CHAPTER X.

Mr. Whitefield at Ashby--Mr. Moses Browne--Mr. Martin Madan--Lady Frances Hastings--Dr. Stonhouse--Mr. Hartley--Death of the Prince of Wales--Anecdote--Lady Charlotte Edwin--Dr. Ayscough--Lord Lyttleton--Death of Sir George Lyttleton--Death of Lord Bolingbroke--Dr. Trapp--Dr. Church--Anecdotes--Lady Luxborough--Mr. Mallet--Mr. Pope.

Early in the month of October, Lady Huntingdon had the pleasure of another visit from Mr. Whitefield, who had been again ranging about, as he expresses it, to see who would believe the Gospel report. “I am now (says he) at Lady Huntingdon’s house, with four other clergymen, who I believe love and preach Christ in sincerity.” Whilst he remained at Ashby-place the sacrament was administered every morning by some of the clergymen who were with her Ladyship; and in the evening Mr. Whitefield preached.

“It was a time of refreshing from the presence of our God (writes her Ladyship to Lady Fanny Shirley): several of our little circle have been wonderfully filled with the love of God, and have had joy unspeakable and full of glory. Lady Frances is rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. It is impossible to conceive a more real happiness than she enjoys. Dear Mr. Whitefield’s sermons and exhortations were close, searching, experimental, awful, and awakening. Surely God was with him--he appeared to speak of spiritual and divine things as awful realities. Many of us could witness to the truth of what he uttered, by finding that which our hearts discovered and read to us. His discourses in the neighbouring churches were attended with power from on high, and the kingdom of darkness trembled before the Gospel of Christ.”

Mr. Whitefield, in a letter to the Countess Delitz, says:--

“Good Lady Huntingdon goes on acting the part of a mother in Israel more and more. For a day or two she has had five clergymen under her roof, which makes her Ladyship look like a _good archbishop_, with his chaplains around him. Her house is a Bethel: to us in the ministry it looks like a college. We have the sacrament every morning, heavenly conversation all day, and preach at night. This is to _live at Court_ indeed! Last night I had the pleasure of seeing a little flock that seemed to be awakened by the grace of God; so that out of ungrateful Ashby I trust there will be raised up many children unto Abraham. Your Ladyship and the other elect ladies are never forgotten by us. I would write to good Lady Fanny, but I hear she is out of town.”

To Lady Gertrude Hotham he writes:--

“Ashby, October 11, 1750.

“Honoured Madam--It is with great pleasure that I have heard from good Lady Huntingdon of your Ladyship’s being so supported under your late bereavement [Lady Gertrude had just lost her daughter], and of the good impressions made on surviving relatives by it. Thus the Redeemer delights to magnify his strength in his people’s weakness, and causes the death of one to be the life, as it were, the resurrection of another. O what amazing mysteries will be unfolded when each link in the golden chain of Providence and grace shall be seen and scanned by beatified spirits in the kingdom of heaven. There all will appear symmetry and harmony; and even the most intricate, and seemingly most contrary dispensations, will be evidenced to be the result of infinite and consummate wisdom, power, and love. Above all, there the believer will see the infinite depths of that mystery of godliness, ‘God manifest in the flesh,’ and join with that blessed choir who, with a restless unweariness, are ever singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. May your Ladyship live to see all your surviving children taught and born of God! I must not enlarge--neither have I room to acquaint your Ladyship how that mirror of piety, good Lady Huntingdon, adorns the gospel of her Lord in all things. I wrote some particulars of our situation to the good Countess.”

Lady Huntingdon used all her interest in endeavouring to extend the knowledge of the doctrine of her crucified Lord; and she appears to have been actively engaged about this time in procuring ordination for Mr. Moses Browne, and the living of Ashby for Mr. Hervey, who was then officiating as curate to his father, in the charge of Collingtree; but upon his demise, in 1752, Mr. Hervey succeeded to the living of Weston Favell. From what cause Lady Huntingdon did not succeed in placing Mr. Hervey at Ashby it is difficult, at this distance of time, to ascertain, as no further mention is made of the affair in the correspondence or papers of her Ladyship or Mr. Whitefield.

Mr. Moses Browne, afterwards well known as Vicar of Olney, and Chaplain of Morden College, Blackheath, was at this time very desirous of procuring ordination, but many obstacles opposed his wishes. He had never been at either of the Universities; he had a large family, and his circumstances were very contracted. He had, among his other talents, a taste for poetry, and some of his early productions are remarkably easy and elegant. On the institution of the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, about the year 1730, he became a constant contributor to it, and obtained some of the prizes offered by Mr. Cave for the best poems.[87]

By the kindness of Dr. Watts, Mr. Browne was introduced to the notice of Lady Huntingdon and Lady Hertford, at whose house he met most of the poets and eminent literary characters of that time. During a severe illness, which threatened his life, he was penetrated with a deep sense of the divine reality and importance of religion; but his rage for dancing and theatrical amusements frequently obliterated for a season those sacred impressions. Whilst in this state he was providentially led to attend the preaching of the first Methodists, under whose powerful and awakening preaching he began to view the things which concerned his salvation in a clearer light; and from that time his sentiments and conduct appeared to have undergone a complete revolution.

Just at this period, the Rev. Martin Madan, who was originally bred to the study of the law, changed, by the advice of his friends, Lady Huntingdon, Mr. Jones of St. Saviour’s, Mr. Romaine, and others, the abstruse practice of the bar for the elocution of the pulpit. Mr. Madan, founder and first chaplain of the Lock Hospital, near Hyde Park-corner, afterwards so celebrated for his writings and as a popular preacher in the chapels of Lady Huntingdon, was the eldest son of Colonel Madan, of the Guards, by his wife Judith, daughter of Judge Cowper, the brother of the Lord Chancellor. Like many others, his conversion arose from circumstances apparently trivial. The preaching of the first Methodists had excited universal attention, and roused many from the torpor of indifference. Mr. Madan, being in company one evening with some of his gay companions at a coffee-house, was requested by them to go and hear Mr. Wesley, who, they were told, was to preach in the neighbourhood; and then to return and exhibit his _manner_ and _discourse_ for their entertainment. He went with that intention, and just as he entered the place, Mr. Wesley named as his text, “_Prepare to meet thy God!_” with a solemnity of accent which struck him, and which inspired a seriousness that increased as the good man proceeded in exhorting his hearers to repentance. He returned to the coffee-room, and was asked by his acquaintance “if he had taken off the old Methodist?” To which he answered, “_No, gentlemen, but he has taken me off_.” From that time he withdrew from their company altogether, and in future associated with persons of a different stamp. His first friend and intimate in the religious world was Lady Huntingdon, who had been well acquainted with his mother-in-law, Lady Hale, relict of Sir Bernard Hale, Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland, the friend and contemporary of her Ladyship’s grandfather, Sir Richard Levinge, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. Lady Huntingdon’s cousin, Sir Edward Dering, Bart., grandson of Lady Anne Shirley, afterwards married a niece of Mr. Madan’s, daughter of William Hale, Esq., of King’s Walden, and sister to Mrs. Stillingfleet, of West Bromwich.

Possessing a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures in the original languages, and having embraced those evangelical views of Gospel truth, of which he afterwards was so zealous a defender, Mr. Madan was desirous of diffusing amongst his fellow-men the savour of that name which he loved. Master of an independent fortune, he entered the ministry without any mercenary views: and though his brother, Dr. Spencer Madan, was successively Bishop of Bristol and Peterborough, he never accepted any benefice or emolument in the Church. In consequence of his religious sentiments, and the open avowal he made of the faith once delivered to the saints, he experienced some difficulty in obtaining orders; but through the perseverance and interest of Lady Huntingdon and some others, he was at length successful. Alluding to this circumstance, Mr. Whitefield says:--

“I am glad Mr. Madan is ordained, and hope Mr. Browne will be the next. By the Bishop’s letter to him, I find your Ladyship has acted in the affair like yourself. Your Ladyship shall have a copy of it, and you will then see how matters go on. Mr. Browne is much for embarking in Christ’s cause, and if the Duchess would but help him at this juncture he might be a useful and happy man. Both he and Mr. Hervey have the most grateful sense of your Ladyship’s great kindness. The latter, I believe, intends to winter with me in London. If possible, I will prevail on Mr. Hartley to come and pay him a visit.”

Soon after his ordination, Mr. Madan was called to preach his first sermon in the church of All-hallows, Lombard-street. The lawyer turning divine was novel: curiosity prevailed among the million of the metropolis. The manly eloquence of the preacher drew general attention and excited applause. The poor heard the Gospel with gladness, and the rich were not sent empty away. Many were filled with wonder. The croaking cry of prejudice was silenced--her raven voice sunk amidst the loud acclaims of the friends of religion, who heard the doctrines of the Reformation nobly defended by an able advocate, whose knowledge was equal to his zeal. Like Boanerges, a son of Thunder, he proclaimed the law from the flaming mountain; and from the summit of Zion’s hill he appeared a Barnabas, a son of consolation. Mr. Madan was rather tall in stature, and of a robust constitution: his countenance was majestic, open, and engaging, and his looks commanding veneration: his delivery is said to have been peculiarly graceful. He preached without notes; his voice was musical, well-modulated, full and powerful; his language plain, nervous, pleasing, and memorable; and his arguments strong, bold, rational, and conclusive: his doctrines were drawn from the sacred fountain: he was mighty in the Scriptures--a workman that needed not be ashamed of his labours, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The success attending her Ladyship’s applications in behalf of Mr. Madan induced her to redouble her efforts to serve Mr. Browne:--

“I have had a polite refusal (says Lady Huntingdon) from the Bishop of Winchester,[88] but have hopes that my letter to his Lordship of Worcester will prove more favourable. The testimonials, signed by Hervey, Hartley, and Baddelley, all beneficed clergymen, men of known integrity and reputation, remain in the Bishop’s hands. My dear Lady Chesterfield has been very kind, and takes a great interest in Mr. Browne’s case. The Countess Delitz has sent me ten guineas for him. I have written to Lady Fanny, and hope her application to the Duchess will be successful.[89] My Lord Bath has promised me his support, and I doubt not but he will be generous likewise. Let the cry of every heart be addressed to Him who has all hearts at his disposal, and will do whatsoever seemeth him good in this as in every other case. Our business is to spread it before him in prayer; the result will be according to his most righteous will.”

All these efforts were vain--

“Poor Mr. Browne (says Mr. Whitefield, in a letter to Lady Fanny Shirley) is much obliged to you for speaking in his behalf. He happened to be with me when your letter came. The reception your Ladyship’s kind motion met with convinces me more and more that ‘Be ye warmed and be ye filled,’ without giving anything to be warmed or filled with, is the farthest that most professors go. Words are cheap, and cost nothing; and, therefore, many can say ‘they pity,’ and that extremely too, when at the same time their practice shows it is only a verbal, and not a real compassion.”

At length, however, through the interest of the Hon. Welbore Ellis,[90] Lady Huntingdon succeeded in obtaining ordination for Mr. Browne, who soon after commenced his ministry as curate to Mr. Hervey, at Collingtree. That inconceivably amiable, humble man had frequently urged him to enter the ministry; and in one of his letters to him says:--

“As to your entering into holy orders, I have no manner of doubt; by all means do it. It is what I have been praying for these several years; it is what all the disciples of Christ are directed to implore at the Lord’s hands, that he would send many such labourers into his vineyard. As God has inclined your heart to the work--as he has given you so clear a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and stirred you up to be zealous for the interests of a bleeding Saviour--I assure you, if the king would make me a bishop, one of the first acts of my episcopal office should be to ordain the author of ‘Sunday Thoughts.’ I hope the Lord will guide you by his Spirit, and commission you to feed his flock, and make you a chosen instrument of bringing many sinners to Christ--many sons to glory.”

Immediately on coming to Collingtree, Mr. Browne was invited to Ashby-place, and some of his first and most effective discourses were delivered amongst the people there. When Lady Huntingdon removed to London, he occasionally visited the metropolis, and at her Ladyship’s house united with that great apostle of the Lord, Mr. Whitefield, in preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ to the polite and fashionable. He likewise assisted Mr. Madan at the Lock, and Mr. Jones at St. Saviour’s; and the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls bore testimony to the word of his servant, and gave him many seals to his ministry.

Early in the month of December, Lady Huntingdon was again alarmingly indisposed. Mr. Whitefield also was dangerously ill at the same time in London. Dr. Doddridge appears to have been extremely apprehensive as to her Ladyship’s state of health, and in a letter to his correspondent, the Rev. Mr. Wood, of Norwich, dated December 4th, says--“Dear Lady Huntingdon is in a very declining way. Pray devoutly for her important life.” On the 22nd of the same month he again mentions her Ladyship--“I am printing the funeral sermon for my excellent friend at St. Alban’s.[91] Lady Huntingdon continues very ill. I fear we shall soon lose her too. But the Lord liveth, and blessed be our rock.” At the close of a letter from Mr. Hervey to the Rev. Moses Browne, dated December 22, he enquires--“What account can you give of Lady Huntingdon’s health? Never, never will the physician’s skill be employed for the lengthening a more valuable life. May Almighty goodness bless those prescriptions, and command her constitution and our zeal to flourish.”

The beginning of the year 1715, Lady Huntingdon’s health declined so rapidly that Mr. Whitefield was sent for express. “I rode post to Ashby (says he), not knowing whether I should see good Lady Huntingdon alive. Blessed be God, she is somewhat better, and I trust will not yet die, but live, and abound more and more in the work of the Lord. Entreat all our friends to pray for her. Indeed she is worthy.” Lady Selina was slowly recovering from a fever, and Lady Frances had died suddenly a few hours before Mr. Whitefield reached Ashby. She was a retired character, lived silently, and was removed to that

----“land of pure delight, Where saints immortal dwell,”

without a sigh or a struggle. Her Ladyship was born at Donnington Park, January 8, 1694, and died unmarried, January 23, 1751.[92] Her humility, meekness, sincerity, and heavenly-mindedness were conspicuous in all her deportment, and rendered her much esteemed and respected by all who had the happiness of her acquaintance. In her intercourse with society,[93] she was a pattern to all, manifesting an uniform piety, a deadness to the world, and a conversation that in all things adorned the doctrine of our Saviour. She was universally lamented by the poor in the neighbourhood, of whom a multitude attended her funeral. Before the body was removed, Mr. Whitefield gave a solemn exhortation; and after her Ladyship’s remains were interred amongst those of her ancestors, he addressed an attentive and weeping multitude, preaching from the words, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.”

The following letter from Mr. Whitefield to Lady Mary Hamilton contains some interesting particulars of the death of Lady Frances:--

“Honoured Madam--Last Monday evening, through the goodness of our ever-blessed Redeemer, I got safe to Ashby, where I found good Lady Huntingdon very sick, though I trust not unto death. All advise her Ladyship to take a journey to Bristol, for the benefit of the waters, which her Ladyship seems determined to do. The death of Lady Frances has not affected her so as to hurt her. She rejoices at the thought of her sister’s being so quickly translated out of this house of bondage into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Her death was a translation indeed! Her Ladyship died without a groan. She seemed, as it were, to smile at death; and may be said, I trust truly, to fall asleep in Jesus. Ere long, she and all that sleep in Jesus shall come with him. Almost all have been ill in their turns. Lady Selina has had a fever, but is better. Lady Betty is more affected than ever I saw her. Lady Anne bears up pretty well; but Miss Wheeler is inconsolable. It is a house of mourning: that is better than a house of feasting. The corpse is to be interred on Friday evening. May all that follow it look and learn! I mean, learn to live and learn to die. This is a lesson which you and yours, honoured Madam, I trust, are learning every day. We had need be careful to get our lesson perfect, since we know not when the Son of Man will come, whether at evening, cock-crowing, or in the morning. To be ready at that hour is all in all. Good Lady Huntingdon sends her sincerest compliments. If anything extraordinary happens before my return, your Ladyship shall hear again from, honoured Madam, your Ladyship’s most dutiful, obliged, and ready servant for Christ’s sake,

“G. W.”

Mrs. Whitefield’s illness obliging her husband to return to London, he wrote to Dr. Stonhouse the day before his departure, urging him to use his influence with Mr. Hartley to come without delay to Ashby; but he being then unable to leave his parish, Dr. Stonhouse went to Ashby, where he remained till her Ladyship was sufficiently recovered to remove to Bristol Hot Wells, whither she went in the beginning of March. This was an important circumstance for the Doctor, who seemed halting between two opinions, notwithstanding the searching letters and eloquently urgent remonstrances of Mr. Whitefield. Lady Huntingdon says, in a letter written just before leaving Ashby:--

“The dear and excellent Dr. Doddridge and Dr. Stonhouse have been to see me. I long to see the latter embark more boldly in the cause of Christ, but he has an unaccountable dread of the opinion of the world, and is fearful of being called a Methodist. We spoke most faithfully and solemnly to him; he appeared affected, and shed tears. He and Dr. Doddridge have preached alternately every evening, and have occasionally assisted in the administration of the sacrament. How holy, how humble, is that excellent man! and what divine words fell from his lips at the last sacramental feast! How close and searching were his addresses! I think I was scarce ever so happy before. I trust my journey to Bristol will be for good! O that my health and strength may be wholly employed for that blessed Redeemer who has done such great things for me!”

Mr. Whitefield left Ashby the first week in February, and towards the close of the month received a letter from Lady Huntingdon, with an account of the continued improvement in her health, which rejoiced the benevolent heart of that great and good man.

Early in the month of March, Lady Huntingdon and family left Ashby for Bristol. A few days after her arrival she was agreeably surprised by a visit from Mr. Whitefield, who had been preaching at Gloucester and Tewkesbury, with his accustomed zeal and success. Intending to proceed towards the south, he wrote to Mr. Hervey to supply his place:--

“This comes (says he) with a summons from good Lady Huntingdon for you to appear in Bristol and abide for a month or two at my brother’s house; you must not refuse. The God who has carried that elect Lady through such bad roads from Ashby hither will take care of you, and I am persuaded you will not repent your journey. Her Ladyship made the motion to me, and intends writing herself. Blessed be God, she is much better, and I trust will do well. She will have nobody to give her the sacrament unless you come.”

But Mr. Hervey’s precarious state of health would not permit his accepting her Ladyship’s kind invitation. He was in London, and under the roof of his valued friend, at the Tabernacle-house.

“This (says Mr. Whitefield) I count a great honour, and such a privilege, that I wish to have the favour conferred on me as long as I live. These my hands, could they work, or was there occasion for it, should readily minister to your necessities.”

Disappointed of Mr. Hervey’s assistance, Mr. Whitefield wrote to Mr. Hartley on the 30th of March, enclosing a letter from Lady Huntingdon, requesting him to visit Bristol without delay:

“I am persuaded (says he) you were surprised to find our elect Lady gone from Ashby, and I was as much surprised to see her Ladyship at Bristol; I hope her journey was of God. The waters agree with her wonderfully already, and I trust she will be restored to perfect health. As dear Mr. Hervey cannot be prevailed upon to come down, if it would any way suit you to be with her Ladyship a month, it would much refresh her, and I believe be very agreeable to you. Some pulpits would be open for you, and who knows but you might catch some great fish in the Gospel net? But I need not enforce this, since her Ladyship hath written to you herself. May the blessed Redeemer direct your going in his way!”

After a short visit to Plymouth, Exeter, and other places in Devonshire and Somersetshire, Mr. Whitefield returned to Bristol, where he found Mr. Daniel Rowlands, who had arrived a few days before, on a visit to Lady Huntingdon. These apostolic labourers preached frequently at this time in the open air, to vast multitudes, who heard them with apparently deep and serious attention:--

“It is delightful (says her Ladyship) to see such multitudes flocking to hear the word. Mr. Whitefield and Mr. Rowlands are greatly owned and honoured of the Lord in the conversion of notorious profligates and self-righteous formalists. Very many have been compelled to lay down the arms of rebellion, and submit to the all-conquering sword of the Spirit. Mr. Hartley hath preached several times in the churches with great acceptance. I trust my journey hither was of the Lord, and that some great good will yet appear the result of it. I often find Luther’s words applicable to myself--_He was never employed about any fresh work, but he was either visited with a fit of sickness or violent temptation._”

About this time the Duchess of Somerset, being extremely anxious to learn the state of her Ladyship’s health, wrote both to Ashby and Bristol, but not receiving any reply, her Grace wrote thus to Dr. Doddridge on the 14th of April:--

“I have wrote twice to Lady Huntingdon since I have had a letter from her; but a gentleman, who came from Bristol last week, told me that she was there; but not having the happiness to be acquainted with her, he could give me no account of her health, which I most earnestly pray may be restored by the use of those waters.”

Mr. Hervey also, when writing to Lady Frances Shirley, in the month of June, says:--

“I have not had the favour of a line from Lady Huntingdon for some months. When I was at London, to see Mrs. Whitefield, on her return from Bristol, she told me that the good Countess’s health was very much restored by the waters: that she was (to use her own expression) charmingly well. I hope this amendment continues, and wish it may be perpetuated.”

The unexpected death of the Prince of Wales at this time was an alarming stroke to the nation:--

“I suppose (says Mr. Whitefield) the death of our Prince has affected you. It has given me a shock--but the Lord reigneth, and that is our comfort.”

The unhappy misunderstanding between the Prince and his father, George the Second, caused him to emancipate himself from all restraint, and form a party of his own. Inflamed by the artifices and ambition of his supporters, his opposition to Government became systematic, and he conceived a most ill-founded antipathy against Sir Robert Walpole, his father’s minister. As he had a taste for the arts and a fondness for literary pursuits, he sought the society of persons who were most conspicuous for their talents and knowledge. He was thrown into the company of Carteret, Chesterfield, Pulteney, Cobham, and Sir William Wyndham, who were considered as the leading characters for wit, talents, and urbanity. His house became the rendezvous of young men of the highest expectation--Pitt, Lyttleton, and the Granvilles; whom he afterwards took into his household, and made his associates. The usual topic of conversation in this select society was abuse of the minister, and condemnation of his measures, urged with all the keenness of wit and powers of eloquence. The Prince found the men whose reputation was most eminent in literature, particularly Swift, Pope, and Thomson,[94] adverse to Walpole, who was the object of their private and public satire. But the person who principally contributed to aggravate his opposition was Bolingbroke, whose ambition ever aimed at the summit of power, and whose immoderate desires nothing seemed capable of satisfying but the liberty of governing all things without a rival. About 1748 the party of the Prince began to form a new opposition; and in the second and third sessions of the new Parliament they took the lead against the administration. In the third session, which commenced in January, 1751, the party of the Prince seemed likely to gain great accession, from the merited unpopularity which the ministry incurred by the subsidiary treaties in Germany; while Lord Cobham and his friends meditated a secession from the ministerial phalanx. But the unexpected death of the Prince gave a new aspect to public affairs, and produced a great and singular change in the temper of the court and the councils of the kingdom. “Providence (says the Duchess of Somerset, in a letter to Dr. Doddridge) seems to have directed the blow where we thought ourselves the most secure; for among the many schemes of hopes and fears which people were laying down to themselves, this was never mentioned as a supposable event. The harmony which appears to subsist between his Majesty and the Prince of Wales is the best support for the spirits of the nation, under their present concern and astonishment. He died in the forty-fifth year of his age, and is generally allowed to have been a Prince of amiable and generous disposition, of elegant manners, and of considerable talents.”[95]

The loss of this amiable and accomplished Prince was most sensibly felt by Lady Huntingdon, who, in early life, was frequent in her attendance at court, and had many opportunities of witnessing the simplicity and elegance of his manners, the liberality of his principles, and the benevolence of his disposition. When the Prince’s difference with his father led him to keep his own court, her Ladyship attended it, and Lord Huntingdon, Lord Ferrars, and other of her Ladyship’s friends, were his political supporters. When her Ladyship withdrew from her attendance at the fashionable circle of the great, the line of conduct which she thought proper to pursue naturally excited the enmity of those of her own rank, although she had a testimony in the consciences of them, as appeared even in their words, that what she did was right. One day, at Court, the Prince of Wales enquired of Lady Charlotte Edwin,[96] a lady of fashion, where my Lady Huntingdon was, that she so seldom visited the circle? Lady Charlotte replied, with a sneer “I suppose praying with her beggars.” The Prince shook his head, and, turning to Lady Charlotte, said, “Lady Charlotte, when I am dying, I think I shall be happy to seize the skirt of Lady Huntingdon’s mantle, to lift me up with her to heaven.”

A letter from Lord Bolingbroke had apprised Lady Huntingdon of the unexpected demise of the Prince of Wales: “an event (says his Lordship) likely to cause many extraordinary changes at Court, and much discontent in the kingdom.” Her Ladyship never took any interest or part in the politics of the times, although, from family connexions and other causes, her earliest associates were generally in the opposition rank. Desirous of knowing the feelings and sentiments of the Prince at the close of life, she wrote to Mr. Lyttleton, who had been principal secretary to his Royal Highness. Little could be ascertained, yet that little was satisfactory:--

“It is certain (says her Ladyship) that he was in the habit of reading Dr. Doddridge’s works, which had been presented to the Princess, and has been heard to express his approbation of them in the highest terms. He had frequent argument with my Lord Bolingbroke, who thought his Royal Highness fast verging towards Methodism, the doctrines of which he was very curious to ascertain. His Lordship told me that the Prince went more than once privately to hear Mr. Whitefield, with whom he said he was much pleased. Had he lived, it is not improbable but Mr. Whitefield would have been promoted in some way. But an all-wise Providence has seen fit to remove him to another world. May the Judge of all the earth dignify him with the illustrious character of King and Priest, in that kingdom purchased for the heirs of salvation by the unspeakable precious merits of Him who was exalted as a Prince and a Saviour, and humbled himself to death, even the death of the cross, to procure for us a heavenly--a blissful inheritance beyond the skies!”

Dr. Francis Ayscough, afterwards Dean of Bristol, who had married one of the sisters of Lord Lyttleton, was appointed clerk of the closet to the Prince of Wales, and first preceptor to his late Majesty, George III. On being appointed by the Prince to take charge of the education of his children, Dr. Doddridge wrote him a letter of congratulation; in reply to which the Doctor says:--

“I am truly sensible of the difficulties as well as the advantages of the station I am placed in. A trust of such importance to posterity is a charge which I have not only on my mind, but in my conscience. I hope God will enable me to go through it with success; and I think I have a right to call upon every good man and lover of his country for advice and assistance in the discharge of a duty, on the faithful performance of which the public good so much depends. And as you have been so much concerned in the education of youth, I shall always be glad to receive any advice or instructions from you, which I desire you to give me freely, and I promise you it shall be most friendly received. I thank God I have one great encouragement to quicken me in my duty, which is, the good disposition of the children entrusted to me: as an instance of it, I must tell you that Prince George[97] (to his honour and my shame) had learned several pages in your little book of verses without any directions from me: and I must say of all the children (for they are all committed to my care) that they are as conformable and as capable of receiving instruction as any I ever yet met with. How unpardonable, then, should I be in the sight of God and man, if I neglected my part towards them! All that I can say is, that no care or diligence shall be wanting in me; and I beg the prayer of you, and every honest man, for the Divine blessing on my endeavours.”

It was through the kindness of Lady Huntingdon that Dr. Ayscough had become acquainted with her favourite, Dr. Doddridge, whom her Ladyship represented as a gentleman, a scholar, and an able and pious minister of Christ. Lady Huntingdon prevailed upon the Doctor to present, as we before stated, his work on the “Rise and Progress of Religion” to the Princess of Wales, through the medium of Dr. Ayscough, who thus informed him of the execution of the commission he had entrusted him with:--

“I presented your book to her Royal Highness, and ought long since to have acquainted you with her most gracious acceptance of it, and that I was commanded to return you her thanks for it. There is, indeed, such a spirit of piety in it as deserves the thanks of every good Christian. May God grant it may have its proper effect in awakening this present careless age! and then I am sure you will have your end in publishing it.”

Dr. Doddridge was at this time publishing “The Family Expositor,” by subscription. One volume had already appeared, and few persons in the circle of the Doctor’s friends made more strenuous exertions for the circulation of his work than Lady Huntingdon. But the dangerous illness of their faithful and much-esteemed friend, Mr. Lyttleton, retarded the printing of the remaining volumes.

“The three volumes (says Dr. Doddridge) will hardly be published at so small a price as a thousand pounds, and I shall judge it the part of prudence, and therefore of duty, not to send them to the press on any terms on which I shall not be secure; and if there be such a number subscribed for, or bespoke by booksellers, as to effect that, I shall go on with the publication as fast as I can; and bless God for such an opportunity of doing any public homage to his word, and endeavouring with all integrity and simplicity to make it understood, and to enforce it on men’s consciences according to the little ability he has been pleased to give me; which truly I think so little, that I am sometimes almost ashamed of having undertaken so great a work.”

Mr. Lyttleton, however, soon recovered, and in a short time transmitted to Lady Huntingdon a long list of additional subscribers:--

“I have the unspeakable pleasure (says her Ladyship) of communicating intelligence that will rejoice my much-esteemed friend. You will be thankful that the great Author of all good has raised our friend, Mr. Lyttleton, from the borders of the grave, and he is now quite recovered from his late most alarming indisposition. I have just had a letter from him, lamenting his not having procured a larger list of subscribers to ‘The Expositor,’ owing principally to the delay caused by his illness; but hopes, as soon as his strength is restored, to redeem the time that is lost by redoubling his exertions.”

Mr. Lyttleton’s exertions in procuring subscriptions for the remaining volumes of “The Family Expositor” were the means of introducing it to many in high life, to whom it might otherwise have had no access. “Most earnestly (continues her Ladyship) do I pray the Lord of all lords to prolong your valuable life, and give you strength and abilities for the completion of a work so calculated to promote the glory of his name, and the everlasting good of mankind.”

It was now that letters from the Duchess of Bridgewater and Dr. Ayscough to Lady Huntingdon announced the unexpected death of Sir Thomas Lyttleton, who had long been an intimate friend of the late Lord Huntingdon and several branches of the house of Hastings. “My father (says Sir George, afterwards the well-known and respected Lord Lyttleton) met death with so noble a firmness and so assured a hope of a blessed immortality, that it has raised our thoughts above our grief, and fixed them much more in the example he has left us, than in the loss we have sustained.” Ill health had obliged him to retire from a public station, and he lived retired, in the continual exercise of all the virtues which can ennoble private life; his sound judgment, inflexible integrity, and universal candour, recommended him to the esteem of all parties. Though in a state of great bodily suffering, his immediate death was not contemplated by his family:--

“As far as I can judge (writes Lady Huntingdon) from what the Duchess and Dr. Ayscough write concerning Sir Thomas, he must have left these scenes of mortality with a well-founded hope of happiness. The perusal of Dr. Doddridge’s ‘Rise and Progress of Religion’ was much blessed to him; and on his dying bed he recommended it to the serious attention of his children. I have not time at present to give you many particulars; but one expression that dropped from him the day before his departure appears satisfactory, and most consoling to his afflicted family. Mr. Lyttleton had read some chapters from the Bible, and afterwards engaged in prayer for his dying parent; when he had concluded, Sir George expressed his readiness to depart, adding, ‘My dear child, I feel that God my Saviour has pardoned all my sins; and from what you have just read, that his blood cleanseth from all iniquity, I derive great comfort, for he is my ONLY, ONLY HOPE.’ I pray that this affliction may be sanctified to the good of surviving relatives. The Duchess is quite inconsolable; but the good Doctor rejoices in the eternal happiness of his respected father-in-law. I shall write to both the next post.”[98]

Intelligence of the death of the excellent Dr. Doddridge now arrived in England, and was quickly followed by that of a character in every respect dissimilar--namely, the Lord Viscount Bolingbroke,[99] a man of fascinating manners and commanding eloquence, abounding in wit and fancy, master of polite learning, which he knew how to draw forth on all occasions; but in his private character without morals and without principles. The intelligence was communicated to her Ladyship by his Lordship’s only sister, the eccentric and accomplished Lady Luxborough, the friend and correspondent of Shenstone, the poet.

His Lordship entertained a very contemptuous opinion of clergymen in general; and this is not much to be wondered at, for many of those with whom he had come in contact were mere sycophants and time-servers--fawning on the great for preferment. The well-known Dr. Trapp, rector of the united parishes of Christ Church, Newgate-street, and St. Leonard, Foster-lane, was his chaplain. He acted as manager to that celebrated High Church bigot, Dr. Sacheverel, in his trial before the House of Lords. With Lord and Lady Huntingdon, Dr. Trapp was well acquainted, and was a frequent guest at their house. From a mistaken notion that he was recommending himself to his ecclesiastical superiors, he invariably manifested the most implacable hatred to the whole Methodist body. His “Preservative against Unsettled Notions in Religion,” and his “Sin and Folly of being Righteous over-much,” were answered by Messrs. Whitefield, Wesley, and Law.

Dr. Thomas Church, Vicar of Battersea and Prebendary of St. Paul’s, was likewise the intimate friend of Lord Bolingbroke, and, after his Lordship’s decease, published an Analysis of his Philosophical Works. He also was a violent exposer of the Methodists, and addressed a “Serious and Expostulatory Letter” to Mr. Whitefield, and “Remarks on Mr. Wesley’s Journal,” in a letter to that gentleman.[100]

It is well known that Lord Bolingbroke professed himself a Deist: and those principles which he had all along avowed he confirmed with his dying breath, having given orders that none of the clergy should be permitted to trouble him in his latest moments. He often attended Mr. Whitefield’s ministry, and on several occasions complimented him on his eloquence and abilities:--

“He is (says his Lordship, in a letter to Lady Huntingdon) the most extraordinary man in our times. He has the most commanding eloquence I ever heard in any person; his abilities are very considerable; his zeal unquenchable; and his piety and excellence genuine--unquestionable. The bishops and inferior orders of the clergy are very angry with him, and endeavour to represent him as a hypocrite, an enthusiast; but this is not astonishing--there is so little real goodness or honesty amongst them. Your Ladyship will be somewhat amused at hearing that the King has recommended to his Grace of Canterbury that Mr. Whitefield should be advanced to the Bench, as the only means of putting an end to his preaching. What a keen--what a biting remark! but how just, and how well-earned by those mitred lords!”

His friendship for Lady Huntingdon, and his admiration of her talents and her devotedness to the cause of God her Saviour, were extraordinary, and continued unabated to the close of his life. With her Ladyship he frequently conversed on the most solemn truths of religion. Disdaining the restraints of God’s law, and priding himself in freedom of thought above the vulgar, the wisdom of God, in his eyes, was foolishness; and revelation, at the bar of his “exalted reason,” was weighed and found wanting! Nevertheless, he was seldom in her company without discussing some topic beneficial to his eternal interests, and he always paid the utmost respect and deference to her Ladyship’s opinion. On one occasion he said, “How does your Ladyship reconcile prayer to God for particular blessings, with absolute resignation to the Divine will?” “Very easily (replied the Countess); just as if I was to offer a petition to a monarch of whose kindness and wisdom I have the highest opinion. In such a case my language would be--‘I wish you to bestow on me such a favour; but your Majesty knows better than I how far it would be agreeable to you, or right in itself to grant my desire. I therefore content myself with humbly presenting my petition, and leave the event of it entirely to you.’”

Lord Bolingbroke’s second wife, the Marchioness of Villetta, was niece to the celebrated Madame de Maintenon (wife of Louis XIV.), the cruel instigator of those horrid persecutions of the Protestants which disgraced the reign of that great monarch. She was a woman of superior accomplishments, and styled by her aunt, in her published letters, “the most sensible person among her female relations.” Between her Ladyship and the eccentric Lady Luxborough, his Lordship’s only sister, there existed little cordiality. With Lady Fanny Shirley she was particularly intimate; and was very regular in her attendance at Lady Huntingdon’s to hear Mr. Whitefield, and other eminent ministers. “Of Lord Bolingbroke and the Marchioness (says her Ladyship) I sometimes have a hope; they attend with such regularity, and hear with such apparent attention. But Lady Luxborough is so odd, and so engrossed with her poets and literary acquaintances, that she has neither time nor attention to spare for that which concerns her never-dying soul: she is good-humoured and good-natured, though no great love exists between her and the Marchioness, for what cause I know not. I cannot help feeling very anxious about them, and hope and pray that the Father of light may illuminate their darkened understandings, and give them at last the knowledge of himself, whom to know was everlasting life.”[101]

Not long after the death of Lord Bolingbroke, his works, in five pompous quartos, edited by Mr. David Mallet, were given to the public. The wild and pernicious ravings, under the name of “Philosophy,” which were thus ushered into the world, gave great offence to all well-principled men, and produced a host of answers and refutations. Of these, the most celebrated were by Clayton, Bishop of Clogher; Warburton, Bishop of Gloucester; Dr. Leland, in his “Review of Deistical Writers;” and Mr. Hervey, whose answer to his Lordship’s observations on the “Use and Study of History” was addressed to Lady Fanny Shirley. Dr. Johnson, hearing of the mischievous tendency of Lord Bolingbroke’s works, which nobody disputed, was roused with a just indignation, and pronounced this memorable sentence on the noble author and his editor: “Sir, he was a scoundrel and a coward: a scoundrel, for charging a blunderbuss against religion and morality; a coward, because he had not resolution to fire it off himself, but left half-a-crown to a beggarly Scotchman to draw the trigger after his death!”

Lady Huntingdon, hearing of Mr. Mallet’s intention, made some fruitless efforts to prevent the publication of Lord Bolingbroke’s works. “I have written to Mr. Mallet (says her Ladyship), and used my influence with Lord Chesterfield and others, to try, if possible, to suppress what must be so detrimental to mankind.” But Mallet was a determined infidel, and, in other respects, a worthless character. By address or accident, perhaps by his dependence on the Prince of Wales, to whom he was under-secretary, Mallet found his way to Lord Bolingbroke, a man whose pride and petulance made his kindness difficult to gain or keep, and whom Mallet was content to court by an act of unexampled infamy. On the death of Pope, when it was found that he had clandestinely printed an unauthorized number of the pamphlet called “The Patriot King,” Bolingbroke, in a fit of useless fury, resolved to blast his memory, and employed Mallet as the instrument of his vengeance. This time-server had not virtue, or had not spirit, to refuse the office; and was rewarded not long after with the legacy of Lord Bolingbroke’s works. This man also received a legacy of five hundred pounds from Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, to write the life of her husband; but he never fulfilled the engagement; and if anything could add to his infamy, it was the publishing of libels against Byng, while that unfortunate admiral was on his trial; and for which the calumniator was rewarded with a pension and a place. “I mourn the fate of poor Byng (says Lady Huntingdon), and envy not the feelings of his vilifier. Every effort to save him proved ineffectual; and he is added to the number of victims to popular clamour and ministerial policy.”

In whatever light we view the character of Lord Bolingbroke, we shall find him rather an object of wonder than an example for imitation; more to be feared than esteemed, and gaining our admiration without our love. The world now begins to think justly both of him and of Pope--that Pope was the greatest poet, but not the most disinterested man in the world; and that Bolingbroke had not all those virtues nor all those talents which the other so proclaimed: that he did not even deserve the friendship which lent him so much merit, and for the mere loan of which he dissembled attachment to Pope, to whom in his heart he was as perfidious and as false as he was to the rest of the world.