In another letter, written at Colchester, eleven days later, he tells Mr. Habersham, "I have been a circuit into Hertfordshire, Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Suffolk. The word is attended with power, and the alarm in the country greater than ever. Contributions increase. I am more and more convinced that evangelizing is my proper business at present."
In a third letter, addressed to "Mr. Howell Harris, at Mr. Syms's, in the Paved Alley, Leadenhall Market, London," and which has not heretofore been published, Whitefield wrote:—
"Coggeshall, July 13, 1741.
"I must snatch a few moments to write to my dear brother Howell. I rejoice to hear that the Lord is with you. May He cause all opposition to fall before you! He has been doing great things for me since I left London. Surely you pray for me. I am much strengthened in body and soul. On Wednesday night, I hope to be in London, and to preach in the Tabernacle on Thursday evening. May the Lord sanctify our meeting! I must away to preach. The clock strikes ten. Adieu!
"Your affectionate brother and servant,
"George Whitefield."
In a fourth letter, dated July 18, he writes: "God has mightily blessed my journey in the country. Thousands and tens of thousands have flocked to hear the word, and near £180 have been collected for the Orphan House."
It is a curious fact, that Whitefield's congregations and large collections were represented as a national evil. In the New Weekly Miscellany, for August 8, 1741, Richard Hooker wrote:—
"About a fortnight ago, the Rev. Mr. Whitefield returned to London, from his progress of three weeks through the counties of Hertford, Essex, Bedford, Cambridge, and Suffolk, during which time he preached six-and-forty times, with such good success, that the common enemy may guess thereby what mobs may be raised, in these and other places, to disturb the kingdom, whenever there is occasion. In his journeys, he collected upwards of £180 for the Orphan House in Georgia; and, on Sunday, the 19th of July, in the morning, he had a collection at his New Booth in London, where there were several half-guineas, and other sums of lesser value given; but what was collected in the whole is uncertain; only it is observed, that whatever money is sent out of the nation in a time of war, when taxes are so high, and trade decays, is a weakening of the public. And, as the old proverb saith, 'Every little helps' to bring on the common calamity, all this looks like a judicial infatuation, at a time when we have so many real objects of charity in our own kingdom. It is observable, that he pays in none of this money to the trustees for Georgia; so that he hath no vouchers for what he receives, and is accountable to no one, but as he sees fit. And as the late famous Jonathan Wild, the thief-catcher, had a correspondent in Holland, one Johnson, who received from him such goods as he could not sell in England, so the Rev. Mr. Whitefield hath one, Habersham, in Georgia, to receive all such money as he knows not how otherwise to dispose of."
Enough for the present of the redoubtable Richard Hooker. Whitefield, forsooth, was endangering the nation! And Jonathan Wild might have claimed him as a suitable companion! Abuse like this was far from pleasant; but Mr. Hooker found it difficult to exist without bespattering his neighbours.
Whitefield's Dissenting friends had built him a large "New Booth," as Mr. Hooker politely called the Tabernacle; but his restless zeal could not be confined within limits so contracted. Wesley, though ecclesiastically irregular in his ministerial labours, most rigidly refrained from identifying himself with Nonconformists. Whitefield, on the other hand, wished to be the helper of all Christian denominations. The following letter, to Joseph Humphreys, deserves attention:—
"Coggeshall, July 13, 1741.
"I received your letter at Bury; but cannot think that matters are quite ripe, or that you are duly qualified for settling a church. God lets me see, more and more, that I must evangelize. I find you are for settling. Do as God shall direct: I am easy. I only wish you may find settled persons to be your assistants. Without this, a church cannot be rightly ordered. I have no freedom, but in going about to all denominations. I cannot join with any one, so as to be fixed in any particular place. Every one has his proper gift. Field-preaching is my place. In this, I am carried as on eagles' wings. God makes way for me everywhere."