Thus, by kneeling on a loose stone, deposited in a piece of ground, provisionally promised as a site for the erection, was begun the memorable Kingswood School. This is not the place to relate the details of the ministry of Wesley and his brother, nor to dwell upon the history of Kingswood School. Suffice it to say, that, on the 12th of May next ensuing, Wesley, in Bristol, laid the foundation-stone of his first Methodist meeting-house; and that, in the month of June, he began to build the School in Kingswood. The following extract, also, from Wesley's Journal, is full of interest, and perfectly appropriate. It was written eight months after Wesley became Whitefield's successor in Bristol and its neighbourhood:—
"Few persons have lived long in the west of England, who have not heard of the colliers of Kingswood; a people famous, from the beginning hitherto, for neither fearing God nor regarding man; so ignorant of the things of God, that they seemed but one remove from the beasts that perish; and, therefore, utterly without desire of instruction, as well as without the means of it.
"Many, last winter, used tauntingly to say of Mr. Whitefield, 'If he will convert heathens, why does he not go to the colliers of Kingswood?' In spring, he did so; and as there were thousands who resorted to no place of public worship, he went after them into their own wilderness, 'to seek and save that which was lost.' When he was called away, others went into 'the highways and hedges, to compel them to come in.' And, by the grace of God, their labour was not in vain. The scene is already changed. Kingswood does not now, as a year ago, resound with cursing and blasphemy. It is no more filled with drunkenness and uncleanness, and the idle diversions that naturally lead thereto. It is no longer full of wars and fightings, of clamour and bitterness, of wrath and envyings. Peace and love are there. Great numbers of the people are mild, gentle, and easy to be entreated. They 'do not cry, neither strive;' and hardly is their 'voice heard in the streets,' or indeed in their own wood, unless when they are at their usual evening diversion,—singing praise unto God their Saviour."
Leaving Wesley at Bristol, Whitefield again went off to Wales, preaching in the open air at Thornbury and at the Old Passage on his way. At Usk, on April 4th, he met Howell Harris; and, being refused the use of the pulpit in the church, a table was placed under a large tree, upon which he discoursed "to some hundreds" of attentive listeners. Attended by a cavalcade of nearly fifty persons, he proceeded to Pontypool, and preached first in the church, and then, to the overflowings of his congregations, out of doors. Thirty horsemen accompanied him to Abergavenny, where, at "the backside of a garden," he addressed "about two thousand people, and did not spare the polite scoffers in the least." About forty on horseback went with him to Comihoy, where the minister of the church was "a hearty friend," but the congregation was so large that the churchyard had to be used as Whitefield's preaching place. "I could spend some months very profitably in Wales," he writes; "the longer I am in it, the more I like it. The people are simple and artless. They have left bigotry more than the generality of our Englishmen; and, through the exhortations of Howell Harris, and the ministry of others, they are hungering and thirsting after the righteousness of Jesus Christ."
On April 6th, in company with about sixty equestrians, he reached Caerleon, "a town," says he, "famous for having thirty British kings buried in it, and for producing three noble Christian martyrs. I chose particularly to come hither, because when my brother Howell Harris was here last, some of the baser sort beat a drum, and huzzaed around him, for the purpose of disturbing him. But God suffered them not to move a tongue now, though I preached from the very same place, and prayed for him by name, as I have in every place where I have preached in Wales. God forbid I should be ashamed either of my Master or His servants! Many thousands were there from all parts, and God gave me such extraordinary assistance, that I was carried out beyond myself."
At Trelegg, Whitefield preached "upon the horse-block before the inn;" at Chepstow, in the church; and at Coleford, in the market-house. On April 9th, he arrived at Gloucester, in the neighbourhood of which he spent the next eight days. Howell Harris, as well as William Seward, was his travelling companion. The following is taken from the Gloucester Journal of April 24, 1739:—
"On the 9th inst., the Rev. Mr. Whitefield came to this city (the place of his nativity) from Wales; having preached in Usk Street; in Pontypool Church and field; in Abergavenny, from a place built on purpose, against a gentleman's wall; in Caerleon field, from a pulpit built for the famous Mr. Howell Harris, who came with him hither, and goes with him to London. He was attended from Usk to Pontypool, and from thence to Abergavenny, and to Caerleon, by sixty or seventy horse, so great was the love of the people to his person, and to his doctrine of the new birth," etc.
Whitefield's ministry in Gloucester and its vicinity was quite as irregular and as remarkable as it had been in Wales. On April 10, besides visiting three Religious Societies in the city, he also preached in St. Michael's Church; but, on the day following, at the conclusion of his sermon, the same church was closed against him, on the ground that "the greatness of his congregations" seriously interfered with public business. With the exception of another instance, to be mentioned shortly, these were the only services that Whitefield was allowed to hold in the Gloucester churches. The result was, he began to preach, to assembled thousands, in the Booth Hall, and in a field attached to the Bell Inn, and belonging to his brother. The newspaper just quoted says:—
"On Tuesday and Wednesday, he preached at the parish church of St. Michael's; but that, as well as one other pulpit, being afterwards denied, and having no prospect of better success with the rest of his brethren, he, on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday, preached to some thousands in a field belonging to the Bell Inn; also on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights, in the Booth Hall, to about three or four thousand each time. Great power has attended his preaching; great numbers have been strengthened in their Christian faith, and are exceedingly sorrowful at his departure from them."
Whitefield's views and feelings will be best expressed in his own words. He writes:—