On the return of Mr. Whitefield, he found his congre- gation at the Tabernacle very much scattered, and his own pecuniary circumstances declining, all his household furniture having been sold to pay the orphan-house debt. His congregation now, however, began to contribute, and his debt was slowly liciuidating. At this time lady Huntingdon sent for him to preach at her house to sev- eral of the nobility, who desired to liear him ; among whom was the earl of Chesterfield, who expressed him- self highly gratified; and lord Bolingbroke told him he had done great justice to the divine attributes in his discourse. In September lie visited Scotland a third time and was joyfully received. His thoughts were now wholly engaged in a plan for making his orphan-house (which was at first only intended for the fatherless) a seminary of literature and academical learning. In February, 1749, he made an excursion to Exeter and Plymouth, where he was received with enthusiasm, and in tlie same year he returned to London, having trav- elled about six hundred miles in the west of England; and in INIay he went to Portsmouth and Portsea, at which places he was eminently useful; many at that time, by the instrumentality of his preaching, being " turned from darkness to light, and from the power of
Satan unto God." In September he went to North- ampton and Yorkshire, where lie preached to congrega- tions of ten thousand people, who were peaceable and attentive ; and only in one or two places was he treated with unkindness. In 1751 Mr. Whitefield visited Ire- land, and was gladly received at Dublin; liis labors there were, as usual, very useful. From Ireland he pro- ceeded to Scotland, where he also met with great en- couragement to proceed in his indefatigable work. On Aug. (> he set out from Edinburgh for London, in order to embark for America. On Oct. 27 he arrived at Sa- vannah, and found the orphan-school in a flourishing, condition. Having suffered formerly from the climate, he determined not to spend the summer in America, but re-embarked for London, where he arrived in safety.
His active mind, ever forming some new plan for the extension of the Kedeemer's kingdom, now turned to- wards the erection of a new tabernacle. The foundation was laid March 1, 1753, and was opened on Sunday, June 10, 1754. After preaching in it a few days, he again left England for Scotland, embracing every op- portunity of preaching on his road till he arrived at Edinburgh ; and after travelling twelve hundred miles, he returned home on Nov. 25, and opened the Taberna- cle at Bristol, after which he returned to London, and in September, 1750, opened his new chapel in Tottenham Court li'oad. His labors were immense. He preached fifteen times a week ; hundreds of persons went away from the chapel without being able to gain admittance. By his unremitting attention to his congregation, at the two chapels in London, his strength was much reduced. About the end of the year, finding his healtli improved, he, however, determined on again visiting America. Towards the end of November he left England, and ar- rived at Boston the beginning of January. After spend- ing the winter pleasantly and usefidly in America, he once more embarked for his native shores and landed in England, and on Oct. fi, 17C5, opened the countess of Huntingdon's chapel at Bath. Shortly after his arrival in London, Mrs. Whitefield was seized with an inflam- matory fever, and became its victim on Aug. 9 ; and on the 14th he delivered her funeral sermon, which was distinguished for its pathos, as well as for its manly and pious eloquence.
He now prepared for his seventh and last voyage to America, where he arrived in safety on Nov. 30 ; but his spliere of activity was fast drawing to a close. His complaint, which was asthma, made rapid inroads upon his constitution, and, though it had several times threatened his dissolution, it was at last sudden and unexpected. From Sept. 17 to the 20th this faithful laborer in the vineyard of Christ preached daily at Boston; and, though much indisposed, proceeded from thence on the 21st, and continued his Avork until the 29th, when he delivered a discourse at Exeter, N. H., in the open air for two hours; notwithstanding which, he set off for Newburyport, where he arrived that evening, intending to preach the next morning. His rest was much disturbed, and he complained of a great op- pression at his lungs; and at rive o'clock on Sabbath morning, Sept. 30, 1770, at the age of onlj' fifty-six, he entered into the rest prepared for the people of God. According to his own desire, INIr. Whitefield was interred at Newburyport. He and Wesley, though one in heart, were divided in their theological opinions, and hence in the early part of their career their paths diverged. The friendship existing between them was not of an epheme- ral character, but remained steadfast to the end. Wes- ley preached a funeral discourse commemorative of his virtues and usefulness.
Mr. Whitefield was not a learned man, like his con- temporary, Wesley ; but he possessed an luiusual share of good sense, general information, knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and an accurate acquaintance with the human heart. Few ministers have been equally useful since the days of the apostles. The sermons of Mr. Wliitefield were impassioned, and generally addressed to