George-Whitefield-Field-Preacher

50 GEORGE WHITEF1ELD
with their lanthorns in their hands, and hear them conversing
about the things of God.' The ordinary congregations, too,
which were not composed of such persons as these devout
communicants, but of all kinds, heard the word 'like people
hearing for eternity.'
Such popularity quite disturbed the usual order of things.
On sacramental occasions fresh elements had sometimes to be
consecrated twice or thrice. The stewards had larger offerings
than they could conveniently carry to the table, their collec-
tion boxes or bags not having been made for such an excep-
tional time. A newsagent, who heard of what was doing in
the religious world, thought that he was as much entitled to
turn an honest penny as the stewards ; and one Monday
morning, when Whitefield was quietly taking breakfast with a
friend at the Tower, his eye caught sight in the newspaper of a
paragraph to the effect, that there was a young gentleman going
volunteer to Georgia ; that he had preached at St. Swithin's,
and collected eight pounds, instead of ten shillings—three
pounds of which was in halfpence (which was all quite true)
and that he was to preach next Wednesday before the societies
at their general quarterly meeting. The paragraph chagrined
Whitefield very much. He was not yet inured to the annoy-
ances of public life, and he requested the printer not to put
him in his paper again ; but his only comfort was the printer's
saucy answer, ' that he was paid for doing it, and that he would
not lose two shillings for anybody,' and a full church—Bow
Church it was—on the following Wednesday.
As popularity and usefulness increased, opposition increased
proportionately. The ground which it took was extraordinary,
it being actually urged that these crowds which followed
Whitefield interfered with the attendance at church of regular
parishioners ; further, that the pews were spoiled ; next, that
he was a spiritual pickpocket ; and
finally, that he made use