Chapter XXVII (2)

It was about this period that the Rev. Dr. Haweis, rector of Aldwincle; the Rev. Cradock Glascott, afterwards vicar of Hatherleigh, in Devonshire; the Rev. William Jesse, perpetual curate and lecturer of West Bromwich, in Staffordshire; and the Rev. John Harmer, of Warrington, commenced preaching in the chapels of Lady Huntingdon, and wherever she required them to itinerate. In the early part of his ministry Mr. Jesse was an occasional preacher at Tottenham-court Chapel, and was held in good estimation by Mr. Whitefield and Lady Huntingdon. In 1771 this exemplary minister was situated in Lincolnshire. Mr. Venn, in a letter to Mrs. Ryland, says, “Mr. Jesse met me at Malton, and accompanied me as far as Hull: he is a very excellent man, and seems appointed to evangelize the _Wolds_, the inhabitants of which are dark almost as the Indians.” How highly Lady Huntingdon thought of him, her own words will best tell--“Dear, honest-hearted Jesse has my best wishes. He is a humble, devoted soul, and much in earnest in his Master’s work. Having ever found him faithful, I can in truth recommend him to your Lordship’s kind notice and patronage.” This was addressed to Lord Dartmouth, through whose interest he became curate and lecturer of West Bromwich. He also became rector of Dowles and Riblesford, in the county of Worcester, and chaplain to the Earl of Glasgow. Mr. Harmer was sent by her Ladyship to Brighton and Oathall; he also preached occasionally at Bath, but he was not a popular speaker. After some time, however, he thought proper to withdraw from all connexion with her Ladyship, and declined preaching in her chapels, without assigning any cause for such a step. This was the source of much vexation and disappointment to her Ladyship; and to this Mr. Fletcher alludes in the following letter, dated Morley, December 9, 1766:--

“I stayed in London just to receive your Ladyship’s letter,
but not to see Mr. Glascott or Mr. Harmer. For some days the
_latter_ had kept out of my way, nor did I know the reason.
He told Jesse his design to decline serving the chapels of
your Ladyship, but hid it from me. I had it from Jesse the day
before I set out. So far as I could gather, he was fixed in his
resolution; and whether his reasons were solid or only pretended
ones, to his own Master he stands or falls, and by Him they
will be tried. In the Gospel I had rather have nobody than an
unwilling servant and a slave. Providence, I hope, designs you
a son. Sarah waited long for Isaac. She saw the ingratitude of
Hagar, and the pertness of Ishmael, before the true seed was
given her. The believer does not make haste. It is a blessing
that the cause is the Lord’s, and that the disposal of all
affairs and all hearts is in his hands. If a sparrow falleth
not to the ground without his leave, much less can a minister
fall from an agreement without it. He will never suffer a
disappointment to befall us, but to prevent a greater one, or to
bring in a superior blessing. This we shall see in the end. In
the meantime, I repeat it, we walk by faith.”

Mr. Harmer joined Mr. Wesley, and in the year 1780 was situated at Warrington; of his subsequent history little is known. The Rev. W. Buckingham, who held a curacy in Cornwall, preached for Lady Huntingdon on Mr. Harmer’s secession. Soon after he too joined Mr. Wesley, but in two years withdrew from the Methodists. “He had no sooner done this (says Mr. Wesley), than the Bishop rewarded him by turning him out of his curacy, which, had he continued to walk in Christian simplicity, he would probably have had to this day.” In 1781 he was residing in London, assisting Mr. Wesley as a curate, with Mr. Richardson; but at what period he terminated his course we have not been able to learn.

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

WILLIAM EDWARD PAINTER, STRAND, LONDON, PRINTER.

INDEX TO VOL. I.

Abney, Lady, 58
Sir Thomas and Lady, 201

Abraham, Old, at Oathall, 319

Akenside, Dr., 136

Aldwincle living and Mr. Kimpton, 413

Andrews, Mr., and Bishop of Gloucester, 480

Anecdote of Lord Bolingbroke and Dr. Church, 179
of Newton’s preaching at Leeds, 271
of Captain Scott, 317, 381, 484
of Conversion of an old Inn Keeper at Aldwincle Church, 420
of Dr. Doddridge on leaving Bath for Falmouth, 450
of George I. and Lady Chesterfield, 463
of Mr. Venn, 479, 486

Articles of Peace, 437

Ashby-place, Lady Huntingdon at, 119

Ayscough, Dr., Dean of Bristol, and Doddridge, 175

Baddelley, Mr., Letter of Whitefield to, 120

Baptists, General, 44

Bath, Earl of, impressed under Whitefield’s preaching, 465
the Countess’s Chapel at, 443, 467

Batty, the Messrs., account of, 247

Belcher, Governor, of New Jersey College, 140

Bell and Maxfield, Fletcher’s regard for, 321

Bennett, Mr., visits the Countess at Donnington Park, 45

Berridge and the Countess, 216
Letters to the Countess, 323, 336, 359, 386, 388
Extracts of Letters from, 358
and the Bees, 366
Character of, wit and labours, 367
and the Bishop, 369
Letter to, from Mr. Thornton, 371
---- from, to Mr. Thornton, 373
Illness of, 381
Singular effects of the preaching of, 397

Bishops, Conduct of, 38
of London, Oxford, and Gloucester, 196
---- Death of, 231
Seat of, in Bath Chapel, 477

Blair, Dr., 58

Bliss, Mr., impressed under Dr. Haweis, 391

Bowers, first lay preacher among the Methodists, 32

Bolingbroke, Lord, hears Whitefield, 90
Death of, 178

Bretby Hall, the Countess at, 466

Brethren, the United, 246

Brighton, Chapel re-opened, 378

Broughton, Rev., Bryan and Whitefield, 196

Browne, Rev. Moses, Chaplain to the Duke of Somerset, 127, 164

Buchan, Lady, 427

Buckingham, Duchess of, 27

Burder, Rev. George, and Romaine, 273

Burnet, Bishop, 39

Burnett, Rev. G., impressed under Mr. Walker of Truro, 276

Burr, President, of New Jersey College, 140

Cambridge, Progress of piety at, 421

Campbell, the Hon. Hume, 205

Carteret, Lord, Letter to the Countess, 67

Cavendish, Mrs., visits the Countess at Bath, 461

Cennick, Mr., 32, 198, 262

Chancellor, Lord High, found guilty of corruption, 6

Chapel of the Countess, at York, 310
at Brighton, 314, 390
at Lewes, 364
at Chichester, Petworth, Guildford and Basingstoke, 393
at Gloucester, Worcester, and Cheltenham, 440

Charges against the Countess, 424

Cheltenham, Whitefield, Madan, and Venn preached there, 429

Chesterfield, Lord, 90, 99, 115, 458
Lady, impressed under Whitefield, 462

Church, Dr., 179

Clanricardes, Pedigree of, 3

Clergy, awakened under the preaching of Whitefield and Wesley, 61

Coachman of George III., Anecdote of, 131

Cobb, Lady Betty, influence over the Bishops, 477

Colne, Vicar of, and Messrs. Grimshaw and Ingham, 259

Conference, First Methodist, 62
at Leeds, 267

Convict, the Countess’s exertions in behalf of a, 227

Conyers, Dr., commencement of Evangelical Ministry of, 277
Visitation Sermon displeases the Archbishop of York, 280
Letter from, to the Countess, 281

Cooper, Miss; Death of, 52

Cotton, Dr., and the Countess, 157

Cruttenden, Robert, Esq., Account of, 448

Darracott, Rev. R., Letter to, from the Countess, 114

Dartmouth, Lord, 276, 326, 429

Davies, Howell, 486

Deane, Mrs., Character of, 296

De Courcy, Mr., 381, 411

Delamotte and Charles Wesley, 243

Delitz, the Countess, 462

Derry, Bishop of, 33

Dodd, Dr., 401

Doddridge, Dr., Letter to, from the Countess, 64
Letter of, to Mr. Fawcett, 154
Ill health of, visits the Countess at Bath, 448, 449
embarks at Falmouth and lands at Lisbon, 451
his views when near death, 452
his peaceful dissolution, 452

Downes, Mr., Death of, in the pulpit, 63

Dream of a lady respecting Lady Huntingdon, 313

Earthquake in London, 128

Edwin, Mrs., 86

Edwin, Lady Charlotte, 175

Erasmus, Bishop of Arcadia, 331

Erskine, Dr., and Dr. Robertson, 184

Evangelical Magazine commenced, 214

Exeter, Bishop of, 95, 125

Extraordinary occurrence, 205

Fast, the public, 395

Ferrers, the, 4

Ferrers, Lord, tried--visited by the Countess--singular
conduct--execution, 402, 409

Fletcher, Mr., introduced to the Countess by John Wesley, 231
Letter of, to Whitefield, 289
---- to his Flock at Madeley, 469
Letters of, to Charles Wesley, 232, 235
---- to the Countess, 234, 241, 295, 357, 487
preaches & celebrates the Communion at the Countess’s, 232
appointed vicar of Madeley, 234
visits Berridge, 236
Success of, in the Ministry, 237
and Mr. Venn preach at Everton, loud cries in the Congregation,
400
Labours of, at Bath, 468

Foote, the player, 208

Ford, Dr., 216

Fox, Mr. Charles, 210

Frankland, Lady Anne, 20

Galatin, Colonel and Mrs., 156

Gardiner, Colonel, 59
Marvellous Conversion of, 60
Death of, 66

Gardiner, Lady Frances, 410

Garrick and Dr. Stonehouse, 139

George II., 67

Gertrude, Lady, 456

Giardini, 229

Gibbon, Mrs. Hester, 147

Gibbons, Dr., 111

Gill, Dr., 113

Glascott, Mr., 310

Glenorchy, Lady, 411
Lord and Lady, 470
Lady, Letter from, to the Countess, 471

Gloucester, Bishop of, 18

Gloucestershire Association, 434

Godwyn, Rev. Charles, 423

Government, Liberal conduct of, to the Welsh Methodists, 110

Grafton, Duke of, 210

Graves, Mr., his Recantation and Letters, 48–51
encourages John Nelson, 255

Grenfield, Mrs., 453

Grimshaw, Mr., 252
Opinions of, 259
Account of, 267, 271, 286
Letter of, 284
and his friend Robertshaw, 286
Death of, 286

Gumley, Colonel, 94

Gwynne, Marmaduke, Esq., 110

Halifax, Lord, 210

Hammond, the Poet, 22

Handel, 229

Harris, Howel, 378

Hartley, Mr., 172

---- Dr., 450

Hastings, Lady Margaret, 14
George and Ferdinando (sons of the Countess), Death of, 62
Lady Frances, 84
---- Anne, 122
---- Betty, 248
Hon. Henry, Death of, 311
Lady Selina, Illness and death of, 331
Colonel George, 332

Haweis, Dr., 223
preaching at the Lock, 326
and the living of Aldwincle, 414
itinerates for the Countess, 487

Hertford, Countess of, Letter of, 197

Hervey, Mr., Letter of, to the Countess, 123
at Ashby with the Countess, 153
commences “Theron and Aspasio”, 187
method of preaching, 191
Letters to the Countess, 188, 189

Hill, Mr. Rowland, great popularity, 211
style of preaching, 212
great success at Tabernacle and Tottenham-court Chapels, 212
Ordination by the Bishop of Bath and Wells and first Sermon,
212

Hill, Sir Richard, 423

Hinchingbroke, Lady, 30

Horne, Dr., Bishop of Norwich, 423

Hotham, Lady Gertrude, 160, 454
Sir Charles, 375
---- Marriage of, and death, 456, 457
Miss, Happy death of, 456
Lady, Death of, 456
Lady Gertrude, Happy death of, 457

HUNTINGDON Family, 7
Earl of, his family, 8
---- his character, 17, 50
---- visits Ledstone Hall, 254
---- remarkable dream, and death, 74
---- epitaph, 75
Young Lord, comes of age, tour to France, &c., 115
---- his high appointments under George III., 458
---- his Infidelity, interview with Grimshaw, and death, 459
Lady--her birth--early character--first religious
impressions--grave of youth--piety--private
prayer--fashionable life--marriage, 7–10
Letter from, to Charles Wesley, 41
---- to John Wesley, 46
---- of, respecting a penitent, 55
---- respecting Mr. Harvey, 192
---- to Dr. Doddridge, 64
---- to Mr. Wesley, 71
---- to Dr. Doddridge, 78–83, 102, 150
---- to Mr. Venn, 225
---- to Romaine, 305
---- to Mr. Milner, 307
---- to Mr. Wren, 309
---- to Gabriel Harris, 443
---- to Mr. Brewer, 438
---- to Mr. Wesley, 475
and the Moravians, 201
Illness of, and recovery, 122
Letters of, to Lord Dartmouth and Mr. Madan, 417, 418
her first acquaintance with Mr. Fletcher--Letter of, concerning
Mr. Fletcher--her request to him to preach to the French
prisoners at Tunbridge, 231
liberates John Nelson from prison, by her influence, 258
visits Yorkshire, with Whitefield, 265
visits Aberford, with Romaine, 273
visits Yorkshire and Lancashire, with Romaine, Mr. Ingham, and
Lady Margaret, 273
visits Yorkshire again, has frequent meetings with the pious
Clergy there, 281
attends the 19th Conference at Leeds, with Messrs. Romaine,
Madan, Venn, Whitefield, John and Charles Wesley, 281
visits Aberford again--takes an excursion to Haworth, Fletcher
and Townsend preach in the churchyard--visits Huddersfield,
290
Illness of, 290
and Mr. Venn, respecting Mr. Ingham’s state of mind, 301
sends students to Yorkshire, 303
Chapel of, at York, 310
---- at Lewes, opened, enlarged, and re-opened, 364
---- at Gloucester, Worcester, and Cheltenham, 441, 442
---- at Bath, 443
exertions at Brighton, 312
sells her Jewels to build a Chapel at Brighton, 314
Gratitude of, respecting Mr. Romaine’s success at St. Anne’s,
Blackfriars, 363
---- at Chichester, Guildford, and Basingstoke, 393
Extracts from letters respecting the Fast, 395
visits Mr. Berridge, with Mr. Madan, 399
visits Earl Ferrers in prison--her exertions to save his life,
405
purchases the Advowson of Aldwincle, and writes to Mr. Thornton,
416
Charges against, respecting the six expelled Oxford Students,
424
Letter of, respecting them, 442
Illness of, greatly blest, 14
Schools of, 51
Anecdote of one of her workmen, 54
Death of the Sons of, 62
her attachment to the Church of England, 83

Huntingdon, Lady, Nobility meeting at her house, 108, 228
the Wesleys, and Whitefield, 474
the Nobility attend her Chapel at Bath, 477

Hurd, Dr., Bishop of Worcester, Anecdote of, 18

Hyatt, Mr. John, his settlement at Tabernacle, and Tottenham
Chapel, 214

Incident, Singular, concerning Dr. Doddridge, 154

Ingham, Mr., 28, 242
Marriage of, to Lady Margaret Hastings, 248
leaves the Moravians, 263
chosen General Overseer, 269
Melancholy state of, 301
Lady Margaret, Illness and death of, 302

Inghamite Churches and Discipline, 269
Preachers, 270

Impostor, an, 114

Irvine, Lady, 297

Itinerants, 33

Jesse, Mr., Letter of, 363

Jews, the, 114

John, Lord St., attendant at the Countess’s, Death of, 97

Johnson, Dr., on Bolingbroke’s Works, 181

Johnson, Mr., the Murder of, by Lord Ferrers, 402

Jones, Mr., the death of, 54
of St. Saviour’s, the death of, 325
Thomas, 394

Joss, Captain, unites in the Ministry with Whitefield, 212

Keene, Mr., 213, 468

Kilmorey, Lady, 81

King, Elizabeth, 453

Knight, Mr. Joel Abraham, 214

---- Titus, 283

Larwood, Mr., 446

Law, Mr., 148, 223

Lee, Mr., 483

Levi, David, 114

Levinges, the, 6

Lewes, the Countess procures an opening for Messrs. Romaine, Madan,
and Fletcher at, 363

Lewes, Chapel of the Countess at, opened and re-opened, 364

Lindsay, Theophilus, 459

Lisburne, Lord, 30

Long-Acre Chapel, 203

Lothian, Marquis of, 100

Luxborough, Lady, 181

Lyttleton, Lord, 150

---- Mr., 177

Madan, Mr. Martin, his family, conversion, ordination, &c., 165,
166, 323

Madan, Mr. Martin, opens the Chapel at Brighton, 314
and Dr. Haweis, Musical taste of, 364
Letter of the Countess to, 418
Reply of, 420
Letter of, to John Wesley, 433

Magistrates and John Nelson, 255

Mallet, Mr. David, and Bolingbroke’s Works, 181

Marlborough, Sarah, Duchess of, 25

Mason, Mr. William, Letter of, to Dr. Free, 364

Maxfield, Mr., 32
and Bell, 321

Maxwell, Lady, 411

Methodists, the, 12, 31
the first Society of, 19
Welsh, Persecution of, 110
Societies, 195
Conference, 446

Methodism, Rise of, in Yorkshire, 242
in Scotland, 410

Milner, Mr., 267
Mr. Joseph, attends the Countess’s Preachers, and begins to
preach the Gospel, 303

Ministers, the German, 115

Minor, The, publication of, 209

Mitchell, Mrs., 40

Mohegan Indians, 411

Moira, Countess of, 460

Montague, Lady Mary Wortley, 22

Moravians, the, 36, 453
and Charles Wesley, 41
Settlement of, at Fulneck, 250
Nobles, 262

More, Mrs. Hannah, 293

Moorfields, Preaching of Whitefield and Wesley in, 36, 199

Murray, Grace, marriage to Mr. Bennett, 45

Nash, Beau, 445

Nelson, John, 46, 251
Spirit of, encouraged by the Countess, 255, 256
imprisoned, 257
liberated through the influence of the Countess, 258

Newton, Rev. John, Anecdote related by, respecting Whitefield, 92
visits Yorkshire, 270
Letter of, to John Wesley, 270

Nimmo, Mr. and Lady Jane, 185
Lady Jane, Letter of, to the Countess, 186

Nobility, Scotch, 185

Nobility attend preaching at the Countess’s, 108, 228, 477

Northampton, Lord, 132

Oathall, 316

Occum, the Indian Preacher, 298, 411

Okeley, Mr. Francis, 244

Oliver, Dr., 450, 451

Oratorio, at the Lock Chapel, 364

Oxford, Lord, 29

Oxford, Students of, 421
Progress of piety among, 226
St. Edmund’s Hall, the expulsion of, 422

Penitent’s Death Bed, 55

Pentycross, Mr., 393

Perfection, Christian and sinless, 321, 329

Perronet, Vincent, 387

Piety, Progress of, at Cambridge, 421

Pitt, Mr., 210

Pope, the poet, 26, 444

Potter, Dr., Archbishop of Canterbury, 446

Powys, Mr. and Mrs., 375

Preaching, Lay, 32

Preachers, Lay, 60, 198
Mr. Wesley’s Defence of, 61
Welsh, 84, 198

Pretender, the, 65

Queensbury, Duchess of, 28

Religion, Revival of, in the Establishment and among the
Methodists, 220

Riddell, Mr., Letter of, to the Countess, 303

Robinson, Miss, 29

Rogers, Mr., 244

Romaine, Mr., Family of, 130
Letters of, to the Countess, 323, 324, 327, 330, 362
---- to Mrs. Medhurst, 302, 333
Great popularity of, 130
appointed Chaplain to the Countess, 132
Opinion of, respecting the Inghamite Churches, 273
preaches in Mr. Ingham’s Chapels, 273
at Haworth, preaches in the open air, 274
Wesley, Madan, Whitefield, &c. in Yorkshire, 281
Connexion of, with the Countess, 315
driven from the chapel of the Broadway, 326
and the Lectureship at St. Dunstan’s, 360
Lord Mansfield’s decision in favour of, 360
Influence of the Bishop of Peterborough for, 361
Election for St. Ann’s Blackfriars living on behalf of, 361
Probation Sermon; contest, canvassing and scrutiny, 361
Second Election on behalf of, 362
view of his preferment in a letter to the Countess, 363

Romaine, Mr., Suit in Chancery against, but decided in his favour,
362
preaches at Bristol and Cheltenham, 388
and Madan visit Everton, 398

Rowley, Mr., 310

Sandeman’s letters, 274

Scarborough, Lord, 20

Scawen, Mrs., 448

Scott, Captain, 299, 317
and Mr. Venn, 485

Secker, Archbishop, 19

Shent, Mr. William, 291

Shirley, Family of, &c., 1
Lady Fanny, 22, 115, 191, 444
Mr., 363

Shrapnell, 467

Shunamite, the London, 299

Shuter, Mr. Edward, the comedian, Anecdote of, 207

Simpson, Mr., Mr. Wesley’s opinion of, 47

Society at Fetter-lane, Separation of, 35

Soldiers, Christian, 93

Somerset, the Duchess of, 82
the Duke of, 127

Somerville, the Poet, 22

Southey, Dr., 18
Reflections of, on Berridge, and their refutation, 367

Steward, Mr., 193

Stillingfleet, Mr., 478

Stonehouse, Lady, 155
Dr., 170

Suffolk, Lady, 98

Sunderland, Lord, 258

Sutherland, Lord and Lady, Death of, 472

Tabernacle and Tottenham-court Chapels, History of, commencement,
opening, &c., 196–206

Talbot, Rev. W., 381

Taylor, David, 43

Temples, the, 21

Thompson, Mr., 126

Thorne, Rev. Thomas, 393

Thornton, Mr., 280
---- Letter of, to Berridge, 371

Thorold, Sir John, 77

Thorpe, Mr., mimics Whitefield, and is converted, 149

Toplady, Mr., 331, 390

Tottenham-court Chapel opened, 206

Townsend, Lady, 22

Townsend, Mr., sent to Edinburgh, 411

Townsend, Mr. and Mr. Jesse, 466
-- Whitefield, &c., 467

Trapp, Dr., 179

Trinder, Mr., 431

Tyler, Mr., 305
-- Labours of, at Hull, 306

Union among the Evangelical Clergy proposed, 409

Venn, Mr., begins to attract notice, 219
Acquaintance of, with Mr. Broughton, one of the original
Methodists, 223
Illness of; accompanies Mr. Whitefield to Bristol; remains with
the Countess at Clifton, 224
removes to Huddersfield, 276
Letters of, to the Countess, 282, 287, 336, 359, 430
publishes “The Complete Duty of Man”, 359
Letter of, 486
Irregularities of, 291
Defence of, 294
Whitefield and Fletcher, 375
and Fletcher preach at Everton, 398
at Trevecca, 482

Wales, Death of the Prince of, 173

Wall, Joseph, 313

Walpole, Horace, 465
at Bath, 477

Warburton, Dr., Bishop of Gloucester, 444

Wardrobe, Mr., 187

Watts, Dr., 58
Letter of, to Dr. Doddridge, 82
Anecdote of, 200

Wells, Mr. Samuel, 431

Wesley, Charles and Mr. Ingham, 28
---- and the Moravians, 41
John, Opinion of, respecting Mr. Maxfield’s call to the Ministry,
34
---- of, respecting Mr. Simpson, 47
preaching on his father’s tombstone, 57
defence of Lay-preaching, 60
and Whitefield, 118
and Whitefield, Breach between, 197
on sinless perfection, 329
preaching at Everton, 398
Letters of, to Lady Huntingdon, 398, 427
---- to Lady Maxwell, 411
Interesting anecdote of, at Bath, interrupted in preaching by
Beau Nash, 445

Wesley, John, Whitefield, and Lady Huntingdon, 474

Whitefield, the preaching of, 17
arrives in England, 89
Letters of, 88, 89
---- to Mr. Baddeley, 119, 153
---- to the Countess, 225, 311
Letter of, to Lady Townshend, 105
---- to Lady Fanny Shirley, 116
---- to Dr. Haweis, 226
---- to Robert Keene, Esq., 468
---- to Mr. Madan, 432
preaching of, Anecdote, 102
nobility hear him, 108
and Wesley, 118
Success of, at Rotherham, 148
at Ashby, 163
visits Scotland, 183
in London, 196
and Wesley, Breach between, 197
preaches in Moorfields on St. Bartholomew’s day, 199
the Will of, 216
returns to England, and writes to Mr. Ingham, 264
visits Yorkshire, preaches at Leeds, York, Bradford, Haworth,
&c., 267
visits Yorkshire again, 291
First visit of, to Brighton, 314
Fletcher, Venn, and Sir C. Hotham, 375
Wesley, Maxfield, and others hold prayer meetings for the nation,
396

Wilks, Matthew, 213

Wills, Mr., 310

Wilson, Mr., 300

Wordsworth, Mrs., 467

Wren, Mr., 308

Wynn, Sir Watkin Williams, 109

York, Chapel of the Countess at, 308
Duke of, 400

Young, Dr., 21

Zinzendorff, Count, 244
visits the Countess, 454
---- Yorkshire, 261

FOOTNOTES:

[1] See Williams’s “Missionary Enterprizes.”

[2] Lady Dorothy Shirley took for her second husband, in 1634, William Stafford of Blatherwick, county of Northampton, Esq. The last male heir of this family was William Stafford, Esq., who died without issue. Of his two sisters, his co-heirs, the elder, Susannah, married in 1699, Henry O’Brien, Esq., son of Sir Donatus O’Brien, of Dromoland, in the county of Clare. The present representative of this family is Stafford O’Brien, Esq., of Blatherwycke Park, who married a daughter of the late excellent Lady Barham: the younger, Anne, became the wife of George Lord Carberry.

[3] She had a numerous family, and two of her five sons were successively Earls of Clanricarde; Richard, the eldest, left a daughter, Lady Dorothy, who married Alexander Pendarves, Esq., of Roscarron, in Cornwall; John, the second son, who succeeded to the title after the death of his brother Richard, without issue male, was the colonel of a regiment of foot in King James’s army, and created by that monarch, after his abdication, Baron de Burgh, of Bophin, an island adjacent to the county of Galway. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Aghrim, at the head of his regiment, brought to the castle of Dublin, and thence went to England, being outlawed and attained, and his estates forfeited, for his adherence to that king; but, in the first year of the reign of Queen Anne, an act of Parliament was passed for making provision for the Protestant children of Richard, Earl of Clanricarde, and John Lord Bophin, whereby he was acquitted of all treasons and attainders, himself and children restored to their blood and estate; and Montague, Earl of Abingdon, Robert Earl Ferrars (the grandfather of Lady Huntingdon), and Henry Thynne, Esq., afterwards Viscount Weymouth, his next (Protestant) relations, were appointed guardians to his sons, for the purpose of completing their education in the Protestant religion. One of these sons, Michael, who became tenth Earl, was great grandfather to the present Marquis of Clanricarde.

Ulick de Burgh, the fourth son of Lettice, Countess of Clanricarde, was created Viscount Galway. He was a nobleman of true courage, and endowed with many good qualities: he commanded a regiment of foot in King James’s army, and was killed at the battle of Aghrim, in the 22nd year of his age. As he died without issue, as well as the third and fifth sons of his mother, the title became extinct. Besides five sons, Lady Clanricarde had four daughters, two of whom died unmarried; Lady Margaret, the eldest, married, first, Bryan, Viscount Magennis, of Iveagh; and secondly, Thomas Butler, Esq., of Kilcash, in the county of Tipperary, where she died, his widow, July 19, 1744; Lady Honora, the second daughter, first married Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan, who was killed at the battle of Landen, July 19, 1693; and secondly, in the chapel of the Castle of St. Germain’s, near Paris, in 1695, James Fitz-James, Duke of Berwick, Marshal, Duke, and Peer of France (eldest natural son of James II. by Lady Arabella Churchill, sister to John, Duke of Marlborough), one of the greatest Generals in Europe, who was killed at the siege of Philipsburgh, June 12, 1734, leaving issue by her (who died at Pezenas, a city of Languedoc, in 1698), James Francis Fitz-James, Duke of Berwick, founder of the branch of the House of STUART, established in Spain. He was created by Philip V. Duke of Liria and Xercia, Grandee of Spain of the first Class, Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, of St. Andrew, and St. Alexandro, and Chamberlain to the King of Spain. He married Catherine de Portugal-Columb, daughter and heir of the Duke of Veraguas, a Grandee of Spain, in whose right he bore that title. Having been sent Ambassador from Philip V. to his son Don Carlos, King of the two Sicilies, he died at Naples, June 1, 1738, aged forty-two years, leaving issue by his Duchess (who died in October, 1739), two sons and one daughter, viz.:--

James Fitz-James Stuart, Duke of Berwick,
Liria, and de Veraguas, who had a son named
Charles-Bernard-Paschal-Fitz-James, baptized July 5, 1751, and
ennobled as Marquis of Jamaica.

Lord Peter Fitz-James, called in Spain Don Pedro, and created
Marquis de Saint Leonard, in May, 1774, Lieutenant-General and
Admiral of Spain. He married and left issue.

Donna-Maria, married to the Duke of Mirandola, Duke and Grandee
of the first Class, whose widow she died at Madrid, November 11,
1750.

[4] See, in Nichol’s History of Leicestershire, a fac-simile of a letter from Charles II. to his widow; and a portrait of Sir Robert.

[5] See Chap. VI., where the epitaph will be found.

[6] There was a considerable alteration in his religious sentiments before his death, which took place August 30th, 1752. At the close of the long inscription on his monument, in Gloucester Cathedral, it is written: “Under the most acute pains of his last tedious illness, he possessed his soul in patience, and, with a firm trust in his Redeemer, calmly resigned his spirit to the Father of Mercies.” To that epitaph might have been added, as the most distinguishing honour of this Bishop’s life, that _he_ was the prelate who ordained the greatest, the most eloquent, and the most useful minister that any age since that of the Apostles had produced.

The venerable Dr. Hurd, Bishop of Worcester, being in the habit of preaching frequently, had observed a poor man remarkably attentive, and made him some little present. After a while he missed his humble auditor, and meeting him, said, “John, how is it that I do not see you in the aisle, as usual?” John, with some hesitation, replied, “My Lord, I hope you will not be offended, and I will tell you the truth. I went the other day to hear the Methodists, and I understand their plain words so much better, that I have attended them ever since.” The Bishop put his hand into his pocket and gave him a guinea, with words to this effect--“God bless you, and go where you can receive the greatest profit to your soul!” An instance of episcopal candour like this is well worth recording. We may be pardoned if we subjoin another.

Archbishop Secker, when laid on his couch with a broken thigh, was visited at Lambeth by Mr. Talbot, Vicar of St. Giles’s, Reading, who had lived in great intimacy with him, and received his preferment from him. “You will pray with me, Talbot?” said the Archbishop, during this interview. Mr. Talbot rose, and went to look for a Prayer Book. “That is not what I want now (said the dying prelate); kneel down by me, and pray for me in the way I know you are used to do.” With which command this zealous man of God readily complied, and prayed earnestly from his heart for his dying friend, whom he saw no more.

[7] Her Ladyship was daughter of Richard, first Earl of Scarborough, and became second wife to Frederick Frankland, Esq., Member of Parliament for Thirsk, in Yorkshire, a Commissioner of the Revenue in Ireland, and a Commissioner of the Excise in England, son of Sir Thomas Frankland, Bart., and nephew to the Earl of Fauconberg. For many years Lady Anne held the situation of Lady of the Bedchamber to the Princess Anne, and to the Princesses Amelia and Caroline. Attracted by the fame of the first Methodists, who had been mentioned with high approbation by her friend, Lady Huntingdon, soon after her marriage, Lady Anne, with her sisters, the Lady Barbara Leigh and the Lady Henrietta Lumley, sometimes attended their ministry, and received much spiritual good. This excited the displeasure of Mr. Frankland to such a degree, that he treated her Ladyship with the utmost cruelty and unkindness. “Poor Lady Anne Frankland (says Lady Hertford,) is already parted from her husband, and, I think, without any one person giving her the least share of blame. It seems that he parted beds with her before she had been three weeks married, and on all occasions behaved towards her with the utmost cruelty. However, she made no complaint, till he insisted on her leaving the house, when she begged of him not to force her to do that, and told him, that provided he would allow her to have the sanction of being under his roof, she would submit to anything. His answer was, that if she continued there, he would either murder her or himself. She then applied to my Lord Scarborough, who spoke to her husband with great warmth. He did not lay any fault to her charge, but only declared that she was his aversion, and persisted in the resolution of forcing her to leave him, or killing her or himself. It is said, that he returns her fortune, allows her six hundred pounds a year, and has given her a thousand pounds to buy a house. His strange conduct towards her has been so contrary to his former character, that his friends rather ascribe it to madness than to his natural disposition.”

[8] His connexion with this lady arose from his father’s acquaintance with Lady Anne Wharton, who was co-heiress of Sir Henry Lee, of Ditchley, in Oxfordshire--a lady celebrated for her poetical talents by Burnet and by Waller, when poetry had been taught by Addison to aspire to the arms of nobility, though certainly without any extraordinary success.

[9] As the Doctor saw her gradually declining, he used frequently to walk backwards and forwards in a place called the King’s Garden, to find the most solitary spot where he might show his last token of affection, by leaving her remains as secure as possible from those savages who would have denied her Christian burial; for at that time, an Englishman in France was looked upon as an heretic, an infidel, or a devil. The under-gardener, being bribed, pointed out the most solitary place, dug the grave, and let him bury his beloved daughter. The man, through a private door, admitted the Doctor at midnight, bringing his daughter, wrapped in a sheet, upon his shoulder; he laid her in the hole, sat down, and shed a flood of tears over the remains of his dear Narcissa--

“With pious sacrilege a grave I stole.”

Mr. Temple married a second time a daughter of Sir John Bernard, then Lord Mayor of London. Dying in 1749, he left an only son, afterwards Viscount Palmerston, father of the present Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Mr. and Mrs. Temple have generally been considered as the Philander and Narcissa of the “Night Thoughts.”

[10] Anthony Hammond, Esq., a Commissioner of the Navy, and some time representative in Parliament for the county of Huntingdon, and also for the University of Cambridge, was very frequently at Lord Huntingdon’s at that period. With him was his son, James Hammond, the elegiac poet, whose fame and fortune were raised by the influence of Lady Huntingdon, and Lady Fanny Shirley, to whose hand it was believed he vainly aspired--to whom some of his elegies are supposed to be addressed. He died at Lord Cobham’s house, Stowe, while member for Truro, in Cornwall. This gentleman, the “silver-tongued” Hammond of Lord Bolingbroke, who had, says Lord Chesterfield, all the senses but common sense, was a relative of the Shirley family; he married the eldest daughter of Sir W. Clarges, Bart., whose family made a triple alliance with that of Lady Huntingdon by marriage. At the same time, Somervile, the author of the “Chace,” was introduced to Lady Huntingdon by the eccentric Lady Luxborough, the sister of Lord Bolingbroke.

[11] The three favourite ladies who accompanied the King from Hanover were Mademoiselle de Schulenberg, the Countess Plater, and Madam Kilmanseg; the first alone, whom he created Duchess of Kendal, was lodged in St. James’s Palace, and had such respect paid her as very much confirmed the rumour of a left-handed marriage. She was mother of Lady Chesterfield, and as she usually presided at the King’s evening parties, was on familiar terms with those who formed his society.

[12] She was the first who extolled the preaching of Mr. Whitefield, whom she alternately liked and disliked. Her Ladyship is the supposed original of _Lady Bellaston_ in “_Tom Jones_;” and _Lady Tempest_ in “_Pompey the Little_.” She was the mother of George, the first Marquis Townshend, and of the famous Charles Townshend.

[13] On her return from the continent, at Mr. Pope’s solicitation, Lady Mary fixed her summer residence at Twickenham; but it was not long before she had a bitter and lasting quarrel with that irritable bard; when having exhausted all the pleasures that England could afford, and disgusted perhaps at that alienation which the sarcasm of her wit had too often produced, she obtained her husband’s leave to pass the remainder of her days on the continent.

[14] Lord Hervey was father of the late excellent Lady Mary Fitzgerald, the friend and correspondent of Lady Huntingdon, Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Venn, and others alike celebrated.

[15] Lady Frances was one of the daughters of the Earl of Manchester, and had married Henry, the son and heir of the celebrated Dr. Robert Saunderson, Bishop of Lincoln.

[16] Alexander Pope, the poet.

[17] The calmness and heavenly peace which surrounded Lady Huntingdon were powerful enough to avoid the hurricanes of temper to which this singular woman was liable, to such a degree that she would punish even herself rather than forego her resentment. This is proved by the well-known story of her cutting off her own hair, only because it was esteemed her most beautiful feature in the eyes of her husband; on whom to revenge some supposed opposition to her sovereign will, she disfigured herself. The Duke was not irritated by this rash act, which the Duchess often related with characteristic candour, weeping always, as she wound up her story, with the remark, that after his death she found her treasured ringlets in the cabinet wherein he kept whatever he esteemed most precious.

It was her temper that involved her in law-suits with her own children. Her eldest grandson, Robert, Earl of Sunderland, died before he had forfeited her favour. Charles was no sooner elevated to his father’s dignity, than she openly quarrelled with, and in the Court of Chancery pleaded her own cause against him. She accused him of pawning one by one the diamonds in the famous baldric of the great Marlborough’s sword, and by extravagance gave point to the charge: yet John, her youngest grandson, who was no less profligate, retained her favour in the midst of his excesses. Her granddaughter, Lady Anne Egerton, was as proud as the Duchess herself, and no less fiery; on some quarrel between them, the Duchess of Marlborough had Lady Anne’s picture daubed with black, and over it this inscription--“She is much blacker within.” With her the ruling passion was strong even against death. About four years before her demise, the Duchess was attacked by a dangerous disease, and had lain a great while ill, without speaking: her physician, believing her case very bad, said, “She must be blistered, or she will die.” Her Grace, who had listened with attention, called out, “I won’t be blistered, and I won’t die!” She kept her word.

[18] The Duchess was avowedly the natural daughter of King James the Second; but supposed to be _really_ the daughter of Colonel Graham, an admirer of her mother, Lady Dorchester. This lady, who was the only daughter of Sir Charles Sedley, the celebrated wit, was mistress to the King, and had a pension of five thousand per annum on the Irish Establishment. She afterwards married the Earl of Portmore, and left two sons, one of whom succeeded to the title, and was grandfather to the present Earl. The Duchess was so proud of her birth, that she would never go to the Court of Versailles, because they would not give her the rank of Princess of the blood. She not only regulated the ceremony of her own burial, and dressed up the waxen figure of herself for Westminster Abbey, but had shown the same insensible pride on the death of her only son, the last Duke of Buckingham, dressing his figure, and sending messages to her friends, that if they had a mind to see him lie in state, she would carry them in conveniently by a back door. She sent to the old Duchess of Marlborough to borrow the triumphal car that had carried the Duke’s body. Old Sarah, as mad and as proud as herself, sent her word, “that it had carried my Lord Marlborough, and should never be profaned by any other corpse.” Proud Buckingham returned, “that she had spoken to the undertaker, and he had engaged to make a finer car for twenty pounds!”

[19] The conduct of her mother-in-law, the old Lady Sandwich, had left an indelible impression on her mind, which spread a gloom over her latter years. Lord Sandwich being confined, and denied access to by his eccentric Countess, was rendered so much a cipher, that all the duties of his station devolved upon Lord Hinchinbroke, who was an able, active, and spirited young man. His extraordinary mother, one of the daughters of the witty and repentant Earl of Rochester, partook of all the fire and vivacity of her father. She detested restraint herself, but put her Lord into “durance vile” in his own house. At his death she quitted England, too stupid, she said, for her, and resided at Paris, in habits of intimacy with the Duchess of Orleans, Mazarine, Madame de Berri, the Regent’s daughter, and also that beautiful octogenary, the Ninon de L’Enclos. Unhappily Lord Hinchinbroke died in the life-time of his weak but worthy father.

[20] Mrs. Mary Mitchell died at her house in Hart-street, Bloomsbury, December 18, 1773, and was interred in St. James’s Church, Clerkenwell, near the remains of her venerable father. On taking down the old Church, in September, 1778, the Bishop’s remains were unavoidably disturbed. His body was found in a leaden coffin, broken at the head, through which the skull and some hair were visible. The Bishop left three sons--William, Governor of New York and the Massachusetts; Gilbert, in holy orders, who took an active part on the side of Bishop Hoadley, in the Bangorian controversy; and Sir Thomas, who became one of the best lawyers of his time--Serjeant and Justice of the Common Pleas. He published the posthumous history of his father, and died in 1753.

[21] Miss Anne Cooper, who died a few months after.

[22] It is evident from the above, as well as from the preceding letter, that Mr. Wesley consulted Lady Huntingdon relative to his Journals, the manuscripts of which were submitted to her inspection, and that her Ladyship gave her opinion of them before they were published.

[23] Mr. Charles Wesley.

[24] In some of her Ladyship’s letters the name is given as above, but in others it is written Cowper.

[25] Lady Cox was one of the fruits of Mr. Whitefield’s ministry at Bath, and likewise derived much profit from the preaching and heart-searching conversation of the apostolic Griffith Jones, Rector of Llandower, in Carmarthenshire, and Mr. Thompson, Vicar of St. Ginney’s, in Cornwall, both of whom were often at Bath at this period.

[26] Her Ladyship once spoke to a workman who was repairing a garden wall, and pressed him to take some thought concerning eternity and the state of his soul. Some years afterwards she was speaking to another on the same subject, and said to him, “Thomas, I fear you never pray, nor look to Christ for salvation.” “Your Ladyship is mistaken (answered the man): I heard what passed between you and James at such a time, and the word you designed for him took effect on me.” “How did you hear it?” asked her Ladyship. “I heard it, (answered the man) on the other side of the garden, through a hole in the wall, and shall never forget the impression I received.”

[27] The very popular, but unequal, poem of “The Grave” was first printed in London in 1743; and soon after its appearance her Ladyship was presented with a copy by Dr. Watts, at the particular request of Mr. Blair, as an expression of high gratitude for the patronage she afforded him. The Doctor had experienced considerable difficulty in the publication of this little piece, and was at last compelled to cross his own inclination to please popular taste. “The booksellers can scarcely think (says Mr. Blair), considering how critical an age we live in, with respect to such kind of writings, that a person living three hundred miles from London could write so as to be acceptable to the fashionable and polite.”

[28] To whose pupil, Risdon Darracott, her Ladyship is named with eulogy in a letter from Mrs. Anne Dutton, written about this period.

[29] This gentleman held the living of Ripton Abbots, in Huntingdonshire, and appears to have possessed not only a highly Catholic spirit, but sound learning. Lady Huntingdon’s conversation was highly beneficial in leading him to clearer views of divine truth. Mr. Jones was afterwards presented to the Vicarage of Alconbury, which he resigned in a few years for a living in Bedfordshire. Whilst there he accepted the curacy of Welwyn from Dr. Young, the celebrated author of “Night Thoughts,” and continued there till the Doctor’s decease. He was killed by a fall from his horse.

[30] For the benefit of the Hospital at Northampton, or Northampton Infirmary.

[31] She was sole daughter of Lord Weymouth, and descended from Lady Frances Devereux, eldest daughter of Robert, Earl of Essex. Sir Robert and Lady Worsley were persons of great honour and integrity, and with Lady Carteret and the Countess Granville, mother to Lord Carteret, frequently attended the preaching of the first Methodists. Lady Worsley was aunt to the Duchess of Somerset, better known as the Countess of Hertford, celebrated for her patronage of literature and her own amiable genius.

[32] The epitaph, referred to at page 9, is as follows:--

“Here lie the remains of the Right Honourable Theophilus, Earl of Huntingdon, Lord Hastings, Hungerford, Botreaux, Moels, Newmark, and Molins. If his death deserved respect, his life deserved it more. If he derived his title from a long roll of illustrious ancestors, he reflected back on them superior honours. He ennobled nobility by virtue. He was of the first rank in both; good in every relation of natural duty and social life. The learning he acquired at school he improved at Oxford, under the care of that excellent person, the late Bishop of Gloucester.[33] Acquainted by his studies with the characters of past ages, he acquired by his travels a knowledge of the men and manners of his own: he visited France, Italy, and even Spain. After these excursions into other countries, he settled in his own. His own was dear to him. No man had juster notions of the true constitution of her government: no man had a more comprehensive view of her real interests, domestic and foreign. Capable of excelling in every form of public life, he chose to appear in none. His mind fraught with knowledge, his heart elevated with sentiments of unaffected patriotism, he looked down from higher ground on the low level of a futile and corrupt generation. Despairing to do national good, he mingled as little as his rank permitted in national affairs. Home is the refuge of a wise man’s life; home was the refuge of his. By his marriage with the Lady Selina Shirley, second daughter, and one of the co-heirs of Washington, Earl Ferrars, he secured to himself, in retreat, a scene of happiness he could not have found in the world; the uninterrupted joys of conjugal love, the never-failing comforts of cordial friendship. Every care was softened, every satisfaction heightened, every hour passed smoothly away, in the company of one who enjoyed a perpetual serenity of soul, that none but those can feel in this life who are prepared for greater bliss in the next. By her, this monument is erected to record the virtues of the deceased and the grief of the living. He was born November 12, 1696, and married the said Lady, June 3, 1728. By her he had four sons and three daughters, Francis,[34] the present Earl, born March 13, 1729; George, born March 29, 1730, who died of the small-pox, aged fourteen; Ferdinando, born January 23, 1732, who also died of the small-pox, aged eleven Elizabeth,[35] the eldest daughter, born March 23, 1731; Selina, born June, 1735, who died an infant; Selina, the third daughter, born December 3, 1737. The said Earl died of a fit of apoplexy, October 13, 1746, in the fiftieth year of his age.”

[33] Dr. Martin Benson, who had ordained Mr. Whitefield.

[34] Tenth and last Earl of that line.

[35] Afterwards Countess of Moira.

[36] He was one of the first members of the Methodist Society in Fetter-lane, and, with Sir John Phillips, of Picton Castle, also member of the same Society, very useful in aiding and encouraging the labours of Mr. Whitefield and the Wesleys. He was a correspondent of the celebrated Griffith Jones, whom he assisted in the establishment of his Welsh schools, and of Dr. Doddridge, and a letter from him to Mr. Wesley appears in an early volume of the “Methodist Magazine.” His death, which occurred in 1748, was a great loss to the early Methodists. He was twice married, and left five children. His family was one of the oldest in Lincolnshire, and had given “reeves” to that “shire” prior to the conquest. By his mother he was related to Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln, whose eldest son married Lady Frances Montagu, daughter of the Earl of Manchester. We will conclude this long note with an extract from Sir John’s letter of condolence to Lady Huntingdon, dated “St. James’s-place, 14th Nov., 1746,” and signed “your affectionate and most faithful humble servant, John Thorold.”

“My fellow-sharer in the cup of sorrow, the painful task has been imposed upon us of consigning the remains of your tenderly affectionate husband, and my most faithful friend, to the bosom of our mother earth, ‘where the wicked cease to trouble, and where the weary are for ever at rest.’ You have been called upon, by this sad stroke, to entomb in the cold and silent grave one who has long been deeply entombed in your warm affectionate heart: but the words of the great apostle, ‘thanks be unto God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!’ will help to soothe your sorrows, and, in the midst of your mourning and distress, assist in drying up your tears. I sympathise with you, but sorrow not as one without hope. There is hope concerning our dear friend: I believe it is well with him. Your loss must be borne--he cannot come back to you. The event calls you to self-examination. May every divine support and comfort be abundantly administered to the disconsolate widow! and may every blessing rest upon your young and interesting family. Look to the Rock of Hope--the Fountain Head of power--that you may derive supplies of vigour to enable you to prosecute the work which God hath assuredly marked out for you upon the earth. The Captain of your salvation is Jesus Christ, who has promised you strength for every time of need. Awake! look up! and endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ; and may you be made truly invincible in the cause of God and truth, only laying down your weapons when your dust shall return into the dust, and your spirit unto the God that gave it!”

[37] Lady Kilmorey.

[38] The Duchess of Somerset, a celebrated patroness of literature, of virtue, and religion.

[39] Several of the Edwin family were conspicuous in the early days of Methodism. John Edwin, Esq., the husband of the above-named Mrs. Edwin, held several offices under Government, and was a member of Parliament. Dr. Doddridge, in his Reflections on the opening of the year 1749, thus speaks of him:--“The accession of several valuable friends, to balance the loss of some few by death, is also to be gratefully remembered; particularly my Lady Huntingdon, Mr. Edwin, and Colonel Gumley.” His only daughter and heir, Miss Elizabeth Edwin, whom Horace Walpole complains of to his correspondent, Sir Horace Mann, as having turned Methodist, was the particular friend of the eccentric Lady Townshend, and married Charles Dalrymple, Esq., grandson of the Hon. Sir Hugh Dalrymple, brother of John, second Viscount Stair. (See a Note, post, page 89). Charles Edwin, Esq., M.P., the brother of Mr. Edwin, married Lady Charlotte Hamilton, one of the attendants of the Prince of Wales’s children. Their mother, Lady Catherine Edwin, was sister to the first Duke of Manchester, and to Anne, Countess of Suffolk. Sir Humphrey Edwin, Lord Mayor of London, was grandfather to Mr. Edwin; Mrs. Edwin’s family formed alliance with that of the Marquis of Westminster, and Lord St. John, of Bletsloe. She was eldest daughter of Sir Roger Bradshaigh, of Haigh, in the county of Lancaster, Bart., and M.P. On the failure of the male branch of this family, in 1787, the estate of Haigh devolved on Mrs. Edwin’s granddaughter, the Countess of Balcarres.

[40] See “Gentleman’s Magazine,” 1748.

[41] Mrs. Edwin was a woman of great rank, and her influence at Court, which exposed her more to the shafts of ridicule, and made her especially liable to the attacks of vanity, rendered her conversion the more remarkable. She was the fast friend of Lady Huntingdon, and a great favourite with Mr. Whitefield, who, in all his letters, warned her against the snares to which her condition led. “To see any one converted (he says) is a miracle; but to see a rich person, one of the mighty, one of the noble, converted, is a greater. May the Lord Jesus add more of your rank to his Church!” See the note at close of the last chapter, p. 87.

[42] As a proof of the power of Mr. Whitefield’s preaching, Mr. Newton mentioned, that an officer at Glasgow, who had heard him preach, laid a wager with another, that at a certain charity sermon, though he went with prejudice, he would be compelled to give something; the other, to make sure, laid all the money out of his pockets, but before he left the church he was glad to borrow some, and lose his bet. Mr. Newton mentioned another striking example of Mr. Whitefield’s persuasive oratory--his collecting at one sermon _six hundred pounds_ for the inhabitants of an obscure village in Germany that had been burnt down: no very interesting object, surely, for the public in London. However, after the sermon, Mr. Whitefield said, “We shall sing a hymn, during which those who do not choose to give their mite on this awful occasion may sneak off.” Not one stirred; he got down from the pulpit, and ordered all the doors to be shut but one, at which he held the plate himself, and collected the above sum; more than was ever done on a similar occasion. Mr. Newton related as a fact, that at the time of his greatest persecution, when obliged to preach in the streets, in one week he received no fewer than a thousand letters from persons distressed in their consciences by the energy of his preaching.

[43] The Bishop’s death put an end to the proceedings against Mr. Bateman, who, notwithstanding Southey’s eulogy, appears, from his warm altercation with Mr. Charles Wesley, to have been a very sincere friend to the Methodists.

[44] The Earl of Bath, who married the eldest of the three daughters of Colonel Gumley, introduced that gentleman to Lady Huntingdon; and at her house, through the preaching of Mr. Whitefield, and the heart-searching conversation of the Countess, who were God’s instruments in Colonel Gumley’s conversion, the Lord met him with the blessings of his grace. Mr. Whitefield kept up a correspondence with him when absent from London; for he was ever careful to keep alive the flame he had lit up in the heart of his hearers. In one of these letters to the Colonel, he says--“Good Lady Huntingdon has an extract of a letter from a soldier, which will please you: may the Lord Jesus add more to the Church of such converts.”