2. "Mr. Fletcher's arms were equal to his strength, and served to make him truly invincible in the cause of godliness. From his first admission into the true church militant, he was fully persuaded, that armour forged by the art of man must needs be insufficient, either for conquest or security, in a spiritual warfare. He saw it absolutely necessary to be furnished with weapons of celestial temper, and was altogether dissatisfied with his state, till he had put on the 'whole armour of God,' with a determined resolution never to put it off till his last conflict should be decided. He then appeared in the complete Christian uniform: from the helmet of salvation to the sandals of peace, all was entire, and perfectly fitted to his spiritual frame. No mortal part was left unguarded, nor was any joint of his armour so loose as to admit a thrust from the enemy. No part of his sacred panoply appeared uncouth or cumbersome, no part of his carriage constrained or unnatural: he appeared in arms as in his proper dress, and not as David when he assayed to go forth in the armour of Saul. On no occasion was he ever known to affect anything like spiritual pomp: yet on every occasion there was a dignity of character in his deportment, that raised the veneration of every beholder. As the heroes of antiquity were distinguished from warriors of an inferior order, by the splendour of their arms, so, by the uncommon lustre of his graces, he was distinguished as a chieftain in the Christian bands."

3. By the account given in the preceding pages, the reader will observe that it was not "immediately * upon his entering into orders that Mr. Fletcher was appointed statedly to labour in any particular place. As he still continued in the family of Mr. Hill, he was but occasionally called to exercise the ministry he had received. But wherever he was invited to speak in the name of his Master, he effectually distinguished himself from the generality of Ministers, by the earnestness and zeal with which he delivered his message. Whatever his hand found to do, in any part of the sacred vineyard, it may truly be said that he did it with all his might:' and there is much reason to believe, that even

* Gilpin's Notes.

these occasional labours were not 'in vain in the Lord.' It was about three years after his ordination, that he was presented to the living of Madeley, where he had officiated for some time previous to this appointment. As Madeley was the place of his choice, so it was a place to which, by his rare endowments, he was peculiarly adapted, and for the reformation of which he appears to have been eminently appointed by the providence of God. Celebrated for the extensive works carried on within its limits, Madeley was remarkable for little else than the ignorance and profaneness of its inhabitants, among whom respect to man was as rarely to be observed as piety towards God. In this benighted place the Sabbath was openly profaned, and the most holy things contemptuously trampled under foot; even the restraints of decency were violently broken through, and the external form of religion held up as a subject of ridicule. This general description of the inhabitants of Madeley must not, however, be indiscriminately applied to every individual among them: exceptions there were to this prevailing character, but they were comparatively few indeed. Such was the place where Mr. Fletcher was called to stand forth as a Preacher of righteousness, and in which he appeared for the space of five-andtwenty years as a burning and shining light.

4. "Immediately upon his settling in this populous village, which was in the year 1760, he entered upon the duties of his vocation with an extraordinary degree of earnestness and zeal. He saw the difficulties of his situation, and the reproaches to which he should be exposed by a conscientious discharge of the pastoral office but, persuaded of the importance of his charge, and concerned for the welfare of his people, he set his face like a flint against all who might oppose the truth or grace of God. As a steward of the manifold grace of God, he faithfully dispensed the word of life, according as every man had need; instructing the ignorant, reasoning with gainsayers, exhorting the immoral, and rebuking the obstinate. Instant in season and out of season, he diligently performed the work of an Evangelist, and lost no opportunity of declaring the truths of the Gospel. Not content with discharging the stated duties of the Sabbath, he counted that day as lost, in

which he was not actually employed in the service of the church. As often as a small congregation could be collected, which was usually every evening, he joyfully proclaimed to them the acceptable year of the Lord, whether it were in the place set apart for public worship, in a private house, or in the open air; and, on these occasions, the affectionate and fervent manner in which he addressed his hearers, was an affecting proof of the interest he took in their spiritual concerns. As the varying circumstances of his people required, he assumed a different appearance among them: at one season he would open his mouth in blessings; and at another he would appear like his Lord amid the buyers and sellers, with the lash of righteous severity in his hand. But, in whatever way he exercised his ministry, it was evident that his labours were influenced by love, and tended immediately, either to the extirpation of sin, or the increase of holiness.

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5. Nor was he less attentive to the private duties of his station, than to public exhortation and prayer. Like a vigilant Pastor, he daily acquainted himself with the wants and dispositions of his people, anxiously watching over their several households, and diligently teaching them from family to family. Esteeming no man too mean, too ignorant, or too profane, to merit his affectionate attention, he condescended to the lowest and most unworthy of his flock, cheerfully becoming the servant of all, that he might gain the more.' In the performance of this part of his duty, he discovered an admirable mixture of discretion and zeal, solemnity and sweetness. He rebuked not an elder, but entreated him as a father; to younger men, he addressed himself with the affection of a brother, and to children with the tenderness of a parent: witnessing both to small and great the redemption that is in Jesus, and persuading them to cast in their lot with the people of God. In some of these holy visits, the earnest and constraining manner in which he has pleaded the cause of piety, has melted down a whole family at once; the old and the young have mingled their tears together, and solemnly determined to return right humbly to their God. There were, indeed, several families in his populous parish, to which he had no access, whose members, loving darkness

rather than light, agreed to deny him admission, lest their deeds should be reproved. In such cases, where his zeal for the salvation of individuals could not possibly be manifested by persuasion and entreaty, it was effectually discovered by supplication and prayer; nor did he ever pass the door of an opposing family, without breathing out an earnest desire that the door of mercy might never be barred against their approaches.

6. "With respect to his attendance upon the sick, he was exemplary and indefatigable." "It was a work,' says Mr. Wesley, "for which he was always ready: if he heard the knocker in the coldest winter night, his window was thrown open in a moment. And when he

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understood, either that some one was hurt in the pit, or that a neighbour was likely to die, no consideration was ever had of the darkness of the night, or the severity of the weather; but this answer was always given, ‘I will attend you immediately.' Anxious," proceeds Mr. Gilpin, upon every suitable occasion, to treat with his parishioners on subjects of a sacred nature, he was peculiarly solicitous to confer with them when verging toward the border of eternity. At such seasons, when earthly objects lose their charms, and the mind is naturally disposed to look for support from some other quarter, he cheerfully came in to improve the providential visitation, either by salutary advice, or seasonable consolation. These were valuable opportunities, which nothing could prevail on him to neglect, fully convinced that the dictates of truth are never more likely to make a due impression upon the heart, than when delivered in the ante-chamber of death. His treatment of the dying was always regulated by their peculiar circumstances, and his fidelity toward them was sweetly tempered with compassion. If the departing soul was prepared for the promises of the Gospel, he thankfully administered them with a lavish hand: if otherwise, he was importunate in prayer, that the mercy of God might be magnified upon his languishing creature, though it should be at the eleventh hour. As he never visited the chambers of the dying but in the spirit of earnest supplication, so he seldom quitted them without some degree of consolatory hope.

7. There is still another part of his duty, in the

discharge of which he discovered unusual earnestness and activity. It was a common thing in his parish for young persons of both sexes to meet at stated times, for the purpose of what is called recreation; and this recreation usually continued from evening till morning, consisting chiefly in dancing, revelling, drunkenness, and obscenity. These licentious assemblies he considered as a disgrace to the Christian name, and determined to exert his ministerial authority for their total suppression. He has frequently burst in upon these disorderly companies with a holy indignation, making war upon Satan in places peculiarly appropriated to his service. Nor was his labour altogether in vain among the children of dissipation and folly. After standing the first shock of their rudeness and brutality, his exhortations have been generally received with silent submission, and have sometimes produced a partial, if not an entire, reformation in many who were accustomed to frequent these assemblies. With one of these persons I am perfectly acquainted, who, having treated this venerable Pastor with ridicule and abuse, in one of these riotous assemblies, was shortly afterwards constrained to cast himself at his feet, and solicit his prayers. This man is now steadily walking in the fear of God, with a thankful remembrance of the extraordinary manner in which he was plucked as a brand from the burning.

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'These, and every other duty of his sacred vocation, among which I might have particularly noticed the public and private instruction of children, were performed by this apostolic Minister, with an earnestness and zeal, of which I can convey but a very imperfect idea. Never weary of well-doing, he counted it his greatest privilege 'to spend and be spent' in ministering to the church, which he constantly honoured as 'the body of Christ,' and in the service of which he sacrificed his strength, his health, and his life."

8. So far Mr. Gilpin, who, living in the neighbourhood, and being well acquainted both with the state of the parish of Madeley, and Mr. Fletcher's conduct and labours among its inhabitants, could speak from personal knowledge of the facts he relates. It is certain, as Mr. Wesley has also testified, that "from the beginning of his settling there, he was a laborious workman in his