“I cannot conclude without remarking that, although you are encumbered with debts, you must be, at least, an equal match for Mr. Fletcher. Your two estates[[540]] have always been considered as fully equal to your debts; but, suppose they should not turn out to be so, the difference cannot be very great; and, as the remainder of your income exceeds £200 a year, it at least equals Mr. Fletcher’s income, such as it has been stated to me; besides the consideration that the greater part of his income dies with him, and the capital of yours survives in case there should be children, for their benefit.”[[541]]
At the same time, Miss Bosanquet’s brother William, in a letter dated “Lime Street, London, October 16, 1781,” replied to her wail that she could “carry Mr. Fletcher nothing but debts,” and stated that he was in favour of her marrying Fletcher.[[542]]
Before taking leave of the Bosanquet family, it may be added, that Mr. S. Bosanquet sent his sister, as his wedding present, a pair of silver candlesticks;[[543]] and that her brother William, in a letter dated “November 27, 1781,” and addressed “Mrs. Fletcher, Cross Hall, Morley Common, near Leeds,” wrote:—
“I cannot but hope the greatest happiness will attend your union with a gentleman to whom, by general report, the highest praise is due. Permit me to wish you joy on this occasion, and to add my best respects to Mr. Fletcher, assuring him that I shall be happy to cultivate his acquaintance, and to show him every attention in my power.”[[544]]
With this loving letter, Mr. William Bosanquet forwarded to his sister a nuptial present of £100.
Another fact must be mentioned. William Bosanquet loved his sister, and, not only now, but in aftertime, he showed the genuineness of his affection by his deeds. The uncle, Claudius Bosanquet, in his last will and testament, bequeathed to Miss Bosanquet’s two brothers £18,000 each; but Miss Bosanquet and her sister Gassen were unnamed. At the uncle’s death, their brother William, ever generous and open-handed, gave them £500 each; when Fletcher died, he presented to the widow £40 a year to relieve the wants of the poor of Madeley; and when he himself died, in 1813, he bequeathed her the sum of £2,000.
These details have not been given without a reason. Some ill-informed Methodists have a sort of floating idea that Fletcher’s marriage was an unequal one—that is, they seem to think that the Bosanquet family was much more respectable than that of Fletcher; and that Miss Bosanquet’s fortune was much greater than the fortune of the man who became her loving and devoted husband. Enough has been said to show the inaccuracy of this. Fletcher’s family was quite equal, in point of respectability, to the Bosanquet family, and, perhaps, superior; and his yearly income was not less than that of the lady who rejoiced to become his wife. Never was there a marriage more free from mercenariness than that of John Fletcher, of Madeley, and Mary Bosanquet, of Cross Hall, Yorkshire. It was, in the highest and purest sense, a love-match. The letters, just given, exhibit Fletcher’s affection, disinterestedness, honour, and respect for others. Miss Bosanquet had still a remnant of her fortune; but he wished the whole of this to be settled upon herself. He wished to marry her, but, before carrying out his wish, as a courteous gentleman, he asked for the approbation of her family, thereby setting a good example to his inferiors and juniors. She wished to marry him; but, shrinking from the idea of involving him in her pecuniary embarrassments, she proposed to postpone the marriage till her affairs were in a more settled state. Her family were consulted by Fletcher; and they responded in the most kind and straightforward manner. In genius, talent, and learning, Fletcher was immensely Miss Bosanquet’s superior; but, for pure, ardent, disinterested, unselfish love, it is impossible to decide which of the two was entitled to bear the palm.
Consent to the marriage having been obtained from the Bosanquet family, Fletcher made an arrangement to spend the remainder of the year with his affianced in Yorkshire. The well-known Rev. John Crosse,[[545]] Vicar of Bradford, took Fletcher’s pulpit at Madeley, and Fletcher took Mr. Crosse’s at Bradford.[[546]] To some, this may seem somewhat strange; but it must be borne in mind that Miss Bosanquet’s temporal affairs were in a most entangled state, and that it was of great importance that her Cross Hall property should be sold, and all her business assets and debts in Yorkshire satisfactorily settled before her removal to Madeley. Fletcher went to help his intended bride, and did help her; for her brother William, in a letter, written to her a fortnight after her marriage, observed, “You have done very well in disposing of your place.”[[547]] For months past, she had been longing and trying to turn her troublesome property into money: now she succeeded in doing so. A week after Fletcher’s arrival, “a gentleman came quite unexpectedly, and bought” the Cross Hall[[548]] estate “for £1,620; and, three days afterwards, another took the stock, etc.” Arrangements were also made for the locating of her domestic dependants; and she was enabled to write:—
“All was now so far settled, that I did not need to sell Leytonstone estate. My income would afford to allow my dispersed family £55 per year; pay the interest of the money still owing; and yet leave me such an annual sum as was about equal to my dear Mr. Fletcher’s; and, in case of my death, there was in Leytonstone more than would pay all. So, on Monday, the 12th of November, 1781, in Batley Church, we covenanted in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, to bear each other’s burdens, and to become one for ever.”[[549]]
Fletcher reached Cross Hall towards the end of October, 1781, and continued there till January 2, 1782, when he and his bride set out for Madeley. A glimpse of this brief interval, and of his unique wedding, may interest the reader.