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