[181] In a MS. left behind him, Whitefield remarks in reference to this service: "I thought it might be doing service to my Creator, who had a mountain for His pulpit, and the heavens for His sounding-board; and who, when His gospel was refused by the Jews, sent His servants into the highways and hedges." It may also be added here, as an interesting fact, that Whitefield's first sermon at Kingswood was the means under God of the conversion of Thomas Maxfield, generally, but incorrectly, said to have been the first layman whom Wesley authorised to preach. (Vindication of Rev. Mr. Maxfield's Conduct, 1767, p. 3.)
[182] Paul Orchard, Esq., of Stoke Abbey, was also now at Bath, to whom James Hervey, his most intimate friend, wrote as follows:—"1739, March 15. You have by this time seen Mr. Whitefield, and are able to judge whether fame has flattered in the account of him; or whether he be not indeed that amiable, excellent, and heavenly young man which he was always represented to be." (Letters Elegant, Interesting, and Entertaining, illustrative of the author's amiable character. Never before published. By James Hervey. London: 1811. 8vo. 348 pp.)
[183] It must be remembered that all these outdoor services were held in the depth of winter.
[184] The entire population of Elberton, in 1801, was only 179.
[185] Supplement to Rev. Mr. Whitefield's Answer to the Bishop of London's Pastoral Letter, 1739, p. 6.
[186] Harris says, "The first question Mr. Whitefield asked me was this, 'Do you know that your sins are forgiven?' The question rather surprised me, having never heard it asked before." ("Life and Times of Howell Harris," by Rev. E. Morgan, p. 43.)
[187] The Rev. Griffith Jones was a memorable man. Born in the parish of Kilredin, and educated in the Grammar-school at Camarthen, he was ordained a deacon in 1708, and a priest in 1709, by the learned Bishop Bull. He was preferred to the Rectory of Llandowror by Sir John Philips of Picton Castle. At the request of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, he consented to go as a missionary among the Indians; but, for some unknown reason, this arrangement was set aside. Divinity was the grand study of Mr. Jones's life. He was well versed in the writings of the most eminent English and foreign divines. His sermons were solid, lively, striking, and judicious. His voice was musical, his delivery agreeable, his action proper. As a preacher, he soon became famous, and great multitudes flocked to hear him wherever he went. Invitations to preach in other churches besides his own were frequent; and, in many instances, the crowds were such that he was obliged to preach in the churchyards. On some of these occasions, his sermons occupied three hours in delivery. He instituted, and for twenty-four years maintained by subscriptions, the circulating Welsh Free Schools, the object of which was to teach the poor to read their native language, and to instruct them in the principles of the Christian religion. At the time of his decease, the number of his schools was more than 3,000, and of their scholars 158,000, some of them sixty years old. Principally by his efforts, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge was induced to print two editions of the Welsh Bible, of 15,000 copies each, which were sold as cheap as possible, for the benefit of the poor in Wales. He was also himself the author of at least a dozen different publications. He died on the 8th of April, 1761, in the seventy-eighth year of his age, and was interred at his own parish church of Llandowror.—Gospel Magazine, 1777.
[188] The following is taken from the Gentleman's Magazine for 1739, p. 162: "Mr. Whitefield, who set out from London on February 7, in order to preach and collect money for an Orphan House, has been wonderfully laborious and successful, especially among the poor prisoners in Newgate, Bristol, and among the rude colliers of Kingswood. On Saturday, the 18th inst., he preached at Hannam Mount to five or six thousand persons, and in the evening removed to the Common, about half a mile farther, where three mounts and the plains around were crowded with so great a multitude of coaches, foot and horsemen, that they covered three acres, and were computed at twenty thousand people; and, at both places, he collected £14 10s. for the Orphan House of Georgia."
[189] In its number, dated April 19, 1739, Common Sense, after describing a Methodist preacher as a gentleman of "meagre countenance, lank hair, puritanical behaviour, and with a stock of pride that domineers in every look," proceeds to say, "If one man like Mr. Whitefield should have it in his power, by his preaching, to detain five or six thousand of the vulgar from their labour, what a loss in a little time may this bring to the public! For my part, I shall expect to hear of a prodigious rise in the price of coals about the city of Bristol, if this gentleman proceeds with his charitable lectures to the colliers of Kingswood."
[190] This may seem incredible, after what has just been said of Cheltenham; but it must be borne in mind that Whitefield was now preaching according to a previous appointment, and that his congregation consisted of many others than the inhabitants of the prosperous village. The following is taken from the Gloucester Journal: "1738, April 24. Last Tuesday (having first baptized an aged Quaker), Mr. Whitefield set out by appointment for Cheltenham and Evesham."