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manner in which Mr. Fletcher stood forth in defence of these views, when attacked by Mr. Wesley's opponents? I shall answer these inquiries by presenting the reader with an exactly similar testimony borne by an eminent minister of Christ, whose sentiments on these points of doctrine were the reverse of those of Messrs. Wesley and Fletcher. This I shall do by inserting the following letter, which I received from a very pious and intelligent clergyman in May last, in consequence of his having lately read the first edition of this work.

"My dear Sir,

"Had not my time been very fully employed since I had the pleasure of seeing you in London, I should before now, have fulfilled my promise in sending you the character, which the late Rev. Mr. Venn, Vicar of Yelling, gave me of the truly apostolic Mr. Fletcher.* The testimony of Mr. Venn, is the most valuable, as there were several points of doctrine, in which he differed from Mr. Fletcher: and I believe he felt himself a good deal interested, in the support of several of those tenets, which Mr. Fletcher publicly opposed. But difference of opinion on points, respecting which, good men, probably, never will be all agreed on earth, could not close the eyes of the great and good Mr. Venn, against the extraordinary excellencies of Mr. Fletcher, and therefore he spake of him with all the rapture and affection which pre-eminent graces will always excite in the breast of a true Christian. In the following narration, I believe you will have nearly the words of Mr. Venn, as I was much impressed with his account of Mr. Fletcher, and wrote down what I remembered of it at the close of the day on which I heard it. With an expression in his countenance I shall not soon forget, making men

The Rev. Henry Venn, a clergyman in the Protestant Episcopal Church of England, a very holy man, and for many years a popular preacher in London. His sermon on the Cross of Christ, and his New whole duty of Man, are excellent publications. J. K.

tion of Mr. Fletcher, he exclaimed, Sir, he was a luminary; a luminary did I say?—He was a sun. I have known all the great men for these fifty years; but I have known none like him. I was intimately acquainted with him, and was under the same roof with him once for six weeks; during which time, I never heard him him say a single word which was not proper to be spoken, and which had not a tendency to minister grace to the hearers.' One time meeting him when he was very ill of an hectic fever, which he had brought upon himself by his intense labour in the Ministry, I said, I am sorry to find you so ill.' Mr. Fletcher answered with the greatest sweetness, 'Sorry, Sir! Why are you sorry? It is the chastisement of my heavenly Father, and I rejoice in it. I love the rod of my God, and rejoice therein, as an expression of his love and affection towards me.'

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"Mr. Venn being here asked whether Mr. Fletcher might not have been imprudent in carrying his labours to such an excess, answered, His heart was in them, and he was carried on with an impetus which could not be resisted. He did not look on the work of the Ministry, as a mere duty, but it was his pleasure and delight. Tell a votary of pleasure that his course of life will impair his property and health, and finally ruin him: he will reply that he knows all this: but he must go on; for life would not be tolerable without his pleasures. Such was the ardour of Mr. Fletcher, in the Ministry of the Gospel. He could not be happy but when employed in his great work.' Something having escaped one in the company which seemed to bear hard upon a particular body of Christians, Mr. Venn gave a solemn caution against evil speaking in these words, Never did I hear Mr. Fletcher speak ill of any man. He would pray for those that walked disorderly, but he would not publish their faults.'

"This, I believe, is the substance of what fell from Mr. Venn, respecting the Rev. Mr. Fletcher, and the manner

in which he spake, shewed that his admiration of that great and good man was raised to the highest pitch. Indeed Mr. Venn was a person peculiarly qualified to appreciate the value of Mr. Fletcher, as the ardour of his own zeal and devotion most nearly resembled that of Mr. Fletcher. He lived in very uncommon nearness to God, and as I have been informed, made a most triumphant entrance into the kingdom of glory. I am, my dear Sir, yours affectionately.

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The following character of Mr. Fletcher appeared in the Shrewsbury Chronicle, of August, 1785.

"On the 14th instant, departed this life, the Rev. John Fletcher, Vicar of Madeley, in this county, to the inexpressible grief and concern of his parishioners, and of all who had the happiness of knowing him. If we speak of him as a man, and a gentleman, he was possessed of every virtue, and every accomplishment, which adorns and dignifies human nature. If we attempt to speak of him as a Minister of the Gospel, it will be extremely difficult to give the world a just idea of this great Character. His deep learning, his exalted piety, his never-ceasing labours to discharge the important duties of his function, together with the abilities, and good effect with which he discharged those duties, are best known, and will never be forgotten. in that vineyard in which he laboured. His charity, his universal benevolence, his meekness, and exemplary goodness, are scarcely equalled amongst the sons of men, Anxious, to the last moment of his life, to discharge the sacred duties of his office, he performed the service of the church, and administered the holy Sacrament to upwards of two hundred communicants, the Sunday preceding his death, confiding in that Almighty Power which had given him life, and resigning that life into the hands of him who gave it, with that composure of mind, and those joyful hopes of a happy resurrection, which ever accompany the last moments of the just.'

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THE following hymn was written and sung as a petition to the Throne of Grace, for the invaluable life of the excellent John Fletcher. I was present, (says the writer,) in the church of Madeley, on the Sunday before his death, and never was witness to a scene so impressive and pathetic. Every breast felt, every countenance expressed one common sentiment. Tears, sobs, and suppressed groans, the expressive language of nature, strongly spoke how sincerely they esteemed their venerable Pastor, as more than a Father. But when the hymn was sung, it is impossible to convey an idea of the general burst of sorrow which accompanied it. Even those who had spurned his instructions, deprecated his death as a public loss, and expressed their grief with uncommon agitations; as though the consciousness of their ingratitude to that holy man, gave peculiar poignancy to their feelings. Indeed, of the thousands who knew Mr. Fletcher, few can mention his name without dwelling upon it with delight, as connected with the recollection of the fairest example they have known of pure and undefiled Religion.

A HYMN.

10 Thou, before whose gracious throne,
We bow our suppliant spirits down;
View the sad breast, the streaming eye,
And let our sorrows pierce the sky.

2 Thou know'st the anxious cares we feel,
And all our trembling lips would tell;
Thou only canst assuage our grief,
And yield our mourning hearts relief.

3 Tho' we have sinn'd, and justly dread
Thy vengeance hovering o'er our head:
Yet, Power Benign! thy seavant spare,
Nor turn aside the people's prayer.

4 Avert the swift descending stroke,

Nor smite the shepherd of the flock,
Lest o'er the barren waste we stray,

To prowling wolves an easy prey.

5 Restore him, sinking to the grave;
Stretch out thine arm, make haste to save;
Back to our longing wishes give,
And bid our friend, our father, live!

6 Deep in our troubled thoughts he lies,
Bound to each soul by sacred ties :
Thy pitying aid, O God, impart,
Nor tear him from each bleeding heart.

7 Yet, if our supplications fail,

And prayers and tears cannot avail,
Condemn'd, on this benighted coast,
To mourn our faithful leader lost;-

8 Be thou his strength, be thou his stay;
Support him thro' the painful way;
Let thy right hand sustain his head,
And thy bright smiles illume his bed.

9 Drest in the robes of heavenly state,
May thy blest angels round him wait;
Prepare his happy soul to rise,
And bear him to his native skies.

P. D.

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