Letter

Scope and Content

From Miss J. Acton in Green Hill Place, Worcester to Mary Tooth at Madeley, Shropshire. Acton willingly takes this opportunity of writing a letter to be carried by Mrs Basford, in order to reassure Tooth that although she has not written recently, she still retains for her friend as much respect as ever. She has sent messages but perhaps they have been mislaid.

Spiritual matters are discussed.

She often thinks and talks of the saintly [Mary] Fletcher and whenever she reads [Henry Moore's - see note below] life of her, it does Acton's soul good and inspires her 'with more faith in the salvation which is in believing on the Saviour. I wish there were more of her opinion but am grieved there so little of it preached to poor sinners - I remember I was reading Mrs F's life to some poor women & explaining to them the robe of [unreadable word] righteousness, one said [unreadable word] she had not got, I told her how to obtain it by faith & prayer. She told me she did that night & dreamt she & another went together & came to a large room where she saw a great many who were all in white robes with scarlet scarfs across their shoulders & that I had one on & that up in one corner of the room she saw a person, a very reverend Lady drest in white with a book. She spoke to them she did not remember the words but there was a younger woman in white upon her right hand. She turned to her she thought & gave a robe to put upon the person who was the companion and she was greatly distressed lest she should not have one but at last she saw the old lady turn to the other & give her one for her. I told her the meaning & asked if she could recollect what sort of person she was, yes I should know amongst a thousand. I shewed her the picture of Mrs Fletcher, oh she said that was the same…'

Acton's sister sends her regards - she is currently in poor health

Notes

  • Annotated by Mary Tooth - 'answered April 30'
  • Henry Moore (1751-1844) entered the itinerancy in 1779 and in 1789 became the second man to be ordained for the work in England. The author with Thomas Coke of an early biography of John Wesley, he later served two terms as the President of the Wesleyan Conference. Moore published a life of Mary Fletcher soon after her death in 1815. Source: Encyclopedia of World Methodism (1974)

Note

Notes

  • Annotated by Mary Tooth - 'answered April 30'
  • Henry Moore (1751-1844) entered the itinerancy in 1779 and in 1789 became the second man to be ordained for the work in England. The author with Thomas Coke of an early biography of John Wesley, he later served two terms as the President of the Wesleyan Conference. Moore published a life of Mary Fletcher soon after her death in 1815. Source: Encyclopedia of World Methodism (1974)