IN the autumn of 1762 Methodism in London was in perilous confusion. Two years before, Wesley had appointed Thomas Maxfield, one of his first preachers, to meet a select band, who professed to be entirely sanctified. Some of the members of this band soon had dreams, visions and impressions, as they thought, from God; and Maxfield, instead of repressing their whimsies, encouraged them, so that their vagaries were soon regarded as proofs of the highest state of grace. Some of the preachers rebuked these visionaries. This excited resentment, and they refused to hear their rebukers preach. They became the avowed followers of Maxfield, who told them they were not to be taught by man, and especially by those who had less grace than themselves. George Bell, converted in 1758, and sanctified in 1761, joined them, and became wilder than the wildest of them. The result was, when Wesley returned to London in October, 1762, he found the Society there in a disgraceful uproar, and the followers of Maxfield and Bell formed into a sort of detached connexion.[92] They called themselves “the witnesses.” Wesley and his brother were in great distress. The latter wrote to Fletcher, and received the following reply:—
“‘Crede quod habes, et habes,’ is not very different from those words of Christ, ‘What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ The humble reason of the believer, and the irrational presumption of the enthusiast, draw this doctrine to the right hand or the left; but to split the hair—here lies the difficulty. I have told you that I am no party man; I am neither for nor against the witness for Christian perfection without examination. I complain of those who deceive themselves; I honour those who do honour to their profession; and I wish we could find out the right way of reconciling the most profound humility with the most lively hopes of grace. I think you insist on the one and Maxfield on the other; and I believe you both sincere in your views. God bless you both; and if either of you goes too far, may the Lord bring him back!”[93]
“Brother Ley[94] arrived here yesterday, and confirms the melancholy news of many of our brethren overshooting sober and steady Christianity in London. I feel a great deal for you and the Church in these critical circumstances. Oh that I could stand in the gap! Oh that I could, by sacrificing myself, shut this immense abyss of enthusiasm which opens its mouth among us!
“The corruption of the best things is always the worst of corruptions. Going into an extreme of this nature, or only winking at it, will give an eternal sanction to the vile aspersions cast on all sides on the purest doctrines of Christianity; and we shall sadly overthrow, overthrow in the worst manner, what we have endeavoured to build for many years.
“I have a particular regard for Maxfield and Bell—both of them are my correspondents. I am strongly prejudiced in favour of the witnesses, and do not willingly receive what is said against them; but allowing that what is reported is one-half mere exaggeration, the tenth part of the rest shows that spiritual pride, presumption, arrogance, stubbornness, party spirit, uncharitableness, prophetic mistakes, in short, every sinew of enthusiasm is now at work in many of that body. I do not credit any one’s bare word, but I ground my sentiments on Bell’s own letters.
“May I presume to lay before you my mite of observation? Would it be wrong in me calmly to sit down, with some unprejudiced friends and lovers of both parties, and to fix with them the marks and symptoms of enthusiasm; and then insist, at first in love, and afterwards, if necessary, with all the weight of my authority, upon those who have them or plead for them, either to stand to the sober rule of Christianity, or openly to depart from us?
“Fear not, dear Sir, the Lord will take care of the ark. Have faith in the Word, and leave the rest to Providence. ‘The Lord will provide’ is a comfortable motto for a believer.”[95]
Thus by proposing to act as mediator between the Wesleys and their distracted followers in London did Fletcher end the eventful year of 1762. In the middle of the year he told Charles Wesley that he had “attempted to form a Society,” and hoped to succeed. He drew up rules for this Society.[96] First of all, he described “the nature of a Religious Society,” and quoted Malachi iii. 16, Psalm lxvi. 16; Luke viii. 1–3; Acts i. 15, ii. 42–47; Heb. iii. 12, 13, x. 25; Col. iii. 16; 1 Cor. xiv. 29–31; 1 Thess. v. 11–14; James v. 16; and Jude i. 18–21. “Encouraged by these texts,” said he, “a few of us design to unite in a Religious Society to support and animate each other in the ways of godliness.” He proceeds:—
“In order to be admitted into the Society, one only condition is previously required, namely, a sincere desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to seek salvation from the servitude of sin according to the Gospel, and the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, especially the ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth, which are earnestly recommended to the perusal of every person who would be a member.
“It is, however, expected that the sincerity of such a desire be evinced by putting on the form of godliness, which we apprehend to consist in three things: 1. Doing no harm, Isa. i. 16; Rom. xii. 9. 2. Doing good, Isa. i. 17; Rom. xii. 9. 3. Using the means of grace, Luke i. 16, Isa. lv. 6.”
Under the first of these rules Fletcher mentions “taking the Lord’s name in vain, either by profane cursing, swearing, or trivial exclamations;” sabbath-breaking; uncleanness; drunkenness, or tippling, or going into a public house, or staying without necessity; fighting; quarrelling; brawling; railing, uncharitable conversation; filthy talking; jesting; evil speaking; attendance at balls, plays, races, cock-fightings and bull-baitings; gaming; song-singing; reading unprofitable books; softness; needless indulgence; putting on gaudy and costly apparel; smuggling; taking advantage of a neighbour, etc.
Under the second, he includes doing good to the bodies of men; doing good to the souls of men; discountenancing profaneness and immorality; diligence in business; taking up the cross daily, etc.
Under the third, he names, the public worship of God in the church; the ministry of the Word either read or expounded; the Lord’s Supper; family prayer; private prayer; Scripture reading; fasting; and singing hymns and psalms.
It is needless to tell Methodist readers that Fletcher’s rules are substantially the same as the rules which Wesley drew up and published for the Methodists in 1743, and which, excepting two or three trivial alterations, introduced in 1744, are the same now as they were then. Fletcher, however, attached an “Appendix” to his rules, to the following effect:—
1. That any one practising the Rules “is to give in his or her name to the Director of the Society and the major part of the members; and they shall be joyfully admitted, be they high or low, old or young, learned or unlearned.”
2. If any member fell into sin, he must be expelled.
3. If the expelled member wished to be re-admitted, he must acknowledge his error, and if, after a trial of three months, he appeared to be reformed, his re-admission should take place.
4. The members were to meet together one evening every week between seven and eight o’clock.
5. They were to watch over each other in love.
6. They were not to be angry with those who spoke against the Society.
The probability is that Fletcher did not print his Rules, as Wesley had done. Indeed, there was no need for this, as his Societies were few in number, and existed within a comparatively small area. It was an easy thing for Fletcher to read the rules to each Society as occasion required, and, perhaps, they were inscribed in the registers of attendance. Three years after Fletcher’s death, the Rev. Melville Horne, his successor at Madeley, printed and published them, and stated, in a Preface, that Fletcher drew them up soon after his settlement at Madeley, and revised and corrected them about the year 1777.
In another production, entitled “Heads of Examination for Adult Christians,” Fletcher set up a higher standard than his “Rules” contained. The following is an abridgment of the questions he wished his people to propose to themselves:—
“Do I feel any pride? Am I dead to all desire of praise? If any despise me, do I like them the worse for it? Or if they love and approve me, do I love them more on that account? Is Christ the life of all my affections and designs, as my soul is the life of my body? Have I always the presence of God? Does no cloud come between God and the eye of my faith? Am I saved from the fear of man? Do I speak plainly to all, neither fearing their frowns, nor seeking their favours? Am I always ready to confess Christ, to suffer with His people, and to die for His sake? Do I deny myself at all times, and take up my cross? Am I willing to give up my ease and convenience to oblige others, or do I expect them to conform to my hours, ways, and customs? Are my bodily senses and outward things all sanctified to me? Am I poor in spirit? Have I no false shame in approaching God? Do I not lean to my own understanding? Do I esteem every one better than myself? Do I never take that glory to myself which belongs to Christ? Does meekness bear rule over all my tempers, affections, and desires? Do I possess resignation, seeing God does, and will do, all for my good? Am I temperate, using the world, and not abusing it? Am I courteous, not severe; suiting myself to all with sweetness; striving to give no one pain, but to gain and win all for their good? Am I vigilant, redeeming time, and taking every opportunity of doing good? Do I perform the most servile offices, such as require labour and humiliation, with cheerfulness? Do I love God with all my heart? Do I constantly present myself, my time, my substance, talents, and all I have, a living sacrifice? Is every thought brought into subjection to Christ? Do I love my neighbour as myself? Do I think no evil, listen to no groundless surmises, nor judge from appearances? How am I in my sleep? If Satan presents any evil imagination, does my will immediately resist or give way to it? Do I bear the infirmities of age or sickness without seeking to repair the decays of nature by strong liquors? Or do I make Christ my sole support, casting the burden of a feeble body into the arms of His mercy?”[98]
This was the life Fletcher himself strove to live; and this was the life he urged his Methodists to live.
Fletcher’s Methodist Society at Madeley was formed as early as the year 1762; and one of its members soon involved him in trouble. Hence the following, taken from a letter addressed to Charles Wesley:—
“As to my parish, we are just where we were. We look for our Pentecost, but we do not pray sufficiently to obtain it. We are left in tolerable quiet by all but the sergeant, who sent a constable to make enquiry concerning the life of His Majesty’s subjects, upon information that the cry of murder had been heard in my house on Christmas Day.
“This report originated in the cries of a young woman, who is of our Society, and whom Satan has bound for some months. It seems to me as if that old murderer proposed to ruin the success of my ministry at Madeley, as he did in London, in the French Church, by means of Miss A——d.
“The young woman here emaciates her body by fastings; falls into convulsions, sometimes in the church, and sometimes in our private assemblies; and is perpetually tempted to suicide. Her constitution is considerably weakened, as well as her understanding. What to do in this case I know not; for those who are tempted in this manner pay as little regard to reason as the miserable people in Bedlam. Prayer and fasting are our only resources. We propose to represent her case to the Lord on Tuesday next, and on all the following Tuesdays. Aid the weakness of our prayers with all the power of yours.”[99]
This was a greater trial to Fletcher than, at first sight, appears. It seems to have led him to entertain the thought of resigning his living. More than six months afterwards, in another letter to Charles Wesley, he wrote:—
“Everything here is pretty quiet now. Many of our offences die away; though, not long ago, I had trials in abundance. One of them might have made me quit Madeley; but the young person I mentioned as being sorely tempted of the devil, is happily delivered.”[100]
Fletcher’s life at Madeley, during the year 1763, seems to have been a quiet one. Maxfield’s quarrel with Wesley still continued, and Fletcher took an interest in it. Wesley’s annoyance was great, and his forbearance with the London fanatics exposed him to the censure of his friends. John Downes, in a letter to Joseph Cownley, wrote:—
“I consider the follies and extravagance of the witnesses as the devices of Satan, to cast a blemish upon a real work of God. The more I converse with the solid ones, the more I long to experience what they do. It is a state worthy of a Christian. As to the follies of the enthusiasts, Mr. Charles hears every week less or more. He threatens, but cannot find in his heart to put in execution. The consequence is, the talk of all the town, and entertainment for the newspapers.”
On February 1, 1763, Charles Wesley wrote:—
“Satan has made sad havoc of the flock. Four years ago, I gave warning of the flood of enthusiasm which has now overflowed us.”
A week later John Wesley remarked:—
“The mask is thrown off. George Bell, John Dixon, etc., have quitted the Society. I wrote to Thomas Maxfield, but was not favoured with an answer. This morning I wrote a second time, and received an answer indeed! The substance is, ‘You take too much upon you.’”[101]
These brief extracts are given to indicate the great commotion that at this time existed. The excitement was not confined to London. It was shared by Mr. Samuel Hatton and Miss Hatton, both of them Fletcher’s friends and correspondents, and who seem to have resided at the ancient town of WemWem, about twenty miles from Madeley.[102] In a letter to Miss Hatton, Fletcher expressed his views, as follows:—
“Mr. Maxfield’s reply to Mr. Wesley seems to me just in some points, and in others too severe. Mr. Wesley is, perhaps, too tenacious of some expressions, and too prone to credit what he wishes concerning some mistaken witnesses of the state of fathers in Christ. Mr. Maxfield, perhaps, esteems too little the inestimable privilege of being perfected in that love which casts out fear. But, in general, I conceive that it would be better for babes, or young men in Christ, to cry for a growth in grace, than to dispute whether fathers in Christ enjoy such privileges.”[103]
A few weeks later, in a letter to Mr. Samuel Hatton, Fletcher wrote:—
“I am quite of your opinion about the mischief that some professors do in the Church of Christ under the mask of sanctity; but my Master bids me bear with the tares until the harvest, lest, in rooting them up, I should promiscuously pull up the wheat also. As to Mr. Wesley’s system of perfection, it tends rather to promote humility than pride, if I may credit his description of it in the lines following:—
“More than this I do not desire, and I hope that, short of this, nothing will satisfy either my dear friend or me.”[104]
The following letter, to Charles Wesley, refers to the same disturbance; but it also mentions another matter of great interest. Six years ago, Fletcher had become acquainted with Miss Bosanquet. During the present year, he had commenced a correspondence, in the highest degree religious, with Miss Hatton. He was a lone man, living among colliers. He had lately been with Charles Wesley. Charles was an eminently social man, and had suggested to Fletcher that he would do well to marry. Fletcher replied as follows:—
“My Dear Sir,—I see that we ought to learn continually to cast our burdens upon the Lord, who alone can bear them without fatigue and pain. If Maxfield returns, the Lord may correct his errors, and give him so to insist on the fruits of faith as to prevent antinomianism. I believe him sincere; and, though obstinate and suspicious, I am persuaded he has a true desire to know the will and live the life of God. I reply in the same words you quoted to me in one of your letters,—‘Don’t be afraid of a wreck, for Jesus is in the ship.’ After the most violent storm, the Lord will, perhaps, all at once, bring our ship into the desired haven.
“You ask me a very singular question with respect to women; I shall, however, answer it with a smile, as I suppose you asked it. You might have remarked that, for some days before I set off for Madeley, I considered matrimony with a different eye to what I had done; and the person who then presented herself to my imagination was Miss Bosanquet. Her image pursued me for some hours the last day, and that so warmly, that I should, perhaps, have lost my peace if a suspicion of the truth of Juvenal’s proverb, ‘Veniunt a dote sagittae,’ had not made me blush, fight, and fly to Jesus, who delivered me at the same moment from her image and the idea of marriage. Since that time, I have been more than ever on my guard against admitting the idea of matrimony, sometimes by the consideration of the love of Jesus, which ought to be my whole felicity; and, at others, by the following reflections.
“It is true that the Scripture says that a good wife is the gift of the Lord; and it is also true that there may be one in a thousand; but who would put in a lottery where are nine hundred and ninety-nine blanks to one prize? And, suppose I could find this Phœnix, this woman of a thousand, what should I gain by it? A distressing refusal. How could she choose such a man as I? If, notwithstanding all my self-love, I am compelled cordially to despise myself, could I be so wanting in generosity as to expect another to do that for me, which I cannot do for myself—to engage to love, to esteem, and to honour me?
“I will throw on my paper some reflections which the last paragraphs of your letter gave rise to, and I beg you will weigh them with me in the balances of the sanctuary.
“1. A tender friendship is, after the love of Christ, the greatest felicity of life; and a happy marriage is nothing but such a friendship between two persons of different sexes.
“2. A wife might deliver me from the difficulties of housekeeping, etc.
“3. Some objections and scandals may be avoided by marriage.
“4. A pious and zealous wife might be as useful as myself; nay, she might be much more so among my female parishioners, who greatly want an inspectress.
“1. Death will shortly end all particular friendships. The happier the state of marriage, the more afflicting is the widowhood; besides, we may try a friend and reject him after trial; but we cannot know a wife till it is too late to part with her.
“2. Marriage brings after it a hundred cares and expenses; children, a family, etc.
“3. If matrimony is not happy, it is the most fertile source of scandal.
“4. I have a thousand to one to fear that a wife, instead of being a help, may be indolent, and consequently useless; or humoursome, haughty, capricious, and consequently a heavy curse.
This is a curious letter. Eighteen years after the time when it was written, Fletcher married Miss Bosanquet. Probably the “reasons for matrimony” had been, in substance, suggested by Charles Wesley. Fletcher’s “reasons against matrimony” were undoubtedly sincere, but they were unintentionally selfish, and were unworthy of him. Experience taught him wisdom.
Before proceeding further, a remarkable occurrence must be noted. The church at Madeley is dedicated to St. Michael, whose feast-day is September 29. On that day, in 1763, Fletcher preached from Dan. iii. 14, and concluded his discourse in words like these:—
“From the dedication of our church, from days set apart to be kept holy, Satan takes occasion to enforce the worship of his threefold image, profit, honour, pleasure. Now remember the duty of God’s people, and quit yourselves like men. Some petty Nebuchadnezzars have sent to gather together, not princes, but drunken men; and have set up, not a golden image, no, nor a golden calf, but a living bull.[106] O ye that fear God, be not afraid of their terror; be not allured by their music; confess the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ‘No other God can deliver after this sort,’ said the heathen; and give me leave to add, ‘No other God can punish after this sort.’ The burning furnace of His indignation is heated; and eternity is the duration of its torments.”[107]
The way in which Fletcher was led to preach this sermon on “the Wake-Sunday” was told by himself, and the story, after his death, was published in a small tract, entitled, “The Furious Butcher Humbled: a true and remarkable story, as related by the late Rev. Mr. Fletcher, Vicar of Madeley.” The substance of it was also inserted in the Evangelical Magazine for the year 1798. From that account, the following is taken.
“One Sunday,” said Mr. Fletcher, “when I had done reading prayers at Madeley, I went up into the pulpit, intending to preach a sermon, which I had prepared for that purpose; but my mind was so confused, that I could not recollect either my text or any part of my sermon. I was afraid I should be obliged to come down without saying anything. But, having recollected myself a little, I thought I would say something on the First Lesson, which was the third chapter of the book of Daniel, containing the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being cast into the fiery furnace. I found, in doing this, such extraordinary assistance from God, and such a peculiar enlargement of heart, that I supposed there must be some peculiar cause of it. I therefore desired, if any of the congregation found anything particular, they would acquaint me with it in the ensuing week.
“In consequence of this, the Wednesday after, a woman came and gave me the following account:—
“‘I have been for some time much concerned about my soul. I have attended the church at all opportunities, and have spent much time in private prayer. At this, my husband (who is a butcher) has been exceedingly enraged, and has threatened me severely as to what he would do to me if I did not leave off going to John Fletcher’s church; yea, if I dared to go again to any religious meetings whatever. When I told him I could not in conscience refrain from going, at least, to the parish church, he became outrageous, and swore dreadfully, and said, if I went again, he would cut my throat as soon as I came back. This made me cry to God that He would support me; and, though I did not feel any great degree of comfort, yet, having a sure confidence in God, I determined to do my duty, and leave the event to Him. Last Sunday, after many struggles with the devil and my own heart, I came downstairs ready for church. My husband said he should not cut my throat, as he had intended, but he would heat the oven, and throw me into it, the moment I came home. Notwithstanding this threat, which he enforced with many bitter oaths, I went to church, praying all the way that God would strengthen me to suffer whatever might befall me. While you were speaking of the three children whom Nebuchadnezzar cast into the burning fiery furnace, I found all you said belonged to me. God applied every word to my heart; and, when the sermon was ended, I thought, if I had a thousand lives, I could lay them all down for Him. I felt so filled with His love that I hastened home, fully determined to give myself to whatsoever God pleased; nothing doubting that He either would take me to heaven, if He suffered me to be burnt to death; or that He would in some way deliver me, as He did His three servants that trusted in Him. When I got to my own door, I saw flames issuing from the oven, and I expected to be thrown into it immediately. I felt my heart rejoice, that, if it were so, the will of the Lord would be done. I opened the door, and, to my utter astonishment, saw my husband upon his knees, praying for the forgiveness of his sins. He caught me in his arms; earnestly begged my pardon; and has continued diligently seeking God ever since.’”
Such was the poor woman’s story. After listening to it, Fletcher cried, “Now I know why my sermon was taken from me, namely, that God might thus magnify His mercy.”
Nothing need be added, except that to attribute these strange occurrences to anything less than the direct interference of Him who has supreme authority over all human minds and hearts would be infidelity of the most impious kind.
Nothing is known of Fletcher’s life during the year 1764. It is a singular fact, that only three of his letters, belonging to this period, have been published, and these were all addressed to his friend, at Wem, Miss Hatton. They are entirely devoid of incident; but are full of piety. The following are extracts:—
“Madeley, March 5, 1764. Your dulness in private prayer arises from the want of familiar friendship with Jesus. To obviate it, go to your closet, as if you were going to meet your dearest friend; cast yourself at His feet; bemoan your coldness; extol His love to you; and let your heart break with a desire to love Him. Get recollection,—a dwelling within ourselves,—a being abstracted from the creature, and turned towards God. For want of such a frame, our times of prayer are frequently dry and useless; imagination prevails, and the heart wanders; whereas we pass easily from recollection to delightful prayer.”[108]
“Madeley, September 3, 1764. With respect to the hindrances your worldly business lays in your way, the following means, in due subordination to faith in Jesus, may be of service to you you:—
“1. Get up early and save time, before you go to business, to put on the whole armour of God, by close meditation and earnest prayer.
“2. Consider the temptation that most easily besets you, whether it be hurry, or vanity, or lightness, or want of recollection to do what you do as unto God.
“3. When your mind has been drawn aside, do not fret, or let yourself go down the stream of nature, as if it were vain to attempt to swim against it; but confess your fault, and calmly resume your former endeavour, but with more humility and watchfulness.
“4. Steal from business now and then, though for two or three minutes only, and, in the corner where you can be least observed, pour out your soul in confession; or utter a short ejaculation for power to watch, and to believe that Jesus can keep you watching.”[109]
“Madeley, December, 1764. I am sensible how I want advice in a thousand particulars, and how incapable I am to direct anyone; but the following observations came to my mind on the reading of your letter, and I venture to send them.
“You cannot expect to attain to such a carriage as will please all you converse with. The Son of God, the original of all human perfection, was blamed, sometimes for His silence, and sometimes for His speaking; and shall the handmaid be above her Master?
“There is no sin in wearing such things as you have by you, if they are necessary for your station, and characterize your rank.
“There is no sin in looking cheerful. ‘Rejoice evermore:’ and, if it is our duty always to be filled with joy, it is our duty to appear what we are in reality. I hope, however, your friends know how to distinguish between cheerfulness and levity.
“Beware of stiff singularity in things barely indifferent: it is self in disguise; and it is so much the more dangerous when it comes recommended by a serious, self-denying, religious appearance.
“I hope the short-comings of some about you will not prevent you eyeing the prize of a glorious conformity to our blessed Head. It is to be feared that not a few of those who profess to have attained it, have mistaken the way. They are still something; whereas I apprehend that an important step towards that conformity is to become nothing; or rather, with St. Paul,—to become in our own eyes the chief of sinners, and the least of saints.”[110]
These fragmentary extracts are of some importance, because they indicate the matters respecting which Fletcher was consulted, and also exhibit his own habitual frame of mind.
Before leaving the year 1764, one incident must be mentioned, far too interesting to be omitted. So far as there is evidence to show, there had been no interview, and, indeed, no correspondence, between Fletcher and Wesley since the year 1760, when Fletcher, contrary to the advice of Wesley, accepted the living of Madeley. There is not the slightest proof of any estrangement of affection having taken place; but Fletcher had been too much occupied to visit Wesley in London; and Wesley, considering the opposition Fletcher had to encounter, had, hitherto, not deemed it expedient to visit Fletcher at Madeley. As to epistolary correspondence, Charles Wesley was Fletcher’s chosen adviser; and that, for the present, was quite enough. The Madeley persecutions had now subsided; and, hence, in the month of July, 1764, the Arch-Methodist ventured to invade the parish of the Madeley vicar. He wrote:—
“1764, Saturday, July 21. I rode to Bilbrook, near Wolverhampton, and preached at between two and three. Thence we went on to Madeley, an exceedingly pleasant village, encompassed with trees and hills. It was a great comfort to me to converse once more with a Methodist of the old type, denying himself, taking up his cross, and resolved to be”.bn 117.png
“Sunday, July 22. At ten, Mr. Fletcher read prayers, and I preached on those words in the Gospel,”The church would nothing near contain the congregation; but a window near the pulpit being taken down, those who could not come in stood in the churchyard, and I believe all could hear. The congregation, they said, used to be much smaller in the afternoon than in the morning; but I could not discern the least difference, either in number or seriousness. I found employment enough for the intermediate hours in praying with various companies who hung about the house, insatiably hungering and thirsting after the good word. Mr. Grimshaw, at his first coming to Haworth, had not such a prospect as this. There are many adversaries indeed; but yet they cannot shut the open and effectual door.
“Monday, July 23. The church was pretty well filled even at five, and many stood in the churchyard. In the evening, I preached at Shrewsbury, to a large congregation, among whom were several men of fortune. I trust, though hitherto we seem to have been ploughing on the sand, there will at last be some fruit.”[111]
Wesley’s first visit to Madeley was, to himself, eminently satisfactory; and his report of it shows that, notwithstanding the “many adversaries,” Fletcher’s labours had been crowned with great success.
Truly might Wesley designate Fletcher “a Methodist of the old type, denying himself, and taking up his cross.” The following letter, addressed “to Mr. Henry Perronet, at Mr. Wright’s, at the Boot, in Old Street, St. Luke’s Parish, London,” will partly illustrate Wesley’s meaning.
“Sir,—I have received both your letter and Mr. Charles Wesley’s, and shall be exceeding glad of an opportunity to oblige or serve you in anything in my power.
“As you seem to me a stranger to the situation of the country, I would have you come down first, and choose for yourself a spot that may suit your taste. I live here in a little market-town, three or four miles from the foot of the Wrekin, at the south-east of that hill; so that you may easily take a walk or ride with me to some of the spots or villages where you may prefer to fix your abode, if this does not please you. I live alone in my house, having neither wife, child, nor servant. I can, therefore, without inconveniency, spare you a room in the meantime. If you choose to provide your food, you shall have conveniences for it; if you choose to table with a neighbour, as I do, you may.
“You seem to be cut out for contemplation and retirement, Sir; I hope you have made choice of Jesus for the chief subject of your meditations. May you find much of His presence everywhere!
“If you choose to venture into Shropshire, you may take the Shrewsbury coach at the Swan, in Lad Lane, somewhere in the city, and in two days and a half you will be at Shiffnal, eighteen miles short of Shrewsbury, and three from Madeley. If you send me word when you are to set out, I will send my mare to meet you at the Red Lion, in Shiffnal, the day that the coach passes through the town.
“That the Lord may direct and prosper you in all things is the wish of, Sir, your affectionate servant in Christ,
As a farther illustration of Fletcher’s simplicity of living, and of his habitual piety, an incident may be introduced, belonging to about this period, and published in a sermon preached on the occasion of the death of Fletcher’s widow, in 1816, by the Rev. John Hodson. Mr. Hodson says:—
“A few days ago, I was in company with a pious female, who, for many years, was intimately acquainted with Mr. Fletcher. She said Mr. Fletcher sometimes visited a boarding-school at Madeley. One morning he came in just as she and the other girls had sat down to breakfast. He said but little while the meal lasted, but when it was finished he spoke to each girl separately, and concluded by saying to the whole, ‘I have waited some time on you this morning, that I might see you eat your breakfast; and I hope you will visit me to-morrow morning, and see how I eat mine.’ He told them his breakfast hour was seven o’clock, and obtained a promise that they would visit him. Next morning, they went at the time appointed, and seated themselves in the kitchen. Mr. Fletcher came in, quite rejoiced to see them. On the table stood a small basin of milk and sops of bread. Mr. Fletcher took the basin across the kitchen, and sat down on an old bench. He then took out his watch, laid it before him, and said, ‘My dear girls, yesterday morning I waited on you a full hour, while you were at breakfast. I shall take as much time this morning in eating my breakfast as I usually do, if not rather more. Look at my watch!’ and he immediately began to eat, and continued in conversation with them. When he had finished, he asked them how long he had been at breakfast. They said, ‘Just a minute and a half, Sir.’ ‘Now, my dear girls,’ said he, ‘we have fifty-eight minutes of the hour left;’ and he then began to sing,—
After this, he gave them a lecture on the value of time, and the worth of the soul. They then all knelt down in prayer, after which he dismissed them with impressions on the mind the narrator never ceased to remember.”
At Wesley’s yearly Conference of 1765, Alexander Mather was appointed to “Salop” circuit, with William Minethorpe as his colleague. Mr. Mather was now in the thirty-third year of his age. During the last eight years, he had been an itinerant preacher, and had passed through strange and painful vicissitudes. In 1760 his circuit had been “Staffordshire;” in which circuit he had “built a preaching-house at Darlaston, and hired a large building at Birmingham.” He had extended his labours as far as Shrewsbury, Coventry, Stroud, and Painswick; and, by Wesley’s directions, had visited the “Societies” in Wales. At Birmingham, Mather and the poor Methodists had been repeatedly in danger of being murdered by persecuting crowds; and at Wolverhampton the mob had pulled down the newly-built meeting-house; and had threatened to do the same at Dudley, Darlaston, and Wednesbury. He had also preached at several places in Shropshire, and now, in 1765, the county was made a Methodist circuit, in which he was appointed to act as Wesley’s “Assistant.” Fletcher had already formed two or three Societies, which, without being so designated, were, ipso facto, Methodist Societies. He warmly welcomed Mather, and was more than willing to be a Methodist co-worker. Hence the following letter addressed to the brave itinerant:—
“My Dear Brother,—I thank you for your last favour. If I answered not your former letter it was because I was in expectation of seeing you—not from the least disregard. I am glad you enjoy peace at Wellington; and I hope you will do so at the Trench when you go there. My reasons for stopping there were not to seize upon the spot first, but to fulfil a promise I made to the people, of visiting them. I desire you will call there as often as you have opportunity. An occasional exhortation from you or your companion,[113] at the Bank,[114] Dale,[115] etc., will be esteemed a favour; and I hope that my going, as Providence directs, to any of your places (leaving to you the management of the Societies), will be deemed no encroachment. In short, we need not make two parties; I know but one heaven below, and that is Jesus’s love. Let us both go and abide in it; and when we have gathered as many as we can to go with us, too many will still stay behind.
“I find there are in the ministry, as in the common experience of Christians, times which may be compared to winter. No great stir is made in the world of grace beside that of storms and offences, and the growth of the trees of the Lord are not showy; but when the tender buds of brotherly and redeeming love begin to fill, spring is at hand. The Lord give us harvest after seed time! Let us wait for fruit, as the husbandman; and remember, that he who believes does not make haste. The love of Christ be with us all. Pray for
Thus began Methodism in the county of Salop, which circuit, in 1766, contained 587 members. It is only right to say, however, that, in the Minutes of Conference, the name of the circuit was, in that year, changed to “Staffordshire,”—a name which it retained till 1782, though it embraced a number of towns and villages in the county where the Madeley vicar lived and laboured.
In 1765 Fletcher made two evangelistic visits. The first of these was to Breedon, in Leicestershire. Walter Sellon had been one of the first masters of Wesley’s Kingswood school, had acted as one of Wesley’s preachers, and, by the influence of the Countess of Huntingdon, had received episcopal ordination. At this period, he held two curacies, one at Smisby and the other at Breedon-on-the-Hill. His churches were generally crowded, and his ministry was attended with uncommon power. He lived in the house of Mr. Hall, of Tonge, the leader of Methodist Society classes at Breedon, Worthington, and Diseworth, and who, after living all his life in the house where he was born, peacefully fell asleep in Jesus in the year 1813, at the age of eighty-one.[117] Of course Fletcher’s reputation was well known by Sellon; and now, in 1765, for a brief season, they exchanged pulpits. Immense crowds assembled; and exceedingly picturesque must have been the sight of long processions of pious people climbing the lofty hill on the top of which Breedon church was built, and singing as they went their sweet songs of Zion. The church was crammed when Fletcher preached; numbers stood outside; and as many as could clambered to the windows to look at the seraphic minister to whom they wished to listen.[118] Mr. Benson, in his “Life of Fletcher,” relates an incident which must not be omitted here. Human nature is the same all the world over, and throughout all generations.
We are told the clerk of Breedon church was offended because the crowds attending it increased his labour in cleaning it. Turning his worldly-wisdom to practical account, he began to charge persons, from other parishes, a penny each for admission, and stood at the church door to collect the money. Whilst he was doing this, Fletcher was prayerfully ascending the steep hill, and reverentially contemplating the solemn service upon which he was about to enter. One of the congregation went to meet him, and told him of the clerk’s worldliness. Fletcher was shocked at the behaviour of his ecclesiastical subordinate, and hastening up the steep ascent, exclaimed, “I’ll stop his proceeding.” The clerk, however, was more nimble than the priest. Before Fletcher could reach the money-gate the clerk was in his desk, ready to read responses and perform all the other duties pertaining to his office. Perhaps he thought he had cleverly escaped detection and reproof, but the sordid creature was mistaken. Fletcher went through the service, and then remarked, “For sixteen years I have not been so moved as I have been to-day. I am told that the clerk beneath me has demanded, and has actually received, money from strangers before he would suffer them to enter the church. I desire all who have paid the money to come to me, and I will return what they have paid; and as to this iniquitous clerk, his money perish with him!”
This interesting story is not without its use, for it exhibits Fletcher’s almost stern fidelity, and also the spirit of parish clerks more than a hundred years ago. It would be unfair, however, to ostracize the Breedon official as one whose worldly wickedness is without a parallel; for there is little room to doubt that even at the present day largess is often levied upon congregations, if not by responding clerks, by doorkeepers and other officials belonging to the ecclesiastical edifices of an age which thinks itself greatly in advance of its predecessors.
Fletcher made another and more important Gospel tour during the year 1765. For the first time, he visited Bath and Bristol. In the former city, Lady Huntingdon had erected a chapel, and had summoned six clergymen of the Church of England to assist at the opening; namely, Whitefield, Romaine, Venn, Madan, Shirley, and Townsend. This took place on October 6, 1765.[119] Fletcher came after them, and preached to the aristocratic congregations in her ladyship’s meeting-house with extraordinary zeal and earnestness. The Countess wrote:—