sparkled in his eyes. His
religion was without labour, and without effort; for Christianity was
not only his great business, but his very element and nature. As a
mortal man, he doubtless had his errors and failings; but what they
were, they who knew him best would find it difficult to say; for he
appeared as an instrument of heavenly minstrelsy always attuned to the
Master’s touch.
“In every view, he was a great man, and entitled to rank in the very
first class of ministers; but it was his _goodness_ that raised him
above all the ministers of his day.
“On my occasional visits to Madeley, I was struck with several things.
Once, when preaching on Noah as a type of Christ, he was in the midst
of a most animated description of the terrible day of the Lord, when
he suddenly paused. Every feature of his expressive countenance was
marked with painful feeling; and, striking his forehead with the palm
of his hand, he exclaimed, ‘Wretched man that I am! Beloved brethren,
it often cuts me to the soul, as it does at this moment, to reflect,
that, while I have been endeavouring, by the force of truth, by the
beauty of holiness, and even by the terrors of the Lord, to bring you
to walk in the peaceable paths of righteousness, I am, with respect to
many of you who reject the Gospel, only tying millstones round your
necks, to sink you deeper in perdition!’ The whole congregation was
electrified, and it was some time before he could resume his subject.
“On another occasion, after the morning service, he asked if any of
the congregation could give him the address of a sick man whom he was
desired to visit. He was answered, ‘He is dead, Sir.’ ‘Dead! dead!’ he
exclaimed; ‘another soul launched into eternity! What can I do for him
now? Why, my friends, will you so frequently serve me in this manner?
I am not informed you are ill till I find you dying, or hear that you
are dead.’ Then sitting down, he covered his head with his gown, and,
when the congregation had retired, walked home crushed with sorrow.
“One New Year’s Day, Gilbert and myself dined with him, as did also a
pious young man and his wife. After he had entertained us with much
pious and instructive conversation, as we all stood around the fire
and were ready to separate, he took Gilbert’s hand and mine and joined
them together, and said, ‘You two young men are united by blood, by
friendship, and by your destination to the blessed service of the
sanctuary.’ Then, turning to the young man and his wife, he remarked,
‘Do you also, whom God has joined in the tenderest of earthly bonds,
join hands, and I will take that of my beloved wife.’ This being done,
he continued, ‘And now what shall we render unto the Lord for all His
benefits? What blessings have we received! What mercies have followed
us the last year! This is the first day of a new year. Let us give our
whole soul to God. Let us start afresh on the road to immortality.
Forgetting the things that are behind, let us press toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’ And then,
lifting his eyes to heaven, he prayed for the whole of us most
fervently and affectionately.”[579]
Footnote 578:
Unpublished letters.
Footnote 579:
Cox’s “Life of Fletcher,” p. 147.
After this account of the covenant service in Fletcher’s vicarage, Mr.
Horne proceeds to relate other anecdotes which came within his own
personal knowledge. He writes:—
“In the contests of humility, kindness, and affection, it was
impossible to surpass Mr. Fletcher. On one occasion, the Rev. Moseley
Cheek had been preaching in his parish; and, on their way home to
Madeley, in a dark night, and along a deep, dirty road, Mr. Fletcher
carefully held the lantern to Mr. Cheek, while he himself walked
through the mire. Mr. Cheek made fruitless attempts to take the
lantern from him; Mr. Fletcher replying to his protests, ‘What, my
brother, have you been holding up the glorious light of the Gospel,
and will you not permit me to hold this dim taper to your feet?’
“At another time, the Rev. Mr. Gilpin perceiving a funeral waiting at
the church gate, took the surplice and commenced the service; but he
had hardly got into the desk when Mr. Fletcher, who had been visiting
a sick person, came into the church, and gently drawing away a lad who
was officiating in the absence of the clerk, took his place. After the
service was ended, he observed that he could not bear to see the place
of an inferior servant of the Church improperly filled up without
attempting to supply it himself with a greater degree of decorum and
reverence.
“Once, when my coat was dusty with riding, he insisted on brushing it,
but objected to let me perform the same office for himself. Mrs.
Fletcher, who perceived our contest, said, with a smile, ‘Then suffer
me to do it; for I assure you, my dear, you need it as much as Mr.
Horne.’ ‘If you please, my love,’ was the reply, ‘you shall do it, for
you are a part of myself.’”[580]
“Some of these anecdotes,” says Mr. Cox, “may, at first sight, appear
too trivial for publication; but they are highly descriptive of Mr.
Fletcher’s general demeanour; and, as Rosseau observes, ‘The
physiognomy does not show itself in great features, nor the character
of a man in great actions. It is in trifles that the natural
disposition discovers itself.’”[581]
Footnote 580:
_Ibid._, p. 149.
Footnote 581:
Cox’s “Life of Fletcher,” p. 150.
While Fletcher was forming new friendships with young Nathaniel Gilbert
and Melville Horne, his old friends were rapidly dying. His generous
host, Mr. Charles Greenwood, of Stoke Newington, triumphantly exchanged
mortality for eternal life on February 21, 1783, on which occasion
Fletcher wrote the following to Mrs. Thornton:—
“MADELEY, _March 3, 1783_.
“MY DEAR FRIEND,—Yesterday, I received your melancholy joyful letter
as I came from the sacrament, where the grace of God had armed me to
meet the news. And is my merciful host gone to reap the fruit of his
mercy to me? I thought I should have been permitted to go first, and
welcome him into everlasting habitations; but Providence has ordered
it otherwise, and I am left behind to say, with you and dear Mrs.
Greenwood, ‘The Lord gave and has taken away; blessed be the name of
the Lord.’ The glory with which Mr. Greenwood’s setting sun was
gilded, is the greatest comfort by which heaven could alleviate his
loss. Let me die as he died, and let my last end be like his! I was so
affected by your account that I could not help reading part of your
letter at church in the afternoon, and desiring all the congregation
to join me in thanksgiving for the late mercies God has vouchsafed to
my generous benefactor. On such occasions, let sighs be lost in
praise, and repining in humble submission and thankful acquiescence. I
hope dear Mrs. Greenwood mixes tears of joy with tears of sorrow. Who
would not be landed on the other side of the stream of time if he were
sure of such a passage? Who would wish his best friend back on the
shores of sorrow so triumphantly left by Mr. Greenwood?
“So Mr. and Mrs. Perronet are no more; and Lazarus is still alive!
What scenes does this world afford! But the most amazing is that of
Emmanuel crucified, and offering us pardons and crowns of glory!”[582]
Footnote 582:
Letters, 1791, p. 290.
Another letter, written three months after this, was addressed to John
Valton, the Methodist itinerant, who preached at Cross Hall to the
wedding party on the evening of Fletcher’s marriage.
“MADELEY, _July, 1783_.
“Our dear friend’s acceptable favour gave us much pleasure, though we
have been so long in thanking him for it.
“Never did we imagine till lately how great your trial has been about
the house at Birstal.[583] But how gracious is the Lord! How has He
here paid you by the refreshing shower which has since distilled as
the dew on the grass. O what comfortable accounts have reached us of
the wonderful revival in your circuit.[584] In this my heart does
indeed rejoice.
“God is good unto us also. He has not left us without encouragement.
For some time past, we have scarcely had a week in which one or more
has not been set at liberty. But we are called, I believe, to leave
them for a little while, and to spend a few weeks in Dublin. They
complain of this, but the will of the Lord must be done. When He
calls, even life itself must not be esteemed too dear.
“You will be thankful to hear that my best earthly friend continues in
tolerable health, though neither of us is strong. We are more and more
sensible of the loving kindness of the Lord in casting our lot
together. Every day helps us to praise Him more and more for His
condescension and goodness to such unworthy worms. I speak thus freely
to you because you were a witness of the beginning of our pilgrimage
together. I see many professors, and many really in earnest; but,
alas! very seldom any who can warm one’s heart with the deep things of
God. O for a deeper baptism of the Spirit! I want that promise _more
fully_ accomplished, ‘I and my Father will come, and will make our
abode with you.’
“Praying that the Lord may be with you all at the ensuing Conference,
we remain, dear brother, your affectionate friends,
“JOHN AND MARY FLETCHER.”[585][586]
Footnote 583:
The Methodist meeting-house, erected, under the auspices of John
Nelson, about the year 1751. The trouble, at this time, arose out of
the demand of the trustees to elect, after Wesley’s death, their own
preachers, and to order them to preach in Birstal chapel twice every
Sunday, every Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and Good Friday, and also
every Thursday night. (See “Life and Times of Wesley,” vol. iii., pp.
373–383.)
Footnote 584:
See an account of this remarkable work of God in the “Life and Labours
of the Rev. John Valton, edited by Joseph Sutcliffe, A.M., 1830,” pp.
104–114.
Footnote 585:
_Methodist Magazine_, 1798, p. 598.
Footnote 586:
It is said that, after his marriage, Fletcher, when writing to his
_friends_, always subscribed his letters “_John and Mary Fletcher_.”
(See “Six Letters of the late Rev. J. Fletcher. Bath, 1788.” 12mo, 20
pp.)
The foregoing letter mentions an intended visit to Dublin. It has been
already stated that Fletcher received an invitation from the Dublin
Methodists to visit them in 1782; and that he was then obliged to
decline their invitation. Now his way to Ireland seemed open. Mrs.
Fletcher writes:—
“1783, August 5. Since May 22” [the date of the last entry in her
journal], “a fever has been in the parish, which took off many whom we
saw it our duty to attend. It brought eternity very near, and that
always does me good. It came into our family, and Sally” [Lawrence]
“was attacked with it; but God raised her up again in a wonderful
manner. Soon after her recovery, Dr. Coke came, on his way from
Dublin, and brought letters to each of us. We went to church, where
the doctor preached. When we returned home, I followed my dear to his
study, and told him if he saw it his call to go to Dublin, I saw it
mine to go with him. Since that day, we have been preparing for our
journey. My dear husband’s health is not very good. What the Lord will
do with us I know not. We are, however, ready for setting off.”
Five weeks after this, Mrs. Fletcher wrote again in her journal as
follows:—
“1783, September 12, William Street, Dublin. This day of our birth
calls for solemn praise. I say OUR birth, because, as far as we can
learn, my dear Mr. Fletcher was born on the same day ten years before
me.
“With the prayers and blessings of many of our friends, we set off
from Madeley on Tuesday, August 12. At night, we were affectionately
received by Mrs. Glynne, of Shrewsbury, whose love to the children of
God does not grow cold. My dear husband preached on the danger of
being _ashamed of the Gospel_.
“The next day, we pursued our journey as far as Llangollen, in Wales,
where we abode all night. Enquiring, as we walked about the town,
whether they had any praying people among them, the poor things
answered us in the best manner they could, and said, ‘Yes, Sir, there
are some people who pray in houses at the other end of the town, but
we know not what they be. This very night a man is to preach in their
chapel.’ We went to the place, and found a few poor people gathered in
a building which, I believe, was part of an old house. The preacher
seemed very earnest, but we could not understand a word he said,
except _ogoniant_ and _gwaed_—glory and blood; which, with much
emphasis, he often repeated. After we were returned to our inn, a few,
who could understand English, came to us, and desired my dear to give
them a sermon in the morning, which he did, on these words, ‘This is
His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus
Christ, and love one another, as He hath given us commandment.’ It was
a good time, and several were present who understood English.
“We then sent off for Conway, and, on Friday afternoon, reached
Holyhead. Mr. Fletcher was very poorly, and a swelling on his face now
broke, which gave him much inconvenience; but, on Saturday morning, we
embarked. Mr. Fletcher was not affected by the sea, but I was very
ill. About one o’clock on Sunday morning, we cast anchor three miles
from Dublin; and, at five, reached the Hotel on Dublin Quay.
“We now abide with our hospitable friends, Mr. and Mrs. Smyth, in
William Street, and have seen much of the Lord’s hand in bringing us
hither. My dear husband has been favoured with much unction in
preaching the word. The present (Methodist) preachers in Dublin,
brothers Rutherford and Jackson, are simple, pious men, and respect
that command, ‘In honour preferring one another.’ They heartily
rejoice in the message my dear husband delivers among them. I feel
much liberty in meeting the classes. Here are a few truly athirst for
full salvation. Our kind and generous host and hostess allow us all
freedom in their house, for the glory of God, and the good of His
people; and, as their servants also are pious, upright persons, we can
here worship with them in calm and brotherly love.”
Before referring to the testimonies of other persons, it may be best to
complete what Mrs. Fletcher has to say concerning this evangelistic
visit to the sister island. She writes:—
“Madeley, _October 30_. On the 7th of this month, we left Dublin, and
embarked for Holyhead. In the night, the wind grew high. My husband,
myself, and also Sally, were so ill, we could scarce speak, or look
towards each other. Since our return, I have closely examined what I
have lost or got in these last three months. I praise the Lord that we
went to Dublin, and that for various reasons. There are some there
with whom I found much fellowship; at whose feet I sat, and, I trust,
learned many useful lessons. My dear Mr. Fletcher preached in several
places besides the (Methodist) Preaching-house in White-Friars-street,
both to the French and English, and we had some remarkable proofs that
he was called there by God.
“Since our return, my dear husband has taken another journey of about
two hundred miles,[587] from which he has suffered a good deal. His
face is not yet well; but the unwearied patience, wherewith he goes
through all, is to me a continual lesson.
“_November 12._ We see another anniversary of our blessed union, and
are yet more happy, and more tender towards each other; and, what is
better, our souls get nearer God. We are more spiritual, and live more
for eternity.”[588]
Footnote 587:
This was a journey to Bristol, whither he escorted his hostess, Mrs.
Smyth, Lady Mary Fitzgerald, and the eldest daughter of the Rev.
Edward Smyth. (“Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol.
ii., p. 195.)
Footnote 588:
“Mrs. Fletcher’s Life,” by H. Moore, p. 155.
Henry Moore, Wesley’s sturdy Itinerant, was appointed to the Dublin
Circuit, three years after Fletcher’s visit, and, in 1818, wrote:—
“Never did I see such deep impressions made on the people of Dublin as
by the truly evangelical labours of Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher, except,
perhaps, in the very short visits of Mr. Wesley. A great revival of
pure religion followed in the Dublin Society. That Society had usually
consisted of about 500 persons, but it soon increased to upwards of
1000, and has never since fallen below that number. Such longing after
entire conformity to the Son of God I never beheld. How wide this
sacred influence might have extended, who can tell, if a poor
sectarian spirit had not limited Mr. Fletcher’s labours. On his
arrival in Dublin, his host, Mr. Smyth, a distinguished and most
respectable gentleman, applied to the rector of St. Andrew’s Parish,
in which he lived, to allow Mr. Fletcher to preach in his church, and
this was immediately granted. The church was crowded to excess. Mr.
Fletcher’s text was, ‘Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.’
His earnestness and power astonished the congregation, some of whom
seemed to doubt if he were not more than human. But, alas! it was soon
known that he preached on the evening of that same day at the
Methodist Preaching-house; and the pulpits of the churches were
immediately closed against him, with the exception of that of the
French Church. The first time he preached there, his text was Hebrews
x. 32, when he brought before the congregation the faith of their
ancestors. When some of them were asked, ‘Why did you go to hear Mr.
Fletcher, when you could not understand a word he said?’ they
answered, ‘We went to look at him, for heaven seemed to beam from his
countenance.’”[589]
Footnote 589:
“Mrs. Fletcher’s Life,” by H. Moore, p. 154.
Mr. Henry Brooke,[590] who took a leading part in inviting Fletcher to
visit Dublin, wrote:—
“_1783, September 6._ The same grace and power which attend Mr.
Fletcher’s pulpit lectures, and gather innumerable crowds of
hungering, thirsting souls to flock to his ministry, also attend his
conversation in private. He seems never—no, never—for a moment, to
turn his eye from the one great object of our faith and love; and he
continually stirs up all around him to love and praise. He appears to
live and breathe nothing else.”
Footnote 590:
Mr. Brooke is described, in Wesley’s “Last Will and Testament,” as a
“Painter.”
In another letter, to his father, Mr. Brooke observed:—
“I wish it were in my power to convey to you the substance and energy
of those precious and excellent discourses, with which we are
frequently favoured from Mr. Fletcher. His words are living sparks,
rushing from the furnace of divine love glowing in his heart.”
Mr. Brooke, in a letter to the Rev. J. Gilpin, the translator of
Fletcher’s “Portrait of St. Paul,” remarked:—
“When Mr. Fletcher was about to leave us, knowing the scanty pittance
he received from his parish, we thought it but an act of common
honesty to refund him the expense he had been at in coming to Dublin,
and to bear his charges back again to Madeley. Accordingly, after he
had preached on the last evening of his stay among us, the stewards
and trustees united to press his acceptance of a small purse, not as a
present, but as a debt justly due to him. But he firmly and absolutely
refused it. At length, being very urgent with him and importunate to
an excess, he took the purse in his hand, and said, ‘Do you really
force it upon me? Must I accept it? Is it entirely mine? and may I do
what I please with it?’ ‘Yes, yes,’ we all replied. ‘God be praised
then! God be praised!’ cried he, raising his eyes towards heaven.
‘What a mercy is here! I heard some of you complaining that your
Poor’s Fund was never so low before; take this purse; God has sent it
to you; raised it among yourselves; and bestowed it upon your poor.
You cannot deny me; it is sacred to them. God be praised! I thank you,
I heartily thank you, my dear kind brethren.’”[591]
Footnote 591:
“Life of Mr. Henry Brooke,” by Isaac D’Olier, LL.D., pp. 102–121.
A number of other anecdotes respecting this memorable visit, all more or
less authentic, might be inserted; but enough has been said to show that
it must always be one of the great events in the history of Methodism in
Dublin.
Soon after the return to Madeley of Fletcher and his wife, they received
the following, hitherto unpublished letter, signed by one hundred and
fifty-one members of the Dublin Methodist Society, the signature of
“Henry Brooke” standing first.
“_1783, October._
“REV. AND VERY DEAR SIR AND MADAM,—Your kindness in accepting our
united invitation, your labour of love in crossing the sea to visit
us, and your spending body and soul for our profit while among us,
demand a return of acknowledgment and gratitude, which we find
ourselves, jointly and severally, as unable to express as to repay.
“Confession of our debt is the utmost extent of our ability. As for
reward, we must call upon Him to answer for us, who has already paid
the mighty debt due by the whole world. May He, then, even that
Master, the sound of whose feet was heard behind you, and the power of
whose Spirit clothed your word in private and in public,—may He
abundantly reward both your bodies and souls, and, according to the
measure you have meted out, measure to you again a hundred-fold,
pressed down, shaken together, and running over into your own bosoms
in time and eternity.
“Your liberality to the sick poor, in the generous donation of
twenty-five guineas, has gladdened the hearts of numbers, besides
those who are partakers of your alms; for you have nobly honoured the
Lord by your free ministry, and set your seal to His Word with your
substance. May you be watered again and again abundantly for it!
“We can only pray for the prosperity of your labours where the
adorable providence of God has cast your lot in His vineyard; and hope
that the Lord may give the people to see and know (in mercy and not in
judgment) that a prophet has been among them.
“Lastly, we entreat that, after the example of St. Paul, you will
remember us all in your daily and nightly addresses to the throne of
grace, that the precious seed, which has been sown, may bring forth
its hundred-fold increase, to our joint happiness in the kingdom of
God.”
In the month of November, a reply was sent to this, from which the
following extract is taken:—
“MADELEY, _November, 1783_.
“To the Society in Dublin.
“To all the dear Brethren, who, after kindly inviting John and Mary
Fletcher, patiently bearing with them and their infirmities, and
entertaining them in the most hospitable manner, have added, to all
their former favours, that of thanking them for their most pleasant
and profitable journey.
“We had felt shame enough under the sense of your kindness and
patience towards us, and of our unprofitableness towards you, when at
Dublin. We owed you the letter of thanks you have gratuitously sent to
us. But in all things, you will have the pre-eminence, and we are glad
to drink the cup of humility at your feet. If your profuse liberality
toward _us_ abounded to the comfort of our poor brethren, we doubly
rejoice on _your_ account, and on _theirs_.
“When we see so many of your dear names, we rejoice in hope that they
are enrolled on the list of the dear people, whom our great High
Priest bears, not on the breastplate as Aaron, but on His bleeding
hands, and in His very heart, which is the overflowing and
ever-flowing fountain of divine and brotherly love. Let our worthless
names still find a place in your memory, when you remember your
brethren distant in the flesh, but near in the Spirit. Among such,
vouchsafe to reckon your very affectionate and truly obliged servants
in Christ,
“JOHN AND MARY FLETCHER.”
To their Irish host, William Smyth, Esq., Fletcher wrote as follows:—
“MADELEY, _November, 1783_.
“DEAR SIR,—The many and great favours with which you loaded us, during
our long stay under your hospitable roof, have been, are now, and, we
trust, ever shall be deeply engraven on our hearts. You united, for
us, Irish hospitality, English cordiality, and French politeness. And
now, Sir, what shall we say?
“You are our generous benefactor, and we are your affectionate, though
unprofitable servants. In one sense, we are on a level with those to
whom you show charity in the streets: we can do nothing but pray for
you and yours. You kindly received us for Christ’s sake; may God
receive you freely for His sake also! You bore with our infirmities;
the Lord bear with yours! You let your servant serve us; the Lord give
all His servants and His angels charge concerning you! You gave us a
most comfortable apartment, next your own chamber; the Lord grant you
eternal rest with Himself in His heavenly mansions! You fed us with
the richest food; may the Giver of every perfect gift fit you for a
place at His table, and may you rank there with Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob! You gave us wines; may you drink, with Christ Himself, the
fruit of the vine, new in your Father’s kingdom!”[592]
Footnote 592:
Letters, 1791, p. 293.
It has been asserted, that, “towards the close of his life,” Fletcher
“abstained entirely from wine and strong drink;”[593] but the evidence
in favour of this is dubious, and, certainly, the last sentence of the
foregoing letter seems to disprove it. Throughout the whole of his life,
he was exceedingly temperate in eating and drinking; but it may fairly
be doubted whether Fletcher was ever a “teetotaler.”[594] It is a
curious fact, however, that in this very year, 1783, he wrote a pamphlet
bearing upon the subject of drunkenness and other matters, which he
intended to be published, but which, I believe, never was. It was sent
to “Mr. Hindmarsh, printer, in Baker’s Court, Holborn Bars, London,”
together with a letter of instructions as to the printing of it, dated,
“Madeley, November 20, 1783.” When printed, Mr. Hindmarsh was requested
to send, as soon as possible, a copy to every member of Parliament. The
title was, “Three National Grievances,—the Increase of Taxes, the
Hardships of Unequal Taxation, and the Continual Rise of the Poor’s
Rates: with the Causes and Remedies of these Evils: Humbly Submitted to
the Consideration of the Legislature, in a Letter to the Right Honorable
Lord John Cavendish, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and one of the Lords
of the Treasury. London: November, 1783.”
Footnote 593:
_Local Preachers’ Magazine_, 1853, p. 172.
Footnote 594:
Jonathan Crowther, President of the Methodist Conference in 1819,
says, in his unpublished autobiography:—
“Mr. Yates, of Madeley, told me that, one cold, snowy, frosty day,
when Mr. Fletcher called at his house, as he was sallying out to visit
his parishioners, he asked him to take a little punch, which was then
upon the table, after dinner. Mr. Fletcher consented, but said,
‘First, let us ask a blessing: it makes it twice as good.’”
The temptation is strong to insert this remarkable production _in
extenso_; but to do so, in a chapter like the present, would be an
inconvenient excrescence; besides, want of space makes it impossible.
Suffice it to say, that, under the heading of the first “Grievance,”
Fletcher argues, that, the decrease of the national revenue, and
consequent increase of the national taxation, were occasioned by “the
amazing progress of smuggling.” He says, “No one can deny that vast
quantities of foreign brandy, rum, gin, tobacco, snuff, tea, wines of
all sorts, and a variety of other articles, are fraudulently imported
and that these, on the sea-coast, are sold at “half the price which they
cost the conscientious merchant.” “Many thousands of lawless men are
perpetually forming or executing schemes, to defraud the Government, and
reduce us to beggary.” Fletcher says, it was once his opinion that
“smuggling might be prevented, by the combined services of the army and
navy; but,” he adds, “as most of the inferior Custom House officers on
the coast, with £50 a year, live in splendour, and as the evil is deeply
rooted, I am now convinced that the only way to check it is to take off
the duties, to lessen the number of officers in both Customs and Excise,
and to advance the salaries of those who are retained. If I prove that,
by lessening the duties, the revenue will be increased and smuggling
suppressed, there can be no objection to the adoption of the plan
proposed.” Fletcher enters into many details to establish his theory;
and thus, long before the days of Peel and Gladstone, took the part of
_free-traders_.
His chapter on _unequal taxation_ must be passed; but some of his
statements, in the _third_, deserve notice. He insists that—
“The continual increase of the Poor Rates is occasioned by the
corrupted morals of the lower classes of the people, who are seduced
into idleness and neglect of their families, in the public-houses to
be met with at every turn. There are also multitudes of _private_
retailers of _smuggled_ spirits, who, by enticing their neighbours
into drunkenness, entail ruin on them and their families. In some
parishes, the number of these lawless retailers far exceeds that of
the publicans. But to speak only of _licensed_ houses, what multitudes
of these are found all over England! In some places, almost every
fifth house is one of those nurseries of vice.”
Terrible is the picture which Fletcher draws, respecting the ruinous
consequences of drunkenness; and his arguments would help Sir Wilfrid
Lawson to make a most effective speech on “Local Option” in the House of
Commons.
“If,” continues Fletcher, “these paltry public-houses are the bane of
the nation, let the legislative power interfere in England, as it has
done in Holland. Let two-thirds of these nuisances be suppressed; and
by raising the licenses of the others, so as to indemnify the revenue,
let the law put it out of the power of the _idle poor_ to set up these
petty schools of idleness and vice. Then people of character will no
longer be afraid to become publicans.”
In a “postscript,” Fletcher refers to a pamphlet which states that—
“Sixty thousand of the ablest young men in the kingdom, and one
hundred thousand horses, are employed in smuggling, whilst one hundred
thousand women and children make it their business to hawk about the
country the articles which the men have smuggled. If these one hundred
and sixty thousand people were employed in fishing, agriculture,
spinning, etc., their labour would amount annually to £2,464,000, to
which must be added the sum of £1,820,000, the cost of keeping the one
hundred thousand horses used by smugglers.... The Dutch catch fish, on
our coasts, to the yearly amount of one million sterling.... Fishing
and smuggling never flourish together.... In Scotland, there are
upwards of ten thousand private stills,” etc., etc.
Thus Fletcher, the polemical divine, turned social reformer; and his
efforts to correct the crying evils of the age were not confined to the
employment of his pen. In his own parish, there were eighteen public
houses,—all of them “nurseries for sin, particularly on Sunday
evenings.” He had long desired to correct these abuses; but had seldom
been favoured with the services of a churchwarden willing to second his
endeavours. Now he had one, who was resolved to act according to the
oath he had taken. Fletcher visited several of these dens of iniquity
every Sunday, and all of them in their turn. In every one of them, he
bore a faithful testimony against their wickedness; and, in some
instances, his efforts were attended with much success.[595]
Footnote 595:
“Letter to Mons. H. L. De la Flechere,” 1786, p. 16.
At this period, trade was bad, taxes were crushing, and corn was dear.
King George the Third, in his speech to “My Lords and Gentlemen,” the
members of the two Houses of Parliament, remarked, “The scarcity, and
consequent high price of corn, requires your instant interposition.”
Corn was scarce, and, in many instances, it was bought and hoarded by
execrable speculators, for the purpose of raising the price of it, and
increasing their own blood-soaked profits. Fletcher was indignant, and
proposed the formation of an association of persons of unblemished
character:—
“1. To prosecute legally all engrossers and forestallers of the
necessaries of life.
“2. If there be any laws against those who cause an artificial
scarcity, by monopolizing the necessaries of life,—to apply to the
magistrates to put such laws in force against the offenders,—and, if,
through fear or favour, the magistrates refuse, to apply for redress
to Quarter Sessions, or to the Court of King’s Bench.
“3. That the members of the Association subscribe, according to their
ability, towards defraying the expense of detecting, and legally
prosecuting the offenders.”
Fletcher added:—
“If such a plan is entered upon, and carried on in this county”
(Salop), “I will gladly become a subscriber of a guinea, _provided no
illegal steps be taken by the associates_.”
This is copied from an unpublished manuscript in Fletcher’s own
handwriting. The following also is taken from another original
manuscript, written by Fletcher:—
“It is proposed—
“1. That Sunday Schools be set up in this parish, for such children as
are employed all the week, and for those whose education has been
neglected.
“2. That, in those schools, children shall be taught to read and
write, and shall be instructed in the principles of morality and
piety.
“3. That, in the Dale, in Madeley, and in Madeley Wood, there shall be
a school for boys, and another for girls,—six schools in all.
“4. That £20 be raised, by subscription, for this charity; namely, £14
for the salaries of six teachers; which, at the rate of one shilling,
per time, for fifty-two Sunday afternoons, excepting Easter-Day and
Whit-Sunday, will amount to fifty shillings each teacher. The
remaining £6 shall be laid out in tables, benches, books, paper, pens,
and ink.
“5. That, if the expenses incurred should run higher than is here
supposed, the subscribers shall be acquainted with it, and their
charity shall be again solicited.
“6. That, whosoever shall subscribe a guinea towards this charity
shall be a director of it.
“7. That, at a parish meeting, two treasurers shall be appointed to
ask and to receive the contributions of those who shall be willing to
encourage this charity.
“8. That, three or four inspectors shall be appointed to visit these
schools, to see that the children attend regularly, and that the
masters do their duty by the children, and to make their report to the
directors.
“9. That, a book shall be provided by the treasurers, in which they,
or a secretary whom they shall appoint, shall yearly enter the sums
subscribed, and the manner in which they are laid out; and that such
book shall be laid before the subscribers when they shall desire it.
“10. That, another book shall be provided, in which the names of the
masters and the scholars, belonging to each school, shall be entered.
“11. And lastly, that, to encourage emulation, at a solemn visitation
of these schools, once or twice a year, some premium shall be given to
the children who distinguish themselves by their assiduity and
improvement.”
This was rather elaborate legislation for the administration of a
charity fund of £20 a year; but money, in 1783, was scarce, and the
Sunday School institution was then in its infancy.
For some years, Fletcher had had a school at Madeley, which he himself
taught every day; and he had also established a similar school in
Madeley Wood. Now he commenced his Sunday Schools, being, in this
respect, almost contemporaneous with Raikes at Gloucester.
“Three hundred children were soon gathered, whom he took every
opportunity of instructing, by regular meetings, for some time before
the schools were opened; and these meetings he attended to the very
last Thursday before his fatal illness. He gave the children little
hymn-books; and pointed them to some friend or neighbour, who would
teach them the hymns, and instruct them to sing. Many of the little
creatures would scarcely allow themselves time to eat or sleep, for
the desire they had of learning their lessons. In every meeting, after
inquiring who had made the greatest proficiency, he never forgot to
distinguish it by a little reward.”
“His proposals to the parish were received with the greatest
unanimity. Many, both of the rich and trading people, lent their
helping hand, not only to defray the expense of teachers, but to raise
a very convenient school-house in Coalbrookdale.”[596]
Footnote 596:
“Letter to Mons. H. L. De la Flechere, 1786, pp. 17 and 18.
The “Proposals” were prefaced with a statement of “the advantages likely
to arise from Sunday Schools,” which was as follows:—
“Our parochial and national depravity turns upon two hinges,—the
_profanation_ of the Lord’s day, and the _immorality_ which flows from
neglecting the education of children. Till these two great inlets of
wickedness are stopped, we must expect to see our workhouses full of
aged parents forsaken by their prodigal children; of wives deserted by
their faithless husbands; or of the wretched offspring of lewd women,
and idle and drunken men. Nay, we may expect to see the jails, and
even the gallows, stocked with unhappy wretches, ready to fall a
sacrifice to the safety of their neighbours, and the penal laws of
their country.
“Persons concerned for the welfare of the next generation, and
well-wishers to the Church and State, have already set us a fine
example in Stroud, Gloucester, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol,
and in several country parishes. They have attempted to remedy these
evils by setting up Sunday Schools, which, by keeping children from
corrupting one another, by promoting their attendance on Divine
worship, and by laying the first principles of useful knowledge in
their minds, and of true piety in their hearts,—bid fair for a public
reformation of manners; and seem well calculated to nip in the bud the
vices of _ignorance and impiety_, so common among the lower and more
numerous classes of the people.”[597]
Footnote 597:
“Letter to Mons. H. L. De la Flechere,” 1786, p. 20.
It may be added, that the last productions of Fletcher’s pen were an
unfinished catechism, to be used in his Sunday Schools; prayers to be
read by the children; and “Hints” to the teachers. Among the last
mentioned, were instructions respecting the correction of any child
“guilty of lying, swearing, Sabbath-breaking, stealing, fighting, or
disobedience;” and recommendations that the teachers should “attend the
scholars to Divine worship”; that they should “not break up too early in
the evening, _that_ being the time in which children are most likely to
run into temptation;” and that “pious persons” should be induced to
“visit and interrogate the children, in order that the whole might be
carried on as a business sanctified by the Word of God, by prayer, and
by Christian admonition.”[598]
Footnote 598:
_Ibid._, p. 63.
It would not be difficult to enlarge on facts and principles such as
these; but the intelligent reader can do this himself.
Before leaving the year 1783, one more incident must be introduced. At
the close of the year, the celebrated Rev. Henry Venn visited Fletcher,
at Madeley, and wrote:—
“Mr. Fletcher is a genius, and a man of fire—all on the stretch to do
good—to lose not a day, not an hour. He is married to a lady worthy of
him, Miss Bosanquet, a lady with whom I was acquainted twenty-nine
years ago. She was then sixteen, and bred up in all the pride of life;
her father being one of the chief merchants of London. By the grace of
God, she, at that time, renounced the world, and gave up herself to
the Lord. Since then, she has bred up seventy-four destitute young
girls for service, and seen them placed out to her satisfaction; and,
instead of dressing, visiting, and conforming to all the vain and
expensive customs of the world, she has been wholly employed in doing
good. I left this happy house as Cecil, Secretary to Queen Elizabeth,
left Bernard Gilpin’s, saying, ‘There dwells as much happiness as can
be known on earth.’”[599]
Footnote 599:
“Life of Rev. Henry Venn,” p. 377.