Wesley's Designated Successor, by Luke Tyerman

“Wednesday, August 23rd. I went on to Trevecca. Here we found a concourse of people from all parts, come to celebrate the Countess of Huntingdon’s birthday, and the anniversary of her school, which was opened on the twenty-fourth of August, last year. I preached in the evening to as many as her chapel could well contain; which is extremely neat, or rather, elegant; as is the dining-room, the school, and all the house. About nine, Howell Harris desired me to give a short exhortation to his family. I did so; and then went back to my lady’s, and laid me down in peace.

“Thursday, August 24th. I administered the Lord’s Supper to the family.^[181] At ten, the public service began. Mr. Fletcher preached an exceeding lively sermon in the court, the chapel being far too small. After him, Mr. William Williams preached in Welsh till between one and two o’clock. At two we dined. Meantime, a large number of people had baskets of bread and meat carried to them in the court. At three, I took my turn there; then Mr. Fletcher; and about five, the congregation was dismissed. Between seven and eight, the lovefeast began, at which, I believe, many were comforted. In the evening, several of us retired into the neighbouring wood, which is exceeding pleasantly laid out in walks, one of which leads to a little mount raised in the midst of a meadow that commands a delightful prospect. This is Howell Harris’s work, who has likewise greatly enlarged and beautified his house; so that, with the gardens, orchards, walks, and pieces of water that surround it, it is a kind of little paradise.”^[182]

This is not the place to enlarge upon Howell Harris’s establishment, which adjoined Trevecca College. Suffice it to say, that here he had gathered together a family of more than a hundred persons, “all diligent, all constantly employed, all fearing God and working righteousness.”^[183]

The lovefeast mentioned by Wesley was the concluding service on the first anniversary day, strictly speaking, of Trevecca College. At that lovefeast, Walter Shirley, Howell Davies, and Daniel Rowlands gave short exhortations, and Peter Williams and Howell Harris offered prayers. Lady Huntingdon observes:—

“Truly our God was in the midst of us, and many felt Him eminently nigh. The gracious influence of His Spirit seemed to rest on every one. Words fail to describe the holy triumph with which the great congregation sang—

‘Captain ‘Captain of Thine enlisted host,

Display thy glorious banner high,’ etc.

It was a season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord—a time never to be forgotten.”

Next morning, Wesley set off for Bristol; but the services were continued. In the afternoon, Shirley took his stand on the scaffold in the court, and addressed the multitude from the words, “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

“From that time,” wrote Lady Huntingdon, “we had public preaching every day at four o’clock, whilst Mr. Shirley and Mr. Fletcher remained. Copious showers of Divine blessing have been felt on every side. Truly God is good to Israel. Continue Thy goodness, and in much greater abundance! O that I may be more and more useful to the souls of my fellow-creatures! I want to be, every moment, all life, all zeal, all activity for God, and ever on the stretch for closer communion with Him. My soul pants to live more to Him; and to be more holy in heart and life, that all my nature may show the glories of the Lamb.”^[184]

Alas! that these glorious scenes among the Welsh mountains should so soon be followed by scenes of discord and of disputes. The great storm of the Calvinian controversy was already brewing.

Walter Sellon occupies a rather unique position in Methodistic annals. He died in 1792, at the age of seventy-seven; and yet of the first thirty, and the last twenty-two years of his life, hardly anything is known. Dr. Abel Stevens, in his “History of Methodism,” says Sellon was originally a baker; but I know of no authority for this, except Toplady’s, whose hatred and abuse of Sellon were such as to justify a hesitancy in believing a statement concerning his stout antagonist, which he intended to be injurious to his fame. Sellon was born in the year 1715; but up to the year 1745 he had not been introduced to Wesley. In a letter to Wesley, dated December 31, 1744, he states, that, until recently, he had condemned him as “an innovator,” and had “pitied those who followed” him. But, having heard Wesley preach, and having read his sermon on “Scriptural Christianity,” delivered before the Oxford University on August 24, 1744, his opinions concerning him and his followers were entirely changed; and he now requested Wesley, when he had an opportunity, to preach at Maidenhead, “where drunkenness, adultery, profaneness, gaming, and almost every abominable vice, were not only committed with greediness, but gloried in, and boasted of.”^[185] Whether Wesley went to Maidenhead, which seems to have been Sellon’s place of residence, is not known; but, three years and a half afterwards, when he opened his famous Kingswood School, Walter Sellon was appointed the Headmaster “for the Classics.”^[186] About the year 1754, Sellon received episcopal ordination, and became curate of the churches of Smisby, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and of Breedon, where vast multitudes flocked to hear him, “not only from adjacent towns and villages, but frequently from places ten, fifteen, and twenty miles distant.” “He was a real Methodist,” wrote Jonathan Edmondson, “and hundreds were turned to God through his instrumentality.”^[187] Sellon enjoyed the confidential friendship of Wesley, and especially of Wesley’s brother Charles; and, about the time of his appointment to his curacies, stood faithfully by them in their contentions with the most able and prominent of their itinerant preachers, concerning the separation of the Methodists from the Established Church. All his publications were controversial; and all, except his first, were written specially in defence of the anti-Calvinian doctrines Wesley taught. This is not the place to review Walter Sellon as an author. Suffice it to say, that he was always powerful, rather than polite; and that, after his first publication, in 1765, which was levelled at Socinianism, he prepared a second in 1768, which was entitled, “Arguments against the Doctrine of General Redemption considered.” Without noticing, at present, the subsequent writings of Sellon, it is enough to add, that, about the year 1770, he was presented by the Earl of Huntingdon to the Vicarage of Ledsham, in Yorkshire, where he lived and laboured until his death, on June 13, 1792.^[188] In an unpublished manuscript, John Pawson says:—

“I do not believe Mr. Sellon was made the instrument of awakening a single soul after he came to Ledsham. He was tutor to young Mr. Medhurst, of Kippax, who lately murdered his wife, and would have murdered his mother some years ago, if my brother Tarboton had not rescued her at the hazard of his own life. While in that family, Mr. Sellon seemed to lose all spirit and life, and, as far as I could learn, had very little savour of godliness about him. He took not the least notice of the Methodists, no more than if he had never known them.”

John Pawson was one of Wesley’s most honest and hardworking itinerants; but he sometimes was more severe in his strictures than was desirable. His remark, however, concerning Sellon’s abandonment of the Methodists was probably correct; for Wesley, in a letter dated June 10, 1784, wrote to him: “You used to meet me when I came near you; but you seem, of late, to have forgotten your old friend and brother.”^[189]

To return to Fletcher. He and Sellon were well known to each other. Four years ago, they had exchanged pulpits for a season, Sellon preaching at Madeley, and Fletcher at Smisby and Breedon-on-the-Hill. Now Sellon was entering the arena of controversy. The expulsion of the Methodist students from Oxford University, in 1768, had been the means, incidentally, of bringing some of the chief doctrines of Calvinism into public notice. Sir Richard Hill, in defending the students, had warmly advocated Calvinistic predestination. Dr. Nowell, in answering Sir Richard, had clearly shown that this predestination was not the doctrine of the Church of England. Toplady had rushed to the rescue of his favourite dogma, and had published his translation of “Zauchius,” and also his “Letter to Dr. Nowell.” Sellon was the first of Wesley’s friends who entered the lists, by preparing and publishing his “Arguments against the Doctrine of General Redemption considered. London, 1769.” 12mo. 178 pp. Wesley encouraged him, and so did Fletcher. The former wrote as follows:—

“Wakefield, July 9, 1768.

“My Dear Brother,—I am glad you have undertaken the ‘Redemption Redeemed;’ but you must in no wise forget Dr. Owen’s answer to it: otherwise you will leave a loop-hole for all the Calvinists to creep out. The Doctor’s evasions you must needs cut in pieces, either interweaving your answers with the body of the work, under each head, or adding them in marginal notes.

“Your ever affectionate brother,

“J. Wesley.”^[190]

After the book was published, Fletcher wrote to Sellon the following letter, plainly showing that the great Calvinian controversy, though as yet in its incipient state, was causing considerable commotion:—

“Madeley, October 7, 1769.

“My Dear Brother,—I thank you for your letter and books. They came safe to hand, and I shall give you the amount at the first opportunity. I have inquired what the Calvinists think; but they choose to be silent,—a sign that they have not any great thing to object. Mr. R——^[191] looked at your book here in my house, and objected to Ελεησω ον αν ελεω, Rom. ix. 15. He says, ελεω is, ‘I have mercy,’ not ‘I should have mercy.’ I observed to Mr. Glascott, ‘It is the subjunctive mood, and may take the sign should, would, or could, according to the analogy of faith.’

“I long to see Coles ^[192] answered. My request to you is, that you would answer him in the cool manner you have the Synod;^[193] and my prayer to God is, that you may be assisted for that important work.

“I know two strong Calvinist believers, who lately took their leave of this world with, ‘I shall be damned.’ O, what did all their professions of perseverance do for them? They left them in the lurch. May we have the power of God in our souls, and we shall readily leave unknown decrees to others.

“The “The Lord give you patience with your brethren! The best way to confound them is, to preach that kingdom of God which they cast away, with real righteousness, and present peace and joy in believing; that is poison to the synodical kingdom.

“I despair of seeing you before I have seen Switzerland, which I design to visit next winter. Mr. Ireland takes me as far as Lyons in my way.

“There are some disputes in Lady Huntingdon’s College; but when the power of God comes, they drop them. The Calvinists are three to one. Your book I have sent them as a hard nut for them to crack.

“May the Lord spare you, and make you a free, joyful soldier of the Lord Jesus; as tough against sin and unbelief as you are against Calvin and the Synod! The Lord has overruled your leaving Smisby for good. Let us trust in Him, and all will be well. Farewell.

“John Fletcher.”^[194]

This episode respecting Walter Sellon is not irrelevant, and is of considerable importance, inasmuch as it relates, in part, to the rise of the great Calvinian controversy of the last century, in which Fletcher became one of the chief actors. Sellon’s book, in favour of the doctrine of “General Redemption,” was the first published by Wesley’s adherents, and is exceedingly able; but this is not the place to analyse and give an account of it.

Seventeen years had elapsed since Fletcher left his father’s house in Switzerland. He had now decided to pay a visit to the place of his nativity, and to travel as far as the south of France with his generous friend, Mr. Ireland, of Brislington, Bristol. The following letter to Mr. Ireland refers to this contemplated visit, and to another matter, which must be noticed:—

“Madeley, December 30, 1769.

“My Dear Friend,—Last night, I received your obliging letter, and am ready to accompany you to Montpelier, provided you will go with me to Nyon. I shall raise about twenty guineas, and, with that sum, a gracious Providence, and your purse, I hope we shall want for nothing. If the Lord sends me, I should want nothing, though I had nothing, and though my fellow-traveller were no richer than myself.

“I hope to be at Bristol soon, to offer you my services to pack up. You desired to have a Swiss servant, and I offer myself to you in that capacity; for I shall be no more ashamed of serving you, as far as I am capable of doing, than I am of wearing your livery.

“Two reasons (to say nothing of the pleasure of your company) engage me to go with you to Montpelier,—a desire to visit some poor Huguenots in the south of France, and the need I have to recover a little French before I go to converse with my compatriots.

“The priest at Madeley is going to open his mass-house, and I declared war on that account last Sunday, and propose to strip the whore of Babylon and expose her nakedness to-morrow. All the papists are in a great ferment, and have held meetings to consult on the occasion. One of their bloody bullies came ‘to pick up a quarrel’ with me, as he said, and what would have been the consequence had I not had company with me I know not. How far more rage may be kindled to-morrow I don’t know; but I question whether it will be right for me to leave the field in these circumstances. I forgot to mention that two of our poor ignorant Churchmen are about to join the mass-house, which also is the cause of my having taken up arms.”^[195]

Fletcher preached his anti-popery sermon as he intended, taking as his text 1 Tim. iv. 1–3: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that, in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” An outline of the sermon may be found in Fletcher’s Collected Works, vol. vii., p. 490. As the people were leaving the church, a man, who acted as the spokesman of the papists present, cried, “There was not a word of truth in the whole sermon;” and then, turning to Fletcher, assured him that he would shortly produce a gentleman who would refute all that he had said. The threat was not fulfilled;^[196] and Benson, in his “Life of Fletcher,” first published in 1804, remarks:—

“By Mr. Fletcher’s bold and prudent stand the designs of the papists were in a great measure frustrated, and they were prevented making any progress worth mentioning in Madeley. It is true there is even now a mass-house and a priest at Madeley, but I find, upon inquiry, there are not a dozen Popish families in the parish.”

Fletcher’s intended visit to Switzerland was, for a little while, deferred; because he deemed it his duty to await the threatened refutation of his anti-popish sermon. Hence, early in January 1770, he went to Trevecca; probably for the purpose of meeting Joseph Benson, who was about to become head master of the college.

Joseph Benson was now nearly twenty-two years of age, and for the last four years had been the classical master of Wesley’s school at Kingswood, and was at present keeping terms at Oxford. His acquaintance with Fletcher was slight, but his admiration of him great. He writes:—

“I had only had two or three interviews with Mr. Fletcher, which were, I think, in the year 1768, when I was classical master at Kingswood school. As he occasionally made an excursion from Madeley to Bristol and Bath, in one of these excursions we invited him to preach at Kingswood. He came, and took as his text, ‘Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out.’ The people were exceedingly affected; indeed quite melted down. The tears streamed so fast from the eyes of the poor colliers that their black faces were washed by them. As to himself, he was carried out so far beyond his strength that, when he concluded, he put off his shirt, which was as wet as if it had been dipped in water. But this was nothing strange; whenever he preached it was generally the case. From this time, I conceived a particular esteem for him, chiefly on account of his piety; and wished much for a further acquaintance with him, a blessing which I soon after obtained; for through his means, and in consequence of Mr. Wesley’s recommendation to the Countess of Huntingdon, I was made head master of the academy, or, as it was commonly called, the college, at Trevecca, though I could ill be spared from Kingswood, where I had acted in that capacity about four years. Being greatly wanted at Kingswood, and having likewise a term to keep at Oxford, I could only pay them a short visit for the present, which was in January 1770; but in the spring following, I went to reside there, and for some time was well satisfied with my situation.”^[197]

No record exists of what transpired between Fletcher and Benson at Trevecca; but the following letter, written there, and addressed to Mr. Ireland, deserves insertion:—

“Trevecca, January 13, 1770.

“My Dear Friend,—I know not what to think of our journey. My heart frequently recoils. I have lost all hope of being able to preach in French, and I think if I could they would not permit me. I become more stupid every day; my memory fails me in a surprising manner. I am good for nothing, but to go and bury myself in my parish. I have those touches of misanthropy which make solitude my element. Judge, then, whether I am fit to go into the world. On the other hand, I fear that your journey is undertaken partly from complaisance to me, and in consequence of the engagement we made to go together. I acquit you of your promise; and, if your business does not really demand your presence in France, I beg you will not think of going there on my account. The bare idea of giving you trouble would make the journey ten times more disagreeable to me than the season of the year.

“The day after I wrote to you I preached the sermons against popery, which I had promised to my people; and Mr. S—t—r called out several times in the churchyard, as the people went out of church, that ‘there was not one word of truth in the whole of my discourse, and that he would prove it.’ He also told me that he would produce a gentleman who should answer my sermon and the pamphlet I had distributed. I was, therefore, obliged to declare in the church that I should not quit England, and was only going into Wales, from whence I would return soon to reply to the answer of Mr. S—t—r and the priest, if they should offer any. I am thus obliged to return to Madeley by my word so publicly publicly pledged, as well as to raise a little money for my journey. Were it not for these circumstances, I believe I should pay you a visit at Bristol, notwithstanding my misanthropy.

“The hamper which you mention, and for which I thank you, provided it be the last, arrived three days before my departure, but not knowing what it was, nor for whom it was intended, I put it into my cellar without opening it. I want the living water rather than cider, and righteousness more than clothes. I fear, however, lest my unbelief should make me set aside the fountain whence it flows, as I did your hamper. Be that as it may, it is high time to open the treasures of Divine mercy, and to seek in the heart of Jesus for the springs of love, righteousness, and life. The Lord give us grace so to seek that we may find, and be enabled to say with the woman in the Gospel, ‘I have found the piece of silver which I had lost.’

“If your affairs do not really call you to France I will wait until Providence and grace shall open a way to me to the mountains of Switzerland, if I am ever to see them again. Adieu! Give yourself wholly to God. A divided heart, like a divided kingdom, falls naturally by its own gravity either into darkness or into sin. My heart’s desire is that the love of Jesus may fill your soul, and that of your unworthy and greatly obliged servant,

“John Fletcher.”^[198]

The journey to Switzerland was deferred, but took place; though no one seems to know the exact date when it was begun or when it ended. In the month of July, however, Fletcher was again in England. Strangely enough, there is no letter of his that refers to the extensive tour made by him and his friend Ireland; but the latter sent the following account to Mr. Benson:—

“I was with Mr. Fletcher, day and night, nearly five months, travelling all over Italy and France. At that time, a popish priest resided in his parish, who attempted to mislead the poor people. Mr. Fletcher, therefore, throughout this journey, attended the sermons of the Roman Catholic clergy, visited their convents and monasteries, and conversed with all the most serious among them whom he met with, in order that he might know their sentiments concerning spiritual religion. He was so very particular in making observations respecting the gross and absurd practices of the priests and other clergy, especially while we were in Italy, that we were frequently in no small danger of our lives. He wished to attend the Pope’s chapel at Rome, but I would not consent to accompany him till I had obtained a promise from him that he would forbear to speak by way of censure or reproof of what he saw or heard. He met with many men of science and learning, with whom he conversed freely on Gospel truths, which most of them opposed with violence. A few listened and were edified. His whole life, as you well know, was a sermon; all his conversations were sermons. Even his disputations with infidels were full of instruction. We met with a gentleman of fortune, an excellent classical scholar, with whom we continued near a fortnight at an hotel. He said he had travelled all over Europe, and had passed through all the Societies in England to find a person whose life corresponded with the Gospels and with Paul’s Epistles. He asked me (for it was with me he first began to converse) if I knew any clergyman or dissenting minister in England, possessed of a stipend of £100 a year for the cure of souls, who would not leave them all if he were offered double that amount. I replied in the affirmative, and pointed to my friend Fletcher; when disputations commenced, which continued for many days.”^[199]

Mr. Gilpin, in Fletcher’s “Portrait of St. Paul,” adds to this account. He says:—

“This debate was continued, by adjournment, for the space of a week. Whatever had been said upon the subject by the most celebrated writers was brought forward, and thoroughly discussed. Mr. Fletcher repeatedly overcame his antagonist, who regularly lost his temper and his cause together. Mr. Fletcher took a view of the Christian’s enviable life, his consolation in trouble, and his tranquillity in danger; together with his superiority to all the evils of life and the horrors of death; interspersing his remarks with affectionate admonitions and powerful persuasives to a rational dependence upon the truths of the Gospel. At the conclusion of this memorable debate, the unsuccessful disputant conceived so exalted an idea of his opponent’s character, that he never afterwards mentioned his name but with peculiar veneration and regard; and when they met again, eight years later, in Provence, where the gentleman lived in affluence, he showed Mr. Fletcher every possible civility, entertained him at his house in the most hospitable manner, and listened to his conversation on spiritual subjects with all imaginable attention and respect.”

Mr. Gilpin mentions another incident of the same kind. Fletcher, in his travels, met a young gentleman from Genoa, who had imbibed the infidel notions of the day. They had a debate, which lasted several days, from morning till night. The sceptic was vanquished, and was so struck with the masterly skill of Fletcher, and his more than parental concern, that, before they parted, he looked up to his instructor with reverence, listened to him with admiration, and desired to be present at morning and evening prayer.^[200]

While at Marseilles, Mr. Ireland procured for Fletcher the use of a Protestant church in that neighbourhood; but the engagement to preach in it caused Fletcher great anxiety, probably because he had lost his facility in speaking the French language. He prayed about it earnestly all the week; and when Sunday morning came, he entreated Mr. Ireland to inform the minister of the church that he was unable to fulfil his engagement. Mr. Ireland refused; and Fletcher was compelled to ascend the pulpit, where he preached with such effect, that the whole congregation, among whom were many ministers, were in tears.^[201]

He determined, while in the south of France, to visit the Protestants in the Cevennes mountains, whose fathers had suffered so severely in the cause of Christ; “the heretics of the Cevennes, those accursed remainders of the old Albigenses,” as the Bull of Clement XI., dated 1703, designated them. The journey was long and difficult, but no argument could prevail with him to abandon his resolution of attempting it on foot. “Shall I,” said he to his friend Ireland, “make a visit on horseback and at ease, to those poor cottagers, whose fathers were hunted along the rocks, like partridges upon the mountains? No: I will visit them under the plainest appearance, with my staff in my hand.” Accordingly, he set out alone, and, after travelling till it was nearly dark, he entered a small house, and begged the favour of being allowed to sit in a chair till morning. The master of the cottage, after some hesitation, consented. Conversation followed; the host and hostess were charmed; the best provisions in their humble dwelling were given to the traveller; and, before they retired to rest, prayer was proposed and offered. Early on the morrow, the strange visitant renewed his conversation and his prayers; father, mother, and children were melted into tears; and the poor man himself told his neighbours that he had nearly refused to admit a stranger into his house, who was more an angel than a man. The family were papists.

Continuing his journey, Fletcher reached a small town, where he was entertained by a pious minister, to whom he had been recommended. The Protestants received him with open arms. He conversed with their elders; admonished their youth; visited their sick; and preached with freedom and success. Many among them were comforted, and many built up in their most holy faith.

As he travelled over the mountains, he, one day, put up in a small dwelling, whose master could hardly speak without uttering an oath. Of course, Fletcher, in his own peculiar way, reproved the swearer; and, with such effect, that the man confessed his sin; and ever afterwards, when in danger of falling into his old habit, nothing more was necessary to restrain him than to remember the saintly stranger who had once obtained a lodging beneath his humble roof.^[202]

Fletcher and Mr. Ireland proceeded from France to Italy, and traversed the celebrated Appian Way. As they approached it, Fletcher directed the driver to stop; for, said he to Mr. Ireland, “I cannot ride over ground where the Apostle Paul once walked, chained to a soldier.” As soon as he set his foot upon the old Roman road, he took off his hat; and, walking on with his eyes lifted up to heaven, he gave God thanks for the glorious truths which Paul preached. He rejoiced that, in England, these truths were still published; and prayed that they might be revived in Italy. He reviewed the life, the travels, the labours, and the sufferings of the great Apostle, his remarks being intermixed with prayer and praise, and the man himself resembling an incarnation of devotion.^[203]

On arriving in Switzerland, he was at once solicited by the clergy at Nyon to occupy their pulpits. He complied with their requests; and, wherever he was announced to preach, multitudes from all quarters flocked to hear him. Even deists listened to him with admiration, and the crowds seemed to think him more than human. Despisers of revelation were overawed and confounded; formalists were roused; and careless sinners startled. One of his converts betook himself to sacred studies, and became a Protestant minister at Lyons. When the time for Fletcher’s departure came, a good old minister, of more than threescore years and ten, besought him, with indescribable earnestness, to stay a little longer, even were it only for a single week; and, when he found that this was impracticable, the old gentleman burst into tears, and, addressing Mr. Ireland, cried, “Oh, Sir, how unfortunate for my country! During my lifetime, it has produced but one angel of a man, and now it is our lot to lose him!” At length the carriage, that was to bear away the travellers, appeared; multitudes crowded round about it, anxious to receive a last word or look; and not a few followed it for above two miles, before they could summon sufficient resolution to bid farewell to their saintly compatriot whom they had learned to love so much.^[204]

Fletcher reached England about the time of midsummer 1770. His tour had done him good, and had prepared him for the more than ordinary trials that awaited him.

160. Trevecca College was supported at the sole expense of the Countess of Huntingdon till her death, on June 17, 1791. “Had her ability been equal to her desire for its continuance, she would have endowed it, and thereby have provided for its perpetuity.” About four years before her decease, and with her full approval, provision was made for the future. Seven trustees were appointed to take care of the College after her ladyship’s death; and a subscription was begun for its maintenance. This accumulated fund, in 1791, amounted to £585, 3 per cent. Consols. The lease of the Trevecca property had expired, and it was now determined to remove the college to Cheshunt, near London. Accordingly, the Trevecca house was given up at Lady-day, 1792; the furniture, the library, and the communion plate were taken to Cheshunt, where the new establishment was formally opened on August 24, the anniversary of the commencement of the abandoned one at Trevecca. A religious service, of nearly three hours and a-half’s duration, was held; Lady Anne Agnes Erskine, executrix of the Countess of Huntingdon, presided; and seven or eight hundred persons were present. (“The Order observed at the opening of the Countess of Huntingdon’s College at Cheshunt, London, 1792,” 8vo., 86 pp.)

176. Baratier was a German, born in 1721, and is said to have understood the German, French, Greek, and Latin languages when he was five years old. At the age of nine, he could not only translate the Hebrew Scriptures into Latin or French, but also re-translate these versions into Hebrew. Before he had completed his tenth year, he composed a Hebrew Lexicon of rare and difficult words, with curious critical remarks. In his thirteenth year he translated from the Hebrew “Rabbi Benjamin’s Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa,” and published them in two volumes, “with historical and critical notes and dissertations.” He also, with remarkable success, applied himself to the study of philosophy, mathematics, ecclesiastical history, law, etc. He died in his twentieth year.