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
These were the public reasons why Mr. Seward returned to England;
but there were also private reasons. Mr. Seward had bought five
thousand acres of land on the forks of Delaware, for which he had
paid £2,200 sterling; and he hoped to beg this amount of money in
England, and then to give the land for the erection of a negro
school, and also a location for a number of "English friends,
where," to use Seward's words, "they might worship God in their own
way, without being thought _Enthusiasts_ for so doing." He also
intended to buy a ship in England for the purpose of conveying
the refugees to their foreign home. The place was to be a sort of
"Hernhuth" in America. Besides this, William Seward seems to have
been a widower with an only daughter, who was being educated by a
private governess. He was now desirous to remove his daughter to
Georgia, and to complete her education in Whitefield's Orphan House.
With reference to this, he wished to buy of the Trustees of Georgia
five hundred acres of land adjoining the Orphan House estate,
provided he could have a perfect title to leave it to the Orphan
House, if he thought desirable.
From this concise statement it will be seen that Mr. Seward had
abundance of business to transact in England; but besides all
this, there was a family quarrel exceedingly unpleasant. The
elder brother, Henry Seward, was wroth at his brothers becoming
Methodists. Three months before William's return to England,
Benjamin Seward was seriously ill. "His fever was called madness."
His letters were intercepted, and his servants set over him as
spies. Charles Wesley went to see him, but was not admitted to his
presence, and wrote:--"Henry Seward fell upon me without preface or
ceremony. I was the downfall of his brother, had picked his pocket,
ruined his family, come now to get more money, was a scoundrel,
rascal, and so forth, and deserved to have my gown stripped over
my ears. He concluded with threatening how he would beat me, if he
could but catch me on Bengeworth Common." On the day after this
angry interview, Charles Wesley attempted to preach. Henry Seward
came and said, "Four constables are ordered to apprehend you if you
come near my brother's wall," the place appointed for preaching; "so
come at your peril." Charles writes:--
"I walked towards the place. Mr. Henry met me with threats and
revilings. I began singing--
'Shall I, for fear of feeble man,
Thy Spirit's course in me restrain?'
He ran about raving like a madman, and quickly got some men
for his purpose, who laid hold on me. Henry cried, 'Take him
away, and duck him.' I broke out into singing with T. Maxfield,
and let them carry me whither they would. At the bridge in the
lane, they left me. There I stood out of the liberty of the
corporation, and gave out--
'Angel of God, whate'er betide,
Thy summons I obey!'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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