He returned to England in the Whitaker, Captain Whiting; the ship that brought out Mr. Whitefield, June 2d, 1738. "The good people lamented the loss of him, and great reason had they to do so; and went to the waterside to take a last farewell."
V. GEORGE WHITEFIELD was the intimate friend of the Wesleys and of Ingham; and he states, in his Journal, that when they were in Georgia he received letters from them; and that their description of the moral condition of the Colony affected his heart powerfully, and excited a strong desire to join them, to assist them in the work in which they were occupied, and become "a partaker with them in the afflictions of the gospel." Such an undertaking was suited to his energetic and enterprizing character; and therefore engaged much of his attention. On the return of Charles Wesley to England, he learned more of the situation of the Colonists, and of their great need of religious instruction; and when Ingham came with special reference to procuring assistance, he expressed his readiness to go on the mission. In the letter which he received by him from John Wesley was this direct reference, "Only Delamotte is with me, till God shall stir up the heart of some of his servants, who, putting their lives in his hands, shall come over and help us, where the harvest is so great and the laborers are so few. What if thou art the man, Mr. Whitefield? Do you ask me what you shall have? Food to eat and raiment to put on; a house to lay your head in, such as your Lord had not; and a crown of glory that fadeth not away!" This, and another letter, strengthened the desire, which soon ripened into a purpose, for which all circumstances seemed favorable. Charles, too, became more explicit, and rather urged his going[1].
[Footnote 1: He addressed a poem to him in which are these verses:
"Servant of God! the summons hear.
Thy Master calls! arise! obey!
The tokens of his will appear,
His providence points out the way.
"Champion of God! thy Lord proclaim,
Jesus alone resolve to know.
Tread down thy foes in Jesus' name,
And conquering and to conquer go!">[
He accordingly went up to London to tender his services to Oglethorpe and the Trustees; by whom he was accepted; and he left London on the latter part of December, 1737, in the 23d year of his age, to take passage in the Whitaker, Captain Whiting, master, on a voyage to Georgia. It was, however, the end of January before the vessel was fairly on its way, in consequence of contrary winds. They sailed from the Downs a few hours only before the vessel, which brought Wesley back, cast anchor there. He was attended on his passage by the Honorable James Habersham and his brother. They landed, after rather a circuitous and long passage, on the 7th of May, 1738. Delamotte, whom Wesley had left schoolmaster at Savannah, received him at the Parsonage house, which he found much better than he expected. Having met with some of his predecessor's converts there, he read prayers on the morrow, and expounded, in the Court-house, and waited on the magistrates; but, being taken ill of a fever and ague, he was confined to the house for a week.
Being informed that Tomo Chichi was sick, nigh unto death, as soon as he could venture abroad he made him a visit. The Mico lay on a blanket, thin and meagre. Scenawki, his wife, sat by, fanning him with feathers. There was none who could speak English, so that Mr. Whitefield could only shake hands with him and leave him. A few days after he went again, and finding Toonahowi there, who could speak English, "I desired him," says Whitefield, "to ask his uncle whether he thought he should die;" who answered, "I cannot tell." I then asked, where he thought he should go, after death? He replied "To heaven." But alas! a further questioning led the solemn visiter to an unfavorable opinion of his preparedness for such a state of purity.
When Whitefield had recovered so as to commence his labors, he remarked that every part bore the aspect of an infant colony; that, besides preaching twice a day, and four times on the Lord's day, he visited from house to house, and was in general cordially received, and always respectfully; "but from time to time found that caelum non animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt. 'Those who cross the seas, change their climate, but not their disposition.'" Though lowered in their circumstances, a sense of what they formerly were in their native country remained. It was plainly to be seen that coming over was not so much a matter of choice as of restraint; choosing rather to be poor in an unknown country abroad, than to live among those who knew them in more affluent circumstances at home.[1]
[Footnote 1: Gillies' Memoirs of Whitefield, p. 27.]
The state of the children affected him deeply. The idea of an Orphan-House in Georgia had been suggested to him by Charles Wesley, before he himself had any thought of going abroad; and now that he saw the condition of the Colonists, he said, "nothing but an orphan-house can effect the education of the children." From this moment he set his heart upon founding one, as soon as he could raise funds. In the meantime, he did what he could. He opened a school at Highgate and Hampstead, and one for girls at Savannah. He then visited the Saltzburgers' orphan-house at Ebenezer; and, if any thing was wanting to perfect his own design, or to inflame his zeal, he found it there. The Saltzburgers themselves were exiles for conscience' sake, and eminent for piety and industry. Their ministers, Gronau and Bolzius, were truly evangelical. Their asylum, which they had been enabled to found by English benevolence for widows and orphans, was flourishing. Whitefield was so delighted with the order and harmony of Ebenezer that he gave a share of his own "Poor's store" to Bolzius for his orphans. Then came the scene which completed his purpose. Bolzius called all the children before him, and catechized them, and exhorted them to give God thanks for his good providence towards them. Then prayed with them, and made them pray after him. Then sung a psalm. Afterwards, says Whitefield "the little lambs came and shook me by the hand, one by one, and so we parted." From this moment Whitefield made his purpose his fate.[1]