99. - To Mr. W. Perronet.

Mr. William Perronet was a surgeon and apothecary in London. The friendship which subsisted between the different branches of his family and Mr. Fletcher, induced him to wait upon the latter, and to offer him the benefit of his professional advice, while this dear friend of his venerable father was an invalid in the house of Mr. Greenwood at Stoke Newington, and afterward at Bristol, to which city he repaired, by the direction of his medical advisers, in April, 1777.

Of this young gentleman Mr. Benson gives the subjoined account: - “One of those who visited him at Newington, was Mr. W. Perronet; a pious, sensible, benevolent, and amiable man, who was snatched hence in the strength of his years. He often said, the first sight of Mr. Fletcher fixed an impression upon his mind, which never wore off, till it issued in a real conversion to God, accompanied with a most affectionate and lasting regard for the instrument of that happy change. Of this friendly man, Mr. F. writes thus to Miss Perronet: - ‘I cannot tell you how much I am obliged to your dear brother for all his kind, brotherly attendance as a physician. He has given me his time, his long walks, his remedies: he has brought me Dr. Turner several times, and will not so much as allow me to re - imburse his expenses.’”

99. - TO MR. W. PERRONET.

BRISTLETON, Nov. 19, 1777.

DEAR SIR, - I thank you for your two favours from London, added to so many received at Newington and here. May the Lord visit you when you shall be sick! And may he raise you such kind friends, helpers, and comforters, as he has raised to me! I have kept plying the bark since you went, and have taken a pound, I think. It seems to be blessed to me as well as the rhubarb. My spitting of blood is almost stopped; my breast stronger. I am, I hope, better upon the whole; and, if I do not relapse, I might yet be able to preach, according to your dear father’s prophecy. I hope to have the pleasure of seeing and thanking you, sir, and Dr. Turner, in my way to Dover, some time the week after next. I have not seen any physician since you went. Hope to wait this week on Dr. Ludlow to thank him. I am much obliged to your dear sister for her letter and receipt. Hope to answer the former, though I shall not, I think, make use of the latter. O my dear friend, Jesus is at the end of the race. Your dear brothers f26 have run it out; we follow them. O for more speed - more winged despatch - more faith - more of that power which takes the kingdom of heaven by violence!

That the Lord would give us more power, and make us more faithful to that which we have, is, dear sir, the earnest prayer of your obliged friend and obedient servant,

J. FLETCHER.

100. - TO MR. W. PERRONET.

NYON, IN SWITZERLAND, June 2, 1778.

MY DEAR FRIEND, - When I wrote to you last month, by Mrs. Ireland, I mentioned, that, at Morges, I had seen two ladies of your family, two Miss Perronets, who have married two brothers, Messieurs Monod. Since that time they have requested me to send to your father the enclosed memorial, which, I hope, will prove of use to your family. As the bad writing, and the language, may make the understanding of it difficult to you, I send you the substance of it, and of the letter of the ladies’ lawyer, as follows: - Mr. Emanuel Perronet, chief justice at Chateau d’Oex, in the canton of Berne, had an estate worth six or seven thousand pounds sterling. By will, he left it to his son, and his son’s children. His son had a son, the Rev. Mr. Theodore Perronet, who died at Geneva in 1770, without will, and without children. Now, Mr. Emanuel Perronet, his grandfather, had ordered in his will, that if his son, or his grandson, should die without issue, his estate was to go to his nephews and nieces; namely, to the then unborn children of his three brothers, Mr. James Louis Perronet, Mr. Christian Perronet, and Mr. David Perronet, and to Mr. Beat Rodolph Perronet, a nephew of his (then born) by another brother, who, I suppose, was then dead. Without any attention to this entail, some rich gentlemen of Geneva, who were related to Mr. Theodore Perronet by his mother, have taken possession of the estate, as being his nearest relations. Now Mr. James Louis Perronet, Mr. Christian Perronet, Mr. David Perronet, and their children are all dead, or supposed to be dead. (I hope, by the by, your father is one of them.) The estate has been claimed by the ladies I have seen, who are grand daughters of Mr. James Louis Perronet, the oldest brother of the testator, and who consequently were only grand nieces of the testator, and not his nieces. And they have lost their suit on that account, because the will of Mr. Emanuel Perronet mentioned his brothers, and his nephews, and nieces, but made no mention of the sons and daughters of his nephews and nieces. Had the father of the ladies, (who was also a clergyman,) been alive eight years ago, the estate would have been his, and the entail would have taken place without difficulty. But his daughters being one degree farther off, the judges on that account gave it against them at Geneva, where the case was tried.

Though the ladies have not succeeded, they should be glad that your father did; and he undoubtedly will, if he can legally prove that he is either Mr. Christian Perronet, or Mr. David Perronet, or the son of either of them. For then, as brother or nephew of the testator, and as being expressly mentioned in the will, he will recover the estate without any difficulty. The ladies send their love to all your family, and desire to hear what account your father can give of his father, and what light can be thrown upon this affair. The Mr. Perronet, whose estate has been thus contended for, for want of one of the nephews mentioned in the will, is probably the same clergyman from whom I saw a letter at your house. His end had something tragical in it. He unfortunately fell into the Rhone at Geneva, and was drowned. This accident probably prevented his making a will. In what degree was your father related to him? If the estate be his, it is no charity to leave it to those who have laid their hands upon it; for they are very rich without it.

While I invite you to make your title clear to a precarious estate on earth, permit me to remind you, my dear sir, of the heavenly inheritance entailed on believers. The will, the New Testament, by which we can recover it, is proved. The court is just and equitable, the Judge gracious and loving. To enter into possession of a part of the estate here, and of the whole hereafter, we need only believe, and prove evangelical1y, that we are believers. Let us then set about it now, with earnestness, with perseverance, and with a full assurance, that (through grace) we shall infallibly carry our point. Alas! what are estates and crowns, to grace and glory! The Lord grant that we, and all our friends, may choose the better part, which your brother, my dear friend, so happily chose! And may we firmly stand to the choice, as he did, to the last! My best respects wait upon your dear father, your sisters, and nieces. God reward your kindness to me upon them all!

Remember me in grateful love to Dr. Turner. I have had a pull back since I wrote last. After I left Mr. Ireland at Macon, to shorten my journey, and