A continuation of the Reverend Mr. Whitefield's journal during the time he was detained in England, by the embargo. Vol. II.

Abingdon and Basingstoke.

Thursday, July 19. At the Request of several well-disposed People, preached again this Morn|ing,

tho' not to so great a Number as before.-☉ A sweet Power was amongst us.—The Hearers melted into Tears under the Word. My Heart was full of Love, and theirs also were much affected. Oh! what a sudden Alteration does this Foolishness of Preaching make in the most obsti|nate Hearts! 'Tis but for GOD to speak the Word, and the Lion is turned into a Lamb. Oh! that we were like that dear Lamb of GOD, who died to take away the Sins of the World!

Breakfasted with Mr. F—••, who with many other Friends expressed great Tokens of Friend|ship for me and my Fellow-Travellers. Set out at 11, dined at Ilsly, and reached Basingstoke about 7 at Night. Perceiving myself languid and weary, I lay down upon the Bed soon after our coming into the Inn, but was soon refreshed with the News, that the Landlord, one of whose Children was wrought upon when I was there last, would not let us stay under his Roof; upon which I immediately rose and went to another Inn; but the People made a Mock of both me and my Friends as we past along, and shot out their Arrows, even bitter Words against us, and Fire-Rockets were thrown around the Door. It was now near 8 o' Clock, and too late to preach; I therefore retired from my Friends, gave GOD Thanks for accounting me worthy to suffer Re|proach for his Name Sake, and about an Hour after received the following Letter by the Hands of the Constable from Mr. Mayor.

SIR,

Being a Civil Magistrate in this Town, I ☉ thought it my Duty, for the Preservation of the Peace, to forbid you, or at least dissuade you, from preaching here. If you persist in it, in all Probability, it may occasion a Disturbance, which I think is your Duty, as a Clergyman, as well as mine, to prevent. If any Mischief should ensue (whatever Pretence you may afterwards make in your own Behalf) I am satisfied will fall on your own Head, being timely cautioned it by me, who am, Sir,

Basingstoke, July 19, 1739.

Your most humble Servant, JOHN ABBOT.

P. S. The Legislator has wisely made Laws for the Preservation of the Peace, therefore, I hope, no Clergyman lives in Defiance of them.

To this I immediately sent the following Answer.

Honoured Sir,

I think you for your kind Letter, and I humbly hope a Sense of your Duty, and not a Fear of Man, caused you to write it. If so, give me Leave to remind you, Honoured Sir, as a Clergyman, you ought to be a Terror to evil Do••rs, but a Praise to them that do well. I know of no Law against such Meetings as mine. If any such Law be existing, I believe you will think it your Duty, Honoured Sir, to apprize me of it, that I may not offend against it. If no Law can be produced, as a Clergy|man, I think it my Duty ••o inform you, that

you ought to protect, and not any Ways to discourage, or permit others to disturb an Assembly of People meeting together, purely to worship GOD. To-morrow, Honoured Sir, I hear there is to be an Assembly of anoth••r Nature; be pleased to be as careful to have the publick Peace preserved at that, and to prevent profane Cursing and Swearing, and Persons breaking the sixth Commandment, by bruising each others Bodies by Cudgelling and Wrest|ling; and if you do not this, I shall rise up, against you at the great Day, and be a swift Witness against your Partiality.

I am,

Honoured Sir,

Your very humble Servant, GEORGE WHITEFIELD.

Friday, July 23. After Breakfast waited in Person upon Mr. Mayor, to see what Law could be produced against my Meetings. Assoon as I began to talk with him, I perceived he was a little angry—and said, Sir, you sn••••red me in the Letter you sent last Night,—Tho' I am a Butcher, yet Sir, says he, I—I replied, I honoured him as a Magistrate, and only desired to know what Law could be produced against my Preaching: In my Opinion there could be none, because there was never such a Thing as Field-Pre••ching before. I then instanced the Trial of P—the Quaker, where the Jury, notwithstanding they were so hardly used, brought a Verdict in Favour of him. Sir, says he, you ought to preach in a Church—And so I would, replied I, if your

Minister would give me Leave. Sir, said he, I believe you 〈◊〉〈◊〉 s••me sinister Ends in view; why do you go about making a Disturbance? I answered, I make no Disturbance: And it was hard I could not come into Town without being insulted. It was your Business, Sir, said I, to wait, and if there was any Riot in my Meetings, then, and not till then, it is your Duty to interpose. Then said he, Sir, you wrote to me about the Revel to Da••; I have declared against it. But, said I, Sir, you ought to go and read the Riot-Act, and put an entire Stop to it. I then pressed him, to shew me a Law against Meetings; urging, if there had been any Law, they would have been stopped long since. He answered, It was an odd Way of preaching.—But, Sir, says he, I must go away to a Fair; before you came I had wrote you another Letter, which I will send you yet, if you please. Upon this I thanked him, paid him the Respect due to a Magistrate, and took my Leave. Soon after I was returned to my Com|pany, he sent me the following Letter:

Rev. Sir.

Basingstoke, July 20▪ 1739.

I received your extraordinary Letter, and could expect no other from so uncommon a Genius.

I apprehend your Meetings to be unlawful, having no Toleration to protect you in it. My Apprehensions of Religion always was, and I hope always will be, that GOD is to be wor|shipped in Places consecrated, and set a-part for his Service, and not in Brothels, and Places where all Manner of Debauchery may have been

committed; but how far this is ••onsistent with your Actions, I leave you to judge.

As for the other Assembly you are pleased to mention, 'tis contrary to my Will, having never given my Consent to it, nor approved of it, but discouraged it before your Reverendship came to this Town; and if these Cudgellers persist in it, I shall set them upon the same Level with you, and think you all Breakers of the public Peace. You very well know there are Penal-Laws against Cursing and Swearing, and I could wish there were the same against Deceit and Hypocrisy. Your appearing against me as a swift Witness at the Day of Judgment, I must own, is a most terrible Thing, and may serve as a Bug-bear for Children, or People of weak Minds; but believe me, Reverend Sir, those Disguises will have but little Weight amongst Men of common Understanding.

I told you I had a Letter wrote, I made bold to send it.

Yours, JOHN ABBOT.

To this I sent the following Answer:

Honoured Sir,

Does Mr. Mayor do well to be angry? Alas, what Evil have I done! I honour you as a Magistrate; but as a Minister I am obliged to have no Respect of Persons. Your apprehending my Meetings to be unlawful, does not make them to be 〈◊〉〈◊〉. There's no need of a Toleration•• to protect me, when I do not act ••••nformable to any Law, Civil or Ecclesiastical. He pleased to prove that my Meetings are Schismatical.

Seditious or Riotous, and then I will submit. But you say they are upon unconsecrated Ground. Honoured Sir, give me Leave to inform you, that GOD is not now confin'd to Places, but seeketh such to worship him, who worship him in Spirit and in Truth; and where two or three are gathered together in CHRIST'S Name, there will CHRIST▪ be in the Midst of them. The Church, by our Ministers in their Prayer before their Sermons, is defined not to be the Church-Walls, but a Congregation of Christian People; such is mine. As for judging me,—To my own Master I stand or fall; at his dreadful Tribunal I will meet you, and then you shall see what is in the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of, Honoured Sir,

Your very humble Servant. G. WHITEFIELD.

Basingstoke, July 20, 1739.

About 8 o'Clock I went into a Field, lent me by Mr. H—n; and tho' one said, I should not go alive out of Basing stoke if I preached there, and another said, the Drum should beat just by me, yet I had little or no Interruption, and GOD gave me such great Power in speaking against Revelling, and those few Scoffers that were there, that they were not able to gainsay, or resist it. As I came from the Field, passing through the Church-Yard, the Boys, headed by some of the ba••er Sort, saluted me as before, called me strange Names, which, I trust, was received in the Spirit of our dear Master.

After this I pray'd and sung Psalms at the Inn with s••me few Disciples, and then took my

Leave.—As I passed by on Horseback, I saw a Stage built for the Cudgellers and Wrestlers; and as I rode farther, I met divers coming to the Revel, which affected me so much, that I had no Rest in my Spirit. And therefore having asked Counsel of GOD, and perceiving an un|usual Power and Warmth enter into my Soul, though I was gone above a Mile from the Town, I could not bear to see so many dear Souls for whom CHRIST died, ready to perish, and no Minister or Magistrate interpose. Upon this I told my dear Fellow Travellers that I was resol|ved to follow the Example of Howel Harris in Wales, and to bear my Testimony against such lying Vanities, let the Consequences, as to my own private Person, be what they would. They immediately consenting, I rode back to the Town, got upon the Stage erected for the Wrest|lers, and began to shew them the Error of their Ways.—Many seemed ready to hear what I had to say, but one more zealous for his Master than the rest, and fearing Conviction every Time I so much as attempted to speak, set the Boys upon repeating their Uzza's.—My Soul, I perceived, was in a sweet Frame, willing to be offered up, so that I might save some of those, to whom I was about to speak; but all in vain. While I was on the Stage, one struck me with his Cudgel, which I received with the utmost Love; till at last finding the Devil would not permit them to give me Audience, I got off, and after much thronging and pushing me, I mounted my Horse with unspeakable Satisfaction w••••hin myself,

that I had now begun to attack the Devil in his strongest Holds, and had borne my Testimony against the detestable Diversions of this Genera|tion.—Ye Masters of Israel, what are you do|ing? Ye Magistrates, that are called Gods in Scripture, why sleep you? Why do you bear the Sword in vain? Why count you me a Troub|ler of Israel; and why say you I teach People to be idle, when you can connive at, if not subscribe to such hellish Meetings as these, which not on|ly draw People from their bodily Work, but directly tend to destroy their precious and im|mortal Souls; surely I shall appear against you at the Judgment Seat of CHRIST; for these Diver|sions keep People from true Christianity as much as Paganism itself. And I doubt not, but it will require as much Courage and▪ Power to di|vert People from these Things, as the Apostles were obliged to exert in converting the Heathen from their dumb Idols. However, in the Strength of my Master, I will now enter the Lists, and begin an offensive War with Satan, and all his Host. If I perish, I perish; I shall have the Testimony of a good Conscience, I shall be free from the Blood of all Men.

From Basingstoke I intended to go to Wind••or, but having not sent to any in that Place, and longing for a little Retirement, I lay at Stains, and spent some Hours in sweet Fellowship with my dear Fellow-Travellers. O what a blessed Thing it is for Brethren to dwell together in Unity!