Abraham Booth, London, to unnamed correspondent, 3 November 1794.

fol. 28r.

London, Nov. 3, 1794.

Dear Sir,

         Your Letter is just now come to hand; the contents of which I have read & considered. With regard to the character of Mr. Pearce, the more I hear of it, the more I esteem it; & though I cannot by any means, for the reasons you have mentioned, encourage his going abroad as a Missionary, yet his thoughts & inclinations relative to that affair, indicate the turn of his heart to be strongly for promoting the honour of Christ, & the happiness of mankind, so as rather to elevate than depress him in my esteem.

         I am of opinion that prudence requires the important question, which lies before the Society for deliberation & decision, should be kept in the breasts of as few as possible; &, for that reason, I do not intend to acquaint any of my Brethren with the contents of your Letter. I have had a Letter from Br. Carey in Bengal, which, as it contained some unpleasant things relative to the enormous imprudence of Mr. John Thomas, his Colleague, I have shown to two persons only, & desired them to say nothing of it, lest it should discourage contributions to the Mission. I take it for granted that Mr. Carey informed the Society of the same things; & I approved of your prudence in not mentioning any thing of that kind in your last Letter for the inspection of the Friends of the cause here.

         Though I cannot give you the meeting at Northampton, as requested, yet I trust I shall bear the subject on my mind in my poor prayers from day to day. – Love to all the Brethren, & to Mr. Pearce in particular; whom, if you please, you may inform, That I am, at present, decidedly against his entering on the Mission. – The Lord look upon Mr. Trinder, & have mercy on the Church! I remain

                     dear Sir, yours

                                             A. Booth

Address: none

Postmark: none

Text: fol. 28, NLW MS, 1207 D, Isaac Mann Collection, National Library of Wales, Abersytwyth. Given the reference to Northampton and Joseph Trinder, and the concern of Pearce’s application to the BMS, the most likely recipient of this letter is John Ryland, Jr.