Magna, October 11th, 1820, upwards of twelve months after his being approved by the Conference. It was addressed to Mr. A. Barber; and in allusion to his being sent for by the missionary committee he remarks," I have not heard from London; what am I to conclude? Well; it is the Lord, let him do as seemeth him good. I have very little time for thinking, being engaged from six to half past eight. However, I read a little, write a little, and, I hope, pray and watch a little. "Fare thee well, and, if for ever, "I am, my dear Aquila, 66 JOHN." Brother Jenkins was singularly happy in having a few pious and intelligent friends about his own age, with whom he kept up a regular correspondence, and whose letters must have added much to his stability and comfort. I greatly regret the want of Mr. A. Barber's letters to him, but learn from Mrs. Jenkins that they were lost, she thinks, with many other things, in a shipwreck which they suffered, in their passage from Jamaica to the Bahamas, in the year 1826. To a person in the state of suspense in which Mr. Jenkins was placed, from the Conference of 1819 to that of 1821, the following remarks must have been very seasonable. They are extracted from a letter from Mr. W. Barber, brother of the above, who was also an intimate friend of Mr. Jenkins, and who afterwards became a Wesleyan missionary, and died at Gibraltar of a malignant fever, which was very fatal there, in the year 1828. "You, my dear fellow, under the tuition of that expansive benevolence which wills the good of all, have ardently desired to put exertion to the wheel of human distress, and help it out of the mire of sinful lusts. How does the business get on? Where are you now? Still at Sion-House, or in London? It would be a mercy for which I should feel afresh called to thank Divine goodness, if I might hear of your destination to some eastern port, and of your preparation to depart with your lovely Sally towards it. If Providence really intends you to go, there must be some adequate reasons for his permitting your subjection to so severe a trial of your patience. You are, I hope, solicitous to discover these, if it should be proper you should know them, and desirous they should have their proper effects if it be not. Is it not well that a life of privation and self-denial--for such must a missionary's life be-should be gently introduced by a course of discipline which is calculated to put his graces to the test, and show him how very much he will really want? The distance of the occupation, and the business of preparation between the anticipation and the reality, serve too often, I believe, to heighten the effect of the distant appearance. They only produce the effect of foils behind a jewel; what they add is delusive, and, taken away, they diminish nothing of the value. Do not think me reasoning like a stoic. You know I am no stoic on this subject. But it seems a point of Christian virtue very desirable to be attained, to desire the work of a missionary solely for its own sake; that is, saving the souls of the heathen for the sake of Jesus Christ. Nothing but this, I am persuaded, can make it a bearable situation; nothing but the closest communion with Jesus Christ can secure this. But how does Sarah stand affected? She, I hope, is too deeply pious, not to show you a pattern of holy submission. Well, the Lord bless you both! My cordial prayers go up for your speedy, happy, lasting union, in person, purposes, plans, engagements, usefulness, &c. &c. Believe me "Yours, with increasing brotherly kindness,' "W. BARBER." CHAPTER II. Mr. Jenkins appointed to Ashburton.-Remarks on the probation of missionaries.-Labours in the Ashburton circuit.-Opposed by a clergyman.-Illness. -Several times in great danger.-Letter to Rev. A. Barber.-Letter to Mr. Jenkins, Sen.-Acceptable and successful labours.—Letter from Rev. A. Barber: revival in his circuit.—Mr. Jenkins appointed a third year to Ashburton.-Is requested to hold himself in readiness to be examined as a missionary. -Letter to his sister on the subject.-His appointment to Jamaica.- Anecdote of a Cornish cynic.Letter from Rev. J. Saunders.-Lines on the portrait of Mrs. H. Newell. Ar the Conference of 1821, Mr. Jenkins received an appointment, though it was not, as he desired and expected, to a foreign station. He was appointed to the Ashburton circuit, Devonshire. Probably the reason was, that one so young might serve his probation at home; a measure which is desirable in reference to all who are destined for the missionary field. One of the best rules ever made by the British Conference was made in 1827, and with one or two exceptions it was intended to provide for this; but unhappily, for reasons no doubt satisfactory to all the parties concerned, the exceptions have chiefly been carried out into practice. Such a probation in the work at home would add much to the experience of those who are employed, and consequently to the efficiency of our missions. Youthful piety, and incipient information, come in more constant contact with the means of stability and increase at home than abroad; and here youthful ardour meets more frequently with those who will extend to it their charities rather than magnify its exuberances, and who will give it the wholesome directions of prudence rather than chill it by the blasts of persecution. The Wesleyan missions stand unrivalled among those of modern times for both their extent and efficiency. O what might they not have been if all who have been employed upon them had passed through the crucible of a four years' probation at home before they were thrown into the entirely new society, circumstances, and labours, into which they are thrown immediately on their setting foot on board a ship for a foreign station! This advantage Mr. Jenkins enjoyed. But, though Mr. Jenkins was appointed to an English circuit, he only regarded himself as a probationer for the foreign work; and how well his labours in Ashburton and its neighbourhood were calculated to inure him to the hardships of the missionary field will be evident from the following letter to Mr. A. Barber. It is written, like all Mr. Jenkins's letters to him, in the unrestrained language of youthful and affectionate familiarity; but such language the writer of this Memoir regards as the life of epistolary correspondence, and he disclaims all sympathy with those who may regard it as requiring any apology. 66 "Buckfastleigh, September 18, 1821. My very dear brother Quill, "To occupy your time and my head in framing apologies for not writing you sooner, I consider useless, as I wished to give you a view of the circuit, places, prospects of usefulness, &c. &c. This you know would be impossible before a visit. "The circuit is large, and we go round it in a month, visiting most of the places but once a fortnight, preach about thirty-two sermons, and travel more than 300 miles on an average every month. By this you will perceive my time is nearly filled up. O my dear A., 'Tis all my business here below To cry, Behold the Lamb!' For this I feel grateful and humble; and I hope I am determined to be spent for the salvation of the people among whom I labour. The rides and walks are sometimes long. I rode on Sunday twenty-six miles, and preached three times; thirteen miles after preaching in the evening. But, thank God, I was never so well as at present. The people are kind. I hope to have a good year with thein, or at least till I am called out, which Mr. Saunders says will not be, if he can prevent it, till Conference. Mr. S. is an affectionate, judicious, zealous, Cornish-man, and he has the affections of the people, who find him a Methodist preacher. Mrs. S. is deeply pious, and very attentive and kind. I am as a son to them, for they have no children, and we live in each other's affections. Our prospects of usefulness are great. Glory be to the great Head of the church, he has commenced a good work at this season, the renewal of the tickets; the people are alive to God, and crying O Lord; revive thy work!' Blessed be God, my mind is deeply in earnest for a full salvation. I want a clean heart, that I may more fully live in the spirit of my work. O my dear Quill, what am I, what can I do? but the Lord is my help, praise his name! he is my all in all, and I will live to his glory; for God alone shall possess all my heart. "20th. I am now at having to preach here under painful circumstances, the people not being pleased at the removal of the last preachers. I have constant exercise for all my grace; but praise the blessed Jesus! my strength is equal to my need; but I need your prayers, your constant, most earnest prayers, that I may stand, and, having done all, stand. This is a little seasoning. God has sent me to learn some important lessons. I am in his hands, to be used for his glory in any way. 66 6 Accept the affectionate love of "JOHN." A letter under date of July 23rd, 1822, brings our information to the end of the first year of his itinerancy. The following is an extract, and shows what were some of his labours, sufferings, and successes. |