The Life of the Rev. George Whitefield, Volume 1 (of 2)Tyerman, L. (Luke)
History
The Life of the Rev. George Whitefield, Volume 1 (of 2)
Tyerman, L. (Luke)
Whitefield, George, 1714-1770
Among the household provisions are the following: a firkin of
butter, £1 8s.; a Cheshire cheese, at threepence halfpenny per
pound, 10s. 7 1/2 d.; a Gloucestershire cheese, at threepence
farthing, 8s. 6 1/2 d.; one hundred lemons, bought at Gibraltar,
two shillings; two hogsheads of fine white wine, £5 17s. 6d.; three
barrels of raisins, £1 19s. 6d.; to which must be added various
items of expenditure for cinnamon, sugar, brimstone, cloves,
mustard, pepper, oatmeal, oranges, potatoes, onions, and sage.
The stationery account includes four reams of foolscap writing
paper, £1 17s. 6d.; half a pound of wafers, one shilling; three
thousand second quills, £1 7s.; also sealing-wax, copy-books,
lead-pencils, slate-pencils, and ingredients to make ink.
In a long list of items of expenditure, after his arrival at
Savannah, are the following: "May 20, thirty pounds of fish, sent to
the poor of Highgate and Hampstead, three shillings and sixpence;
and 102 ells of Ossenbridge, for the poor for trowsers, shirts,
etc., £3 16s. 6d. May 27, eleven pounds of fresh beef for the
poor, 2s. 3 1/2 d.; and a cow and a calf for a poor housekeeper,
£2 15s.[114] June 15, a cow and a calf for a poor housekeeper of
Highgate, £3. June 17, eight sows with pig, for the poor of Highgate
and Hampstead. June 24, two barrels of flour, 432 lb., to set up a
poor baker, £2 12s. 10d.; and one barrel of ditto, 210 lb., made
into bread, and distributed to the poor of Savannah. July 14, two
pounds of tea for Savannah poor, 15s. July 26, thirty-three pounds
of fresh beef, 6s. 10 1/2 d.; and sixteen dozen corks and a brass
cock for the poor's wine; and, finally, at sundry times, payments
to and for Joseph Husbands, a servant whom the trustees allowed
Whitefield to take from England, £9 7s.
[114] This was repaid by the trustees of Georgia.
These, perhaps somewhat tedious, extracts from Whitefield's "Account
of Money received and expended, for the Poor of Georgia," are of
some importance. They furnish the names of some of his warm-hearted
friends. They supply an idea of market prices in 1737. They
evince the forethought and benevolence of the popular preacher,
at the early age of twenty-two. They, also, suggest one reason
why Whitefield was more successful in Georgia than his friend
Wesley. The latter had no friends to purchase gifts for the motley
colonists; the former had more than £300 for this important purpose.
Wesley's ritualism repelled the people; Whitefield's donatives
attracted them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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