the state, but the extremes of my charge lie 80 or 90 miles apart; and the dissenters under my care are scattered through six or seven different counties. The greatest number of them, I suppose about 100 families at least, is in Hanover, where there are three meeting-houses licensed. About 20 or 30 families are in Henrico; about 10 or 12 in Caroline; about 15 or 20 in Goochland; and about the same number in Louisa; in each of the four last-mentioned counties there is at this time but one meetinghouse licensed. Besides these, there are about 15 or 20 families in Cumberland county, [between 80 or 90 miles from Mr. Davies' residence in Hanover,] where there is no place of worship licensed for our use, and about the same number in and about New Kent, where a license was granted by the court of that county, but afterwards recalled by the General Court." [The doctrine advanced by the General Court was, that the act of toleration, if it extended at all to the colonies, did not admit of licensing any place of worship for a dissenting minister, except one in the county where he resided, and where the dissenting member regularly and uniformly attended. This was done to prevent itinerant preachers, as they were called, from going from county to county, and making proselytes from the established church of England.]

"The counties,' says Mr. Davies in continuance, are large, generally 40 or 50 miles in length, and about 20 or 30 in breadth; so that, though members may live in one county, it would be impossible for them all to convene at one place, and much more so when they are dispersed through so many counties. Though there are now seven places of worship licensed, yet the nearest to each other are 12 or 15 miles apart; and many have to travel from 10, 15, or 20 miles to the nearest, and from 40 to 60 miles to the other places licensed; nay, some of them have from 30 to 40 miles to the nearest place of worship. And such is the scarc ity of ministers in the Synod of New York, and so great the number of congregations under their care, that though a part of my congregation, with my hearty concurrence, used repeated endeavors to obtain another minister to relieve me of a charge of them, they have not been able to succeed as yet. So that all the dissenters here depend entirely upon me to officiate among them, as there is no other minister of their own denomination within

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200 miles or more, except where one of my brethren from the north is appointed to pay them a transient visit for two or three Sabbaths once in a year or two; and as was observed, they cannot attend on my ministry at more than one or two places, on account of the distance, nor constitute a complete particular church at each place of meeting, on account of the smallness of their numbers.'

"These extracts from Mr. Davies' letter to the Bishop of London, may give us a glance of the work he had to perform, and of the opposition against which he had to contend. It was his practice to preach more frequently at one of the meeting-houses in Hanover than at any of the rest of the places. This meetinghouse was built near Mr. Morris's reading-house, where Presbyterianism originated, and where they were much more numerous than anywhere else, and near to which Mr. Davies had fixed his residence with his family. But it was his regular custom to preach one Sabbath at least in three or four months, at each of the other places licensed; for as yet he did not venture to preach in any other place that was not licensed by law. Beside preaching on the Sabbath, he ventured to preach frequently at his different chapels of ease, on week days, which proved highly beneficial, though it was the ground of heavy charges and strenuous opposition from Episcopal clergymen. The reason for which was, that many Episcopalians, who dare not absent themselves from their own parish church to hear Mr. Davies on the Sabbath, felt no scruple to hear him on a week day-some out of curiosity to hear a man whose fame was now much noised abroad through the country, and many were desirous of hearing him from a much better motive, it is believed. But it is generally believed that more persons were brought under serious impressions by his week day sermons than those of the Sabbath; and it was chiefly by these meetings that so many were induced to forsake the worship of the established church, which they had found to be so unprofitable in times past, and resort to ordinances which they found more beneficial; and thus they not only became true Christians, but rapidly increased the number of Presbyterians. This excited the ire, and quickened the opposition of the Episcopalians.

"While Mr. Davies was thus left to labor without any co-ope

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ration from his brethren, except on occasional visits sent by the Synod of New York to aid him two or three Sabbaths, with such intervals as made them few and far between, he was continually extending his labors, and occupying new territory.

"The more he became known, the greater was the crowd that followed after him; until the pressing invitations which he received from various quarters, became almost overwhelming to his sensitive mind.

"When he first came to Virginia, a youthful stranger, the clergy of the establishment affected to treat him with sovereign contempt; several scurrilous lampoons were written against him, and the sarcastic songs which were put into the mouths of drunkards to turn him into ridicule, are remembered by some old people to the present day. It was soon seen that such light weapons as these rather brought him into notice than did him any injury.

"He was now frequently called before the General Court, and the Governor and Council, who seriously threatened to recall the licenses which he had heretofore obtained, and to deny him any of the privileges secured to dissenters by the act of toleration; and not only threatened to banish him the colony, but did actually cause some that were sent to his aid, to depart from the ter ritory.

“He had made himself so great a master of the laws of England, and of his civil and religious rights and privileges, that he was never in the least daunted in answering all their indictments, nor in facing their most able councillors. He always chose to plead his own cause, and acquitted himself in such a manner as made him many friends and admirers, and even his enemies to say,' What a lawyer was spoiled when Davies took the pulpit!

"The home of Mr. Davies was about twelve miles from Richmond; but his occasional labors, as is seen by the above account, were extended through a considerable part of the colony; and he acquired, probably, a greater influence than any other preacher in Virginia ever possessed. The limits of the Presbytery of Hanover originally comprehended the whole of Virginia, and a considerable part, if not the whole of North Carolina. Through this extensive region there were scattered numerous settlements of Protestants. Of this whole interest which dissented' from

the then established church of Virginia, Mr. Davies was the animating soul. His popularity in Virginia was almost unbounded; so that he was invited and urged to preach in every part of the colony. The Presbytery to which he belonged, willing to gratify the people as far as in their power, directed him to supply vacancies, with a frequency which came at last to be offensive to the people of his own immediate charge. They warmly remonstrated to the Presbytery against being deprived so much of their pastor's time and labors. To Mr. Davies, however, no blame was attached by either party. He appeared willing to spend and be spent in any service to which duty called him.

- "The church in which he preached in Hanover, and which was erected for him in 1757, is still standing. It is about ten miles from the city of Richmond, and is a remarkably plain building, of wood, without a steeple, and capable of accommodating about five hundred persons. In pleasant weather, the number of persons who came to hear him was so great, that the church would not contain them, and worship was held in a neighboring grove."

It was during Mr. Davies' residence in Virginia, that, in company with the Rev. Gilbert Tennant, he was sent to London to solicit donations for the college of New Jersey. Of this visit, Dr. Hill has furnished the following account.

"Mr. Davies' popularity as an eloquent pulpit orator—his able defences before the Governor and General Court of Virginia—his military sermons, and his patriotic addresses upon different important occasions, together with his very able correspondence with the Bishop of London, and other distinguished men in England, had raised his reputation to such a height, that in the year 1753, when the 'new side' Synod, of New York, were looking out for a companion and coadjutor to the Rev. Gilbert Tennant, to send to Great Britain, they could find no one in all their number who was thought to possess qualifications for that undertaking to compare with those possessed by Mr. Davies, who was then but a mere youth, still under thirty years of age.

"Mr. Davies' modesty induced him strongly to remonstrate against devolving such a trust upon him;-and his people felt still stronger objections to this appointment. They knew how

important his services were at that critical period in their affairs, and that no one else could supply his place with equal advantage. Besides this, they had another objection. They knew his excellencies better than any other people, for he came to them when a youth, and it was among them that his powers had ripened; and they were afraid if he became extensively known, he would be sought after by other places, which could afford him a much easier and more comfortable settlement than they could, and that they would thereby endanger the loss of him altogether.

"Subsequent events, which soon after followed, showed how well-founded their fears and apprehensions were. Although the Synod took care to have Mr. Davies' people supplied during the year of his absence, yet no one could, in their estimation, render services equivalent to his. It is generally thought that the progress of Presbyterianism was seriously affected by Mr. Davies' absence from Virginia, and that its prospects were hardly ever as promising afterwards as before.

"What was the precise amount of funds raised by this em bassy to Great Britain; the mode of their operations; whether they went together, or separated, and took different routes, is not known. They visited England, Scotland, and Ireland; and there is no doubt they raised a considerable amount, and enlisted many friends and patrons for Princeton Seminary-as that institution rose rapidly into notice and usefulness from that time. When Mr. Davies was in London, his fame had preceded him, so that his preaching was much resorted to by dissenters and others; and an occurrence is said to have taken place which was much spoken of among his friends, and with some little exultation, after his return.

"The circumstance alluded to is this-that his fame as a pulpit orator was so great in London, that some noblemen who had heard him, mentioned in the presence of King George II., that there was a very distinguished dissenting preacher in London from the colony of Virginia, who was attracting great notice, and drawing after him very crowded audiences; upon which the King expressed a strong desire to hear him, and his chaplain invited him to preach in his chapel. Mr. Davies is said to have complied, and preached before a splendid audience, composed of

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