December 19, 1777 letter from John Berridge to 'Dear Madam' [Mrs. W.?]
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Title |
December 19, 1777 letter from John Berridge to 'Dear Madam' [Mrs. W.?] |
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Post Date |
December 19, 1777 |
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Author |
Berridge, John (1716-1793) |
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Recipient |
[W., Mrs ?] |
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Date |
1777-12-19 |
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Physical Description |
4 pp. total; 4 pp. text |
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Dimensions |
38.2 x 23.4 cm |
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Location (Box, Folder) |
Box 1, File 12 |
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Address To |
[St James's Place, London] |
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Country To |
England |
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Address From |
Everton |
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Country From |
England |
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Transcriber |
Gareth Lloyd |
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Plain Text Transcription |
From John Berridge in Everton, Bedfordshire, to ‘Dear Madam’ [Mrs W.]. Sometime ago the newspapers announced Mr. W’s death. As Berridge was desirous of knowing more detail, he wrote to Mrs_ and was pleased from her reply to conclude that heaven now has another inhabitant in Mrs. W’s deceased partner. ‘Glory be to God for a good close of his journey, a rich cordial both to the departing, and surviving friends. Can you mourn Madam? Yes, you may: nature must pay a tributory tear for your loss of a partner who is half of ourselves, but you can mourn in hope, be sorrowful yet rejoicing…’ Spiritual matters are further discussed in detail. Mrs W. will no doubt consider her husband’s death as a call to prepare for her own demise, or rather to ‘quicken’ her preparation for he is aware that she has long been hastening towards Zion. ‘Jesus has called your husband away to espouse you the closer to himself.’ Spiritual matters are further discussed in detail. Mrs W. now has a husband and a sister above ‘and when the angels are bringing home a new London guest, one is looking for his wife and the other for her sister; be you also looking and hastening for the coming of Jesus…’ (1 sheet, 4p.) 19 December 1777 John Berridge (1716-93) was born at Kingston in Nottinghamshire. He was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge, and after graduating B.A. in 1738, was ordained and held a fellowship there until his appointment as Vicar of Everton in Bedfordshire in 1755. Berridge experienced an evangelical conversion in 1757 and became a good friend of John Wesley and George Whitefield. In addition to carrying out an active parish ministry, Berridge undertook extensive preaching tours in the midlands. Wesley and Berridge had a public falling-out after the latter switched his alleigance to Calvinism and attacked the Wesleys in print. The rift widened when Berridge published a collection of hymns in 1760, including several by the Wesleys which he had altered to reflect Calvinistic views. |
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Digitization Date |
Digitized: 2012 |
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Digitization Process |
Digitization process: Derivatives resized at 4030 pixels in height or width |
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Digital Publisher |
Bridwell Library, Special Collections; Perkins School of Theology; Southern Methodist University |
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Rights |
Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Head of Special Collections of the Bridwell Library |
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Decade |
1770-1779 |
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