Fletcher of Madeley Part 8

During the months of enforced absence from his parish his heart was still with his people. In a pastoral letter, which is dated Newington, December 28th, 1776, he writes:

"I hoped to have spent the Christmas holidays with you, and to have ministered to you in holy things; but the weakness of my body confining me here, I humbly submit to the Divine dispensation.... The sum of all I have preached to you is contained in four propositions. _First_, heartily repent of your sins, original and actual. _Secondly_, believe the gospel of Christ in sincerity and truth. _Thirdly_, in the power which true faith gives, run the way of G.o.d's commandments before G.o.d and men. _Fourthly_, by continuing to take up your cross, and to receive the pure milk of G.o.d's word, grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ....

"The more nearly I consider death and the grave, judgment and eternity, the more I feel that I have preached to you the truth, and that the truth is solid as the Rock of ages.

Although I hope to see much more of the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living than I do see, yet, blessed be the Divine mercy! I see enough to keep my mind at all times unruffled, and to make me willing calmly to resign my soul into the hands of my faithful Creator, my loving Redeemer, and my sanctifying Comforter, _this moment_, or _the next_, if He calls for it."

Fletcher's almsgiving was proportionate with his prayers. He was in receipt of an income from his little property in Switzerland of about 100 a year. He generally gave it all away. His money, his clothes, his furniture were alike at the service of the poor and suffering. At one time he sends back 80 to Switzerland for distribution among the poor, saying, "As money is rather higher there than here the mite will go further abroad than it would in my parish." At another time he deposited 105 with a friend, but the whole was drawn for charitable purposes in a few months, the balance, which was 24, going to complete the preaching-house he had built at Madeley Wood. During his illness he writes to one of the poor Methodists at Coalbrookdale: "Let none of your little companies want. If any do, you are welcome to my house.

Take any part of the furniture there, and make use of it for their relief. And this shall be your full t.i.tle for so doing. Witness my hand, JOHN FLETCHER."

Leaving Stoke Newington in the beginning of May, 1777, Fletcher went to Bristol, to the hospitable home of his old friend Mr. Ireland, for change of air, and for what benefit might be found in drinking the waters. Here he spent several months in feeble health, but in unbroken tranquillity and elevation of spirit. "Far gone in a consumptive disorder, and ripening fast for glory," was the judgment of those who saw him at this time. He had many visitors, devout persons of all cla.s.ses, to whom his conversation, his prayers, his very presence, were means of grace. Mr. Venn, who had been on the opposite side to Fletcher in the recent controversy, spent some weeks with him under Mr.

Ireland's roof. "Oh that I might be like him!" was his testimony in after years. "I have known all the great men for these fifty years, but I have known none like him.... I never heard him say a single word which was not proper to be spoken, and which had not a tendency to minister grace to the hearers; ... not a single unbecoming word of himself, or of his antagonists, or of his friends. All his conversation tended to excite to greater love and thankfulness for the benefits of redemption; whilst his whole deportment breathed humility and love."

In the month of July Wesley and his preachers met in Bristol to hold their annual conference. One morning during its session a visit from Fletcher was announced. As he entered what was then called the New Room--now the old chapel in Broadmead--leaning on Mr. Ireland's arm, the whole a.s.sembly, by a common impulse, stood up. Wesley rose and advanced to receive him. He seemed like a visitor from another world.

His worn features shone as with the light of heaven. All present were profoundly moved at the sight. He had scarcely begun to speak before every one was in tears. "His appearance, his exhortations, and his prayers," says Benson, "broke most of our hearts." It was such a scene as the oldest person present had never witnessed before, as the youngest could not expect to witness again. It was brought to a close by Wesley, who suddenly fell upon his knees at Fletcher's side, the whole company of preachers kneeling with him, and offered an earnest prayer for Fletcher's restoration to health and to his labours in the cause of Christ. He finished his prayer by p.r.o.nouncing "in his peculiar manner, and with a confidence and emphasis which seemed to thrill through every heart, 'He shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.'"

During the eight remaining years of Fletcher's life, it was believed amongst the Methodists that G.o.d had spared him in answer to their prayers.

CHAPTER X.

_RESIDENCE IN SWITZERLAND._

After spending some months at Bristol, with little, if any, improvement in his health, Fletcher was strongly urged to spend the winter abroad.

The south of France, and Spain were both suggested, and his brothers and sisters in Switzerland sent him a pressing invitation to revisit his home, and breathe once more his native air. He yielded at last to the advice of physicians and friends, and made the necessary arrangements for a long absence from Madeley. His curate, Mr. Greaves, who had supplied his place for some months, was to remain in charge of the parish. The vicar's income was a.s.signed, part to Mr. Greaves, and the rest to the maintenance of various good works in and around Madeley.

Before setting out on his journey he addressed a pastoral letter "To the Brethren who hear the Word of G.o.d in the Parish Church of Madeley."

It was full of affectionate counsels and exhortations. In bidding them farewell, he writes: "I hope to see you again in the flesh; but my sweetest and firmest hope is to meet you where there are no parting seas, no interposing mountains, no sickness, no death, no fear of loving too much, no shame for loving too little."

On December 4th, 1777, after being delayed at Dover for a day or two by bad weather, Fletcher crossed the Channel with Mr. Ireland and his two daughters, who were desirous of spending the winter in the south, and of ministering to the comfort of their loved and honoured friend.

He remained abroad for nearly three years and a half. This period of seclusion and comparative inactivity is full of interest to the student of Fletcher's history. It is true we lose sight of him for months together, and find it difficult to weave into a consistent story the references to persons and places which are to be found in his letters, and in sundry narratives that have come down to us; but the change of scene and circ.u.mstance gives additional charm to the portraiture of his gentle life. It must not be forgotten that Fletcher, though almost more English than the English themselves in his attachment to the inst.i.tutions of this country, was a Swiss, and we cannot desire that the Swiss in him should be suppressed; we would not have him "forget his own people and his father's house." Away from Madeley, from the Church of England, from Methodism, he moves amid moral and social surroundings which were, after all, native to him, and amongst which his character could not but reveal some aspects not similarly brought out by his life in England. These years spent in France and Switzerland add to the moral picturesqueness of his course as a whole.

The route taken by Fletcher and his friends was by Calais, Abbeville, etc., to Dijon and Lyons, and thence to Aix in Provence, where they remained for some time. They afterwards visited Montpellier, Ma.r.s.eilles, and Hyeres, though in what order it is difficult to determine, and in the spring of 1778 Fletcher reached Nyon, where he was to spend the next three years. This outline of his journeyings may now be supplemented by extracts from his letters and those of his companions.

"When we departed from Calais," writes Mr. Ireland, "the north wind was very high, and penetrated us even in the chaise. We put up in Breteuil, and the next day got to Abbeville, whence we were forced, by the miserable accommodation we met with, to set out, though it was Sunday.

Hitherto Mr. Fletcher and I had led the way, but now the other chaises got before us. Nine miles from Abbeville our axletree gave way through the hard frost, and we were left to the piercing cold on the side of a hill without shelter.

After waiting an hour and a half, we sent the axletree and wheels back to be repaired; and, leaving the body of the chaise under a guard, procured another to carry us to the next town. On the 15th our chaise arrived in good repair.

The country was covered with snow, but travelling steadily forward, we reached Dijon on the 27th. During the whole journey Mr. Fletcher showed marks of recovery. He bore both the fatigue and cold as well as the best of us. On the 31st we put up at Lyons, and solemnly closed the year, bowing our knees before the throne, which indeed we did all together every day. January 4th, 1778, we left Lyons, and came on the 9th to Aix. Here we rest, the weather being exceedingly fine and warm. Mr. Fletcher walks out daily. He is now able to read and pray with us every morning and evening. He has no remains of his cough nor of the weakness in his breast. His natural colour is restored, and the sallowness is quite gone. His appet.i.te is good, and he takes a little wine."

In another letter, written from Aix, he says: "Soon after our arrival here, I rode out most days with my dear and valued friend. Now and then he complained of the uneasiness of the horse, and there were some remains of soreness in his breast, but this soon went off. The beginning of February was warm, and the warmth, when he walked in the fields, relaxed him; but when the wind got north or east, he was braced again. His appet.i.te is good, his complexion as healthy as it was eleven years ago. As his strength increases he increases the length of his rides. Last Tuesday he set out on a journey of a hundred and twelve miles. The first day he travelled forty miles without feeling any fatigue, and the third day fifty-five. He bore the journey as well as I did, and was as well and as active at the end of it as at the beginning. During the day he cried out, 'Help me to praise the Lord for His goodness; I never expected to see this day.' He accepted a pressing invitation to preach to the Protestants here; and he fulfilled his engagement on Sunday morning, taking as his text, 'Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.' Both the French and English were greatly affected; the word went to the hearts of both saints and sinners. His voice is now as good as ever it was, and he has an earnest invitation to preach near Montpellier, where we are going. You would be astonished at the entreaties of pastors as well as people. He has received a letter from a minister in the Levine Mountains, who intends to come to Montpellier, sixty miles, to press him to go and preach to his flock. He purposes to spend the next summer in his own country, and the following winter in these parts."

From Montpellier Fletcher wrote to his curate, Mr. Greaves: "Please G.o.d, I shall set out next week from this place, where the winter has been uncommonly rainy and windy. We had over half an inch of snow last week, but it was gone long before noon. The climate has, nevertheless, agreed with me better than England, and as a proof of it, I need only tell you that I rode last Friday from Hyeres, the orange gardens of France, hither, which is near fifty miles, and was well enough to preach last Sunday, in French, at the Protestant chapel.... At the first convenient opportunity, please to read the following note in the church: John Fletcher sends his best Christian love to the congregation that worships G.o.d in the parish church at Madeley. He begs the continuance of their prayers for strength of body and mind, that he may be able (if it be the will of G.o.d) to serve them again in the gospel.

He desires them to return Almighty G.o.d thanks for having enabled him to speak again in public last Sunday, without having had a return of his spitting of blood, which he considers as a token that his life may be spared a little, to exhort them to grow in grace, in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in brotherly love;--the best marks that we know G.o.d, and are in the faith of Christ."

Early in May he reached Nyon, having travelled under the care of his brother from Montpellier. He was received by the members of his family with the utmost affection and respect.

One of the most important letters which he wrote during his absence from England was addressed to "The Rev. Messrs. John and Charles Wesley." It is dated from Macon in Burgundy, May 17th, 1778. The following extracts will show Fletcher's judgment concerning the state of morals and religion in France ten years before the Revolution:

"Gambling and dress, sinful pleasure and love of money, unbelief and false philosophy, lightness of spirit, fear of man, and love of the world, are the princ.i.p.al sins by which Satan binds his captives in these parts. Materialism is not rare; deism and Socinianism are very common; and a set of freethinkers, great admirers of Voltaire and Rousseau, Bayle and Mirabeau, seem bent upon destroying Christianity and government. If we believe them, the world is the dupe of kings and priests; religion is fanaticism and superst.i.tion; subordination is slavery; Christian morality is absurd, unnatural, and impracticable; and Christianity the most b.l.o.o.d.y religion that ever was. And here it is certain, that by the example of Christians _so called_, and by our continual disputes, they have a great advantage, and do the truth immense mischief. _Popery will certainly fall in France, in this or the next century_; and I have no doubt G.o.d will use those vain men to bring about a reformation here, as he used Henry the Eighth to do that work in England; so the madness of His enemies shall, at last, turn to His praise, and to the furtherance of His kingdom....

"If you ask, what system these men adopt, I answer, Some build on deism a morality founded on _self-preservation_, _self-interest_, and _self-honour_; others laugh at all morality, except that which being neglected _violently_ disturbs society. And external order is the decent covering of fatalism, while materialism is their system.

"Oh! dear sirs, let me entreat you, in these dangerous days, to use your wide influence, with unabated zeal, against the scheme of these modern Celsuses, Porphyries, and Julians, by calling all professors to think and speak the same things, to love and embrace one another, and to firmly resist those daring men, many of whom are already in England, headed by the admirers of Mr. Hume and Mr. Hobbes. But it is needless to say this to those who have made, and continue to make, such a stand for vital Christianity, so that I have nothing to do but pray that the Lord may abundantly support and strengthen you, and make you a continued comfort to His enlightened people, loving reprovers of those who mix light with darkness, and a terror to the perverse."

While residing at Nyon Fletcher was visited by his friend and former medical adviser, William Perronet, son of the venerable Vicar of Sh.o.r.eham. The Perronet family was of Swiss origin, and about this time it came to the knowledge of Mr. Perronet that he had some claim to a property situated at Chateau d'Oex, a small town in a mountain valley, about twenty miles from the north-eastern sh.o.r.e of the Lake of Geneva, and nearly sixty from Nyon. Fletcher a.s.sisted his friends by making inquiries and obtaining legal advice, and it was thought necessary that William Perronet should go over to press the claim in person. This he accordingly did, and, it may be said here, with complete success, though he did not live to enjoy the possession, as he was taken ill on his way home, and died before reaching England.

Fletcher wrote, inviting him to be his guest: "This is a delightful country. If you come to see it, and to claim the estate, bring all the papers and letters you can collect; and share a pleasant apartment, and one of the finest prospects in the world, in the house where I was born."

Soon after Mr. Perronet's arrival, it was thought necessary that he should visit Chateau d'Oex, and although it was now December, Fletcher accompanied him. The journey was not without danger, more especially for one in such a feeble state of health. It is described, together with many interesting details of Fletcher's life at Nyon, in Mr. Perronet's letters.

"On Friday, the 11th, I reached Nyon, where I had the pleasure of finding our dear friend in pretty good health and spirits. Mr. Fletcher's house is a fine, large building, agreeably situated. It is in the form of a castle, and is supposed to have been built five hundred years ago....

"His chief delight seems to be in the meeting of his little society of children; and as he is exceedingly fond of them, they appear to be altogether as fond of him. He seldom either walks abroad or rides out, but some of them follow him, singing the hymns they have learned, and conversing with him by the way. But you must not suppose that he is permitted to enjoy this happiness unmolested. Not only the drunkards make songs upon him and his little companions, but many of the clergy loudly complain of such irregular proceedings."

Mr. Perronet was much impressed with the incidents of their journey to Chateau d'Oex. The rugged heights, the precipices, the torrents, the deep snow, rising many feet above their heads as they toiled through narrow pa.s.ses that had been cut through it,--all are new to him, and are described with much vivacity. Part of the distance they rode upon a sledge, and in some places they were obliged to go on foot. Whilst doing so they got a fall on the ice, when Fletcher received a severe blow on the back of his head, and his companion sprained his wrist.

Though they only spent two days at Chateau d'Oex, Fletcher was constrained to preach the gospel to the people. He was visited by some of the princ.i.p.al inhabitants, who stood round him in deep attention for nearly an hour while he exhorted and prayed.

As his strength permitted, Fletcher laboured, not only in Nyon, but, true to the Methodist principles he had learnt in England, made journeys in various directions, that he might scatter the good seed.

Amongst the Jura Mountains he found industrious and thriving populations. In one village they told him they had the best singing, and the best preacher in the country. But when he asked if any sinners were converted under his ministry, they stared, and asked what he meant. When he had explained himself, they could only say, "We do not live in the time of miracles." Having crossed into French territory, he was much interested on coming upon a great gathering of people who were a.s.sembled to hear some itinerant mission preachers, Roman Catholic clergymen. They were, it appears, three brothers, and they had already spent some days in the place, preaching morning and evening. Fletcher heard one of them preach upon the judgment. "Before the sermon, all those who, for the press, could kneel, did, and sang a French hymn to beg a blessing on the word; and indeed it was blessed. An awful attention was visible upon most, and, during a good part of the discourse, the voice of the preacher was almost lost in the cries and bitter wailings of the audience." The preacher urged them to know their day, and slight the mercy of G.o.d and the blood of Christ no longer; and Fletcher adds, "I have seen but once or twice congregations so much affected in England."

Devout and earnest Roman Catholics were much more to his mind than formal, lifeless Protestants. On Good Friday, which was not observed amongst the Calvinists of Nyon, Fletcher and Mr. Perronet crossed the lake into Savoy to hear a celebrated Capuchin preacher. Fletcher was much pleased with his discourse, and spent two or three hours with him and his brethren in serious and friendly conversation.

To many of the Swiss ministers his "irregularities" were as distasteful as such things were to the "high" or "moderate" clergy in England. His earnestness and popularity perplexed them. The people crowded the churches where he preached, mult.i.tudes who could not gain admittance remaining outside, while others placed ladders against the windows, and climbed to places whence they might hear, even if they could not see him. Pulpits to which he had been at first invited were closed against him. It was represented to the authorities that he preached doctrines subversive of morality and social order, and that on this account he had been banished from England. At a visitation held in Nyon strong complaints were made against him, the ministers of the town, however, taking his part, while those of Geneva and Lausanne were opposed to him. He was forbidden to hold meetings in private houses, and householders were warned that they would be liable to penalties if they permitted such meetings to be held. This roused the spirit of his brother, who wrote to the _Bailli_ saying that he would give up neither his civil nor religious liberty, and would open his house for the word of G.o.d. But the climax was reached when Fletcher was summoned before the _Bailli_, who sharply reprimanded him for preaching against Sabbath-breaking and stage plays. The former, he said, implied a censure on the magistrates in general, as if they neglected their duty; and the latter he considered as a personal reflection on himself, he having just invited a company of French comedians to Nyon. Accordingly, he forbade him any longer to exercise any of the functions of a minister in the country. Fletcher, however, still found means to catechize the children and to hold meetings in private. At the same time he was informed that if he would renounce his ordination, and obtain Presbyterian orders, he would be allowed to preach, and on those terms a minister in Nyon offered him what might be called a curacy.

The following extracts from his letters, written while at Nyon, will throw light both upon the state of things there, and upon his occupations and sentiments at this time.

_July 15th, 1778._--"The day I preached, I met with some children in my wood, walking or gathering strawberries. I spoke to them about our Father, our common Father. They said they would sing to their Father as well as the birds, and followed me, attempting to make such melody as you know is commonly made in these parts. I outrode them, but some of them had the patience to follow me home, and said they would speak with me; but the people of the house stopped them, saying, I could not be troubled with children. They cried, and said they were sure I would not say so, for I was their good brother. The next day, when I heard it, I inquired after them, and invited them to come to me, which they have done every day since. I make them little hymns which they sing.... Last Sunday I met them in the wood: there were a hundred of them, and as many adults. Our first pastor has since desired me to desist from preaching in the wood, ...

and I have complied, from a concurrence of circ.u.mstances which are not worth mentioning. I therefore meet them in my father's yard."

_Sept. 17th, 1778._--"One of our ministers being ill, I ventured a second time into the pulpit last Sunday; and the Sunday before I preached six miles off to two thousand people in a jail-yard, where they were come to see a poor murderer two days before his execution. I was a little abused by the Bailiff on the occasion, and refused the liberty of attending the poor man on the scaffold, where he was to be broken on the wheel. I hope he died penitent."

_Feb. 2nd, 1779._--"I am better, thank G.o.d! and ride out every day when the slippery roads will permit me to venture without the risk of breaking my horse's legs, and my own neck. You will ask me how I have spent my time. I pray, have patience, rejoice, and write when I can. I saw wood in the house when I cannot go out, and eat grapes, of which I have always a basket by me....

"The truths I chiefly insist upon, when I talk to the people who will hear me, are those which I feed upon myself, as my daily bread: G.o.d, our Maker and Preserver, though invisible, is here and everywhere. He is our chief good, because all beauty and all goodness centres in and flows from Him. He is especially love: and love in us, being His image, is the sum and substance of all moral and spiritual excellence,--of all true and lasting bliss. In Adam we are all estranged from love and from G.o.d; but the second Adam, Jesus, Emmanuel, G.o.d with us, is come to make us know and enjoy again our G.o.d as the G.o.d of love and the chief good. All who receive Jesus receive power to become the sons of G.o.d, etc., etc."

_March 7th, 1780._--"I am sorry the building has come to so much more than I intended; but as the mischief is done, it is a matter to exercise patience, resignation, and self-denial; and it will be a caution in future. I am going to sell part of my little estate here to discharge the debt.

I had laid by 50 to print a small work, which I wanted to distribute here; but, as I must be just before I presume to offer that mite to the G.o.d of truth, I lay by the design, and shall send that sum to Mr. York. Money is so scarce here at this time that I shall sell at very great loss; but necessity and justice are two great laws which must be obeyed. As I design on my return to England to pinch until I have got rid of this debt, I may go and live in one of the cottages belonging to the vicar, if we could let the vicarage for a few pounds."

_Sept. 15th, 1780._--"There is little genuine piety in these parts: nevertheless, there is yet some of the form of it; so far as to go to the Lord's table regularly four times a year. There meet the adulterers, the drunkards, the swearers, the infidels, and even the materialists. They have no idea of the double d.a.m.nation that awaits hypocrites. They look upon partaking that sacrament as a ceremony enjoined by the magistrate."

_Feb. 14th, 1781._--"My friend Ireland invites me to join him in the south of France, and I long to see whether I could not have more liberty to preach the word among Papists than among Protestants. But it is so little that I can do, that I doubt much whether it is worth while going so far upon so little a chance. If I were stronger, and had more time, the fear of being hanged should not detain me."

It had occurred to Fletcher during his residence in Nyon that he might serve the cause of religion in Switzerland with his pen, seeing that the state of his health, and the opposition of persons in authority, made it impossible for him to preach the gospel, as it was in his heart to do. To awaken the clergy, to rouse them from their worldliness and scepticism, and bring them to some acquaintance with true religion, seemed of all things the most desirable. Humanly speaking, there was little hope for the Church in Switzerland until there was, at least, the leaven of an earnest ministry. To his friend and curate at Madeley, Mr. Greaves, he wrote: "There is occasion and great need to bear a testimony against the faults of the clergy here; and if I cannot do it from the pulpit, I must try to do it from the press. Their canons, which were composed by two hundred and thirty pastors at the time of the Reformation, are so spiritual and apostolic that I design to translate them into English, if I am spared."

It does not appear that this design was carried out, but meanwhile Fletcher was preparing a practical treatise on the "Pastoral Character," which he hoped to publish before leaving the country. It grew upon his hands into a lengthy and elaborate work. His plan was to exhibit at one view the character of the primitive Christian, and of the apostolic minister, as exemplified in the Apostle Paul. It was written in French, but was still unfinished when he returned to England, and the ma.n.u.script was laid aside, with the intention of translating and preparing it for the press when circ.u.mstances should allow. The convenient season, however, did not come, and it was not until after his death that the ma.n.u.script was found--portions of it from time to time,--obviously needing revision at the author's hand.

The task of translating and editing was performed by the Rev. Joshua Gilpin, and his version of "The Portrait of St. Paul" is the only one that has ever appeared. No mode of publication could well be more disadvantageous to a writer, and this should be borne in mind in estimating its value. Mr. Gilpin remarks that "the ma.n.u.script was so incorrect and confused as frequently to stagger the resolution of the translator"; and as his object was rather to produce an edifying work than to edit with precision Fletcher's literary remains, it is probable that he filled up the gaps and elaborated the hints which he found in Fletcher's papers. This would in part account for the diffuseness which characterises "The Portrait of St. Paul." The tendency, so frequently discernible in Fletcher's writings, is here most conspicuous. In the first division of the work the moral character of St. Paul is delineated under no less than forty "Traits," each one having a chapter to itself, the chapters being numbered successively TRAIT 1, TRAIT 2, and so on, to forty. Had Fletcher completed this treatise, and published it himself, it is reasonable to believe that his own literary experience or the advice of his friends would have led him to group these numerous details under fewer heads, and in other ways give greater unity to the whole. There is hardly a chapter that does not show the writer's spiritual insight and experience, and may not be read with profit, even by those who are acquainted with the best works of pastoral theology; but the cataloguing of moral features is carried to a fatiguing length, and the portrait which it was intended to exhibit is in danger of disappearing in the process of linked and long-drawn description.