“One of ‘The Associate Presbytery’ has published the most virulent pamphlet I ever saw, ascribing all that has been done here, and even in New England, to the influence of the devil. O how prejudice will blind the eyes of even good men!”
Whitefield had other troubles besides the bitter pamphlets that were published against him. The Spaniards had invaded Georgia. With forty sail of small galleys, and other craft, they had come into Cumberland Sound. With another fleet of thirty-six ships, they had entered Jekyl Sound. They had landed four thousand five hundred men, and marched, through the woods, to Frederica. Half of their galleys also approached the same town, and twenty-eight sail attacked Fort William. Oglethorpe’s military force was small, but proved victorious; and July 25, 1742, was appointed, by the General,“as a day of public thanksgiving to Almighty God for His great deliverance in having put an end to the Spanish invasion.”[18] Whitefield had heard of the invasion; but, as yet, he had not heard of the defeat. In a series of letters, written in July, his superintendent, Mr. Habersham, had informed him, that, finding the Orphan House in great danger of attack, they had removed all its inmates, eighty-five in number, to Mr. Jonathan Bryan’s plantation, in South Carolina.They arrived at midnight on July 10; and, within six weeks afterwards, were safely back to Bethesda.[19] Hence the following letter to Whitefield:—
“Bethesda, August 19, 1742.
“My dearest Friend and Brother,—I hope, before this reaches you, you will have received mine of the 4th, 11th, 14th, and 27th of July; and that you see your way clear to come to us. Blessed be God! we have reason to conclude the Spaniards have entirely left the colony; and we are now again very comfortably settled. The deliverance the Lord has wrought for us, by General Oglethorpe, I think, is the most remarkable I ever heard or read of, except some instances recorded in the Old Testament. I cannot now mention particulars. At Savannah, the poor people are almost all sick; at Frederica likewise, and at Mr. Bryan’s, and at other neighbours’, they are in the same condition. We also have many down. We have a good crop on the ground; but, except a few boys,have none to gather it. Brother Hunter” (the surgeon belonging to the Orphan House) “has his hands full, and is chiefly at Savannah. It is but little we buy abroad. We hunt, and kill our own stock; and have potatoes and corn enough of our own. I hope you are now on your passage to us. We cannot but expect you.”
Besides the Spanish invasion, Whitefield had another trouble in Georgia. Mr. Jonathan Barber, his lay-chaplain at the Orphan House, and Mr. Hunter, the house surgeon, had been arrested at Savannah, and imprisoned above a week, for privately insulting the Savannah clergyman. These and other matters are mentioned in the following letters. At the time when they were written, Whitefield was in the midst of the marvellous revival scenes at Cambuslang. The first was addressed to Mr. Barber, his recently imprisoned chaplain.
“Cambuslang, August 17, 1742.
“And has my dear brother Barber got the start of me? What, put into prison before me? I wish you joy, my dear brother, with all my heart. Had I been at Savannah, I would have come, and, if there had been need, would gladly have washed your feet. I doubt not but your imprisonment was for Christ’s sake. I wish you had told me who stood by at Savannah, and brought you refreshment. Greet them, and give them particular thanks in my name. I must write to the Trustees, and to others. I heard nothing of the affair, till I received your letter last week. A word or two of yours, to Mr.O——,” (the Savannah clergyman,) “I think a little too harsh; but Paul spoke once a little too harsh to the high priest. Our Jesus will overlook this, and will reward you for your imprisonment by-and-by.
“I cannot help believing that Georgia will yet be a glorious colony. The counsel of God shall stand. He surely put it into my heart to build the Orphan House. He certainly brought you to Georgia to superintend it. He will bless you and yours. I join in blessing God with you, and in admiring how He has spread a table for my dear family in that wilderness. I am kept from the least doubting. I am just now about to publish a further account of the Orphan House, and hope shortly to collect some more money towards its support.
“I am blessed with far greater success than ever; and Satan roars louder. You will see, by what I here send, how the archers, of different classes, shoot at me; but the Lord causes my bow to abide in strength, and enables me to triumph in every place. Last Lord’s-day, I believe, there were here thirty thousand people, and above two thousand five hundred communicants. The work spreads, and, I believe, will yet spread.”
Whitefield was young, but plucky. He was not disposedto submit silently to the high-handed acts of the small officials at Savannah. Hence the following, addressed to their superiors, the Honourable Trustees for Georgia:—