Clarke, Mrs

Hannah More to William Wilberforce

I thank you for the Box which is to come We warped dear Mrs. Clarke so much with our un-orthodox Conventicles, that will have something to do to bring her Mind Straight again. –

Hannah More to Henry Thornton, September 12th 1799

This Subject of Money leads me to say (which I did not intend) that I believe I must desire you not to give away the Interest of Money any more but to let me have it; do not however tell her this just now. I am now engaged for such very large expences, that, humanly speaking, I do not very well see how I shall get thro it, and my faith /which is not over strong/ is kept pretty much on the sketch. Assessed Taxes and some other things have reduced my Sisters’ Income £150 a Year and they spent all before; as I shall feel it right to help towards this deficiency I shall not be able to make /the new/ addition towards the Schools which I had hoped I will not however distrust that Providence which has so unexpectedly carried me on hitherto and I hope to use these little difficulties and uncertainties as an exercise of my trust in him, You will think so when I tell you that in spite of the continued opposition at Wedmore we are building a house there says she thinks we tire you with our Stories, I will however tell you one which I think will be much to Mrs. Clarke’s taste. After going on Sunday to Wedmore (30 miles there and back) on the wettest day I was ever out in we found our poor 300 Children assembled in the half finished room without a floor a door or a window, we taught them with great peace and content, not one of the Farmers condescending to come nigh us, or offering the least accommodation tho the rain was so violent /but I borrowed a Cottage/ At length the season came out – The children had /been/ trying to sing for the first time one of Watt’s Hymns, this brought a Farmer who said now he was sure we were Methodys; on being asked what gave the Parish such a terror of Methodists he said this was his answer – ‘Some years ago a Methody preacher came and preached in our Orchard under my Mother’s best apple tree, immediately after the leaves withered and the tree died; we saw at once this was a judgment, and called a vestry to see what could be done to save our Orchards; We there agreed that we shoud not have an Apple left in the parish if we suffered a Methody to stay, so we ordered the people to get all the stones and rotten eggs they could muster, and beat the whole crew out of the Parish; they did so, and sure enough it saved our Orchards for we have not lost an Apple tree since’. I have told it verbatim – This is the enlightened 18 Century! One woud put up with a little ill treatment to instruct such a parish as this in spite of itself