Very appropriate were the lines of her son Charles on this occasion:
"In sure and steadfast hope to rise,
And claim her mansion in the skies,
A Christian here her flesh laid down--
The cross exchanging for a crown."
MRS. FLETCHER.
Miss Mary Bosanquet, afterward Mrs. Fletcher, may also be numbered among
the great women of the eighteenth century. While yet unmarried, she
identified herself with the Methodists; and as a consequence was
subjected to bitter persecution, even to being excluded from her
father's house, and forbidden to have any intercourse with the younger
members of the family.
Circumstances led her to believe that it was her duty to exercise the
talents given to her, in addressing public audiences, and she
accordingly began speaking to such congregations as she chanced to have.
Such a departure from established usage brought down upon her a storm of
invective and abuse. Her family and friends felt aggrieved that she
should have allowed her enthusiasm--as they termed it--to lead her into
what they deemed such an indecorous proceeding; and for a time she found
it exceedingly difficult to stem the tide of opposition raised against
her. But her natural good sense and independence of character were
greatly in her favor. Ultimately, without her having yielded to the
pressure brought to bear upon her, she overcame all opposition, and her
family became reconciled to her.
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