One of his most famo'us missionary journoys was that which he made to Scotland in 1741. He went to Scotland on the invitation of Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine, well known as leaders of a secession from the church of Scotland; but his notions were too catholic for his friends; he was as ready to preach in a parish church as to a seceding congregation, and more ready still to preach in the open air; and the Erskines soon differed from and separated from him. That the impression he made upon the people of Scotland was very strong and very general, may be inferred from the fact that the corporations of Scotland—Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling—admitted him to their citizenship. At in Lanarkshire—a mining district, mainly inhabited by rude colliers, then adscripti glebes—his preaching produced one of the most remarkable " revivals" of modern times; many thousands were stricken with concern about their souls, and violent physical manifestations followed upon their excitement— foaming at the mouth, bleeding at the nose, convulsions—which, by many who read of them, were attributed to divine influence, by others to the' devil. It was on his return from this visit to Scotland, that Whitefield, making a stay in Wales, met and married a widow, a Mrs. James. His marriage, like that of Wesley, was not a happy one; and it is recorded that the death of his wife, when it occurred, '"set his mind much at liberty." To America, Whitefield paid seven visits, several of which lasted for two'or three years. lie set out for America for the last time in 1769. He was ailing at the beginning of the voyage; he was ill at the end of it; and lie died somewhat suddenly not long after his arrival in America, at Newberry, near Boston, on Sept. 30, 1770. A collection of
his sermons, letters, and controversial writings was published in the following year (The Works of the Rev. George Whitefield, 6 vols. Lond., 1771); and in 1772 were published his memoirs, by Dr. Gillies. His writings do not sustain the impression which would be derived from the accounts of his preaching. They show him as a man of somewhat slender talent and common-place quality of mind; quite unlearned; entirely free from the casuistical as well as deficient iu the worldly knowledge and prudence, for which Wesley, like many other enthusiasts, was pre-eminent. His success as a preacher seems to have been in no small degree due to a sonorous but expressive voice; no doubt it was mainly due to the earnestness of his faith, to the fluency and rude strength of his homely language, and to that vehemence and impetuosity of nature which, perhaps, is the thing most distinctive of the orator. Of the Afemoirs of the Life and Character of George Whiteffeld, by J. Gillies, D.D., of the . College church, Glasgow, originally published at London in 1772, subsequent. editions, containing addi tional matter, appeared iu 1798, in 1811, 1812, 1813, and in 1827. An anonymous Dye of George Whitefiehl, founded upon his journals and letters, and borrowing hugely from the work of Dr. Gillies, appeared Edinburgh in 1826. W hitefield's Life and Tizne.s, by Robert Philip, D.D., was published at London in 1837; and there has since appeared George Whitefield: a Light rising in Obscurity, by Andrews (Loud. 1864); and, in 1876, another full memoir by Tyermnu.