appeared in the _General Advertiser_:――
“Edinburgh, September 15. Yesterday, arrived here from
London the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, who has lately
returned from the West Indies. He is to preach this
afternoon in the Orphan Hospital Park, where a tent was
erected this morning for that purpose.”
“Edinburgh, September 26. Mr. Whitefield has preached
every day, since his arrival, in the Orphan Park, to
numerous auditories; and yesterday afternoon, in the
Tolbooth Kirk. He set out this morning for Glasgow.”
The _Scots’ Magazine_ supplies further information; namely,
that Whitefield made collections for the Orphan Hospital;
that, on his arrival at Glasgow, he preached every day at
the Gorbals, the magistrates having refused him the use
of the high-church yard; that he also preached in several
churches in and about Glasgow, and at Falkirk; that, after
his return to Edinburgh, he preached at Fife; that his
farewell sermon was delivered in the Orphan Hospital Park
on October 26; and that the next day he set out for London.
203 – Gillies’ “Memoirs of Whitefield.”
204 – “Life of John Erskine, D.D.,” p. 134.
205 – _Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1748, p. 523; and _General
Advertiser_, Nov. 24, 1748.
206 – The meaning is, Whitefield did not make collections for
his Orphan House.
207 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 198.
208 – “Life of Howell Harris,” 1791, p. 196.
209 – “Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 109; and Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 225.
210 – _Gospel Magazine_, 1776, p. 40.
211 – The Rev. E. Paxton Hood, in his recently published “Life
of Dr. Watts,” says, on the authority of Dr. Gibbons, the
story just related “is entirely fictitious.” Dr. Gibbons
published his “Memoirs of Watts,” in 1780, thirty-two
years after Watts’s death. The reader must decide whether
the doctor or the _Gospel Magazine_ of 1776 is the better
authority.
212 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 201.
213 – Ibid., p. 207.
214 – Ibid., p. 201.
215 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 212.
216 – “Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 107.
217 – The following extract from one of Doddridge’s letters
will cast light on this. “Northampton, October 2, 1748.
The spread of Moravianism has infected several weak, but
affectionate people of my flock, and now appears, in spite
of long dissembling, to have effected rank Antinomianism
in principle, joined with a contempt of almost all
external ordinances, and an entire alienation of affection
from me, though among persons who have always had great
reason to love me.” (Doddridge’s Diary and Correspondence,
vol. v., p. 78.)
218 – Doddridge was now completing his “Family Expositor.”
219 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 220.
220 – Gillies’ “Memoirs of Whitefield.”
221 – “Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 105.
222 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., pp. 220, 224.
223 – It is somewhat strange that this is not mentioned in
Wesley’s Journal.
224 – Dr. Gibbons was a very learned and able man. His degree
of Doctor of Divinity was conferred by the University of
Aberdeen, in 1764, when he was one of the tutors of the
Dissenting Academy at Mile-End. He was a voluminous author,
his different publications being forty-six in number. He
died in 1785, and was buried in Bunhill Fields. (Wilson’s
“History of Dissenting Churches.”)
225 – “Life and Times of Countess of ♦Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 112.
226 – “Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 98.
227 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 229.
228 – Ibid., p. 230.
229 – Ibid., p. 231.
230 – Whitefield’s home, at Plymouth, during this and every
subsequent visit, was the house of Andrew Kinsman. Mr.
Kinsman was now in the twenty-fifth year of his age. Seven
years ago, he had been converted by reading Whitefield’s
sermons. In 1745, he was married to Miss Tiley, another
of Whitefield’s converts. He and his wife gave the piece
of ground, at Plymouth, on which the Tabernacle was built,
and also contributed generously towards the erection of
that edifice. In 1750, Kinsman began to preach out of
doors, at Plymouth Dock, and was subjected to the most
violent persecutions. Sometimes, he was surrounded by
eight or nine military drums, to drown his voice; and
often he had to flee for his life. After this, he became
an _itinerant_, and preached with great acceptance in
Bristol, London, and elsewhere. At the Tabernacle, London,
Shuter, the celebrated comedian, was one of his hearers,
and was deeply affected by his ministry. In 1763, he was
ordained as the pastor of the Society at Plymouth Dock,
to which he henceforth chiefly confined his labours, with
the exception of visits to London and Bristol. He died,
in 1793, aged sixty-eight. (_Evangelical Magazine_, 1793,
pp. 45–60.)
231 – C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. ii., p. 53.
232 – Just about the time when this was written, Wesley,
Grimshaw, and Thomas Colbeck were in the utmost danger of
being murdered, at Roughlee, by a drunken mob, raised and
encouraged by this same clerical Mr. White. (See Wesley’s
Journal.)
233 – White’s sermon, with its dedicatory letter, addressed to
the Archbishop of Canterbury, was printed at Preston.
234 – Just at this time, another hostile pamphlet was published,
not far from Colne: “A brief description of the Methodists;
and a confutation of their dangerous principles. By John
Sladdin, of Ovenden, near Halifax, a Layman. York: printed
by Cæsar Ward; and sold by all the distributors of the
_York Courant_. 1749.” (12mo. 16 pp.) The following is
a brief specimen of Mr. Sladdin’s style and sentiments:
“Though, before they fancied themselves to have been
converted, the Methodists were openly lewd and profane,
would swear and be drunk, and wallow in sensuality
and voluptuousness, yet they might have a few amiable
qualities; perhaps they were courteous, affable, kind,
obliging, and faithful in their promises. But now, alas!
by passing through those dismal stages of conversion, they
have contracted such a mass of melancholy humours as hath
quite soured their formerly sweet and engaging tempers
into pride and envy, peevishness and faction, insolence
and censoriousness. Nothing now will satisfy them but
heats of fancy and transports of passion. Whilst they
should be attending to the sober dictates of Scripture and
right reason, they are looking for _incomes_, _impulses_,
and secret _manifestations_; and are apt to interpret
every odd whimsy for an innate whisper from heaven, and
every brisk emotion of their spirits for a smile of God’s
countenance. Go, ye proud wretches, you that have swelled
yourselves with conceit――you who, like a company of
bladders, are blown up with your own breath, and swell and
look big, and yet have nothing but wind within you; go,
bring forth fruits meet for repentance, and let people see
you grow more humble and lowly in your opinions.”
235 – Methodist preaching was begun, in this neighbourhood, in
the year 1746, by John Cennick, Thomas Adams, and other
“assistants” of Whitefield. A Society was formed, chiefly
consisting of members of the Rev. Mr. Williams’s church
at Gosport, and of the Rev. Mr. Norman’s at Portsmouth.
In 1754, they erected Portsmouth “Tabernacle.” (Seymour’s
“Memoirs of Whitefield.”)
236 – He was expecting her arrival from America.
237 – Whitefield’s Sunday congregation at Haverfordwest was
estimated at nearly twenty thousand. (Whitefield’s Works,
vol. ii., p. 264.)
238 – Her ladyship was at Bristol for the benefit of her health,
and had apartments in the house of Whitefield’s brother.
She was also begging money towards the erection of Bristol
Tabernacle. (“Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,”
vol. ii., pp. 378–380; and Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii.,
p. 258.)
239 – Hodge’s “History of the Presbyterian Church in America,”
part ii., p. 241.
240 – “Memoirs of Franklin,” vol. i., p. 185.
241 – Franklin’s wife was a Miss Read, before he married her.
242 – _Evangelical Magazine_, 1803, p. 28.
243 – “Life of Rev. Robert Robinson,” p. 18.
244 – Both the Wesleys were now in Bristol, and they, Whitefield,
and Howell Harris had a conference. Hence, the following
from Charles Wesley’s Journal:――“1749, August 3. Our
conference this week with Mr. Whitefield and Mr. Harris
came to nought; I think through their fleeing off.”
Was this another attempt to amalgamate Wesley’s and
Whitefield’s Societies?
245 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 269.
246 – Ibid., p. 272.
247 – The Rev. Mr. Thompson was rector of St. Gennys, near
Camelford, in Cornwall. After being educated at Exeter
College, Oxford, he became chaplain to the _Tiger_
man-of-war, in which he went to America. On his return
to England, he succeeded to a family estate of about £500
a year, and settled at St. Gennys. Though not an “Oxford
Methodist,” he preached the doctrines of the Methodists,
and was ardently attached to their leaders. He was an
intimate friend of Hervey, who dedicated to Mr. Thompson’s
eldest daughter the first volume of his “Meditations.”
Mr. Thompson was a man of considerable genius, and is said
to have been the author of a volume of religious poems,
which were published anonymously. He died in 1781. (“Life
and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon.”)
248 – For Haime’s own account of his success at Shaftesbury, and
his unjust imprisonment, see the _Arminian Magazine_ for
1780, p. 308. He was one of the best of Wesley’s martial
preachers.
249 – Whitefield, Howell Harris, and others held an
“Association” in London, on September 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7.
(See “Life and Times of Howell Harris,” p. 115.)
250 – At Dublin, they had made a contract _de præsenti_, to
which Wesley attached great importance, and not without
reason. “Any contract made, _per verba de præsenti_, was,
before the time of George II., so far a valid marriage,
that the parties might be _compelled_, in the spiritual
courts, to celebrate it _in facie ecclesiæ_:” (“The
Student’s Blackstone,” by Robert Malcolm Kerr, LL.D.,
p. 103.)
251 – C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. ii., p. 178.
252 – Tradition says, that when Whitefield preached at Birstal,
his voice was heard on Staincliffe Hill, a mile and a half
from where he stood, crying, “O earth, earth, earth, hear
the word of the Lord!” (Gledstone’s “Life and Travels of
George Whitefield.”)
253 – John Wesley’s Journal.
254 – Ibid.
255 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 264.
256 – “Life of Howell Harris,” p. 200.
257 – Whitefield calls him “captain;” but, if not now, he soon
afterwards was colonel.
258 – Wesley’s Works, vol. iii., p. 406.
259 – For further details, see “Life and Times of Wesley,”
vol. ii., pp. 37–39.
260 – John Haughton, one of Wesley’s brave itinerants, who
afterwards became an ordained clergyman of the Church
of England. (Myles’s “Chronological History of the
Methodists.”)
♦261 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 120.
262 – _Arminian Magazine_, 1779, p. 375.
263 – Lady Chesterfield was a natural daughter of King George
the First, and therefore half-sister to his present
Majesty George the Second. Her mother was Melosina de
Schulenberg, Duchess of Kendal. (“Life and Times of the
Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i., p. 462)
264 – Wesley’s Journal.
♦265 – James Hutton’s “Memoirs.”
266 – The letter was _franked_ by Martin Madan.
267 – _Wesleyan Methodist Magazine_, 1875, p. 643.
268 – “Memoirs of Oglethorpe,” pp. 370, 371.
269 – Three years after this, Mr. Pearsall published his
“Contemplations on the Ocean, Harvest, Sickness, and the
Last Judgment” (12mo. 220 pp.),――a work written in the
same style as Hervey’s “Meditations.”
270 – Sixty-three years after this, the life of Darracott was
published, with the title, “The Star of the West; being
Memoirs of the Life of Risdon Darracott. By James Bennett.”
(12mo. 172 pp.)
271 – The meeting-house built for Whitefield in 1740.
272 – Mr. Bennet, of Tresmere, a warm-hearted friend of the
Methodists, and who had been an acquaintance of Wesley’s
father, the Rector of Epworth. (Charles Wesley’s Journal,
vol. i., p. 369.)
273 – The preacher here resuming his “old armour” was probably
one of the two mentioned in the following extract from
Charles Wesley’s Journal:――
“1743. Sunday, July 17. At St. Ives, I heard the rector
preach from Matt. v. 20. His application was downright
railing at the new sect――those enemies to the Church,
seducers, troublers, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,
etc. At Wednock, Mr. Hoblin, the curate, entertained us
with a curious discourse on ‘Beware of false prophets.’ I
stood up over against him, within two yards of the pulpit,
and heard such a hodge podge of railing, foolish lies, as
Satan himself might have been ashamed of.” For an account
of the horrible persecutions at St. Ives, see the “Life
and Times of Wesley.” In those days, it required a bold
heart for a Methodist to attempt to preach in this part
of the peaceful fold of Bishop Lavington.
274 – James Hervey, the Oxford Methodist, had been curate here.
275 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 140.
276 – The Rev. Aaron Burr was now thirty-six years of age. He
had graduated at Yale College, and had been the pastor
of the Presbyterian Church at Newark, in New Jersey. He
died in 1757, aged forty-three. He married a daughter of
the celebrated Jonathan Edwards; and his son, Aaron Burr,
became vice-president of the United States. The College at
Princeton was greatly indebted to its first president.
277 – Thomas Hartley, M.A., was rector of Winwick, in
Northamptonshire. He was a man of great ability, an
earnest Christian, a millenarian, and a mystic. His
“Paradise Restored” is one of the ablest books, respecting
the millennium, in the English language, and deserves
attention.
278 – It was about this period that John Thorpe was converted.
Thorpe was a young man of twenty, and a most virulent
opposer of the Methodists. In a public-house, he and his
convivial companions, for a wager, agreed to mimic the
preaching of Whitefield, the Wesleys, and others. Each
performer was to open the Bible, and hold forth from
the first text that met his eye. After three, in their
turn, had mounted the table, and exhausted their stock of
buffoonery, it devolved on Thorpe to close the irreverent
scene. “I shall beat you all,” he said, as he ascended the
table. He opened the Bible, and the text his eye fell upon
was, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Conviction of sin at once seized him, and he proceeded to
preach a sermon, not in banter, but with the most serious
earnestness. When he left the table, not a syllable was
uttered concerning the wager. Profound silence pervaded
the company. Thorpe immediately went home. This was his
last bacchanalial revel. He soon joined Wesley’s Society,
at Rotherham. In 1752, he became one of Wesley’s itinerant
preachers, and continued to act as such for twelve years
afterwards. He then turned Calvinist. The Rotherham
Society was rent in twain. The seceders formed themselves
into a Dissenting Church. Thorpe became their minister;
and, in 1776, died, “the pastor of the Independent Church
at Masborough.” (_Evangelical Magazine_, 1794, pp. 45–50.)
279 – William Green, a schoolmaster, was the principal Methodist
at Rotherham. His house was the preachers’ home. On one
occasion, the mob caught William by the hair of his head,
and dragged him through the streets. On another, he was
hunted by hounds, and escaped by climbing a tree, and
hiding himself among its foliage. (Everett’s “Methodism in
Sheffield,” pp. 84–86.)
280 – Charles Wesley, under the date of “July 16, 1751,” writes:
“The door at Sheffield has continued open ever since Mr.
Whitefield preached here, and quite removed the prejudices
of our first opposers. Some of them were convinced by him,
some converted, and added to the Church.” (C. Wesley’s
Journal.)
281 – Methodism in Manchester was begun in 1747, when a few
young men formed themselves into a Society, and hired a
garret in which to hold their services. Christopher Hopper
speaks of preaching in this attic meeting-house, in 1749,
when his “congregation consisted of not more than from
twenty to thirty persons.”
282 – Wesley and his preachers had encountered violent
persecutions at Bolton. (See “Life and Times of Wesley.”)
♦283 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon.”
284 – Wesley had been in Ireland since April 7th. At Cork, the
mayor, the town drummers, and his serjeants, followed by
an innumerable mob, had marched to Wesley’s meeting-house.
The rabble pelted Wesley with whatever came to hand. Many
of the congregation were roughly handled. All the seats
and benches of the chapel, the floor, the door, and the
frames of the windows, were burnt. The mob patrolled
the streets, abusing all who were called Methodists. The
windows of Mr. Stockdale’s house were smashed to atoms.
At length, the soldiers appeared, and the mayor and his
myrmidons turned cowards.
285 – _Scots’ Magazine_, 1750, p. 302.
286 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 186.
287 – _Scots’ Magazine_, 1750, p. 348.
288 – Ibid.
289 – Ibid.
290 – “The Oxford Methodist,” p. 260.
291 – Hervey’s Letters.
292 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 164.
293 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 163.
294 – The letter was probably addressed to Robert Swindells,
against whom the notorious grand jury at Cork, in 1749,
made a presentment, and prayed for his transportation.
For more than forty years, Robert Swindells was one of
Wesley’s itinerant preachers. “He died,” says Atmore, in
his “Methodist Memorial,” “in 1783, full of days, riches,
and honour.” Wesley writes: “In all those years, I never
knew him to speak a word which he did not mean; and he
always spoke the truth in love. One thing he had almost
peculiar to himself,――he had no enemy.”
295 – The Duke of Somerset, who died in 1748, entertained a high
opinion of Mr. Browne. When his grace was not able to lead
the prayers of his family himself, he was accustomed to
employ the poet as his chaplain. (“Life and Times of the
Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i., p. 127.)
296 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 167.
297 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 406.
298 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 410.
299 – The reference here is not to anything done by Wesley, as
Southey and Philip imagined, but to the fact that, during
the previous year, an immense amount of mischief had been
effected by an infamous man, named Roger Ball, who had
gained access to the pulpits of the Methodists, and had
even been domiciled as a member of Wesley’s Dublin family.
The man was an Antinomian of the worst description, a
crafty debauchee, full of deceit, and teaching the most
dangerous errors. (See “Life and Times of Wesley.”)
300 – Wesley’s Journals.
301 – Kindly supplied by Mr. Stampe, of Grimsby.
302 – The _Scots’ Magazine_ for 1751 (p. 356) says: “Mr. George
Whitefield arrived at Glasgow, from Ireland, July 10th;
preached there some days, and came to Edinburgh on the
18th, where he preached generally twice a day in the
Orphan Hospital Park. He set out for England on the 6th
of August.”
303 – Doddridge’s Diary and Correspondence, vol. v., p. 217.
304 – Wesley had just published his “Serious Thoughts upon the
Perseverance of the Saints.” (12mo. 24 pp.)
305 – See Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 462.
306 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 453.
307 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 438.
308 – Gillies’ “Memoirs of Whitefield.”
309 – The _Scots’ Magazine_ for 1752 (pp. 414 and 462), says:
“Mr. George Whitefield arrived at Edinburgh on September
2nd, and preached, morning and evening, every day, in
the Orphan Hospital Park. He made a tour to the west on
September 27th; returned to Edinburgh, October 5th; and,
on the 10th, set out for England.”
310 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. ii.,
p. 152.
311 – “Life and Times of Wesley,” vol. ii., p. 138.
312 – Both were now in London.
313 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 477.
314 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 203.
315 – The Rev. W. Grigsby, the present minister of the _third_
Tabernacle, writes: “June 13, 1876. The only thing,
besides the name and memory of Whitefield, at the
Tabernacle, is the pulpit in which he preached; which,
when the old place was taken down, was transferred to the
new one, unaltered in form or size, but not in outward
appearance.”
316 – The new plantation at Bethesda.
317 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 194.
318 – “Life of Charles Wesley,” vol. ii., p. 19.
319 – The French Church, in Grey Eagle Street, Spitalfields, of
which Wesley had taken possession in 1750. It stood where
the brewery of Truman, Buxton, and Hanbury stands now.
320 – “Life and Times of Wesley,” vol. ii., pp. 121–126.
321 – Hutton’s Memoirs, pp. 579, 580.
322 – Rimius’s “Supplement to the Candid Narrative,” etc.,
pp. 93–96.
323 – The story was, that Mr. William Bell was one of the
Moravian financial agents, and that, in order to revive
his “drooping spirits,” in reference to the Moravian debts,
Bohler requested him to come to his house in “Nevil’s
Alley, Fetter Lane.” After much persuasion, Bell came,
and “was introduced into a hall, where was placed an
artificial mountain, which, upon singing a particular
verse, was made to fall down; and then, behind it, was
discovered an illumination, representing Jesus Christ
and Mr. Bell, sitting near each other, while, out of the
clouds, was represented plenty of money falling round
about them.” It is notable that Bohler, in his letter,
does not deny the actual occurrence of the “artificial
mountain scene.”
324 – Rimius’s quotation from Zinzendorf’s book was, “The
_Economists_ of the Society may say to a rich young man,
‘Either give us all thou hast, or get thee gone.’”
325 – Hutton’s Memoirs, pp. 304–306.
326 – In 1755, Zinzendorf and James Hutton, his editor,
published in two parts, making together more than 200
octavo pages, an amusing, but extremely foolish, answer
to the accusations brought against the Moravians by
Whitefield and others. The following was the confused
title, punctuation and italics not excepted:――“An
Exposition, or True State, of the Matters objected to
in _England_ to the People known by the name of _Unitas
Fratrum_: In which, _Facts_ are related as they are;
the true _Readings_ and sense of _Books_, said to be his,
(which have been laid to his Charge sometimes without
sufficient Proof that they were so, and been moreover
perverted and curtailed) are restored; _Principles_
are laid down as they ought, fairly; the _Practice_,
as it has been, is at present, and is intended for the
future, is owned. By the _Ordinary_ of the Brethren. The
_Notes_ and _Additions_, by the _Editor_. London: printed
for J. Robinson, in Ludgate Street. 1755.” This was an
odd production; but no good end would be answered by
quotations from it.
327 – Under the date of “November 3, 1753,” Wesley wrote: “I
read Andrew Frey’s Reasons for leaving the Brethren. Most
of what he says, I knew before; yet I cannot speak of them
in the manner in which he does: I pity them too much to be
bitter against them.”
328 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. iii., p. 16.
329 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 203.
330 – Benjamin Rhodes, now a boy of eleven years of age, but
afterwards one of the best of Wesley’s itinerant preachers,
was present at Birstal. He writes: “I went with my father
to Birstal to hear Mr. Whitefield. I found my soul deeply
affected under the word. At first, I had a kind of terror;
but, before the sermon was ended, my heart was melted into
tenderness, and sweetly drawn after God.” (_Arminian
Magazine_, 1779, p. 358.)
331 – No doubt Wesley’s old chapel, the Orphan House.