at Bristol, and having received a favourable answer, recommended him and his brother, in the strongest manner to the people, and earnestly prayed that the last might be first; for he was determined to pursue the scheme of the orphan-house, and return again to his retreat at Georgia.

Mr. Wesley being come, he took an affectionate leave of his friends at Bristol, and made a second excursion to Wales, where an awakening had begun some years before, by the instrumentality of the Rev. Griffith Jones, and was now carried on by the ministry of Mr. Howel Harris, a man of energetic powers, great zeal, and considerable learning. They met at Cardiff. Travelling together, they preached from town to town, Mr. Whitefield in English, and Mr. Harris afterwards in Welch, to many thousands, meeting with much opposition, and many threats; but were enabled to bear all with patience, and undaunted fortitude.

April 8. From Wales, he went to Gloucestershire. Here a church was allowed him for once or twice, but no more. However, he preached in Boothall, (the place where the judges sit) and in his brother's field to numerous congregations.* His deep concern for the salvation

* At the time of Mr. Whitefield's preaching in Gloucester, old Mr. Cole, a dissenting minister, used to say, "these are the days of the Son of man indeed." This Mr. Cole, Mr. Whitefield, when a boy, was taught to ridicule. And being asked once by one of his congregation, what business he would be of? He said, "A minister; but he would take care never to tell stories in the pulpit like old Cole." About twelve years afterwards, the old man hearing him preach, and tell some story to illustrate the subject he was upon, and having been informed what he had before said, made this remark to one of his elders: "I find that young Whitefield can now tell stories, as well as old Cole." He was much affected with Mr. Whitefield's preaching, and so humble, that he used to subscribe himself his curate; and went about preaching after him in the country, from place to place. But one evening, whilst preaching, he was struck with death, and then asked for a chair to lean on, till he concluded his sermon: when he was carried up stairs he died. Mr. Whitefield's reflection upon this is" O blessed God! if it be thy holy will, may my exit be like his!"

As to Mr. Whitefield's telling stories in the pulpit, some perhaps may find fault; but, beside that he had an uncommon fund of pas.

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of his countrymen, his relatives and friends, (though làbouring under great bodily weakness) caused him to comply with their invitation to preach at Painswick, Cheltenham, Evesham, &c. &c. &c. Wandering thus from place to place, standing at market crosses, in barns, and highways, conferring not with flesh and blood, when he might have lived at ease; pressing on through evil and good report, and yet he was supported and preserved.*

April 21, he again went to Oxford, to visit his methodist friends; and in a few days came to London, where he attempted to preach at Islington church, Mr. Stonehouse, the minister, being a friend to the methodists; but in the midst of the prayers, the church warden came, and forbad his preaching in the pulpit. He might, perhaps, have insisted on his right to preach, yet for peace sake he declined; and after the communion service was over, he preached in the church-yard.

Opportunities of preaching in the churches being now denied him, and his preaching in the fields being attended with a remarkable blessing, he judged it his duty to go on in this practice, and ventured the following Sunday, April 29, into Moorfields. Public notice having been given, and the thing being new and singular, upon coming out of the coach he found an incredible number of people assembled. Many had told him, that he should never come again out of that place alive. He went in, however, between two of his friends, who by the pressure of the crowd were soon parted entirely from him, and were obliged to leave him

sages, proper enough to be thus told, and a peculiar talent of tell. ing them; it was certainly, a mean of drawing multitudes to hear him, who would not have attended to the truths of the gospel de. livered in the ordinary manner.

During his visit in Wales, he preached one day near the castle at Carmarthen, from these words-" Turn ye to the strong holds, ye prisoners of hope." poor man, by affliction confined to his habitation, which was situated on the river Gwilly, about a mile from the town, was left at home alone, while the rest of his family went to hear Mr. Whitefield. On their return he said to them, "Dont think I have heard nothing of the sermon: he told you there are strong holds and hope.”

to the mercy of the rabble. But these, instead of hurting him, formed a lane for him, and carried him along to the middle of the fields, (where a table had been placed, which was broken in pieces by the crowd) and afterwards back again to the wall that then parted the Upper and lower Moorfields; from whence he preached without molestation, to an exceeding great multitude in the lower fields. Finding such encouragement, he went that same evening to Kennington-common, a large open place, near three miles distant from London, where he preached to a vast multitude, who were all attention, and behaved with as much regularity and quietness, as if they had been in a church.

CHAPTER V.

From his preaching in Moorfields, &c. to his laying the foundation of the orphan-house in Georgia, 1740.

FOR several months after this, Moorfields, Kennington-common, and Blackheath, were the chief scenes of action. At a moderate computation, the auditories often consisted of above TWENTY THOUSAND. It is said, their singing could be heard two miles off, and his voice near a mile. Sometimes there were upwards of a hundred coaches, besides waggons, scaffolds, and other contrivances, which particular persons let out for the convenience of the audience. Having no other method to take, he was obliged to collect for the orphan-house in the fields, or not at all, which was humbling to him and his friends who assisted him in that work. But the willingness with which the people gave, and the prayers which they put up upon throwing in their mites, were very encouraging. In the mean while Mr. John Wesley was labouring with great

zeal at Bristol, and his brother, Mr. Charles, in London and elsewhere; Mr. Ingham had been preaching in many churches of Yorkshire, Mr. Kinchin in Oxford, and Mr. Rogers in Bedfordshire. Thus the seed sown was gradually increased, and the embargo which was now laid on the shipping, gave him leisure for more journeys through various parts of England; and God was pleased to crown his labours with amazing success.

Some demur happening in Bristol, he went there for a few days, put Mr. John Wesley (who had now made progress in building the Kingswood school, and also had begun a room at Bristol) in full power, and took him along with him, and introduced him as a field preacher at Gloucester and other places. Every where the word seemed to sink deeper and deeper into the hearts of the hearers. Singing and praying were heard in Kingswood, instead of cursing and swearing; and in many other places the fruits of righteousness evidently appeared.

Many false reports were now spread abroad concerning him. Not a journey he could make, but he was either killed or wounded, or died suddenly. One groundless fiction was continually invented after another, and the bishop of London laid hold of this occasion for publishing a charge to his clergy to avoid the extremes of enthusiasm and lukwarmness. But amidst these discouragements, he was not left without the countenance and friendship of several persons of influence.

The embargo being taken off, and upwards of a THOUSAND POUNDS collected for the orphan-house, he sailed the second time for America, August 14, 1739, with a family consisting of eight men, one boy, and two children, besides his friend Mr. Seward.

After a passage of nine weeks, he arrived at Philadelphia in the beginning of November, and was immediately invited to preach in the churches, to which people of all denominations thronged as in England.* From thence

The effects produced in Philadelphia at this time by the preaching of Mr. Whitefield, were truly astonishing, Numbers of almost

he was invited to New York, by Mr. Noble, the only person with whom he had an acquaintance in that city. Upon his arrival, they waited on the commissary; but he refused him the use of his church. Mr. Whitefield, therefore, preached in the fields, and on the evening of the same day, to a very thronged and attentive audience in the Rev. Mr. Pemberton's meeting-house; and continued to do so twice or thrice a-day for above a week, with apparent success.

On his way to and from Philadelphia, he also preached at Elizabeth-town, Maidenhead, Abington, Neshaminy, Burlington, and New Brunswick, in the New Jerseys, to some thousands gathered from various parts, among whom there had been a considerable awakening, by the instrumentality of a Mr. Freelinghausen, a Dutch minister, and the Messrs. Tennents, Blair, and Rowland.* He had also

all religious denominations, and many who had no connection with any denomination, were brought to inquire, with the utmost earnestness, what they should do to be saved. Such was the eagerness of the multitude to listen to spiritual instruction, that there was public worship regularly twice a day for a year; and on the Lord'sday it was celebrated generally thrice, and frequently four times. An aged man, deeply interested in the scenes which then were witnessed, and who is still living, has informed the writer, that the city (not then probably a third so large as it now is) contained TWENTY-SIX Societies for social prayer and religious conferences; and probably there were others not known to him.-Memoirs of Mrs. Hannah Hodge, published at Philadelphia, 1806.

During this visit to Philadelphia, he preached frequently after night from the gallery of the court-house in Market street. So loud was his voice at that time, that it was distinctly heard on the Jersey shore, and so distinct was his speech, that every word he said was understood on board of a shallop at Market-street wharf, a distance of upwards of 400 feet from the court-house. All the intermediate space was crowded with his hearers. This fact was communicated to the recorder of it by a gentleman lately deceased, who was in the shallop.

*This truly pious and eloquent man, being invited to preach in the Baptist church, proclaimed the terrors of the divine law with such energy to those whose souls were already sinking under them, that a few fainted away. On this occasion, however, his error was publicly corrected by the Rev. Gilbert Tennent, who, standing at the foot of the pulpit, and seeing the effect produced on the assembly, interrupted and arrested the preacher by this address:—' Bro