for me?" He (supposing him to be Mr. Fletcher) answered, "I have; you must come with me." Mr. Ireland went very quietly with him. But when they came before the magistrate, the accuser said, "This is not the man; I know nothing of this gentleman." Another messenger was then sent; but before he came to the house, Mr. Fletcher was too far off to be overtaken.

22. While he was at Nyon, he wrote (among many other letters) to good old Mr. Perronet as follows:

"FEBRUARY 8, 1779.

"Honoured and dear Father iN CHRIST,-I have had the pleasure of accompanying your son to your father's birth place. It is a charming country for those who have a taste for highland prospects. But what is it to our heavenly Father's hill of Sion? Thither may we all travel, summer and winter, and there may we all have a happy meeting, and an eternal inheritance !"

23. September 7. Mr. William Perronet wrote a little farther account of him : "Mr. Fletcher," says he, "has preached here" (at Nyon) "in the church, and might have preached much oftener, if his health would have permitted; for his friendly and prudent behaviour has won upon all the three ministers, so that they are now on the best terms with him. But a new difficulty has lately arisen. He has been summoned before the Seigneur Bailiff, who sharply reprehended him (noble bailiff indeed; worthy of his office!) for preaching against Sabbath breaking, which, he said, implied a censure of the magistrates, as if they neglected their duty. He reprimanded him also for preaching against stage-plays, which he considered as a reflection on himself, as he had just then sent for a company of French comedians to Nyon. In consequence of this, he forbid his exercising the function of a minister in this country. A blessed instance of republican liberty! Who would not wish for the same in England? However, one of the ministers has ventured to give him a room in his own house. Here he preaches two or three times a week, to a few serious persons and abundance of children. His lordship has not yet thought proper to interfere, although the thing is no secret. And not only the seriousness, but also the number, of the congregation increases daily."

24. In the next year, 1780, Mr. Fletcher fully intended to return to England. But not long after he wrote as follows, to one of his parishioners at Madeley :—

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"I have the more readily complied with the request of my friends, to stay here" (at Nyon) a little longer, as it was so earnestly backed by the little society which is gathered in this place. About three weeks ago they got about me, and besought me on their knees, with many tears, to stay till they were a little stronger, and able to stand alone. Nor would they be persuaded to rise, till they had got me to comply. Happy would it be for us all, if we prayed so earnestly to Him who can give substantial blessings!

"Two days ago I went to Geneva, and spoke to a carrier, to take me back to London; but his coach was full. Yesterday another came, and said he would take us at a fortnight's notice. The Lord is always ready to give us a lift to the kingdom of grace, through which we must pass to the kingdom of glory. The comfort of this journey is, that we may travel all together, though our bodies are far asunder. For Christ the way is every where, and faith is (like his word) one and the same in every age and place. So is holiness; for in all places we may love God with all our heart, and our neighbour as ourselves. I hope you and all your brethren travel thus; and that you journey like St. Paul, who travelled so hard, that he was running a race for a prize, a crown of life."

25. In spring, 1781, he set out for England. But Mr. Perronet was

then exceeding ill, having all the symptoms of an approaching consumpHe could not therefore keep pace with Mr. Fletcher; who, being

tion.
on his journey, wrote to him as follows:-

"LYONS, April 6, 1781. "MY DEAR FRIEND,-We are both weak and both afflicted; but Jesus careth for us. He is every where. He has all power to deliver us; and perhaps by ways we little think of. It was of the Lord that you did not come with me; you would have been sick as I am. I am overdone with riding and preaching; indeed twice I preached in the fields. I carry home with me much weakness: the Lord's will be done. I know I am called to suffer and die. Let us believe and rejoice in the Lord Jesus."

He returned to England in summer in tolerable health, being quite recovered from his consumption. Calling at London, he preached at the New chapel, slept at Newington, and the next day set out for Bristol. He stayed there only a short time, and then retired to Mr. Ireland's, at Brislington; who, as soon as he was capable, willingly accompanied him to his beloved Madeley.

26. But he did not find such cause of rejoicing aere as he had fondly expected. This may be easily gathered from the letter he then wrote to his friend at Newington. It runs thus :

"MADELEY, June 12, 1781.

"MY VERY DEAR FRIEND, I stayed longer at Brislington than I designed. Mr. Ireland was ill, and would nevertheless come hither with me; so that I was obliged to stay till he was better. And indeed it was well that I did not come without him; for he has helped me to regulate my outward affairs, which were in great confusion. Mr. Greaves leaves me; and I will either leave Madeley, or have an assistant able to stir among the people; for I had much rather be gone than stay here to see the dead bury their dead. Well, we shall soon remove out of all, and rest from our little cares and labours. You do not forget, I hope, that you have need of patience, as well as I, to inherit the promises; the best and greatest of which are not sealed, but to such as keep the word of Christ's patience, and such as persevere witn him in his temptations. Hold on, then, patient faith and joyful hope! If I were by you, I would preach to your heart and my own, a lecture on this text, We are saved by hope,' and by a faith which is never stronger than when it is contrary to all the feelings of flesh and blood.

Pray what news of the glory? Does the glory of the Lord fill the temple, your house, your heart? A cloud is over my poor parish; but, alas! it is not the luminous cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night. Even the few remaining professors stared at me the other day, when I preached to them on these words: 'Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; for the promise is unto you.' Well, the promise is unto us: if others depise it, still let us believe and hope. Nothing enlarges the heart and awakens the soul more than that believing, loving expectation. Let us wait together, until we are all endued with power from on high."

CHAPTER VII.

OF HIS MARRIAGE.

1. ALTHOUGH the great Apostle has ranked the "forbidding to marry" among the "doctrines of devils," and has expressly declared, "Marriage is honourable in all men, and the bed undefiled;" yet a kind of prejudice hangs on the minds of many even of those that love God, inclining them to disapprove of the marriage of persons eminent in religion. Yea,

many are of opinion that it is not consistent with high degrees of holiness; and that when any who have deep experience in the things of God marry, they are in some measure fallen from grace. Hence many were surprised that so eminent a Christian as Mr. Fletcher should take this step. And they could hardly help thinking that he had lost some degree of his excellent piety, and that he was not so unreservedly devoted to God as he had been some time before.

2. In order to satisfy every reasonable person that he had not sustained any loss at all, that his entire self devotion was in nowise impaired, either before or at the time of his marriage, I believe the most convincing way will be to give as particular an account as possible of what occurred at that time. The account is given by one that was an eye and ear witness of what she relates; and whoever seriously considers this account will easily perceive that his soul was at that time all alive, and wholly devoted to God. And I cannot but recommend this whole transaction to the imitation of all Christians who enter the holy state of matrimony.

3. As I think it highly expedient to premise some account of the person whom Mr. Fletcher chose as his companion for life, I am glad to find this done to my hand in the letter which I shall now subjoin :

"REVEREND SIR,-I think it my privilege, and have often found it a blessing, to comply with the request of my honoured father, which I now do also in great love to my valuable and much-esteemed friends, Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher. I will therefore endeavour, with the assistance of my gracious Lord, to recollect and acquaint you with some particulars of the life and character of these truly devoted servants of God, with whose intimate acquaintance I have been favoured for near thirty years. But, indeed, I feel my great insufficiency to relate what might be said with the strictest truth of these worthies.

"My acquaintance with Mrs. Fletcher began when she was about seventeen years of age. She had from her early childhood been strongly drawn to seek the Crucified, and was now athirst for a clean heart, and longed to have a right spirit renewed within her. Nor did her desire to love God with all her heart lessen, but increase, her love to her neighbour; as I, the most unworthy, am well able to testify, to whom she has been a tried friend, even to the present hour.

"To give you a clear view of this, I need only transcribe part of a letter, which she wrote to me, May 23, 1757 :

"MY DEAREST FRIEND, The Lord has been indeed merciful, above all we can ask or think. I found a greater blessing the last time I was with you than ever. I am more enabled to prayer, and to an earnest seeking after holiness. But what most stirs me up is, I seem to hear the Lord calling upon me, Depart ye, depart ye; go ye out thence; touch not the unclean thing; be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. For some time, these words have been much in my mind, with both pleasure and profit. But within this day or two, the Lord has more clearly shown me the way wherein I ought to walk. He seems to call me out to more activeness; so that I am ready to cry out, What wouldest thou have me to do? Then I consider, Can I do any more for the souls or bodies of the poor about me? But this does not seem to be the thing. What I am now led to wish for is, with both soul and body to serve those who are in Christ. And as soon as the Lord has prepared me for his work, and set me at liberty, my firm resolution is, by the grace of God, to be wholly given up to the Church. I plainly see, I have no more to do with the world, than to allow myself the necessaries of life. And though it has pleased God that I have no need to work for my living, yet

surely that is no reason my hand should be idle. I would be like those described, 1 Timothy v, 10, to bring up children, to lodge strangers, to be ready to do the meanest offices for the saints, to relieve the afflicted, to visit the fatherless and widow, and diligently to follow every good work. O pray for me, that the Lord may shorten his work in me, and quickly make an end of sin! O that he would say to my soul, Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee! O when shall I be wholly given up, both body and soul, to Him who gave himself for me?'

"I admired the spirit of this letter; but little expected to see these good desires brought so fully into practice, as they were in a few years after. And this may suffice as a clear proof that God fulfils the desire of them that fear him; yea, and shows unto them the path wherein he would have them to walk. That her light given before was not delusive, is plain; as it is well known, how many years she has brought up children, lodged strangers,' relieved the afflicted, and diligently followed every good work.'

6

"With regard to the dear saint that is now swallowed up in his beloved employment, praise and adoration, it is eight or nine-and-twenty years since I was first favoured with his heavenly conversation, in company with Mr. Walsh and a few other friends, most of whom are now in the world of spirits At these seasons, how frequently did we feel

The o'erwhelming power of saving grace!

How frequently were we silenced thereby, while tears of love our eyes o'erflowed! It sweetly affects my soul while I recollect the humility, fervour of spirit, and strength of faith, with which dear Mr. Fletcher so often poured out his soul before the great Three-One, at whose feet we have lain in holy shame and divine silence, till it seemed earth was turned to heaven! With what delight does my soul recal those precious moments! Yet a little while, and we shall all magnify His name together.

"This heavenly minded servant of the Lord resembled him likewise in his love to precious souls. I heard him preach his first sermon at West-street chapel. I think his text was, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' His spirit appeared in his whole attitude and action, though he could not well find words in the English language to express himself: but he supplied that defect by offering up prayers, tears, and sighs abundantly. Nearly about this time he saw Miss Bosanquet, and began his acquaintance with her. But although they had a particular esteem for each other, yet they had no correspondence for above twenty years. It was not till the yearly conference drew near, in July 1781, that he paid her a visit at her own house near Leeds. They had much conversation together, and contracted an intimate acquaintance. After a few days, Miss Bosanquet asked Mr. Wesley's advice concerning Mr. Fletcher's proposal, who approved it entirely; being persuaded, it would be much to the glory of God. He spent much of his time at Cross Hall, till the following January. His general conversation was praising God, and speaking of the love of our dear Redeemer. He took opportunities likewise of speaking to every one in the family concerning the state of their souls, and giving them from time to time such directions as were suitable thereto. At other times he met us all together, and gave us proper exhortations and directions. Our daily meals were as a sacrament. When he drank to any one it was, 'Heavenly health,' or, The cup of salvation.' At or after the meal, he generally begun, or called us to begin, that verse,—

'Still, O my soul, prolong

The never-ceasing song!

Christ my theme, my hope, my joy,
His be all my happy days!
Praise my every hour employ;

Every breath be spent in praise!'

After dinner he often sung several verses of Primitive Christianny;' particularly that,

O that my Lord would count me meet

To wash his dear disciples' feet!

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Sometimes he read many of those verses with tears streaming down his face. Thus did he walk with God, filled with the Spirit of his beloved Lord; confirming his love to all the family, and caring both for their spiritual and temporal concerns.

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My soul was much affected, when he asked each of us, in a sweet, humble manner. 'Can you give me your friend?' To think of parting, was indeed, grievous to us all. Yet we did not dare to withhold her from him; as we all believed the union was of God, and would be to their present and eternal benefit. The first sermon which he preached in Leeds, on the Sunday morning before the Conference, will never be forgotten by any that heard it, who desire to be perfected in love. He preached in many places while in Yorkshire, and to numerous congregations. I have heard of many who were greatly blessed thereby; some convinced, others set at liberty. And whenever he either preached or conversed, the comforts of the Holy Ghost were multiplied.

Monday, November 12, was the day appointed for the outward uniting of those whose hearts were before united by the Holy Spirit. On the morning of this day, several friends met together on this solemn occasion; who can all, as well as me, truly say, 'I have been at one Christian wedding.' Jesus was invited, and truly he was at our Cana. We reached Cross-Hall before family prayers. Mr. Fletcher was dressed in his canonicals; and after giving out one of Mr. Wesley's marriage hymns, he read the seventh, eighth, and ninth verses of the nineteenth chapter of the Revelation; and spoke from them in such a manner as greatly tended to spiritualize the solemnities of the day. He said, 'We invite you to our wedding; but the Holy Ghost here invites you to the marriage of the Lamb. The Bride, the Lamb's wife, has made herself ready. This Bride consists of the whole Church triumphant and militant united together. Ye may all be the Bride, and Jesus will condescend to be the Bridegroom. Make yourself ready by being filled with the Spirit.' He was very solemn in prayer, and said, 'Lord, thou knowest, we would not take this step, if we had not eternity in view, and if we were not as willing to be carried into the church yard as to go into the church.' At breakfast he reminded us, 'The postilions are now ready to carry us to the church, in order to see our nuptials solemnized; but death will soon be here, to transport us to the marriage of the Lamb.'

"On the way to the church, (Batley Church, which was near two miles off,) he spoke much of the mystery which is couched under marriage, namely, the union between Christ and his Church. The first Adam,' said he, 'received his wife from his side; our heavenly Adam purchased his Bride by a fountain opened in his pierced side.' They were married in the face of the congregation; the doors were opened, and every one came in that would. We then returned home, and spent a considerable time in singing and prayer. I then presented Mrs. Fletcher with some We were near twenty of us. wedding hymns. She looked them over, and gave them to Mr. Fletcher. He read the Scripture at the top, namely, Husbands, love your wives;' and added, As Christ loved the Church.' Then turning to us, he said, 'My God, what a task! Help me, my friends, by your prayers to fulfil it. As Christ loved the Church! He laid aside his glory for her! He submitted to be born into our world; to be clothed with a human body, subject to all our sinless infirmities. He endured shame, contempt, pain, yea, death itself, for his Church! O my God, none is able to fulfil this task without thine almighty aid. Help me, () my God! Pray for me, O my friends!'

"He next read, Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands.' Mrs. Fletcher added, As unto the Lord." Well, my dear,' returned Mr. Fletcher, 'only in the Lord; and if ever I wish you to do any thing otherwise, resist me with all your might.' From dinner, which was a spiritual meal, as well