Delegation of the Missionaries--JOHN WESLEY stationed at Savannah--Has
a conference with Tomo Chichi--His Preaching deemed personal in its
applications--He becomes unpopular--Meets with persecution--Leaves the
Province and returns to England--CHARLES WESLEY attends Oglethorpe
to Frederica--Finds himself unpleasantly situated--Furnished with
despatches for the Trustees, he sets out for Charlestown, and thence
takes passage for England--By stress of weather the Vessel driven off
its course--Puts in at Boston, New England--His reception there--Sails
thence for England--After a perilous voyage arrives--BENJAMIN INGHAM
also at Frederica--Goes to Savannah to apprize John Wesley of the
sickness of his brother--Resides among the Creeks in order to
learn their language--Returns to England--CHARLES DELAMOTTE at
Savannah--Keeps a School--Is much respected--GEORGE WHITEFIELD
comes to Savannah--His reception--Visits Tomo Chichi, who was
sick--Ministerial labors--Visits the Saltzburgers--Pleased with their
provision for Orphan Children--Visits Frederica and the adjacent
Settlements--Returns to England--Makes a second voyage to Georgia, and
takes efficient measures for the erection of an Orphan House.
In order to show circumstantially the progress of colonization, by
following Oglethorpe with his new and large accession of emigrants and
military forces to their destined places of settlement on the borders
of the Alatamaha and the southern islands, all mention of the
reception and treatment of the Wesleys, whom he had brought over as
religious missionaries, has been deferred. The relation is introduced
now, as a kind of episode.
The delegation of these pious evangelists was encouraged by flattering
suggestions, and acceded to with the most raised expectations; and
its objects were pursued by them with untiring zeal and unsparing
self-devotedness, through continual hindrances. The opposition which
they met was encountered with "all long-suffering and patience;" but
their best efforts were unavailing; "and their mission closed, too
speedily, in saddened disappointment."
I. JOHN WESLEY, though stationed at Savannah, did not consider himself
so much a Minister to the inhabitants as a missionary to the Indians.
Whenever he mentioned his uneasiness at being obstructed in his
main design, he was answered "You cannot leave Savannah without a
Minister." To this he rejoined, "My plain answer is, I know not that
I am under any obligations to the contrary. I never promised to stay
here one month. I openly declared, both before, and ever since my
coming hither, that I neither would nor could take charge of the
English any longer than till I could go among the Indians." It was
rejoined, "But did not the Trustees of Georgia appoint you to be
Minister at Savannah?" He replied, "They did; but it was done without
either my desire or knowledge. Therefore I cannot conceive that that
appointment could lay me under any obligation of continuing here
longer than till a door is opened to the Heathen; and this I expressly
declared at the time I consented to accept that appointment[1]."
[Footnote 1: _Life of Rev_. JOHN WESLEY, A.M., _in which is included
the Life of his Brother_ CHARLES WESLEY, A.M. _By Rev_. HENRY MOORE.
_Lond_. 1824, 2 vols. 8vo. Vol. I. p. 310.]
Oglethorpe had been so impressed with what he had seen of the natives,
that he had written home that "a door seemed opened for the conversion
of the Indians." These favorable expectations were greatly increased
by the visit to England of Tomo Chichi and his train. They seemed to
be fully authorized by the declarations which were made by them to the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and other clergy; and they appeared to
be put in a train of accomplishment by the interest taken for
facilitating that purpose by the manual of instruction for the Indians
which was preparing by Bishop Wilson. But when Tomo Chichi came
to welcome the Governor on his arrival, and was introduced to the
intended teacher, it appeared that unforeseen obstacles had arisen.
"I am glad you are come," said the Mico, addressing him through the
female interpreter. "When I was in England I desired that some would
speak the great word to me; and our people then desired to hear it;
but now we are all in confusion. The French on one side, and the
Spanish on the other, and the Traders in the midst, have caused us
much perplexity; and made our people unwilling. Their ears are shut.
Their tongues are divided, and some say one thing, and some another.
But I will call together our chiefs, and speak to the wise men of
our nation, and I hope they will hear. But we would not be, made
Christians as the Spaniards make Christians. We would be taught; and
then, when we understand all clearly, be baptized."[1] There was good
sense in this remark. They would be informed of the evidences of the
truth of Christianity, and have its principles and doctrines explained
to them, and its precepts, tendency, and design illustrated; and hence
be enabled to adopt it from conviction. This they would do, when they
were made to understand how it was a divine revelation, and saw its
effects in the life of its professors. But the reply of Wesley was not
simple enough to be comprehended by him. It was this; "There is but
one,--He that sitteth in the heaven,--who is able to teach man wisdom.
Though we are come so far, we know not whether He will please to teach
you by us, or no. If He teaches you, you will learn wisdom; but we can
do nothing." All the inference which the poor Indian could draw from
this was, that he who had come as a religious teacher disclaimed his
own abilities, and referred to a divine Instructer, of whom the Mico
could know nothing as yet, by whom alone the converting knowledge was
to be communicated.
[Footnote 1: Account of the Settlement of the Saltzburg Emigrants at
Ebenezer, in Georgia. By Philip George Frederic von Reck. Hamburgh,
1777. 12mo, p. 7.]
Moreover, he had been an observer of the disposition and conduct of
those who called themselves Christians; and, at another interview with
Wesley, when urged to listen to the doctrines of Christianity, and
become a convert, he keenly replied, "Why these are Christians at
Savannah! Those are Christians at Frederica!" Nor was it without good
reason that he exclaimed, "Christians drunk! Christians beat men!
Christians tell lies! Me no Christian."
Scenawki, however, had more courtesy. She presented the Missionaries
with two large jars of honey, and one of milk; and invited them
to come up to Yamacraw, and teach the children, saying, the honey
represented the inclination of the people there, and the milk the
need of their children. What a beautiful illustration of the mode of
teaching practised by the Apostle! "I have fed you with milk, and not
with meat;" adapting the instruction to the capacity of those to whom
it was imparted, and "as they were able to receive it," could properly
digest it, "and be nourished thereby."
Other conferences effected little; and as Mrs. Musgrove did not reside
at Yamacraw, and could not often assist him as an interpreter; and,
perhaps, could not readily make perspicuous in the Indian dialect
what was somewhat more mystical than even his English hearers could
comprehend, his cherished purposes for the conversion of the Indians
seemed to be thwarted. Besides, the condition of the people at
Savannah was such as to require clerical services, and he gave himself
wholly to them.
For some time his labors as a preacher promised to be successful; "and
all would have been well," says Southey, "could he but have remembered
the advice of Dr. Burton." This was contained in a letter addressed to
him a few days before embarking for Georgia. Among other things, this
excellent friend suggested to him that, under the influence of Mr.
Oglethorpe, giving weight to his endeavors, much may be effected in
the present undertaking; and goes on to remark; "With regard to your
behavior and manner of address, these must be determined according to
the different circumstances of persons, &c.; but you will always,
in the use of means, consider the great end; and, therefore, your
applications will of course vary. You will keep in view the pattern of
the Gospel preacher, St. Paul, who 'became all things to all men,
that he might save some.' Here is a nice trial of christian prudence.
Accordingly, in every case you will distinguish between what is
indispensable, and what is variable; between what is divine, and what
is of human authority. I mention this, because men are apt to deceive
themselves in such cases; and we see the traditions and ordinances of
men frequently insisted on with more rigor than the commandments of
God, to which they are subordinate. Singularities of less importance,
are often espoused with more zeal than the weighty matters of God's
law. As in all points we love ourselves, so, especially, in our
hypotheses. Where a man has, as it were, a property in a notion, he is
most industrious to improve it, and that in proportion to the labor
of thought he has bestowed upon it; and, as its value rises in
imagination, he is, in proportion, unwilling to give it up, and dwells
upon it more pertinaciously than upon considerations of general
necessity and use. This is a flattering mistake, against which we
should guard ourselves."
Unmindful of such counsel, the eagerness of Wesley to effect
reformation was pressed too precipitately and carried too far. His
sermons had such direct reference, not only to the state of affairs,
but the conduct of individuals, that they were shrunk from as personal
allusions. His zeal was excessive, and his practice exclusive.[1]
[Footnote 1: Mr. SOUTHEY has this remark--"He was accused of making
his sermons so many satires upon particular persons; and for this
cause his auditors fell off; for though one might have been very well
pleased to hear others preached at, no person liked the chance of
being made the mark himself."--Moreover, "following the rubric, in
opposition to the practice of the English church, he insisted upon
baptizing children by immersion, and refused to baptize them if the
parents did not consent to this rude and perilous method. Some persons
he would not receive as sponsors, because they were not communicants;
and when one of the most pious men in the Colony earnestly desired to
be admitted to the communion, he refused to admit him because he was
a Dissenter, unless he would be rebaptized. And he would not read the
burial service over another for the same reason, or one founded on
the same principle." _Life of_ WESLEY, _by_ ROBERT SOUTHEY, _New York
edition_, 1820. Vol. I. p. 108.--Instances of personal reference
in preaching, and of its alienating effects, are mentioned by Mr.
Stevens, in his Journal, Vol. I. pp. 15, 19, and elsewhere.]
For these and other reasons, and in some respects most unreasonably,
the people at Savannah became prejudiced against him, and so
disaffected that "he perceived that his preaching was not likely to be
attended with beneficial influence. Hence, having in vain sought an
accommodation with his opponents, without in the least relaxing from
the enforcement of his principles, and disappointed in the prime
object of his mission, that of preaching to the Indians, he resolved
to quit the Colony, and return to his native land[1]."
[Footnote 1: _Memoir of the Rev_. John Wesley, prefixed to a volume of
his Sermons, by Samuel Drew, page xvi.]
Another circumstance brought the whole scene of his trials to a
catastrophe. Sophia Hopkins, the niece of Mrs. Causton, wife of Thomas
Causton, Esq., chief magistrate of the place, had been a pupil to him
to learn French, was a professed convert to his ministry, and become a
member of the Church. Her beauty, accomplishments, and manners, were
fascinating; and she appears, by some coquettish advances, to have
won his affections. Delamotte, however, doubting the sincerity of her
pretensions to piety, cautioned his friend Wesley against cherishing a
fond attachment. The Moravian Elders, also, advised him not to think
of a matrimonial connection. In consequence of this, his conduct
towards her became reserved and distant; very naturally, to her
mortification; though her own affections had been preëngaged, for she
soon after married a Mr. Williamson. But a hostile feeling had been
excited against him by her friends, for the manifestation of which an
opportunity was afforded about five months after her marriage. Wesley
having discovered in her conduct several things which he thought
blameworthy, with his wonted ingenuousness, frankly mentioned them
to her; intimating that they were not becoming a participant of the
Lord's Supper. She, in return, became angry. For reasons, therefore,
which he stated to her in a letter, he cautioned her not to come to
the ordinance till she could do it in a reconciled temper.
The storm now broke forth upon him. A complaint was entered to the
magistrates; an indictment filed, and a warrant issued, by which
he was brought before the Recorder, on the charges of Mr.
Williamson,--1st, That he had defamed his wife; and, 2dly, That he had
causelessly repelled her from the Holy Communion. Wesley denied the
first charge; and the second, being wholly ecclesiastical, he would
not acknowledge the authority of the magistrate to decide upon it. He
was, however, told that he must appear before the next court, to be
holden at Savannah, August term, 1737. In the mean time pains were
taken by Mr. Causton to pack and influence the jury. There were
debates and rude management in the court. No pleas of defence were
admitted. The evidence was discordant. Twelve of the grand jurors drew
up a protest against the proceedings. The magistrates, themselves,
after repeated adjournments, could come to no decision; and justice
was not likely to be awarded. Wearied with this litigious prosecution,
Wesley applied to his own case the direction given by our Lord to his
Apostles, "If they persecute thee in one place, flee unto another;"
and, shaking off the dust of his feet as a witness against them, he
fled to Charlestown, South Carolina; whence, on Thursday, the 22d of
December, 1737, he embarked for England. After a pleasant passage, he
landed at Deal, February, 1738, as he remarks, "on the anniversary
festival in Georgia, for Mr. Oglethorpe's landing there." As he
entered the channel, on his return, Mr. Whitefield sailed through it,
on a mission; not to be his coadjutor, as he expected, but, as it
proved, his successor.
II. The situation of CHARLES WESLEY was annoyed by like discomfitures,
and followed by still greater disappointment. He had received the most
flattering accounts of Georgia from the conversation of Oglethorpe,
with whom he had been for some time acquainted; and from the little
book which this gentleman had published. Implicitly confiding in the
high wrought descriptions which had been given him, and indulging
anticipations of a colonization of more than Utopian excellence, he
attended his brother to Georgia, and attached himself to Oglethorpe,
whose warm professions had won him to his service both as Secretary
and Chaplain.
His destination was to the new settlement at Frederica; and there he
arrived, with his patron, on the 9th of March, 1736. The first person
who saluted him, as he stept on shore, was Ingham, his intimate,
confidential, and highly valued friend; who had preceded him thither.
The meeting was truly pleasant; but what he learned from him of the
state of affairs there, and of "the treatment which he had met
for vindicating the sanctity of the Lord's day," was a saddening
indication of the reverse which his cherished anticipations were soon
to meet. He was apprised by it, however, of the necessity of taking
measures for procuring a more sober observance of the Sabbath in
future. Accordingly, as he had been announced to the settlers as their
religious instructer and guide, he spent the remainder of the week in
visits to their families, and in seeking that personal acquaintance
with them, without which, he well knew that general instruction would
be of little use; but, he observes, "with what trembling should I call
this flock mine!" In the evening he read prayers, in the open air;
at which Oglethorpe was present. He observed that the lesson seemed
remarkably adapted to his situation, and that he felt the power of it;
particularly of the passage, "continue instant in prayer, and watch in
the same with thanksgiving; withal praying also for us, that God would
open a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, that I may
make it manifest as I ought to speak."[1]
[Footnote 1: Colossians, IV. 3]
In the public discharge of his duties as a clergyman, he was solemn
and fervent; and his preaching evinced "how forcible are right words."
But in his daily intercourse with this heterogeneous population, he
was not always aware that clerical intimacy should never descend to
familiarity. He overheard rude speeches and gossipping tattle; and was
made acquainted with some domestic bickerings and feuds; and kindly,
though not always discretely, endeavored to check them; but his
mediation was repelled as uncalled-for interference.[1] To use the
words of his biographer, "he attempted the doubly difficult task of
reforming the gross improprieties, and reconciling some of the petty
jealousies and quarrels with each other; in which he effected little
else than making them unite in opposing him, and caballing to get rid
of him in any way."[2] Hence complaints were made to Oglethorpe, who,
instead of discountenancing them decidedly, and vindicating, or at
least upholding him whom he had brought over, and placed in an office
where he ought to have demanded for him a treatment of deference and
respect, himself listened too readily to complaints and invectives,
and suffered them to prejudice him against the truly amiable,
ingenuous, and kind-hearted minister. Instead of putting candid
constructions on well-meant purposes, of cautioning his inexperience,
or giving friendly advice, he treated him with coldness and
neglect.[3] The only apology for this is that suggested by Southey.[4]
"The Governor, who had causes enough to disquiet him, arising from
the precarious state of the Colony, was teased and soured by the
complaints which were perpetually brought against the two brothers,
and soon began to wish that he had brought with him men of more
practicable tempers." In some hours of calmer reflection, however, he
felt the compunctious visitings of conscience, and convinced of the
injustice which he had done to Mr. Wesley, "in the most solemn manner
he professed to him his regret for his unkind usage; and, to express
his sincerity, embraced and kissed him with the most cordial
affection." Realizing, however, that the situation of this aggrieved
and disheartened man was such that his usefulness here was at an
end, and finding it necessary to make a special communication to
the Trustees, relative to the internal distractions among the first
settlers; to the Board of Trade on the subject of exports and
commercial relations; and to the Government, respecting the exposed
situation of the Colony, he commissioned him to carry the despatches.
[Footnote 1: "He that passeth by and meddleth with strife belonging
not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears." _Proverbs_,
XXVI. 17. He who inconsiderately engages in other men's quarrels,
whom he lights upon by chance, and in which he is not concerned, will
assuredly suffer by his interference.]
[Footnote 2: SOUTHEY's _Life of the Wesleys_, Vol. I. p. 107.]
[Footnote 3: In the life of Wesley by MOORE, is an affecting detail
of particulars, taken from the unpublished Journal of Charles Wesley,
Vol. I. p. 265-285.]
[Footnote 4: _Life of Wesley_, Vol. I. p. 107.]
On the 26th of July, 1736, he set out for Charlestown, to take passage
to England; and, on the 16th of August, went on board the London
Galley. But the passengers and sailors soon found that the Captain,
while on shore, had neglected every thing to which he ought to have
attended. The vessel was too leaky to bear the voyage; and the Captain
drinking nothing scarcely but gin, had never troubled his head about
taking in water; so that they were soon reduced to short allowance,
which, in that sultry clime and season of the year, was a distressing
predicament. Meeting, too, with violent squalls of wind, they were
driven off their course. The leak became alarming, and their troubles
increased so fast upon them, that they were obliged to steer for
Boston in New England; where they arrived, with much difficulty and
danger, on the 2d of September.
Wesley was soon known at Boston; and met a hospitable reception among
the Ministers, both of the town and neighborhood. In a letter to his
brother, he thus describes the attentions that were paid to him. "I
am wearied with this hospitable people; they so teaze me with their
civilities. They do not suffer me to be alone. The clergy, who come
from the country on a visit, drag me with them when they return[1]. I
am constrained to take a view of this New England, more pleasant even
than the Old. And, compared with the region in which I last resided, I
cannot help exclaiming, O happy country that breeds neither flies, nor
crocodiles, nor prevaricators!"[2]
[Footnote 1: Referring to the weekly assembling of the Clergy from the
neighboring towns to attend the Thursday Lecture.]
[Footnote 2: Having found that letters to his brother were intercepted
and read, before they were delivered, he wrote sometimes in Latin, and
even passages in Greek. This, dated Boston, October 5th, 1736, was
in Latin, and I give the extract here, of which the text is a
translation. "Tsedet me populi hujuser, ita me urbanitate sua divexant
et persequuntur. Non patientur me esse solum. E rure veninnt Clerici;
me revertentes in rare trahant. Cogor henc Anglicum contemplari, etiam
antiquâ amoeniorem; et nequeo non exclamare, O fortinata regio, nec
muscas aleus, nec crocodilos, nec delatores!" [When Mr. C. Wesley
was at Frederica, the _sand-flies_ were one night so exceedingly
troublesome, that he was obliged to rise at one o'clock, and smoke
them out of his hut. He tells us that the whole town was employed in
the same way. By _crocodile_ he means the species called _alligator_.
When at Savannah, he and Mr. Delamotte used to bathe in the river
between four and five o'clock in the morning, before the alligators
were stirring, but they heard them snoring all round them. One morning
Mr. Delamotte was in great danger; an alligator rose just behind him,
and pursued him to the land, whither he escaped with difficulty.]]
The repairs of the vessel detained him here till the 15th of October,
when they sailed. They had a most perilous passage, and encountered
violent storms; but on the third of December arrived opposite Deal;
and the passengers went safe on shore.
III. INGHAM had his station assigned him at Frederica; and there his
prudence preserved him from the vexations with which his cherished
companion was annoyed. In behalf of that persecuted and dispirited
friend, he went to Savannah, to inform John Wesley of the opposition
of the people to his brother. He tarried there to supply John's place
during his absence on the visit of sympathy and counsel, of mediation
or rescue. Returning to Frederica, he remained there till the 13th
of May, when he accompanied Charles to Savannah, whither he went to
receive the Indian traders on their coming down to take out their
licenses. He accompanied them to the upper Creeks; among whom he
resided several months, and employed himself in making a vocabulary of
their language, and composing a grammar.[1]
[Footnote 1: SOUTHEY, I. 122, note; mention is also made of him in
CRANZ'S _History of the United Brethren_, p. 228.]
On the 24th of February, 1737, it was agreed that he should go to
England, and "endeavor to bring over, if it should please God, some of
their friends to strengthen their hands in his work."[1] By him John
Wesley wrote to Oglethorpe, who had sailed for England, and to Dr.
Brady's associates, who had sent a library to Savannah.
[Footnote 1: MOORE'S _Lives of the Wesleys_, I. 315.]
Ingham is mentioned by Whitefield, in terms of high regard, as
fellow-laborer with the Wesleys, and "an Israelite indeed."
IV. DELAMOTTE remained, from the first, with John Wesley at Savannah.
He kept a school, in which he taught between thirty and forty children
to read, write, and cast accounts. "Before public worship on the
afternoon of the Lord's day, he catechized the lower class, and
endeavored to fix some things of what was said by the Minister in
their understandings as well as their memories. In the morning he
instructed the larger children."[1]
[Footnote 1: Here is a prototype of the modern Sunday-schools.]
He returned to England in the Whitaker, Captain Whiting; the ship that
brought out Mr. Whitefield, June 2d, 1738. "The good people lamented
the loss of him, and great reason had they to do so; and went to the
waterside to take a last farewell."
V. GEORGE WHITEFIELD was the intimate friend of the Wesleys and of
Ingham; and he states, in his Journal, that when they were in Georgia
he received letters from them; and that their description of the moral
condition of the Colony affected his heart powerfully, and excited a
strong desire to join them, to assist them in the work in which they
were occupied, and become "a partaker with them in the afflictions
of the gospel." Such an undertaking was suited to his energetic and
enterprizing character; and therefore engaged much of his attention.
On the return of Charles Wesley to England, he learned more of the
situation of the Colonists, and of their great need of religious
instruction; and when Ingham came with special reference to procuring
assistance, he expressed his readiness to go on the mission. In the
letter which he received by him from John Wesley was this direct
reference, "Only Delamotte is with me, till God shall stir up the
heart of some of his servants, who, putting their lives in his hands,
shall come over and help us, where the harvest is so great and the
laborers are so few. What if thou art the man, Mr. Whitefield? Do you
ask me what you shall have? Food to eat and raiment to put on; a house
to lay your head in, such as your Lord had not; and a crown of glory
that fadeth not away!" This, and another letter, strengthened the
desire, which soon ripened into a purpose, for which all circumstances
seemed favorable. Charles, too, became more explicit, and rather urged
his going[1].
[Footnote 1: He addressed a poem to him in which are these verses:
"Servant of God! the summons hear.
Thy Master calls! arise! obey!
The tokens of his will appear,
His providence points out the way.
"Champion of God! thy Lord proclaim,
Jesus alone resolve to know.
Tread down thy foes in Jesus' name,
And conquering and to conquer go!"]
He accordingly went up to London to tender his services to Oglethorpe
and the Trustees; by whom he was accepted; and he left London on the
latter part of December, 1737, in the 23d year of his age, to take
passage in the Whitaker, Captain Whiting, master, on a voyage to
Georgia. It was, however, the end of January before the vessel was
fairly on its way, in consequence of contrary winds. They sailed from
the Downs a few hours only before the vessel, which brought Wesley
back, cast anchor there. He was attended on his passage by the
Honorable James Habersham and his brother. They landed, after rather a
circuitous and long passage, on the 7th of May, 1738. Delamotte,
whom Wesley had left schoolmaster at Savannah, received him at the
Parsonage house, which he found much better than he expected. Having
met with some of his predecessor's converts there, he read prayers
on the morrow, and expounded, in the Court-house, and waited on the
magistrates; but, being taken ill of a fever and ague, he was confined
to the house for a week.
Being informed that Tomo Chichi was sick, nigh unto death, as soon
as he could venture abroad he made him a visit. The Mico lay on a
blanket, thin and meagre. Scenawki, his wife, sat by, fanning him
with feathers. There was none who could speak English, so that Mr.
Whitefield could only shake hands with him and leave him. A few days
after he went again, and finding Toonahowi there, who could speak
English, "I desired him," says Whitefield, "to ask his uncle whether
he thought he should die;" who answered, "I cannot tell." I then
asked, where he thought he should go, after death? He replied "To
heaven." But alas! a further questioning led the solemn visiter to an
unfavorable opinion of his preparedness for such a state of purity.
When Whitefield had recovered so as to commence his labors, he
remarked that every part bore the aspect of an infant colony; that,
besides preaching twice a day, and four times on the Lord's day, he
visited from house to house, and was in general cordially received,
and always respectfully; "but from time to time found that _caelum non
animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt_. 'Those who cross the seas,
change their climate, but not their disposition.'" Though lowered
in their circumstances, a sense of what they formerly were in their
native country remained. It was plainly to be seen that coming over
was not so much a matter of choice as of restraint; choosing rather
to be poor in an unknown country abroad, than to live among those who
knew them in more affluent circumstances at home.[1]
[Footnote 1: Gillies' _Memoirs of Whitefield_, p. 27.]
The state of the children affected him deeply. The idea of an
Orphan-House in Georgia had been suggested to him by Charles Wesley,
before he himself had any thought of going abroad; and now that he saw
the condition of the Colonists, he said, "nothing but an orphan-house
can effect the education of the children." From this moment he set
his heart upon founding one, as soon as he could raise funds. In the
meantime, he did what he could. He opened a school at Highgate
and Hampstead, and one for girls at Savannah. He then visited the
Saltzburgers' orphan-house at Ebenezer; and, if any thing was wanting
to perfect his own design, or to inflame his zeal, he found it there.
The Saltzburgers themselves were exiles for conscience' sake, and
eminent for piety and industry. Their ministers, Gronau and Bolzius,
were truly evangelical. Their asylum, which they had been enabled to
found by English benevolence for widows and orphans, was flourishing.
Whitefield was so delighted with the order and harmony of Ebenezer
that he gave a share of his own "Poor's store" to Bolzius for his
orphans. Then came the scene which completed his purpose. Bolzius
called all the children before him, and catechized them, and exhorted
them to give God thanks for his good providence towards them. Then
prayed with them, and made them pray after him. Then sung a psalm.
Afterwards, says Whitefield "the little lambs came and shook me by the
hand, one by one, and so we parted." From this moment Whitefield made
his purpose his fate.[1]
[Footnote 1: PHILLIPS' _Life and Times of Whitefield_, p. 73.]
As opportunity offered he visited Frederica, and the adjacent
settlements; and says that he often admired that, considering the
circumstances and disposition of the first settlers, so much was
really done. He remarks that "the first settlers were chiefly broken
and decayed tradesmen from London and other parts of England; and
several Scotch adventurers, (Highlanders) who had a worthy minister
named Macleod; a few Moravians, and the Saltzburgers, who were by
far the most industrious of the whole;" and he adds, that he would
cheerfully have remained with them, had he not felt obliged to return
to England to receive priest's orders, and make a beginning towards
laying a foundation of the orphan-house, which he saw was much wanted.
In August he settled a schoolmaster, leaving Mr. Habersham at
Savannah; and, parting affectionately with his flock, he went to
Charlestown, South Carolina, and, on the 9th of September, went aboard
the Mary, Captain Coe, for England, where he arrived in the latter
part of November, 1738.
The Trustees for the Colony received him cordially; were pleased to
express their satisfaction at the accounts which had been sent them
of his conduct and services during his stay in the Colony; and having
been requested by letters sent, unknown to him, from the magistrates
and inhabitants, they most willingly presented to him the living of
Savannah, (though he insisted upon having no salary), and as
readily granted him five hundred acres of land, whereon to erect an
Orphan-House, and make a garden and plantations; to collect money for
which, together with taking priest's orders, were the chief motives of
his returning to England so soon[1].
[Footnote 1: GILLIES, p. 32.]
Without extending the account of this zealous, eloquent, and popular
preacher any further, suffice it to say that he was greatly successful
in the object of his visit, and his appeals to public charity in
behalf of the Orphan-House; that he returned to Georgia, and on March
11th, 1742, laid the foundation of that edifice; and, both in America
and in England, continued his measures for its establishment, till he
saw it completed.