CHAPTER XVIII.

From his arrival at Edinburgh, 1759, to his opening the Countess of Huntingdon's chapel at Bath, 1765.

ABOUT the beginning of July, 1759, he came to Edinburgh. The congregations were never more numerous or attentive than here and at Glasgow. Yet, he complains in his letters, that with respect to the power of religion, it was a dead time in Scotland, in comparison with London, and several other parts of England." During his stay, the sum he collected for the benefit of the Orphan-hospital, amounted to two hundred and fifteen pounds. This year's visit to Scotland occasioned an occurrence which redounded much to his credit, and fully cleared him from the charges of mercenary and sordid motives, brought against him very unjustly by some of his adversaries.

A Miss Hunter, a young lady of considerable fortune, made him an offer of her whole estate, both money and lands, amounting to above seven thousand pounds, which he generously refused and upon his declining to accept it for himself, she again offered it for the benefit of the institution in Georgia, which he also absolutely refused. These are facts too well known to be denied.

This winter he continued in London; during which, he wrote a preface to Dr. Samuel Clarke's bible. He also consid erably enlarged his chapel, which was far too small to contain the congregation.

On the 14th of March, 1760, he collected at Tottenham court chapel and Tabernacle, upwards of four hundred pounds for the relief of the distressed Prussians, who suffered so much from the savage cruelty of the Russians, at Newmark, Custrin, &c. For this disinterested act of benevolence, he received the thanks of his Prussian majesty.

In the summer of 1760, he traveled through Gloucestershire and Wales, and afterwards to Bristol. When he preached at the Tabernacle, many more attended than the place would hold; and in the fields there were supposed to be TEN THOUSAND.

About this time, he underwent a new sort of persecution, which however, men of the greatest eminence have sometimes experienced, being burlesqued and ridiculed in a manner the most ludicrous and profane, on the stage of the theater royal, Drury lane. Many acts of violence had been offered to his person, but his enemies being now convinced that the law would not permit them longer to proceed in that way with im punity, determined to try the effect of mockery. For this purpose, they procured for their tool, Mr. Samuel Foote, a man

well qualified to act the mimic; who having imitated Whitefield's person and action with success, and spoke some ludicrous sentences in his manner, was thereby encouraged to write a farce, called the MINOR, to be performed at Drury lane. Whitefield takes notice of this in a letter, dated August 16, 1760. It seems to have taken its rise from the malice of the play house people, after they had failed in their attempt to deter him from preaching at Long Acre chapel; and even still more exasperated by his building a chapel of his own in Tottenham court road. A letter was written to David Garrick, Esq., occasioned by the intended representation of the MINOR. This letter was supposed to have been written by the Rev. Martin Madan.

This theatrical piece, by its horrid blasphemy and impiety, excited the just indignation of every serious person. The impious author, intending to expose Mr. Whitefield to public contempt, makes no scruple to treat the very expressions, and sacred doctrines of the Bible, with that profane ridicule, which a sober minded Mahomedan would blush at ! Or, to put the most favorable construction upon the matter, he, and the agents employed at the Tabernacle and chapel, to procure materials, were so shamefully ignorant of the inspired writings, as not to know, that what they took for Mr. Whitefield's peculiar language, was that of the word of God! However, they lost their labor; for by their endeavors to lessen the number of his followers, they increased them, and brought thousands more to hear the gospel: and thus Providence gave him the victory over them, baffling all the schemes of the prince of darkness!

Here it will not be amiss to insert the following account from Edinburgh:-"Mr. Foote being manager of the Edinburgh theater, in the winter of 1770, the MINOR was acted there. The first night it was pretty full, as people fond of any novelty, were led to it without knowing any thing of the nature of the performance. But such was the public sense of the impurity and indecency of it, when known, that on the second night, only ten women appeared. When it was acted on Saturday, November 24, a dispute arose among the spectators, whether it was proper to bring Mr. Whitefield upon the stage, as he was now dead? This, however, was done, and raised a general indignation in the inhabitants of that city. Next day several

One evening while Foote was exhibiting Whitefield to public ridicule, in the theater of Drury lane, the venerable man himself was engaged in preaching at Tottenham court chapel. His subject was, "the joys of ilcaren." Towards the close of his discourse, when his piety, his imagination, and his eloquence were on fire, he cried out in the midst of a melted and enraptured assembly, pointing to the heavens, "there, there, an ungodly foot tramples on the saints no more."

ministers, the Rev. Dr. Erskine, Dr. Walker, &c., took notice of it in their discourses from the pulpit. Dr. Walker, whose church was frequented by people of the higher rank, observed in his lecture upon 2 Cor. v. 14-21, that he could not read the 17th verse, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, without expressing the just indignation he felt, upon hearing, that last night a profane piece of buffoonry was publicly acted, in which this sacred doctrine is ridiculed. The Rev. Mr. Baine, of the kirk of relief, preached a sermon on the occasion, December 2, from Psalm xciv. 16. Towards the conclusion he says, "how base and ungrateful is such treatment of the dead! and that too so very nigh to a family of orphans, the records of whose hospital will transmit Mr. Whitefield's name to posterity with honor, when the memory of others will rot! How illiberal such usage of one, whose seasonable good services for his king and country, are well known; and whose indefatigable labors for his beloved Master, were countenanced by heaven !"

May 14, 1760, he preached at Tottenham court chapel, from Hosea xi. 8, 9, and at the Tabernacle in the evening, when his text was the last verse of the 80th Psalm. At the former place, he collected two hundred and twenty-two pounds, eight shillings, and ninepence; and at the latter, one hundred and eightytwo pounds, fifteen shillings, and ninepence, for the distressed Protestants in Prussia. Thus it appears that his benevolent disposition led him strictly to observe public occurrences: and surely no man more carefully endeavored to approve them.

The months of September and October, 1760, he spent in traveling and preaching through Yorkshire; and passed the winter in London, in his usual manner.

February 13, 1761, being a day appointed for a general fast, he preached early in the morning at the Tabernacle, from Exodus xxxiv. 3, and collected one hundred and twelve pounds. In the forenoon again, at the chapel, from Joel ii. 15. After sermon, the collection amounted to two hundred and forty-two pounds; and in the evening he preached at the Tabernacle, from Genesis vii. 1, and collected two hundred and ten pounds. These sums, amounting to five hundred and sixty-four pounds, were immediately applied to the noble purposes for which they were collected, the relief of the poor afflicted German Protestants, and the unhappy sufferers by fire at Boston. Four hundred pounds were conveyed to the Germans, through the hands of the Rev. Mr. Ziegenhagen.

"Boston, February 27, 1764. At a meeting of the freeholders and other inhabitants of the town of Boston, on Friday last, it was VOTED UNANIMOUSLY, that the thanks of the town be given to the Rev. George Whitefield, for his charitable care and pains

in collecting a considerable sum of money in Great Britain, for the distressed sufferers by the great fire in Boston, in 1760; and a respectable committee was appointed to wait on Mr. Whitefield, to inform him of the vote, and present him with a copy thereof."

But his bodily health, which had often been very bad, now grew worse and worse; so that, in August, 1761, he was brought to the very gates; yet the Lord was pleased to raise him again. It was happy for him, that he frequently obtained the assistance of clergymen from the country at this time; particularly of the Rev. John Berridge,* vicar of Everton, Bed

This eminently humble, laborious, and highly honored ambassador of the Lord Jesus, was born in 1716, at Kingston, in Nottinghamshire. In the fif teenth year of his age he was convinced of the sinfulness of man, and the necessity of being born again, not of the will of man, or of the will of the flesh, but of God.

He was sent to the University of Cambridge in the nineteenth year of his age, and in 1749, began his ministry, at Stapleford, near Cambridge; where he preached regularly six years with zeal and faithfulness, but with little success. In 1755 he was admitted to the vicarage of Everton, in Bedfordshire; where he continued till his death.

From his own memorandums, found among his papers since his decease, it appears he was a stranger to that faith which purifies, works by love, and makes Ch ist all in all to the believing soul, till the year 1757; and therefore - went about preaching up the righteousness of the creature, instead of the merits and righteousness of Jesus Christ alone, for acceptance with God. This made it no wonder that his ministrations were no more blessed to the Bouls of others than to his own. In the following year it pleased the Lord of his infinite mercy to open the eyes of his mind, to see his error, and make him ery out, "Lord, if I am right, keep me so; but if I am not, make me so; and lead me to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus."

A few days after this, his earnest and constant prayer was granted; he was led by the blessed spirit to acknowledge the insufficiency of good works to merit the divine favor, and accordingly renounced them, as unworthy of dependence, and in no wise meritorious in the sight of God. He was taught the necessity of believing in the Redeemer alone for life and salvation, and joyfully received and depended on him as the only Savior from the wrath to come; agreeably to the declaration of an inspired apostle, Acts iv. 12. "Neither is salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved."

From this time he truly found his preaching was not in vain in the Lord; for he had many bright and eminent seals added to his ministry, which were his joy in life, and shall doubtless be his crown of rejoicing when time shall he no more. Among these was the Rev. Mr. Hicks, a clergyman of Wrestlingworth, about four miles from Everton, who became a very useful man, and often accompanied him in his itinerant labors from place to place.

Having so good a Master, he entered upon his work with cheerful steps, and pursued it with the greatest industry. Emboldened by the success of Whitefield, he saw it to be his duty to itinerate, or to extend the sphere of his usefulness by becoming a traveling preacher. He did not confine his labors to the narrow limits of Everton, but, like the majestic sun, illuminated an extensive tract of country. His love to mankind was ardent; he knew the worth of an inimortal soul; he knew the awful terrors of the Lord; he knew the emptiness of the present world; he knew the sandy foundation upon which thousands build; he knew the dangerous devices of Satan; he knew the awful precipice upon which the ungodly stand. His bowels melted with pity-his heart yearned to assist them. He therefore left no means unat

fordshire; Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge; and chaplain to the Right Honorable, the Earl of Buchan; of whom he writes, tempted to awaken their concern, and allure them to the Son of God. In his itineracy he would take the counties of Bedford, Cambridge, Essex, Hertford and Huntingdon, making the episcopal mandate the invariable rule of his operations, "Go and seek Christ's sheep where thou canst find them." In this circuit he preached upon an average from ten to twelve sermons a week, and frequently rode a hundred miles. Nor were these extraordinary exertions the hasty fruit of intermitting zeal, but they were regularly continued during the long succession of more than twenty years, exemplifying through the whole of his ministerial career, the motto of the late celebrated Dr. Doddridge, Dum vivimus viramus.

The first year that he began to preach the gospel, he was visited by upwards of a thousand different persons under serious impressions: and it has been computed, that under his own, and the joint ministry of Mr. Hicks, about four thousand were awakened to a concern about their souls, in the space of twelve months.

For several years before Whitefield died, Mr. Berridge preached at the Tabernacle and Tottenham court chapel, and continued to do so annually till 1793; he intended to have come that year, and was expected by his numerous friends in London, but instead of his presence, they received the melancholy tidings of his death. For some days previous to his decease, his strength and health had visibly decreased, and on Sunday, 20th January, he came down into his parlor as usual, but with great difficulty reached his chamber in the evening. A few hours after he was in bed, he appeared to be seized with the symptoms of immediate dissolution. His face was contracted and his speech faltered; and in this situation he continued till about three o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, January 22, when breathing less and less, this champion of his Redeemer calmly entered into the joy of his Lord, in the 76th year of his age. On the ensuing Sabbath, his remains were interred in his own parish church yard. The Rev. Charles Simeon, Fellow of King's college, Cambridge, preached his funeral sermon, from 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8. Six neighboring clergymen attended to bear his pall. The almost immense concourse of people, who assembled from all parts of the country, to be present at this solemnity, the undissembled grief which was depicted upon every countenance, the tears which trickled down every cheek, were a melancholy, but expressive eulogium on his character, and should be considered as a just panegyric on his worth.

Never man entered upon the work of his Master with more disinterested views. His purse was as open as his heart, though not so large. His ear was ever attentive to the tale of woe, his eye was keen to observe the miseries of the poor, the law of kindness was written upon his heart, and his hand was always ready to administer relief. The gains of his vicarage, of his fellowship, and of his patrimonial income, (for his father died very rich,) were appropriated to support his liberality. Houses were rented, lay preachers maintained, and his own traveling expenses disbursed by himself. Cottagers were always gainers by his company. He invariably left a half crown for the homely provisions of the day, and during his itineracy, it actually cost him five hundred pounds in this single article of expenditure.

His mental powers were far from contemptible: he possessed a strength of understanding-a quickness of perception-a depth of penetration-a brilliancy of fancy-and a fund of prompt wit, beyond most men. A vein of innocent humour ran through all his public and private discourses. This softened, what some might call the austerity of religion, and rendered his company pleasant to people of less serious habits; but, what is very singular, it never overcame his gravity.

In learning he was inferior to very few of the most celebrated sons of science and literature at the university. His masculine ability, his uniform sobriety, and long residence at college, were favorable to improvement; and so insatiable was his thirst for knowledge, that from his entrance at Clare Hall, to his acceptance of the vicarage of Everton, he regularly studied fir