Part 3 (1/2)

Bradburn felt his poverty in more ways than one. Wesleyan ministers were then but poorly paid, and men of his generous character, who found it easier to give to the needy than to economize and save, were often in great straits for funds. On his way down to Pembroke he was reduced to his last s.h.i.+lling, and, but for this meeting with Wesley at Brecon, might have found it an awkward matter to reach his destination. ”Apply to me when you want help,” said Wesley to his friend, and very soon proved his sincerity by prompt a.s.sistance when the young pastor made known his straitened circ.u.mstances. The following story is too good to be omitted. In reply to Bradburn's appeal Wesley sent the following short letter, inclosing several five-pound notes:

”DEAR SAMMY: Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.--Yours affectionately, JOHN WESLEY.”

To which Bradburn replied:

”REV. AND DEAR SIR: I have often been struck with the beauty of the pa.s.sage of Scripture quoted in your letter, but I must confess that I never saw such useful expository notes upon it before.--I am, Rev. and dear Sir, your obedient and grateful servant, S. BRADBURN.”

The year spent in South Wales was happy and prosperous, and the churches at Pembroke, Haverfordwest, and Carmarthen were greatly increased and well organized under the care of Bradburn and his colleague. By the Conference in 1776 he was sent to Limerick, and from thence, in four months, such was the severity of the strain upon his health, he was removed to Dublin. Here he had met, on first landing in Ireland, with the young lady who was afterward to become his wife. It was a case of ”mutual admiration” and ”love at first sight.” Bradburn was a pa.s.sionate lover, and could ill brook the delay of two years which had to pa.s.s away before he took the beautiful Miss Nangle to his own home. In one of his anxious moods, when sick of love and hope deferred, he rose from his sleepless bed to pray for divine guidance and favor in regard to the serious business of courts.h.i.+p. It was his custom to pray aloud, and supposing his colleague, who occupied the same bed, to be fast asleep, he did not balk his prayer in this instance, finis.h.i.+ng a fervent appeal for divine direction with the simple words, ”But, Lord, let it be Betsey.” His bedfellow humorously responded, ”Amen,” and broke out into a hearty laugh at poor Bradburn's expense. John Wesley, who favored the match, and generously interceded in his friend's behalf, both with a much-dreaded stepmother and the fair one herself, conducted the marriage ceremony in the house of a friend. He had invited the bride and bridegroom-elect, and Mrs. Karr the stepmother, ”to breakfast with him at Mrs. King's,[16] the morning after his arrival, being his birthday; as soon as she (Mrs. Karr) entered he began the ceremony and married us in the parlor. Pride would not let her affront Mr. Wesley, and she was forced to appear satisfied.” ”Wesley,” says Bradburn's biographer,[17]

”more than once took up cudgels for his preachers when in difficulties of this kind, but not in such a summary manner.”

[16] Bradburn's lodgings.

[17] ”Life of Samuel Bradburn.” By T. W. Blanshard. P.

68. Elliot Stock, 1870. A most interesting biography of the famous Wesleyan preacher.

Relegated to the Cork and Bandon circuit, he had a very trying time of it for about a year. One of his memoranda made at this time gives us a glimpse of his acquirements from his own common-sense point of view, for Bradburn was a thoroughly sensible and humble man, who never yielded to ignorant flattery of his pulpit eloquence, nor gave way, as some self-made men and popular preachers have done, to vanity and conceit.

Self-examination was with him a genuine business, conducted in a reverent spirit and an honest and altogether healthy fas.h.i.+on. By this means he came to know himself and act accordingly. Not many men in his position would have written so sensibly as this: ”_Cork, March 31st_ (1779).--I have read and written much this month, but sadly feel the want of a friend to direct my studies. All with whom I have any intimacy, know nothing of my meaning when I speak of my ignorance. They praise my sermons, and consider me a prodigy of learning; and yet what do I know? a little Latin, a little philosophy, history, divinity, and a little of many things, all of which serves to convince me of my own ignorance!” At this time, and for many years after, he preached forty sermons a month, and sometimes fifty. Even if they were _all_ old sermons, which would not often be the case, how could a man so employed find time or energy for close and continuous study? The next four years are spent at Keighley, Bradford, and Leeds in Yorks.h.i.+re. When at Keighley he ”travelled” for a time with Wesley, and had an opportunity of observing the way in which that sainted man wholly devoted his gifts, his time, and his money to the service of G.o.d and his fellow-men.

Wesley's stipend from the Society in London was 30 a year, but the sale of books, the generosity of the friends at Bristol, and occasional preaching fees and sundry legacies, brought his yearly income up to 1000 or 1200; yet he rarely spent more for himself than his meagre stipend, and regularly gave away _all the rest_. ”Thus literally having nothing, he possessed all things; and though poor, he made many rich.”[18] At Leeds, Bradburn was offered the pastorate of an Independent Church with a greatly increased salary, but the loyal Methodist refused the tempting offer. His next appointment was to Bristol, where he had the misfortune to lose his darling Betsey, who died of decline in her twenty-ninth year. His colleague had suffered a similar bereavement, and the stern yet tender-hearted Wesley, then in his eighty-third year, actually set off from London ”in the driven snow”

to go down to Bristol and comfort the two sorrowing preachers. Bradburn did not long remain a widower. At Gloucester he met Sophia Cooke, ”the pious and G.o.dly” Methodist to whom Robert Raikes of Sunday-school fame had spoken about the poor children in the streets, and asked her, ”What can we do for them?” Miss Cooke replied, ”Let us teach them, and take them to church!” The hint was acted upon, and Raikes and Miss Cooke ”conducted the first company of Sunday scholars to the church, exposed to the comments and laughter of the populace, as they pa.s.sed along with their ragged procession.” A better wife for the earnest Methodist preacher could not have been found than the woman who thus showed her good sense, her piety, and her courage, in starting the Sunday-school movement. In 1786 Wesley showed his appreciation of Bradburn's excellent qualities by getting him appointed to the London Circuit in order to have his a.s.sistance in superintending the affairs of the Connection.

Here he met with Charles Wesley, and, at the time of his death in 1788, Bradburn stood by the dying man's bed offering up earnest prayer for him, and calling to his mind the truths of that Gospel which he had done so much to spread throughout the world by his unrivalled hymns. John Wesley himself died three years afterward, 2d March, 1791, and Bradburn, then at Manchester, published a pamphlet ent.i.tled, ”A Sketch of Mr.

Wesley's Character,” in which he gave a most interesting epitome of the chief points in the history and labors of his father in the Gospel.

Bradburn, now looked upon as one of the foremost men in the Connection, united with eight others in issuing a circular giving an outline of policy for the guidance of the Conference at its next session. The utmost care and wisdom were needed in order to keep the various elements of Methodism together; and few men in those days were more conspicuous and useful than Bradburn in guiding the counsels of the a.s.sembled ministers. He was elected to preach before the Conference at its next session in Manchester, and so moved his audience by his impa.s.sioned appeal for unity and loyalty to the good cause that had now lost its earthly leader, that all in the chapel rose to their feet in response to his stimulating words. In 1796, when stationed at Bath, he was made secretary of the Conference, and held the office three years in succession. In 1799 his brethren showed their esteem for him by choosing him as _President_, and thus giving him the highest honor which they had it in their power to bestow.

[18] Bradburn's Life, see above, pp. 85, 86.

Among Methodists Bradburn is regarded as one of the most eloquent and powerful preachers the denomination has produced. He had all the natural gifts of a great orator, and these, combined with fervent piety and a single and lofty purpose in preaching, invested his discourses with a charm and an influence rarely wielded by public speakers. ”Possessed of a commanding figure, dignified carriage, graceful action, mellow voice, ready utterance, correct ear, exuberant imagination, an astonis.h.i.+ng memory, and an extensive acquaintance with his mother tongue, he could move an a.s.sembly as the summer breeze stirs the standing corn.”[19] This elocutionary power was not gained without much care and diligent labor.

He was a hard reader, and a most painstaking sermonizer, for though he never used the ma.n.u.script in the pulpit but preached extempore, after the fas.h.i.+on of the times, he nevertheless prepared his discourses with great skill and labor. The following sentences from his biography will sufficiently ill.u.s.trate this point.[20] ”His own bold, easy, and correct English was such as no man acquires without perseverance in a right use of means. His diligence may be inferred from one of his reported sayings on leaving Manchester--that he had twelve hundred outlines of sermons untouched (not used in preaching in the circuit) at the end of three years' ministrations. The result of such endowments, improved, with such a.s.siduity, amid all the hindrances and discouragements of a laborious and hara.s.sing vocation, was, that to be comprehensive and lucid in arrangement; beautifully clear in statement or exposition; weighty, nervous, and acute in argumentation; copious, various, and interesting in ill.u.s.tration; overwhelming in pathos; to wield at will the ludicrous or the tender, the animating, the sublime, or the terrible--seems to have been habitually in his power.” The Rev. Richard Watson, author of the ”Inst.i.tutes,” ”walked twenty miles to hear the far-famed Mr.

Bradburn preach; and he never lost the impression which that distinguished orator produced.” Watson thus describes his impressions: ”I am not a very excitable subject, but Mr. Bradburn's preaching affected my whole frame. I felt a thrill to the very extremity of my fingers, and my hair actually seemed to stand on end.” The biographer of the Rev. Jabez Bunting says of Bradburn: ”His career was brilliant and useful; and perhaps more men longed, but durst not try, to preach like him than like any other preacher of his time.... Bradburn was without exception the most consummate orator we ever heard.” And the author of Bradburn's life concludes the citation of a number of testimonies with the following strongly expressed opinion of his merits as a pulpit orator: ”Methodism has produced a host of preachers renowned for pulpit eloquence. The names of Benson, Lessey, Watson, Newton, Beaumont, and others, stand out in bold relief on the page of her history, but the highest niche in her temple of fame belongs, most unquestionably, to SAMUEL BRADBURN.”

[19] Bradburn's Life, pp. 177, 178.

[20] Ibid., pp. 183, 184.

Like most men of genius he had a strong sense of humor, enjoyed a joke most heartily, was ready and pithy in repartee, and seldom at a loss for spirit and tact in extricating himself from difficulties. Many a good story might be told, did s.p.a.ce allow, in ill.u.s.tration of this feature of his character. One or two must suffice. Perhaps the smartest thing he ever did in outwitting the early opponents of Methodism was done in a certain small town, in one of his own circuits, where, in the early days of the movement, the preacher and his friends had often ”been driven off the field by a mob, headed by the clergyman.” Bradburn understood the state of affairs thoroughly, and resolved to go down to the parish and preach in the open air. Notice of his coming was duly forwarded, and the clergyman ordered constables and others to be in attendance at the time and place appointed for the service. Meanwhile Bradburn having ”provided himself with a new suit of clothes, borrowed a new wig of a Methodist barber,” and ”went to the place, put his horse up at the inn, attended the morning service at church, placed himself in a conspicuous situation so as to attract the notice of the clergyman, and, when the service was closed, he went up to him on his way out, accosted him as a brother, and thanked him for his sermon. The clergyman, judging from his appearance and address that he was a minister of some note, gave him an invitation to his house. Bradburn respectfully declined, on the ground that he had ordered dinner, and expressed a hope that the clergyman would dine with him at the inn. He did so, and Bradburn having entertained him until dinner was over with his extraordinary powers of conversation, managed to refer to the open-air service which was to be held, and the clergyman stated his intention to arrest the preacher and disperse the congregation, and asked Bradburn to accompany him, which he did. On arriving at the appointed place they found a large company a.s.sembled; and as no preacher had made his appearance, the clergyman concluded that fear had kept him away, and was about to order the people to their homes when Bradburn remarked that it would ”be highly improper to neglect so favorable an opportunity of doing good, and urged him to preach to them. He excused himself by saying that he had no sermon in his pocket, and asked Bradburn to address them, which, of course, he readily consented to do, and commenced the service by singing part of the hymn beginning--

'Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer's praise,'

and, after praying, delivered an impressive discourse from Acts 5:38, 39, 'And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: but if it be of G.o.d, ye cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye be found even to fight against G.o.d.' This not only deeply affected the people, but so delighted the clergyman, that although he knew, as the service proceeded, that he had been duped, he heartily thanked Bradburn for the deception he had practised on him, and ever afterward, to the day of his death, showed a friendly disposition toward Methodism.”[21]

[21] Bradburn's Life, pp. 233-235.

The same readiness of resource and good humor were shown in the management of the affairs of the society in his capacity as a pastor. On one occasion, when he resided in Manchester, two ladies, district visitors, went to the house of an old woman, a member of the society, who was a laundress, and finding her hard at work accosted her with the remark: ”Betty, you are busy.” ”Yes, mum,” said Betty, ”as busy as the devil in a whirlwind!” Shocked by such an indecorous speech, the visitors threatened to report it to Mr. Bradburn. Afraid of what she had done, and the consequence, if it should come to the preacher's ears, Betty, as soon as the ladies had gone away, set off by the quickest route to see Mr. Bradburn and relate the whole affair, and thus antic.i.p.ate the report from the ladies themselves. She found Bradburn ”engaged in his vocation as cobbler for his family.” ”He listened to Betty's simple story, and engaged to put the matter right, if she would try to be more guarded in the future. She had scarcely got clear away when the two ladies arrived with their melancholy story of Betty's irreverence. They were asked into the room, and seeing him at his somewhat unclerical employment, one of them observed quite unthinkingly, 'Mr. Bradburn, you are busy!' 'Yes,' returned Bradburn, with great gravity, 'as busy as the devil in a whirlwind!' This remark from Betty was sufficiently startling, but from Bradburn it was horrifying. Seeing their consternation, he explained how busy the devil was in Job's days, when he raised the whirlwind which 'smote the four corners of the house,' where the patriarch's children were feasting, and slew them. It is, perhaps, needless to add that the two ladies left without mentioning the object of their visit.”[22]

[22] Bradburn's Life, pp. 228, 229.

Hating the false pride which leads a man to forget his humble origin, and the canting way in which some men talk of their sacrifices in entering the ministry, he once severely rebuked two young men who made a parade in company of having ”given up _all_ for the ministry.” ”Yes, dear brethren,” said he, ”some of you have had to sacrifice your all for the itinerancy; but we old men have had our share of these trials. As for myself, I made a double sacrifice, for I gave up for the ministry two of the best _awls_ in the kingdom--a great sacrifice, truly, to become an amba.s.sador of G.o.d in the church, and a gentleman in society!”