and every subsequent visit. From this time, Mr. Kinsman became intimately acquainted, and closely connected with White About this period, Whitefield, in one of his voyages to America, was obliged, by an unexpected occurrence, to repair to Plymouth, where he had never been before, to secure himself a passage in a ship about to sail from that port. Here, according to his usual custom, he embraced the first opportunity of preaching to the inhabitants. He had not delivered many discourses, before a gracious Providence preserved him from being assassinated, and at the same time, overruled the horrid attempt of his enemies, to the furtherance of the gospel. Intelligence of these circumstances being circulated around the adjacent country, Mr. Kinsman fled with great eagerness to hear him. Being introduced after sermon to his company, he prevailed on him to visit Tavistock. But the opposition he there met with was so violent, as to excite such a deep rooted antipathy in the mind of Mr. Kinsman, to his native town, that he resolved to reside in it no longer. Having removed to Plymouth, he, at the age of about twenty-one, commenced an acquaintance with Miss Ann Tiley, with whom he was united in marriage, in the year 1745. She was a very spiritual and zealous christian; and, with many others, had been converted under Mr. Whitefield's ministry, while he was detained there through the delays of the convoy. By her he had four children, Ann, Andrew, John, and George; the two former of whom still survive, and are members of the religious community over which he presided. At Plymouth, God gave testimony to the word of his grace. The congregations rapidly increased; and many were "added to the church of such as should be saved." A large place of worship was shortly after erected, called "The Tabernacle," towards the erection of which, Mr. Kinsman generously contributed. This place was chiefly supplied by Mr. Whitefield's colleagues, the Rev. Messrs. Cennick, Adams, Middleton, &c. &c. who were kindly entertained under Mr. Kinsman's roof, free of any expense to themselves, or the infant cause. As Plymouth Dock, about two miles from Plymouth, became increasingly populous; and as there was no place of worship in all the town to accommodate the inhabitants, except the little chapel in the King's Yard, Mr. Kinsman considered this circumstances as a fit occasion to diffuse among them the savor of the knowledge of Christ. He began to preach out of doors, and continued this practice for some time, amidst the most violent persecutions; being frequently obliged to fly for his life; and he often expected that before the ensuing morning, his dwelling house at Plymouth would be demolished. At times he has been surrounded by eight or nine drums from the military, to drown his voice. But amidst this formidable opposition, his strength was equal to his day. Now Providence would soften his adversaries into pity, and thereby divert them from their evil purposes; then would fortify him with courage to withstand the united efforts of outrageous mobs. Once in particular, at Dock, a person of considerable fortune hired a number of men to interrupt his preaching. On arriving at the spot, they were so moved by his engaging address, that they not only desisted from their design, but directed their vengeance against their mischievous employer, who with difficulty escaped with his life; and so exemplified the words of David, "His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate." At another time, when the congregation was assembled in Plymouth Tabernacle, it was disturbed by a lieutenant of the navy; who came with a part of his crew, armed for a desperate assault. Having broken the windows, they entered the place in a body. Their first attempt was to extinguish the lights, and then to fall upon the people; but a person perceiving their design, drew up the chandelier to the ceiling of the building. Baffled in this project, they fell upon the people, without regard either to age or sex, and beat them with their bludgeons in a merciless manner. The worship being interrupted, a general alarm and outcry of murder field; for whom he retained the most filial affection to his dying day; frequently traveled with, and consulted him as a father upon all his religious concerns. ensued. At this instant, Mr. Kinsman, by an extraordinary effort, throwing himself into the midst of the throng, seized the lieutenant, the ringleader of the rioters; and as he was drawing his sword upon him, wrested it from his hand. No exertion on the side of the rioters could force Mr. Kinsman to quit his hold of the lieutenant; and by main strength, in the heat of the rencounter, he drew him out of the Tabernacle into the yard, where the same scene of confusion was continued. Here the lieutenant made many violent struggles to disengage himself, left his laced hat, and had his clothes considerably torn. in the attempt. But Mr. Kinsman preserved his hold, dragged him into his dwelling-house, and carried him off through the front door to the magistrate. Both parties were now at a loss to discover what had become of their champions. Mr. Kinsman's friends were almost distracted, supposing he had been carried off by the rioters, and torn piece-meal. But they were soon agreeably disappointed. The lieutenant conducted himself with great insolence before the magistrate, who committed him to the watch house, where he lay all night. Being brought before him again the next morning, he acknowledged his offence, engaged to repair all damages, and make such other concessions as the injured party might require. Mr. Kinsman having obtained his object, and being unwilling to injure the cause of reiglion in the esteem of the world, by a spirit of inexorable resentment, acceded to his proposals, and he was accordingly dismissed; nor was he ever after called upon by Mr. Kinsman or his friends, to fulfil his engagements. Having procured a private house in Dock, he preached the first time to about sixteen persons; but the congregations rapidly increased; and in the year 1752, a meeting house was erected, which, by the blessing of God upon his ministry, it became necessary to enlarge six or seven times. He was now called out to itinerate frequently in many counties in the kingdom; and his peculiar abilities attracted general attention, which, together with the affability of his manners, and his uncommon cheerfulness, raised him to a high degree of esteem wherever he went. Nor was he less respected, nor his ministry attended with less general good, at Bristol and London-cities to which he was invited by Whitefield; who used to call Bristol Mr. Kinsman's America, alluding to his own popularity and success in that quarter of the world. Whitefield being about to sail for America, sent for him to London. On his arrival he was introduced, and dined with him at the Tabernacle-house, in company with a young clergyman. After dinner there was a most tremendous storm of thunder and lightning. As they stood at the window below the raging elements, Mr. Kinsman, supposing the clergyman, from his being a visitant to Whitefield, to be a serious person, familiarly put his hand upon his shoulder, and with great cheerfulness and energy, repeated the words of Dr. Watts: "The God that rules on high And thunders when he please; And then, with peculiar pathos and confidence, added, "This awful God is ours, Our Father and our Love!" The words so appositely introduced, so solemnly and so emphatically delivered, made a deep impression on the mind of the young clergyman, and began a conversation, which, by the blessing of God, ended in his saving conversion. Multitudes crowded to hear him; and many gave proofs of a solid conversion to God. "Now," says he, "Plymouth seems Here his ministry was greatly owned: and he thought himself highly honored in preaching the first sermon that ever was delivered from the pulpit of the present Tabernacle. His harmonious voice, his sprightly and pathetic manner of address, brought no small number of all ranks to hear him: among whom was Shuter, the celebrated comedian, who, having been excited by curiosity to hear Whitefield, was so affected with his preaching, that at one time there were hopes of his being under serious impressions. Having also heard Mr. Kinsman, he was so delighted with him, that he frequently visited him. But the lamentable immorality that pervades the stage, the scoffs of ridicule from men of considerable influence, and the contemptuous insinuations of the profane, that most dangerous and destructive method of attack to which Mr. Shuter was, by his profession, particularly exposed, soon operated as a foil to those rising hopes that were entertained concerning him, and, as blasts, swept away those promising and blooming flowers. Some years after, having forgotten where he lived, accidentally meeting Mr. Kinsman at Plymouth, he embraced him with rapture, and inquired if that was the place of his residence. He replied, “Yes; but I am just returned from London, where I have preached so often, and to such large auditories, and have been so indisposed, that Dr. Fothergill advised my immediate return to the country, for change of air." And I," said Mr. Shuter, "have been acting Sir John Falstaff so often, that I thought I should have died; and the physicians advised me to come into the country for the benefit of the air. Had you died, it would have been serving the best of Masters; but had I, it would have been in the service of the devil. Oh, sir, do you think I shall ever be called again? I certainly was when I was studying my part in the park; and if Mr. Whitefield had let me come to the Lord's table with him, I never should have gone back again. But the caresses of the great are exceedingly ensnaring. My Lord E-sent for me to day; and I was glad I could not go. Poor things! they are unhappy, and they want Shuter to make them laugh. But, oh, sir! such a life as yours!—As soon as I leave you, I shall be King Richard. This is what they call a good play, as good as some sermons. I acknowledge there are some striking and moral things in it. But after it, I shall come again with my farce of A Dish of all Sorts, and knock all that on the head. Fine reformers are we!" The inhabitants afterwards taking notice that he visited Mr. Kinsman, were astonished; and one gentleman in particular, asked him, if he were a Methodist? "Mine is a fine method, is it not? No; I wish I was. If any are right, they are." Mr. Kinsman was once preaching in London on the Lord's day, and a heavy and unexpected shower of rain coming on, several Sabbath breakers passing at that instant, fled into the Tabernacle for shelter. Among these, was a young man who was personally acquainted with Mr. Kinsman at Plymouth. Seeing him in the pulpit he immediately resolved to wait till the conclusion of the service, and inquire after the welfare of his relation. This he accordingly did-to whom Mr. Kinsman replied, with his usual affability, "Your good aunt and religious mother are both lately gone to heaven; but which way are you going? What will your pious mother say, if she should miss her William there?" Though the sermon had not the least effect, this sentence struck him to the heart; and God made it the means of his conversion. He afterwards became a very valuable member of the church at Dock, and died an Israelite indeed! Some years after, his youngest son, a wild young man, marrying, and having a child, applied to Mr. Kinsman to baptize it. Mr. K. having some knowledge of his character, told him, he would baptize his child for the grandfather's sake; and then began to relate the striking circumstance of his father's conversion. This so affected the young man, that from that time he became serious; and is now a member of the same church at Dock. At Plymouth and Dock his preaching was still attended with remarkable success, particularly among young persons. At length the repeated solicita to be quite a new place to me." As his health was impaired in London, he loved to range, as he calls it, after precious souls. tions of the people induced him to limit the sphere of his operations, and, except his visits to London and Bristol, his labors were chiefly confined to the above places. In the year 1763, the society at Dock becoming very numerous, wished to be formed into a regular church. They therefore gave Mr. Kinsman a unanimous call to take the oversight of them; and he having accepted it, was set apart for the pastoral office at Broadmead, in Bristol, August 4th, by the Rev. Benjamin Fawcett of Kidderminster; the Rev. George Powell of Wethersfield; the Rev. Jeremiah Field of Wellington, Somerset; the Rev. Hugh Evans, and the Rev. John Thoman of Bristol. In the year 1771, he went to reside wholly at Dock; until which period he never received any pecuniary consideration for his services; nor did he, in the whole course of his ministry at Plymouth, never having required any. After his settlement in the pastoral office, Providence raised up several of the members of the church to assist in preaching, particularly the Rev. Robert Heath, now of Redborough. But these being frequently called to labor in the adjacent towns and villages, and the state of Mr. Kinsman's health for many years, not admitting of his preaching three times on the Lord's day, both places were obliged to be provided with regular assistants, the most distinguished of whom were: at Plymouth the Rev. Messrs. Dunn and Padden; at Dock, the Rev. Messrs. Jones and Lake; each of whom continued for some time in the exercise of his talents with success, until invited to the pastoral office of other places. After they were removed, a succession of ministers from the metropolis and other parts of the kingdom, regularly supplied the congregation, much upon the same plan with the London and Bristol Tabernacles. In January, 1792, dropsical symptoms began first to make their appearance in his legs, and left little hope to his friends of a long continuance among them. For the last twelve months he could do little more than preach two or three sermons; and it was with great difficulty that he continued to administer the Lord's supper. As he approached to the close of life, he would frequently look out of his chamber window, and on seeing multitudes flocking to the meeting, would say "Thither I once led up the tribes of the Lord to worship." When anticipating his approaching dissolution, he would freqently adopt the confidential language of the pious Watts : My God, my portion, and my love, I've none but thee in heav'n above, And that other well known verse in the 17th Psalm : "O glorious hour! O bless'd abode! A few hours before he died, he said, "Oh how ill I am! but my God, my life, my time, my all is in thy hands. On thee do I trust; in thee I can confide." "A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, On thy kind arms I fall; Be thou my strength and righteousness, Yet he never wished to form a new sect, or strove to become the head of a party. "I have seen enough of popularity," says he, "to be sick of it; and did not the interest of my blessed Master require my appearing in public, the world should hear but little of me henceforth." Notwithstanding, his zeal abated not. "I dread the thoughts of flagging in the latter stage of my road," was an expression used in his letters to his friends. He was often indisposed; but he thought that traveling and preaching did him good. "Fear not your weak body," says he, in a letter to the Rev. James Hervey, "we are immortal till our work is done. Christ's laborers must live by miracle-if not, I must not live at all; for God only knows what I daily endure; my continual vomitings almost kill me; and yet the pulpit is my cure so that my friends begin to pity me less, and to leave off that ungrateful caution, 'spare thyself.' I speak this to encourage you." In March, 1749, he returned to London, having traveled about SIX HUNDRED MILES in the west, and to his satisfaction found that his former labors had been abundantly blessed. * In May, he went to Portsmouth and Portsea, where he A short time before he died, Mrs. Kinsman asked him how he did. He replied with a sweet serenity, "Still in the body." "But in his dying countenance was seen A smile, the index of a soul serene." Continuing sensible, being almost gone, and scarcely able to articulate, he said in a broken manner, Then smiled again, and without a sigh, fell asleep in the arms of that compassionate Jesus, whom he had ardently loved and faithfully preached, for more than fifty years. He died February 28, 1793, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. On the following Sabbath, two funeral sermons were preached for him; one at Plymouth, by the Rev. Mr. Macall, from John v. 35. "He was a burning and shining light." And the other at Dock, by the Rev. Matthew Wilks, of London, from Daniel xii. 3. "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever." This town commenced with the last century: for in the year 1700 there were not more than a dozen houses on the spot: and the parish of Portsea, as it is now called, exclusive of the neighboring town of Portsmouth, did not contain 2000 inhabitants; but it is now a thickly populated town. At that time there was no other place of worship but the parish church; there are now twelve places devoted to the service of God. About the year 1746, the Rev. John Cennick came to Portsea, and preached in the open air. He was followed by the Rev. Messrs. Adams, Meredith, and others, in connection with Mr. Whitefield, who himself, in 1749, visited the place, and preached in the fields to very numerous congregations. About this time several serious persons, some of whom were members of the Rev. Mr. William's church at Gosport, and others of the Rev. Mr. Norman's at |