第 37 节
作者:一半儿      更新:2021-02-20 18:39      字数:9322
  reside there; this privilege will not be continued to any of them。To employ
  them as missionaries to instruct the Indians would be a reflection on our
  country;   as   if   it   could   not   furnish   a   sufficient   number   of   pious   men   to
  preach   the   Gospel   of   Jesus   Christ。   Therefore   your   people   may   continue
  among the Indians; only so long as they are citizens of the colony。〃
  This was the death…blow to the Moravian settlement in Georgia。 Had
  the    Trustees     exemplified      their   much…vaunted        religious    toleration    by
  respecting the conscientious scruples of the Moravians; there were enough
  members of the Savannah Congregation who wanted to stay in Georgia to
  form the nucleus of the larger colony which would surely have followed
  them; for while they were willing to give up everything except religious
  liberty;    they   were    human      enough     to   regret   having     to  abandon      the
  improvements which they had made at the cost of so much labor and self…
  denial。The Church at large shared this feeling; and for many years watched
  and    waited    for   an  opportunity     to  re…open     the  work    in  Savannah;      but
  without result。 If the Trustees had even permitted the Moravians to stay as
  missionaries   it   might   have   saved   the settlement   to   Georgia;   for  within   a
  decade the English Parliament passed an Act granting the Moravians the
  very exemption for which they now asked in vain; and had there been a
  promising work begun among the Indians during the intervening years it
  would inevitably have drawn more laborers; as it did in Pennsylvania。But
  the    Trustees    shut   the  door    in  their   faces;   other   promising     and   more
  hospitable fields opened; and the Moravian efforts were thereafter given to
  the upbuilding of other commonwealths。
  In   the   latter  part   of  January;    1738;    eight   more     of  the   Moravian
  colonists     left   Savannah;        Gotthard     Demuth      and    his  wife;    George
  Waschke;   his   wife   and   mother; Augustin   Neisser;   Gottlieb   Demuth;   and
  David   Jag;   those   who   remained   giving   them   money   and   provisions   for
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  their    journey     to   Pennsylvania。Gotthard          Demuth      and    wife    settled   in
  Germantown; later moving to Bethlehem and joining in the organization
  of   that   Congregation。In        1743    they   were    again   living   at  Germantown;
  where      Gotthard     died   the   following     year。Regina      subsequently       married
  David Tanneberger and moved once more to Bethlehem。 Gottlieb Demuth
  lived   at   several   places;   but   finally   married;   and   settled   in   the   Moravian
  Congregation   at   Schoeneck。   Jag;   who   located   at   Goshenhopper;   and   the
  Waschkes and Augustin Neisser who went to Germantown; never rejoined
  the Church。On the 28th of January; the Moravians in Savannah received
  an unlooked…for addition to their number。Toeltschig wrote to Spangenberg;
  〃Yesterday two boys; who belong to Herrnhut; came unexpectedly to our
  house。   They   ran   away   from   the   Brethren   in Ysselstein   and   went   to   Mr。
  Oglethorpe       in  London;      begging     him   to  send    them   to   the   Brethren    in
  Georgia。He   did   so;   but   we   will   have   to   pay   their   transportation。One   is
  Zeisberger's   son   David;   about   17   years   old;   and   the   other   John   Michael
  Schober;   about   15   years   old。   Both   are   bad   boys。〃It   appears   that   when
  Zeisberger's parents went to Georgia he was left in Herrnhut to finish his
  education。From there Count Zinzendorf took him to a Moravian settlement
  near Utrecht; Holland; where he was employed as errand boy in a shop。He
  was   treated   with   well…meant   but   ill…judged   severity;   and   finally   after   a
  particularly trying and undeserved piece of harshness in October; 1737; he
  and his friend Schober decided to try and make their way to his parents in
  Georgia。In this they succeeded; and though their story was received with
  disapprobation; they  soon   made   a   place   for   themselves。  Schober   did   not
  live very  long;  but   Zeisberger;  from  the  〃bad   boy〃   of Toeltschig's   letter;
  became the assistant of Peter Boehler in South Carolina; and later the great
  〃apostle to the Indians〃。
  During      this  Spring     the  Moravians       strained    every    nerve   to   do   an
  amount   of   work   sufficient   to   balance   their   account   with   the  Trustees。   It
  took a little longer than they expected; but at last Toeltschig was ready for
  his journey to England; the lot having previously decided that he should
  go    as  soon    as  financial    affairs   made    it  proper。   His   wife    remained     in
  Savannah; it being uncertain whether he would stay in Germany or return
  to    America。John        Regnier     took    his   place    as   financial    agent    of   the
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  Moravians。
  On March 12th; Toeltschig went aboard a ship; bound for Charlestown;
  sailing   from Tybee   two   days   later。On   the   18th; he   reached   Charlestown;
  whence he sailed April 1st; bearing with him the record of their account
  with the Trustees; and commissioned to tell the authorities at Herrnhut all
  about the Georgia colony。On the 30th of May; the vessel touched at Cowes;
  where Toeltschig   landed;   making   his   way  overland   to   London   which   he
  reached on the 2nd of June。
  On   the   11th   of   June;   Toeltschig;   accompanied   by   Richter;   went   to
  present    the   account    to  the   Trustees。They     asked    him    many    questions
  concerning   Georgia;   all   of   which   he   answered   frankly;   receiving   most
  courteous attention。Three days later a settlement was reached。The written
  accounts   showed   that   the   Moravians   were   short   3   Pounds   5   Shillings   5
  Pence; which Toeltschig offered to pay in cash; but the Trustees said they
  realized that the supplies provided for in the second bond had been rated at
  a   higher   price   in  Georgia    than   in  England;    and   they   were   content   to
  consider the obligations as fully discharged; interest included。 Toeltschig
  answered 〃I am VERY glad;〃 a short sentence which spoke volumes!
  Wesley; Ingham and Toeltschig。
  During the days which elapsed between his arrival in London and the
  meeting of the Trustees; Toeltschig had many interviews with those who
  had   been   〃awakened〃   by   the   two   companies   of   Moravian   colonists;   by
  Count   Zinzendorf;   and   by   Peter   Boehler   and   George   Schulius。   The   last
  two   were   even   then   at   Portsmouth;   on   their   way   to   America;   and   the
  interest caused by their visit was very manifest。
  John   and   Charles   Wesley   had   been   particularly   attracted   to   Boehler;
  the   former    especially   finding    great  relief  in  laying   his  many   spiritual
  perplexities before him。Wesley complained that when he conversed with
  Spangenberg        in  Georgia;     and   they    could   not   agree    on   any    point;
  Spangenberg would drop the subject and refuse to discuss it further; but in
  Boehler he found a clearness of argument; and power of persuasion which
  convinced without irritating him。
  Having passed through many stages with the guidance; sympathy; and
  encouragement of Boehler; Wesley at last found the assurance of salvation
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  he   had   sought     for   so   many   years;   and   three   weeks   after   Boehler     left
  London; he records that at a meeting of their society 〃I felt I did trust in
  Christ; Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he
  had taken away my sins; even mine; and saved me from the law of sin and
  death。〃A   few   days   previously   his   brother   Charles   had   made   the   same
  happy   experience;   and   this   gave   to   their   religious   life   the   warmth   and
  fervor which; added to the zeal; industry and enthusiasm that had always
  characterized them; made their labors of so much value to England; and
  founded   the   denomination   which   has   grown   so   rapidly   in America;   still
  bearing   the   name   once   given   in   derision   to   the   little   group   of   Oxford
  〃Methodists〃。
  But Wesley's   mind   was   not   one   of   those   which   can   rest   contentedly
  upon one vital truth; he must needs r