257 
M ETH 
»bliged to return to England in a few months, this de- 
fign was fruftrated, and the Indians in a few years Sepa¬ 
rated. During the lhort time that Mr. Whitefield refided 
at Savannah, he became extremely popular; and indeed 
the inftances of his fuccefs in the way of makin converts 
are very furprifmg. However, he was obliged to come 
to England in the autumn of that year, that he might re¬ 
ceive prieft’s orders. On his return to America in Octo¬ 
ber 1739, he landed at Philadelphia, and inftantly began 
his fpiritual labours as in other places ; being attended 
with aftonifning fuccefs, not only there, hut wherever he 
went. Palling through the colonies of Virginia, Mary¬ 
land, North and South Carolina, the number of converts 
confiderably increafed ; but, on his arrival at Savannah, 
he found the colony aimoft deferted. He now refumed 
the fcheme he had formerly projected of building an 
Crphan-houfe; and for this he made the firlt colle&ion 
at Charleftc.vn in South Carolina, amounting to about 
70I. fterling. His zeal in the caufe of religion, or of the 
colony, were not, however, fufiicient to procure him the 
favour of thofe in power. On his return to Philadelphia, 
after a fhort ftay at Savannah, the churches were denied 
him ; but he was made ample amends by the fuccefs 
which attended his field-preachings and private efforts. 
Religious focieties were every-where fet up, and many 
were converted with fymptoms of enthuiiafm, different 
according to their various tempers and conftitutions. 
During this excurfion, he was lo fuccefsful in his collec¬ 
tion for the Orphan-houfe, that on his return to Savan¬ 
nah he brought along with him money and proviiions 
to the value of 500I. fterling. 
The fuccefs in Georgia was now greater than ever; 
but the many charities which it was neceffary to fupply, 
rendered it neceffary in a fhort time for him to under¬ 
take another journey to Charleftown. Here his princi¬ 
ples met with the greateft oppofition. He had loft the 
favour of the commiflary by his field-preaching, and was 
denied the facrament. The oppofition, however, was 
altogether fruitlefs; the number of converts increafed 
wherever he went, and he now undertook a voyage to 
New England. In this place all’o the eftablilhed clergy 
were his enemies ; but the ufual fuccefs attended his 
other endeavours, and procured 500I. more for the ufe of 
the orphans in Georgia. 
From the year 1741 to 1743 America was deprived of 
Mr. Whitefkid’s preaching, he having fpent that interval 
in England; but in 1744 he again fet out for the weftern 
'continent. The remarkable fuccefs which had hitherto 
attended his labours now ftirred up many opponents ; 
and thefe had met with the greater fuccefs, as none of 
the Methodift preachers whom he had left were poflefled 
of fuch abilities either to gain the favour of thofe who 
heard them, or to defend their doh'trines againft objec¬ 
tions. Mr. Whitefieid’s fuccefs, however, was the fame 
as before: he even found means to infpire the military 
ciafs with fuch fentiments of devotion, that Col.Peppereil 
could not undertake his expedition againft Louifbourg 
without firft confulting Mr. Whitefield; and great num¬ 
bers of New-Englanders went volunteers, confident of 
vidtory in conlequence of the difeourfes of their teacher. 
From the continent of America Mr. Whitefield took a 
voyage to the Bermudas iflands 5 and here, as every-where 
elfe, he met with the moll furprifmg fuccefs. Here alfo 
colledtions were made for the Orphan-houle in Savannah, 
.which were tranfmitted to that place. 
Supposing it to be better for his caufe to vifit different 
countries than to take up a permanent refidence in one, 
Mr. Whitefield left Bermudas in a few months, and did 
not return to America till'1751, when the Orphan-houfe 
was found to be in a very flourilhing ftate. After a 
fhort flay, he fet fail again for Britain. Here he remained 
two years, and then fet out on another vifit to America, 
landing at Charleftown on the Z7th of May, 1754- His 
prefence conftantly revived the fpirits and caule of his 
party, and added to their numbers wherever he went. 
Vol, XV. No. 1040. 
ODIST. 
Next year he returned to England; but, after labouring 
in the ufual manner, and meeting with the ufual fuccefs 
there till the year 1763, he fet fail again for America, and 
arrived at Virginia in the latter end of Auguft. He now 
vifited all the colonies, and found that great progrefs had 
been made in converting the Indians. On his arrival at 
Georgia, matters were found in a very flourifhing fitua- 
tion, and he received the thanks of the governor and 
principal people for the great benefit he had been to the 
colony; which fhows, that the flories which had been fo 
induftrioufly propagated, concerning the avarice of him 
and other Methodift preachers, were, partly at leaft, un¬ 
founded. In 1765 he returned to England; and in 1769 
made his feventh and lall voyage to America, landing at 
Charleftown on the 30th of November the fame year. He 
was (till attended with the fame fuccefs; and indeed it is 
impoffible to read, without admiration, an account of the 
efforts made by himfelf and Mr. Wefley, to propagate 
their tenets in the different parts of the world. 
For a very confderable time Mr. Whitefield was the 
only Methodift who paid any attention to America; and 
in that country he was more popular than even in Eu¬ 
rope. Towards the end of his life, feveral Methodifts, 
having emigrated from Britain, formed dillinft focieties 
in New York and Philadelphia. Thefe quickly increafed 
in number; and, about the time that the war with Britain 
began, their numbers amounted to about 3000 in Virginia, 
Maryland, New York, and Pennfylvania. They would 
probably have increafed much more, had it not been for 
the imprudence of fome of their preachers, who intro¬ 
duced politics into their difeourfes, and thus rendered, 
themfelves obnoxious to the people among whom they 
lived. Among thofe who hurt the caufe in this manner 
was Mr. Wefley himfelf, who, by writing a piece entitled 
A Calm AcldreJ’s to the American Colonies, would in all 
probability have ruined it, had not a gentleman, with 
whom he was conne&ed, deftroyed or fent back to Eng¬ 
land the whole impreflion as foon as it arrived in Ame¬ 
rica, fo that its exiftence was fcarcely known in that con¬ 
tinent. At the conclulion of the war, Dr. Coke, who in 
1776 had left a curacy in England in order to join Mr. 
Wefley, paid a vifit to his friends in America; though 
it had been imagined that a total feparation had taken 
place between the American and European Methodifts. 
This breach was, however, made up by a manoeuvre of 
Mr. Wefley; for no fooner'had the Americans obtained 
their independence, than he, who had hitherto branded 
them with the name' of rebels, fent a congratulatory letter 
on their freedom from the “ ftate and the hierarchy,” and 
exhorted them to “ Hand fall in that liberty with which 
God had fo ftrangely made them free.” To fhow his 
zeal in their fervice llill farther, he gave ordination, by 
laying on of hands, to feveral preachers who were to 
embark for America; and confecrated Dr. Coke one of 
the bilhops of the Methodift F.pifcopal Church in that 
country. He extracted alfo from the liturgy of the Eng- 
lifh church one for the American Methodifts, taking par¬ 
ticular care to expunge every expreflion that had a parti¬ 
cular refpedt to the'regal authority. - 
Thefe proceedings, in one who had formerly profefied 
fuch extraordinary attachment to the Englifh- church, 
could not but require an apology; and this v/as accord¬ 
ingly made in a paftoral letter tranfmitted to the Ameri¬ 
can focieties, and addrelfed “ To Dr. Coke, Mr. Allbury, 
and our brethren in North-America.” In this letter he 
makes the following defence of his conduct: “ Lord 
King’s account of the primitive church convinced me, 
many years ago, that bilhops and prelbyters are the fame 
order, and confequently have the lame right to ordain. 
For many years I have been importuned, from time to 
time, to exercife this right, by ordaining part of our tra¬ 
velling preachers. But I have Kill refuted, not only for 
the fake of peace, but becaule I was determine'd as little 
as pofiibie to violate the eftablilhed order of the national 
church to which I belonged. But the cafe .is widely dif- 
3 U threat 
