connection with you, to forget a willing pilgrim, going now
across the Atlantic for the thirteenth time. At present, I am
kept from staggering; being fully persuaded that this voyage
will be for the Redeemer’s glory, and the welfare of precious
and immortal souls. O to be kept from flagging in the latter
stages of our road! _Ipse, Deo volente, sequar, etsi non
passibus aequis._ Cordial love and respect await your brother,
and all that are so kind as to enquire after, and be concerned
for,
“Reverend and very dear sir,
“Less than the least of all,
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[638]
It is a remarkable fact that, at the very time Whitefield was making
his last voyage to America, Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor,
Wesley’s first two missionaries to the same field of labour, were being
borne, through the same storms and tempests, to their destination.
Whitefield’s work in America was nearly ended; but he had prepared the
way for Wesley’s preachers, and for the founding of a church, now the
largest on that immense continent.
Three days before Whitefield wrote to Wesley, he and his
fellow-voyagers encountered a tremendous storm. One ship, in their
immediate neighbourhood, was wrecked; and, when opposite to Deal, the
_Friendship_ became _wind-bound_, and was detained three weeks. This
gave Whitefield an opportunity to stand once more on the shores of his
native land. It so happened, that, just as the ship arrived at Deal,
the Rev. Dr. Gibbons, the eminent tutor of the Dissenting Academy at
Mile End, and the Rev. Mr. Bradbury, of Ramsgate, came to Deal for the
purpose of ordaining a young Dissenting minister. Having ascertained
that the _Friendship_ was lying in the Downs, Gibbons and Bradbury
went on board, and so urgently desired Whitefield to come on shore,
that, contrary to his intention, he left the ship, and attended the
ordination services. Mr. Bradbury prevailed upon him to go to Ramsgate,
where he preached on Friday and Saturday, September 15 and 16. These
were Whitefield’s _last sermons_ in England.[639] They are referred
to in the following extracts from Whitefield’s letters. Writing to
Mr. Robert Keen, he said:――
“Deal, September 14, 1769. For wise reasons, we are detained in
the Downs. Who knows but it may be to awaken some souls at Deal?
A peculiar providence brought me here. Warm-hearted Dr. Gibbons
came on board to pay me a visit, was sick, lay in my state-room,
and learnt experimentally to pray for those who occupy their
business in great waters. Mr. Bradbury, of Ramsgate, and young
Mr. G――――ner, who was ordained yesterday, followed after. At
their request, I came ashore yesterday morning. The ordination
was very solemn. I have not been more affected under any public
ministrations a great while. At the request of many, I preached
in the evening to a crowded auditory; and spent the remainder of
the night in godly conversation. If the wind continues contrary,
perhaps I may make an elopement to Margate. I wish I could see
my sermon that is printed. If I die, let not the Hymn Book be
cashiered. I am glad to hear of the _Amens_ at Tottenham Court.
The ship that was lost has been taken up and brought in. The
passengers escaped in the boat. What are we that we should be
preserved? Grace! Grace!”
In another letter to Mr. Keen, Whitefield wrote:――
“Deal, September 15, 1769. Mr. Bradbury put me under an arrest,
and is carrying me away to Ramsgate. I hope to arrest some
poor runaway bankrupts for the Captain of our Salvation. For
Christ’s sake, let all means be used to keep up and increase the
Tottenham Court and Tabernacle Societies.”
In a third letter to the same gentleman, is the following:――
“Deal, September 17, 1769. I have just returned from Ramsgate,
and am going on board. Never did any creature shew greater
civility, heartiness, politeness, and generosity than Mr.
Bradbury. His friends were hearty too. I preached on Friday
and Saturday. It was hard parting this morning. I expect a long
passage, but all is well. I could not go to Margate.”
Whitefield’s congregations at Ramsgate were not large, but attentive,
and the behaviour of the people delighted him.[640] Early on Sunday
morning, he hastened back to Deal, went on board, and preached in the
afternoon; but it was not until the Tuesday following that the ship
again set sail, and even then the attempt to proceed turned out a
failure. Whitefield wrote:――
“Monday, September 25. Weighed anchor last Tuesday morning,
with a small favourable gale and fine weather. So many ships,
which had lain in the Downs, moving at the same time, and gently
gliding by us, together with the prospect of the adjacent shore,
made a most agreeable scene. But it proved a very transient
one. By the time we got to Fairlee, the wind backened, clouds
gathered, very violent gales succeeded, and, for several days,
we were so tossed, that, after coming over against Brighton,
the captain turned back (as did many other ships), and anchored
off New Romney and Dungenness. Lord, in Thine own time, Thou
wilt give the winds a commission to carry us forward towards our
desired port.”[641]
It was not until nine weeks after this that Whitefield landed in
America. His travelling companions were Cornelius Winter and Mr. Smith.
His time was chiefly spent in writing letters, composing sermons, and
reading the History of England. Whenever the weather would permit, he
preached, with his accustomed energy, to the crew and passengers, all
of whom treated him with profound respect. Sometimes he suffered great
languor, and depression;[642] but, upon the whole, he was, at the end
of his voyage, in better health than he had been for years past.[643]
Arriving at Charleston on Thursday, November 30, he commenced preaching
on the following afternoon, and, for ten days, continued to delight and
profit large congregations. Mr. Wright, his manager at Bethesda, met
him; and, on Sunday, December 10, he and his party set sail for Georgia.
Hence the following, addressed to Mr. Keen:――
“Charleston, December 9, 1769. So much company crowds in, that,
together with my preaching every other day, etc., I have scarce
the least leisure. To-morrow, I set off by water to Georgia, the
roads being almost impassable by land. Mr. Wright is come to go
with me, and acquaints me that all is in great forwardness at
Bethesda.”
The voyage to Savannah was made in an open boat. Cornelius Winter
writes:――“We had a pleasant passage through the Sounds, and frequently
went on shore, and regaled ourselves in the woods. The simplicity
of the negroes, who rowed us, was very diverting. We stopped at a
plantation called Port Royal, where we were most kindly refreshed
and entertained; and safely arrived at Savannah on December 14. Mr.
Whitefield was cheerful and easy, and seemed to have lost a weight
of care.”
At the beginning of the year 1770, Whitefield was at his beloved
Bethesda, and wrote:――
“Bethesda, January 11, 1770. Everything here exceeds my most
sanguine expectations. I am almost tempted to say, ‘It is good
to be here.’ But all must give way to gospel-ranging. Divine
employ!
‘For this let men revile my name,
I’d shun no cross, I’d fear no shame.’
“I hope London friends meet with enough of this. It is bad, more
than bad, when the offence of the cross ceaseth. This cannot be,
till we cease to be crucified to the world, and the world ceases
to be crucified unto us: and, when that is the case, things are
very bad.”
Four days after this, Whitefield wrote his last letter to Charles
Wesley, a letter breathing with the love of a warm-hearted friendship
of more than thirty years’ continuance. It shall be given in its
entirety:――
“BETHESDA, _January 15, 1770_.
“MY VERY DEAR OLD FRIEND,――I wrote to your honoured brother
from on board ship. Since then what wonders have I seen! what
innumerable mercies have I received!――a long, trying, but, I
humbly hope, profitable passage.
“My poor, feeble labours were owned in Charleston; and
everything is more than promising in Georgia. The increase of
this once so much despised colony is indescribable. Good, I
trust, is doing at Savannah, and Bethesda is like to blossom
as the rose; the situation most delightful, very salubrious,
and everything excellently adapted for the intended purpose.
All admire the goodness, strength, and beauty of the late
improvements. In a few months, the intended plan, I hope, will
be completed, and a solid, lasting foundation laid for the
support and education of many as yet unborn. Nothing is wanted
but a judicious and moderately learned single-hearted master.
Surely the glorious Emmanuel will point out one in His own due
time. Do pray. I am sure, prayers put up above thirty years ago
are now being answered; and, I am persuaded, we shall yet see
greater things than these. Who would have thought that such
a worthless creature as this letter-writer should live to be
fifty-five years old? I can only sit down and cry, ‘What hath
God wrought!’ My bodily health is much improved, and my soul is
on the wing for another gospel range.
“You and all your connexions will not cease to pray for me. I
would fain begin to do something for my God. My heart’s desire
and incessant prayer to the God of my life is, that the word of
the Lord may prosper in your hands, and run and be glorified
more and more. O to work while it is day! O to be found on the
full stretch for Him who was stretched, and who groaned, and
bled, and died for us! Unutterable love! I am lost in wonder and
amazement, and, therefore, although with regret, I must hasten
to subscribe myself, my very dear sir, less than the least of
all,
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.
“P.S. Cordial love awaits your whole self, and enquiring friends,
and all that love the ever-living, altogether-lovely Jesus
in sincerity. I hope to write to your honoured brother soon.
Brethren, pray for us.”[644]
Sunday, January 28, was a remarkable day in the history of Bethesda.
James Wright, Esq. (created a baronet in 1772), Governor of Georgia,
the Council of Georgia, the House of Assembly with their president,
James Habersham, Esq., and a large number of colonists, assembled at
Whitefield’s Orphan House, for the purpose indicated in the following
extract from the Journals of the House of Assembly:――
“COMMONS HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, _January 29, 1770_.
“Mr. Speaker reported, that he, with the House, having waited
on the Reverend Mr. Whitefield, in consequence of his invitation,
at the Orphan House Academy, heard him preach a very suitable
and pious sermon on the occasion; and, with great pleasure,
observed the promising appearance of improvement towards
the good purposes intended, and the decency and propriety of
behaviour of the several residents there; and were sensibly
affected, when they saw the happy success which has attended
Mr. Whitefield’s indefatigable zeal for promoting the welfare of
the province in general, and the Orphan House in particular.
“Ordered, that this report be printed in the _Gazette_.
“JOHN SIMPSON, Clerk.”
The article printed in the _Georgia Gazette_, and which Gillies gives
in his “Life of Whitefield,” states, among other things, that “the two
additional wings for apartments for students were a hundred and fifty
feet each in length, and were in a state of forwardness.” Instead,
however, of inserting here the official announcement of the Georgian
Legislature, a letter, written the day after the rulers of the Province
assembled at Bethesda, is introduced, as containing the same facts, but
in greater detail. It was addressed to a friend in London:――
“SAVANNAH, _January 29, 1770, Monday morning_.
“You would have been pleased to have been at the Orphan House
Academy yesterday, where his Excellency our Governor, the Hon.
the Council, and the Commons House of Assembly, were agreeably
entertained in consequence of an invitation given them by the
Founder, the Rev. Mr. Whitefield. Everything was conducted
with much decency and order. His Excellency was received at
the bottom door by the officers, orphans, and other domestics;
and was then escorted upstairs by Mr. Whitefield, through a
gallery near sixty feet long, into a large room thirty feet in
length, with six windows, canvassed and made ready for blue paper
hangings. In a room of the same extent over against it (intended
for the library, and in which a considerable number of books is
already deposited), was prepared, on a long table and adjacent
sideboard, cold tongue, ham, tea, etc., for the gentlemen to
refresh themselves with, after their ten miles’ ride, from
Savannah. Between eleven and twelve, the bell rung for public
worship. A procession was formed in the long gallery, and moved
forward to the chapel in the following order: The orphans, in
round, black, flat caps, and black gowns; the chaplain in his
gown; the workmen and assistants; the steward and superintendent,
with their white wands; the clerk of the chapel; the Founder
in his university square cap, with the Rev. Mr. Ellington, now
missionary at Augusta, and designed to be chaplain, and teacher
of English and elocution at the Orphan House Academy; then his
Excellency, followed by his Council and the Chief Justice; then
the Speaker, succeeded by the other Commons, and a number of
gentlemen and strangers, among whom were the Governor’s two sons.
As the procession moved along, the clerk of the chapel began
a doxology, the singing of which was harmonious and striking.
At the chapel door, the orphans, officers, and domestics broke
into ranks on the right hand and the left; and, as his Excellency
with his train went up the chapel stairs, the orphans sang,――
‘Live by heaven and earth ador’d,
Three in One, and One in Three,
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
All glory be to Thee!’
“The Governor being seated fronting the chapel door, in a great
chair, with tapestry hangings behind, and a covered desk before
him, divine service began. Mr. Ellington read prayers; and then
Mr. Whitefield enlarged, for about three-quarters of an hour, on
‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house;
his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the
Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the
day of small things?’ (Zech. iv. 9, 10.) His whole paraphrase
was pertinent and affecting; but when he came to give us an
account of the small beginnings of our now flourishing Province,
of which he was an eye-witness; and also of the trials and
hardships, obloquy and contempt, he had undergone in maintaining,
for so long a term, such a numerous orphan family, in such
a desert; as well as the remarkable supports and providences
that had attended him in laying the foundation, and raising
the superstructure of the Orphan House Academy to its present
promising height; especially when he came to address his
Excellency, the Council, Speaker, etc., etc.,――the whole
auditory seemed to be deeply affected; and his own heart seemed
too big to speak, and unable to give itself proper vent. Sermon
being ended, all returned in the same manner as they came, the
clerk, orphans, etc., singing as they walked,――
‘This God is the God we adore,
Our faithful, unchangeable friend,
Whose love is as large as His power,
And neither knows measure nor end.
’Tis Jesus, the first and the last,
Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home;
We’ll praise Him for all that is past,
And trust Him for all that’s to come.’
“In about half an hour the bell rung for dinner. All went
down, in order, to a large dining room, intended hereafter for
academical exercises. It is forty feet long, with eight sash
windows, and the Founder’s picture, at full length, at the upper
end. Two tables, the one long and the other oval, were well
covered with a proper variety of plain and well-dressed dishes.
After dinner, two toasts were given by his Excellency, viz.,
‘The King,’ and ‘Success to the Orphan House College.’ The whole
company broke up, and went away, in their several carriages,
about five in the afternoon. One thing gave me particular
pleasure: when the Governor drank ‘The King,’ Mr. Whitefield
added, ‘And let all the people say, Amen;’ upon which a loud
amen was repeated from one end of the room to the other.
“Upon the whole, all seemed most surprisingly pleased with their
spiritual and bodily entertainment, as well as with the elegance,
firmness, and dispatch of the late repairs, and additional
buildings and improvements. The situation is most salubrious and
inviting; the air free and open; and a salt-water creek, which
will bring up a large schooner east and west, ebbs and flows
at a small distance from the house. I suppose there might be
above twenty carriages, besides horsemen; and there would have
been as many more, had not the invitation been confined, by way
of compliment, to the Governor, Council, and Commons House of
Assembly. A strange sight this, in the once despised, deserted
Province of Georgia, where, as Mr. Whitefield told us in his
discourse, about thirty years ago, scarce any person of property
lived; and lands, which now sell for £3 an acre, might have been
purchased almost for threepence.
“But I must have done. Excuse me for being so prolix.
Yesterday’s scene so lies before me, that, to tell you the truth,
I wanted to vent my feelings. If Mr. Whitefield intends, as I
am informed he does, to give a more general invitation to the
gentlemen in and about Savannah, I will endeavour to be amongst
them. Accept this hasty scribble (as I hear the ship sails
to-morrow), as a mark of my being, dear sir, your obliged friend
and servant.”
The “more general invitation,” mentioned at the close of this long
letter, was issued. Hence the following extract from the _Georgia
Gazette_:――
“Bethesda, January 29, 1770. A more particular application
being impracticable, the Rev. Mr. Whitefield takes this method
of begging the favour of the company of as many gentlemen and
captains of ships in and about Savannah, as it may suit to
accept this invitation, to dine with him at the Orphan House
Academy next Sunday. Public service to begin exactly at eleven
o’clock.
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”
Of this second assembly at Bethesda, no record now exists. Bethesda
was ten miles from Savannah, a considerable distance for the rulers
and legislators of Georgia to travel. They all went by Whitefield’s own
invitation. They gratefully acknowledged the great service which he had
rendered, not only to the Orphan House in particular, but to Georgia in
general. They had “a handsome and plentiful dinner.” This could hardly
be avoided, considering the distance the company had travelled; but
the entertainment would have been more appropriate on a weekday than
on a Sunday.[645] The new buildings were in a state of forwardness,
and were tasteful, and well executed. Whitefield’s sermon was “suitable
and pious.” And the behaviour of the Orphan House inmates was decent
and proper. Perhaps, the official reports of the Assembly and of the
_Gazette_ of Georgia were, in some respects, more eulogistic than they
should have been. At all events, Whitefield’s _Sunday_ entertainment,
his orphans, and Mr. Wright, the architect and builder of his
additional accommodations, were unfavourably regarded by certain of his
friends in England. Berridge, often his honest and hearty assistant at
Tottenham Court Road, in a letter to the Countess of Huntingdon, dated
May, 1771, observed:――
“Cornelius Winter, who went to Georgia with Mr. Whitefield,
says there are but few orphans in the House, and no symptoms of
grace in any. Mr. Wright has the management of the whole house,
and seems neither to have zeal nor grace enough for the work.
Mr. Whitefield made a sumptuous feast on a Sunday, for all the
better-dressed people, intending to renew this every year by
way of commemoration; but I hope you will put a stop to this
_guttling_ business. I wish the Orphan House may not soon become
a mere blue-coat hospital and grammar school. If Mr. Fletcher
would go to Georgia for a year, things might be on a better
footing. I never could relish Mr. Wright; he seems a mere
cabinet-maker, without godliness.”[646]
Berridge was dissatisfied; but it is only fair to add, that, when
he thus wrote to Lady Huntingdon, he was looking at things through
the spectacles of young Cornelius Winter, and that Winter was
disappointed and soured because Whitefield had not done all he wished
in endeavouring to obtain for him episcopal ordination.
Whitefield’s sermon on this memorable Sunday was one of his best;
but want of space prevents the insertion of lengthened extracts. He
expressed the opinion that the colonies in America were likely to
become “one of the most opulent and powerful empires in the world.” He
told his congregation that, when he first came to Georgia, “the whole
country almost was left desolate, and the metropolis, Savannah, was but
like a cottage in a vineyard, or as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers.”
He reminded them that it had been reported to the House of Commons,
that “the very existence of the colony was, in a great measure, if not
totally, owing to the building and supporting of the Orphan House.”
One peculiar feature of his sermon was his addressing personally
and severally the different sections of his congregation. “I dare
not conclude,” said he, “without offering to your Excellency our
pepper-corn of acknowledgment for the countenance you have always shewn
Bethesda, and for the honour you did us last year in laying the first
brick of yonder wings: in thus doing, you have honoured Bethesda’s
God.” Then turning to his old friend Habersham, now President of the
Upper House of Assembly, Whitefield said: “Next to his Excellency,
my dear Mr. President, I must beg your acceptance both of thanks and
congratulation. For you were not only my dear familiar friend, and
first fellow-traveller in this infant province, but you were directed
by Providence to this spot; you laid the second brick of this house;
and watched, prayed, and wrought for the family’s good. You were a
witness of innumerable trials, and were the partner of my joys and
griefs. You will have now the pleasure of seeing the Orphan House a
fruitful bough, its branches running over the wall. For this, no doubt,
God has smiled upon and blessed you, in a manner we could not expect,
much less design. May He continue to bless you with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! Look to the rock from
whence you have been hewn; and may your children never be ashamed
that their father married a real Christian, who was born again under
this roof!” Whitefield then proceeded to address the “Gentlemen of
his Majesty’s Council,” and the “Speaker and Members of the General
Assembly,” and, finally, his “Reverend Brethren,” and “the inhabitants
of the colony” in general.
After his sermon, a speech was delivered by one of Whitefield’s
orphans;[647] then came the “handsome and plentiful dinner;” and so
ended the proceedings of the memorable Sunday at Bethesda, January 28,
1770.
Five days after this, Whitefield and his manager, Thomas Dixon,
appeared “before the Honourable Noble Jones, Esq., Senior Assistant
Justice for the Province of Georgia,” for the purpose of being sworn
that the Orphan-house accounts, from February 9, 1765, to the present
date, and which amounted on the debit side to £2,548 17s. 0½d., and on
the credit side to £1,313 19s. 6¾d., “contained, to the best of their
knowledge, a just and true statement of all the monies received and
expended during this period. The accounts thus presented were handed to
James Edward Powell and Grey Elliot, members of his Majesty’s Council
for Georgia, who, after carefully examining them, swore, before Noble
Jones, that they were perfectly correct; and added:――