From B. Glynne in [Shrewsbury?] to [Mary] Fletcher. She has long wished to write to Fletcher on account of my [physical] state and to thank her for her account of the Lord's dealings with his servants particularly Mrs Walters, who enjoyed so many blessings in the midst of so much misery. She was also grateful for the sermon on Captain [Thomas] Webb - if there is any published account of that worthy man, she would be pleased to know.
She was surprised by the sudden death of Michael Fenwick - a preacher who knew him well said that Fenwick used to wish that when the Lord decided to remove him, it would be by a stroke and his desire was indeed granted.
They were sorry to say goodbye to [George] and Mrs Baldwin - they were good people and his preaching was much blessed here. Mr Blanchard [Thomas Blanshard] is an excellent young man and seems set to make a very good preacher. She is anxious to know who will be stationed here next.
With regard to Glynne's health, she decided to try 'electrifying' after reading [John] Wesley's treatise on the same - she had her breast 'sparked every day for several months by a very understanding man. At first it seemed to reduce and soften the hardness a good deal, and I was pleasing myself with the idea of having made a noble discovery, O what numbers might be benefitted by it, but after a time it appeared to be at a stand, neither better nor worse, & so it continues, but I have it electrifyd twice or thrice a week, for I thought that the Lord had directed me to this medicine, and I still think so…my breast is very easy, free from pain…'.
Her dear daughter has suffered a great deal from the pain in her knee, similar to Fletcher's own problem. Fletcher's account of her own recovery gave the girl comfort - she would be grateful to know what treatment Fletcher used. Electrical shocks was the chief thing that she received benefit by, but she is not yet well and looks very ill.
Glynne is pleased that Fletcher is in a good state of health. Glynne herself is in a reasonable state of health.
In a postscript, she mentions that they should not neglect to thank God that while other countries are devastated by war, Britain is protected 'notwithstanding the tumults raised by wicked people; what great victorys has the Lord given us by sea & not one defeat [reference to the naval battle of the Glorious 1st of June]…and now hath he spread the land with a profuseness that might make the vallies laugh & sing…'.
Next Wednesday's coach will leave from Mr Fennel's at Ironbridge and will carry a basket containing four bottles as Glynne's annual token of love.
Lord Berwick [Noel Hill] and Mr Vernon have been taken prisoner by the French while on their way to Italy.
Glynne's love should be given to Sally [Sarah Lawrence]
Notes
- George Baldwin (d.1810) was converted in early life under the ministry of the Methodist preacher George Snowden. He became a local preacher and in 1786 entered the itinerancy. Baldwin's active ministry of twenty-four years was exercised in England and Wales. He died at Burslem in Staffordshire after an illness lasting several months. Source: Minutes of Conference 1811 and An Alphabetical Arrangement of Wesleyan Methodist Preachers…1739-1818 compiled by Kenneth Garlick
- Thomas Blanshard (c.1765-1824) entered the Methodist ministry in 1795 and served as a circuit minister in England and Wales until 1808 when he was appointed Book Steward. He served in that position for fifteen years after which he returned to the active ministry despite declining health. He died on February 20th 1824 after an illness lasting several months. Source: Arminian Magazine 1824, pp.645-646 and Dictionary of Evangelical Biography 1739-1860, edited by Donald M. Lewis (1995)
- Michael Fenwick (d.1797) entered the itinerancy in 1750 and served an active circuit ministry for forty-seven years. He remained within Methodism despite a serious personality clash with Charles Wesley. Source: Kenneth Garlick, An Alphabetical Arrangement of Wesleyan Methodist Preachers and Missionaries, and the stations to which they were appointed 1739-1818 and Preachers' Letters Collection
- Captain Thomas Webb (c.1726-96) was possibly born in Bristol although details of his early life are obscure. He enlisted in the British army in 1745 and in 1754 was commissioned for service in North America. He saw action under General Wolfe, was wounded and lost an eye. Webb settled in New York where he was appointed barrack master at Albany. During a visit to England in 1765 he was converted under Moravian influence and later joined the Methodists. On his return to North America, Webb became very active in Methodist affairs. He took a leading part in the building of the first John Street Chapel in 1768 and conducted preaching tours which introduced Methodism to parts of New York State, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. He also helped to establish the society at St George's Chapel in Philadelphia. Detained during the Revolutionary War for loyalist sympathies, he returned to England in 1778 and settled in Bristol where he played a key role in the founding of Portland Chapel. Source: Dictionary of Evangelical Biography 1739-1860, edited by Donald M. Lewis (1995)